Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 10-27-12 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

Teachers For Social Justice: Urgent Action: ERSB Advisory Referendum on Ballots

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago

Teachers For Social Justice: Urgent Action: ERSB Advisory Referendum on Ballots: Urgent Action: ERSB Advisory Referendum on Ballots by sarah-ji The advisory referendum for an Elected Representative School Board is on the ballot in 327 precincts around the city. Vote Yes! - Go to this list to see if your precinct is one of them or view a sample ballot for your precinct based on street address here. You may have to go to the end of the ballot to find the referendum. Vote Yes! - Tell your friends and neighbors! Download and post this flyer/palm card . - Let voters kn... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-27-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Charter Closes, Kids Abandoned by dianerav A charter school in Sacramento abruptly closed its doors, locked out the students, and called it quits. The charter operator said the space could only handle 75 students, but he had enrolled 400. The parents were not happy. They said the school had collected $2 million or so. Kevin Huffman Knows Exactly What He’s Doing by dianerav Kevin Huffman, the TFA Commissioner of Education in Tennessee, demands that the Metro Nashville school board authorize a charter in an af... more »

Daily Kos: The MLK Imperative in an Era of "No Excuses"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago

Daily Kos: The MLK Imperative in an Era of "No Excuses": The MLK Imperative in an Era of "No Excuses" by rss@dailykos.com (plthomasEdD) My father was a hard-ass, €”a Southern version of the Red Forman-type made popular in *That 70's Show*. I grew up, then, in a "no excuses" environment rooted in the 1950s work ethic my father personified. [1] Mine was a working-class background: My paternal grandfather (for whom I was named) ran the small-town gas station where I grew up, and my maternal grandfather worked in the yarn mills in the hills of North Carolina. Way before the "no excuses... more »

Uncle Mike and the DOE Celebrate Failure.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 minutes ago

http://www.southbronxschool.com: Uncle Mike and the DOE Celebrate Failure by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) We all read about it this week in the Daily News. Ninety percent of high school students in five Bronx neighborhoods are not college or career ready when they live the wonderful world of the NYCDOE that Uncle Mike has created for them. But, in "swanky Tribeca," 79% of high school students are college and career ready. We all know the reasons for this disparity, no reason to go into it here on these pages. Only a dead person or an insane person would not understand such ... more »

Another Blow to the Teacher-Quality-Trumps-Poverty Meme | Re:education in Baltimore

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 minutes ago

Another Blow to the Teacher-Quality-Trumps-Poverty Meme | Re:education in Baltimore: Another Blow to the Teacher-Quality-Trumps-Poverty Meme by Edit Barry Two weeks ago, *The American Prospect* published an article that used Joel Klein’s life story as a counter-argument to his proposition that teacher quality is the most important determinant of educational outcomes. A study released this week by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University also packs a punch. “Is Demography Still Destiny: Neighborhood Demographics and Public High School Students’ Readiness for Col... more »

Daily Kos: Saturday morning in a swing state

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 31 minutes ago

Daily Kos: Saturday morning in a swing state: Saturday morning in a swing state by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) I live in the People's Republic of Arlington County, in Northern Virginia. We are near the middle as far as size of the swing states, trailing FL, OH and NC but larger than WI, CO, NV, IA and NH. We also have a highly competitive race for the Senate seat being vacated by Jim Webb, with the contest between Tim Kaine and George Allen. While I am not seeing as many political ads as Jed Lewison tracked in Columbus OH last night (he was tweeting about more than 40 consecuti... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The CREDO alternative?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The CREDO alternative?: The CREDO alternative? by Mike Klonsky Funny. I continually get mailings from a company called CREDO Mobile asking me to switch from AT&T over to their company, which claims to be politically progressive. CREDO (formerly known as Working Assets), claims to contribute heavily to groups like Planned Parenthood, United for a Fair Economy, Earthjustice and the ACLU. Credo Mobile is basically a re-seller, wholesaling bandwidth from Sprint and then repackage it as their own. I have no love from AT&T and would gladly dump them for a v... more »

Schools Matter: "Is Demography Still Destiny?" - Annenberg Institute for School Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago

Schools Matter: "Is Demography Still Destiny?" - Annenberg Institute for School Reform: "Is Demography Still Destiny?" - Annenberg Institute for School Reform by P. L. Thomas "Is Demography Still Destiny?" - Annenberg Institute for School Reform From opening summary: "Yet a new study by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University indicates that the college readiness of New York City high school graduates is still very highly correlated with the neighborhood they come from. In particular, the racial composition and average income of a student’s home neighborhood a... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: A Better Approach to Bullying?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 41 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: A Better Approach to Bullying?: A Better Approach to Bullying? by Anngie The nature of a bureaucracy is to develop policies to address problems. Policies are a standardized set of rules and consequences that can be applied to various situations that generally mean less actual consideration of the facts by the individuals authorized to apply the consequences. Policies are seen as an efficient way to move forward and get past a broad spectrum of problems the system may experience. Because they are broad in scope and purposely disregard specific details,... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 10-27-12

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 47 minutes ago

*4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:* *4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit* PROPOSITION 38 TRIES TO TURN A TAX LIABILITY INTO AN ASSET smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 17 minutes ago By Jon Healey, la tIMES oPINION la | http://lat.ms/UQLl9G October 25, 2012, 8:05 a.m. :: Backers of Proposition 38 caught considerable heat from Gov. Jerry Brown and other Democrats for airing a commercial earlier this month that attacked Brown's rival tax initiative, Proposition 30. Now the pro-38 campaign has a pair of new ads that offer no direct criticism of... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 10-27-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago

Education Research Report: *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* * * Autism early intervention found to normalize brain activity in children as young as 18 months Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 17 hours ago An intensive early intervention therapy that is effective for improving cognition and language skills among very young children with autism also normalizes their brain activity, decreases their autism symptoms and improves their social skills, a nationwide study has found. The researchers said the study is the first to demonstrate that an autism early inter... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 10-27-12 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 51 minutes ago

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL *Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day* [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] ““Won’t Back Down” Continues to Plummet” Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 10 hours ago Diane Ravitch reports that “Won’t Back Down,” the parent trigger-pushing film, is now officially a box office flop. Read the details at “Won’t Back Down” Continues to Plummet. I’m adding this info to The Best Posts & Articles On Parent Trigger Movie “Won’t Back Down.” “Tapping Community... more »

Schools Matter: Corporate Education's Anti-Democratic Effects

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Schools Matter: Corporate Education's Anti-Democratic Effects: Corporate Education's Anti-Democratic Effects by Jim Horn From the NEPC at the University of Colorado, Boulder: BOULDER, CO October 16, 2012 – “Local control” has been a bedrock principle of public schooling in America since its earliest days, but a new report concludes the concept “has all but disappeared” in discussions of education policy. The report, *Democracy Left Behind: How Recent Education Reforms Undermine Local School Governance and Democratic Education*, by Kenneth Howe and David Meens of the University of... more »

School Tech Connect: Because You Love Maps, Too

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Because You Love Maps, Too: ' Because You Love Maps, Too by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I've been missing out on so many events lately---- I missed the presentation of this fabulous fusion table map, which shows the precincts that get to vote on the elected ed school board question here in Chicago. Click around on it---zoom in, zoom out. I may be mistaken but I believe this map was created by none other than Will Guzzardi. If you've ever tried to figure out precinct boundaries from the maps available online, you'll appreciate how cool this map truly is.... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Union Scam, Election Edition - Esquire

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Union Scam, Election Edition - Esquire: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Union Scam, Election Edition By Charles P. Pierce at 10:52AM *The state of Michigan has* put what I think is the country's most intriguing referendum question on its ballot this year. The state, which has been the subject of the gentle ministrations of Republican Governor Rick Snyder and his cronies for the past few years, is asking its citizens to decide whether the ability of workers to bargain collectively should be enshrined as a right in the state's co... more »

Engaging Parents In School… » California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Engaging Parents In School… » California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State: California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State by Larry Ferlazzo California PTA Each day, as a teacher and as a strong proponent of parent engagement in word and deed, I find myself more amazed by the actions being taken by the California PTA this election season. I don’t think I’m overstating it to suggest that their efforts this year will be used as a case study in political organizing and in political science classes for years to come — in how *not* to become politically en... more »

SBE Agenda for November 2012 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

SBE Agenda for November 2012 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education): SBE Agenda for November 2012Agenda for the California State Board of Education (SBE) meeting on November 7-8, 2012. ------------------------------ *Tom Torlakson* State Board Members Michael W. Kirst, President Trish Williams, Vice President Carl Cohn Bruce Holaday Aida Molina James C. Ramos Patricia A. Rucker Ilene W. Straus Josephine Kao, Student Member *Vacancy Vacancy* Secretary & Executive Officer Hon. Tom Torlakson Executive Director Susan K. Burr Schedule of Meeting Location *Wednesday, Novembe... more »

Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project: Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Projectby Jonathan Raymond, published on *October 26, 2012* at *3:41 PM* Storyline: Sacramento City Unified School District [image: RSS Feed] Community Tags jonathan raymond parents sacramento city unified school district scusd teachers During his recent bus tour across America, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with a group of mayors and superintendents in Sacramento and noted during comments that they (USDOE) had "dropped the ball"... more »

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education: Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers by Shane Vander Hart [image: NCLB]Jane Robbins, a Senior Fellow for American Principles Projectprovided some facts that you should know about the No Child Left Behind waivers. States apply for these in order, they say, to free themselves from Federal guidelines and standards under NCLB. What they’re really doing is substituting federal control with more federal control. Pretty soon states will probably be asking for waivers for the waivers. - In September 201... more »

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education: The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days by seattleducation2011 I usually stay on course providing information and views on education but this information was so horrific that I had to share it. These votes affect all of us, our families, our children and of course, education. This information was provided by the US House of Representatives Democratic Caucus and are: 60 votes on final passage, amendments, and motions to re... more »

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?: Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? by jonpelto Last week it was the resignation of the President and Executive Vice President of Connecticut’s new Board of Regents, the group responsible for overseeing the merged system of Connecticut’s State Universities and Community and Technical Colleges. The solution, we were told, was that the actual Board of Regents would step forward, take control and actually perform the duties allocated to them under state law. At t... more »

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story: Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results By Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian Friday, October 26, 2012 17:05 EDT [image: US President Barack Obama (R) and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shake hands following the second presidential debate at the David Mack Center at Hofstra University in Hempstead via AFP] Topics: new orleans The teacher’s command of his class is total. “Which one is the whole number?” he asks crisply. “Is it seven over three, or is... more »

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News: California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group By Steven Harmon Bay Area News Group Posted: 10/25/2012 04:25:48 PM PDT Updated: 10/25/2012 11:27:13 PM PDT Click photo to enlarge Ann Ravel, chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices... (Rich Pedroncelli/AP file) Related Stories - Oct 25: - Mercury News editorial: FPPC's Ann Ravel is fighting for voters' right to know - Oct 18: - Shad... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess by Duke Bust Unions 2nd Let's stop calling StudentsFirst an "education reform group," because they're not. They are a political organization: Now, the political action committee of StudentsFirst is pumping $500,000 into a campaign against Michigan's Proposal 2, a ballot measure that would protect collective bargaining by enshrining it in the state's constitution. Mlive.com first reported the contribution Thursday morning. StudentsFirst is a national lobbying and advocacy shop based in ... more »

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky: The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. by Fred Klonsky It came as shocking news. Illinois’ Teacher Retirement System reported out that their return on investment was .76% for fiscal year 2012. Holy crap. That’s less than 1%! Last year the return was 23.6%. And it isn’t just Illinois. Bloomberg reports today: U.S. state and local-government pensions ended the 2012 fiscal year with a median gain of 1.15 percent as the European ... more »

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Molly McCloskey]Best Questions: School Culture October 26, 2012 by Molly McCloskey We live in a parallel universe. Here at ASCD, we are committed to ensuring that each *child*, in each school and in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. And, one of the things we know for sure is that in order for that to happen for kids, the *adults* around them must also be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That parallel need is particularly striking this month as we... more »

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reformby thenotebook on Oct 26 2012 Posted in Latest news - COMMENTS (0)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - activism - community organizing - parent involvement - parent organizing - student activism - William Hite - Philadelphia Federation of Teachers - school closing *by Charlotte Pope* “We are in this together. This fight you are not fighting alone.” These are t... more »

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement: A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement by Constance Clark Location, location, location—it matters in real estate, and the harsh reality is, it matters in student achievement, too. While wealthy Americans can pay for private school or move to a top-ranked district in suburbia, countless other parents are left with their neighborhood public school default. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. But what if the choice is not good enough? Montg... more »

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network #UCDAVIS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network: Education: The Blueprint for Change By Linda Katehi When it comes to being an architect of change, I don't know of any more effective blueprint than education. It opens our eyes to the magic and possibility of the world and gives us the knowledge and tools we need to make something happen for ourselves and our communities. When I was a young girl growing up on Salamis Island off the coast of Greece, I didn't know anything about how to escape the poverty I saw and make a life for myself. But my mother did... more »

UPDATE: Diane in the Evening 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Charter Plan to Privatize Public Education in San Antonio by dianerav With a favorable rightwing privatizing climate in Texas and bipartisan support in Washington, a group of charters have proposed a bold plan to take over one fourth of all the students in San Antonio. The time is right for privatization on a grand scle. Is Douglas County, Colorado, on the Cutting Edge of Reform? by dianerav EduShyster is always on the lookout for the leading lights of “reform.” Is Douglas County, Colorado, the one? Break open a box of wine and enjoy. The Business Model Doe... more »

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money): Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money) Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 1:44 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » How’s this for outrageous? The principal of a charter school in Orange County, Fla., received a check for $519,453.36 in taxpayer money after the district school board agreed to let the school voluntarily close rather than be shut down for poor performance. According to a stor... more »

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed* Alice Walton of the Walton family, who are big contributors to the proliferation of charter schools and vouchers, is the same Alice Walton who has contributed $1.7M, and counting, to the charter school Initiative 1240 in Washington State. The Walton’s are investing ... more »

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) *In schools for the rich, children get taught. In schools for the poor, children get tested. -- Diane Ravitch* I just not got to watch the entire video of Diane Ravitch's recent talk at the City Club. I wish I had been there. Every moment of it is a devastating indictment of the status quo. I've seen people who can speak intelligently about many of these issues, but there is nobody that I know of who can speak about *all* of them in such clear ter... more »

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education: Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? Posted on October 26, 2012 by Shane Vander Hart Restoring Oklahoma Public Education released their report about Oklahoma’s P20 councilwhich is a follow-up to an earlier paper they wrote that analyzed recent education reforms and how they impacted student privacy (see below). How Much Data is Enough Data? What happens to privacy when bureaucracies exceed their scope? Here is th

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?: Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? by jonpelto Senators Cassano and Williams (Photo courtesy of Christine Stuart) Following a press conference, yesterday, by State Senators Don Williams and Steve Cassano, the former chief of staff for the Connecticut Republican Party, and managing director of Voters for Good Government, admitted to Connecticut media outlets that television ads are going to be run against certain Democratic State S... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg by Melissa Westbrook [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] In the latest in how to lose public education dollars, this story from NBC News. (I'll call out in red how this parallels I-1240.) *A Florida state senator is calling for an investigation into the payout of more than $500,000 to the principal of a failed Orange County charter school.* *A school board chairman bla... more »

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Kris Nielsen.* This post was originally published here on his blog, Middle Grades Mastery. I love teaching. Or, I did love teaching. I loved teaching when my job was to teach. Now, I don't love teaching, because my job is no longer teaching. Was that introduction awkward enough? That's kind of how my job feels: awkward, frustrating, backwards, stifling, and redundant. Breaking away from the comparison to the introduction, I'd ... more »

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky: Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. by Fred Klonsky The Illinois Teacher Retirement System board of trustees is wrapping up their meeting today. Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery’s call for the firing of TRS Executive Director Richard Ingram has been met so far with silence. It could happen today. I hear they will meet in executive session at some point to discuss Ingram. You may recall that several weeks ago Ingram gave an interview to Crain’s where he stron... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Calling All Pro Bono Lawyers by dianerav A reader just raised an interesting question offline. He lives in New Jersey, where the state constitution requires that the state provide a “thorough and efficient” public education. New Jersey officials today are doing their best to dismantle and privatize the state’s public education system. Are they violating their oath of office? What does it say in other state constitutions where the privatizers are busy dismantling the public system for fun, power, profit and ide... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 26, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *No* On *32*: Stop Special Exemptions Education Headlines *Friday, October 26, 2012* Encinitas school district changes website following campaigning complaintA San Diego man has complained to the Encinitas Union School District that its website has inappropriate campaign material supporting tax propositions on the November ballot. Galt elementary school district board increases developer feesOver the next five years, Galt Joint Union Elementary School District estimated it will need room for an additional 106 new students due to n... more »

Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’: Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 4:00 am Wisconsin cows Another day, another state comes up with another cockamamie way to grade schools for “accountability” purposes. In this post Gene V. Glass, Regents’ Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University and senior researcher at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s National Education Policy Center, looks at the very large problems with Wisconsin’s new Overall Accountability Index mea... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – News Analysis: Election fallout will claim many important, less visible projects

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: News Analysis: Election fallout will claim many important, less visible projects *By Tom Chorneau* Friday, October 26, 2012 With everything else schools have riding on next month’s election, progress on many less obvious but still critical programs and projects will also be jeopardized if voters turn down tax measures on Nov. 6. The work of updating California’s teacher performance assessment, for example, could be set back as education programs statewide brace for another round of big cuts. The testing, designed to measure a new teacher cand...more »

Daily Kos: Rubi at 100: still teaching

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Daily Kos: Rubi at 100: still teaching: Rubi at 100: still teaching by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Four years ago I mentioned in a diary the women who had first taught me cello more than half a century ago, and persuaded my sister and myself to go to what was then National Music Camp in Interlochen Michigan, which she herself had attended in 1929. A few days later I got an email from her daughter, who happened to have googled her mom and found my post, and who informed me her mother, then 96, was still teaching. On October 19 Rubi Wentzel turned 100. Her daughter Leslie Krikoria... more »

Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development | toteachornototeach: Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development by aristotlethewise *Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development * A paper delivered at the annual Society for Neuroscientists meeting contended that there was a relationship between income and educational attainment of the parents and the development of their child’s brain – especially areas used in learning, memory and stress processing. The researchers studied brain scans of children wh... more »

Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? :: Frederick M. Hess: Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? *by Frederick M. Hess • Oct 26, 2012 at 7:03 am Cross-posted from Education Week* Print Send RSS [image: Share] Share The *NYT*'s Thomas Friedman is at it again. Last Sunday, with his customary humility, he opined in "Obama's Best-Kept Secrets," "While I don't know how Obamacare will come out, I'm certain that my two favorite Obama initiatives will be transformative." One of the two was Race to the Top (the other was the President's push to boo... more »

Report: weighted student formula alone not enough | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Report: weighted student formula alone not enough | EdSource Today: Report: weighted student formula alone not enough ** October 26th, 2012 | 4 Comments | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services Less experienced, lower paid teachers tend to teach in schools with the poorest children, while veteran, higher paid teachers work predominantly in schools with fewer needy children, contributing to significant funding disparities among schools within most of the state’s largest school districts. That gap wouldn’t neces... more »

Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America | EduShyster: Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America by edushyster2012 Pioneers for excellence and choice break ground on what will be the 13th charter school in Douglas County, Colorado, the rephormiest place in America. Reader: nothing brings me more joy each day than the arrival of the EduShyster mailbag. Will it contain a shiny alert from one of the interchangeable #edreform PAC-lets, trumpeting vaguely and ominously about parents’ rights? Or perhaps there is to be news of a fresh new study boldly claiming the need for fr... more »

High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open Source - US News and World Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open Source - US News and World Report: High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open SourceEducators can download free teaching materials and get paid to share their lessons. By KELSEY SHEEHY October 26, 2012 RSS Feed Print [image: Teachers can share lesson plans with colleagues nationwide using sites such as Share My Lesson and Teachers Pay Teachers.] Teachers can share lesson plans with colleagues nationwide using sites such as Share My Lesson. For a high school French teacher looking for a creative approach to verb conjugation, new lesson plans are ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Abyss

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

School Tech Connect: The Abyss: The Abyss by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) It does not surprise me that they're just throwing money at people and not even tracking it. That's how these things work. In Florida, state officials had no records of which schools received federal grant money nor which schools received on-site monitoring and audits. Florida received $67.6 million. Seriously, go read the entire story. DOE has given away almost a billion dollars to charter schools since 2008, and yet there's this: Additionally, the audit, which was conducted by San Francisco-based educ... more »

NYC Educator: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

NYC Educator: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich by NYC Educator Yesterday a girl in my class got a 44 on my test. It freaked me out a little, because the test was fairly easy. In fact, it was a multiple choice test, which I don't usually give, and she filled in eight "E" answers, though the options were only A, B, C, and D. This is the third test I've given this year. She was absent for the first one, and was out for three days in a row. In the rush of beginning the year, I failed to follow up ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240 by Charlie Mas [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] Crosscut is running two articles on I-1240, one in favor and one opposed. They are worth reading if only because the article in favor demonstrates the naive and thoughtless acceptance of every myth and marketing line offered by the proponents of charters. The person writing in favor of the initiative is a voucher advocate living in a rural area. He doesn't know what he talking about and he obviously hasn't given any of it much though... more »

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green: Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green 26 OCTOBER 2012 52 NO COMMENT *(A guest post by Dr. Doug Green at http://www.drdouggreen.com/).* ** * * * * With all of the news about Lance Armstrong, who seems to be the poster boy for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), I think it’s time to look at how this situation impacts schools. School districts in many districts have been testing high school students for a while to see it they are engaged in the kind of cheating ... more »

Schools Matter: TRACK ME!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Schools Matter: TRACK ME!: TRACK ME! by Jim Horn When corporate education antiquarians reformers talk about the virtues of charter schools, high on their list is charter freedom from bureaucratic red tape and regulations that rule the "government" schools. Without such restrictions, the story goes, charter schools are free to innovate, adapt to changing needs locally, and improve learning. Sounds great, right? What this means in reality is that charter school corporations, both nonprofit and forprofit, are unconstrained in opening schools in any discarded shell of a building, w... more »

Mississippi School Charged With Arresting Kids For Flatulence, Wrong Color Socks, Breaking Pencils

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

School-To-Prison Pipeline Lawsuits - Business Insider: * * *Mississippi School Charged With Arresting Kids For Flatulence, Wrong Color Socks, Breaking Pencils* [image: young boy in prison] The Justice Department is taking a stand against an educational policy in Mississippi that incarcerates kids for just being kids. The department says in its lawsuit that officials in the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County "routinely arrest students without determining whether there is probable cause when a school wants to press charges, and the students are routinely jailed," The Associated Pr... more »

An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs « Student Activism

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs « Student Activism: An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs by Angus Johnston On Wednesday, students at Wilberforce University, a small historically black college just outside of Dayton Ohio, gave a demonstration of what student power can mean. Fed up with the college’s failure to address its longstanding problems, than three hundred of the school’s five hundred enrolled students marched on Wilberforce’s administrative offices to request transfer applications. Some ... more »

Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas by larrycuban As a high school history teacher and district superintendent, I had to learn the differences between problems and dilemmas because the former required solutions and the latter required compromises. As a researcher and professor, I worked with K-12 teachers, principals, school board members and superintendents in distinguishing between problems and dilemmas when it came to figuring out school reforms and getting into complexities of classroom prac... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"?: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"? by stlgretchen Suess was writing about personal journeys, not about data determining those personal journeys "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" Remember the Dr. Suess book with that name? It's a book given to many graduates as they enter the world. It's a book about choices, change, risk and growth a young boy faces as he explores life. Excerpts from a summary of "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" from suite101.com: *Oh The... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: More Resources On Different Cultures Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 9 hours ago Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures (I’m also add that entire “The Best” list to The Best Geography Sites For Beginning & Intermediate English Language Learners): Chinese families’ worldly goods … Continue reading → “Quicklinkr” Looks Like It Could Be Useful For Many Purposes Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 9 hours ago ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why?: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why? by Mike Klonsky An article in the Oct. 17 Nation by Matthew Cunningham-Cook, asks the question, "Why Do Some of America's Wealthiest Individuals Have Fingers in Louisiana's Education System?" *As Naomi Klein detailed in The Shock Doctrine, post-Katrina New Orleans has been Ground Zero for efforts to privatize schools and weaken teacher unions—hallmarks of education reform. After the hurricane, the vast majority of New Orleans publ... more »

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

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