Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 10-30-12 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS


Modern School: California Schools Not Providing Free, Safe Drinking Water

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 minutes ago
Modern School: California Schools Not Providing Free, Safe Drinking Water: California Schools Not Providing Free, Safe Drinking Water by Michael Dunn Several recent state and federal laws now require schools to provide free, fresh drinking water wherever meals are served or eaten. Free water in meal areas not only benefits students who cannot afford flavored beverages or who do not like milk, it encourages all students to drink water, which is a healthier choice than juice or soda. While providing free, fresh water in meal areas seems like a no-brainer, 25% of California school... more »

Everyone in my Brooklyn family is okay this morning. I’m thinking of the others who may not have fared so well. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 minutes ago
Everyone in my Brooklyn family is okay this morning. I’m thinking of the others who may not have fared so well. « Fred Klonsky: Everyone in my Brooklyn family is okay this morning. I’m thinking of the others who may not have fared so well. by Fred Klonsky Thank goodness for Twitter, Facebook and email. Thank goodness for old fashion telephones. Both cellular and landlines. My daughters, my son-in-law and daughter-in law, my grandkids and other in-laws and nephews – all live in New York. Most in Brooklyn. Lots to worry about yesterday and last night. That I was in constant contact ... more »

Schools Matter: Newark Teachers: Reject Weingarten's Betrayal Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 32 minutes ago
Schools Matter: Newark Teachers: Reject Weingarten's Betrayal Teachers: Newark Teachers: Reject Weingarten's Betrayal Teachers by Jim Horn Everywhere AFT's lead lawyer goes to "help" negotiate for teachers, she leaves a wake of destruction for the profession. But, then, that is what she is paid to do, as she works off her debt to Bloomberg and the plutocrats for making her president of AFT in the first place. In Newark, she has now added to her impressive list of betrayals by cutting a deal with Cory Booker and the Facebook chief twink to offer a meritless bonus pay plan that ha... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Masters of disaster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 41 minutes ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Masters of disaster: Masters of disaster by Mike Klonsky Oyster Creek Such a pretty name. Wait, what? MYFOXNY.COM *- An alert was declared at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey because of water exceeding certain high water level criteria in the plant's water intake structure, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Oyster Creek plant is in Lacey Township, N.J. It gets its cooling water from the Barnegat Bay. It is the nation's oldest nuclear power plant.* Republicans are begging that Sandy not be "politicized". Who ... more »

Challenging Assumptions About Educating 'Those Children' - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago
Challenging Assumptions About Educating 'Those Children' - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Challenging Assumptions About Educating 'Those Children' by Pedro Noguera Pedro Noguera Deborah Meier Deborah Meier—visionary teacher and founder of successful small schools in New York City and Boston—and Pedro Noguera—author and director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education—debate issues relevant to schools, teachers, and students. Dear Deborah, Thanks for the updates from Belgium. I knew things must be hard there given the prolonged recession, but I am glad to hear that p... more »

Stop Saying "Entrepreneur" - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 43 minutes ago
Stop Saying "Entrepreneur" - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Stop Saying "Entrepreneur" by Nancy Flanagan One of the best blogs I've read in a long time--with bonus points for the headline--was written by Katie Osgood, the Chicago special education teacher who penned *Paul Tough is Way Off Base. And Stop Saying 'Grit.'*Osgood's piece points out that Tough's "new" premise--character matters more than data upticks in eventual outcomes for American kids--is hardly a novelty, or surprising to teachers. And "grit," the buzzword that summarizes student perseverance... more »

The Missing Link « My Island View

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
The Missing Link « My Island View: The Missing Link by tomwhitby One of the many things that I love about my job is my freedom to attend national education conferences for the purpose of meeting with educators and commenting on trends and changes in the education system many of which are introduced, and explored at these conferences. I wish I could say that I could objectively report on the influences these conferences have on education, but my personal bias as a long, long time public educator prevents that from happening. I will always view these through the eyes of a classroom... more »

Powerful Coalition Opposes NCLB Waivers in New Jersey - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Powerful Coalition Opposes NCLB Waivers in New Jersey - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Powerful Coalition Opposes NCLB Waivers in New Jersey by Anthony Cody A remarkable coalition of individuals and organizations, many of them with deep roots in the African American and Latino communities, is calling upon the Department of Education to abandon plans to implement new policies associated with NCLB waivers in the state of New Jersey. In the past, some leaders in the African American and Latino communities have supported NCLB, believing it would result in improved outcom... more »

DHS Proposes Cybersecurity Education to Begin in Kindergarten

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
DHS Proposes Cybersecurity Education to Begin in Kindergarten: DHS Proposes Cybersecurity Education to Begin in KindergartenWritten by Brian Koenig - font size [image: decrease font size] [image: increase font size] - Print [image: DHS Proposes Cybersecurity Education to Begin in Kindergarten] In an effort to embolden the next generation of cyber professionals, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is devising an initiative to encourage and equip young Americans with knowledge and skills in the science of cybersecurity. Writing a blog entitled, “Inspiring the Next Gene... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-30-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Conservative Think Tank: Unions Are Powerful and Dangerous by dianerav Teachers these days are confused by the high volume of attacks on the profession. Members of teachers’ unions are beset by the frequent, virulent attacks on the very idea of collective bargaining. In conservative states, governors and legislatures are doing whatever they can to weaken or eliminate collective bargaining. Two Hollywood movies in the past two years have cast the unions as the evil force that protects incompetent, lazy teach... more »

Taiwan tries to recruit California students to its universities | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Taiwan tries to recruit California students to its universities | toteachornototeach: Taiwan tries to recruit California students to its universities by aristotlethewise *Taiwan tries to recruit California students to its universities * *Taiwan’s minister of education,Wei-Ling Chiang, travels to California * *to encourage Taiwanese American students to enroll at its universities.* By Frank Shyong Taiwan’s minister of education, Wei-Ling Chiang, traveled toCalifornia last week to address a rarely discussed trade imbalance with theUnited States. “Just 3,561 American-born students are en... more »

UPDATE: Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson's column is about more than FEMA

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson's column is about more than FEMA: Eugene Robinson's column is about more than FEMA by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) His column, Romney would pass the buck on disasters, has the FEMA aspects of it featured in the Pundit Roundup on the Front Page. But Romney's attitude on FEMA is only part of it, because his attitude on this agency is emblematic of his attitude towards the Federal government as a whole. The title given the column by the editors does not fully represent the content. Here are three key paragraphs from the column: Most disastrously, this is ...more »

Boards, teachers must be careful to toe the line on advocacy | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Boards, teachers must be careful to toe the line on advocacy | EdSource Today: Boards, teachers must be careful to toe the line on advocacy ** October 30th, 2012 | Add a Comment | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services The humanities professor from California State University, Monterey Bay who was sued by the conservative Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association this month for urging his students in an email to vote for the tax initiative Proposition 30 ran afoul of the state law (Government Code Section 8314) that... more »

Reform ‘insanity’ in a single chart

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Reform ‘insanity’ in a single chart: Reform ‘insanity’ in a single chart Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 30, 2012 at 5:00 am Insanity is sometimes defined as doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Below is what Paul T**homas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina, calls his “insanity chart” that starkly shows the problems facing public schools and the (same) approach taken to fix it by the “no excuses” brand of school reform espoused by Michelle Rhee and her supporters. This was first published on theScho... more »

Our Schools Are Not Broken. Letter To The EditorSave Our Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Our Schools Are Not Broken. Letter To The EditorSave Our Schools: Our Schools Are Not Broken. Letter To The Editor by Server [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] The Yakima Herald Endorses YES on 1240 – A Tool to Improve Our Public Schools: Jane Watson writes TO THE EDITOR:Your editorial on Oct. 24 (“I-1240 would offer a tool that could help fix state schools”) had a false premise. OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT BROKEN. When scores are disaggregated for poverty, the US is one of the top countries internationally on the PISA Internationally. PISA (Program for International Student Assessmen... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: "I'm just no good at kindergarten, just no good at all.”

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: "I'm just no good at kindergarten, just no good at all.”: "I'm just no good at kindergarten, just no good at all.” by stlgretchen Students, get ready to test, test, test! Teachers must prepare 5 year old children for the workforce! Yesterday we wrote about a teacher who quit because of common core standards, top down testing and administrators who cared more about testing results than authentic learning. Today we feature a story from Chicago and a mother's observation on her kindergartner's classroom. It's truly heartbreaking. This is a story that ... more »

Can Educators Learn from “The Corner Office”? « InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Can Educators Learn from “The Corner Office”? « InterACT: Can Educators Learn from “The Corner Office”? by David B. Cohen How can business management ideas be applied in education? Pick your adverb. [image: adverbs]One of the topics I’ve returned to now and then in the past couple years concerns the applicability of business and management principles in education. Too often when we hear business people lecturing educators about business, they’re envisioning a rigid hierarchical system built on simplistic notions of threat and reward. In their view, teachers need incentives to work... more »

Reflections of Teacher Ken NYTimes: A Big Storm Requires Big Government

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
*Reflections of Teacher Ken* *Dkos piece on Times eidtorial @Dailykos is down right now - so is Alternet so all you get is **Reflections of Teacher Ken* NYTimes: A Big Storm Requires Big Government by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Their editorial makes the argument for what big government does at the same time it takes Mitt Romney and Congressional Republicans apart. IT begins like this: ost Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but they’re lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergen... more »

Remember Your Place - Vote November 6

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
*Remember Your Place - Vote November 6* * * [image: Secretary of State banner] November 6, 2012, General Election ------------------------------ Election Information - Governor's Proclamation (pdf ~63KB) - Qualifications for Running for Office - General Election Calendar (pdf ~56KB) - Complete - 2012 California Election Calendar - Official Voter Information Guide - Random Alphabet Drawing (pdf ~40KB) Candidate Information - Certified List of Candidates (pdf ~513KB) - Certified List of Candidates - Abbreviated List (pdf ~88KB) - List of Nominated Candi... more »

Pass / Fail : Credit rating for California school districts could be downgraded if Props 30 & 38 fail | 89.3 KPCC

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Pass / Fail : Credit rating for California school districts could be downgraded if Props 30 & 38 fail | 89.3 KPCC: Credit rating for California school districts could be downgraded if Props 30 & 38 fail by By Vanessa Romo [image: Prop 30 and 38] *The fate of pro-education Propositions 30 and 38 will be decided by voters on Nov. 6. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images* Public support for Propositions 30 and 38 is plummeting despite expansive, and expensive, campaign efforts across the state by their respective champions: Governor Jerry Brown and attorney and millionaire-ess Molly Munge... more »

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat: This Week’s #PTchat by Larry Ferlazzo Guest post by Joe Mazza Image credit: http://www.becoming1.orgOn a typical Wednesday night, we hold a Parent-Teacher chat on an important and timely home-school topic. This week, we’re providing a special 60-day school year check-in and opening up the conversation to your individual and school needs. Think about the following. What does your class or school struggle with in engaging families? Need to throw an idea out there to the rest of the PTchat community? What would take your home-school e... more »

“Right” and “Left” depend on context « JD2718

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
“Right” and “Left” depend on context « JD2718: “Right” and “Left” depend on context by jd2718 Picking a fight with a comic strip? Yup. And xkcd, at that. [image: Congress]Randall Munroe has done a superb job creating vertical time lines for the House and Senate, showing the ebb and flow of different parties. Look here, it’s really cool. But left and right change meaning over time. Different place, different time, different context. The slaveholders were to the left and the abolitionists to the right? Whoa, Nelly, er Randall. In today’s context, the Republicans are on the right. Bu... more »

Homeless Endure Hurricane Sandy In New York City: 'I Can Survive Just Like This'

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Homeless Endure Hurricane Sandy In New York City: 'I Can Survive Just Like This': Homeless Endure Hurricane Sandy In New York City: 'I Can Survive Just Like This' by Joy Resmovits NEW YORK -- As Hurricane Sandy hurtled toward New York City on Monday, Eduardo Acevedo, 57, sat in an empty lot just steps from the Hudson River. Straight ahead of him was the overcast skyline of New Jersey. Behind him, a panorama of glassy, doormanned buildings owned by Donald Trump. It was almost 12:30 p.m., and the city Department of Sanitation was shutting down Riverside Park, kicking out a group ... more »

Will the Common Core Lead to a Common Calendar? | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Will the Common Core Lead to a Common Calendar? | Truth in American Education: Will the Common Core Lead to a Common Calendar? by Shane Vander Hart Last night during our Truth in American Education participant conference call somebody had a great question. Will the Common Core with its requisite assessments move states to a common calendar as well? NeitherSmarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) or Partnership of Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) have stated when tests will be administered, but in terms of data collection they will likely specify tim... more »

Win, Lose, or Draw? Chicago Teachers Reach Agreement | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Win, Lose, or Draw? Chicago Teachers Reach Agreement | Dailycensored.com: Win, Lose, or Draw? Chicago Teachers Reach Agreement by gues twriter Emma Irving Does the agreement between the Chicago Teacher’s Union and the city represent a win for the labor movement? After over a week of striking and a year of contract negotiations, Chicago teacher’s have voted to return to the classroom, accepting a contract agreement that represents partial negotiations on both sides. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been pushing for a longer school day and a longer school year, has added an hour and 15 ... more »

Diane in the Evening 10-29-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: New Orleans Students Demand True Reform by dianerav In all the hype and spin about the privatization of education in New Orleans, no one has heard from students. Various special-interest claim to speak for them, say “it’s all about the kids.” Some raise millions of dollars from corporations and ideologues by claiming to be student advocates. It turns out that students have their own views and need no surrogates. Silent no more. High school students are speaking out. They are holding a rally on October 30 at 5:30 pm to insist that they be heard. See the det... more »

The fight for Chicago’s schools continues. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
The fight for Chicago’s schools continues. « Fred Klonsky: The fight for Chicago’s schools continues. by Fred Klonsky From the Chicago Teachers Union. CPS plans to close up to 100 schools in our neighborhoods while finding cash to open 60 more politically-connected charter schools. Our students deserve small class size, more arts, computer technology, and physical education. Join hundreds of parents, educators, and community activists as we tell the mayor to put our students before his political supporters! Save our Schools! Immediate Moratorium on School Closures and Charter Exp... more »

HOW TO USE PERDAILY AS A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR LAUSD BAD ACTS - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
HOW TO USE PERDAILY AS A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR LAUSD BAD ACTS - Perdaily.com: HOW TO USE PERDAILY AS A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR LAUSD BAD ACTS by Leonard Isenberg [image: Lennyjpg.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) After 3 years and the writing of 472 posts at perdaily, you now have a comprehensive reference database for anybody who is interested in documenting the premeditated and purposeful failing of public education by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and school districts like it around th... more »

Educational Courage [Book]Save Our Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Educational Courage [Book]Save Our Schools: Educational Courage [Book] by Server Educational Courage About the Book *“This book helps us to be audacious in our activism and in our vision.*” —from the Foreword by Deborah Meier Lost amid the debate over educational policies are the stories of the educators, parents, and students who are most affected by legislation such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. In *Educational Courage*, veteran educators and activists Nancy Schniedewind and Mara Sapon-Shevin bring together the voices of those who are resisting market-driven initia... more »

19th Ward Parents leader on chaos in Chicago Public Schools | Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
19th Ward Parents leader on chaos in Chicago Public Schools | Parents Across America: 19th Ward Parents leader on chaos in Chicago Public Schools by pureparents By Becky Malone Guest Commentary October 26, 2012 (originally published in Daily Southtown newspaper) [image: Malone] There is a plague spreading through the Chicago Public Schools. It has left in its wake a score of school closures and school turnarounds, an unfunded longer school day lacking adequate resources to support high-quality education and the first teachers strike in a quarter century — a bitter fight to ensure ...more »

TRS board of trustees restates what it said in March. Silent on Ingram. Are you reassured? Me neither. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
TRS board of trustees restates what it said in March. Silent on Ingram. Are you reassured? Me neither. « Fred Klonsky: TRS board of trustees restates what it said in March. Silent on Ingram. Are you reassured? Me neither. by Fred Klonsky *Springfield, IL – The Teachers’ Retirement System Board of Trustees today issued the following statement regarding the on-going debate in the General Assembly concerning an overhaul of the state’s pension code:* *“The Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System reiterates and reaffirms its resolution of March 30, 2012 (as amended on April... more »

“Won’t Back Down”: A movie that is out to undermine public education is playing now at a theater near you.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
“Won’t Back Down”: A movie that is out to undermine public education is playing now at a theater near you.: “Won’t Back Down”: A movie that is out to undermine public education is playing now at a theater near you. More blog posts from David William MONDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2012 13:33 0 Comments By David William. The movie “Won’t Back Down” is a movie promoted by “Students First” with ulterior political, social and financial motives. The “Students First” web site (www.studentsfirst.org) is pushing the movie hard and sending out email blast such as the following one from Michelle Rhee the... more »

Work and its Discontents « Deborah Meier on Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Work and its Discontents « Deborah Meier on Education: Work and its Discontents from Deborah Meier Homepage by debmeier While reading the underlying “debate” between various trade-union allies of mine, I sense a tension that isn’t being sufficiently addressed. It’s a FACT that trade unions were formed to further the interests of their members, including their varied interests. Even the old craftsman’s unions weren’t only interested in whether they made enough money but they also wanted to create a “profession” which produced good work. They didn’t want their high quality work to ... more »

Why Obama’s leading education critic will vote for him

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Why Obama’s leading education critic will vote for him: Why Obama’s leading education critic will vote for him Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 29, 2012 at 3:53 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » (Pablo Martinez Monsivais–Associated Press) For the past several years education historian Diane Ravitch has been the leading critic of President Obama’s school reform policies. A former assistant secretary of education in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush, and an early suppor... more »

What’s At Stake in This Election « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
What’s At Stake in This Election « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: What’s At Stake in This Election by millerlf by Larry Miller If my uncle Al were alive today, even he would be taken aback by the brazen actions of the Republican Party. Al was a small business owner in Sauk City, Wisconsin, who believed in the common good while supporting Republican business policies. Today’s Republican Party initiatives are not just an exercise in conservatism, but instead a move to the extreme right, an attack on democratic institutions and blatant disregard of the personal rights of... more »

This Boston High School Program Confronts the Post-Racial Delusion Head On | Health on GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
This Boston High School Program Confronts the Post-Racial Delusion Head On | Health on GOOD: This Boston High School Program Confronts the Post-Racial Delusion Head On Thanks to a recent Associated Press poll we know that simply electing someone black to the highest office in the land isn't the key to improving race relations in the United States. According to this data, since President Obama's election, racial attitudes in the United States have not only*not* magically improved, a slight majority of white Americans harbor racial prejudice toward both blacks and Latinos, even if th... more »

RheeFirst! » “Hey lobbyist, leave them kids alone!”

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
RheeFirst! » “Hey lobbyist, leave them kids alone!”: “Hey lobbyist, leave them kids alone!” by admin Written by Justin Vernold for The Daily Star. Read the entire article here. “*There is no doubt that the performance of U.S. students against their international counterparts continues to disappoint. But since the reasons for this are so difficult to pin down, a parade of self-proclaimed experts and “reformers” has emerged in recent years, touting the urgency of their proposed solutions – never mind if they require redirecting streams of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of their ... more »

CTU launches Website to Educate Public about School Closings Ι movechicagoschoolsforward.com |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Home Ι Home Ι movechicagoschoolsforward.com |: *CTU launches Website to Educate Public about School Closings* * * *MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com is a new online resource for parents, activists and students* *CHICAGO –* In the ongoing battle with the Chicago Board of Education to give students, parents and teachers the resources needed to strengthen public education and stop school closings, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) today unveiled a new online advocacy campaign which provides education justice and labor allies the tools designed to influence the ongoing debate about what’s... more »

Failing charter finally closes and principal collects a cool half million. Why oversight ought to be important. | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Failing charter finally closes and principal collects a cool half million. Why oversight ought to be important. | Get Schooled: Failing charter finally closes and principal collects a cool half million. Why oversight ought to be important. by Maureen Downey [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] I just spoke at the Atlanta Rotary Club meeting about the charter school amendment on next week’s ballot. One point that came up was whether the state had sufficient monitors/regulators in place to keep tabs on the charter schools it will approve if the charter school ... more »

Letter to Diane Ravitch on Wisconsin’s Voucher Hustle « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Letter to Diane Ravitch on Wisconsin’s Voucher Hustle « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Letter to Diane Ravitch on Wisconsin’s Voucher Hustle by millerlf Diane Ravitch on Starting a Voucher School in Wisconsin A reader writes from Wisconsin: *After our Act 10 passed in Wisconsin, a few of my colleagues and I looked into what it would take to take our game to the private sector and start a voucher school in our town. What we learned was that it would be perfectly legal for us to rent an abandoned storefront in our town and lure students in with the promise of free techno... more »

Chart: Life Without Prop. 30 - LA School Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Chart: Life Without Prop. 30 - LA School Report: Post navigationChart: Life Without Prop. 30 Posted on October 29, 2012 by LA School Report This analysis published in the*Daily News* points out that the $6 billion in cuts that the Governor has threatened if Prop. 30 doesn’t pass are only “cuts” because they were pre-built into the budget by over-optimistic politicians and could be addressed through other means than solely cutting 15-20 days of school as has been reported, and that school funding (red line in this chart) would still rise in future years thanks to economic growth (j... more »

An Important Message from Diane Ravitch | California Father

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
An Important Message from Diane Ravitch | California Father: [image: California Father] An Important Message from Diane Ravitch by California Father Please consider signing this petition. Several states plan to share confidential student data with a corporation funded by the Gates Foundation. This information may be shared with other entities, for purposes that are not clear. As parents, grandparents and educators, we must protect our children’s rights to privacy. We expect schools to understand the needs of children. We do not expect them to share this information with corporations... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Chris Cerf: Political Animal

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Chris Cerf: Political Animal: Chris Cerf: Political Animal by Duke Ken Libby publishes an email trail that ought to interest all New Jersey educators. The exchange is between NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf and Leadership for Educational Equity, the emerging political arm of Teach For America. TFA likes to pretend it is a teacher recruiting program, giving a whopping five weeks of training to its members before sending them off to the hardest teaching assignments. What's become clear is that TFA is really a political organization: after two or three years of actual t... more »

How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison: How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison *By Amber M. Winkler, Ph.D. , Janie Scull , Dara Zeehandelaar, Ph.D. / October 29, 2012* ** *Foreword by Chester E. Finn, Jr. , Michael J. Petrilli* *Filed under: Teachers* This timely study represents the most comprehensive analysis of American teacher unions’ strength ever conducted, ranking all fifty states and the District of Columbia according to the power and influence of their state-level unions. To assess union strength, the Fordham Institute and E... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, October 29, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
[image: Parents Can!] FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Monday, October 29, 2012* Poway schools chief nets top pay packageThe top compensated superintendent in the county is John Collins of Poway Unified, a district that made national news this year with a $105 million bond deal that will cost taxpayers ten times that amount to pay back over 40 years. 'New' Anaheim school marks decade-long effortLincoln Elementary students will return to their newly rebuilt school in January, marking the final project funded after Anaheim City School Distric... more »

Leading and Changing School Culture — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Leading and Changing School Culture — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Podcast][image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Leading and Changing School Culture October 29, 2012 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers Download Podcast Now [Right-Click to Save] Michael Fullan wrote about the principal's role in leading sustainable cultural change in schools (and school districts) in the May 2002 issue of *Educational Leadership* saying, "An organization cannot flourish—at least, not for long—on the actions of the top leader alone. Schools and districts need many leaders at many levels. ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Romney (Ann, not Mitt) Weighs in on Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Romney (Ann, not Mitt) Weighs in on Education: Romney (Ann, not Mitt) Weighs in on Education by Melissa Westbrook Would you like to know what Ann Romney thinks about public education in the U.S.? From an interview in Good Housekeeping via Daily Kos, she asked about the issue closest to her heart: I've been a First Lady of the State. I have seen what happens to people's lives if they don't get a proper education. And we know the answers to that. The charter schools have provided the answers. The teachers' unions are preventing those things from h... more »

Schools Matter: Romney's Education Plan

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Schools Matter: Romney's Education Plan: Romney's Education Plan by Judy Rabin

Daily Kos: Keeping an eye on the Latino vote

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Daily Kos: Keeping an eye on the Latino vote: Keeping an eye on the Latino vote by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) If as I do you follow Latino Decisions, you would yesterday have found out that 8 percent of Latinos have already voted early, enthusiasm up again in final week. There are some important takeaways in this post and the related polling data upon which I would like to focus: Forty-five percent of Latino voters say they are more enthusiastic about voting in 2012 compared to 2008. That number is up from 37% from ten weeks ago when the initial impreMedia-Latino Decisions ... more »

The Massachusetts Miracle | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
The Massachusetts Miracle | EduShyster: The Massachusetts Miracle by edushyster2012 UP Academy is a genuine miracle school, achieving miraculous results in its brief existence. Now UP has its sites set on one of Boston’s largest elementary schools, and the miracles have started already. Massachusetts is home to plenty of miracle schools, those wonder academies of excellence and innovation that teach EXACTLY THE SAME students as our union-stifled public schools but achieve miraculous results. One of these is working such marvels, such magic that it deserves a special stop on our wo... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – SPI Torlakson suggests districts assume role in some statewide testing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: SPI Torlakson suggests districts assume role in some statewide testing A white paper on the future of K-12 testing in California public schools, suggests some lower stakes assessments could be managed by local educational agencies instead of the state as a means of saving money. A white paper on the future of K-12 testing in California public schools, suggests some lower stakes assessments could be managed by local educational agencies instead of the state as a means of saving money. The report, issued late last week from state schools chief ... more »

The in box. CPS teacher’s letter to Newark teachers on lessons learned. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The in box. CPS teacher’s letter to Newark teachers on lessons learned. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. CPS teacher’s letter to Newark teachers on lessons learned. by Fred Klonsky Xian Barrett is a CPS teacher and CTU activist. *The Newark Teachers Union is facing a critical contract vote that was supposed to be Monday, October 28th although the hurricane is pushing back the date. It’s a particularly interesting vote in light of the emergence of the NEW (Newark Education Workers) Caucus as a group within the union opposing the contract and the current NTU leadership, along with Rand... more »

When Reporters Preach the Party Line :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
When Reporters Preach the Party Line :: Frederick M. Hess: When Reporters Preach the Party Line For more than a decade, I've regarded my pal Richard Colvin as one of the nation's best education reporters. But even the best of us whiff sometimes. And Richard's most recent monthly column for the *Phi Delta Kappan* ("Movement even during inaction") is a whiff that also sharply illuminates the bias that colors so much education coverage today. In a piece that doubles as an enthusiastic brief for President Obama's education efforts, Colvin serves up a raft of self-serving lines from Obam... more »






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