Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, October 22, 2012

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 10-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2


Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE



Is It Something I Said?: What We Say...What They Hear!



I received an email from a parent the other day. It wasn't a hostile email. It was written in a polite tone. It was just a parent trying to find out what was going on in my classroom regarding his daughter. If this happened with my kids, I probably would have written an email like it as well. I also really appreciated the fact that this parent sent the email to me, instead of going straight to my principal.

The email went something like this: "K" was very upset last night. She told her mother that you said to her "I 

A Note On The IVO-IPO Endorsements

At this moment I'm lying on the kitchen floor with a dog who is possibly at the end of her life, or possibly just sick. It's hard to tell with kidney disease.

It may be an all-nighter. I'm giving her drops of medicine and water from the tip of my finger.

I've been here before.

Anyway she has indicated that its's cool with her if I blog from my phone so that's what I'm going to do. 

Why Are Billionaires Funding School Board Races in Louisiana?

There are few investigative writers in education journalism these days. It is disturbingly rare to find writers who look behind the press releases, the hype and spin.
One place that cries out for investigative journalism is Louisiana, the locus for the most extreme privatization schemes. The governor is now imposing the New Orleans model on the entire state, and many hold up New 

Obama To Romney: Yes, We Have Fewer Ships Than 1916 – But Also Fewer Horses And Bayonets

Source: [b]Talking Points Memo[/b]

President Obama told Mitt Romney that he was out of touch on his criticism of the current military structure, at the foreign policy debate.

"But I think Gov. Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works," said Obama. "You me...

Romney, Obama Spar Over Education In Foreign Policy Debate

Much to the chagrin of moderator Bob Schieffer, Monday night's presidential debate took a decidedly domestic turn.

During a conversation about what America needs to do to remain internationally competitive, President Barack Obama took the opportunity to lace into Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney on teacher hiring.

"Governor Romney, when you were asked by teachers whether or not this would help the economy grow, you said this isn't going to help the economy grow," Obama said.

This dispute dates back to the last few months. The Republican presidential candidate mocked Obama in June 

Obama as Commander-in-Chief, Romney as Dithering Bully

I thought the third and last presidential debate was a clear win for the President. He displayed the...

Obama and Romney show stark differences on school funding

President Obama has tried to steer education policy in New Jersey and nationwide by dangling competitive grants in front of states that promised a raft of changes, such as raising standards, tying teacher evaluations to student growth and expanding charters.

It Took Less Than 30 Minutes for 'Horses and Bayonets' to Become a Meme

The final debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was bound to spawn a meme or two in in the hours after the debate. But actually, it only took a few minutes for the Internet to latch on to the zinger of all zingers. After Romney criticized the administration by claiming that the United States Navy has fewer ships today than it did in 1916, Obama seized the moment.
"You mention the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. "Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets," said the president. "We have these things called aircraft carriers and 




Petition site Change.org to accept corporate and conservative sponsors



The petition website Change.org plans to implement new “open” advertising guidelines, eliminating their policy of only partnering with those who shared their progressive values. The site’s new ad policy will “now be a Google-

Obama rips Romney on military size: ‘The question is not a game of battleship’



President Barack Obama laughed off Mitt Romney’s argument that he had weakened the military through downsizing by joking that it was only natural for advancements in technology to make obsolete older weapons—such as those from the Civil War. In a discussion about the size of the military,.

US leads world in downloading scientific articles: Evidence against the “STEM crisis”

US leads world in downloading scientific articles: Evidence against the “STEM crisis”
Stephen Krashen

Wang et al (2012) calculated the number of scientific articles downloaded over a 24 hour period (April 12, 2012) by individual country. Here are the top ten, with the number downloaded and the country’s share of the total, from Wang et. al. table 1.

United States: 61,361 (29.62%)
Germany 31,122 (15.02%)
China 19, 826 (9.57%)
UK 8066 (3.89%)
Japan 6915 (3.34%)
Canada 6752 (3.26%)
Australia 6020 (2.91%)
India 5552 (2.68%)
France 4880 (2.36%)
South Korea 4630 (2.23%)

The US was the clear winner. In terms of download


Does board delay in extending Davis’ contact in Atlanta signal a lasting estrangement?

I am unsure about Erroll Davis’ future as leader of APS after tonight’s decision by the Atlanta school board to hold off on extending his contract. The board met behind closed doors for three hours to discuss Davis and his contract.
Davis is still dealing with the fallout from his decision to remove six administrators from North Atlanta High, including principal Mark MyGrant. I continue to hear from North Atlanta parents who insist that Davis misled the public on why he removed the school administrators.
Those parents contend that Davis was both callous and careless in failing to consider the impact of his actions