Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 11-26-12 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, November 26, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Monday, November 26, 2012* Santa Cruz Mountains community debates redrawing school district linesThe dispute that has heated up the bucolic mountain community illustrates the difficulty in redrawing outdated boundary lines, even with arguments about educational or community benefits. Two Turlock elementary schools will get upgrades worth millionsJulien and Wakefield elementary schools are set to undergo some $6.3 million in modernization in the coming year. Turlock Unified School District approved the budget... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm stalls on revealing his school kill list (minus drones, we hope)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm stalls on revealing his school kill list (minus drones, we hope): Rahm stalls on revealing his school kill list (minus drones, we hope) by Mike Klonsky Rahm and his hand-picked school board can't afford drone warfare. But they have a *kill list* just the same, when it comes to schools in the city's most under-served neighborhoods. They just aren't showing it. In the face of growing community anger and protests, they've switched to stalling tactics and other tricks to get around Public Act 096-0803 which was supposed to “ensure that school facilit... more »

Charter schools withdraw applications from Portland Public Schools | OregonLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 44 minutes ago

Charter schools withdraw applications from Portland Public Schools | OregonLive.com: Charter schools withdraw applications from Portland Public Schools by Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] Organizers from two charter schools that had hoped to open their doors this fall in Portland Public Schools have withdrawn their applications. Representatives of READY Public Charter School and RISE Academy pulled their respective proposals after hearing concerns from the school board and district. Organizers from both schools said they woul... more »

Who does Jeb Bush think he’s kidding?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 51 minutes ago

Who does Jeb Bush think he’s kidding?: Who does Jeb Bush think he's kidding? by Valerie Strauss Anybody who follows education policy knows how influential Jeb Bush has been in states well beyond Florida, where, as governor from 1999-2007, he launched school reforms – Former Florida governor Jeb Bush. (By Sue Ogrocki – AP) including standardized test-based accountability for students and schools, the expansion of charter schools and vouchers, and a letter-grade (A-F) rating system for schools that has served as a model around the country. Nowhere has the Bush influence been as st...more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: A Primer on Standards Based Grading

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 57 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: A Primer on Standards Based Grading: A Primer on Standards Based Grading by Anngie Want to watch a teacher's blood pressure rise right before your eyes? Ask them what they think of Standards Based Grading. This is one of the zombies of education reform. It never really seems to die and keeps coming back to eat your brain. Some schools are trying to adopt it now as it is expected to be used in Common Core Assessments. For those who are unfamiliar with SBG, here are the basics. Numerical ratings are used rather than letter grades/percents. There are fou... more »

Evaluating Teachers on the Hidden Curriculum — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Evaluating Teachers on the Hidden Curriculum — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Paula Mirk]Evaluating Teachers on the Hidden Curriculum November 26, 2012 by Paula Mirk Teachers should be evaluated on the atmosphere they create in their classrooms and the degree of trust they have established with their students. Several findings from the Schools of Integrity and other research literature support examining both classroom culture and teacher-student relationships. *Classroom culture:* The hidden curriculum of a school starts in each individual classroom. Faculty sho... more »

12 questions to ask if you think you want a charter school in Seattle | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

12 questions to ask if you think you want a charter school in Seattle | Seattle Education: 12 questions to ask if you think you want a charter school in Seattle by seattleducation2011 The way that charter schools are promoted by big money, you’d think that all you have to do is snap your fingers, or sign a petition, and voila! a shiny new miracle school will appear. Not so. A charter school might appear but it will probably look very different from what you expected. There are questions that you need to ask yourself, your neighbors, other parents, school staff, school board members... more »

The Aesthetic Dimension of Education and Learning | Education | M.A.Escotet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

The Aesthetic Dimension of Education and Learning | Education | M.A.Escotet: The Aesthetic Dimension of Education and Learning by Miguel Angel Escotet Science and art, as dimensions of creative thought, are universal in nature and develop to the full in freedom. Science stimulates the cognitive processes of the individual involved and art the emotions, but the cognitive and emotional elements coexist in both. Through science it is possible to experience aesthetic enjoyment, and with art it is possible to develop knowledge unfettered. As a scientist myself, I consider essential f... more »

Ed Notes Online: Rockaway Update: Positively Dystopian

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Rockaway Update: Positively Dystopian: Rockaway Update: Positively Dystopian by ed notes online *But then I saw a light -- one store still standing seemed to be the HQ of Occupy Sandy with a big green sign saying "Global Warming?"* Monday, November 26, 2012 This is mostly cleaned up now Sunday morning I felt I was in the final scene of the original Planet of the Apes (spoiler alert) when Charlton Heston, who thinks he has been on another planet, comes upon a wrecked Statue of Liberty and realizes humanity had destroyed itself. We're a month into post Sandy. I have... more »

Kids and pets – it’s just natural – Pets in the Classroom Grants - Pet Grants, small pets, aquarium equipment

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Pet Grants, small pets, aquarium equipment: Kids and pets – it’s just natural – Pets in the Classroom Grants *Pets in the Classroom Grant Program Sets Goal of Reaching 5 Million Children* *The Pet Care Trust’s Pets in the Classroom grant program has helped more than 15,000 classrooms, with many more classrooms yet to be impacted.* *Bel Air, Maryland* - With more than 500,000 elementary and middle school students having already been given the opportunity to interact with pets on a daily basis in their classroom, the Pet Care Trust board has announced a new goal for its Pets in the ... more »

Educate All Kids Like Sasha and Malia BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News »

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » Educate All Kids Like Sasha and Malia: Educate All Kids Like Sasha and Malia by LEONIE HAIMSON‚ Nov. 26‚ 2012 [image: Review it on NewsTrust] Now that Barack Obama has been re-elected president, it’s time that he start making good on the education issues he emphasized during his campaign. While in speeches and in ads the president seized on Romney’s statement that class size doesn’t matter, the truth is that Obama’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan has dismissed the importance of class size nearly as strongly. Worse yet... more »

UPDATE: Keeping high school students in school and preserving school sports…Bridgeport style - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Keeping high school students in school and preserving school sports…Bridgeport style - Wait, What?: Keeping high school students in school and preserving school sports…Bridgeport style by jonpelto For 31 years, students at Bridgeport’s Bassick High School have been participating in the high school’s indoor track program. That was until Team Vallas, under the direction of John Fabrizi, recently eliminated the program this fall. When Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas blew into town with his $229,000 salary and his team of out-of-state consultants (most of whom worked for his p... more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] If Mr. Rogers Were Secretary of Education by dianerav A reader sent this comment in response to an earlier post about Mr. Rogers, the kind and gentle man who had his own television show for children for many years: *I have to believe if Mr. Rogers were in charge of education, Race To The Top would work like this:* *“There was a story going around about the Special Olympics. For the hundred-yard dash, there were nine contestants, all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled. All nine of them assem... more »

On Cyber Monday the White House Releases New Report on the Impact of Middle-Class Tax Cuts on Retailers and Consumer Spending | The White House

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

On Cyber Monday the White House Releases New Report on the Impact of Middle-Class Tax Cuts on Retailers and Consumer Spending | The White House: On Cyber Monday the White House Releases New Report on the Impact of Middle-Class Tax Cuts on Retailers and Consumer Spending by The White House *Report Details Consequences if Congress Fails to Extend Middle-Class Tax Cuts* WASHINGTON, DC – As we move into the holiday shopping season, the White House released a report from the National Economic Council and the Council of Economic Advisers called *The Middle-Class Tax Cuts’ Impact on Con... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLES by Mike Klonsky Reaper DroneLicense to Kill *"Creating a legal structure, processes, with oversight checks on how we use unmanned weapons is going to be a challenge for me and my successors for some time to come." *-- President Obama D.C. Chancellor Kaya Henderson *"If we're going to keep a traditional school system, we can't just have schools pop up anywhere and cannibalize schools, right?"* -- WAMU 88.5 News Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel *Chicago's initiatives come straight out of the playbook Barack Obama put f...more »

Homework: An unnecessary evil? … Surprising findings from new research

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Homework: An unnecessary evil? … Surprising findings from new research: Homework: An unnecessary evil? Surprising findings from new research by Valerie Strauss Alfie Kohn writes about what a new homework study really says — and what it doesn’t say. He is the author of 12 books about education and human behavior, including “The Schools Our Children Deserve,” “The Homework Myth,” and “Feel-Bad Education… And Other Contrarian Essays on Children & Schooling.” He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org. By Alfie Kohn A brand-new study on the academi... more »

Teacher Seniority Still a Four-Letter Word to Administration -- 'LIFO' - NJ Spotlight

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Teacher Seniority Still a Four-Letter Word to Administration -- 'LIFO' - NJ Spotlight: Teacher Seniority Still a Four-Letter Word to Administration -- 'LIFO' Last-in, first-out seniority continues to irk Christie and Cerf, administration issues survey on subject print | email | share By John Mooney, November 26, 2012 in Education |Post a Comment For all its celebration of New Jersey’s new teacher tenure law, the Christie administration hasn’t hidden its lament for the one provision it couldn’t change: seniority protection for tenured teachers in the case of layoffs. Related Link... more »

Tom Barnidge: Teaching is hard enough without drugs and guns in class - Inside Bay Area

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Tom Barnidge: Teaching is hard enough without drugs and guns in class - Inside Bay Area: Tom Barnidge: Teaching is hard enough without drugs and guns in class By Tom Barnidge Contra Costa Times Columnist Posted: 11/25/2012 04:36:38 PM PST Updated: 11/25/2012 04:44:18 PM PST If you don't believe these are trying times in public education, you owe it to yourself to sit in on a local district presentation of the California Healthy Kids Survey. The state-funded survey, which asks a battery of questions of fifth-, seventh-, ninth- and 11th-grade students every two years, is describe... more »

Debating For-Profits: Kudos to Parent Revolution :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Debating For-Profits: Kudos to Parent Revolution :: Frederick M. Hess: Debating For-Profits: Kudos to Parent Revolution *by Frederick M. Hess • Nov 26, 2012 at 6:24 am Cross-posted from Education Week* Constructive public debate clarifies, illuminates, and, with any luck, educates. Such debate requires disputants to eschew easy banalities like "education is the new civil right" or ad hominem charges that those they disagree with want to "destroy public education." And it becomes damn near impossible when folks throw around phrases like "child-hating fascist" or accuse each other ... more »

Daily Kos: Warren Buffett calls for A Minimum Tax for the Wealthy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Daily Kos: Warren Buffett calls for A Minimum Tax for the Wealthy: Warren Buffett calls for A Minimum Tax for the Wealthy by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) in this *New York Times* op ed I am somewhat pressed for time because of school responsibilities, so I will not go as thoroughly through the piece as I might otherwise. But consider his first two paragraphs: SUPPOSE that an investor you admire and trust comes to you with an investment idea. “This is a good one,” he says enthusiastically. “I’m in it, and I think you should be, too.”Would your reply possibly be this? “Well, it ... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – Stakes likely go up on teacher evaluations in Obama’s second term

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *Stakes likely go up on teacher evaluations in Obama’s second term* *By Tom Chorneau* Monday, November 26, 2012 Failure to win support of teachers for adoption of a new evaluation system based on test scores, once again doomed several of the state’s largest school districts in the federal Race to the Top competition earlier this month. But as the Obama administration sets course on a second term, the stakes are likely to get a lot higher for states and jurisdictions unable to meet federal demands for more aggressive assessment of educator p...more »

In Turnaround Town, the News is Always Good | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

In Turnaround Town, the News is Always Good | EduShyster: In Turnaround Town, the News is Always Good by edushyster2012 In Turnaround Town, aka Lawrence, MA, the news is always good—or so says the official edu-media plan, which you can savor for yourself below. Reader: today we pay a return visit a place that I like to call simply ‘Turnaround Town.’ Perhaps you know this city by its other name: Lawrence, Massachusetts. When we last dropped in, state officials had just conducted an exhaustive investigation, concluding that the problems of the city’s schools lay in its leaders: bad, w... more »

Ed Notes Online: Another Parent Vents at Teach for America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Another Parent Vents at Teach for America: Another Parent Vents at Teach for America by ed notes online *The organization is disorganized, unresponsive and over promises. The worst part is they throw these kids into situations that they will likely fail .... **If you know someone or if your child is considering this, DON'T let them go. There are other ways to teach and help the school system. Please.* *---Parent of TFAer* A TFA parent left this comment today on a March, 2009 post: A Parent Vents At Teach for America -- My daughter is in Teach For America and n... more »

Mexican Teachers Union Threaten Indefinite Strike in Oaxaca | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Mexican Teachers Union Threaten Indefinite Strike in Oaxaca | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com: Mexican Teachers Union Threaten Indefinite Strike in Oaxaca [image: Mexican Teachers Union Threaten Indefinite Strike in Oaxaca]A section of the SNTE teachers union threatened to call an indefinite strike in all the schools of the southern state of Oaxaca if the regional government does not return to them the centers that it awarded six years ago to another local of the same union. “If the government continues with the stupidity of knocking us around, of letting Local 59 take over, we’re goi... more »

LAUSD: PUNISHMENT WITHOUT CRIME OR DUE PROCESS - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

LAUSD: PUNISHMENT WITHOUT CRIME OR DUE PROCESS - Perdaily.com: LAUSD: PUNISHMENT WITHOUT CRIME OR DUE PROCESS by Leonard Isenberg [image: kafka.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) * * * *(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)* * * *Hundreds of teachers are either being "housed" without work in "rubber rooms," already been forced to resign, or are in a protracted stall process that LAUSD with the present complicity of UTLA drag on for years to starve out falsely charged teachers before they get their day in a neutral forum. I've been waiting f...more »

Fake skills gap. Fake need for training too? : blue cheddar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Fake skills gap. Fake need for training too? : blue cheddar: Fake skills gap. Fake need for training too? by bluecheddar There’s a must-read article over at NYTimes. As part of his exploration into the mysterious American “skills gap” crisis, author Adam Davidson speaks to the CEO of a Milwaukee manufacturer and learns this: “At GenMet, the starting pay is $10 an hour. Those with an associate degree can make $15, which can rise to $18 an hour after several years of good performance. From what I understand, a new shift manager at a nearby McDonald’s can earn around $14 an hour.” T... more »

Lincoln the Leader | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Lincoln the Leader | Connected Principals: Lincoln the Leader by Bill Carozza Taken a few years ago on a family trip to D.C. I have been fascinated by Lincoln since middle school when I became interested in his last days and specifically the controversy surrounding his assassination. (Did you know there’s revisionist historians who believe that his Secretary of War Edwin Stanton was behind his death?) Tonight I went to the movies with my three kids and my wife to see * Lincoln. *Clearly, this movie was a work of art from the use of lighting (not much), to the attention to detail (ye... more »

Diane in the Evening 11-25-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Parent Asks for Your Help Writing a Petition by dianerav A parent in Massachusetts asked for help writing a petition. Can you help? She wrote: “I would like to petition to emphasize that the focus on charter schools is draining money, resources, and motivated students and their families from the traditional public school system. Instead of helping ALL students in public schools, focusing on starting charter schools only helps a small percentage of students in each district. “As a parent who’s worked so hard in my district, I’m very frustrated that the prog... more »

LAUSD English Learners To Move Faster Into Mainstream Classes

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

LAUSD English Learners To Move Faster Into Mainstream Classes: LAUSD English Learners To Move Faster Into Mainstream Classes *Los Angeles Daily News* | By Barbara Jones Posted: 11/25/2012 2:24 pm EST Updated: 11/25/2012 3:26 pm EST [image: Lausd English Learners] Triggered by a federal civil rights investigation, Los Angeles Unified has launched a network of programs designed to more quickly move English learners into mainstream academic classes and help close the achievement gap. The strategies are detailed in the 150-page English-Learner Master Plan, which the district over... more »

Lincoln and arrested development « JD2718

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Lincoln and arrested development « JD2718: Lincoln and arrested development by jd2718 Good movie, Lincoln. Some nice development of his sons’ characters (I spotted the Third Rock kid!). And I’ve usually always liked Sally Field. Not quite Norma Rae, but made Mary Todd Lincoln interesting. And the portrait of Lincoln is rich – story teller, backwoods lawyer, astute politician, caring husband and father – and politically adept at balancing expediency and long term goals, etc, etc. But Spielberg left Lincoln’s political allies and opponents flat. The motivations of Lincoln are easy ... more »

A new cheating scandal: Aspiring teachers hiring ringers | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

A new cheating scandal: Aspiring teachers hiring ringers | Get Schooled: A new cheating scandal: Aspiring teachers hiring ringers by Maureen Downey Interesting story in the AJC today on a cheating scandal involving hired ringers taking the teacher qualification exam for candidates in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The ringers used faked IDs to sit for the Praxis exam, administered by the Educational Testing Service. Praxis exams are required by 40 states and territories to measure the academic achievement and proficiency of newly minted teachers. According to ETS: *The Praxis... more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 11 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 11 2012: Week 11 2012 by alicemercer [image: number 11] I know, I know, I’m not being a good correspondent. The end of a busy election season, was followed by exhaustion, and preparation for report cards and parent conferences, which had a week for Thanksgiving plopped in the middle. But the wait is worth it readers (or at least I think so). With Common Core implementation, there is an emphasis on non-fiction, having students write more, and student generated questions about the text. I know this may not be how the whole thing shakes ou... more »

Schools Matter: Long-Term English Learners: Invest in Libraries and Librarians

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Schools Matter: Long-Term English Learners: Invest in Libraries and Librarians: Long-Term English Learners: Invest in Libraries and Librarians by skrashen Sent to the Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA, Nov. 25, 2012 Most of the proposals to deal with long-term English learners (“California's English language learners getting stuck in schools' remedial programs,” November 25) focus on tracking and measurement. None discuss a cure. Our research shows that students who develop a pleasure reading habit in English do better on English language tests, and a number of case histories confirm th... more »

Will the state’s union leadership take its membership to the streets to fight to protect pensions? Could happen. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Will the state’s union leadership take its membership to the streets to fight to protect pensions? Could happen. « Fred Klonsky: Will the state’s union leadership take its membership to the streets to fight to protect pensions? Could happen. by Fred Klonsky It is no secret that the IEA leadership is somewhat mass action averse. But the attack on 386,000 member pensions has made for a dire situation. Something can happen in the coming days or in the January sessions of the legislature. With the Democrats winning a veto proof majority in the election, there is little to stop Madigan ... more »

LSCs- key legacy of Harold Washington Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » LSCs- key legacy of Harold Washington: LSCs- key legacy of Harold Washington by admin I have been reading newspaper accounts of the late Chicago mayor Harold Washington’s legacy marking 25 years since Mayor Washington died. Very little has been said about what may arguably be the most lasting of Mayor Washington’s contributions to Chicago – our local school councils. Although the Mayor died before the Chicago School Reform law was passed, his support for strong community voice in public schools was a key catalyst for the mov... more »

Washington, D.C.: Mutual Aid in Mass Mobilizations | OccupyWallSt.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Washington, D.C.: Mutual Aid in Mass Mobilizations | OccupyWallSt.org: Washington, D.C.: Mutual Aid in Mass Mobilizations by OccupyWallSt [image: photo of occupy action in DC from Dec. 2011; aerial shot of protesters forming "99%" in formation inside a plaza with the washington monument in the distance -- via ] *The District of Columbia is the nation’s Capital and therefore a lightning rod for national organizing, but it is also the home of 600,000 people who deal day-to-day... more »

School Tech Connect: See You Thursday Night?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

School Tech Connect: See You Thursday Night?: See You Thursday Night? by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I'll be at this townhall, sponsored by Raise Your Hand: Culture of Testing November 29, 2012 Holstein Park 2200 N. Oakley 7PM Wendy Katten has a terrific post on the subject. I'll just clip a bit here: We have heard all year about all the failing schools and need for quality seats, as if the learning/seats in the building are fixed and intractable, and the culture inside a building is not something that is fluid to be developed and improved upon from teachers/administrators a... more »

Can You REALLY Describe Good Teaching? | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Can You REALLY Describe Good Teaching? | Connected Principals: Can You REALLY Describe Good Teaching? by cbirk Do you have a great teacher in your school? Several great teachers? Teachers whose classes students can’t wait to get into? I think we all have those teachers. Teachers who get the strongest endorsement that we can give–the “I want my own child to be in his/her class” endorsement. But now you get asked “What makes Mrs. Smith a great Math teacher?”. What do you say? What really makes a ‘great’ teacher? And at this point, I want to fully acknowledge that the anteceden... more »

Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky: Sunday Mail. by Fred Klonsky *If the Illinois General Assembly decides to go after promised pensions*, maybe 693,000 Illinois pension members and their friends need to turn out and remind the Illinois Supreme Court what our state constitution says, says Glen Brown. *Pat Quinn is the first Illinois Governor* to terminate a union contract in 40 years. Most. Anti-union. Governor. Ever. *Life in Rahm’s Chicago.* Run for cover. *Jersey Jazzman and segregation gone wild* with Race to the Top. *Some news I take personally.* These were the researchers who approv... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week: Seattle Schools This Week by Melissa Westbrook *Monday, November 26th* Superintendent Banda's meeting with the Latino community from 6-8 pm at El Centro de la Raza. Feedback, concerns and questions are welcome. *Tuesday, November 27th* Work Session: Strategic Plan Guiding Principles from 4:30-6:30 pm. No agenda available. Work Session: Ethics Training from 6:45-7:45 pm. (I'm not sure who this is for - the Board or staff or both.) No agenda available. *Wednesday, November 28th* School Board meeting starting at 4:15 pm... more »

Shelby parents using courts to discipline kids - seattlepi.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Shelby parents using courts to discipline kids - seattlepi.com: Shelby parents using courts to discipline kids MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Shelby County Juvenile Court officials say parents are using law enforcement to discipline children, but studies show that even one day in lockup can have a lasting negative impact. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is working in Memphis and nearly 200 other jurisdictions across the nation to find alternatives to detention for disadvantaged youths. Helping parents find alternatives for discipline problems is one piece of that puzzle. According to the fou... more »

Why Not Just Do It? « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Why Not Just Do It? « Cooperative Catalyst: Why Not Just Do It? by pamelamoran Adults at play as builders Will Wright, creator of SIM gaming, said in an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson that “play and storytelling were*the* educational technologies” for generations of humans. Wright and Tyson “riffed” on the science of video gaming, early games, storytelling and play, an area of study known as “ ludology.” Their perspectives caught my attention. PopoutThis weekend I had the chance to re-frame my own thinking about the power of these early “low risk” learning technologies through a ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Charters Will We See?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Charters Will We See?: What Charters Will We See? by Melissa Westbrook [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] The Times has an article in this morning's paper about what we might expect about what charters come in first. They get it right in the opening paragraphs (with some irony): *The first charter schools in Washington probably won't be run by the nation's best-known charter groups with years of experience and strong reputations.* * **During the successful campaign for Initiative 1240, which will allow as many as 40 ch... more »

Arizona Charter School Officials Are Enriching Themselves With Public Funds | The New Republic

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Arizona Charter School Officials Are Enriching Themselves With Public Funds | The New Republic: How Charter Schools Fleece Taxpayers - Timothy Noah - November 20, 2012 | 2:10 pm - 4 comments - Share on redditShare on tumblrShare on stumbleupon|More Sharing ServicesMore - [image: Print]Print - SHARE inShare12 MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR The Two Americas Small Business Sells John Boehner Out Fred Barnes: Fine, We’re The Party Of Whitey Christopher Furlong/Getty Images In government, if I help myself to taxpayer dollars, we call that embezzlement and I go to jail. In th... more »

Jersey Jazzman: "Race To The Top": Segregation Gone Wild!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: "Race To The Top": Segregation Gone Wild!: "Race To The Top": Segregation Gone Wild! by Duke Late last week, New Jersey announced which of it school districts would be applying for Race To The Top grantsin a competition designs for individual districts. The controversial program started at the state level; it rewarded states with relatively small amounts of money for implementing policies like charter school expansion and using standardized test data to rank teacher effectiveness. There is no evidence that any of this will work, and Secretary of Education Arne Dunc... more »

What do elite private schools owe the public?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

What do elite private schools owe the public?: What do elite private schools owe the public? Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 25, 2012 at 12:45 pm Here are some questions about elite private schools that are raised in a probing article in the latest edition of Independent School magazine: Why aren’t more independent leaders speaking out about the pedagogical perversions of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top? Why aren’t more independent school leaders speaking out against growing inequality? As the nation moves deeper into a winner-takes-more economic model,... more »

Open Letters To Reformers I Know. Part 1: Whitney Tilson | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Open Letters To Reformers I Know. Part 1: Whitney Tilson | Gary Rubinstein's Blog: Open Letters To Reformers I Know. Part 1: Whitney Tilsonby Gary Rubinstein I think what gives me that extra motivation to participate, as much as I’m able to, in this current debate on how to improve this country’s schools (and yes, I do think they need to be improved) is the fact that I know, personally, many of the main people pushing the reforms that I consider destructive. Some I’ve known for over 20 years. Some I’ve only met recently. Some I’ve partied with at TFA events back when I was a c... more »

NYC Educator: Obama: Do as I Say, Not as I Do

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

NYC Educator: Obama: Do as I Say, Not as I Do: Obama: Do as I Say, Not as I Do by NYC Educator Leonie Haimson has a great new piece pointing out that the preposterous things we demand from American children don't apply to the kids of the President of the United States. Sasha and Malia attend the Sidwell Friends School, where they are not subject to high-stakes tests, and where they enjoy small class sizes. Obama was very vocal in criticizing Romney for opposing reasonable class sizes, yet his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, did the same thing months earlier. One would think t... more »

solidaridad: Refocusing LAUSD on reading and learning instead of testing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

solidaridad: Refocusing LAUSD on reading and learning instead of testing: Refocusing LAUSD on reading and learning instead of testing by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene First published on Robert D. Skeels for School Board on November 24, 2012. ------------------------------ *It's difficult to explain exactly what being poor is all about, or why access to books and ideas might be as important as a free breakfast. — Walter Dean Myers* [image: The Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen]*Hope Is an Open Book*, an op-ed piece by author Walter Dean Myers, was tweeted this morning by educator Sus... more »

Peg with Pen: The Teacher's Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Peg with Pen: The Teacher's Voice: The Teacher's Voice by Peggy Just a short note today. I am teaching again as an instructional coach in an elementary school so blogging time is limited, but here are my thoughts this November as I continue to advocate for our teaching profession and our public schools.... Thanksgiving break is over and tomorrow I head back to school - I am partly filled with dread and partly filled with hope. I am surrounded by testing, scripted curriculum, the god forsaken pacing guide and the common bore standards in a Broadie district which has plans to shove ... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LAUSD’s REVAMPED TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM GETTING MIXED GRADE

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LAUSD’s REVAMPED TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM GETTING MIXED GRADE: LAUSD’s REVAMPED TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM GETTING MIXED GRADE Teachers are finding value in the new evaluation system as it rolls out, but administrators doing the reviews complain about how time-consuming they are.BY TERESA WATANABE AND STEPHEN CEASAR, LOS ANGELES TIME3 | S HTTP://LAT.MS/10BCBVS [image: Principal Eduardo Solorzano of San Fernando Middle School] Eduardo Solorzano, principal of San Fernando Middle School, has taken part in the pilot program for L.A. Unified's ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter Update in the Times

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter Update in the Times: Charter Update in the Times by Charlie Mas Linda Shaw, writing for the Seattle Times, reported today on the likely near-term future of charter schools in Washington, Modest start for charter schools expected. Her predictions and report aligns with our predictions: national charter school chains will hang back, if they come to Washington at all. After all, they didn't have any plans to expand into Washington before the vote and they want to wait and see how the regulations are determined and how the inevitable Court ch... more »

John Thompson: Are Conservative "Reformers" Bailing Out? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

John Thompson: Are Conservative "Reformers" Bailing Out? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: Are Conservative "Reformers" Bailing Out? by Anthony Cody *Not Really Popular in Red States?* *Guest post by John Thompson.* Perhaps because they demonstrably lost the 2012 election, conservative school "reformers" are being much more candid about why bubble-in accountability has failed. A month ago, conservatives were united in their support of Indiana Superintendent Tony Bennett, Idaho's "Luna Laws," and other efforts to dramatically expand high-stakes testing. ... more »

Ed Notes Online: Leonie Haimson: Educate All Kids Like Sasha and Malia

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Ed Notes Online: Leonie Haimson: Educate All Kids Like Sasha and Malia: Leonie Haimson: Educate All Kids Like Sasha and Malia by ed notes online Obama’s education policies are failing children, except for his own. BY Leonie Haimson Rather than follow blindly in the path of privatization and unleashed free-market competition that led to the collapse of our economy, it’s time for Obama to start listening to parents and teachers. Cramming kids into classes of 30 or more and putting them on laptops while supervised by novices will never enhance their creativity or critical thinking s... more »

Short Notes: Why We Shouldn’t Grade Schools | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Short Notes: Why We Shouldn’t Grade Schools | The Jose Vilson: Short Notes: Why We Shouldn’t Grade Schools by Jose *Before I proceed, dozens of people from various school districts have told me that my site is blocked on their school computers. In the event that it is, you can always get my articles via e-mail by signing up on the right-hand side of this blog or by subscribing via RSS for my savvy readers, also on the right-hand side. They can block my site’s URL, but they can’t block your e-mails or your RSS reader.* A few notes: - Michael Brick writes an op-ed on the delete... more »

Schools Woefully Underfunded, Formula Broken - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schools Woefully Underfunded, Formula Broken - Wait, What?: Schools Woefully Underfunded, Formula Broken by jonpelto *Will Malloy rise to the occasion and make resolving Connecticut’s School Funding Crisis his legacy?* From today’s Hartford Courant Commentary by JONATHAN PELTO AND WENDY LECKER http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-pelto-lecker-connecticut-schools-underfunded-20121123,0,6000165.story “Courts have been equally clear that when schools are given adequate resources, learning improves. In New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts and elsewhere, increased spending... more »

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