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

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

Jersey Jazzman: Rocketship: "Poor Kids Don't Deserve Music & Art!"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 41 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: Rocketship: "Poor Kids Don't Deserve Music & Art!": Rocketship: "Poor Kids Don't Deserve Music & Art!" by Duke As a lifelong music educator, this is one of the most despicable education stories I've ever heard: JEFFREY BROWN: Now we look to a California education experiment called the Rocketship Model that involves teachers, kids and parents and aims to expand one day to serve a million students. NewsHour's special correspondent for education, John Merrow, has our report. [...] JOHN MERROW: For about one hour every day, students practice math and literacy skil... more »

How’s your honeycomb? Collecting pollen and making honey #professionallearning | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 54 minutes ago

How’s your honeycomb? Collecting pollen and making honey #professionallearning | Connected Principals: How’s your honeycomb? Collecting pollen and making honey #professionallearning by Bo Adams Many – maybe all – schools send teachers to conferences. This practice seems important (otherwise, why do we do it, right?). It’s like collecting pollen for the hive. Curious, ambitious teachers venture out to conferences – ASCD, Learning Forward, NAIS, EduCon, SXSWedu, Solution Tree, etc. – to learn and grow. To collect pollen for the hive. How does your school work to transform that coll... more »

Miracle Schools!: Proceed with Caution

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Miracle Schools!: Proceed with Caution: Miracle Schools!: Proceed with Caution By P.L. Thomas on December 30, 2012 3:00 pm / no comments During her tenure as Secretary of Education (2005-2009), Margaret Spellings announced No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was proving to be a success based on a 7 point gain in NAEP reading scores from 1999-2005. The data evidence referenced by Spellings was factual as framed, but when Gerald Bracey and Stephen Krashen dug beneath that broad claim, Spellings’ claim fell apart since the gain occurred entirely between 1999-2002, before any implementation o... more »

The FBI coordinated the crackdown of Occupy with big banks | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

The FBI coordinated the crackdown of Occupy with big banks | Seattle Education: The FBI coordinated the crackdown of Occupy with big banks Posted on December 30, 2012 by seattleducation2011 | Leave a comment From the Guardian: *Revealed: how the FBI coordinated the crackdown on Occupy* There is a new twist: the merger of the private sector, DHS and the FBI means that any of us can become WikiLeaks, a point that Julian Assange was trying to make in explaining the argument behind his recent book. The fusion of the tracking of money and the suppression of dissent means that a huge are... more »

Charter schools now big business nationwide - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Charter schools now big business nationwide - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: *Charter schools now big business nationwide* *Management firms bring money, clout to help operate them* *Again, It's about the Money* The early charter schools in Pennsylvania were largely the product of passionate parents or community groups, who sometimes planned their dream schools around the kitchen table. But the picture has changed dramatically since the charter school law was passed in Pennsylvania in 1997, with an expansion of education management organizations that bring big money and clout into the pic... more »

John Merrow: Is This Education Model Replicable?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

John Merrow: Is This Education Model Replicable?: Is This Education Model Replicable? Posted: 12/29/2012 11:47 am We produced a piece on PBS *NewsHour *last night, about the Rocketship Education model currently out of San Jose, CA. Rocketship Schools -- currently seven in all -- are among the top performing low income schools in the state. The dream, when founded, was replication. Although others have tried, nobody has successfully mass produced a high quality, cost effective school model. Will Rocketship be the first? I'd encourage you to watch the piece (embedded below) and offer ... more »

Why don’t more girls study physics? | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Why don’t more girls study physics? | The Raw Story: Why don’t more girls study physics? By The Guardian Sunday, December 30, 2012 9:31 EST [image: confused woman in science class via Shutterstock] Topics: Alice Williams *Almost half of Britain’s co-ed schools have no female students taking A-level physics, but one London school is showing how it is possible to buck the trend.* Alice Williams is 16, and her eyes are gleaming. As she speaks, her face grows pink with excitement and her hands wave around expressively. You might expect her to be talking about the latest*Twilight* film ... more »

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

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Should Public Schools Depend on Charity? by dianerav A reader asks a good question: Call me a socialist, but I am totally against any & all fundraising for public schools. We as a nation should provide all our children equally with the highest possible standards we as a nation can afford. Private schools can do their own thing, whatever they can afford. (though it is my understanding that private schools pay teachers less than public schools). I don’t support or contribute in any way to fund raisers for e... more »

The New York Times Has Discovered The Perils Of Being Data-Driven — I Just Wish Arne Duncan Would, Too | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

The New York Times Has Discovered The Perils Of Being Data-Driven — I Just Wish Arne Duncan Would, Too | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: The New York Times Has Discovered The Perils Of Being Data-Driven — I Just Wish Arne Duncan Would, Too by Larry Ferlazzo I have written regularly about the dangers of being “data-driven” instead of being “data-informed.” In fact, I have a lengthy, and popular, post titled The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven.” Here’s my previously posted summary of how our school’s extraordinary principal, Ted Ap... more »

Revisiting Florida’s 2012 Charter School Scandals | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Revisiting Florida’s 2012 Charter School Scandals | Scathing Purple Musings Revisiting Florida’s 2012 Charter School Scandals by Bob Sikes [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] *Tampa Bay Times *reporter Diane Steinle sees the unseemly details of a taxpayer-funded charter school as one of North Pinellas biggest stories of the year: Life Force Arts and Technology Academy, a publicly funded charter school in Dunedin, was open for only two years, but in that time it accumulated a lengthy list of shortcomings: mismanagement, misappropriation of funds, deviations fr... more »

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: For public education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: For public education: For public education by Duane Campbell Once social change begins, it can not be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. Cesar Chavez. Nov.9, 1984.

Parents and pupils worried about Philadelphia school closings take their concerns to City Hall - Philly.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Parents and pupils worried about Philadelphia school closings take their concerns to City Hall - Philly.com: Parents and pupils worried about Philadelphia school closings take their concerns to City Hall December 29, 2012|By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer Image 1 of 3 View Gallery - [image: Khyrie Brown, 12, a seventh grader at L.P. Hill Elementary School in Strawberry Mansion, reads a letter he wrote asking Mayor Nutter to halt the closure. (KRISTEN A. GRAHAM / Staff)] Khyrie Brown, 12, a seventh grader at L.P. Hill Elementary School in Strawberry Mansion,… (KR... more »

Reforming Businesses, Reforming Schools: Outsourcing as a Fad | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Reforming Businesses, Reforming Schools: Outsourcing as a Fad | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Reforming Businesses, Reforming Schools: Outsourcing as a Fad by larrycuban [image: images-2] Readers over a certain age may recall reforms that cascaded through corporations in each decade since the 1960s. They might recall “zero-based budgeting,” “management by objectives,” “restructuring,” “management by walking about,” and “Quality Circles.” Sure, I could name more but that is enough. Opinion leaders beat the drums for each one as they rapidly spread through * ... more »

Less Time Teaching, More Time Learning | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

Less Time Teaching, More Time Learning | Connected Principals: Less Time Teaching, More Time Learning by George Couros *This post originally appeared on the “Education is My Life” site, which has several offerings aggregated by A.J. Juliani.* I don’t remember much about what I learned in elementary school, but I do remember how much I cared about my teachers, and inversely, how much they cared about me. The teachers that meant the most to me were the ones who understood that I was a very active kid who could not sit still for anything; and if you look back at any of the pictures ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Blog Recommendation: NYC Educator

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Blog Recommendation: NYC Educator: Blog Recommendation: NYC Educator by Duke I have to apologize to a great edu-blogger: NYC Educator. I've been linking to his stuff for a good while now, but I stupidly left him off my blogroll. If you care about education, this blog is well worth your time. Here's an example: Hi, I'm Michelle Rhee. At a time like this, I think it's only fit we redouble my efforts to ensure our reforms reach every student in these United States. After all, people as wealthy as Broad, Gates, and the Walmarts are paying good money for these reforms, ... more »

Ed Notes Online: Irony: Randi's Call for Teacher Voices to Be Heard Attacked by Ed Deformer

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Irony: Randi's Call for Teacher Voices to Be Heard Attacked by Ed Deformer: Irony: Randi's Call for Teacher Voices to Be Heard Attacked by Ed Deformer by ed notes online Groups like E4E which bans any dissenting view gives teachers more of a voice? And Randi arguing for teacher voice when she and her crew deny rank and file teacher voices all the time -- like at the recent Del Ass where they argued against allowing teachers to vote on any eval agree even though it is a contract item and required by UFT by-laws. the views of our [self-declared] good-and-great tea... more »

Schools Matter: Continuing skirmishes with CCSS cheerleaders on Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Schools Matter: Continuing skirmishes with CCSS cheerleaders on Diane Ravitch's blog: Continuing skirmishes with CCSS cheerleaders on Diane Ravitch's blog by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *"There is no evidence that standards and tests improve school achievement. The money budgeted for standards and tests to enforce the standards should be used to protect children from the effects of poverty." — Professor Stephen Krashen* [image: Common Core State Standards (CCSS) means profits for corporations and reduced critical thinking skills for working class people]The following is my edited ... more »

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

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Why Is John Deasy Reconstituting a Successful School? by dianerav This is a puzzling story. At Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, teachers, administrators, students, and the community leaders worked together to improve te school. It seemed to be working. The school made enormous gains. But then Superintendent John Deasey stepped in and pulled the plug. He will reconstitute the school, break it up into four small schools, fire the staff, and start over. The staff can reapply for heir old jobs, but half or more are not likely to be invited back. The school ... more »

Pass / Fail : California official says law setting federal education standards is 'null and defunct' | 89.3 KPCC

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Pass / Fail : California official says law setting federal education standards is 'null and defunct' | 89.3 KPCC: California official says law setting federal education standards is 'null and defunct' by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez *Duh!* One of California’s top education officials said the federal No Child Left Behind law is no longer credible or legitimate because too many states have been given a waiver. “They have already disowned the program in terms of the U.S. Department of Education by the secretary already declaring it null and defunct in effect in 33 states," said Michael Kirst... more »

Why Do We Need to Play? (My #rechat Reflection) « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Why Do We Need to Play? (My #rechat Reflection) « Cooperative Catalyst: Why Do We Need to Play? (My #rechat Reflection) by John T. Spencer The kids are in the backyard blowing bubbles. The canister reads Miracle Bubbles and it seems, at first, like hyperbole. Joel pulls out the wand and creates a floating orb. Brenna jumps up and pops the first one in delight. Micah pulls out a wand (a fitting word for the magic that happens) and asks if blowing it slower will make the bubbles bigger or smaller. This leads to a test of small and large bubbles and eventually an impromptu game happens... more »

Keeping and Growing Great Teachers: 12 Lessons - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Keeping and Growing Great Teachers: 12 Lessons - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Keeping and Growing Great Teachers: 12 Lessons by Anthony Cody Last week, Teaching Ahead here featured a discussion focused on "Teaching's Revolving Door." Here are some thoughts, based on my experience working to retain science teachers in a high poverty district. I think it was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who said "nothing is permanent but change." He seems to have been secretly put in charge of school reform in the US for the past decade. But as research has emerged documenting t... more »

Florida’s “School Grades Remain a Function of Politics, Not Academics” | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Florida’s “School Grades Remain a Function of Politics, Not Academics” | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s “School Grades Remain a Function of Politics, Not Academics” by Bob Sikes One can never expect *Palm Beach Post *editorialist Jac Versteeg to hold back in his ire for Florida education policies. This morning was no exception. In his sights were Florida’s school grades: Florida’s high school grades for last year are out, and they show… what? For an alleged accountability system, the state-assigned grades show very little. The state Department of Education warned that parents... more »

Daily Kos: Anniversary

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Daily Kos: Anniversary: Anniversary by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) 27 years ago this date fell on a Sunday. We both attended church services that morning, then afterward separated, not to see one another again until we were both in the church that afternoon for legal and liturgical recognition of a relationship that had begun on a September 21 some 11 years earlier. This evening Leaves on the Current and I will have a quiet celebration. In some ways we are both surprised to be at this point. As is true in many relationships, we have had our ups and downs, some serious. Neither... more »

California's top 2012 political stories | news10.net

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

California's top 2012 political stories | news10.net: California's top 2012 political stories10:00 PM, Dec 28, 2012 | 0 comments - - - - [image: Share] - [image: Email] - [image: Print] - - A *A* A + Written byJohn Myers - FILED UNDER - News When it comes to making a list of big political stories, 2012 offered an embarrassment of riches in the Golden State. Big electoral stakes. Important policy debates. A boatload of cash spent on campaigns large and small. So without further ado, the stories that stand out as the biggest stars of the year. *... more »

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee. by Fred Klonsky [image: 43268018-01] We no longer go out for coffee on Saturdays. Necessarily. Retirement has brought change to our world in unexpected ways. We can go to Peets on other less crowded days. Thursdays are good. Fridays seem worse than Saturdays. The other day we were having a conversation about the changing nature of work. It has been an eye opener for me to realize that while I went to work during the day there were so many people who were sitting in coffee shops working on their computers. Or at the gym at 2 in the af... more »

NYC Public School Parents: The real issues behind the looming bus strike by Sara Catalinotto of PIST

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

NYC Public School Parents: The real issues behind the looming bus strike by Sara Catalinotto of PIST: The real issues behind the looming bus strike by Sara Catalinotto of PIST by Leonie Haimson *The Chancellor has warned of a possible school bus strike shortly after students return from the Xmas vacation. The issues are not obvious to most parents; here is an explanation by **Sara Catalinotto of Parents to ImproveSchool Transportation [PIST]. She adds:* *1) Next step in bidding on our kids' buses for next year is Thurs. Jan 3 at 1:00 p.m. at 30-30 Thomson Ave, LIC (next door to... more »

“Institutional Arrogance” at the Florida Department of Education | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

“Institutional Arrogance” at the Florida Department of Education | Scathing Purple Musings: “Institutional Arrogance” at the Florida Department of Education by Bob Sikes While the editors of the *Lakeland Ledger *were urging incoming education commissioner Tony Bennett to “have a more inclusive management style,” they took aim at the department he is charged with running: Tallahassee’s frequent, and embarrassing, releases of inaccurate student assessment data, flawed teacher assessment scores, skewed school grades and so on is as much a consequence of the Department of Education’... more »

Come Saturday Morning: I Feel I Must Apologize | Firedoglake

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Come Saturday Morning: I Feel I Must Apologize | Firedoglake: Come Saturday Morning: I Feel I Must Apologize by Phoenix Woman Dear Fellow Firedogs, Gentle Readers, and Other Sane and Sensible Citizens of the Planet Earth: As a resident of Minnesota, I feel I must apologize for the actions of Tony Cornish and Bradlee Dean, especially as they pertain to the recent school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Tony Cornish is the violence-obsessed Republican state representative from Good Thunder who thinks along with Wayne LaPierre that arming teachers and militarizing schools are good id... more »

Coop Connections and #RECHAT « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Coop Connections and #RECHAT « Cooperative Catalyst: Coop Connections and #RECHAT by Paula White All of us here can speak to someone else here who has made a difference in our lives, I think. That goes for everyone–readers, writers, thinkers, all….This is a great place to share, to learn to think together and grow as catalysts for each other and others not here. John T Spencer is one of those people for me…so much of what he writes is simply astounding and astute…and as he works to rethink education, he involves people in as many ways as he can. Last Saturday I discovered the Twi... more »

Literature and Nonfiction: Common-Core Advocates Strike Back - Curriculum Matters - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Literature and Nonfiction: Common-Core Advocates Strike Back - Curriculum Matters - Education Week: Literature and Nonfiction: Common-Core Advocates Strike Back By Catherine Gewertz on December 28, 2012 1:07 PM As we've told you, a particular slice of the common standards in English/language arts has become pretty flammable lately: the rise of nonfiction reading. Thestandards' expectation that students read more informational text has sparked fear—some would say misinterpretation—that great works of literature will be displaced from classroom instruction. Even though mainstream ne... more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-29-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Teacher of Latin Writes In Defense of Fiction by dianerav In response to the discussion about the time allotted to fiction and non-fiction in the Common Core standards, a teacher writes: One of the things that really bothers me about this mandate is the devaluing of fiction. Right now we are foolishly engaging in a short-sighted culture of thinking that the only things that matter are “practical” and “measurable”. Hence, the importance of non-f. Yet, in many ways I have learned more about science, math and ... more »

Commentary on “The mass killings in Newtown” « Classroom Struggle

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Commentary on “The mass killings in Newtown” « Classroom Struggle: Commentary on “The mass killings in Newtown” by ClassroomStruggle [image: SIGN the Sandy Hook Elementary School National Sympathy Card | causes.com] *This is a blog post from a former Oakland teacher reflecting on the Newtown massacre and advocating for a different kind of gun control than that commonly echoed in the mainstream media.* *The original post came from http://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/2012/12/commentary-on-mass-killings-in-newton.html. * Commentary on “The mass killings in Newtown” by Jack Gerson Some ... more »

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