Monday, December 31, 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR - All You Need is Love

Love, Love, Love.
Love, Love, Love.
Love, Love, Love.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love (All together, now!)
All you need is love. (Everybody!)
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need (love is all you need)
(love is all you need) (love is all you need)
(love is all you need) Yesterday (love is all you need)
(love is all you need) (love is all you need)

Yee-hai!
Oh yeah!
love is all you need, love is all you need,love is all you need, love is all you need, oh yeah oh hell yea! love is all you need love is all you need love is all you need.

Ohhh, Sometimes, I Get A Good Feeling. [Get A Feeling That I Never Ever Ever Had Before, No] | The Jose Vilson

Ohhh, Sometimes, I Get A Good Feeling. [Get A Feeling That I Never Ever Ever Had Before, No] | The Jose Vilson:

Ohhh, Sometimes, I Get A Good Feeling. [Get A Feeling That I Never Ever Ever Had Before, No]

by Jose Vilson

On the first day of 2012, I waited for the birth of my son, Alejandro. We tried everything to hasten the process: long walks, hot spicy foods, and … well, I’d rather not say here. Just know that he knew his parents loved each other very much. I had already prepared my vocals for the long nights singing him to sleep, and my body for a serious lack of sleep. Yet, nothing would prepare me for Three Kings Day, the actual last day of Christmas. No frankincense, no gold, no myrrh. Just an Epiphany that I had to live for a whole ‘nother person. So I had to become a better me.
In the earlier winter, the funniest commercial (and possibly creepiest) of the year played while I changed my son’s poopy diaper (Eww. Seriously? So gross.) The New York Giants won the championship in front of his

Wisconsin 2012. Blue cheddar memories. : blue cheddar

Wisconsin 2012. Blue cheddar memories. : blue cheddar:

Wisconsin 2012. Blue cheddar memories.

by bluecheddar

Wisconsin politics from the last two years may be like childbirth for you: necessary for life but please – spare the details. If you’re not too squeamish to reflect on the highlights and lowlights, then welcome to a very non-comprehensive retrospective on the dirt kicked up by GOP, Koch, and Walker Incorporated and kicked back by the hearty citizens of Wisconsin. There’s no shortage of political drama in the dairy state, and thankfully, there’s now an overabundance of bloggers ready to document it. So I’ll be spending more time on another cool Wisconsin project in the year to come. Watch this space for more details. Well wishes to you and yours in the new year. May your ice always clink, may your beer stay fresh and local, and may your fellow Badgers remain ever fierce. - blue cheddar January 2 Watch the Rose Parade Occupation Online Monday Jan 2nd There was a 70 ft. octopus at the end of the parade made of recycled plastic bags and carried aloft by at least 40 occupy activists. I was pretty stoked about it. January 4 Court orders Wisconsin GOP to come clean on redistricting documents A three judge panel ordered attorneys hired more »

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt...:

Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt crisis (by...

Popout

Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt crisis (by JAT3productions)
Many Occupy Education followers make cameos in this film! Share with your networks! Important film!

Lincoln, Obama & The Importance Of Compromise | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Lincoln, Obama & The Importance Of Compromise | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Lincoln, Obama & The Importance Of Compromise

by Larry Ferlazzo

I’ve written a lot about the importance of being willing to compromise. In fact, you might be interested in my previous post, The Best Posts & Articles About Compromise.
My interest comes out of my nineteen year career as a community organizer prior to becoming a teacher, and you can find more information about that history and perspective in that “The Best…” list.
I’ve just returned from seeing the movie Lincoln, and — for me — the key moment was a conversation “Lincoln” had with the radical abolitionist “Thaddeus Stevens.” Lincoln is trying to make Stevens see that being ideologically pure can feel good, but won’t necessarily get you what you want. He talks about a compass he had that always showed him the “true north,” but didn’t tell him the swamps and obstacles that would be in his way to get there. In other words, you couldn’t always get to where you wanted to go in a straight line.
I’m not sure how much this story is rooted in fact, but it’s certainly a good illustration of effective community

Wait, What? It’s December 31, 2012? - Wait, What?

Wait, What? It’s December 31, 2012? - Wait, What?:

Wait, What? It’s December 31, 2012?

by jonpelto

“Every New Year is the direct Descendant, isn’t it, of a long line of proven criminals? – Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

Maybe it is me, but I am never quite sure what Ogden Nash was referring to half the time.

That said, here we are; at the end to another year… and it’s time to post an observation (with apologies for any typos).

Following the unimaginable horror and despair that enveloped us the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, it remains difficult to know how to move forward, let alone look back on 2012.

The notion of “fiscal cliffs” and “deficit mitigation bills” seem almost minor in scale and yet

Four Resolutions from Pedagogy of the Oppressed « Cooperative Catalyst

Four Resolutions from Pedagogy of the Oppressed « Cooperative Catalyst:

Four Resolutions from Pedagogy of the Oppressed

by robinclane

Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed has been on my book list for years, and I finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago. It is chock full of lessons for my teaching in 2013, and I thought I’d share four of the most important ones with you all.

ONE: Radical education takes place in communities, with students, not for them.

“Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.”
Teachers cannot hold themselves above their students in any way, nor think they have nothing to learn from the kids they spend their days with. We both have lots to learn and lots to teach. Any classroom must begin from that perspective. If we go into the classroom to be teachers, not learners, if we think of ourselves as the end-all-be-all of knowledge, we do nothing but embody paternalism and maintain oppression. We must be a community

Continuing Change

Continuing Change:

One Florida Teacher Rants - End the Stupidity.

by gatorbonbc

Reblogged from Continuing Change:

Yep. I teach all year for Tuesday’s Florida FCAT Writes Test.
I have about 150 eighth graders and over 90 percent must pass
for my school to qualify for an A.

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire:

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video

by Alexander Abad-Santos

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:
Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak boiled down the biggest stories of 2012 into four minutes. And, yes, Honey Boo Boo made it in there:
Popout
So, raise your hand if you knew Patrick Stewart and company were having this much fun behind the scenes at Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Presidential Proclamation -- 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation | The White House

Presidential Proclamation -- 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation | The White House:

Presidential Proclamation -- 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

I'm Lovin' It

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On December 31, 1862, our Nation marked the end of another year of civil war. At Shiloh and Seven Pines, Harpers Ferry and Antietam, brother had fought against brother. Sister had fought against sister. Blood and bitterness had deepened the divide that separated North from South, eroding the bonds of affection that once united 34 States under a single flag. Slavery still suspended the possibility of an America where life and liberty were the birthright of all, not the province of some.

Yet, even in those dark days, light persisted. Hope endured. As the weariness of an old year gave way to the promise of a new one, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation -- courageously declaring that on January 1, 1863, "all persons held as slaves" in rebellious areas "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." He opened the Union Army and Navy to African Americans, giving new strength to liberty's cause. And with that document, President Lincoln lent new moral force to the war by making it a fight not just to preserve, but also to empower. He sought to reunite our people not only in government, but also in freedom that knew no bounds of color or creed. Every battle became a battle for liberty itself. Every struggle became a struggle for equality.

Our 16th President also understood that while each of us is entitled to our individual rights and responsibilities, there are certain things we cannot accomplish on our own. Only a Union could serve the hopes of every citizen, knocking down the barriers to opportunity and giving each of us the chance to pursue our highest aspirations. He knew that in these United States, no dream could ever be beyond our reach when we affirm that individual liberty is served, not negated, by seeking the common good.

It is that spirit that made emancipation possible and codified it in our Constitution. It is that belief in what we can do together that moved millions to march for justice in the years that followed. And today, it is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to make our own. Let us begin this new year by renewing our bonds to one another and reinvesting in the work that lies ahead, confident that we can keep driving freedom's progress in our time.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 1, 2013, as the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and reaffirm the timeless principles it upheld.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Ed Notes Online: Why Police Don't Belong in the Schools Except in the Most Extreme Cases

Ed Notes Online: Why Police Don't Belong in the Schools Except in the Most Extreme Cases:

Why Police Don't Belong in the Schools Except in the Most Extreme Cases

by ed notes online

ICE took an early stand from its first days in late 2003-4 on police in the schools during the UFT elections that year. Here Loretta Prisco, a founding member, in addition to being part of the groups I belonged to in the 70s -- Another View in District 14 and Coalition of NYC School Workers --- make a point, followed by the ICE official position in the 2004 election. I hear voices saying MORE should not take a stand so as not to alienate the pro-police teachers in the schools in the election. I absolutely disagree - no police unless in the most dire circumstances even with the Sandy Hook story still hot.

On a SURR visit to a Brooklyn HS that was labeled "impact", I witnessed an incident that made it

Keeping a Woman Happy

by ed notes online

I'm a happy woman. I'm a happy woman, tra-la, tra-la, tra-la

I heard this song wafting down from upstairs into the basement through the fumes of the mold spray. Joyfull after 41 years of marriage? Could it be the effects of the raw ginsing roots I've been munching on? Alas, no. My wife had just ordered a replacement washer/dryer for the one month old ones we lost in Sandy and was told they

Consejos para solicitar FAFSA

Univision.com | Fecha: 12/31/2012

Imprimir
A⁺ A^-

Enviar

Llenar la forma de FAFSA es fácil: A partir de enero

Te damos consejos para llenar la forma de FAFSA. Ahora es más fácil y puedes encontrar la información es español.

05/26/11 | 03:28Disponible hasta 08/01/12

Univision

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VIDEO: ¿Cómo salir de la universidad sin deudas? - Univision.com

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El examen ACT y SAT y el procedimiento para llenar la forma FAFSA

VIDEO: El examen ACT y SAT - Univision

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Universidades con menos deudas prestamos

FOTOS: Universidades con menos deuda por estudiante

Ver fotos

La solicitud del FAFSA está disponible a partir del 1 de enero de 2013

Es quizás el primer examen de muchos estudiantes de educación postsecundaria y lo toman antes de entrar a un salón de clase. Desafortunadamente para algunos, la calificación no siempre es una "A".

¡Sueña en grande! Únete a College Week Live y a Univision, y paga por la universidad

El 10 de enero de 2013, de 2-10pm/1-9pmC

Todos soñamos con un futuro mejor. Pero ¿cuál es la universidad que mejor puede prepararte para ese futuro? ¿Qué se necesita para que te acepten? ¿Cómo vas a pagar por todo esto?

Hemos reunido a un grupo de expertos que responderán a todas estas preguntas y que te ayudarán a decidir cuál es la mejor manera de pagar por tu educación en nuestro "Cómo pagar por la universidad", un evento en línea, gratuito, cortesía de CollegeWeekLive y la campaña ¡Es El Momento!, de Univision.

Nuestras ferias universitarias virtuales son una forma conveniente de conocer todo tipo de colegios y universidades, en un mismo lugar, desde la comodidad de casa.

Entra aquí y regístrate gratis para el evento "Cómo pagar por la universidad"

Esta es tu oportunidad para aprender acerca de las universidades, el proceso de admisiones y ayuda financiera, todo directamente desde tu computadora o dispositivo móvil.

Regístrate, gratis, y entra a cualquier hora, entre las 2-10pm/1-9pmC del jueves 10 de enero de 2013, a nuestros chats en vivo con funcionarios de admisión de universidades y expertos en ayuda económica del Departamento de Educación, y aprende como:

• Hallar en línea las mejores oportunidades de becas.
• Entender la diferencia entre becas privadas y públicas.
• Entender los programas de acceso a ayuda financiera.

¡Además! Visita los kioskos interactivos de al menos tres universidades o colegios durante el evento y queda registrado automáticamente para la oportunidad de ganar $2.500 en becas ¡Time is Money Scholarships! cortesía de HP.

Presentaciones:

Pendiente al horario definitivo. La agenda incluye presentaciones del Departamento de Educación de EEUU, College Goal Sunday, College Board, ACT y Scholarship Points.

Eventos adicionales CollegeWeekLive:

• Colorado Colleges Day: 15 de enero, 2-10 PM MST
• Transfer Day: 31 de enero, 2-8 PM EST
• All Access February: 13 de febrero, 10 AM-10 PM EST
• Big 10 Conference Day: 28 de febrero. Pendiente al horario.
• All Access March: 20, 21 de marzo, 10 AM-10 PM EST
• CUNY System Day: 23 de marzo. Pendiente al horario.
• All Access April: 18 de abril, 10 AM-10 PM EST

Y muchos más...

School Tech Connect: Fun With Voters

School Tech Connect: Fun With Voters:

Fun With Voters

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I got nothin' today. I'm going to run this New Left Media short from back during the election, in case you missed it. I'm not sure if I even ran it before, but I saw it again last night and decided once again that these guys are geniuses.

Popout

In my mind, this video is the only compelling argument against an elected, representative school board in Chicago. Even so, I'm going to keep working for one.

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Five Favorite Posts of 2012! Happy New Year!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Five Favorite Posts of 2012! Happy New Year!:

Five Favorite Posts of 2012! Happy New Year!

This is my 2nd year of Diary of a Public School Teacher! Yeah!(First on Wordpress, now Blogger)

And to think when I first started blogging I wondered whether I would have enough to write about. :)
Thank you for joining me on this journey.
I have shared a lot, learned a lot, and met a lot of great people!
Please follow me into 2013, and I gladly welcome any new travelers!

What year is not complete without the "Top of 2012"?

So, here are the top 5 according to pageviews that I have written:

Recess 'Crucial' for Kids, AAP Policy Statement Says - ABC News

Recess 'Crucial' for Kids, AAP Policy Statement Says - ABC News:

Recess 'Crucial' for Kids, Pediatricians' Group Says

By DAN CHILDS (@DanChildsABC) , ABC News Medical Unit

Dec. 31, 2012

Kids aren't getting enough recess at school, the country's top pediatricians' group said in a new policy statement released Monday.

The statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics is the latest salvo in the long-running debate over how much of a young child's time at school should be devoted to academics -- and how much should go to free, unstructured playtime.

The authors of the policy statement write that the AAP "believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child's development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons."

"The AAP has, in recent years, tried to focus the attention of parents, school officials and policymakers on the fact that kids are losing their free play," said the AAP's Dr. Robert Murray, one of the lead authors of the statement. "We are overstructuring their day. ... They lose that creative free play, which we think is so important."

The statement, which cites two decades worth of scientific evidence,

Top Five Moments on Teaching High School Feminism in 2012 « Feminist Teacher

Top Five Moments on Teaching High School Feminism in 2012 « Feminist Teacher:

Top Five Moments on Teaching High School Feminism in 2012

by feministteacher

My national television debut on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show (photo credit: Cheryl Coward).

2012 was a fantastic year for me as a feminist teacher, activist, and blogger. Take a look at my top five moments this year.

Appeared on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show to talk about teaching women’s studies to high school students as well as to advocate for safe and inclusive schools (August 2012).
Featured in The Atlantic during the Aspen Ideas Festival for teaching students how to engage in public discourse via blogging (July 2012).
Presented best practices on teaching high school feminism to a full room of scholars and activists at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference in Oakland. Among several topics,

Diane in the Evening 12-31-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog

Noa Rosinplotz Speaks for Herself!

by dianerav

Earlier today, I published an essay about testing (“The Voice of a Data-Point”) by a sixth-grade student, Noa Rosinplotz. Her story was so thoughtful and well-written that some commenters could not believe it was written by a sixth grade student. I emailed Noa and asked her to read the comments and respond. This is what she wrote:
“This is Noa, original writer of the letter. I’m responding to all the comments that I’m not actually in sixth grade or that someone else wrote my letter for me. While my mom did read what I wrote, to make sure it wasn’t “obnoxious” (as she put it), she didn’t make any written edits and I wrote the letter entirely by myself. I used other sources, like Diane Ravitch’s book, for information, but every word in the letter not in quotation marks was entirely my own. The fact that I’m not a certified adult educator shouldn’t make people doubt the authenticity of

Common Core and the Fiction/Non-Fiction Question

by dianerav

Education Week has an article by Catherine Gewertz saying that defenders of the Common Core are out in full force to quell the uproar about whether CC will mean less fiction.
It is interesting that the two loudest voices defending CC are Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Educational Excellence and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, both quite conservative groups.
The way the issue is framed unfortunately misses the point, at least the point that I and others have raised.
Why do the CC standards mandate a proportionate split between fiction and non-fiction?
Who thought it was necessary to turn NAEP’s instruction

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-31-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 32 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Love Is the Answer by dianerav Please read about Mr. Wright, a brilliant physics teacher in Louisville. An award-winning film was made about him, not just because of his vivacious, unorthodox teaching style, but because of his love for his son, who was born profoundly disabled. Please read the story about him in the New York Times and watch the video. The video is amazing. It will make you grateful for your blessings. It will humble you. It might change your life. An Ally Offers His Help to You by diane... more »