School Tech Connect: iDon't Need an iPhone That Badly

School Tech Connect: iDon't Need an iPhone That Badly:

iDon't Need an iPhone That Badly

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

I'm so over Apple products. I was once their biggest fan, too. I guess if I thought the people of China had any chance whatsoever of leveling the field, I'd feel slightly less guilty for my decades of being a groupie. But they don't.

It's weird that with all the modern technology, we don't have webcams available where we can watch the workers on their 12 hour shifts, or monitor the goings-on in the dormitories. We could have parimutuel wagering on which worker will off himself next. The technology is there-- and the market is there, I have no doubt.

Anyway, the world is just going to hell. Last night, I was re-reading parts of A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain, and the Buddhist idea that desire causes suffering is right underneath every story. It makes me think

An old news recap: charter school decisions, mutual matching, blue ribbon nomination - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

An old news recap: charter school decisions, mutual matching, blue ribbon nomination - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

An old news recap: charter school decisions, mutual matching, blue ribbon nomination

By Katy Murphy
Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 6:13 pm in charter schools, school closures,teachers.

Education news kept right on happening in the last two weeks. Here are some of the developments I missed while I was visiting old temples and dodging motorbikes:

THE OAKLAND SCHOOL BOARD REJECTED the charter school conversion petitions submitted by the faculties of ASCEND and Learning Without Limits, elementary schools in the Fruitvale area. While the district’s charter schools office recommended approval, Superintendent Tony Smith took a different stance, saying that allowing schools to break away from the district would undermine the district’s strategic plan. Both schools have since appealed the decision to the Alameda County Board of Education.

This whereas seems to sum up the superintendent’s position:

“WHEREAS, the District can not succeed at its strategic plan to create a Full Service Community School District that serves the whole child, provides each child with a

Support PURE! » FL “parent trigger” bill turned around by parents

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » FL “parent trigger” bill turned around by parents:

FL “parent trigger” bill turned around by parents

by admin

Congratulations to our powerful, tireless Parents Across America member, Rita Solnet, and other parents in Florida for taking a lemon of a bill (promoted as “parent empowerment”) and making it into something a lot more like lemonade!

According to the Tampa Bay Times,

Heading toward its first hearings, Florida’s proposed “Parent Empowerment Act” came uderblistering criticism from parent groups saying the initiative was a “scheme” to hand neighborhood schools over to private entities. Many parent groups immediately disavowed any input in the bill that supposedly is for them.

“They try to sell it as a piece of grassroots legislation,” said another parent about the so-called “parent trigger” law, but “It’s more astroturf.”

In a change that Illinois legislators and the Chicago school board ought to pay attention to, the Florida proposal

NYC Public School Parents: On teacher evaluation: the responsibility of the media to dig a little deeper

NYC Public School Parents: On teacher evaluation: the responsibility of the media to dig a little deeper:

On teacher evaluation: the responsibility of the media to dig a little deeper

by Leonie Haimson

The mainstream media has contributed heavily to the rampant public confusion over the teacher evaluation debate in recent weeks. Most recently, on Sunday the NY Times featured two superficial accounts of this issue.

The first, by Nick Kristof, told a familiar if touching story about an Arkansas school librarian named Mildred Grady, who bought some books by a favored author and slipped them onto the shelves to appeal to one particular at-risk student who later became a judge--to prove the notion that good teachers can change lives. This story was apparently first told in a Story Corps 2009 piece on NPR radio.

Kristof concludes that this example reveals how “we need rigorous teacher evaluations, more pay for good teachers and more training and weeding-out of poor teachers.”

Not so fast. The so-called “rigorous” system currently being promoted by the

Florida "Charter School Empowerment" bill gets revision before first committee stop | Tampa Bay Times

Florida "parent empowerment" bill gets revision before first committee stop | Education articles blog on schools in Florida & Tampa Bay: the Gradebook | Tampa Bay Times:

Florida "parent empowerment" bill gets revision before first committee stop

Heading toward its first hearings, Florida's proposed "Parent Empowerment Act" came uder blistering criticism from parent groups saying the initiative was a "scheme" to hand neighborhood schools over to private entities. Many parent groups immediately disavowed any input in the bill that supposedly is for them.

School district officials raised concerns, too, that a simple parent petition could override the reform decisions of elected school board members on the advice of their professional staffs. They also noted a provision barring students from having teachers with "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory" evaluations in two consecutive years could prove difficult under new evaluation laws.

Bill sponsor Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, filed a committee substitute to deal with at least some of the concerns, as the bill moves into its first committee stops on Tuesday. The amendments were "based on feedback from school boards and other stakeholders," he said, and aimed at keeping the focus on giving parents a voice.

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 1-23 Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 minutes ago

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. « Fred Klonsky:Life in Rahm’s Chicago.by Fred KlonskyOnly in Rahm’s Chicago would it be news that the teachers expect to be paid if they work a longer day.Rahm’s paid supporters show up at school closing hearings and pick a fight with parents and teachers.Rahm’s go-to person for the NATO and G8 meetings is said to use a “velvet fist.”The weekend saw more protests of Rahm’s plan to

Bloomberg Businessweek Reports Lucrative Real Estate Investments in Milwaukee Charter Schools « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

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Bloomberg Businessweek Reports Lucrative Real Estate Investments in Milwaukee Charter Schools « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:Bloomberg Businessweek Reports Lucrative Real Estate Investments in Milwaukee Charter Schoolsby millerlfProperty Investors Bet on Rising Demand for U.S. Charter SchoolsJanuary 19, 2012, BusinessWeek By Brian LouisJan. 11 (Bloomberg) — A warehouse where workers once shaped and cut steel on Milwaukee’s north side is getting a second life. It’s being transformed into a charter school that’s scheduled to open in August.A joint venture ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Polar Monitors Used to Track Student Depression, Suicide, Cancer, Alcohol/Drug Use, Sexual Activity? Public Student Data Stored on polargofit.com website

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Missouri Education Watchdog: Polar Monitors Used to Track Student Depression, Suicide, Cancer, Alcohol/Drug Use, Sexual Activity? Public Student Data Stored on polargofit.com website:Polar Monitors Used to Track Student Depression, Suicide, Cancer, Alcohol/Drug Use, Sexual Activity? Public Student Data Stored on polargofit.com websiteby stlgretchenPolar Monitors may not only measure and provided data to schools about physical activity and heart rates in PE classes, there may also be assessments relating to student suicide, depression, cancer and diabetes risk. It can even track ... more »

Senate Hearing Testimony on the Charter School Bill Proposal and Education Radio on Teacher Evaluations | Seattle Education

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Senate Hearing Testimony on the Charter School Bill Proposal and Education Radio on Teacher Evaluations | Seattle Education:Senate Hearing Testimony on the Charter School Bill Proposal and Education Radio on Teacher Evaluationsby seattleducation2011A day after a major snowstorm that turned into an ice storm many brave souls with 4 wheel drives carpooled with others to make the trek to Olympia to provide testimony to the House Education committee regarding HB 2428“Establishing alternative forms of governance for certain public schools”, meaning ... more »

ASCD Inservice: Taking a Stand for English Language Learners

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ASCD Inservice: Taking a Stand for English Language Learners:Taking a Stand for English Language LearnersLast week, former Los Angeles elementary school teacher and ASCD Emerging Leader Patricia Dickenson did a guest blogger stint at Rick Hess's Straight Up blog.In her first post, she highlights some of the policies that set English Language Learners up for failure in U.S. schools. "Too often tests, tracking, and a diluted curriculum impose an oppressive learning environment that fails to connect with students, give a ... more »

Opinion: For America’s children, education outlook grows only dimmer - TheHill.com

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Opinion: For America’s children, education outlook grows only dimmer - TheHill.com:Opinion: For America’s children, education outlook grows only dimmerBy Juan Williams - 01/23/12 05:00 AM ETThirty percent of America’s high school students drop out and never graduate. Fewer than half of the nation’s black and Hispanic students graduate on time from high school.The scandalous bottom line here is that more than 1 million students drop out of American public schools every year. That works out to more than 6,000 students ... more »

Trial of Rutgers Student Dharun Ravi in Tyler Clementi Suicide Case May Be Televised « Student Activism

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Trial of Rutgers Student Dharun Ravi in Tyler Clementi Suicide Case May Be Televised « Student Activism:Trial of Rutgers Student Dharun Ravi in Tyler Clementi Suicide Case May Be Televisedby Angus JohnstonThe trial of Dharun Ravi, who as a first-semester Rutgers student in the fall of 2010 allegedly drove his gay roommate to suicide with anti-gay harassment, may be televised on cable.Ravi is said to have spied on Tyler Clementi twice via webcam while Clementi and another man hooked up ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: A Thoughtful Stance on Charters

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: A Thoughtful Stance on Charters:A Thoughtful Stance on Chartersby Melissa WestbrookOne of the perks of doing this work and getting out there in the community is meeting people who don't just talk - they act.Trish Millines Dziko is such a person. Trish and her partner, Jill Hull Dziko, started providing STEM programs for students of color back in 1996. They then founded Technology Access Foundation which now has two programs: TechStart and TAF Academy.TechStart is an ... more »

Higher taxes, little relief | Thoughts on Public Education

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Higher taxes, little relief | Thoughts on Public Education:Higher taxes, little reliefShareDistricts unenthusiastic about Brown's tax planPosted on 1/23/12 • Categorized as Jerry Brown, Revenue and taxesBy John Fensterwald - Educated GuessGov. Jerry Brown will have a heck of a time persuading voters to raise taxes by $6.9 billion to benefit schools if he can’t get the education community excited about it first. And so far it’s proving to be a hard sell.District officials do fear the downside if Brown’s ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts 1-22 #edreform #ows

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What Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations' Choices? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week TeacherBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-6 minutes agoWhat Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations' Choices? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:What Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations' Choices?by Anthony CodyTen days ago, I shared a guest post authored by Kelly Flynn, Teachers Hold the Key. They Always Have. This morning it received the following comment:While I wholeheartedly agree with ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Chancellor Walcott Out of Order on Transportation Safety at January PEP

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NYC Public School Parents: Chancellor Walcott Out of Order on Transportation Safety at January PEP:Chancellor Walcott Out of Order on Transportation Safety at January PEPby Patrick J. SullivanQueens representative Dmytro Fedkowskyj introduced a resolution recommending the Chancellor consider an approach to granting transportation variances based on a joint committee comprised of parent and DOE representatives.The approach, called Safety Hazard Advisory Review Program (S.H.A.R.P), was developed by CEC 31 on Staten Island. All five borough president appointees supported the resolution... more »

#sixwordessay Helps Teachers Reclaim Education Debate | Dailycensored.com

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#sixwordessay Helps Teachers Reclaim Education Debate | Dailycensored.com:#sixwordessay Helps Teachers Reclaim Education Debateby Adam BessieIn the last year, the national education debate has been occupied by economists, billionaires, hedge-fund managers, corporate columnists and party-politicians –indeed, it seems like the further a person is from the classroom, the more weight his opinion carries.Call it the Gates Paradox – the power of your voice in the “education reform” debate is proportional to the distance from the classroom, multiplied by the amount of ... more »

Hugo Schwyzer is Still Doing Harm « Student Activism

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Hugo Schwyzer is Still Doing Harm « Student Activism:Hugo Schwyzer is Still Doing Harmby Angus JohnstonAs regular readers of this site know, professor and blogger Hugo Schwyzer has been the subject of mounting criticism from feminist activists in recent weeks.To date, the controversy has centered on Schwyzer’s history of gross personal misconduct and on the content of his writing. (Schwyzer’s disclosure last year of a 1998 attempt to kill his girlfriend and himself sparked the current clamor, drawing new scrutiny ... more »

School Tech Connect: Ayodeji Griffin at Crane

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School Tech Connect: Ayodeji Griffin at Crane:Ayodeji Griffin at Craneby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)"We will accept any student no matter how low their test scores are."Crane teacher Ayodeji Griffin spoke from the heart about what Crane has been doing over the years. From the outside, it looks like nobody told them that the way to keep your doors open is to ixnay the open-to-all idea. The road to success now lies in sculpting your graduating class in such a way that those ... more »

We Are the Present: Why Youth Voices are Necessary « Cooperative Catalyst

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We Are the Present: Why Youth Voices are Necessary « Cooperative Catalyst:We Are the Present: Why Youth Voices are Necessaryby rad fagAn education which denies the voices of youth can never benefit from their wisdom as to how to restructure it.In many of the educational and teacher training programs I have been a part of, I’ve been frustrated by the intense focus given to preparing students for their academic futures (meaning standardized testing and ultimately college) while virtually none has ... more »

A Teacher Story: Why I’m Leaving Public Education | United Opt Out National

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A Teacher Story: Why I’m Leaving Public Education | United Opt Out National:A Teacher Story: Why I’m Leaving Public Educationby adminAs promised, we are going to begin sharing stories – these stories need to be heard – and many are being silenced through the use of fear tactics and the ever so silent mainstream media. So, with your help, we can make these stories be heard. Please read, please share, and welcome our first guest post by a teacher who ... more »

For Bernardine in her 70th Year! Happy Birthday!! « Bill Ayers

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For Bernardine in her 70th Year! Happy Birthday!! « Bill Ayers:For Bernardine in her 70th Year! Happy Birthday!!by billayersA toast to Bernardine at the wild cast-of-thousands party last night from a sweet Chicago friend: There are many people who know the name Bernardine Dorhn. We consider ourselves fortunate to know Bernardine, the friend, sister, leader, confidante, advisor, and deep thinker with such a big heart. If there is anything we strive for in life, it is to walk with integrity, ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 1-22 Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

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The Alarming Silence on the Remediation Levels Needed by Florida College Freshmen | Scathing Purple MusingsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-36 minutes agoThe Alarming Silence on the Remediation Levels Needed by Florida College Freshmen | Scathing Purple Musings:The Alarming Silence on the Remediation Levels Needed by Florida College Freshmenby Bob SikesOcala Star-Banner editorial page editor, Brad Rogers correctly points out that the number of Florida freshmen who need some sort of remediation is the most crucial – and disturbing ... more »

What Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations' Choices? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

What Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations' Choices? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:What Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations' Choices?by Anthony CodyTen days ago, I shared a guest post authored by Kelly Flynn, Teachers Hold the Key. They Always Have. This morning it received the following comment:While I wholeheartedly agree with Ms. Flynn that teachers need to become more aware and involved in the reform strategies that are shaping our profession, I wonder what the ... more »

Schools Matter: The Thrill is Gone

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Schools Matter: The Thrill is Gone:The Thrill is Goneby Jim HornFrom a look at today's Google Alert list, it would seem to indicate some pretty consistent concerns with the corporate welfare charter school movement, which shows signs of running out of steam everywhere, except on Wall Street.Charter schools lose their magicGloucester County Times - NJ.comBy Milton W. Hinton Jr. I find it interesting that some very influential people have come out in support of the expansion of charter schools in ... more »