Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Big Education Ape Nite Cap UPDATE 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2




UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE


If I have to take one more of these frigging standardized test,
I think my head will explode!

GO TO 


College Is No Guarantee of Success

Professional blind squirrel Campbell Brown finds a nut:
Hardly reassuring words when you look at the reality. According to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, about 53.6 percent of men and women under the age of 25 who hold bachelor’s degrees were jobless or underemployed last year, the most in at least 11 years. According to the Pew Research Center, if we broaden the age group to 18- to 29-year-olds, an estimated 37 percent are unemployed or out of the work force, the highest share in more than three decades.
This notion that poverty is caused by a bad American education system keeps bumping up against reality. The 

Bumper Crop of Working Seniors


Popout
“All Used Up,” performed by Utah Phillips

As pensions are gutted, retirement ages raised, and nest eggs still enfeebled by the recession, more and more people are finding they cannot afford to retire. The New York Times

On Cory Booker's Nausea: A Teacher's Meditation

Guest poem by Bill Schechter.

So who dares criticize Private Equity?
Who has the temerity to malign Private Enterprise,
- or suggest that Bain actually was a bane?
But when it came to trashing Public Education & Unions
the businessmen were first in line, with their Roundtables, their Councils, their Chambers, their PACS, followed by their Hedge Fund and Equity colleagues, with their phony grassroots groups, their bought education commissioners, their for-profit charters, their testing companies feeding at the public trough, their dollars counting double our votes,

Want to know who Corey Booker is and what he really stands for?

Back in July of 2010, I reported on the New Jersey Teacher’s Village taht would combine zoning for three charter schools and corporate labor houses  for corporate teachers. Well, the plan came to fruition and the big sponsors, along with Chris Cristie, who you would expect to pass the begging...

Shame on Joy Hochstadt and Andrew Ostrowksy

Strike authorization vote likely before end of school year

Wednesday afternoon the Chicago Teachers Union is planning a massive rally to protest the current CPS contract proposal, which they call “unreasonable.” No strike authorization vote will be taken at the downtown event, but such a vote will likely happen before the end of this school year.
CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey says the vote is a “bargaining tool,” and emphasized that a strike date would 

Another DCPS RIF and More Excesses Up Ahead !


Written by Candi Peterson

With another school year coming to a close, more excess letters will be handed out by DC Public Schools to another group of Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) members as well as Council of School Officers (CSO) union members. Among those impacted will be DCPS School Psychologists. Historically, school psychologists' have been itinerant workers who were centrally funded and supervised directly by the Office of Special Education. School psychologists were generally responsible for several schools in most cases (sometimes more). Last school year, itinerant school social workers whose positions had previously been centrally funded by the Office of Special Education

Bill Introduced: H.R.5436 Engaging Students Through Service Learning Act

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize a national elementary and secondary service-learning program that promotes student academic achievement, and for other purposes.

Bill Introduced: H.Res.645 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teacher Day.

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teacher Day.


Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CPS set to sign away student privacy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CPS set to sign away student privacy: CPS set to sign away student privacy At their meeting tomorrow, the Chicago Board of Education is set to sign a new contract with Rupert Murdoch’s Wireless Generation to collect and store student mathematics assessment information with the provision that our children’s personal information will be shared with test publishers and other corporations that make money off of our students. Thought there were privacy laws and parental rights? Think again. Parents Across America co-founder Leonie... more »

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2





Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CPS set to sign away student privacy

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CPS set to sign away student privacy:


CPS set to sign away student privacy

At their meeting tomorrow, the Chicago Board of Education is set to sign a new contract with Rupert Murdoch’s Wireless Generation to collect and store student mathematics assessment information with the provision that our children’s personal information will be shared with test publishers and other corporations that make money off of our students.
Thought there were privacy laws and parental rights?
Think again.
Parents Across America co-founder Leonie Haimson explain the national story this way:
The Gates Foundation, in association with Wireless Generation, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, recently formed a private LLC called the Shared Learning Collaborative. This LLC will collect confidential student and teacher data provided to them by states throughout the country, and in some form, share it with vendors and other commercial enterprises. The purpose of this project is at least in part to help 

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A Big Education Ape Nite Cap


LA Scholarship Program Participating Schools & Seat Availability 2012-2013: Highlights | The G Bitch Spot

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 minutes ago
LA Scholarship Program Participating Schools & Seat Availability 2012-2013: Highlights | The G Bitch Spot: LA Scholarship Program Participating Schools & Seat Availability 2012-2013: Highlights by G Bitch For the 2012-2013 school year, 125 schools from 33 parishes across the state, offering a total of approximately 7,450 seats, have qualified to participate in the program. More than 2,300 offers have already been made to students in New Orleans, leaving approximately 5,150 seats available at schools statewide that will be accepting applications over the next six weeks. LA Depa... more »

What ever happened to…Rod Paige? « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
What ever happened to…Rod Paige? « Fred Klonsky: What ever happened to…Rod Paige? by Fred Klonsky Like summer colds and Zach Galifianakis comedies, school reformers come and go. In this semi-regular post we will answer the question: What ever happened to…” Today? What ever happened to Rod Paige? Paige was an Education Secretary in the George W. Bush administration. He was the one before Maggie Spellings.

Harvey Milk Day - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Harvey Milk Day - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Urges Schools to Observe Harvey Milk Day SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson released the following statement, urging teachers and students to take a moment today to observe Harvey Milk Day: "One of California's greatest strengths is—and always has been—our diversity. We are fortunate to live in a state where there is such great potential for the contributions of all to be acknowledged and appreciated. "Harvey Milk helped blaze this path while he was alive, and it's... more »

Education Schools' Training On Standardized Tests Found Lacking In New Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Education Schools' Training On Standardized Tests Found Lacking In New Report: Education Schools' Training On Standardized Tests Found Lacking In New Report by Joy Resmovits These days, it's not enough for teachers to know how to manage a classroom, impart knowledge and deliver lesson plans. In the wake of test-heavy policies like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, a teacher's job description now entails data analysis and a grounding in statistics -- crucial skills that a new study claims teachers aren't learning in the education colleges that prepare them for the classr... more »

Seriously, Teachers, You’re Being WAY Too Difficult | Mr. Teachbad

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Seriously, Teachers, You’re Being WAY Too Difficult | Mr. Teachbad: Seriously, Teachers, You’re Being WAY Too Difficult by teachbad Look­ing back it’s clear to see how Dr. Todd Whitaker’s man­age­ment tech­niques were used at my school. I’ll illus­trate a cou­ple of exam­ples and I encour­age you to send in your own. Recall the last post in which Dr. Whitaker’s path-breaking book *Deal­ing With Dif­fi­cult Teach­ers*was viciously skew­ered in an even­handed review. Dr. Whitaker encour­ages prin­ci­pals to use mis­di­rec­tion and dis-ingenuousness in their treat­ment of the vile sub­... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter Schools Ballot Initiative Filed

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter Schools Ballot Initiative Filed: Charter Schools Ballot Initiative Filed by Melissa Westbrook From the Times: [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] *A coalition of education advocacy groups filed an initiative this afternoon to ask voters once again to allow charter schools in Washington state.* *If the groups can collect nearly 250,000 signatures by the July 6 deadline, the issue will go on the November ballot, joining a slew of other high-profile questions.* Well, given that Stand for Children (and who knows who else... more »

Schools Matter: The coming deluge of tests

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Schools Matter: The coming deluge of tests: The coming deluge of tests by skrashen Sent to the San Diego Union-Tribune, May 22, 2012 I wonder how many people are aware of the amount of testing that will eventually accompany the Common Core Standards (“State plans big changes to testing, instruction,” May 21). It will be more than we have ever seen on this planet, and much more than the already excessive amount demanded by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Testing done at the end of the school year will be expanded to include all subjects that can be tested and more grade levels. As no... more »

Geaux Teacher!: Which came first - the Vouchers or the Scams?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Geaux Teacher!: Which came first - the Vouchers or the Scams?: Which came first - the Vouchers or the Scams? by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) REPOSTED FROM *THE NEW YORK TIMES* May 21, 2012 *Public Money Finds Back Door to Private Schools* By STEPHANIE SAUL When the Georgia legislature passed a private school scholarship program in 2008, lawmakers promoted it as a way to give poor children the same education choices as the wealthy. The program would be supported by donations to nonprofit scholarship groups, and Georgians who contributed would receive dollar-fo... more »

School Tech Connect: Could You Speak Into My Lapel?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Could You Speak Into My Lapel?: Could You Speak Into My Lapel? by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I see from the Twitter traffic that the House passed Elaine Nekritz's "eavesdropping" law. My hat is off to this representative, who not only answers emails but who writes laws that help me. I completely regret my occasional excoriations of her performance on the pensions committee, abysmal as that performance was, in my opinion. My understanding, which could be wrong, is that it's major big-time illegal in Illinois to *audio* record without both the consent... more »

Searching for the reality of virtual schools--at a glance

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Searching for the reality of virtual schools--at a glance: Searching for the reality of virtual schools--at a glance Con Academy Browse Con Academy library of over 3,100 educational videos... [image: U.S. Department of Education and Federal Student Aid logo (Start Here. Go Further.)] You’re probably reading this on a screen – whether a monitor, a phone, or a tablet – providing more evidence that digital content is ubiquitous. Likewise, its place in public education is not a matter of debate; it is inevitable. But school leaders and education policymakers do need to consider how... more »

Jim Stergios Highlights Skewed Analysis of Federalist Papers | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Jim Stergios Highlights Skewed Analysis of Federalist Papers | Truth in American Education: Jim Stergios Highlights Skewed Analysis of Federalist Papers by James Bell Dear David, Congratulations on becoming the new head of the College Board. I know, as a Founding Father of the national standards effort, you may have read certain things I have written that you do not agree with. While I haven’t met you personally yet, I look forward to it. I have heard universally that you are a smart guy and reputed by all to be a nice person. I hope you and the Coleman family are well, and I am wri... more »

Education Law | NJDOE INTENT ON CLOSING SCHOOLS SERVING STUDENTS OF COLOR

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Education Law | NJDOE INTENT ON CLOSING SCHOOLS SERVING STUDENTS OF COLOR: NJDOE INTENT ON CLOSING SCHOOLS SERVING STUDENTS OF COLOR May 22, 2012 The NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) under Acting Commissioner Christopher Cerf is gearing up to intervene in 75 predominately Black and Latino “Priority” Schools, action that could lead to massive school closings within three years. The schools targeted by NJDOE for closure are in very poor neighborhoods across the state and have served these communities for decades. The NJDOE plan for “aggressive intervention” and potential school clo... more »

The bait-and-switch tactic driving Georgia’s education debate | Jay Bookman

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The bait-and-switch tactic driving Georgia’s education debate | Jay Bookman: The bait-and-switch tactic driving Georgia’s education debate 10:26 am May 22, 2012, by Jay The school-choice and voucher movement has long tried to sell itself to the public as a public-spirited crusade to allow low-income, often minority and inner-city students to escape bad public schools. However, critics of the movement have long suspected that it was something else entirely. They have argued that the movement was actually an ill-disguised scam to divert public taxpayer money to private schools that ... more »

Green Party's suggestions for the Philadelphia schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Green Party's suggestions for the Philadelphia schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Green Party's suggestions for the Philadelphia schools by Guest blogger This guest blog post comes from the Green Party of Philadelphia, which recently outlined a proposal for the Philadelphia public schools. ------------------------------ The Green Party of Philadelphia recognizes that Philadelphia’s public schools are facing a crisis. Philadelphia has the eighth-largest school district in the nation by enrollment, with 154,482 students in 257 schools. This number includes privately man... more »

Educate our children rather than send them to war | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Educate our children rather than send them to war | Seattle Education: Educate our children rather than send them to war by seattleducation2011 [image: BubbleBlowGirl.jpg] This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post on push-back onto the corporate powers that be and their military. When you step back and look at what is happening in education and you start to see the connections to the larger picture, one can see that we are pushing back against the same corporate machine. If we stopped burning up money paying for the military/corporate machine and used tax payer dollars to instead pro... more »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 5-22-12: Do it tomorrow!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 5-22-12: Do it tomorrow!: PSAT for 5-22-12: Do it tomorrow! by admin Today’s Public Schools Action Tuesday is to be ready to do two things tomorrow: 1) Watch the Sun-Times. You’ll know. Share. 2) Join Parents 4 Teachers and many others in support of our teachers’ union. The CTU is holding a members-only rally at the Auditorium Theater tomorrow afternoon, and parents and community members (and the overflow of teachers) will rally outside beginning at 3 pm. Here’s why (from Parents 4 Teachers): Parents hear the... more »

The in box. I’ve cut Jeff off. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
The in box. I’ve cut Jeff off. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. I’ve cut Jeff off. by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *Let me get this straight Fred. You are an ararchist (sic) who wants to use your government to force private sector taxpayers who earn less than you to pay out benefits to you that they had no say in negotiating. As long as you benefit from government taking away my free will you are in favor of it. You should call yourself an “ivory-tower” anarchist my friend.* *-Jeff* Jeff, Let me get this straight Jeff. You are someone who totally missed the joke. My friend. I obviously am not... more »

RheeFirst! » EdWeek raises questions about StudentsFirst’s membership numbers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
RheeFirst! » EdWeek raises questions about StudentsFirst’s membership numbers: EdWeek raises questions about StudentsFirst’s membership numbers Written by Stephen Sawchuk for EdWeek. Read the entire article here. “*StudentsFirst… claims to have 1.3 million members, each of whom has donated an average of $40. Individuals can become members through several channels, including by signing up at a live event; through outreach drives at college campuses; signing up on its website; signing the organization’s pledge; or signing one of its petitions hosted on outside websites.* *In the latt... more »

Third Grade Retention: What Harm Could it Do? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Third Grade Retention: What Harm Could it Do? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Third Grade Retention: What Harm Could it Do? by Anthony Cody In a comment on my recent post posing Critical Questions about the Common Core, one reader wrote: "I don't see any harm in requiring all students to be able to recite their multiplication tables from memory up to 12 X 12 by the end of third grade or they don't go to fourth grade." In some ways this represents the epitome of standardization. Determine a standard that all students must meet, and make it into a "high bar" that the... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: That Divide Among Democrats on Education? Widening.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: That Divide Among Democrats on Education? Widening.: That Divide Among Democrats on Education? Widening. by Melissa Westbrook [image: DFER Fake Democrats for Education Privatization (click on Picture)]IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT... EVER! Rep. Reuven Carlyle has come out on his blog with a post that firmly aligns him in the ed reform camp. This is his choice to make but it is not what I have heard from him in the past. He also says some very unfair things and uses straight-out-of-... more »

National Evaluation of Title III Implementation— Report on State and Local Implementation | American Institutes for Research

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
National Evaluation of Title III Implementation— Report on State and Local Implementation | American Institutes for Research: National Evaluation of Title III Implementation— Report on State and Local Implementation AIR Authors: Courtney Tanenbaum, Andrea Boyle, Kay Soga, Kerstin Carlson Le Floch, Laura Golden, Megan Petroccia, Michele Toplitz, James Taylor, Jennifer O’Day - *News Release:* National Evaluation of Title III Finds Wide Variances in How States and Districts Define and Implement Policies and Programs for English Learners - *File:* National Evaluation of ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee 5/21/12

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee 5/21/12: Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee 5/21/12 by Charlie Mas The Board's Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee met on Monday, May 21. The meeting started just after the scheduled start time of 4:00. All three committee members, Marty McLaren (chair), Sharon Peaslee, and Harium Martin-Morris, were present. No other board members were in attendance. They quickly approved the agenda without amendments and then approved the minutes from the previous meeting, also without amendments. Th... more »

Whoa, Seven in Ten Florida School Students Are Illiterate! - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Whoa, Seven in Ten Florida School Students Are Illiterate! - Wait, What?: Whoa, Seven in Ten Florida School Students Are Illiterate! by jonpelto *Oh, no wait, it’s going to be okay after all.* Florida’s Board of Education held an emergency meeting last week to “lower the passing grade” on the state’s standardized mastery tests because far too many students where failing. The good news is that seven in ten Florida school students aren’t illiterate after all. State officials explained that by increasing a passing grade from 3.5 to 4 on scale of zero to 6 and adopting higher expecta... more »

FCAT hot line, websites aimed at helping parents - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FCAT hot line, websites aimed at helping parents - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: FCAT hot line, websites aimed at helping parents - [image: Email] - [image: print] - Comments 0 - Share0 - - - - Related - FCAT, exam frenzy under attack - [image: FCAT debacle raises distrust] FCAT debacle raises distrust - [image: FCAT reading levels middling; writing scores high — after tweaking]FCAT reading levels middling; writing scores high — after tweaking - Topics - Teaching and Learning - Students - Florida Comprehensive Asses... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, May 22, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Tuesday, May 22, 2012* Long Beach education officials wary of financial futureGov. Jerry Brown had a clear message in his budget plan released on Monday - Funding for public schools will depend on voters in November. Norwalk-La Mirada, Paramount join growing list of cash-strapped school districtsNorwalk-La Mirada Unified and Paramount Unified are two of 176 school districts to receive qualified certifications, meaning the school districts are in danger of not meeting their financial obligations for the current... more »

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 5-22 AM Posts #soschat #edreform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS A “State Dinner” Just For Kids | ED.gov Blog coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 35 minutes ago A “State Dinner” Just For Kids | ED.gov Blog: A “State Dinner” Just For Kids by Guest Blogger *Cross-posted from the Let’s Move! Blog* [image: Let's Move Logo] Calling all kid chefs: The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge invites parents of kids ages 8-12 to submit an original recipe for a lunch that is nutritious and delicious. All entrants have the chance to win a trip to Washington D.C. and the opportunity to be invited to attend a Kids’ “State Dinner”... more »

A “State Dinner” Just For Kids | ED.gov Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
A “State Dinner” Just For Kids | ED.gov Blog: A “State Dinner” Just For Kids by Guest Blogger *Cross-posted from the Let’s Move! Blog* [image: Let's Move Logo] Calling all kid chefs: The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge invites parents of kids ages 8-12 to submit an original recipe for a lunch that is nutritious and delicious. All entrants have the chance to win a trip to Washington D.C. and the opportunity to be invited to attend a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House in August, where a selection of the winning healthy recipes will be served. Let’s Move! is teaming up with Epicurious... more »

Shanker Blog » Herding FCATs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Shanker Blog » Herding FCATs: Herding FCATs by Matthew Di Carlo About a week ago, Florida officials went into crisis mode after revealing that the proficiency rate on the state’s writing test (FCAT) dropped from 81 percent to 27 percent among fourth graders, with similarly large drops in the other two grades in which the test is administered (eighth and tenth). The panic was almost immediate. For one thing, performance on the writing FCAT is counted in the state’s school and district ratings. Many schools would end up with lower grades and could therefore face punitive measures. U... more »

Modern School: New Astroturf Group Calls Tenure, Seniority Unconstitutional

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Modern School: New Astroturf Group Calls Tenure, Seniority Unconstitutional: New Astroturf Group Calls Tenure, Seniority Unconstitutional by Michael Dunn Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons A right-wing astroturf group, Students Matter, has escalated the war on California’s teachers with a lawsuit seeking to overturn five state laws related to teacher tenure, seniority and the dismissal process. The law suit, which was filed on May 14 in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of eight students, argued that "A handful of outdated laws passed by the California Legislature are prevent... more »

Bill Gates — Close, But Not Quite, on Teacher Evaluations

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Bill Gates — Close, But Not Quite, on Teacher Evaluations: Bill Gates — Close, But Not Quite, on Teacher Evaluations by Sam There’s an Op-Ed in today’s *New York Times* in which Joe Nocera discusses the Gates Foundation’s ambitious new efforts to crack the code of teacher assessment and evaluation, a valid goal is ever there was one. Piloting a new system in four districts — and providing local leaders with tens of millions of dollars to implement it — the Gates team seems to have recognized the limited value of test scores; in these communities, they comprise only a small part of... more »

"NYSUT activists call for privacy for teachers evaluations." May 21, 2012. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
"NYSUT activists call for privacy for teachers evaluations." May 21, 2012. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org: NYSUT activists call for privacy for teachers evaluations NYSUT Media Relations - May 21, 2012 [image: Cartoon by John Jonik] ALBANY, N.Y. May 21, 2012 - Hundreds of grassroots lobbyists from New York State United Teachers will vigorously press lawmakers Tuesday to enact legislation protecting the privacy rights of teachers by shielding their evaluations from exploitation by the public and news media. "This is an opportunity for legislators and the Governor... more »

A Standardized Composition Test « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
A Standardized Composition Test « Cooperative Catalyst: A Standardized Composition Test by Brent Snavely We know bubble sheets are unrelated to “real life”. I think we made the “education thing” up by constructing much nonsense about the written word being the supreme method of sharing ideas and information. I think we have forgotten that sharing experiences and doing things together are matters that (1) allow us to learn and (2) make us human. I began asking a question of Paramedic and EMT students (HS grads/GED) to kick-start discussions about medical-legal issues. I ask them to wr...more »

Philadelphia and the privatization of a school system | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Philadelphia and the privatization of a school system | Seattle Education: Philadelphia and the privatization of a school system by seattleducation2011 We first made note of what was going on within the Philadelphia school system last year with the post Who Will Run Philadelphia’s Schools? Bill Gates? Then in the Weekly Update : The Philadelphia horror story this month, I described how the schools in Philadelphia were to be privatized by closing neighborhood schools and populating the urban landscape with charter chains. This wringing of hands over the economy and finding that enou... more »

Wall Street's Investment in School Reform - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Wall Street's Investment in School Reform - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Wall Street's Investment in School Reform by Diane Ravitch Dear Deborah, You and I used to have lively debates about standards, curriculum, pedagogy, and a lot of other matters where we disagreed. Now those debates seem antique compared with the current uncertainty about the future of public education. The question today is whether a democratic society needs public schools subject to democratic governance. Why not turn public dollars over to private corporations to run schools as they see fit? Isn... more »

Stop the Campaign Against Public Schools! « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Stop the Campaign Against Public Schools! « Diane Ravitch's blog: Stop the Campaign Against Public Schools! by dianerav My review of the Council on Foreign Relations’ report on US public schools as a “grave threat to national security” is now available online. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/07/do-our-public-schools-threaten-national-security/?page=1 I hope it is widely read. I urge everyone who reads it to send it to their friends and colleagues. The report I reviewed was written by a task force chaired by Joel Klein and Condaleeza Rice. I believe the report is pa... more »

NYC Educator: The Pressure Mounts

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
NYC Educator: The Pressure Mounts: The Pressure Mounts by Miss Eyre If I'm counting right (and, this late in the school year, that is a very big "if"), there are 14 school days until the English Regents. And, at this stage of the game, it's very hard to get hung up on the love of literature when the paragraphs we've been working on writing all year long are still a struggle for some of my students. I freely admit that I'm not handling this well. I'm taking it personally, practically as an affront to me, that my kids don't seem 100% ready this close to the test. I'm comparing my... more »

CSBA: Vote for both tax plans | Thoughts on Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
CSBA: Vote for both tax plans | Thoughts on Public Education: CSBA: Vote for both tax plans - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess [image: SOS Save Our Schools] The state PTA backs the tax initiative financed by civil rights attorney Molly Munger; the California Teachers Association and the Association of California School Administrators endorsed the governor’s initiative. This week, the California School Boards Association decided to support both. On Sunday, at the urging of CSBA’s board of directors, school board members in the Delegate Assembl... more »

Daily Kos: A personal perspective on education statistics in Florida

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Daily Kos: A personal perspective on education statistics in Florida: A personal perspective on education statistics in Florida by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) My good friend, Rita Solnet, is is a Florida co-founder of Parent Across America, has given me permission to cross-post a piece she just did. I strongly recommend you read her story. Everything below this point is Rita's words. Please read and pass on to others. Thanks ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Statistically Speaking, Florida -- I Don't Be... more »

Unneeded Charters « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Unneeded Charters « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Unneeded Charters by dianerav Stories like this one from Nashville (http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120509/NEWS04/305090116), or this one from Los Altos, California (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-15/taxpayers-billed-for-millionaires-kids-at-charter-school.html) remind me how far the charter idea has strayed from its origins. Parents in Nashville are fighting the Great Hearts charter because they know it is targeting children who are affluent and white; they know that it wil... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Anatomy of a big high school

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Anatomy of a big high school: Anatomy of a big high school by Mike Klonsky Chicago's great architectural critic *Lee Bey *writes for WBEZ public radio, about his alma mater, Chicago Vocational High School ("School of architecture: A look at sprawling Chicago Vocational.") The massive, 72-year-old school, located at 2100 E. 87th St., is not only the city's second largest high school building (only Lane Tech is bigger), but is Chicago's best large-scale example of Art Moderne architecture. The 27-acre school, formerly known as Chicago Vocational High S... more »

A NATO Question for Mayor Emanuel and President Obama from My Students. | The Classroom Sooth

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
A NATO Question for Mayor Emanuel and President Obama from My Students. | The Classroom Sooth: A NATO Question for Mayor Emanuel and President Obama from My Students. Posted on May 22, 2012 | Leave a comment My freshmen world studies class today did a quick media study of the NATO experience in Chicago, particularly looking at these photos from the Chicago Tribune, and came to the conclusion that perhaps the NATO summits shouldn’t be held in a major urban area. “If people new the protesters were going to be violent, why not just hold the meeting elsewhere?” Profoundly simple qu... more »

What Jeb Bush Has Wrought | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
What Jeb Bush Has Wrought | Scathing Purple Musings: What Jeb Bush Has Wrought by Bob Sikes News yesterday that influential members of congress were calling on the Florida Board of Education to reconsider the grade changes as they affect english-langauge learners. From Jeff Solochek in Gradebook: The Florida Board of Education’s decisions to change the state school grading system to count the proficiency levels of students still learning English has drawn criticism from some of the state’s top Hispanic politicians. U.S. Rep. Iliana Ros-Lehtinen, state Sen. Rene Garcia and state ... more »

State plans big changes to testing, instruction | UTSanDiego.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
State plans big changes to testing, instruction | UTSanDiego.com: State plans big changes to testing, instruction‘Common core standards’ stress critical thinking skills, rapid feedback from tests By Michael Gardner Monday, May 21, 2012 SACRAMENTO — California has embarked on a course to fundamentally reshape how every student is taught and tested. These new “common core standards” for grades K-12 go into effect in fall 2014 for English Language Arts and math. Revisions to the curriculum and assessments for other subjects, such as science and history, will follow in later years. “It’...more »

Federal judge won't hear parents advocacy group's suit over Title I funds - LA Daily News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Federal judge won't hear parents advocacy group's suit over Title I funds - LA Daily News: Federal judge won't hear parents advocacy group's suit over Title I funds By Barbara Jones Staff Writer Posted: 05/21/2012 09:38:55 PM PDT Updated: 05/21/2012 09:42:10 PM PDT A federal judge refused Monday to take jurisdiction of a lawsuit filed by a parents advocacy group, which claims that Los Angeles Unified illegally suspended its operation and seized control of federal money set aside for its use. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow involves a suit filed in December by... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Is David Coleman Doing the Humpty Dumpty?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Is David Coleman Doing the Humpty Dumpty?: Is David Coleman Doing the Humpty Dumpty? by stlgretchen Is the Common Core fairy tale being exposed as just that? David Coleman, chief architect of the Common Core standards and newly named head of the College Board, is being questioned on not only his motives in crafting the standards and financial gain realized from his participation in their implementation, but also on his understanding of historical documents and the basis of the standards themselves. Jim Stergios posted an article, "The Wrong Lesson o... more »

Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky: Pension Call Tuesday. by Fred Klonsky From Todd Mertz. *What: *Rally at Rep. Tom Cross’ Office *When:* This Wednesday, May 23rd 4:00-6:00 p.m. *Where: *540 W. Lockport St. Suite 204 Plainfield, IL 60544 *Why: *Cross has been teachers’ worst enemy. Cross told me personally in Springfield that Ty Fahner and the Civic Committee were involved in writing the horrendous SB512 which eventually did not have the needed support, but may resurface in a similar form anytime. He is working hard to throw teachers under the bus while protecting his wealth... more »

U.S. School Districts Can Enter ‘Race to Top’ Competition - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
U.S. School Districts Can Enter ‘Race to Top’ Competition - NYTimes.com: District Grant Contest UnveiledBy RICHARD PÉREZ-PEĂ‘APublished: May 22, 2012 School districts will be able to submit proposals for innovative educational programs this year to compete for federal grants of up to $25 million under a new national contest, part of the three-year-oldRace to the Top program. Rules for the competition were to be announced on Tuesday by the Department of Education. Doug Mills/The New York Times Education Secretary Arne Duncan wants to bring learning “into the 21st century.” [image: Sc... more »

Is the Seattle School Board dysfunctional? U.S. Chamber of Commerce thinks so | Local News | The Seattle Times

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Is the Seattle School Board dysfunctional? U.S. Chamber of Commerce thinks so | Local News | The Seattle Times: Is the Seattle School Board dysfunctional? U.S. Chamber of Commerce thinks so *Top Corporations Aid U.S. Chamber of Commerce Campaign - NYTimes.com * According to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Seattle School Board suffers from churn and conflict, a poor relationship with the superintendent and what one unnamed observer called "micromanagement on steroids." Officials here dispute the findings. By Brian M. Rosenthal Seattle Times education reporter RELATE... more »

I Don’t Write For Your F**king Approval [Channeling Kobe Bryant] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
I Don’t Write For Your F**king Approval [Channeling Kobe Bryant] | The Jose Vilson: I Don’t Write For Your F**king Approval [Channeling Kobe Bryant] by Jose *Here is another recent interview with Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski and yours truly. The piece never made it into Yahoo!, but he e-mailed it to me anyways.* The scene here is the usual: arguments abound about the future of education, the rank and file teachers jump into their political slots for the election year, millionaires and billionaires covertly endorse the candidates malleable enough to shift their well intentioned... more »

Milwaukee’s Education Privatization Exlpained: What’s the Difference Between Public Schools, Voucher Schools and Charter Schools? « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Milwaukee’s Education Privatization Exlpained: What’s the Difference Between Public Schools, Voucher Schools and Charter Schools? « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Milwaukee’s Education Privatization Exlpained: What’s the Difference Between Public Schools, Voucher Schools and Charter Schools? by millerlf *What’s the Difference? Voucher schools, Charter schools, Milwaukee Public Schools* Published in May 2012 by the non-partisan Democracy and Education Research Group. Email: democracy.education.milwaukee@gmail.com *Overview*** In recent decades, there has been an expa... more »

Community-led meeting on District overhaul plans « City School Stories

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Community-led meeting on District overhaul plans « City School Stories: Community-led meeting on District overhaul plans by fmurphy Notes from the Field Submitted by Ray Murphy on May 21, 2012 Dear friend, All of us want Philadelphia to be vibrant. Which is why the current debate over Philadelphia’s schools is so important to Bread & Roses Community Fund stakeholders. But it’s not easy keeping up with all of the details. Here is a *quick summary *of what’s going on: Next week, the School Reform Commission (SRC) will vote on a budget for the School District of Philadelphia which wil... more »