SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing - Politics K-12 - Education Week

SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing

by Stephen Sawchuk

By guest blogger Liana Heitin
In sharp contrast to last summer's celebrity-attended rally and march to the White House, the Save Our Schools gathering this year proved a quiet, 150-person affair.
Held this weekend in the regal Wardman Park Marriott in downtown Washington, the convention featured presentations on an array of topics including advocacy, social justice, and elevating student voice, and a keynote by author and activist Jonathan Kozol. Attendees also attended workshops during which they crafted official policy stances to eventually present to policymakers (though these sessions were closed to the media).
Mike Klonsky, Chicago-based educator and activist who is a first-year member of the SOS steering committee, 

E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

A lot has been said in the last few days or so of CNN's Cambpell Brown, and wife of MichelleRheeFirst lackeyDan Senor, and her column in the Wall Street Journal claiming that teacher's unions, in particular the UFT, protects sexual predators. Nothing, we all know, could be further from the truth.

More disturbing is that a fellow teacher and UFT member (both terms used quite loosely) andEducators4Excllence bon vivant, Michael Loeb, without thinking, without any concern at the true nature of adult sexual predators decides to thoughtlessly and sycophantically speak out in support of, not onl

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated | The Jose Vilson

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated | The Jose Vilson:

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated

by Jose

This is the post where I almost started off with a “Dear White People.”
This is going to lean towards education, but applies pervasively.
I’m referring to the educators who still want to save the children, the ones who still think they’re teaching their subjects and not actual students, the ones who see teaching as a segue to administration or a central office job, the ones who use euphemisms for kids of color to advance their profile amongst their so-called liberal friends, or the ones who won’t acknowledge their privilege because it’s way easier to hide behind the first clause I just stated.
Unfortunately, for those of you who fall under this category, there are those of us who aren’t just your colleagues at work, but sat in similar seats that your students did, didn’t appreciate your attitudes then and really don’t appreciate them now. Your insistence, whether conscious or otherwise, perpetuate the legacy of seeing children of color as deserving less. You also paradoxically think that by lowering your expectations of those students, you’re helping them meet or exceed the requirements set forth post-you.
Then, when you move up or on, depending on your purview, you tell these tales of your few years of experience 

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three:

SOS Conference 2012, Day Three

by James Boutin

This morning, I began the day by attending a session led by Monty Neill and Bob George where attendees offered suggestions for how Save Our Schools might adapt its policy recommendation literature for policymakers and the public.

Rose Sanders speaks

Over and over again, in the session and throughout the conference, participants railed against high-stakes testing as the illusion on which corporate reform is standing. I felt this to be the area in which we had largest consensus. As Tim Slekar put it (to paraphrase), "This is a hill to die on. Don't accept test scores as valid indicators of student learning, teaching quality or school quality. Not even a little bit. There's not one shred of evidence they tell us anything except for what zip code they come from and who their parents are."

It was during this session I realized the term "high-stakes testing" is really an oxymoron in a way. If it's high-

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-5-12 #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

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part I

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part I: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part I by Duke Today, the *Star-Ledger* publishes an interview Tom Moran did with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. It's an astonishing piece - because the mind of Arne Duncan is an astonishing place, full of self-contradiction, personal faith masquerading as deductive reasoning, and just sheer nonsense. I think this entire exchange deserves a close look, so I'm planning to divide this up into severe shorter posts. One thing before we get started: given all my previous problems... more »

Cyber ‘earning’ the big enchilada: Point and click education in the age of irrationality | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 25 minutes ago

Cyber ‘earning’ the big enchilada: Point and click education in the age of irrationality | Dailycensored.com: Cyber ‘earning’ the big enchilada: Point and click education in the age of irrationality by Danny Weil I posted what you will read below back in 2010 but now that Verizon is joining the multi-billion dollar educational fray* (* http://www.dailycensored.com/2012/07/26/look-at-whos-partnering-with-verizon-to-deliver-common-core-offal/) as well as the newly created Rupert Murdoch’s ‘educational’ division headed by Joel Klein, cyber learning from K-16 and beyond is the new vent... more »

What are Mayor Finch and Governor Malloy going to do about Paul Vallas…? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 27 minutes ago

What are Mayor Finch and Governor Malloy going to do about Paul Vallas…? - Wait, What?: What are Mayor Finch and Governor Malloy going to do about Paul Vallas…? by jonpelto Today’s Connecticut Post has an extraordinary article about Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools. Unfortunately the Page One story is not on-line, but as soon as it is, you’ll be able to find a link here. Wait, What? readers may recall two blog posts a few days ago that revealed that Paul Vallas had hired a number of consultants to help him in Bridgeport. Most, if not all of these people work fo... more »

Please Comment on CNN Interview with Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 30 minutes ago

Please Comment on CNN Interview with Michelle Rhee « Diane Ravitch's blog: Please Comment on CNN Interview with Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee by dianerav Many readers have asked how they can contact CNN to respond to its interview with Michelle Rhee. CNN has invited comments: http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/05/rhee-on-saving-americas-schools/comment-page-1/ Bear in mind that the international rankings, which she loves to tout to embarrass America, its students and its

Stiff competition in Oakland’s school board races - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago

Stiff competition in Oakland’s school board races - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Stiff competition in Oakland’s school board races Sunday, August 5th, 2012 at 8:00 am in Two years ago, I wrote about how few people were running for school board in Oakland. It’s much different this year. Below is a list of 13 candidates that have announced at some point that they were running for seats 1, 3, 5, or 7. I’ve learned of a number of new candidates since my blog post in late May *Friday, Aug. 10* is the filing deadline. You can see for yourself who’s supp... more »

School Tech Connect: You Can't Handle This

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 40 minutes ago

School Tech Connect: You Can't Handle This: You Can't Handle This by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) If you set up a Google Alert for the term "school board election debate," you start getting all these hits from around the country. These are just the first three. It turns out that all over the land, people are interested in debating their ideas about how the schools should be moving forward. Those ideas are in turned ratified by voters. Albany, GA

CLEARLY LAUSD/UTLA HAVE NO INTEREST IN ASKING WHY THE VALUE ADDED MODEL (VAM) DOESN'T WORK - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 41 minutes ago

CLEARLY LAUSD/UTLA HAVE NO INTEREST IN ASKING WHY THE VALUE ADDED MODEL (VAM) DOESN'T WORK - Perdaily.com: CLEARLY LAUSD/UTLA HAVE NO INTEREST IN ASKING WHY THE VALUE ADDED MODEL (VAM) DOESN'T WORK by Leonard Isenberg (Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) *With the passing of Gore Vidal last week, I'm having second thoughts about whether in the final analysis education has any value other than as a source of amusement and/or frustration for those of us who have enough of it to either get the sick joke or frust... more »

First of many @thechalkface parody videos, this one of the recent #studentsfirst drivel « @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

First of many @thechalkface parody videos, this one of the recent #studentsfirst drivel « @ the chalk face: @ THE CHALK FACE Progressive #edreform blog, podcast, and radio show from actual educators First of many @thechalkface parody videos, this one of the recent #studentsfirst drivel August 4, 2012 by Chalk Face For this, you don’t have to pay $3 to see it.

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Thinking Out Loud! If I Don't Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a "Bad" Teacher?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Thinking Out Loud! If I Don't Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a "Bad" Teacher?: Thinking Out Loud! If I Don't Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a "Bad" Teacher? by Lisa M Yeah! It's Connected Educator Month! After reading numerous articles and tweets over the past year, I am getting an idea. An idea, that may be a misconception on my part. Is there a belief that teachers who are passionate about tweeting and/or blogging, are considered "better" teachers??? Are we considered "better" than the ones who don't? I know I am passionate about tw... more »

A Blood Libel | Edwize

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

A Blood Libel | Edwize: A Blood Libel by Leo Casey Recent days has seen a nasty tweet fight break out, as Mayor Bloomberg’s proxies – Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, StudentsFirst honcho and former Bloomberg Albany lobbyist Micah Lasher, and former television anchor Campbell Brown – have used the 140 character forum to launch a vicious slander that the UFT protects sexual predators, defending their return to the classroom. Their argument is that since arbitrators who decide dismissal hearings against tenured teachers are jointly selected by the Department of Education and the UFT, ... more »

Feminist Teacher Featured in The Atlantic « Feminist Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Feminist Teacher Featured in The Atlantic « Feminist Teacher: Feminist Teacher Featured in The Atlantic by feministteacher During my time at the Aspen Ideas Festival earlier this summer, I was interviewed by Conor Friedersdorf from The Atlantic on teaching my students how to make their writing a part of a larger public discourse through blogging. The result: engaged young writers who learn that their voices matter.

The Conservative Brookings Institute | Firedoglake

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

The Conservative Brookings Institute | Firedoglake: The Conservative Brookings InstituteBy: masaccio Sunday August 5, 2012 10:40 am [image: Tweet]Tweet [image: digg] [image: stumbleupon] Scott Winship, looking well-groomed and well-fed. And did I mention that 15% increase in median net worth since 1970? The Brookings Institute was once a bastion of liberal thought, so much so that it was hard to find a reference to it that didn’t begin with “The Liberal Brookings Institute”. Its scholars were top-notch exponents of liberal values, and its reports and studies were widely reviewed... more »

What Public Education Did for Me « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

What Public Education Did for Me « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Public Education Did for Me by dianerav The writer of this article sent it to me today. It is a testimonial to a teacher who changed his life. As he says, there are millions of stories like this, and they are all true. Do you have one to tell? *Bret Wooten: The Value Of Public Schools* ** *Several months ago, we heard from a listener after a state legislator talked about the great potential in charter schools. Bret Wooten felt more should be said about the great potential offered by traditional public schools. Here’s hi... more »

Louisiana Educator: Wall Street Vultures

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Louisiana Educator: Wall Street Vultures: Wall Street Vultures by Michael Deshotels A member of the Coalition for Louisiana Public Education sent me this link to a Reuters news story dated Aug.2about a recent business conference where the *opportunities*for school privatization schemes were discussed with interested business persons. It seems that many of the Wall Street guys see K-12 education as a major source of big profits. *Big profits? *How can that be at this time of shrinking school budgets and increased mandated costs to local school systems? Here's the gist of it. The w... more »

Did Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Intervene and Prompt School Grade Changes? | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Did Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Intervene and Prompt School Grade Changes? | Scathing Purple Musings: Did Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Intervene and Prompt School Grade Changes? by Bob Sikes Two of Florida’s top political reporters, Mary Ellen Klas and Steve Bousquet have a Sunday story highlighting some critical interventions of Rick Scott’s new chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth. According to the two reporters, Hollingsworth had a hand in the DOE’s positive change in 213 school grades. A week after Hollingsworth started his new job, school districts raised doubts about a new gra... more »

Ed Notes Online: @SOS Karran Harper Royal: How [Some] African Americans and Civil Rights Leaders Got on the Wrong Side of the Ed Reform Movement

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: @SOS Karran Harper Royal: How [Some] African Americans and Civil Rights Leaders Got on the Wrong Side of the Ed Reform Movement: @SOS Karran Harper Royal: How [Some] African Americans and Civil Rights Leaders Got on the Wrong Side of the Ed Reform Movement Karran is the best there is at exposing the ed deform New Orleans "miracle." And a founder with Leonie Haimson and others of Parents Across America. She opposed the status quo back in the 90's so she can't be accused of defending the SQ. She could have been on the ed deform side given her history of activi... more »

Rahm and Other People’s Children « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Rahm and Other People’s Children « Diane Ravitch's blog: Rahm and Other People’s Children by dianerav One of the themes of the corporate reform movement is this: “We know what’s best for other people’s children but it is not what’s best for mine.” Many of the leading corporate reformers went to elite prep schools and/or send their children to them. Schools like Exeter, Andover, Deerfield Academy, Sidwell Friends, the University of Chicago Lab School, Lakeside Academy (Seattle), Maumee Country Day School (Toledo). At these schools there are beautiful facilities, small classes, exper... more »

Open the Flood Gates - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Open the Flood Gates - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators: Open the Flood Gates One of the legacies of the Industrial Age is the ideal of standardization: creating products of consistent quality that can be mass-produced. Coming out of the Agricultural Age, this was a huge step forward; without standardization much of what was accomplished in the twentieth century could not have been attained. Along with standardization came specialization, as specific standards of quality had to be met by specific experts. On any ... more »

Global Education Strike: Oct. 18 & Nov. 14-21 | OccupyWallSt.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Global Education Strike: Oct. 18 & Nov. 14-21 | OccupyWallSt.org: Global Education Strike: Oct. 18 & Nov. 14-21 Posted 15 minutes ago on Aug. 5, 2012, 11:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt [image: Global Education Strike!] *via the International Student Movement:* We are calling for a Global Education Strike. It is the first time that an education strike is being coordinated worldwide. We will UNITE in solidarity, because no matter where we live, we face the same struggle against national state and profit driven interests, and their hold on education. Increasing tuition fees, budget cuts, ... more »

What Albert Shanker Said About Merit Pay « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

What Albert Shanker Said About Merit Pay « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Albert Shanker Said About Merit Pay by dianerav In the early 1990s, I attended a meeting where the issues of education were debated. One of the attendees was Albert Shanker. I don’t remember where or when this meeting occurred. I can’t document it. But I remember what Al Shanker said that day about merit pay. After another member of the group predicted the great improvements that would occur if teachers could compete for merit pay, Shanker said the following: *“Let me get this straight,” he said. “The kids will work... more »

Schools Matter: Texas Orders Up a New Test to Solve Problems Created by 32 Years of Testing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Schools Matter: Texas Orders Up a New Test to Solve Problems Created by 32 Years of Testing: Texas Orders Up a New Test to Solve Problems Created by 32 Years of Testing by Jim Horn Texas has been been doing more of the same standardized testing and expecting different results (see Einstein's definition of insanity) for 32 years now, and the children of the Lone Star state are as poor, malnourished, and miseducated as ever. One in four lives in poverty, just as one in four Texans has no health insurance. Poverty rates jumped by 9 percent in the last U. S. Census, while the nationa... more »

Do Cities Need Virtual Schools? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Do Cities Need Virtual Schools? « Diane Ravitch's blog: Do Cities Need Virtual Schools? by dianerav Carly Berwick writes about K12′s plan to establish a virtual charter school in New Jersey. It was turned down, but only temporarily, to provide a year of “planning” time. The poor academic results of K12 cyber charters are well known. They were written about in the New York Times and the Washington Post. They were reviewed negatively by the National Education Policy Center. The most startling statistic –of many–is that K12′s Colorado Virtual Academy had a graduation rate of 12 perce... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Dialog and Words

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Dialog and Words: Dialog and Words by Melissa Westbrook I always say - words matter. Dialog matters (although Charlie rightly points out the fallacy of "finding common ground" when it means "you come over to our side but we won't move an inch OR admit we aren't being fully truthful in our claims.") I concur because this has happened to me as well. To that end, Trish Millines Dziko has set up a thoughtful Facebook page about "*I-1240 Discourse*." If you use Facebook, please "like" this page to encourage this kind of dialog. Also, over at the ... more »

A College Football Parody that Explains Florida’s Education Follies | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

A College Football Parody that Explains Florida’s Education Follies | Scathing Purple Musings: A College Football Parody that Explains Florida’s Education Follies by Bob Sikes Randy Schultz ripped Rick Scott and the hand-picked lackeys on the Florida Board of Education in this morning’s *Palm Beach Post*. Well, Schultz actually ripped just about everyone who’s responsible for Florida’s education follies. Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson, whom the board selected just a year ago, resigned last week. Gov. Scott said in a statement that Mr. Robinson “has been a tireless advoca... more »

Daily Kos: Romney's tax situation is a telling exemplar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Daily Kos: Romney's tax situation is a telling exemplar: Romney's tax situation is a telling exemplar by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) of what is is wrong in America. What I post below was drafted - and posted - as a comment on another diary. I place it here, entirely above the fold, as its own entry so that perhaps a few more may see it, and offer their responses. Here it is: I am going to posit for sake of discussion that for any year in question Romney paid at least $1,000,000 in federal taxes. He can legitimately be characterized as a "substantial" amount. Yet given what we kn... more »

Commentary: Louisiana using school vouchers to skirt responsibility to public | The Town Talk | thetowntalk.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Commentary: Louisiana using school vouchers to skirt responsibility to public | The Town Talk | thetowntalk.com: Commentary: Louisiana using school vouchers to skirt responsibility to public As Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal traversed our great nation, giving speeches in support of Gov. Mitt Romney and being a general tool of the GOP, he left behind a state still divided on the fairness of the new statewide voucher program. The arguments I've heard for the program are simply this: Parents deserve a choice in their child's education. This makes perfect sense. We all get a choice in w... more »

Ohio education head Heffner resigns in wake of Inspector General report - Columbus Government | Examiner.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Ohio education head Heffner resigns in wake of Inspector General report - Columbus Government | Examiner.com: Ohio education head Heffner resigns in wake of Inspector General report - STAN HEFFNER - AUGUST 4, 2012 [image: Gov. Kasich, who pushed out Ohio's former education head to make way for Heffner, didn't stand in his way of resigning Saturday.] RELATED TOPICS - Ohio education - Race to the Top - standardized testing - ohio politics Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan W. Heffner submitted his letter of resignation Saturday, following a report re... more »

UPDATED: Education agency suspends Birmingham schools' district accreditation request | al.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

UPDATED: Education agency suspends Birmingham schools' district accreditation request | al.com: UPDATED: Education agency suspends Birmingham schools' district accreditation requestPublished: Saturday, August 04, 2012, 1:10 PM Updated: Saturday, August 04, 2012, 3:39 PM BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- An education agency has suspended theBirmingham city school's district accreditation request because of concern over the Board of Education's micromanagement. Birmingham is in the early stages of a two-year process to earn districtwide accreditation instead of having to go through the ardu... more »

Arne Duncan: Better education starts with best educators | NJ.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Arne Duncan: Better education starts with best educators | NJ.com: Arne Duncan: Better education starts with best educatorsPublished: Sunday, August 05, 2012, 6:05 AM [image: arne-duncan.JPG]Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesEducation Secretary Arne Duncan is pictured in this file photo. He spoke with Star-Ledger editorial page editor Tom Moran about school reform. Education is the one policy area in which Democrats and Republicans are finding an abundance of common ground, where President Obama and Gov. Chris Christie agree on most issues. Both favor tenure reform that allows schools t... more »

Can schools fix our economy? - Salon.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Can schools fix our economy? - Salon.com: Can schools fix our economy?Education is certainly important, but it must go hand-in-hand with the creation of good jobsBY RICHARD KIRSCH, NEXT NEW DEAL - - 33 - 17 - - more - TOPICS: EDUCATION, JOBS, NEXT NEW DEAL, SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, U.S. ECONOMY, UNEMPLOYMENT [image: Can schools fix our economy?] (Credit: iStockphoto/samxmeg) This originally appeared on Next New Deal. We all know that the key to our economic future is a more educated workforce, right? Here, for example, are the “Guiding Principles” of Pr... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-5-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Elusive Quest for Merit Pay by dianerav I have often noted that merit pay has been tried again and again for nearly a century. It never works and it never dies. There is a materialist strain in American culture that is certain that everyone will respond to a cash reward. Advocates claim that the chance to win extra money will make teachers work harder and produce higher test scores and even make the teaching profession more attractive. Rahm Emanuel’s Financial Illogic by dianerav Chicago Public Schools... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s teacher evaluation system is revised — but is it improved? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Rhee’s teacher evaluation system is revised — but is it improved? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s teacher evaluation system is revised — but is it improved? By Valerie Strauss For three years, 50 percent of the evaluations of many D.C. public school teachers were based on students standardized test scores, a key part of the ground-breaking IMPACT assessment system introduced by Michelle Rhee. Now, Rhee's successor as schools chancellor, Kaya Henderson, and her leadership team have decided that 50 percent is too much and that the Kaya H... more »

The Education Report: In the Oakland Unified's latest analysis of school closure savings, something is missing - Inside Bay Area

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

The Education Report: In the Oakland Unified's latest analysis of school closure savings, something is missing - Inside Bay Area: The Education Report: In the Oakland Unified's latest analysis of school closure savings, something is missing By Katy Murphy Oakland Tribune Posted: 08/05/2012 12:00:00 AM PDT This is a sampling of The Education Report, Katy Murphy's Oakland schools blog. Read more atwww.IBAbuzz.com/education. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatyMurphy. Aug. 3: Financial savings -- roughly $2 million a year -- were at the heart of the Oakland school district's case for closi... more »

Arnold Schwarzenegger Wants to Teach College Students Post-Partisanship - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Arnold Schwarzenegger Wants to Teach College Students Post-Partisanship - Education - GOOD: Arnold Schwarzenegger Wants to Teach College Students Post-Partisanship by Liz Dwyer [image: arnie] Almost 30 years ago when Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator cyborg delivered his most famous line, "I'll be back," no one would've predicted that the actor and former California governor's third act would be as a university professor. But now Schwarzenegger is launching the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policywith the goal of "promoting a new era of post-partisanship." The... more »

Middle-Class Fear and the Rise of the Police State in Some Children’s Schools | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Middle-Class Fear and the Rise of the Police State in Some Children’s Schools | Dailycensored.com: Middle-Class Fear and the Rise of the Police State in Some Children’s Schools | Dailycensored.com On August 2, 2012, I wore my James Baldwin t-shirt to celebrate his birthday. The back of this black shirt is emblazoned with Baldwin’s face in gold print and this saying: “The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer.” — James Baldwin. The Nation. July 11, 1966. This small act on my part to recognize a brilliant and marginalized rad... more »

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky: Sunday links. by Fred Klonsky *John Dillon’s Pension Vocabulary for August 4th is **A.L.E.C./ Rep. Patti Bellock. Illinois holds the distinction of having the ALEC State Representative of the year: Representative Patricia “Patti” Bellock of the 47th district (Westmont Office). A recent letter of congratulations from Republican House Leader Tom Cross – also a member of ALEC - glowed with the kind of Orwellian political doublespeak that sanitizes the actual undercutting of the medically needy or marginalized with positive parsing. * *Wal-Mart i... more »

Schools Matter: Test Scores and Teacher Evaluation/ Pay: A Primer

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Schools Matter: Test Scores and Teacher Evaluation/ Pay: A Primer: Test Scores and Teacher Evaluation/ Pay: A Primer by P. L. Thomas Reporting on the revisions to teacher evaluations in DC public schools, Valerie Strauss makes a key observation: "When Rhee set the percentage at 50 percent back in 2009, after spending millions of dollars to create the assessment system, she based it on absolutely nothing grounded in research. The 35 percent? Also based on no research." I have recently argued that test-based teacher evaluations and pay are without credibility (HERE and HERE). Tea... more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Two Afternoon

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Two Afternoon: SOS Conference 2012, Day Two Afternoon by James Boutin Sherick speaks; James looks on After lunch I today attended a session by Karran Harper Royal called “How [Some] African Americans Got on the Wrong Side of the Education Debate. Karran is a parent turned activist who was inspired to speak out after having difficulties twenty years ago with one of her children in kindergarten. She kept worrying that if he didn’t get help, he would get put on a wrong track that he might not be able to get off of. Karran’s mess... more »

Third Anniversary of My Blog | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Third Anniversary of My Blog | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Third Anniversary of My Blog by larrycuban Dear Readers, This post marks my third anniversary as a blogger. I want to thank those readers who regularly read my twice-weekly posts, those who have dipped into them occasionally, those who have subscribed to the post, and finally those who have taken the time to write thoughtful comments. Nearly 325,000 readers from around the world (35 percent outside of the U.S.) have clicked on to the blog since August 2009. Not exactly viral but, for me, most gra... more »

Mónica García champions the Gülenist Charter Movement in LAUSD | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Mónica García champions the Gülenist Charter Movement in LAUSD | Dailycensored.com: Mónica García champions the Gülenist Charter Movement in LAUSD by Robert D. Skeels *This increasingly well-rooted network provides the Gulen Movement with daily access to the minds of over 45,000 students, and yearly access to hundreds of millions of hard-earned tax dollars. — Sharon Higgins* [image: Corporate Education Reformer Mónica García, President LAUSD] Mónica García, LAUSD’s Gülenist Champion Charter schools are privately managed entities with negligible oversight, but funded with public mon... more »

An Open Letter to Barck Obama About Education Rational Mathematics Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Rational Mathematics Education: An Open Letter to Barck Obama About Education Dear Mr. President: I wish you a happy birthday. But I must also wish that you would truly listen to and heed the voices of real teachers, scholars, children, and parents when it comes turning away from the disaster your policies have been for democratic, free, public education. As long as Arne Duncan is US Sec. of Education, you will be promoting an undemocratic approach, heretofore unprecedented in our history, to imposing federal will on state and local educational practices. Were the policies ... more »

What it means when test scores plummet - Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Was There

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

What it means when test scores plummet - Class Struggle - The Washington Post: What it means when test scores plummet By Jay Mathews *Was There* Last Thursday, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and officials from D.C. public schools and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) held a news conference to crow about results on tests administered in April. Proficiency rates on both reading and math sections of the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System exams were up slightly for many grades in schools across the district, the mayor said. He took credit for those improvements – ... more »

Inside Colocation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Inside Colocation: [image: save image] 3RD AUG 2012 [image: One of the perks of my new room is the nice view of this lovely tree. However, what you’re seeing is not a romantic haze. It’s a very dirty window. Success Academy, still plowing through construction of the basement, issued several permits for our hardworking custodial staff to work 24 hours, an extremely difficult rope to pull. Of course, once Success’ need for the extra staff was fulfilled, the permits all ran out and could not be renewed for custodial to do the necessary repairs and deep cleaning on the upper three fl... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst Has Made Campaign Contributions to 12 Florida Legislators and One Curious 527 | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst Has Made Campaign Contributions to 12 Florida Legislators and One Curious 527 | Scathing Purple Musings: Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst Has Made Campaign Contributions to 12 Florida Legislators and One Curious 527 by Bob Sikes The kerfuffle caused by Michelle Rhee’s Florida reps call for Astroturf commenting in blogs isn’t the only activity by her empire. Rhee’s StudentsFirst made 12 different $500 contributions to Florida legislators during a period which began 11/18/2011 an ended on 1/12/2012 before the last legislative session. Save democrat senato... more »

Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 8-4-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-28-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

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