Big Education Ape: Aug 18, 2012

Saturday, August 18, 2012

EDMC's 'Art Institute' For-Profit College Forces Out Arts Professor for Refusing to Adopt E-Textbook | Dailycensored.com

EDMC's 'Art Institute' For-Profit College Forces Out Arts Professor for Refusing to Adopt E-Textbook | Dailycensored.com:

EDMC’s ‘Art Institute’ For-Profit College Forces Out Arts Professor for Refusing to Adopt E-Textbook

by Danny Weil

Forget about academic freedom or even democratic decision making if you work for one of the for-profit gulags they call ‘universities’, or ‘institutes’ or ‘academies’. They are little more than low paid sweat shops where what gets produced are useless diplomas, not education, and the diplomas come at an exorbitant price.

It should be noted that EDMC is being sued by the federal government and the former CEO and the company could be liable for more than $33 billion, that is with a ‘B’ dollars, to the federal government. They are also being pursued by state Attorney Generals.

Change to Win has gone after the company as well for breach of fiduciary duties to its members. Change to win

Going To California

Christine Rubino Gets The Shaft.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Christine Rubino Gets The Shaft

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

This will be the first of hopefully many documents from the files of the Christine Rubino case.

Tonight's inanity is how mediator Randi Lowitt and DOE "attorney" Jeffrey Gamils team up on Christine for not having an attorney at the opening of her hearing.

Long story short, Christine changed attorneys, as is her right, at the last minute. The arbitrator had no problem having a hearing without an attorney representing Christine, and the DOE "attorney" seemed to have

An Urban Teacher's Education: Two Items for Those of Us Living in the Pacific Northwest

An Urban Teacher's Education: Two Items for Those of Us Living in the Pacific Northwest:

Two Items for Those of Us Living in the Pacific Northwest

by James Boutin

There are two things I've been trying to promote recently for concerned citizens in the Pacific Northwest. So please, if you agree that either of these are worth promoting, share on Facebook, Twitter, and everything else.

1) At the SOS Conference in DC a few weeks ago, the Washington State delegation decided it would be a good idea to generate a listserv focusing on education related news items from around the Pacific Northwest - i.e. Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. As corporate reform moves west, it will become increasingly important that those of us adamently opposed to it organize and find ways of connecting. The listserv is meant to serve as a

Cultural Miseducation: Knowledge, Power and Ethnic Studies | MyFDL

Cultural Miseducation: Knowledge, Power and Ethnic Studies | MyFDL:

Cultural Miseducation: Knowledge, Power and Ethnic Studies
By: Michelle Chen Friday August 17, 2012 8:36 pm	Tweet

Julio Salgado

Originally posted at CultureStrike

This summer, Tucson students, educators, and activist did something rebellious: they celebrated books. These weren’t just any books, of course. They were the books that had been deemed contraband by school authorities, vilified as tools of a curriculum that promotes ethnic hatred. In other words, they were works like Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, Mexican White Boy, the play Zoot Suit, and Like Water for Chocolate. Texts that aim to foster critical thinking, political curiosity, and other dangerous behaviors.

The idea that these books are “subversive” was a pretext for a crackdown on Mexican American studies in Tucson. And once the controversy was broadcast across the country, Americans of all background

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-18-12 #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

Educator Musing: Parent Revolution Robbing School District

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 minutes ago

Educator Musing: Parent Revolution Robbing School District: Parent Revolution Robbing School District by Educator Musing 'Trigger' parents sue Adelanto School District http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/adelanto-33801-sue-trigger.html Parent Revolution backed an expensive lawsuit against the Adelanto School District to impose a charter the parents claim to not want. Now Gabe Rose of Parent Revolution is consulting with attorneys to do it again. This small school district may not be able to stand against the big league juggernaut funded by wealthy foundations. This is so wrong... more »

Speed, Violence and Testing Culture | educarenow

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago

Speed, Violence and Testing Culture | educarenow: Speed, Violence and Testing Culture Posted on August 17, 2012 | Leave a comment I continue to think about Paul Thomas’s recent post, *Time As Capital: The Rise of the Frantic Class.* Essentially Paul is arguing that “busyness,” the frantic pace of our culture, takes away the time needed for the kind of reflection that can free us. Being busy insures the lack of time needed to ask questions such as, why am I so busy? What am I doing with my life? What is truly important to me? Thomas shows that this busyness functions to continue to... more »

To Build Community, an Economy of More Gifts and Less Money | Lefty Parent

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

To Build Community, an Economy of More Gifts and Less Money | Lefty Parent: To Build Community, an Economy of More Gifts and Less Money by Cooper Zale For many years now I’ve been uncomfortable walking into a big crowded shopping mall and feeling the energy of the place. It generally feels like most people are there for entertainment, shopping for stuff they don’t really need. Four years ago I remember people joking about how it is very much a contemporary American cultural practice to “Shop ’til you drop” (STYD), but since the Great Recession, I rarely hear that any more. Good rid... more »

Finally People are Talking About Medicaid | First Focus

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Finally People are Talking About Medicaid | First Focus: [image: First Focus - Making Childen and Families the Priority] Finally People are Talking About MedicaidBy Lisa Shapiro August 9, 2012 As a Medicaid advocate for almost two decades, I’ve done a lot of writing and other agitating about the uninsured and the importance of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for the poorest kids in our country. Over the years, my colleagues and I have worked hard to raise awareness about Medicaid and CHIP to be sure that all kids are able to get the medical care they n... more »

Imagine That: Ex-charter students swell St. Louis, KC enrollment - SFGate

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Ex-charter students swell St. Louis, KC enrollment - SFGate: Ex-charter students swell St. Louis, KC enrollmentHEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated PressUpdated 11:08 a.m., Saturday, August 18, 2012 [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Enrollment has swelled in unaccredited St. Louis and Kansas City public schools as about 5,000 students from shuttered charter schools find a new place to get an education. Years of declining enrollment, spurred by families moving to the suburbs or enrolling child in private, parochial or charter schools, me... more »

Parent Trigger Charter School Effort Ends in California | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Parent Trigger Charter School Effort Ends in California | Scathing Purple Musings: Parent Trigger Charter School Effort Ends in California by Bob Sikes From the *Los Angeles Times*: Board members for the Adelanto Elementary School District voted 3-1 to accept the parents’ petition for an overhaul at Desert Trails Elementary School, where more than three-fourths of sixth-graders fail to read and do math at grade level. But they rejected the parents’ preferred choice for change, a charter campus, after concluding there was insufficient time to start one up for the current school y... more »

Charter school group's chief blamed for 2010 cheating scandal - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Charter school group's chief blamed for 2010 cheating scandal - latimes.com: Charter school group's chief blamed for 2010 cheating scandalEducators say John Allen asked Crescendo principals to show teachers the state standardized test. L.A. Unified was going to suspend him, but the board voted to fire him and close the campuses. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-crescendo-20120818,0,5414088.story [image: John Allen] Two separate investigations into the cheating scandal blamed Crescendo's founder and chief executive, John Allen, who was driven, as one official said, by a desir... more »

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee. by Fred Klonsky Popout *“It’s a new day, Klonsky,”* wrote a friend in an email to me this morning. *“You’re in an IEA video.”* I had to laugh. *“Nah,”* I wrote back. *“It is just testimony to how few members the IEA bothered to mobilize yesterday. I was a desperate choice.”* It was only over the past couple days that the IEA encouraged people to attend the special session that the Governor called. And even then they made is clear in *bold type *that they would make no special efforts, no busses and no financial support. Any member ... more »

History Repeats Itself in the Classroom « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

History Repeats Itself in the Classroom « Diane Ravitch's blog: History Repeats Itself in the Classroom by dianerav A reader comments on an earlier post written by a teacher who taught in Hartford: *I have seen this teacher’s story played out in so many schools in NYC.* *She asks who will subject themselves to teaching in the most challenging of communities?* *I often had that same concern. I agree. At a point in the not so distant future, teachers will be retiring and schools will need to staff the classes.* *There will be teachers available to teach in high needs schools, but de... more »

Nearly Half the Teachers in New York City Are Denied Tenure in 2012 - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Nearly Half the Teachers in New York City Are Denied Tenure in 2012 - NYTimes.com: Many New York City Teachers Denied Tenure in Policy ShiftBy AL BAKERPublished: August 17, 2012 - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - GOOGLE+ - E-MAIL - SHARE - PRINT - REPRINTS - Nearly half of New York City teachers reaching the end of their probations were denied tenure this year, the Education Department said on Friday, marking the culmination of years of efforts toward Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s goal to end “tenure as we know it.” Connect with NYTMetro [image: Metro Twitter Logo.]... more »

Team Vallas, Bridgeport’s illegal board; where is the documentation? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Team Vallas, Bridgeport’s illegal board; where is the documentation? - Wait, What?: Team Vallas, Bridgeport’s illegal board; where is the documentation? by jonpelto It seems that every day we learn about some other consultants that have been brought in by Paul Vallas to work in Bridgeport’s Public School System. Many of these people are his friends, colleagues or actually work for his private consulting company. At the same time, we continue to hear about new contracts for textbooks, software or various other products or services. And yet it has become painfully clear that neither... more »

Florida’s EOC Requiremment Imperils Private School and Voucher Students While Amendment 8 Looms | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Florida’s EOC Requiremment Imperils Private School and Voucher Students While Amendment 8 Looms | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s EOC Requiremment Imperils Private School and Voucher Students While Amendment 8 Looms by Bob Sikes Florida Governor Rick Scott followed through on his promise to be more open and created *Project Sunburst*, a web site which would publish the emails he receives and sends as governor. One email easily catches the eye of education policy observers across the state. It’s from a director of students affairs at a Florida private school. Dear Governor Sco... more »

What Readers Said About CNN and Randi Kaye « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

What Readers Said About CNN and Randi Kaye « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Readers Said About CNN and Randi Kaye by dianerav I taped an interview with Randi Kaye of CNN Newsroom on Friday August 17. I was invited to do this interview in response to her earlier interview with Michelle Rhee. I went to CNN assuming I was invited to express my differences with Rhee, who gets far more airtime than I to present her agenda of attacking US education, smearing teachers, calling for an end to tenure and seniority, and demanding merit pay, charter schools, vouchers, for-profit charter schools, ... more »

Due Process for all « Deborah Meier on Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Due Process for all « Deborah Meier on Education: Due Process for all by debmeier “Tenure does not afford any advantages in pay or job assignments, or guarantee permanent employment. Its most important benefit is to grant teachers certain protections against dismissal without justification, including the right to a hearing before an arbitrator. Teachers and their unions embrace tenure as an important defense against indiscriminate or politically tinged hiring and firing.” notes Al Baker, NY Times, Friday, August 17 titled Correction re PRRAC by debmeier Correction for those inte... more »

The Weekly Update: The Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation and vouchers. A few of my favorite things. | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

The Weekly Update: The Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation and vouchers. A few of my favorite things. | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: The Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation and vouchers. A few of my favorite things. by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update for the news you might have missed.* We’ll start with this commentary on the Gates Foundation and how it has lost its way. A non-profit *can* have too much money. Reforming Gates Gates Foundation Headquarters in Seattle In my last post I wrote about the pattern at the Gates Foundation of abusing the idea of “resea... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-18-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] CNN Interview: What They Dropped Out by dianerav I just watched my interview with Randi Kaye. I am happy to say that the editors clipped out her opening question, in which she tried to use NAEP scale scores as “grades” for the U.S., , which they are not. A scale is a trend line. It is better to see scores go up than down. The scale itself is an artificial construct (as all scales are). It is not aligned with any standards. You can’t say that a 300 is good or bad, you can only say that it is higher than 350 ... more »

‘Florida DOE Has Abdicated its Accountability Role to Pearson | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

‘Florida DOE Has Abdicated its Accountability Role to Pearson | Scathing Purple Musings: ‘Florida DOE Has Abdicated its Accountability Role to Pearson by Bob Sikes Within a blistering critique of Gerard Robinson’s tenure as Florida’s education commissioner, Osceola school board member Jay Wheeler make an astonishing observation about the role that testing giant Pearson plays in Florida’s education system. Writes Wheeler in *Around Osceola:* Additionally the Florida Department of education has abdicated its role for accountability to a sole source for profit testing company for al... more »

Grumpy Educators: Florida Testing and Accountability System Creates Havoc in Private Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Grumpy Educators: Florida Testing and Accountability System Creates Havoc in Private Schools: Florida Testing and Accountability System Creates Havoc in Private Schools by Sandra The smooth system of transferring credits from private schools to public schools has apparently been eliminated. According to an email sent to Governor Scott, the Volusia County Director of Assessment informed the Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona that credit will not be given to private school students who transfer to public school for courses, such as Algebra and Biology, because the standardized end... more »

Obama Back-To-School Report Highlights Education Cuts, Teacher Layoffs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Obama Back-To-School Report Highlights Education Cuts, Teacher Layoffs: Obama Back-To-School Report Highlights Education Cuts, Teacher Layoffs by Joy Resmovits [image: FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa. Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP] Hundreds of thousands of teachers have lost their jobs in recent years. And as U.S. students go back to school amid a presidential campaign with clashing budget visions, President Barack Obama is sounding the alarm. Since since the end of the recession three years ago, 300,000 edu... more »

Weekly Address: Congress Should Back Plan to Hire Teachers | The White House

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Weekly Address: Congress Should Back Plan to Hire Teachers | The White House: Weekly Address: Congress Should Back Plan to Hire Teachers With students starting to head back to school, President Obama used this week’s address to discuss the critical role that education plays in America’s future. Nothing is more important to a child’s education than a great teacher. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of teachers will not be going back to school this year, partially because of budget cuts at the state and local level. That means more crowded classrooms, fewer kindergarten and preschoo... more »

This Week's Answer Sheet 8-18-1212 - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] The big business of charter schools Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago If you are wondering why you should add charter schools to your investment portfolios, here’s David Brain, head of a major investment concern called Entertainment Properties Trust, to tell you. This isn’t a joke. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon] What schools need: Vigor instead of rigor Valerie ... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 8-18-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Education Research Report: *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* Poor Oral Health Can Mean Missed School, Lower Grades Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 3 days ago Poor oral health, dental disease, and tooth pain can put kids at a serious disadvantage in school, according to a new Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study. “The Impact of Oral Health on the Academic Performance of Disadvantaged Children,” appearing in the September 2012 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, examined nearly 1500 socioeconomically disadvantaged elementary and high school chil... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 8-18-12 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] “Boosting Parent Engagement Before School Starts” Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 21 hours ago Boosting Parent Engagement Before School Starts is a good post over at Education Week by Michele Molnar. It’s about a project in New Haven, Connecticut. It’s: Jump starting parent engagement before the first day of school involves a get-out-the-volunteer effort that will put up to 100 two-person teams in neighbor... more »

Daily Kos: Charles Blow: "Dark Road to the White House"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Daily Kos: Charles Blow: "Dark Road to the White House": Charles Blow: "Dark Road to the White House" by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) [image: Road animated gif] Shady money, voter suppression, shifting positions, murky details and widespread apathy.If there is a road map for a Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan win in November, that’s it. Distasteful all. That is how Blow begins this *New York Times* column.On the web page along side the column, one reads some fascinating statistics, dervied from a Suffolk University Poll representing 90 million adults of voting age: Unregistered, unlikely t... more »

School Tech Connect: Rahm the Dupe

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Rahm the Dupe: Rahm the Dupe by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Just a reminder.... Popout So in the intervening time, Rahm Emanuel is elected mayor. on the first ballot, and he strongly supports our proposal. Jim (Crown) *talked about that talking point that we made up and he repeated a thousand time probably on the campaign trail about Houston kids going to school four more years than Chicago kids. --- *Jonah Edelman That tape from Aspen will live in infamy. Every time I see it, I focus on something new. What's striking about this particular segment is tha... more »

New coalition plans to offer own Philly schools overhaul vision - Philly.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

New coalition plans to offer own Philly schools overhaul vision - Philly.com: New coalition plans to offer own Philly schools overhaul vision August 17, 2012|By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer - - - Share on emailShare on printShare on redditMore Sharing Services - - - - - [image: Jerry Jordan , head of the teachers' union, answers questions from reporters in front of Spring Garden Elementary School, where the coalition announced its plans. AKIRA SUWA / Staff Photographer] Jerry Jordan , head of the teachers' u... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CTU printing strike signs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CTU printing strike signs: CTU printing strike signs by Mike Klonsky Nina Gapshis of Progress Printing said Friday the Bridgeport printer was busy doing a run of 20,000 to 30,000 strike signs for the CTU. The last time Progress Printing had such an order from the CTU, a long-time client, was in 1987, when teachers waged a 19-day strike, Gapshis said. According to the CTU news release, the union must “prepare its members for the worst” so it ordered the printing of “on strike’’ signs.

When Comic Journalism Meets Education Reform « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

When Comic Journalism Meets Education Reform « Diane Ravitch's blog: When Comic Journalism Meets Education Reform by dianerav What do you do when you want to reach the public but you have no money and no access to the mainstream media? Here’s what: Some very brilliant educators decided to try a novel way to explain the issues to the public. They used comic journalism, a simple, direct means of communicating complex ideas. What do you think? Is it an effective medium? Pre-K Standards in Common Core by dianerav A reader does some Internet searching for pre-K standards and comments: ... more »

TO STUDENT LOAN OR NOT TO STUDENT LOAN, THAT IS THE QUESTION (A préstamo de estudiante o de no prestar ESTUDIANTE, ESA ES LA CUESTIÓN) - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

TO STUDENT LOAN OR NOT TO STUDENT LOAN, THAT IS THE QUESTION (A préstamo de estudiante o de no prestar ESTUDIANTE, ESA ES LA CUESTIÓN) - Perdaily.com: TO STUDENT LOAN OR NOT TO STUDENT LOAN, THAT IS THE QUESTION (A préstamo de estudiante o de no prestar ESTUDIANTE, ESA ES LA CUESTIÓN) by Leonard Isenberg [image: Student Loan Default.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) **Somebody just sent me a post about student loans and the necessity of getting a cosigner. It got me thinking about the whole issue of st... more »

UPDATE: Just back from Springfield, Illinois. Friday, August 17th, 2012. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Just back from Springfield. « Fred Klonsky: Springfield, Illinois. Friday, August 17th, 2012. by Fred Klonsky Just back from Springfield. by Fred Klonsky At about noon the rumor was that a deal might have been worked out to take the language of HB1447 and apply it to all the state pension systems in exchange for dropping the pension cost shift. The HB1447 language was to create a forced choice of health care for a cost of living adjustment. Originally HB1447 only applied to a certain group of state employees. Arriving home from our trip to the state capital, it now appears that t... more »

Schools Matter: Public Education Being Set on Fire

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schools Matter: Public Education Being Set on Fire: Public Education Being Set on Fire by Judy Rabin Colleges of education can no longer hide the truth about what's in store for future public school teachers.Barbara Madeloni at UMASS Amherst led the fight against Pearson but the corporate control over schools of education continues. Who will want to teach in the new Walmart version of education? A Student and Future Teacher’s Voice about “Teachers Rock” POSTED BY STEPHRRIVERA ⋅ AUGUST 17, 2012 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT *FILED UNDER* BLOG, EDUCATION, EDUCATORS, MEDIA, NEWS, OPINION, PERSON... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS PRESS RELEASE

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS PRESS RELEASE: SOS PRESS RELEASE by Mike Klonsky SOS National Press Release; Ongoing Organizing Roles, Platforms, Action *Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action* www.saveourschoolsmarch.org For Further Information: Bob George (708) 692-5818 *For Immediate Release August 16, 2012* SAVE OUR SCHOOLS PLANS ONGOING ORGANIZING ROLE; RELEASES FIRST SET OF EDUCATION PLATFORM PLANKS; ANNOUNCES INITIAL CAMPAIGN OPPOSING “PARENT TRIGGER” SCHEME Energized by the scores of grassroots leaders from across the nation who attended its national convention in Wa... more »

The in box. Teacher MiC concludes his letters to Governor Quinn. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

The in box. Teacher MiC concludes his letters to Governor Quinn. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. Teacher MiC concludes his letters to Governor Quinn. by Fred Klonsky In this third letter to Governor Quinn Teacher MiC explains why it isn’t pensions that need reforming. It is Springfield that needs to be reformed. *Dear Governor Quinn,* *I saw on the news that you visited the state fair the other day and were booed off the stage. Even after this interaction you said “I think the people of Illinois are with me.” If the people of Illinois are with you Governor, who were those people in t... more »

When the Common Core=Teaching Reading Strategies 2.0 « The Core Knowledge Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

When the Common Core=Teaching Reading Strategies 2.0 « The Core Knowledge Blog: When the Common Core=Teaching Reading Strategies 2.0by Rachel Levy *August 17th, 2012* Tags: Common Core State Standards, Literacy, reading strategies, Teaching Posted in Education Practice | No Comments » According to its advocates, the Common Core Standards will usher in an era of equal opportunity to higher quality education via better, richer, and more career and college relevant standards. But if the account presented in this post on Education Sector’s *The Quick & The Ed* is any indication, I fear ... more »

Dick Meister: The billionaire's bill of rights | SF Bay Guardian

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Dick Meister: The billionaire's bill of rights | SF Bay Guardian: Dick Meister: The billionaire's bill of rights 08.16.12 - 8:53 pm | (3) - [image: Print]Print - Share *By Dick Meister** * *Dick Meister, former labor editor of the SF Chronicle and KQED-TV Newsroom, has covered labor and politics for more than a half-century. Contact him through his website, www.dickmeister, which includes more than 350 of his columns.* Billionaire corporate interests and other well financed anti-labor forces are waging a major drive to stifle the political voice of workers and their uni... more »

Fake special ed vendors stole $1.5 million from city, probe finds | GothamSchools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Fake special ed vendors stole $1.5 million from city, probe finds | GothamSchools: Fake special ed vendors stole $1.5 million from city, probe findsby Geoff Decker, at 6:08 pm Two men used shell companies and forged signatures to charge the Department of Education for sign language services that students didn’t need, an investigation found. The fraud ran for more than two school years and cost the city at least $1.5 million. The brazen scheme involved claiming payment for services to students who were not enrolled in city schools and, in some cases, offered as proof that services... more »

Schools Matter: Common Core Comments Tell Different Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schools Matter: Common Core Comments Tell Different Story: Common Core Comments Tell Different Story by Judy Rabin Reading through the comments on the National Governor's Association (NGA) Report on *Public Feedback on Common Core Standards **(2*010) you would never know the public would like to see a well-rounded curriculum, less testing and assessment in math and reading, and age level appropriate curriculum that doesn't include standardized testing. Despite repeated concerns about these and other issues in the report, however, these concerns are being ignored by policy makers a... more »

RheeFirst! » Three interesting findings in the RomneyFirst report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

RheeFirst! » Three interesting findings in the RomneyFirst report: Three interesting findings in the RomneyFirst report by admin The RomneyFirst report released yesterday by New Yorker for Great Public Schools, contains a few findings that are worth highlighting on their own. - According to the report, StudentsFirst has overwhelmingly endorsed Republicans—according to the report, 68% of StudentsFirst endorsements went to Republicans (page 3). - A PAC connected to StudentsFirst is run by a former Bush-Cheney 2004 communications staffer (page 3). - StudentsFirst... more »

Schools Matter: Parents, Teachers and Citizens Organize to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schools Matter: Parents, Teachers and Citizens Organize to Save Public Education: Parents, Teachers and Citizens Organize to Save Public Education by Judy Rabin * * *With three months before the election, parents, teachers and citizens join in fight to save public schools and end the reign of high stakes testing as a weapon of mass destruction. Instead of just one tool, or measurement of ability in a particular area, the tests have produced a steady stream of cash for those who sell them and track the data and a way to close down failing public schools and replace them with for pr... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Shopping Spree Continues In Florida - Orlando Sentinel

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

School choice Florida: 'School choice' measure hinges on outcome of Senate races - Orlando Sentinel: 'School choice' measure hinges on outcome of Senate races 1:36 p.m. EST, August 17, 2012|Aaron Deslatte, Capitol View TALLAHASSEE –Legislative elections this fall may have outsized importance for the future direction of public schools, charters and school vouchers -- and the unions, for-profit companies and education advocates attempting to gain sway. In last week's primaries, one aim of the "school choice" organizations working under the banner of Florida Federation for Children w... more »

Jersey Jazzman: StudentsFirst & B4K: What's The Connection?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Jersey Jazzman: StudentsFirst & B4K: What's The Connection?: StudentsFirst & B4K: What's The Connection? by Duke Yesterday, I wrote about how New Yorkers for Great Public Schools is trying to tar StudentsFirst with its connections to Mitt Romney (or is it the other way around?). SF is Michelle Rhee's anti-union, anti-tenure, reformy group which gets lots of support from Rupert Murdoch, Eli Broad, and other wealthy conservative funders. Today, I read the Rhee/Romney report, put out by a group under the name "Alliance for Quality Education." As a Jersey boy, I was especially intrigu...more »

Your Summer PD: School Improvement — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Your Summer PD: School Improvement — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Klea Scharberg]Your Summer PD: School Improvement August 17, 2012 by Klea Scharberg [image: 2012 ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference] ASCD conducted its second Whole Child Virtual Conference in May. This free conference showcases schools, authors, and research about implementing a whole child approach for a worldwide audience. View and share archived session recordings, presenter handouts, and related resources at www.ascd.org/wcvirtualconference. Gain insight into ways to implement comprehensive,...more »