A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP
Dichotomy of Co-Intentional Teaching and Our Current Education System « Cooperative Catalyst: Dichotomy of Co-Intentional Teaching and Our Current Education System by SngrLittle [image: Justice-statue.gif] Last week I attended a national conference on theatre education. It was an illuminating and frustrating experience. And this fall, I started attending graduate school in applied theatre at CUNY in New York, where I am participating in a wonderfully illuminating course, Group Theatre. Part of the ongoing dialogue and work in Group Theatre has centered on challenging ourselves... more »
Students Last: Stripper Fired For Being A Teacher: Stripper Fired For Being A Teacher by Students Last Teachers rejected: "We have our standards"*Grand Rapids, Michigan *- Stripper Bunny Halter has filed a federal employment discrimination lawsuit against her former employer strip club White Glove, claiming she was fired one year ago due to her previous employment as a teacher. "I know I made some bad choices," Ms. Halter apologized at a press conference organized by her attorney Gloria Allred. "But I've left the education field now and I don't think I should be punished for trying... more »
Schools Matter: Kopp's shameless self-promotion in the guise of a Kozol book review: Kopp's shameless self-promotion in the guise of a Kozol book review by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *"Ms. Kopp's husband, Richard Barth, was an Edison executive before taking over as CEO of KIPP's national foundation, where he has sought to decertify its New York City unions." — Jesse James Alred* [image: Separate is never equal: TFA, KIPP, and corporate charter schools are the new Jim Crow.]One thing I'll concede to the corporate education reformers is their uncanny ability to use anything as a sal... more »
Schools Matter: Autism, ADHD, Adaptation and Randomization: Autism, ADHD, Adaptation and Randomization by Storm Some time ago I wrote a piece noting how it seems autism is becoming a useful "disorder" to have. (I used the quotes for a reason which I hope becomes clear.) The post, "Autism: the next 'specialty' credential," tried to create a kind of choral effect between an essay by Adam Philips on the cultural definitions (always changing) of "mental illness," and a *Wired* article detailing the hiring practices of an "entrepreneur" (someone with money, or access to money, who ca... more »
Jersey Jazzman: More Perth Amboy: More Perth Amboy by Duke It never ends in Perth Amboy: The large crowd of parents and teachers at Perth Amboy High School erupted in applause when the Perth Amboy Board of Education placed Superintendent Janine Caffrey on administrative leave last Saturday. After an hour-long private session, the Board passed a resolution to not only place Caffrey on leave but also name Assistant Superintendent Vivian Rodriguez as active Superintendent. The board also unanimously voted to not bring Caffrey back as Superintendent once her current deal expires ... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Won't Back Down II: The Sequel: Won't Back Down II: The Sequel by Duke *Won't Back Down II: The Sequel* * * * * * **After credits roll, fade up on school office. A worker is taking down a sign that says "Adams Elementary" and putting up one that says "KKIP Super Success Academy." In walk Jamie Fitzpatrick (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Nona Alberts (Viola Davis), smiling and chatting, clearly excited by changes in the school. * * **They enter the principal's office, where they are greeted by the new school leader, Geoffrey Barth-Moskowitz (Anthony Hopkins). He stands and s... more »
Dan Malloy just isn't that into Michelle Rhee - AMERICAblog: Dan Malloy just isn’t that into Michelle Rhee 9/28/2012 4:23pm by Matt Browner Hamlin 4 Comments Print Disgraced former DC schools chief Michelle Rhee is on a quixotic search to pretend she’s a Democrat in good standing, despite her pursuit of taking away workers’ rights and helping Republican governors bust teachers unions. In her Washington Post op-ed on how “real Democrats” support her education prioritization strategy, which reads like a Joe Lieberman op-ed arguing that real Democrats support endless war, Rhee offers ... more »
Prop. 30 isn't perfect, but if it fails, the results will be tragic - latimes.com: Prop. 30 isn't perfect, but if it fails, the results will be tragicIf funding for public education is devastated, we will all pay the price. - [image: print] - Comments 174 - Email Share - - - - 1 - 2 - next - | single page [image: ] Gov. Jerry Brown at an August event supporting Proposition 30 in San Francisco. (Paul Sakuma, Associated Press) By Sandy Banks September 28, 2012, 7:38 p.m. It's the kind of education news that never makes head... more »
Engaged Pedagogy « Cooperative Catalyst: Engaged Pedagogy by Paul Freedman There’s one heck of a problem in American education today. There seems to be absolute consensus on this point. After all, student test scores are woeful in comparison to those of other industrialized nations. And the test scores of students of color reveal a gap that exposes a culture of privileging the already privileged, that shows little sign of change. Hands are wringing and policy makers and administrators scramble to increase standards and heighten the stakes of measurable achievement. We must c... more »
High School Stadiums, Packed With Loopholes - Businessweek: High School Stadiums, Packed With Loopholes By Kathy Warbelow on September 27, 2012 [image: The cost of the Carthage Bulldogs’ new scoreboard: $750,000] Texas isn’t a place you’d expect to see the words “equalized wealth,” but there they are in the state’s education code. The so-called Robin Hood provision passed in 1993 requires that school districts with taxable property values above a certain level, currently $319,500 per student, surrender some of their revenue to poorer communities. For the 2012-13 school year, a rec... more »
"Won't Back Down": Round-Up Of Reviews Find It Boring, Propaganda-Filled | K-12 News Network: Won’t Back Down”: Round-Up Of Reviews Find It Boring, Propaganda-Filled Posted on September 29, 2012 by admin What’s supposed to be a charming, compelling movie that tugs at heart-strings and delivers the message that teacher’s unions are bad is instead dull, heavy-handed, and uninvolving, according to critics. In this movie, parents and teachers unite, and voila! The result is always and only a charter school. “Won’t Back Down” isn’t passing the low bar of being at least mildly entertaini... more »
Education Radio on “Won’t Back Down” and the Parent Trigger | Seattle Education: Education Radio on “Won’t Back Down” and the Parent Trigger by seattleducation2011 Leonie Haimson Highly recommended. On this program you will hear from *real* parents who are active in education. *“Won’t Back Down”: Corporate Education Reform and the Rhetoric of Fiction* *In the past weeks, we have watched with renewed energy and hope as the teachers, parents, students and community members of Chicago have shown us the power of solidarity. Their resistance to the privatization of public education an... more »
Expired food products being served by Walmart Foundation funded LAUSD Breakfast in the Classroom - Echo Park-Silver-Lake, CA Patch: Expired food products being served by Walmart Foundation funded LAUSD Breakfast in the Classroom Posted on September 27, 2012 at 11:26 pm Email Print 6 Comments PHOTOS (2) [image: Expired Oatmeal Bars arrive for the day's Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC)] [image: LAUSD officials insist kids with syrup leave classes cleaner] Upload Photos and Videos *"So long as there are children who are coming to school hungry, there will be a need for school b...more »
The Unseen Casualties of the Budget War: California Adult Schools | Dailycensored.com: The Unseen Casualties of the Budget War: California Adult Schools by Danny Weil You’ve heard about the severe budget cuts to K-12 schools, and you’ve probably seen countless stories about the dire straits colleges and universities are in. Chances are, you don’t know much about the schools that have been hit the hardest:California’s adult schools. About 10% of adult schools have already closed, and about 15% more have been cut 50%-90%. That’s about 25% of adult schools that have had their funds... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Merit Pay Fairy Lands In Jersey!: Merit Pay Fairy Lands In Jersey! by Duke *No Not Her, She's the MONEY Fairy* Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Rutgers University's newest mascot: the Merit Pay Fairy! The best teachers in Asbury Park, Lakewood, Hillside and North Plainfield will be among the first in the state to earn federally financed merit pay, a spokesman from the U.S. Department of Education said. In partnership with the four low-income districts, Rutgers University will distribute $39.7 million over five years through the department’s Teacher Innovation Fund... more »
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Teacher Responds to “Won’t Back Down” by dianerav Julie Cavanaugh is a special education teacher at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. She was one of the makers of the documentary “The Inconvenient Truth Behind ‘Waiting for Superman’” She now reviews “Won’t Back Down” and explains what is really necessary to reform schools today. Is It Really “All About the Kids”? by dianerav The review in the New York Times of the anti-union film makes an important point: when people loudly insist that “it’s all about the kid... more »
Here come the latest pension bills. « Fred Klonsky: Here come the latest pension bills. by Fred Klonsky *Elaine Nekritz. She’s baaaaaack!* My pal Glen Brown reports on the latest pension bills. These are likely to be introduced in the post-election veto session of the Illinois General Assembly or in the next session that will be convened after January 1. HB 6209 and HB 6210 were filed by north suburban Democratic Representative Elaine Nekritz. These two bills are the latest version of the plan to force state retirees to choose between health care and their yearly cost of living adju... more »
Last Stand for Children First: Won't Back Down is the Greatest Story Ever Told: Won't Back Down is the Greatest Story Ever Told by Last Stand for Children As I am writing this blog, Won't Back Down has just been released to movie theaters across the country. It is on its way to setting huge box office records, but if you care about children or education you must go see this film immediately and preferably multiple times. While, I haven't seen this movie myself yet, I can guarantee you that this is a powerful and uplifting story that will forever change the way that movies are ma... more »
Daily Kos: You must read - and pass on - "40 Days of Night": You must read - and pass on - "40 Days of Night" by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) The title of this Charles Blow *New York Times* column comes from the final line of this superb column: If Obama doesn’t slip up, the next 40 days or so will be one long, dark night for Mitt Romney. while this diary by xaxner mentions the Blow column (and is worth reading for the comment xaxner wrote and crossposted here) I think the Blow column deserves more attention, and was surprised not to see it featured in the Pundit Roundup.It is ... more »
In split vote, OUSD board puts American Indian charter schools on notice - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: In split vote, OUSD board puts American Indian charter schools on notice [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] By Katy Murphy Friday, September 28th, 2012 at 9:27 am in Uncategorized. Last night, as the Oakland school board issued a 1,080-page “notice of violation” to all three American Indian Model Schools over its fiscal and governance practices. (Link to the massive file here.) It’s the first step in a long process that could... more »
Leading School Board Member and High-Stakes Testing Opponent Applies for Florida Ed Commish Post | Scathing Purple Musings: Leading School Board Member and High-Stakes Testing Opponent Applies for Florida Ed Commish Post by Bob Sikes You gotta hand to Rich Roach for chutzpah. Read this from Jeff Solochek in * Gradebook*: Rick Roach, a veteran educator and Orange School Board member since 1998, has contacted friends to let them know he will apply for Florida education commissioner. He also asked them to back his candidacy, if they agree with his views. “I have long been concerned wi... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Stay in School: Stay in School by Charlie Mas Seattle Public Schools is exploring new ways to support our students to stay in school and is asking families to join District staff in discussions regarding student truancy, suspension and discipline. The meetings will be held Oct. 4, 8, 11, 17 and 24 at several high schools around the region. The meetings are being organized by the District Ombudsman, in collaboration with the Disciplinary Appeals/Truancy Office; and the office of School-Family Partnerships/Equity & Race. The meetings will be hel... more »
Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee. by Fred Klonsky *Union Pier, Michigan.* Anne, Ulysses and I have left the City for a month. We have rented a little cottage a few yards from Lake Michigan. We are planning little more than walking, reading and watching the colors change. The change has begun. That picture above was taken last Monday when we arrived and already the road is lined with gold, yellow and rust. Ten more days and we will be in peak colors. Saturday coffee is here at the cottage. Or maybe a latte at the Whistle Stop, a ten minute walk down Red Arrow Highwa... more »
Standardized Testing Stole Our Day! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!: Standardized Testing Stole Our Day! Posted September 29, 2012 by Oldschoolteach in Blogging about Education, Standardized Testing. Tagged: Education,loss of instructional time due to standardized testing, NCLB, No Child Left Behind Act, standardized testing, the negatives of standardized testing. Leave a Comment I planned in advance and completely forgot that we were having the standardized Math test today! Bummer! Wonderful plans put on hold…. *This is what my students and I lost today because Standardized test... more »
Schools Matter: Resegregation Escalates: Resegregation Escalates by Jim Horn From the Civil Rights Project at UCLA: --Los Angeles--In the latest of its widely-cited reports analyzing segregation trends in the nation’s public schools, and the first since the beginning of the Obama Administration, the Civil Rights Project today released three new studies showing persistent and serious increases in segregation by race and poverty, with very dramatic results in the South and West, the nation’s two largest regions where students of color now comprise the majority of public school enro... more »
YET ANOTHER TEACHER UNION BASHING MOVIE « Teachers Fight Back: YET ANOTHER TEACHER UNION BASHING MOVIE by alkleen Oh no, here we go again. Who are these people that make these teacher union bashing movies ? I just read a review of a new movie entitled, “Won’t Back Down”. The evil unionized teachers are at it again in this movie. They don’t care about their students, they encourage their students to make fun of others, they are totally incompetent, they sit at their desk and do nothing, they can’t be fired because of union protection, and they never go out of their way to help a s... more »
Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: 1[image: The Future Starts Now - 2012 edition]The Future Starts Now - 2012 edition Added by Thomas Whitby on September 23, 2012 2[image: No Child Left Behind: Truths and Consequences]No Child Left Behind: Truths and Consequences Added by Thomas Whitby on September 22, 2012 3[image: National Teacher of the Year Addresses Fellow Educators during NEA Convention]National Teacher of the Year Addresses Fellow Educators during NEA Convention Added by Thomas Whitby on September 26, 2012 4[image: Our Changing Schools]Our Changing Schools Added by ...more »
*4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:* *4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit* DR. BRUCE HARRIS, NEW COMMUNITY COLLEGES CHANCELLOR, HAS STRONG SUPPORT, TOUGH JOB smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 10 hours ago Kathryn Baron | EDSOURCE Today | http://bit.ly/Ss7Xq5 September 28th, 2012 :: The California Community Colleges Board of Governors unanimously named Dr. Brice Harris*, a longtime community college leader, as the 15th chancellor of the statewide higher education system. Just hours later he received an unexpected gift from Gov. Jerry Brown, who ... more »
The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] A people’s education platform Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago With the presidential election approaching and the recent Chicago teachers strike, it seems like a good time for the following post, a “people’s platform” for education, or what Americans really want from their public schools. It was written by Nancy Flanagan, an education consultant and blogger at Education Week Teacher, and Don Bartalo, a retired superintendent who now works as an in... more »
Education Research Report: *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* Social bullying prevalent in children's television Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 18 hours ago * 92 percent of the top 50 programs for children ages 2-11 show social bullying* Children ages 2-11 view an alarming amount of television shows that contain forms of social bullying or social aggression. Physical aggression in television for children is greatly documented, but this is the first in-depth analysis on children's exposure to behaviors like cruel gossiping and manipulation of friendship. Nico... more »
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL *Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day* [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] More Articles On “Won’t Back Down” Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 5 hours ago Here are new additions to The Best Posts & Articles On Parent Trigger Movie “Won’t Back Down”: ‘Won’t Back Down’: Film critics pan parent-trigger movie — update is from Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. Reaction to “Won’t Back Down” Shows Critics Have Learned Something is by Anthony Cody a... more »
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee writes about Chicago? Really?: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee writes about Chicago? Really? by Mike Klonsky I guess with all eyes on Chicago, Broom Lady Rhee just couldn't resist. But her Washington Post piece, "Chicago teachers strike underscores shift among Democrats" is so full of lies and misinformation that Rhee simply fulfills her own caricature. You don't have to read very far to find the first lie. Rhee's piece begins: "I am a democrat because I believe in the party's principles..." OK, that's not e... more »
*Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break* New Struggle, Deep Roots by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) This is a little bit off my beat but I'm running it. A couple years ago I decided to re-engage with the world outside my house, and ever since then I've been running into the most interesting people. They're all joined in this fight to defend public education. Heartland Media just posted this interview with Mike Klonsky, who's one of the national voices in this struggle, and who's been in the streets during the most important moments of the modern progressive movement. It's a h... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Obama's Teacher Enthusiasm Gap Is HIS Fault!: Obama's Teacher Enthusiasm Gap Is HIS Fault! by Duke So the latest, greatest viral video is apparently Samuel Jackson's profane tirade at apathetic Obama supporters. Popout Forgive me, Sam, but you're really rubbing me the wrong way. Yeah, I'll vote for Obama; Supreme Court nominees are reason enough. But don't expect me to go into the voting booth when any sort of enthusiasm: I'm a public school teacher. And I know that *no one has done more to fortify the regime of standardized testing, expand charter schools, or thr... more »
Director of "Won't Back Down" Tries to Explain, but Questions Remain - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Director of "Won't Back Down" Tries to Explain, but Questions Remain by Anthony Cody Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody "Won't Back Down" has presented education activists with something teachers long for: a teachable moment. The movie's director, Daniel Barnz, has his homework assignment - begin to understand the mess you have landed in. A little less than two years ago Davis Guggenheim, director of Waiting For Superman, asked teachers to send him feedback on his ... more »
Friends Don't Let Friends Get Fooled by "Won't Back Down": 5 Reasons Why | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity: Friends Don't Let Friends Get Fooled by "Won't Back Down": 5 Reasons Why *Posted on: Friday September 28th, 2012* *5 Things You Should Know About the Pro-Parent Trigger Film and the Real Parents Who Won't Back Down* [image: Won't Back Down]Guess what the OTL Campaign won't be doing this weekend? That's right, we will not be taking our friends to see the premiere of *Won't Back Down*. The new film, which chronicles the fiction... more »
The State of Public Education in New Orleans: 2012 Report » Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives: The State of Public Education in New Orleans: 2012 Report The 2011-12 school year was, in many ways, the beginning of a new era in New Orleans’ public education landscape. The year was marked by momentous changes in leadership and strategy at both the state and local levels. Nonetheless, state and district leaders remain committed to a school reform model that espouses the central principles of school autonomy, choice, and accountability. At the same time, school and distri... more »
I found this interesting story in the Sacramento Bee online yesterday, coming out of a small school district near Sacramento:
