Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape Nite Cap 1-25-13 #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

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Superintendent's Press Conference on MAP

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 32 minutes ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Superintendent's Press Conference on MAP: Superintendent's Press Conference on MAP by Melissa Westbrook It was interesting to be sure. The Superintendent was accompanied by Michael Tolley, Interim Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning and Eric Anderson, head of Assessments. The room was packed with reporters, several of which were student reporters from Hale and Garfield. Unless otherwise noted, these are Superintendent Banda's answers and not all the questions were mine. Q- If teachers boycott MAP, what about those suspensions? A. ...more »

State legislators seek crackdown on expensive form of school finance - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 57 minutes ago

State legislators seek crackdown on expensive form of school finance - latimes.com: State legislators seek crackdown on expensive form of school finance [image: Photo: Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach is part of the Newport Mesa School District, which issued $83 million in long-term notes in May 2011. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times] Two state lawmakers moved on Friday to crack down on a costly method of finance that hundreds of school districts have been relying on to pay for new construction. Assembly members Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) and Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo)...more »

Observe Fred Korematsu Day - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Observe Fred Korematsu Day - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Urges Public to Observe Fred Korematsu Day SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today encouraged all Californians to take a moment during the last week of January to observe the third annual "Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution," as well as participate in the Korematsu Day events throughout California. "History offers us many lessons, among them the cost of war and racism, and the strength it takes to achieve justice," said Torlakso... more »

Teaching Reading Comprehension Through Content Areas — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Teaching Reading Comprehension Through Content Areas — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Klea Scharberg]Teaching Reading Comprehension Through Content Areas January 25, 2013 by Klea Scharberg What is the most effective way to teach a reading comprehension strategy? Does explicit instruction in one type of reading comprehension strategy facilitate acquisition of similar types of reading comprehension strategies? This video, from Best Practices Weekly, dissects a study that posed these questions in an article published in the *Journal of Educational Psychology*. Foc... more »

Seattle Grace - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Seattle Grace - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Seattle Grace by Nancy Flanagan *What would happen if teachers refused to do things that harmed their students?* Actually, it's a common occurrence. Ms. Smith decides making her students write their spelling words ten times each is unproductive make-work, and finds a better routine. Mr. Jones stops his embarrassing (but time-saving) habit of exchange-papers-and-correct. Mrs. Johnson realizes that reflexively assigning kids to all-day detention is counterproductive and substitutes real, difficult one-to-one conver... more »

Diane in the Evening 1-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Support Thomas Mertz for Madison, WI, School Board by dianerav Thomas Mertz trained as a historian of education. We have that in common. Though I have never met Thomas, I endorse his principles and I am happy to see that he is running for election to the school board in Madison, Wisconsin. The need has never been greater to elect allies and strong supporters of public education. Please help him in any way you can. *Prepared, Progressive, Passionate* *I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education, Seat... more »

Schools Matter: Teachers and CCSS: To Implement or To Resist?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Schools Matter: Teachers and CCSS: To Implement or To Resist?: Teachers and CCSS: To Implement or To Resist? by P. L. Thomas At the *Teaching Now* blog (*Education Week*), a recent debate among Larry Ferlazzo, Stephen Krashen, David Cohen, and Paul Thomas has prompted the post: "Should Teachers Resist the Common Core?" In a series of blog posts as well as comments on those posts, Ferlazzo and Cohen have offered skepticism about CCSS, but maintain implementation of CCSS and the high-stakes tests to follow are inevitable, and thus the realistic and practical response from teachers... more »

Better than tests Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Better than tests: Better than tests by admin *If not standardized tests, then what?* That question was soundly answered last night at the forum, “Assessments that Make Sense” in Bronzeville (photos coming) A room crowded with parents, teachers, students and community members from all over the city heard Monty Neill present two successful alternatives to standardized testing accountability: - the Performance Assessment student project-based model used in New York in place of state Regents’ exams, and - the Learni... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – Auditors looking at LEAs, CDE and anti-bullying enforcement

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: Print this articleAuditors looking at LEAs, CDE and anti-bullying enforcement *By Tom Chorneau* Friday, January 25, 2013 Spurred perhaps by disturbing disclosures out of the school shooting incident in Taft earlier this month, the Bureau of State Audits has launched a review of how local educational agencies deal with on-campus bullying as well as state oversight. The audit, which state schools chief Tom Torlakson announced to district administrators in a letter last week, comes in the wake of the Jan. 10 shooting at Taft Union High School ... more »

The Weekly Update: Seattle teachers stand firm, testing push back around the country, a parent offers ideas for those opt-out days and Yong Zhao on testing and standardization | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

The Weekly Update: Seattle teachers stand firm, testing push back around the country, a parent offers ideas for those opt-out days and Yong Zhao on testing and standardization | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: Seattle teachers stand firm, testing push back around the country, a parent offers ideas for those opt-out days and Yong Zhao on testing and standardization by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed.* [image: weekly] It’s been quite a week in our fair city. Many of us here in Seattle have watched the destruction of the teachi... more »

Teachers Don't Suck !: New Jersey Pension "Deform"!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Teachers Don't Suck !: New Jersey Pension "Deform"!: New Jersey Pension "Deform"! Republican Christine Todd Whitman, running on a tax-cutting platform, defeated Florio in the 1993 governor's race. To help pay for her promised tax cuts, Whitman, like her predecessor, turned to the pension fund. In 1994, at her urging, the legislature adopted another pension*"reform" act that allowed her to reduce state and local contributions to the plan by nearly $1.5 billion*in 1994 and 1995, according to the task force report. Florio's and Whitman's accounting changes were "the one-two punch fr... more »

Philadelphia Council calls for moratorium on school closings | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Philadelphia Council calls for moratorium on school closings | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Philadelphia Council calls for moratorium on school closingsby thenotebook on Jan 25 2013 Posted in Latest news ="" style="color: rgb(76, 153, 72); cursor: pointer; float: left; padding: 0px 2px;">Share on email COMMENTS (0)PRINT *by Tom MacDonald* As Philadelphia City Council got back to work for the first time in 2013, one of its first actions was approval of a nonbinding resolution calling for a one-year moratorium on public school closings in the city. The financially struggling ... more »

UPDATE: NEA President Dennis Van Roekel on Garfield + The Seattle Garfield movement spreads + Mark Stefanik. Savage indignation. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Mark Stefanik. Savage indignation. « Fred Klonsky: The inbox. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel on Garfield. by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *We have been witness this week to a defining moment within the education profession as educators at Seattle’s Garfield High School take a heroic stand against using the MAP test as a basis for measuring academic performance and teacher effectiveness. I, along with 3 million educators across the country, proudly support their efforts in saying ‘no’ to giving their students a flawed test that takes away from learning and is not aligned with the curricul... more »

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *A chipper Brown targets education funding* Education Headlines *Friday, January 25, 2013* Justice Dept. helps soothe issues on Stockton USD campusesThe campus climates at Edison and at Chavez High were a central topic at the schools this week. At the request of Stockton Unified, a representative from the United States Department of Justice's Community Relations Service led daylong gatherings at each school aimed at addressing a full range of student concerns. Board vote will result in closure of Bayside School in SausalitoDespit... more »

D.C. Council members fear schools near tipping point as students flee system - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

D.C. Council members fear schools near tipping point as students flee system - The Washington Post: D.C. Council members fear schools near tipping point as students flee system - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - E-mail - Reprints By Emma Brown, Published: January 23 The District’s traditional public school system is in danger of shrinking significantly unless officials make changes that persuade parents to stop fleeing to public charter schools, D.C. Council members said Wednesday. “I believe we are within a year or two of hitting an irrever... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CHICAGO SCHOOL-CLOSING QUOTABLES

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CHICAGO SCHOOL-CLOSING QUOTABLES: CHICAGO SCHOOL-CLOSING QUOTABLES by Mike Klonsky School closers Babbitz & Byrd-Bennett *“CPS needs to make sure it’s not fixing what isn’t broken. The District must not shutter schools that, though technically underutilized, are vibrant hubs of community activity housed in high-quality buildings, and that serve as an anchoring force in their neighborhoods.” *-- *Commission on School Utilization*, Interim Report, Jan. 10th *“We know that in the past we haven’t done a terrific job of tracking students and understandin...more »

It’s politics – not asbestos that clouds UConn's downtown Hartford move - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

It’s politics – not asbestos that clouds UConn's downtown Hartford move - Wait, What?: It’s politics – not asbestos that clouds UConn’s downtown Hartford move by jonpelto There must be big money and politics at play behind UConn’s downtown move. Or as they say at the Legislative Office Building – “You can small a rat with this one.” On Wednesday the Hartford Business Journal wrote, “The University of Connecticut’s relocation of its West Hartford campus to downtown Hartford has hit a stumbling block as the office building the school is targeting for relocation in Constitution Plaz... more »

Shanker Blog » The Cartography Of High Expectations

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Shanker Blog » The Cartography Of High Expectations: The Cartography Of High Expectations by Matthew Di Carlo In October of last year, the education advocacy group ConnCAN published a report called “The Roadmap to Closing the Gap” in Connecticut. This report argues that the state must close its large achievement gaps by 2020 – that is, within eight years – and they use to data to argue that this goal is “both possible and achievable.” There is value in compiling data and disaggregating them by district and school. And ConnCAN, to its credit, doesn’t use this analysis as a blatant ... more »

Brown lashes out at regulators and testers, makes case for his reforms | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Brown lashes out at regulators and testers, makes case for his reforms | EdSource Today: Brown lashes out at regulators and testers, makes case for his reforms ** January 24th, 2013 | 2 Comments | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on print More Sharing Services With a caustic critique of excessive testing and overregulation and a fervent call for respecting the “dignity and freedom of teachers and students,” Gov. Jerry Brown laid out the case for returning primary control of education to local hands and distributing state money equitably in his... more »

We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities | ED.gov Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities | ED.gov Blog: We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities Posted on January 25, 2013 by Arne Duncan Playing sports at any level—club, intramural, or interscholastic—can be a key part of the school experience and have an immense and lasting impact on a student’s life. Among its many benefits, participation in extracurricular athletic activities promotes socialization, the development of leadership skills, focus, and, of course, physical fitness. It’s no secret that sports helped ... more »

Joy Resmovits: Jerry Brown Makes Veiled Hit On EdSec Arne Duncan? Harnessing Teachers' Voices: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Joy Resmovits: Jerry Brown Makes Veiled Hit On EdSec Arne Duncan? Harnessing Teachers' Voices: Ed Today: Jerry Brown Makes Veiled Hit On EdSec Arne Duncan? Harnessing Teachers' Voices: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *Did Jerry Brown Just Ding Arne Duncan?* In his State of the State address yesterday, Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) talked a bit about federalism and education policy. He proposed a new funding formula and called for more local control. (Some background: his more customized No Child Left Behind waiver was rejected by the U.S. Education Department). Then it got a little sni...more »

Strong Unions Help Power Maryland to No. 1 Education Ranking | NEA Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Strong Unions Help Power Maryland to No. 1 Education Ranking | NEA Today: Strong Unions Help Power Maryland to No. 1 Education Ranking by twalker *By John Rosales* In 2002, the Maryland General Assembly adopted the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act to phase-in increases to school funding with the goal of providing an equitable, quality education regardless of a student’s zip code or background. At the time, the *New York Times*called the bill “historic.” After 10 years, it can also be referred to as an investment that has paid off big time. For the fifth year in a row, Mary... more »

#optout why an how in #pennsylvania. « @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

#optout why an how in #pennsylvania. « @ the chalk face: #optout why an how in #pennsylvania. by Timothy D. Slekar Why Opt Out of PSSAs? After 11 years of PSSAs, childhood anxiety disorders have dramatically risen. Our children have been denied a fully comprehensive education (reductions or elimination of history, science, art, music, phys ed). Our children are being used to provide data that will label our children, teachers, school, administrators, and community a failure. Our tax money (our money) has been diverted to testing and data management companies instead of schools ... more »

Mythbusting the Common Core « PWC Education Reform Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Mythbusting the Common Core « PWC Education Reform Blog: Mythbusting the Common Core by pwceducationreform Mythbusting the Common CoreJanuary 25, 2013 — pwceducationreform The pressure on Virginia to adopt the Common Core State Standards is intense, with the CCSS’s supporters actively spreading false information, grossly exaggerating it’s success, and misrepresenting who is behind the CCSS. Virginia isn’t likely to last long under such intense pressure, so us plain folk need to arum ourselves with knowledge and share our opinions with our state delegation. Here’s the first of a se... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Standards and Martin Luther King

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Standards and Martin Luther King: Common Core Standards and Martin Luther King from Missouri Education Watchdog by stlgretchen Add this phrase: *COMMON IS EXCEPTIONAL* I received the email below from a teacher about the President's inauguration, Martin Luther King and Common Core standards: **************************************************************************** This week, President Obama will be sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States of America. As a history teacher, I was elated to learn he would be placing his... more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-25-13 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] Getting Ready for the Common Core Testing by dianerav A friend of a friend of a friend passed this along, hoping I might be able to answer the question about the appropriateness of this test question in second grade. What do you think? “Please read a question on a quiz that my 7 year old son in the 2nd grade got wrong and tell me if I’m crazy for Nevada Set to Replace Career Teachers with TFA by dianerav This is a disturbing interview with Nevada’s State Superintendent of Instruction James Guthrie. Nevada... more »

Is computer-delivered education equivalent to one with a flesh-and-blood teacher and hands-on experiences? | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Is computer-delivered education equivalent to one with a flesh-and-blood teacher and hands-on experiences? | Get Schooled: Is computer-delivered education equivalent to one with a flesh-and-blood teacher and hands-on experiences? by Maureen Downey [image: computer (Medium)]Shannon Howrey is assistant professor of literacy education at Georgia Gwinnett College and parent of three school-aged children. In her first op-ed for the Get Schooled blog, she writes about the spread of MOOCs, massive open online courses delivered over the Internet to anyone who enrolls without charge. MOOCs... more »

OUSD board stands firm on American Indian charter school recommendation - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

OUSD board stands firm on American Indian charter school recommendation - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: OUSD board stands firm on American Indian charter school recommendation Thursday, January 24th, 2013 at 1:21 pm in 1 Comment The Oakland school board voted 6-1 last night to issue a “notice of intent to revoke” the charters for three schools run by American Indian Model Schools: American Indian Public Charter School (6-8), American Indian Public Charter School II (K-8) and American Indian Public High School. The next hearing will be Feb. 13. The fi... more »

Teachers Hate Rick Scott « Tangerine, Florida

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Teachers Hate Rick Scott « Tangerine, Florida: Teachers Hate Rick Scott by 5redherrings [image: 385221_444444598961834_57741864_n] Via Firing Rick Scott Governor Rick Scott’s PR stunt today indicates nothing more than that Scott has made a habit out of cutting funding and then at a later date getting publicity for restoring it. We saw this song and dance when he cut $1.3 billion from public education funding in 2011 and then a year later touted a billion dollar promise to those very same schools. It is just another slight in a series of insults for middle class Floridians. The gove... more »

Tony Bennett, State Board Wants More Capital Outlay For Charter Schools, None for Public Schools | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Tony Bennett, State Board Wants More Capital Outlay For Charter Schools, None for Public Schools | Scathing Purple Musings: Tony Bennett, State Board Wants More Capital Outlay For Charter Schools, None for Public Schools by Bob Sikes From the* Bradenton Times*: BRADENTON — In 2012, charter schools were narrowly unsuccessful in getting a state bill passed to require public school districts to give charter schools some of their local property tax revenue, though they received about $55 million for school construction through Governor Scott’s controversial decision to give them all ... more »

The real problem with multiple-choice tests

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

The real problem with multiple-choice tests: The real problem with multiple-choice tests Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 25, 2013 at 6:00 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » Q) What is one responsibility that modern Presidents have NOT described in the Constitution? (From the 2010 NAEP exam) a) Commanding the armed forces b) Proposing an annual budget to Congress c) Appointing Supreme Court justices d) Granting pardons One of the biggest c... more »

Creating, Tinkering, Inventing and Imagining Our Way to the Top | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Creating, Tinkering, Inventing and Imagining Our Way to the Top | toteachornototeach: Creating, Tinkering, Inventing and Imagining Our Way to the Top by aristotlethewise *Creating, Tinkering, Inventing and Imagining Our Way to the Top* by Dori Roberts [image: tinker-tom]If you were to peek through the door of most preschool classrooms or observe young children playing at home, you would likely find kids creating, tinkering, inventing and imagining. Their hands would be busy and their minds would be racing a hundred miles a minute with all different types of creative possibilities: A... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Tests, typos and video tape

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Tests, typos and video tape: Tests, typos and video tape by Mike Klonsky The website parents were sent to instead of a similar URL for information on Illinois testing standards.BBB's email notification to parents, warning them of a probable decline in student test scores, led instead, to an erotic website. Pretty hilarious when you consider all the possibilities. But most likely, just a typo on the part of a secretary -- an errant *l* in the website address that leads us to this ISBEL site instead of to ISBE. But you can bet the CEO's overstaffed Dam... more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 1-24-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

*Nite Cap UPDATE**UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* An eloquent letter of support for the MAP test boycott from the teachers at Roosevelt High School by seattleducation2011 Wednesday/January 23, 2012 This We Believe: Teachers, parents, students, school board members and the administration of Seattle Public Schools owe Garfield High School teachers their gratitude and thanks for speaking the truth. We believe that any reprimand or negative consequences … Continue reading → “On Parents, Better To Coax Or Coerce?” by Larry Ferlazzo Here’s an interesting article from a group called The Cen... more »

Alfie Kohn and Pasi Sahlberg Blogathon « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Alfie Kohn and Pasi Sahlberg Blogathon « Cooperative Catalyst: Alfie Kohn and Pasi Sahlberg Blogathon by joebower I am putting out a call for people to participate in an Alfie Kohn and Pasi Sahlberg Blogathon.[image: kohnsalhlbergcartoon] This blogathon is in response to the “Creating a great school for all - an evening with Alfie Kohn and Pasi Sahlberg,” Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at Red Deer College in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Click here for tickets. Rather than have Alfie Kohn and Pasi Sahlberg simply show up and talk for a couple hours just so we can all go back to work the n... more »

Ed Notes Online: Change the Stakes: Backing the Seattle Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Change the Stakes: Backing the Seattle Teachers: Change the Stakes: Backing the Seattle Teachers by ed notes online There's been a wealth of support for the test boycotters and now the Superintendent is threatening the teachers. I don't have time but I'm sure you an google the links as loads of email is flowing into the Superintendent. Here is a letter of support written for the teachers by Change the Stakes and MORE member Diana Zavala for our NYC based Change the Stakes Group. Diana is also a parent opt-outer for her kids. Dear Superintendent Banda, It has c... more »

UPDATE: Ed Tonight Students With Disabilities Have Right To Play School Sports, Obama Administration Tells Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Students With Disabilities Have Right To Play School Sports, Obama Administration Tells Schools: Detroit School Closures, Kristof On Pre-K: Ed Tonight by Joy Resmovits *Today In School Closures...* Detroit is slated to close even more schools, reports CBS. Enrollment in the Motor City has dwindled from 150,000 to a projected 40,000. "A deficit elimination plan obtained by The Detroit News says the district will close 28 schools [by 2016]," CBS reports. "The closures are expected to save DPS about $13.4 million in operating expenses, but hundreds of district employees will be out o... more »

H.R.320: Student Support Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

H.R.320: Student Support Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: H.R.320 Student Support Act To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for assistance in hiring additional school-based mental health and student service providers. H.R.320 - Student Support Act To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for assistance in hiring additional school-based mental health and student service providers. view all titles (2) ... more »

Three Card Monte, Nekritz style. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Three Card Monte, Nekritz style. « Fred Klonsky: Three Card Monte, Nekritz style. by Fred Klonsky [image: nekritz] *Three-card Monte, also known as the Three-card marney, Three-card trick, Three-Way, Three-card shuffle, Menage-a-card, Triplets, Follow the lady, Les Trois Perdants (French for Three Losers), le Bonneteau, Find the lady, Bola bola or Follow the Bee is a confidence game in which the victim, or mark, is tricked into betting a sum of money, on the assumption that they can find the money card among three face-down playing cards. It is the same as the shell game except tha... more »

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: A trip down memory lane with Oakland’s “American Indian” charter schools & Ben Chavis

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: A trip down memory lane with Oakland’s “American Indian” charter schools & Ben Chavis: A trip down memory lane with Oakland’s “American Indian” charter schools & Ben Chavis by The Perimeter Primate Last evening Oakland Tribune education reporter Katy Murphy sent out this tweet: *Oakland school board just voted 6-1 to issue "notice of intent to revoke" to three American Indian charters. Final decision in March.* It seems apropos to take a look back at some memorable news stories about those schools. 11/14/2001 *“Beating a New Kind of Drum.*” *East Bay Expre... more »

Debunking Misconceptions: “The Common Core is State-Led” | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Debunking Misconceptions: “The Common Core is State-Led” | Truth in American Education: Debunking Misconceptions: “The Common Core is State-Led” by Shane Vander Hart I thought that I would start a series on common misconceptions related to the Common Core State Standards. I don’t know how frequently I’ll come back to this series, but as these misconceptions come up or as I hear them I want to address them. The first is one that I hear quite frequently and I was told was a misconception repeated in the Iowa House Education Committee meeting the other day when the Common Core was... more »

Louisiana Educator: COMPASS Revisions; Still a Wacky System

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Louisiana Educator: COMPASS Revisions; Still a Wacky System: COMPASS Revisions; Still a Wacky System by Michael Deshotels I watched the video presentation this week by the DOE explaining the COMPASS changes approved by BESE last week. I concluded that the changes could have been explained just as well in about 3 minutes instead of the boring 34 minutes . Here is all I got from the presentation: The rating system has been changed to allow 20% of the teachers evaluated by VAM to be considered highly effective instead of the original 10%. Also, starting next year, teachers rated b... more »

UPDATE: Tips from the Trenches: Administration — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Tips from the Trenches: Administration — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Stephen Sroka] Tips from the Trenches: Administration January 24, 2013 by Stephen Sroka *During the last few months, I have had the chance to talk with several speakers who strongly affected their audiences. I started to think about the remarkable leaders with whom I have worked over the years and how they have made huge differences with their incredible wisdom, insight, and actions. I contacted some of them and asked them to comment on working in education in these difficult times. I asked ... more »

UPDATE: Latest FLDOE Finding + Republican Texas House Says No to Jeb Bush on Testing | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Republican Texas House Says No to Jeb Bush on Testing | Scathing Purple Musings: Latest FLDOE Finding: Poverty and Race Didn’t Matter in Teacher Evaluation Scores by Bob Sikes From Associated Press reporter Bill Kaczor in the *Miami Herald*: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Studies show students’ race and socio-economic status have virtually no correlation with their teachers’ performance evaluation scores, a top Florida education official told a legislative panel Thursday. Teachers are being evaluated during the current school year for the first time using what’s known as a value-added model.... more »

UPDATE: You Get What You Pay For + The Sky Will Soon Be Falling, Again + School Tech Connect: Nekritz vs. Martire

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Nekritz vs. Martire: You Get What You Pay For by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Ben Joravsky goes right to the heart of it. And I'd note that CPS uses charters to take care of a community's educational needs during the time poor people are moving out and wealthier people are moving in. At which point they create a regular public school with unionized teachers who get paid a decent salary, because as everyone knows, you get what you pay for. I actually don't care. Nothing can dissuade me from starting Tim Tech Charter. Like this blog, my school will The Sk... more »

Letter to the SCUSD Board of Education: | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Letter to the SCUSD Board of Education: | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: Letter to the SCUSD Board of Education: by Kate_Lenox [image: Home] For the past ten years, the Sacramento City Unified School District has closed schools piecemeal, even when attempting to put a process like a 7-11 committee in place. Now with its back against the wall financially, the district believes it must close a large number of schools to remain solvent. To address the declining enrollment and over capacity in the district, planning should have begun by considering the be... more »

Diane in the Evening 1-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Teachers at Roosevelt HS Support Colleagues at Garfield by dianerav Forty-Three Roosevelt High School teachers (colleagues in Seattle Public Schools with Garfield High School teachers) signed this Letter of Support (on Jan. 23, 2012) for GHS teachers and a call to for expedient dismissal of the MAP exam because it has not proven to be useful or reliable. (PDF of original with signatures available upon request). This We Believe: Teachers, parents, students, school board members and the administration of Seattle Public Schools owe Detroit: 28 More Schools Wi... more »

Torlakson Reacts to State of the State - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Torlakson Reacts to State of the State - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Reaction to Governor's State of the State Address SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today issued the following statement regarding Governor Brown's State of the State Address: "With today's State of the State Address, as in his budget, Governor Brown kept his promise to make school funding his top priority. "While it will take years for our schools to recover what they have lost, I applaud the Governor for putting California on the path tow... more »

January 23, 2013: State Board of Education votes to require more standardized testing! - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

January 23, 2013: State Board of Education votes to require more standardized testing! - Wait, What?: January 23, 2013: State Board of Education votes to require more standardized testing! by jonpelto When the Connecticut State Board of Education met yesterday to approve their 2013 legislative agenda, a primary initiative was to expand the state’s mandatory standardized testing program to include all Connecticut students in the 11th grade. As of now, the state’s absurd mandatory Connecticut Mastery standardized testing extravaganza begins in grade three and runs through the CAPT ... more »

Best Questions: Someday Happens, Part Two — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Best Questions: Someday Happens, Part Two — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Molly McCloskey]Best Questions: Someday Happens, Part Two January 24, 2013 by Molly McCloskey Four years ago on the inauguration of the first African American president of the United States, we titled our*Whole Child Newsletter* "Someday Happens," reflecting a T-shirt I saw at the ceremonies that day. Today, independent of political views, I'm wondering when someday will happen for the millions of kids promised a "free and appropriate public education." While that phrase was first introdu... more »

California Governor Jerry Brown Decries Testing: "Distant Authorities Crack the Whip" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

California Governor Jerry Brown Decries Testing: "Distant Authorities Crack the Whip" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: California Governor Jerry Brown Decries Testing: "Distant Authorities Crack the Whip" by Anthony Cody In today's State of the State speech, (available here) California Governor Jerry Brown continued to blaze a path in a new direction on education reform. He explicitly rejected the dominant reform paradigm which closely manages schools through test scores, and embraced local control, which he argued for using a concept called "subsidiarity." He also ... more »

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