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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 1-6-13 #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




Education propagandists: Do it for the children « @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 minutes ago
Education propagandists: Do it for the children « @ the chalk face: Education propagandists: Do it for the children by Chris Cerrone In New York, school districts across the state have been scrambling to complete and revise their agreements to a new teacher evaluation system. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a wannabe Presidential Candidate, has used the now common carrot and stick approach to education policy by threatening to withhold a district’s state aid increase for this year unless a new teacher evaluation plan is approved by January 17th. Of the approximately seven hundr... more »

CT State Representative Tells Gabby Giffords to Stay Out of Newtown - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 41 minutes ago
CT State Representative Tells Gabby Giffords to Stay Out of Newtown - Wait, What?: CT State Representative Tells Gabby Giffords to Stay Out of Newtown by jonpelto Six days into 2013, 359 days to go in the New Year – and we already have a top contender for the nation’s “*A**hole politician of the year*” award. No it is not some right-wing Arizona sheriff or an ultra-conservative right-wing tea-bag southern politician; it is a Connecticut State Representative who serves as one of the House Republican’s Assistant Minority Leaders. According to a Hartford courant update this afterno... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Week of Jan. 7-12, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Week of Jan. 7-12, 2013: Seattle Schools Week of Jan. 7-12, 2013 by Melissa Westbrook *Monday, January 7th* If you wish to speak at Wednesday's Board meeting (where the Transition Plan for 2013-2014 will be introduced), sign up today beginning at 8 am, either boardagenda@seattleschools.org or 252-0040. * * *Tuesday, January 8th* Special Education Advocacy & Advisory Council Meeting from 6:30-9:00 p.m., JSCEE, second floor, room 2700. The open forum part of the meeting is from 6:30-7:30 pm with a Working Group Session from 7:30-9:00 ... more »

Have you called yet? « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Have you called yet? « Fred Klonsky: Have you called yet? by Fred Klonsky [image: bilde] *The devil and his handmaiden. Democrats Madigan and Nekritz. * The Daily Herald: SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Elaine Nekritz said Sunday she believes there is still time to get a pension deal done before a Wednesday deadline, and a hearing on one proposal she agreed to with House Republican Leader Tom Cross is set for Monday.“I certainly, to my core, hope for a resolution to this,” Nekritz said. “As much as anybody, I hope to move on to different issues than this.”Though a plan that would cut teac... more »

Ed Notes Online: NYC and DC Charters Expel Students at Higher Rates Than Public Schools --

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: NYC and DC Charters Expel Students at Higher Rates Than Public Schools --: NYC and DC Charters Expel Students at Higher Rates Than Public Schools -- by ed notes online Wait a min -- pub schls can't expel kids. Holy shit. Even the NY Post is reporting this: Here it says in NYS, “charter schools set their own suspension rules and don't report expulsion data -- although experts believe thousands of difficult students are dumped every year to public schools.” This is repeated here: http://insideschools.org/blog/item/1000359-vanishing-students-at-harlem-success *Har... more »

Ohio Third Graders Must Learn to Read or Repeat the Year

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Ohio is one of 14 states to put in place a retention rule that holds back students who are not reading at grade level. Special correspondent John Tulenko reports on the "reading guarantee," which educators say puts enormous pressure on them, and may not actually ensure educational success or lower dropout rates in the future.

“Making History: The People Fight Back to Save San Francisco City College”

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
“Making History: The People Fight Back to Save San Francisco City College”: “Making History: The People Fight Back to Save San Francisco City College” by Danny Weil *NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY: Friday, January 11, 2013* *Contact:* Rodger Scott* xgtel@prodigy.net* *Wendy Kaufmyn (510) 714-8687 kaufmyn@aol.com* *“Making History: The People Fight Back to Save City College”* San Francisco, CA – City College of San Francisco students, staff, teachers and department chairs will picket and boycott their interim chancellor’s welcome address which traditionally kicks off the new semester. Instead o... more »

Diane in the Evening 1-6-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Is This the School-to-Prison Train? by dianerav A reader offers this comment, responding to the Washington Post article about the incredibly high expulsion rate from DC charter schools: Bad kids need education too. The Good kids still in Public Non-Charter schools need education too. I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that it seems highly unlikely that you have a dog in either fight. I don’t either as I am here in Detroit area where they are doing the opposite, setting up a shadow state wide system to warehouse the “Worst and the Dumbest” as a sepa... more »

Texas Takes Tax Credit Voucher Plan From Jeb Bush’s Foundation | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Texas Takes Tax Credit Voucher Plan From Jeb Bush’s Foundation | Scathing Purple Musings: Texas Takes Tax Credit Voucher Plan From Jeb Bush’s Foundation by Bob Sikes From skeptical* Fort Worth Star-Telegram *columnist Bob Ray Sanders: Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, while vowing to make the next legislative session “the most conservative session in history,” announced an education plan last month that includes “school choice.” Using a Catholic elementary school near the state Capitol as a backdrop, Dewhurst joined with Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, t...more »

BILL GATES WANTS 3 POLITICAL PARTIES: REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS, AND ARITHMETIC

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
gates Technocracy education: Bill Gates Wants 3 Political Parties: Republicans, Democrats, and Arithmetic from Dailycensored.com by Susan Ohanian In China all but one of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee are engineers.—-The Economist, Nov. 19, 2011 I had to watch a video conversation between Bill Gates and Thomas Friedman twice because during the first viewing I focused on their jockeying for the commandant general position. Then, I discovered there are two versions of this conversation, so I had to each each one of those. At the *New York Times* websit... more »

A Model T Education: Public Schooling on the Assembly Line

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
A Model T Education: Public Schooling on the Assembly Line: A Model T Education: Public Schooling on the Assembly LineSunday, 06 January 2013 12:05By Adam Bessie, Daily Censored | News Analysis “Mass production is a problem the auto industry solved over 100 years ago,” veteran education reporter Jonn Merrow narrates over grainy images of Model Ts being rolled out of a factory in his most recent PBS NewsHour report. He observes that with the Model T, Henry Ford’s innovation was not in creating a quality car, but in constructing an assembly-line which could mass-produce them, prov... more »

The witch hunt continues: Gannett Media inputs salaries of most Wisconsin public employees into online searchable databases : blue cheddar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The witch hunt continues: Gannett Media inputs salaries of most Wisconsin public employees into online searchable databases : blue cheddar: The witch hunt continues: Gannett Media inputs salaries of most WI public employees into online searchable databases January 6, 2013 By bluecheddar Gannett Media has spent 7 months formally requesting, paying for, and in some cases manually entering information into online searchable databases so that you can see what most public employees in the State of Wisconsin made in the latest available fiscal year. Excluded from the results: those wh... more »

VIDEO. “It’s a revenue problem. Not a pension problem.” Tax the rich. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
VIDEO. “It’s a revenue problem. Not a pension problem.” Tax the rich. « Fred Klonsky: VIDEO. “It’s a revenue problem. Not a pension problem.” Tax the rich. by Fred Klonsky Popout Guest blog: The chutzpah of Illinois! by Fred Klonsky By Mark Stefanik, middle school teacher. Mike Madigan – *“They (teachers, cops, firemen, state employees of all kinds) are going to get less in retirement than they thought they would.”* Didn’t Speaker Madigan contradict the Constitutional protections afforded the pension systems with these words? If this is not a call for reduction of benefits, wh... more »

Charter schools: Public or private? Brian Jones in Portland, teachers rally in Illinois and a petition to Obama: Stop privatizing our schools! | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Charter schools: Public or private? Brian Jones in Portland, teachers rally in Illinois and a petition to Obama: Stop privatizing our schools! | Seattle Education: Charter schools: Public or private? Brian Jones in Portland, teachers rally in Illinois and a petition to Obama: Stop privatizing our schools! by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update: For the news and views you might have missed* First up, more Facebook pages are popping up on the subject of education: *Our Village Our Schools* *Public Education Crusaders* *Long Island Chapter Save Our Schools March* *350 *This one is ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Pension "Reform" = Legalized Welching

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Pension "Reform" = Legalized Welching: Pension "Reform" = Legalized Welching by Duke Meanwhile, in Illinois, the government is forced to confront a pension mess of their own making: The prospects for solving Illinois' worst-in-the-nation pension crisis may have grown brighter Friday when powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan said he was open to deferring a contentious teacher retirement issue that has deadlocked lawmakers for almost a year. Madigan's shift was announced by Gov. Pat Quinn, who is pushing to solve the $96 billion pension problem during a lame-duck... more »

Is Michelle Rhee About to Take a Lance Armstrong Like Fall From Grace? | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Is Michelle Rhee About to Take a Lance Armstrong Like Fall From Grace? | Scathing Purple Musings: Is Michelle Rhee About to Take a Lance Armstrong Like Fall From Grace? by Bob Sikes On Tuesday America will find out if Michelle Rhee’s DC miracle was a fraud. From *Washington Post *reporter Emma Brown: Student standardized-test scores at an award-winning D.C. school dropped dramatically in 2011 after the principal tightened security out of concern about possible cheating, according to a new “Frontline” television documentary to be broadcast Tuesday. The hour-long program raises que... more »

Founding Fathers on Universal Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
* * *Founding Fathers on Universal Public Education* Washington to Franklin, Adams and Jefferson, every one offered his ideas about the state of education and the best ways to build an informed citizenry — from the lowliest mechanic's son to the most exalted Harvard grad. Each called at least implicitly for public education. Jefferson wrote of his Virginia education plan in a letter to his friend George Wythe, *"The tax which will be paid for the purpose of education is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us... more »

The secret e-mails about Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to Newark schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
The secret e-mails about Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to Newark schools: The secret e-mails about Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to Newark schools Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 6, 2013 at 11:27 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » [image: Facebook Hosts Conference On Future Of Social Technologies]A detail that got buried on the day that Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) announced he would not challenge Gov. Chris Christie (R) next year was the news that a judge had ordered ... more »

More On Rocketship Schools, by Barbara Miner « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
More On Rocketship Schools, by Barbara Miner « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: More On Rocketship Schools, by Barbara Miner by millerlf *Do Milwaukee’s children deserve art and music classes?* By Barbara Miner Jan. 5, 2013 View from the Heartland MJS Blog *Do young children deserve art and music classes?* Or, instead of art and music, should kindergarten and first-graders spend two hours a day in Dilbert-like cubicles, keyboarding answers into computers while uncertified aides monitor the room and maintain order? Such questions should be part of a much-needed public disc... more »

U.S. public schools cut 11,000 jobs in December | Reuters

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
U.S. public schools cut 11,000 jobs in December | Reuters: U.S. public schools cut 11,000 jobs in December By Anna Yukhananov and Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON | Fri Jan 4, 2013 4:44pm EST (Reuters) - Local U.S. governments cut jobs for the fourth straight month in December, including 11,000 in public schools, dragging down the nation's fragile economic recovery, jobs data showed on Friday. Local government jobs are now at their lowest level since October 2005, with the bulk of the decline coming from layoffs of teachers and other school employees, according to the Labor Department. For ... more »

National Opt Out Day: January 7, 2013 | United Opt Out National

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
National Opt Out Day: January 7, 2013 | United Opt Out National: National Opt Out Day: January 7, 2013 by admin How will you opt out of corporate education reform on National Opt Out Day? How will you rebuild public schools and resist from within? There are many ways to opt out of corporate education reform through resistance and rebuilding. Share what you plan to do in the comment box. Review our Flyers and Handoutssection of the website to find materials to read and share. Here is a poster depicting various levels of opting out of corporate education reform; all levels are po... more »

Jersey Jazzman: A New Jersey Parent Nails It

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: A New Jersey Parent Nails It: A New Jersey Parent Nails It by Duke Anthony Cody has been hosting a big, contentious discussion about education "reform" under a piece of his based on a controversial argument by Paul Thomas. I and many others weighed in, but my favorite respone is from NJ parent Tamar Wyschogrod, who runs NJ Parents Against Gov. Christie's School Budget Cuts. Wyschogrod's response is so succinct, so insightful, and just so darned good that it deserves to be read far and wide in its entirety: Much of what I described is not corruption, but hypocrisy... more »

The Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
The Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky: The Sunday Mail. by Fred Klonsky [image: 8347641338_7b365977bd] *Springfield Capitol Rotunda. Friday. Photo: IEA* *Veteran teachers* explain their view of the the pension issue. You won’t see this on the channel seven news. *There is no pension deal yet.* Keep the pressure on. Call 888 412 6570. *Has the Newark Teachers Union brought on its own destruction?* A lesson for union leadership everywhere. *Have today’s schools become* penitentiaries of boredom? *A PBS Frontline documentary* examines Michelle Rhee’s cheating legacy in DC. *And Rhee’s BS is to...more »

Violence, Abuse Documented at Florida, Pennsylvania For-Profit Schools | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Violence, Abuse Documented at Florida, Pennsylvania For-Profit Schools | Scathing Purple Musings: Violence, Abuse Documented at Florida, Pennsylvania For-Profit Schools by Bob Sikes The school privatization juggernaut – cloaked under a shroud of false benevolence (It’s about students first) – received some indefensible bad press this weekend in two state’s key to their movement. First from Florida in an Alexandra Zayas story in the *Tampa Bay Times:* State officials asked a judge Friday to shut down an unlicensed Port St. Lucie children’s home that for years has been allowed to op... more »

Lessons for a Principal from a 9 Year Old Boy | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Lessons for a Principal from a 9 Year Old Boy | Connected Principals: Lessons for a Principal from a 9 Year Old Boy by Sandra Trach I assume you are one of the millions that are as inspired as I am by “Caine’s Arcade,” the endearing story of a boy who created his dream from the ground up – *out of cardboard*. Every time I watch these videos, I flash back to my own childhood, where I fashioned tents out of sticks and blankets, and sailed homemade boats in puddles. I flash forward to my students now, as I observe them engineer “houses wired with electricity” and “robots with sola... more »

Texas school districts seek testing waivers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Texas school districts seek testing waivers: Texas school districts seek testing waivers Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 6, 2013 at 10:24 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » [image: test]There’s something almost poetic about this: In Texas, the state where the high-stakes standardized testing era began, a consortium of school districts is asking officials to grant them exemptions from both state and federal testing requirements. Twenty-three members of the Texas High Performance Schools Cons... more »

The Golden Age: Keynes, Marx, Malthus and the Post-Scarcity Vision - Online University of the Left

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
The Golden Age: Keynes, Marx, Malthus and the Post-Scarcity Vision - Online University of the Left: The Golden Age: Keynes, Marx, Malthus and the Post-Scarcity Vision by admin *The 15-hour working week predicted by Keynes may soon be within our grasp – but are we ready for freedom from toil?* *By John Quiggin**SolidarityEconomy.net via Aeon Magazine* Sept 27, 2012 – I first became an economist in the early 1970s, at a time when revolutionary change still seemed like an imminent possibility and when utopian ideas were everywhere, exemplified by the Situationist slogan of 1968: ‘Be re... more »

Analysis: Charter schools kick out far more problem students, but what is the alternative? | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Analysis: Charter schools kick out far more problem students, but what is the alternative? | Get Schooled: Analysis: Charter schools kick out far more problem students, but what is the alternative? by Maureen Downey Many educators on this blog complain that charter schools enjoy a critical edge over their non-charter counterparts: They have far more freedom to kick out problem students. The Washington Post decided to test that claim and found that the District of Columbia’s public charter schools expel students at a far higher rate than the city’s traditional public schools. Thos... more »

Jersey Jazzman: How To Break a Teachers Union

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: How To Break a Teachers Union: How To Break a Teachers Union by Duke *I'm invincible!* The Newark Teachers Union has apparently sown the seeds of its own destruction: As Newark’s landmark teachers contract begins to be implemented, *only about 20 percent of district teachers who can opt to earn bonuses for exemplary evaluations and service in hard-to-fill slots have actually decided to do so*. "Opt" is the key word here. New teachers and those with only bachelor's degrees are automatically enrolled in the program -- defined in a new salary guide -- which pays u... more »

'Frontline' documentary raises questions about Michelle Rhee - UPI.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
'Frontline' documentary raises questions about Michelle Rhee - UPI.com: D.C. school testing questioned (0) | | | inShare Published: Jan. 6, 2013 at 1:41 AM WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Student test scores at an acclaimed District of Columbia school fell sharply after testing oversight was beefed up, a TV documentary to be aired Tuesday found. The hourlong "Frontline" documentary, "The Education of Michelle Rhee," raises questions about whether district officials adequately investigated suspicions public school employees may have altered standardized test answers while Rhee wa... more »

Education reform post-Bennett? - southbendtribune.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Education reform post-Bennett? - southbendtribune.com: Education reform post-Bennett?Lawmaker, expert say much still on agenda. - [image: Email] - [image: print] - Comments 0 - 1 - - - - 1 - 2 - next - | single page By KIM KILBRIDESouth Bend Tribune 5:22 a.m. EST, January 6, 2013 As Indiana lawmakers return for a busy 2013 session on Monday, a big question mark is, will momentum for sweeping school reform initiatives continue? The answer isn't yet crystal clear, but it *is* apparent the hot topics that have been in the fore... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-6-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Mother Crusader Takes on the Center for Education Reform by dianerav Mother Crusader noticed that the New Jersey office of charter schools has a list of important partners. One of them is the Center for Education Reform. Mother Crusader does her customary research and finds that Jeanne Allen, who founded CER, claimed credit for writing the ALEC proposal for the parent trigger. She should not have been surprised. CER is one of the leading voices on the right that supports charters and AIR: VAM Not Ready fo... more »

FAILED INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT TONY BENNETT’S Promise “gave way to punitive micromanagement, with overblown testing and outside opportunism” | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FAILED INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT TONY BENNETT’S Promise “gave way to punitive micromanagement, with overblown testing and outside opportunism” | Scathing Purple Musings: FAILED INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT TONY BENNETT’S Promise “gave way to punitive micromanagement, with overblown testing and outside opportunism” by Bob Sikes *Indianapolis Star *columnist Dan Carpenter doesn’t hold back in expressing his exasperation with outgoing governor Mitch Daniels and education superintendent Tony Bennett. This on Bennett and Indiana’s way forward: Bennett’s promise gave way to punitive microman... more »

Daily Kos: The Four Freedoms

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Daily Kos: The Four Freedoms: The Four Freedoms by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want -- which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world. The fourth... more »

solidaridad: Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board January 5 Precinct Walking Kickoff

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
solidaridad: Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board January 5 Precinct Walking Kickoff: Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board January 5 Precinct Walking Kickoff by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene Students, Teachers, Parents, and Community volunteers canvassed Lincoln Heights getting the word out about School Board candidate Robert D. Skeels. We were walking neighborhoods, talking to voters, and distributing literature. Popout

Charter School Chain in Oregon Cheats Taxpayers Out of $17 Million – Can It Happen In Florida? | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Charter School Chain in Oregon Cheats Taxpayers Out of $17 Million – Can It Happen In Florida? | Scathing Purple Musings: Charter School Chain in Oregon Cheats Taxpayers Out of $17 Million – Can It Happen In Florida? by Bob Sikes From the *Register-Guard*: PORTLAND — Two men who started a chain of taxpayer-funded charter schools across Oregon — two of them in Lane County — have been accused of cheating the state out of $17 million. The state Department of Justice filed a legal claim in Marion County Circuit Court against Tim King and Norm Donohoe, accusing them of racketeering a... more »

Whose View of the Past Matters on School Reform? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Whose View of the Past Matters on School Reform? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Whose View of the Past Matters on School Reform? by larrycuban *History is more or less bunk. It is tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that’s worth a tinker’s dam is the history we make today.* In 1916, as the U.S. was gearing up to enter World War I, Henry Ford, who had applied new technologies to mass manufacturing of cars while earning profits for his company, said those words. He wanted the kind of history that would speak to the present, not ... more »

Rural educator speaks up for small schools - SFGate

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Rural educator speaks up for small schools - SFGate: Rural educator speaks up for small schoolsBy CAROL ROLF, Arkansas Democrat-GazetteUpdated 10:06 pm, Saturday, January 5, 2013 *Small Schools: Public School Reform Meets the Ownership Society Small Talk.* Email This Font PLAINVIEW, Ark. (AP) — Jimmy Cunningham is a champion for small rural schools. He is a product of one, having graduated from Plainview-Rover High School in 1970. During his 36 years in education, Cunningham, 60, has worked in small school districts throughout the state, first as a teacher and coach, then as a ... more »

Communities of Color And Public School Reform: Findings from Qualitative and Quantitative Research Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: *USEFUL ED DOCUMENT:* Communities of Color And Public School Reform: Findings from Qualitative and Quantitative Research [image: Build the People's Board Of Education!] Nov 1, 2011 Brossard, Mario; Cantu-Helmstetler, Rebecca; Garin, Geoff Publisher(s): Brossard Research; Hart Research Associates; Insights Marketing Group Issue Area(s): Education and Literacy Geographic Focus: North America-United States ***The objectives of this research project were to:* * Understand the perceptions of low- to moderate-income Afri... more »

Sam Cooke- Another Saturday Night

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Another Saturday Night, but I ain't got nobody I got some money, 'cause I just got paid How I wished I had someone to talk to I'm in an awful way, take this I got to town a month ago, I seen a lot of girls since then If I could meet them I could get them But as yet I haven't met them That's why I'm in the shape I'm in Another Saturday Night, but I ain't got nobody I got some money, 'cause I just got paid How I wished I had someone to talk to I'm in an awful way Now, another fella told me, He had a sister who looked just fine Instead of being my deliverance She had a strange resemblanc... more »

The Rocketship Conspiracy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
The Rocketship Conspiracy

School Tech Connect: In Hindsight, It Was Foresight

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
School Tech Connect: In Hindsight, It Was Foresight: In Hindsight, It Was Foresight by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) "The 1970 constitution, that gave us Article XIII...was put in there not because they had such great foresight in seeing what problems the pension system might have down the road, but because the state pension systems were indeed 40% funded, about where they are now." -Elaine Nekritz Um, no. It was foresight. In 1970, the delegates foresaw that in the future, legislators would be tempted to screw the public employees and break a contract. So they prevented that... more »

D.C. school closings push parents to charter schools | WashingtonExaminer.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
D.C. school closings push parents to charter schools | WashingtonExaminer.com: D.C. school closings push parents to charter schools *January 5, 2013 | 8:00 pm 1 Comment* [image: Photo - Washington, DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee announces her departure with Mayor Fenty and Mayor Elect Gray and her interim replacement Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson, pictured, at a press conference at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC on Tuesday October 12, 2010. Andrew Harnik/Examiner] *Washington, DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee announces her departure with Mayor Fenty and Mayor Elect... more »

D.C. charter schools expel students at far higher rates than traditional public schools - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
D.C. charter schools expel students at far higher rates than traditional public schools - The Washington Post: D.C. charter schools expel students at far higher rates than traditional public schools *Video: *An analysis of documents by The Washington Post shows the District’s charter schools expel dramatically more students than its traditional public schools. But how things should change depends on who you ask. - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - E-mail - Reprints By Emma Brown, Saturday, January 5, 3:31 PM The District’s public charter sc... more »

3 Ideas That Will Not Transform Schools | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
3 Ideas That Will Not Transform Schools | Connected Principals: 3 Ideas That Will Not Transform Schools by George Couros *In the spirit of “Festivus” and the tradition of “The Airing of Grievances” (sorry for the reference if you are not a Seinfeld fan), I wanted to share a couple of ideas that I think get way too much attention and definitely need some tweaking. Although there is merit for each idea, they do little to transform the culture of a school yet I have seen many jump on their individual bandwagons. Just because the object is shiny, doesn’t mean it is useful. As educa... more »

The Bus Drivers and Matrons New York Students Deserve Action

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
The Bus Drivers and Matrons New York Students Deserve Action: The Bus Drivers and Matrons New York Students Deserve Action by Server *Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action* www.saveourschoolsmarch.org *SAVE OUR SCHOOLS SUPPORTS THE BUS DRIVERS AND MATRONS STUDENTS DESERVE ACTION* - *Petition; Displaced Students Deserve the Best Busing* *Download January 6th Coalition Press Conference Rally Flyer* Consistent with the Save Our Schools Towards True Progress In Public Education Policy we endorse the*BUS FAMILIES AND BUS WORKERS MUTUAL SUPPORT RALLY/PRESS CONFERENCE,* *P... more »

Daily Kos: I don't belong here

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Daily Kos: I don't belong here: I don't belong here byteacherkenFollow - - - 24 Comments / 24 New ** * * * * *I originally posted this on February 24, 2007. For reasons not worth explaining, I had occasion to reread it this evening. It still speaks very much to my condition, and since I had not posted anything else today, I thought it was worth sharing again. You will decide whether I was right.* No, this is not a GBCW posting, let’s be clear about that. And the title is not directed specifically at dailykos, although this site is included in its intent. So... more »

No pension deal yet. Keep the pressure on. Call 888-412-6570. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
No pension deal yet. Keep the pressure on. Call 888-412-6570. « Fred Klonsky: No pension deal yet. Keep the pressure on. Call 888-412-6570. by Fred Klonsky *Call 888-412-6570.* ABC News is reporting trouble making a pension deal. Keep the pressure on. January 5, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) – The prospects for solving Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation pension crisis grow dim as talks between Governor Pat Quinn and top legislative leaders ended without an agreement. Governor Quinn met with lawmakers Saturday morning at the Thompson Center.There’s still no deal as Illinois lawmakers make a la... more »

The Phoenix: A new newsletter from San Jose youth organizing group, 50/50 Crew « Classroom Struggle

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
The Phoenix: A new newsletter from San Jose youth organizing group, 50/50 Crew « Classroom Struggle: The Phoenix: A new newsletter from San Jose youth organizing group, 50/50 Crew by ClassroomStruggle We recently received this newsletter, named The Phoenix, from a San Jose group called 50/50 Crew. They formed out of frustration with non-profit and college campus organizing. Focusing on political work with youth, they place a strong emphasis on anti-police/prison industrial complex work. We found it pretty interesting and hope you do to… so let us know what you think! [image: ... more »

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Recipe for a Tasty Teacher! Not to Be Consumed!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Recipe for a Tasty Teacher! Not to Be Consumed!: Recipe for a Tasty Teacher! Not to Be Consumed! I attended my sorority meeting, the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa Inc, Rho Chapter today. At the end of the meeting, we always have food and fellowship. One of the sorors brought in 16 bean soup, It was muy delicioso! She shared the recipe, but when I arrived home I still Googled it. There are soooooo many different ways to make 16 bean soup, but I noticed that they all shared core ingredients. Of course, I started thinking about the educa... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Can't Play Both Sides Anymore

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Jersey Jazzman: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Can't Play Both Sides Anymore: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Can't Play Both Sides Anymore by Duke Yesterday, we found out that Democrats are abandoning StudentsFirst, Michelle Rhee's right-wing, Republican money funnel that pretends to be a bipartisan education "reform" group. Among those leaving are Hari Sevugan, a Democratic insider who was serving as Rhee's communications director. According to Joy Resmovits'sreporting, Sevugan and other Dems were leaving SF because "*It gets tiresome to have to defend who we are." * * *... more »

School Tech Connect: Gravity Strikes Again

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
School Tech Connect: Gravity Strikes Again: Gravity Strikes Again by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I know you're dying to know these things, so here goes... I write most of this blog on a little $200 netbook running Ubuntu. It's about the cheapest way to do computing known to man. However, when I'm editing video, I pull out the Mothership--- my top of the line quad-core Mac laptop that I paid for out of money that I should be saving for my retirement. I'm like the Illinois Legislature that way. I brought the Mac with me to Springfield so I could edit some Elaine Nekritz foota... more »

Problems with Charter Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Problems with Charter Schools: Charter schools can be more useful and focused if they are operated by school districts as part of a cooperative, symbiotic network, rather than under the existing cloak of independence, which creates more problems than it solves *Ronald G Corwin, Professor Emeritus* Department of Sociology, Ohio State University My colleagues and I published the nation’s first systematic studies of charter schools in 1994, and before that we embarked on a study of the 1992 California voucher initiative. Our results were published in the *Phi Delta Kappan*, and in mon... more »

Controversial Florida Charter School Mavericks Overstated Enrollment | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Controversial Florida Charter School Mavericks Overstated Enrollment | Scathing Purple Musings: Controversial Florida Charter School Mavericks Overstated Enrollment by Bob Sikes From* Palm Beach Post *reporter Jason Schultz: PALM SPRINGS — A Palm Beach County charter school got nearly $160,000 more in state education money than it was entitled to receive after overstating 2011-12 enrollment, a draft audit released last week by the school district’s inspector general claims. According to the draft audit from Inspector General Lung Chiu, Mavericks High School in Palm Springs count... more »

Diane in the EVENING 1-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Can Rhee Still Pretend to Be Bipartisan? by dianerav Jersey Jazzman read Hari Sevugan’s comment on the blog last night and wondered if anyone still believes that StudentsFirst is bipartisan. JJ doesn’t think that any Democrat could sign on to Rhee’s anti-teacher, anti-union agenda. Would a bipartisan group pump money into Republican campaigns? Would a bipartisan group pump $500,000 into the anti-union campaign in Michigan? Not likely. Happy Friday, Muskegon Heights For-Profit Charter School! by dianerav In response to an earlier post about the rocky beginn... more »

Manifesto for education change | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Manifesto for education change | Connected Principals: Manifesto for education change by sharris (This article is a compilation of tweets – feel free to add your comments and questions and advance the conversation.) Imagine Learning Manifesto for education change #edchat #education #cpchat The world is changing rapidly. Regrettably, education is not keeping pace with change. We need to re-think education. Toffler said 21st C learning is about learning, unlearning & relearning. So true. Governments are rarely visionary. Educators need to lead the vision of education as politicians ... more »

Why So Many Schools Remain Penitentiaries of Boredom | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Why So Many Schools Remain Penitentiaries of Boredom | toteachornototeach: Why So Many Schools Remain Penitentiaries of Boredom by aristotlethewise [image: article-2083310-02B636C7000005DC-382_468x370]*Why So Many Schools Remain Penitentiaries of Boredom* by Elizabeth English “It’s harder to change a school than it is to move a graveyard.” Or, as it’s also been said, “It’s harder to change a history course than it is to change history.” I think we can all agree that our schools should be among our most dynamic and innovative institutions; but despite the endless talk about school ... more »

Equally important Must Read by Wendy Lecker: Leaping to reform without first looking - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Equally important Must Read by Wendy Lecker: Leaping to reform without first looking - Wait, What?: Equally important Must Read by Wendy Lecker: Leaping to reform without first looking by jonpelto And for those following the “education reform” debate, here is another important – must read – piece from Wendy Lecker. This one published in the Hearst Newspapers on December 14, 2012 Wendy Lecker: Leaping to reform without first looking: Read the full piece at: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Wendy-Lecker-Leaping-to-reform-without-first-4119584.php#ixzz2H7vELpou “Show y... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Thanks NJEA For the Shout-Out!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Jersey Jazzman: Thanks NJEA For the Shout-Out!: Thanks NJEA For the Shout-Out! by Duke I want to thank my union, NJEA, for giving this blog a nice shout-out in this month's *NJEA Review*. One of the most important functions of public employee unions is to protect their members' right to free speech - especially political speech. I appreciate that NJEA protects my right, and the right of my colleagues, to express our views without fear of retribution at our jobs. And thanks to NJEA for including me on a list with such luminaries as Diane Ravitch, Bruce Baker, and Valerie Strauss. I... more »

Rocketship Schools Coming to an Urban Area Near You Soon « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Rocketship Schools Coming to an Urban Area Near You Soon « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Rocketship Schools Coming to an Urban Area Near You Soon by millerlf Rocketship Plans to Build an Education Empire According to a December 28, PBS NewsHour Report (See Link below.) In a 9 minute TV PBS NewsHour report Rocketship CEO John Danner stated that Rocketship Education’s goal is for a million students to be attending their schools. This would be over 1600 schools nationally. If they contract the same lucrative deal that the City of Milwaukee gave them , sending $600,0... more »






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