Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 1-29-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2




Nite Cap UPDATE

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Teacher-led PD on Tech Tuesday

Teacher-led PD = the most meaningful and collaborative PD available in education today.
This morning, we held our bi-weekly Tech Tuesday for staff. The topic was on Skype in the Classroom. Two local district educators, Glenn Yetter (@CoachYetter) and Brett Baker (@Bakerbg), Skyped into our before school meeting to teach us about the benefits of Skyping across the school, out to a nearby school or even a country 7 timezones away. We discussed #MysterySkype, Skype bookchats, Skype cultural chats and ways to make the setting come to life in our literature.
We have these meetings scheduled every other Tuesday and topics are chosen based upon what the teachers wanted to learn more about. Future topics include Twitter, Edmodo, Study Island, Google Voice, KidBlogs, 

What If She Wants to Be a Teacher? Or Worse, a Professor?

You want you kids to be happy, successful, fulfilled. You want them to make good choices. You try to help them avoid the same mistakes you made when you were younger.
And then you hear them teaching their younger brother. And panic sets in.
My daughter just started kindergarten this year. She is (quantifiably) the smartest kid in her class. And not just by a little. She has a wonderful teacher and we are working to make sure that she remains challenged by what she is learning, to avoid getting bored, but also so she learns some perseverance and how to “work” hard. These were two things that both my husband and I regret about our schooling; because school was easy, we didn’t try, 

Bill Introduced: S.3 Strengthen our Schools and Students Act

A bill to improve education and provide all students in the United States with the opportunity to succeed.

Teachers opposed to tests get a warning

Teachers opposed to tests get a warning

Seattle Public Schools officials have told teachers boycotting the 
MAP tests that they must administer the tests or face suspension.
By Linda Shaw
testing5Seattle school officials sent a letter Wednesday asking principals to inform all their teachers by day’s end that they will be disciplined if they refuse to give district-required tests.
But at a rally Wednesday afternoon at Seattle Public Schools headquarters, teachers boycotting the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, said they would not back down because the tests are an unreliable measure 



Common Core Wars Heating up in Indiana from the Chamber of Commerce

Indiana will face a vote in the Senate to advance a bill to rid itself of Common Core.  Anngie and I were there for the testimony and rally a couple of weeks ago.  Five hundred citizens showed up at the Capitol to show their support for stopping Common Core in their state.

The reformers might be getting worried.  Below is an editorial insinuating taxpayers frankly don't understand why private corporations should be given the authority to own the copyright to the standards and assessments used in teaching their children...and if a parent or a school district 

The Best Resources About The New Push For Immigration Reform

My oh my, the tone about immigration reform and the idea of providing a path to citizenship to the undocumented sure seems to have changed recently!
I thought it would be useful for readers, my students and me to start bringing together useful resources.
By the way, be sure to check out my post on citizenship at The New York Times next week — I think people will 

PEW Report :A Nation of Immigrants A Portrait of the 40 Million, Including 11 Million Unauthorized

PEW Report  :A Nation of Immigrants  A Portrait of the 40 Million, Including 11 Million UnauthorizedThe nation’s immigrant population reached a record 40.4 million in 2011, including an estimated 11.1 million who are unauthorized, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

The overall number of immigrants in the U.S. continues to grow steadily; it is up by more than 9 million since 2000. By contrast, the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. grew for decades before peaking at 









Governor praises teaching profession in state of state address

Governor praises teaching profession in state of state address

In his address, Gov. Brown is right that we have to move beyond obsessing about standardized tests to focus on a well-rounded education. Governor praises our profession in state of state address
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Endorse the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing!

January 2013
With more and more states recognizing the flaws of high stakes testing, a National Resolution is online and gathering steam! CTA has officially signed the Resolution. Please endorse the resolution today – and ask your colleagues to do the same.












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CTA supports districts that refuse to give flawed standardized test

January 2013
CTA and NEA support Seattle boycott of district-mandated Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) standardized test that is not aligned with state standards or the district curriculum.












Mulgrew faces legislators, as Walcott promises to revisit sunset

ALBANY — Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan kept her promise to question UFT President Michael Mulgrew with the same tenacity as when she interrogated Mayor Bloomberg on Monday.
Nolan chastised Bloomberg for his role in New York City’s failure to reach a teacher evaluation deal, which will likely cost the city $240 million in state school aid.
Today, she told Mulgrew, “This is the fault of labor and management together.” Nolan chairs the Assembly’s 


Remainders: Making more out of the Regents Week break

  • A parent wonders if Regents Week could mean more than letting students stay home. (Insideschools)
  • Attendance in District 75 schools was 73 percent today, the highest during the bus strike. (GS Twitter)
  • The UFT’s MORE caucus wants teachers to share their experiences with new observations. (MORE)
  • Two teachers were censured for using school email accounts to run for union chapter leader. (GS Scribd)
  • Reporters and advocates live-Tweeted a discussion in Washington, D.C., on school closures. (Twitter)
  • The feds say all school closure complaints get looked into, but not necessarily resolved. (Politics K-12)
  • Here’s a look at “teacher voice” organizations, which have some teachers unions concerned. (Ed Next)
  • A new study provides additional ammunition for opponents of helicopter parenting. (Atlantic)
  • Kids these days should probably be making videos to advertise books like these from 1983. (Hairpin)

Bloomberg lists central budget cuts to accompany schools’ hit

Following up on his promise to detail school budget cuts required by the collapse of a teacher evaluation deal earlier this month, Mayor Bloomberg today described how he plans to reduce costs in the Department of 

Bloomberg Outlines Tight Education Budget

With the city losing nearly $250 million in state school aid this year for failing to negotiate a new teacher evaluation system, Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented a fiscal year 2014 budget with deep cuts to education.
His proposed budget includes the elimination of 700 teaching and counseling jobs in the current school year, 

Anti-abortion Group Files Lawsuit Against OSU

STILLWATER Okla. — An anti-abortion group has filed a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma State University after officials said the group couldn’t distribute leaflets with graphic images on campus.
Cowboys for Life filed the lawsuit Friday. The group is asking a federal judge to declare invalid OSU’s facility use 

Bill Introduced: S.3 Strengthen our Schools and Students Act

A bill to improve education and provide all students in the United States with the opportunity to succeed.

Bill Introduced: S.4 Rebuild America Act

A bill to create jobs and strengthen our economy by rebuilding our Nation's infrastructure.