Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Caterpillar: Why IL Dems go after teacher pensions
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| Slowpoke Comics |
How much do Illinois' largest corporations pay in state income taxes? It's a complex question, but the answer is simple: Nobody knows. Well, almost nobody. The companies know, but they're not telling. Tax collectors know, but they're not allowed to tell. That leaves the rest of us with just one safe guess: as little as legally possible. -- Chicago TribuneIf you're looking for clues as to why a Democratic governor and House Speaker as well as a Dem-controlled
PWCS Strategic Plan and State AMOs
Every organization, whether private or public, is evaluated on how well they do their jobs. For private companies that evaluation comes from their customers, who will go someplace else if they’re dissatisfied. Because government entities are monopolies and citizens, for the most part, don’t have alternatives to choose from, evaluating performance for them is a [...]
The Political Realities Of Common Core
There’s been a spirited discussion in the comments section at my Education Week Teacher post on Best Ways to Prepare Our Students for CCSS in Language Arts.
Feel free to participate in the discussion. Here’s a comment I just added:
I can think of no realistic political scenario that would stop Common Core from being implemented for at least ninety percent of millions of teachers and students in the United States. I have also not heard anyone else share one, though I am all ears….
Given that political reality on the ground, I think the political capital of teachers, students and their families is better spent on other issues that also affect the working and learning conditions in our schools and the living
Feel free to participate in the discussion. Here’s a comment I just added:
I can think of no realistic political scenario that would stop Common Core from being implemented for at least ninety percent of millions of teachers and students in the United States. I have also not heard anyone else share one, though I am all ears….
Given that political reality on the ground, I think the political capital of teachers, students and their families is better spent on other issues that also affect the working and learning conditions in our schools and the living
Secrecy Abounds in Common Core Social Standards Development. These are NOT "state led"
The CCSSO is not disclosing the names of people on the writing team and tightly controls information about how and what business is being conducted. Who are the writers? Why don’t they want the public to know who they are? Why such secrecy? The CCSSO is a non-government organization and is not subject to the federal Freedom of Information Act . This non-government organization has set out to produce a document that likely will highly influence state social studies standards, textbook development, textbook selection and adoption, and professional development. Ultimately, this will affect what (as well as how) will be taught in public classrooms across the country (and possibly private schools, charter schools, and
Canadian Student Expelled After Discovering Security Flaw In College Database
A computer science undergrad at Montreal’s Dawson College was recently expelled after stumbling across — and reporting — a coding flaw that compromised the security of the personal information of the college’s students.
Ahmed Al-Khabaz, 20, found the security leak while working on a mobile phone app for students. Thanks to “sloppy coding,” he says, anyone with basic skills could have accessed “personal information of any student in the system, including social insurance number, home address and phone number, class schedule, basically all the information the college has on a student.”
Al-Khabaz reported the flaw to Dawson’s Director of Information Services and Technology on October 24, and
Ahmed Al-Khabaz, 20, found the security leak while working on a mobile phone app for students. Thanks to “sloppy coding,” he says, anyone with basic skills could have accessed “personal information of any student in the system, including social insurance number, home address and phone number, class schedule, basically all the information the college has on a student.”
Al-Khabaz reported the flaw to Dawson’s Director of Information Services and Technology on October 24, and
Pre-K, teacher quality top education agenda in Cuomo’s budget
Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his budget address to issue a teacher evaluations ultimatum heard around the state.
This year, Cuomo took that ultimatum and raised it, telling districts that he would again tie their increases in
NJ Supreme Court declines to hear student conduct case
Nj Supreme Court declines to take up student conduct case, leaving stand a lower court ruling that determined the school board policy had overstepped its authority.
Since the President mentioned Stonewall yesterday
I thought it might be worthwhile to point people at the Village Voice from those days.
I lived in New York City in 1969.
I remember Stonewall.
I remember especially how powerfully I was struck by reading two pieces in the Village Voice that hit the street a few days after the riots had started, and in a sense reenergized the protests, leading to a final night of rioting
On June 24, 2009, the Voice published Stonewall at 40: The Voice Articles That Sparked a Final Night of Rioting
One was by Howard Smith, who wound up inside the Stonewall with the police when the raid on an unlicensed bar led to a riot where the police were ready to open fire to defend themselves. the other was by Lucian Truscott IV, a scion of a distinguished military family and himself a West Point graduate. Both are very worth reading.
One person was dragged into Stonewall by the police, and beaten when he admitted havinmg thrown coins at the cops. He was the singer Dave van Ronk, who when the disturbance had started had come out of the nearby Lion's Head, a well-known pub on Christopher Street often frequented by literary types such as Pete Hamill and Joel Oppenheimer, both of whom I got to know in my own visits to that establishment.
Please keep reading.
I lived in New York City in 1969.
I remember Stonewall.
I remember especially how powerfully I was struck by reading two pieces in the Village Voice that hit the street a few days after the riots had started, and in a sense reenergized the protests, leading to a final night of rioting
On June 24, 2009, the Voice published Stonewall at 40: The Voice Articles That Sparked a Final Night of Rioting
One was by Howard Smith, who wound up inside the Stonewall with the police when the raid on an unlicensed bar led to a riot where the police were ready to open fire to defend themselves. the other was by Lucian Truscott IV, a scion of a distinguished military family and himself a West Point graduate. Both are very worth reading.
One person was dragged into Stonewall by the police, and beaten when he admitted havinmg thrown coins at the cops. He was the singer Dave van Ronk, who when the disturbance had started had come out of the nearby Lion's Head, a well-known pub on Christopher Street often frequented by literary types such as Pete Hamill and Joel Oppenheimer, both of whom I got to know in my own visits to that establishment.
Please keep reading.
More Local Pushback Against Common Core
There is more local pushback against the Common Core State Standards, this time in Massachusetts. The Worcester Telegraph & Gazette reports:
The Tantasqua Regional School District Committee is pushing for state legislation to overturn the state Board of Education’s decision to adopt the National Educational Standards because committee members are concerned about the impact the Common Core might have on its students.The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and experts to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce, according to the Common Core website.In a 8-0 vote July 21, 2010, the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted the
Education Committee Revs Back Up In 113th Congress
It's back to school for Congress.
Today, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, held his first organizational meeting with the 113th Congress's iteration of his committee. In his opening remarks, Kline said reauthorizing No Child Left Behind will remain a "top priority." NCLB, the sweeping law that governs public K-12 education, expired in 2007.
As we've previously reported, it will be hard for Kline to push a bill to the floor that is similar enough to the Senate's approach that it can be conferenced, and eventually signed into law. And besides, the White House is unlikely to get involved -- the Education Department is in the process of implementing the waivers most states
Today, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, held his first organizational meeting with the 113th Congress's iteration of his committee. In his opening remarks, Kline said reauthorizing No Child Left Behind will remain a "top priority." NCLB, the sweeping law that governs public K-12 education, expired in 2007.
As we've previously reported, it will be hard for Kline to push a bill to the floor that is similar enough to the Senate's approach that it can be conferenced, and eventually signed into law. And besides, the White House is unlikely to get involved -- the Education Department is in the process of implementing the waivers most states
Statement from Secretary Duncan on NCES Public School Graduates and Dropouts Report
"The new NCES report is good news. After three decades of stagnation, the on-time graduation rate for high school students in the 2009-10 school year [78.2 percent] is the highest it's been since at least 1974. It's encouraging that the on-time graduation rate is up substantially from four years earlier.
Need I remind you that EVERYONE is listening to At the Chalk Face talking the Seattle #boycott
Well, if I must remind you, then here’s the link: parent and Garfield teacher.
#HST #boycott signed by some heavy hitters
Man, what a list. And, I think you might recognize some names up there, including folks At the Chalk Face, cough, cough, Shaun, cough, Tim. In any case, this Seattle boycott has really stirred some kind of hornet’s nest. Let’s ride this out and see where it goes. Thanks mainly go out to Brion Jones [...]
Teacher salaries in Texas up – barely – this year
Average teacher salaries in Texas are up slightly this year – about 1.6 percent – as school districts continue to cope with big funding cuts approved by the Legislature in 2011. The Texas Association of School Boards reported Monday that the average teacher is earning $49,139 this year. For teachers that received a pay raise, the average increase was 2.3 percent, a little more than last year’s 2 percent raise.
Just under 20 percent of districts froze salaries in the current school year, an … [visit site to read more]
Just under 20 percent of districts froze salaries in the current school year, an … [visit site to read more]
Passive Radicals: The Manufactured Myth
With the annual and somewhat functional recognition of certain versions of the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. behind us in 2013, let me ask this: What do Jesus, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and King have in common?
I admit the answers could be many: Significant historical voices and lives, shared messages of peace and harmony, tragic assassinations, and more.
And while these are all credible answers, I suggest the most important commonality among Jesus, Gandhi, and King is how their legacies have been manipulated by the privileged in order to create a mythology of the passive radical.
Consider
I admit the answers could be many: Significant historical voices and lives, shared messages of peace and harmony, tragic assassinations, and more.
And while these are all credible answers, I suggest the most important commonality among Jesus, Gandhi, and King is how their legacies have been manipulated by the privileged in order to create a mythology of the passive radical.
Consider
Evaluation, Contract Extension…Oh and about that whole W-2/1099 problem… Vallas in Wonderland
“Sentence first, verdict afterwards” shouted the Queen “Stuff and nonsense!” said Alice loudly. “The idea of having the sentence first!’ “Hold your tongue!”’ said the Queen, turning purple. According to the Bridgeport Board of Education website, the sudden special meeting scheduled for tonight appears to have been moved to tomorrow and instead of evaluating superintendent [...]
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D.C. considers new graduation requirements
D.C. high school students would have to study more art and music, get more physical exercise and complete a thesis project under proposed changes to city graduation requirements.
The proposal by the D.C. State Board of Education would raise the total number of required high school course credits in the District from 24 to 26 — more than students need to earn diplomas in Maryland, Virginia and many other states.
Read full article >>
The proposal by the D.C. State Board of Education would raise the total number of required high school course credits in the District from 24 to 26 — more than students need to earn diplomas in Maryland, Virginia and many other states.
Read full article >>
STATEMENT BY BILLY EASTON OF THE ALLIANCE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION REGARDING GOVERNOR CUOMO’S 2012-13 ANNUAL BUDGET PROPOSAL
“Governor Cuomo’s plan to create the first state-funded, full-day prekindergarten initiative is a welcome and important step. Full-day prekindergarten increases student success in school, raises graduation rates, and increases lifetime earnings of students. This initiative builds on the long term leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver on providing prekindergarten to four year olds.
We want to recognize the fact that the Governor is proposing $203 million in Fiscal Stabilization Funding for schools, which is a testament to the burning needs that exist in the schools. Unfortunately, the proposed funding is inadequate and will produce more cuts to vital educational programs. In this regard, this budget continues the downward spiral in educational opportunity that Albany has forced on local schools. Unless the legislature adds additional school funding beyond what the governor has proposed, we will see yet another round of cuts in Advanced Placement courses, arts and music, tutoring, summer school and more. Last year the state added a 4% school aid increase and we still lost 5,000 teachers and other educators. New York’s students cannot stand yet another education budget that produces more and more classroom cuts. This budget does not come close to getting us back on track with the statewide Campaign for Fiscal Equity settlement that promised funding so that all students receive a ‘sound, basic education,’” said Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education.
