Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 2-12-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2




BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 minutes ago
Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center: Best of the Ed Blogs *Best of the Ed Blogs* features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make *Best of the Ed Blogs* your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics. Why Did Florida Schools’ Grades Improve Dramatically Between 1999 and 2005? Best of the Ed Blogs Matthew Di Carlo February 11, 2013 Longer School Days: Why? Best of... more »

Michelle Rhee-form protest in Seattle. Join us. « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 minutes ago
Michelle Rhee-form protest in Seattle. Join us. « Seattle Education: Michelle Rhee-Form protest in Seattle. Join us. by seattleducation2011 There will be a protest at 6:00 PM on February 19th in front of Town Hall where Michelle Rhee will be talking about her latest fundraising effort, her book. Join us. We’ll have signs…and tape. [image: rhee flyer]Nothing has changed since I posted this last year: *StudentsFirst will be in Seattle…and that is not a good thing* *On a personal note, I come from a long line of proud African-American female teachers. At one time, teaching was the only... more »

Modern School: California Abandoning Algebra for Eighth Graders

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 33 minutes ago
Modern School: California Abandoning Algebra for Eighth Graders: California Abandoning Algebra for Eighth Graders by Michael Dunn Image from Flickr, by ajaxofsalamis California, which had some of the toughest academic standards in the nation, had to dumb down its curriculum and its expectations for students when it approved the Common Core Standards (CCS). One example is Algebra I, which used to be required for all eighth graders. Now, like other states that have adopted the CCS, California will allow students to take either Algebra I or an alternate course that includes some algeb... more »

Ed Notes Online: Mulgrew the Carpenter: Measure Once, Vote Twice in UFT Backing for Politician Supporting School Closing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago
Ed Notes Online: Mulgrew the Carpenter: Measure Once, Vote Twice in UFT Backing for Politician Supporting School Closing: Mulgrew the Carpenter: Measure Once, Vote Twice in UFT Backing for Politician Supporting School Closing by ed notes online ....When thinking chapter leaders and delegates reasonably supported Jamaica chapter leader James Eterno's request not to endorse Lancman, Mulgrew called for a second vote. The fact that a leader would instantly call for a second vote when things do not go his way is, in itself, quite a statement. ---NYC Educator, UFT Leadership: Those With... more »

Considering How to Use Competition and Conflict - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Considering How to Use Competition and Conflict - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Considering How to Use Competition and Conflict by Deborah Meier Dear Alfie, Yes, I think conflict and competition are not necessarily compatible—or incompatible. One can be for one, both, or neither! Indeed, the "resolution" of conflict is not always related to "winning," but often enough just to "clarifying." At its best, both "sides" are ahead in a good argument, for example. I engage in internal thought-conflicts with myself if I've no one to argue with. And I "enjoy" reading or hearing a... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Joel Klein, the Quintessential Corporate Reformer by dianerav Mercedes Schneider continues her review of the board of the National Council of Teacher Quality. Earlier entries reviewed the bios of Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee, and other prominent figures whose lives intersect again and again on the boards of the groups seeking control of American education, with the full- Is There a Method Behind the Madness of “Calibrating” Principals? by dianerav Jersey Jazzman read Carol Burris’s account of her “training... more »

UPDATE: We should not valorize all educators with impunity + Competition, Choice and Market Forces – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Competition, Choice and Market Forces – @ the chalk face: We should not valorize all educators with impunity by Chalk Face, PhD Because of this woman, an Indiana bigot educator who wants to exclude students who are gay from prom. We have to admit, as ardent public school and teacher advocates, that not everyone in the classroom is playing with a full deck. Competition, Choice and Market Forces by Activism in paradise - Voices from down under When it comes to education, governments bandy the word choice around with evangelical fervour saying, amongst other things, they are openin... more »

Daily Kos: What not being covered by FMLA now means for us

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Daily Kos: What not being covered by FMLA now means for us: What not being covered by FMLA now means for us by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) As many know, I have been on leave from the school in which I had been teaching since we found out about my wife's cancer. I had been prepared to return as soon as Wednesday, but knowing that I would periodically have to take time off - for example, when she begins chemo next Wednesday. I had informed the school that I would not be returning for next year. It is not a great fit for me, even though they were quite pleased as what I had done... more »

Bush’s Florida Model: “claiming credit for what’s on the scoreboard after having changed the rules of the game” | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Bush’s Florida Model: “claiming credit for what’s on the scoreboard after having changed the rules of the game” | Scathing Purple Musings: Bush’s Florida Model: “claiming credit for what’s on the scoreboard after having changed the rules of the game” by Bob Sikes The next round in the statistical war between Bush advisor Matt Ladner and Shanker Institute fellow Matt DiCarlo is here. DiCarlo’s last look at Florida’s numbers prompted Ladner find DiCarlo “Bounded in a Nutshell but Counts Himself a King of Infinite Space.” I for one can’t wait for the hissy-fit Ladner will have over ... more »

UPDATE: 'House Of Cards' Goes Where No Congress Has Gone In Recent Years; SOTU And Early Education: Ed Today + Education Content In State Of The Union Likely To Focus On Littlest Learners

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Education Content In State Of The Union Likely To Focus On Littlest Learners: 'House Of Cards' Goes Where No Congress Has Gone In Recent Years; SOTU And Early Education: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *Netflix Reauthorizes No Child Left Behind?* Or so quips this EdWeek headline. Real-life Congress hasn't yet reauthorized NCLB (since 2007!), but characters on the Netflix series "House of Cards" do. "[Writer Beau] Willimon noted on Twitter that he hinged the plot on education because it affects us all directly and indirectly, and because of the contention that often revolves around educ... more »

Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? | toteachornototeach: Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? by aristotlethewise *Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart?* By PO BRONSON and ASHLEY MERRYMAN Noah Muthler took his first state standardized test in third grade at the Spring Cove Elementary School in Roaring Spring, Pa. It was a miserable experience, said his mother, Kathleen Muthler. He was a good student in a program for gifted children. But, Muthler said, “he was crying in my arms the night before the test, saying: ‘I’m... more »

CalSTRS board to forward options for saving teacher pensions | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
CalSTRS board to forward options for saving teacher pensions | EdSource Today: CalSTRS board to forward options for saving teacher pensions ** February 12th, 2013 | Add a Comment | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on print More Sharing Services Later this week the board of the California State Teachers Retirement System, or CalSTRS, will forward to the Legislature a report laying out options for raising higher contributions into the pension system to ensure its long-term viability. The Legislature has avoided action for a decade, and Gov. Jerr... more »

UPDATE: Why introverts shouldn’t be forced to talk in class

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Why introverts shouldn’t be forced to talk in class: Why introverts shouldn’t be forced to talk in class Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 12, 2013 at 4:00 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » [image: intro]Suddenly there is a lot of talk about introverts and the power of silence, in part because of a popular new book by Susan Cain called “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.” Making a different argument is a piece in the Atlantic magazine advocating required p... more »

Next ELT Blog Carnival Coming Up! | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Next ELT Blog Carnival Coming Up! | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: Next ELT Blog Carnival Coming Up! by Larry Ferlazzo As I’ve previously mentioned, after 31 editions of ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival, it was time for it to be refreshed. So I’ve worked with other bloggers to “re-brand” it as The ELT Blog Carnival and it now has its own permanent site! You can see links to all previous Carnivals there, along with plans for future ones. Here’s the announcement for the next Carnival: *The next ELT Blog Carnival will be hosted by EFL Classroom 2.0 on March 01. * *You can send your e... more »

NYC Educator: Give Me Four

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
NYC Educator: Give Me Four: Give Me Four by NYC Educator *by Recovering ATR* I wrote before the end of last semester about the two hell-raisers in my class, the Terrible Twosome of Bobby and Johnny. Since I wrote that blog a lot has happened, and so I thought I'd give readers an update. First of all I decided to take action and talk to Bobby's guidance counselor. The guidance counselor actually had heard numerous complaints about Bobby and Johnny. So I suggested changing Bobby's schedule, and moving him to another class. Say, the class where everyone is hard-working and respectfu... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: After being locked out in the cold, we made our voices heard

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: After being locked out in the cold, we made our voices heard: After being locked out in the cold, we made our voices heard by Mike Klonsky Outside the church, crowd chants, "Let us in!" (M. Klonsky pic)While hundreds of us were enduring the sub-freezing Chicago night, locked outside the Armitage Baptist Church in Logan Square, where the Fullerton Network School Utilization meeting had been called, I was remembering a similarly cold night in 1987 following the death of Mayor *Harold Washington*. That night we stood in the snow

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 2-11-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
*Nite Cap UPDATE**UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* Black History Month: James Meredith and Ole Miss No Trust For Principals by Duke Carol Burris, who I will henceforth refer to as America's Principal™, has a clever piece out today about what's it's like to be trained as a teacher evaluator in our brave, new, reformy world. The trainers went on to explain why we were there. We would have four sessions to prepare for Calibration Day. We would learn “the tool,” and watch teaching videos for two days. Day Three—the pre-test. Day Four—Calibration Day and the Calibration Event. We would ... more »

CTU President Karen Lewis discusses school closings. #EDCHAT #EDREFORM

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
*CTU President Karen Lewis discusses school closings.* The Mayor's office and Board of Education have threatened to close up to one hundred of our neighborhood schools. CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett is expected to release the hit list within a week. Through the month of February, CPS held hearings underwritten by the Walton Family Foundation (Wal-Mart) to sell these school closings to the public. Concurrently, charter school profiteers have been pushing their message of replacing neighborhood schools with charters through the so-called "School Choice Week." The public did not buy wha... more »

Taking Time to Practice Democracy | The IDEA Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Taking Time to Practice Democracy | The IDEA Blog: Taking Time to Practice Democracy by Sabrina Stevens in *Blog* * * * * * * *Are we ‘school-year’ wise, but lifetime foolish?* Immediately after finishing the first video chapter of “A Year at Mission Hill,” I went over to the school’s website and read their mission statement. I was first struck by just how beautiful it is; their care and dedication to “helping parents raise youngsters” for a democratic society is evident in every single line. But in thinking about how to make schools like this the rule rather than the exception, th... more »

Mother Crusader: Paterson Collegiate Charter School Application; The Man Behind The Plan, Part II

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Mother Crusader: Paterson Collegiate Charter School Application; The Man Behind The Plan, Part II: Paterson Collegiate Charter School Application; The Man Behind The Plan, Part II by darciecima This is Part Two in a series about the Paterson Collegiate Charter School Application. Here's the link to Part I. In Part II we will look at the man behind the Paterson Collegiate Charter School Application; Steven F. Wilson. Steven F. Wilson, founder and president of Ascend Learning, is also a senior fellow at Education Sector, a Washington think tank, and formerly, the John F. Kenned... more »

What Obama should say about education in State of Union

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
What Obama should say about education in State of Union: What Obama should say about education in State of Union Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 11, 2013 at 3:30 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - - - - [image: President Obama giving State of Union in 2012. (whitehouse.gov)] President Obama giving State of Union address in 2012. (whitehouse.gov) Bill Moyers asked experts in different policy areas to write what they would like to hear President Obama say in Tuesday’s State of the Union address (which you can ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week: Seattle Schools This Week by Melissa Westbrook *Monday, Feb. 11th* Curriculum&Instruction Policy Committee Meeting from 4-5:30 p.m. Agenda *Tuesday, Feb. 12th* Special Education Advocacy &Advisory Council Meeting from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at JSCEE, 2nd floor, room 2700. The Open Forum & District updates portion of the meeting is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Levy election for Operations and BEX. State of the Union speech by President Obama at 6 p.m. *Wednesday, Feb. 13th* Executive Committee Meeting from 8:30-10:00 am. Agenda. ... more »

Pritchett: Scrap SCUSD Plan to Close Schools, Start Over - Rosemont, CA Patch

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Pritchett: Scrap SCUSD Plan to Close Schools, Start Over - Rosemont, CA Patch: Pritchett: Scrap SCUSD Plan to Close Schools, Start Over [image: Christina Pritchett.]Some students in Rosemont may see their elementary school close next year, but not if their school board member has anything to say about it. Christina Pritchett, a first-year trustee on the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education, says she's opposed to the district's plan to close 11 under-enrolled elementary schools, including James W. Marshall Elementary Schoolin Rosemont. "I'm wiling to make the h...more »

Welcome Idahoans for Local Education | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Welcome Idahoans for Local Education | Truth in American Education: Welcome Idahoans for Local Education by Shane Vander Hart [image: Final I4LE Logo] On behalf of Truth in American Education I’d like to welcome Idahoans for Local Education as one of our new participants. This is a new group started by Stephanie Zimmerman who has tirelessly fought against the Common Core in her state. Their stated mission is: …to preserve Idaho’s local educational sovereignty by keeping the decision making close to home, where parents can make a difference. We want to make sure that Idaho‘s educ... more »

Mass murderers in public schools profit charter branding via legislators: insanity | Reclaim Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Mass murderers in public schools profit charter branding via legislators: insanity | Reclaim Reform: Mass murderers in public schools profit charter branding via legislators: insanity by kenpreviti [image: Gov Pat Quinn][image: shooting_drills]Create an image of public schools as hellholes of slaughtered children, of constant fear and terror, that is odious to parents and taxpayers. Frighten their children into privatized charter schools where parents can buy a brand that provides the illusion of safety that is “well worth the money” to “keep your children safe” from the bogeyman ... more »

Pew study of 12 districts finds that closed schools are most often reused as charters | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Pew study of 12 districts finds that closed schools are most often reused as charters | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Pew study of 12 districts finds that closed schools are most often reused as charters by Dale Mezzacappa More than 40 percent of shuttered school buildings in 12 cities were ultimately reused as charter schools, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts study of 12 big cities that have undergone substantial downsizing of their traditional districts. The reasons, according to the report: the buildings are most suited as schools, public policy that encourages charte... more »

Parents 4 Teachers to call for investigation of CPS school closing process Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents 4 Teachers to call for investigation of CPS school closing process: Parents 4 Teachers to call for investigation of CPS school closing process by admin [image: SaveOurSchoolsChicago] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA ADVISORY CHICAGO—Parent and community groups will hold a news conference Tuesday to request an independent investigation of CPS plans to close up to 140 schools. The groups charge the CPS school closing process is fraught with misconduct and is misleading the public about the true motives behind the school clos... more »

Reimagining Public Education, One Story at a Time — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Reimagining Public Education, One Story at a Time — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Sam Chaltain]Reimagining Public Education, One Story at a Time February 11, 2013 by Sam Chaltain I know we're already six weeks into 2013, but think back to last year for a second: What were the most talked about education stories of 2012? I'm guessing your list looks something like this—Common Core. The Chicago Teacher Strike. Newtown. And what worries me is that no matter what other stories you recalled—from Michelle Rhee to the Dropout Crisis to Race to the Top—they're all likel... more »

Paul Vallas’ No Bid Contract with the Public Consulting Group - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Paul Vallas’ No Bid Contract with the Public Consulting Group - Wait, What?: Paul Vallas’ No Bid Contract with the Public Consulting Group by jonpelto It is a familiar tune. When Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas arrived in Bridgeport, he quickly signed a series of no-bid contracts. One was with the Public Consulting Group (PCG), a company that he had done business with when he was the CEO of the Chicago School System and again when he was the CEO of the Philadelphia Schools. In fact, PCG even features the Chicago and Philadelphia projects on its website. Word of the contract ... more »

Report Card: Video: Kindergartener asks board not to close his school

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Report Card: Video: Kindergartener asks board not to close his school: Video: Kindergartener asks board not to close his school Six-year-old Gavin Whelan approached the podium with confidence, stepping onto a stool and leaning into the microphone at Thursday's school board meeting regarding school closures in the Sacramento City Unified School District. Whelan immediately won the hearts of the room, as you'll see in the video below that captures the last half of his speech. For his bravery, as well as his patience in waiting through three hours of prior public comment, Whelan earns... more »

UPDATE: Thousands Protest Chicago School Closures and Budget Lies Schools Matter: "Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Schools Matter: "Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests: Thousands Protest Chicago School Closures and Budget Lies by Jim Horn February 8, from George Schmidt: Things are exploding here, with protests of more than 1,000 people against Chicago's school policies every night. We are only reporting some of them, and just about everyone leading them will need some rest this weekend. The CORE re-election campaign is holding the Second City benefit Sunday night, and that will provide everyone with some respite. In addition to the local protests against the latest round of prop... more »

Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports « Seattle Education: Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports by seattleducation2011 Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports [image: header_drr_070212] *Saying it’s a waste of time, teachers in Seattle are refusing to give standardized tests to high schoolers because the tests don’t effectively assess students and educators don’t want their evaluations tied to a faulty test. The move is receiving widespread support across the nation. Dan ... more »

Diane in the Evening 2-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Vote for This Man for School Board! by dianerav I don’t know Michael Weston, but I love his comment below. He is a teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida, which received many millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation to pilot a new teacher evaluation program. Bill and Melinda visited the district and expressed great pleasure at the compliments directed their way. They don’t seem to realize that 1) educators are very polite (as a rule), and 2) people are starstruck in the presence of The Onion Finds a New Reason to Worry about US Students by dianerav... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Why Does Your School District Have to Take Orders from a Private Trade Organization?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Why Does Your School District Have to Take Orders from a Private Trade Organization?: Why Does Your School District Have to Take Orders from a Private Trade Organization? by stlgretchen The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is "offering guidance" to school districts toward the implementation of Common Core standards. *Question: Why is a private organization telling local school districts how they must direct their educational delivery and what requirements they must meet?* From edweek.com: One of the tw... more »

UPDATE: #data that matters… + #ASCDforum discussing #teacher #education – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
#ASCDforum discussing #teacher #education – @ the chalk face: [image: @TCF on Blog Talk Radio] Allow me to revisit the previous #SOTU on #education by Chalk Face, PhD [image: SOTU Wordle] Much, much ado about what the President will say about education in tomorrow’s SOTU address. The Answer Sheet has what SHOULD be said. But I’m revisiting a post I have up here from the previous SOTU speech. The image to the left is a Wordle graphic of the speech. Notice how, from the transcript, the word APPLAUSE is the most prominent one. That’s because, well, he didn’t really say much about anyt... more »

Lee Nave Jr. – Ain’t too Proud to Protest - Student Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Student Voice: Lee Nave Jr. – Ain’t too Proud to Protest by admin The voices of Motown never sang such a wondrous tune as that of civil disobedience. Over a hundred students walked out of their Detroit, Michigan high school during early May of 2012. They wanted to send to their school board a clear message: “We need a voice in our school system”. The Detroit Public Schools were closing a high school within their district in order to cut cost. Students at Western International High School, a high school in a different area of Detroit, decided to retaliate by expressing their voice... more »

John Thompson: Are High Stakes Tests Here to Stay? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
John Thompson: Are High Stakes Tests Here to Stay? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: Are High Stakes Tests Here to Stay? by Anthony Cody *Guest post by John Thompson.* "High-stakes academic testing isn't going away," argues Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman in their New York Times Magazine article "Why Some Kids Handle Pressure while Others Fall Apart?" They describe a 5th grader's ordeal with standardized testing, "He got headaches and stomachaches. He would ask not to go to school." His pre-test anxiety "lasted a solid month before the test" and "'even af... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – LAUSD petitions for sweeping relief from QEIA class size requirements + ADHD linked to family violence and parental depression

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: LAUSD petitions for sweeping relief from QEIA class size requirements *By Tom Chorneau* Monday, February 11, 2013 The Los Angeles Unified School District is set to bring applications forward next month seeking relief for 78 school sites from class-size restrictions required under a special state funding program. The waiver applications, which probably would not have attracted much attention a year ago, will instead test a policy of the California State Board of Education to provide districts leeway in setting student-teacher ratios even as an... more »

CTA Expanding Teacher Leadership « InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
CTA Expanding Teacher Leadership « InterACT: CTA Expanding Teacher Leadership by David B. Cohen Christal Watts, President of the Vallejo Educators Association, speaking at the Good Teaching Conference in San Jose. [image: Christal Watts, President of the Vallejo Educators Association, speaking at the Good Teaching Conference in San Jose, 2/8/13 (photo by the author)]I spent Friday at a pre-conference workshop for the Good Teaching Conference put on by the California Teachers Association, talking and working with teachers dedicated to improving our profession, and seeing our union a... more »

In Defense of Student Government «

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
In Defense of Student Government «: In Defense of Student Government by Angus Johnston Last month I wrote up some of my thoughts on one of the classic essays in American student activist history — Ray Glass’s “Are Student Governments Obsolete.” In that post I argued that there was a strange paradox lurking in Glass’s repudiation of the student government in favor of a voluntary student union organizing model, since Glass himself had helped to found one of the most important and effective statewide student associations the nation has ever seen — an organization that had student gov... more »

Groups vying to open Texas charter schools turned in similar proposals. How similar? See for yourself. | Education Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Groups vying to open Texas charter schools turned in similar proposals. How similar? See for yourself. | Education Blog: Groups vying to open Texas charter schools turned in similar proposals. How similar? See for yourself. By Holly Hacker/Reporter hhacker@dallasnews.com 8:44 am on February 11, 2013 | Permalink 0 1 0 As we reported Sunday, some nonprofit groups that want to start charter schools in Texas have turned in applications with identical or nearly identical passages. And the State Board of Education, which approves charters, has largely been okay with that. One now-former b... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: OUTSIDE GROUPS TRYING TO INFLUENCE L.A. SCHOOL BOARD RACES. Eli Broad’s in for a quarter-of-a-million + smf’s 2¢

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: OUTSIDE GROUPS TRYING TO INFLUENCE L.A. SCHOOL BOARD RACES. Eli Broad’s in for a quarter-of-a-million + smf’s 2¢: OUTSIDE GROUPS TRYING TO INFLUENCE L.A. SCHOOL BOARD RACES. Eli Broad’s in for a quarter-of-a-million + smf’s 2¢ The Coalition for School Reform has raised more than $1.5 million, mostly from a small group of wealthy donors who helped fund past campaigns. Separate campaigns are being paid for by unions. BY HOWARD BLUME, LOS ANGELES TIMES | HTTP://LAT.MS/126QBK0[image: Eli Broad gives to school reform group] Education and ar... more »

Robert Scott’s Testimony on the Common Core | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Robert Scott’s Testimony on the Common Core | Truth in American Education: Robert Scott’s Testimony on the Common Core by Shane Vander Hart Robert Scott, former Texas Commissioner of Education, gave testimony before the Georgia General Assembly Joint Meeting of the House and Senate Education Committees. Below is the video: Part 1: Popout Part 2: Gates, Not the States, Driving Education Policy? by Shane Vander Hart Further evidence that the Common Core is special-interest driven and led, not state-led. Joy Pullman writing for the Heartland Institute’s School Reform News pointed o... more »

Modern School: With Friends Like These: Twisted Lefty Support for Drones and the CIA

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Modern School: With Friends Like These: Twisted Lefty Support for Drones and the CIA: With Friends Like These: Twisted Lefty Support for Drones and the CIA by Michael Dunn As Congress prepared to grill John Brennan, Obama’s appointment to lead the CIA, protesters from Code Pink and other organizations lined up outside in preparation to protest the hearings. As they waited, Code Pink cofounder, Medea Benjamin, was interviewed by KPFA’s Brian Edwards Tiekert (Thursday, 2/7/13, KPFA’s “Up Front”). In the interview, Benjamin listed numerous perfectly good reasons why Brennan should b...more »

New Orleans “Recovery District” a Dismal Failure « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
New Orleans “Recovery District” a Dismal Failure « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: New Orleans “Recovery District” a Dismal Failure by millerlf [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991]*Damaging Communities Now!* Post by Diane Ravitch 2/10/13 Bobby Jindal went to Virginia to boast of the miraculous transformation of education in Louisiana, all attributable to the magic of replacing public schools with privately managed, deregulated charters. This is an oft-told tale, repeated again and again by advocates of privatization in both political parties and e... more »




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