Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 2-6-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2




BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, February 6, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Fensterwald: Brown details how to hold districts accountable under funding reform Education Headlines *Wednesday, February 6, 2013* Committee says it didn't break law in decision on Cayucos student transferA San Luis Obispo County schools committee on Monday dismissed allegations that it violated California law in deciding Cayucos high schoolers should continue attending school in Cambria. Walnut Valley teachers to vote on contract containing furlough days, cuts in school yearFacing mounting pressure to prevent district insolvenc... more »

Pencils down and dukes up: Two views of the growing anti-testing campaign among teachers. Is it for students or self-preservation? | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago
Pencils down and dukes up: Two views of the growing anti-testing campaign among teachers. Is it for students or self-preservation? | Get Schooled: Pencils down and dukes up: Two views of the growing anti-testing campaign among teachers. Is it for students or self-preservation? by Maureen Downey [image: crcted.0920 (Medium)]Two views of the growing organized resistance to standardized testing: From the Chicago Teachers Union, which is distributing an anti-testing petition today: As part of its “Pencils Down” campaign against high-stakes standardized testing, the Chicago Teachers Uni... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Wear Red for Ed Day

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Wear Red for Ed Day: Wear Red for Ed Day by Melissa Westbrook Don't forget to wear red today in support of teachers, parents and students against the MAP. This is especially true if you are going to the Board meeting tonight. *Updates from yesterday at Garfield:* From Scrap the MAP: *A bunch of substitute teachers were called in this morning, to cover the many weeks of testing the 430+ ninth graders. Asst Principals came into the classrooms and tried to pull out students to take the MAP. Many of the students stared straight ahead and would not... more »

Education reform: The San Jose lesson - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 57 minutes ago
Education reform: The San Jose lesson - latimes.com: Education miracles that aren'tIn seeking reform models, L.A. Unified should be cautious about untested solutions. [image: Protesters demonstrate outside an L.A. school board meeting] Protesters demonstrate outside an L.A. school board meeting over a proposal to require high school students to pass rigorous college-prep courses. (Los Angeles Times / May 5, 2005) February 6, 2013 Beware of education miracles. Too often, there's less there than meets the eye. Remember the extraordinary gains in test scores and lowered dropout rat...more »

National Day of Action-Seattle Testing Boycott « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 57 minutes ago
National Day of Action-Seattle Testing Boycott « Cooperative Catalyst: National Day of Action-Seattle Testing Boycott by Paul Freedman Scrap the MAP! [image: Scrap the MAP!]Sorry for the late notice on this, Co-op friends. But in case you haven’t heard… Teachers at the Garfield School in Seattle have been boycotting the mandated administration of the MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) test here in Seattle. This is a WA State mandated standardized test. Garfield teachers say they have been forced to administer this test up to three times a year for kids in grades K-12. They cla... more »

Malloy’s incredible and stunningly irresponsible budget plan makes an appearance - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Malloy’s incredible and stunningly irresponsible budget plan makes an appearance - Wait, What?: Malloy’s incredible and stunningly irresponsible budget plan makes an appearance by jonpelto CT Mirror’s Keith Phaneuf has posted an article outlining the budget plan Governor Malloy will be presenting to the Connecticut General Assembly later today. After reading the article, an experienced “Connecticut budget watcher” would be forced to say; “imagine the worst, fiscally irresponsible scenario and then triple or quadruple the negative aspects of the plan” … and you still don’t get t... more »

Modern School: Another Domino Falls--UTLA Rolls Over and Accepts Student Test Data to Evaluate Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Modern School: Another Domino Falls--UTLA Rolls Over and Accepts Student Test Data to Evaluate Teachers: Another Domino Falls--UTLA Rolls Over and Accepts Student Test Data to Evaluate Teachers by Michael Dunn United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), which represents teachers at the nation’s second largest school district, recently signed what some are calling a landmark agreement to use student test scores to evaluate teachers. 66% of the 16,892 members who voted approved the agreement, the Los Angeles Times reported, bringing L.A. in line with Chicago, New York and many smaller ci... more »

Seattle MAP Boycott update: Students refuse to take the MAP test « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Seattle MAP Boycott update: Students refuse to take the MAP test « Seattle Education: Seattle MAP Boycott update: Students refuse to take the MAP test by seattleducation2011 [image: garfield's got] After being pressured by the superintendent to administer the MAP test days earlier than required, students refused to take the MAP test. School administrators went into classrooms to pull students out of their classes to take the test in the library but instead the students stared ahead and would not budge. Most of the handful of students who ended up in the library in front of computers

Jersey Jazzman: Rhee on Stewart: A Breakdown, Part II

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Rhee on Stewart: A Breakdown, Part II: Rhee on Stewart: A Breakdown, Part II by Duke *sinfest.net* As I said last post, I thought Jon Stewart did a pretty good job, all things considered, in interviewing Michelle Rhee. You should watch the entire, extended interview, and not just what aired, to get the full effect. This isn't the skewering of Rhee I and so many others crave, but Stewart does take her on in a way the mainstream media - which has had a love affair with St. Michelle for quite some time - does not. That said, I have a real problem with something Stewa... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-6-13 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] When Your Best Is Never Enough by dianerav Diana Rogers, a regular reader of the blog, writes about her experience and her school: I’ve worked for twenty years in a district that has a wonderful staff. There have been a few unsuitable teachers throughout the years, and the administration had no trouble identifying them and getting rid of them; a few others who just needed a bit of guidance were mentored and became better teachers. I know I have become a better teacher each year, and I have worked hard at ... more »

Brown details how to hold districts accountable under funding reform | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Brown details how to hold districts accountable under funding reform | EdSource Today: Brown details how to hold districts accountable under funding reform - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald Responding to criticism that he is offering flexibility without accountability, Gov. Jerry Brown has offered up specifics on how he would hold school districts responsible for extra money he is proposing to give them for high-needs children under his proposed sweeping reforms of how California schools are funded. Under his plan: - Districts and charter schools would be required ... more »

Joy Resmovits: Bill Gates's Education Philanthropy Over Time; New York City Parents Sue Over School Funding: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Joy Resmovits: Bill Gates's Education Philanthropy Over Time; New York City Parents Sue Over School Funding: Ed Today: Bill Gates's Education Philanthropy Over Time; New York City Parents Sue Over School Funding: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *Gates's Gigantic Growth?* Michigan State University Professor Sarah Reckhow takes a look at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's funding patterns over on Alexander Russo's blog. "The decade from 2000 to 2010 was a time of enormous growth and evolution for the Gates Foundation," Reckhow writes. "Warren Buffett's pledge of more than $30 billion ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The growing revolt against testing madness

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The growing revolt against testing madness: The growing revolt against testing madness by Mike Klonsky Seattle NAACP announces support for test boycott. The teachers revolt at Seattle's Garfield High has lit a spark that's growing into a prairie fire. Today is being called a National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott. The Seattle Times reports that despite *Supt. Banda's*insistence that widely criticized tests be given, angry parents are joining the revolt and pulling their kids out of the testing process. On Tuesday, only 97 of the r... more »

Parents joining teachers’ test boycott as Garfield High principals give exam | Local News | The Seattle Times

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Parents joining teachers’ test boycott as Garfield High principals give exam | Local News | The Seattle Times: Parents joining teachers’ test boycott as Garfield High principals give exam Seattle Superintendent José Banda has ordered Garfield High’s principal and assistant principals to give the tests that Garfield teachers have been protesting, but many students are opting out anyway., By Linda Shaw Seattle Times education reporter [image: Seattle Schools Superintendent José Banda] Seattle Schools Superintendent José Banda MOST POPULAR COMMENTS HIDE / SHOW COMMENTS Go Bulldog teach... more »

Is school reform making America less competitive?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Is school reform making America less competitive?: Is school reform making America less competitive? Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 6, 2013 at 4:00 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » [image: test]Many school reformers say that their efforts are aimed at helping to improve schools so Americans can be competitive in the 21st Century economy. Here’s an argument saying that school reform is doing exactly the opposite, from David Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md.... more »

Schools Matter: How the .01% will profit (and profit and profit) from the common core: It’s not the standards. It’s not the tests. It’s the online testing.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Schools Matter: How the .01% will profit (and profit and profit) from the common core: It’s not the standards. It’s not the tests. It’s the online testing.: How the .01% will profit (and profit and profit) from the common core: It’s not the standards. It’s not the tests. It’s the online testing. by skrashen Longer version posted on New Jersey Spotlight, Feb 4, 2013, in reaction to: “Online Testing Is Coming to New Jersey Schools -- Ready or Not” http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/02/03/online-testing-is-coming-to-new-jersey-schools-ready-or-not/ “ by the spring of 2015, close ... more »

Chicago Public School parents Joining National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Chicago Public School parents Joining National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott « Seattle Education: Chicago Public School parents Joining National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott by seattleducation2011 [image: scrap the map3] *February 6 is the National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott.* Parents from at least 34 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will be passing petitions opposing the misuse and overuse of tests in CPS. The petitions ask CPS and the Chicago Board of Education to limit standardized testing and provide more transparency... more »

UPDATE: Bernie Madoff for financial advice? + New feature: Springfield’s Biggest Loser Legislator of the Week. + A retired teacher supports the faculty at Garfield High School in Seattle. Wearing red today. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
A retired teacher supports the faculty at Garfield High School in Seattle. Wearing red today. « Fred Klonsky: Standard and Poor’s and Illinois pensions. Would you go to Bernie Madoff for financial advice? by Fred Klonsky [image: 2a5f77f0727f9ef8a4d68980d106b977] The big financial news yesterday was the release of documents by the Justice Department showing that the Standard and Poors fraudulently inflated credit ratings, “with dire consequences for the entire economy. In a series of e-mails, tensions appeared to be escalating inside the firm’s headquarters in Lower Manhattan as it... more »

Daily Kos: Another sign of what is wrong in public education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Daily Kos: Another sign of what is wrong in public education: Another sign of what is wrong in public education by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) is the desperate need for money as local and state governments either see tax revenues dropping (from depressed house prices and sales taxes or from deliberate attempts to starve revenues as Republicans slash tax rates on corporations and the wealthy). We have seen schools and districts selling naming rights to football stadiums, we have seen charging of fees for participation in athletics and other extracurricular activities. This week ... more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 19 2013: Public Speaking

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 19 2013: Public Speaking: Week 19 2013: Public Speaking by alicemercer [image: 19signs] For reasons I’m not going to go into, many of my plans for the classroom did not come to fruition. The one lesson I did manage to teach my students though, was just FABULOUS! First, I must thank Andrew Dlugan at the Six Minutes site. This site is a great resource on public speaking and presentations for adults, but much of the material is accessible enough to use with older children (10+ years) with some modification. I wanted to prepare students to c... more »

Independent Report: Teachers Remain Skeptical About New Evaluation System - NJ Spotlight

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Independent Report: Teachers Remain Skeptical About New Evaluation System - NJ Spotlight: * * Independent Report: Teachers Remain Skeptical About New Evaluation System Study also raises concerns about deadlines and reliability, but lead author finds reasons to be optimistic print | email | share By John Mooney, February 6, 2013 in Education |Post a Comment With less than nine months and counting, New Jersey’s rollout of a statewide teacher evaluation system is moving ahead, but the deadlines are tight, reliability remains an issue -- and the system has yet to win the confidence o... more »

NYC Educator: The Making of a Supervisor

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
NYC Educator: The Making of a Supervisor: The Making of a Supervisor by NYC Educator *by Recovering ATR * I have a friend who I've written about before on this blog. He is putting the finishing touches on getting his AP license. We've continued our oddball opposites attract friendship. Since I knew him ever since he was a first year teacher, it's interesting to see him "develop" into a supervisor-to-be. In order to finish his internship he was sent to some large school in January to oversee Regents grading, with the new system and whatnot. He was supposed to be monitoring the tea... more »

Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers: Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers by Server Support High Stakes Test Resistance*SCRAP THE MAP! WEBINAR WITH GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS* *Originally Posted on February 5, 2013* *Support High Stakes Test Resistance—Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers:* *Why* they did it, *How* they did it, *Where* the struggle is headed next. Earlier this month, teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, voted unanimously to stop administering a widely used, yet highly unfair stand... more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 2-5-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
*Nite Cap UPDATE**UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* Standard & Poor's -- No standards but a lot of folks made poor by Mike Klonsky Forget for a brief moment that the current Illinois teacher-pension crisis is a manufactured one, caused primarily by the state's inability or unwillingness to raise enough revenue to make it's necessary contribution to the pension fund. Forget also for a brief moment, that the state legislature grabbed millions from that fund, into which retirees had been paying out of their take-home pay for decades and used that money to pay off other debts. Let's lo... more »

S.128: Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
S.128: Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Student Bill of Rights Bill Introduced: S.128 Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 4 minutes ago A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve education and prevention related to campus sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Bill Introduced: H.R.379 Fiscal Fairness Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 4 minutes ago To amend section 1120A(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ... more »

Michigan Tea Partier: Charter Schools Are for Kids From "Ethnically Challenged Families" | Mother Jones

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Michigan Tea Partier: Charter Schools Are for Kids From "Ethnically Challenged Families" | Mother Jones: Michigan Tea Partier: Charter Schools Are for Kids From "Ethnically Challenged Families" —By Andy Kroll | Mon Feb. 4, 2013 9:03 AM PST [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] A few weeks ago, the Michigan chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-backed conservative advocacy group, held a "citizen watchdog training" in a suburb of Detroit. The training was billed as a workshop for regular folks to learn "the best tools and techniques in investigative jo... more »

Parents Across America statement in support of Portland student test boycott | Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Parents Across America statement in support of Portland student test boycott | Parents Across America: Parents Across America statement in support of Portland student test boycott by pureparents Parents Across America (PAA) stands in support of the Portland Public Schools Student Union and the Portland Student Union in their opt-out campaign against the state-mandated OAKS test. Excessive reliance on standardized exams narrows the curriculum, promotes teaching to the test, and leads to unfair and unreliable evaluations of students, teachers, and schools. The No Child Left Behin... more »

Joy Resmovits: George Miller Marks Digital Learning Day With New EdTech Bill

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Joy Resmovits: George Miller Marks Digital Learning Day With New EdTech Bill: George Miller Marks Digital Learning Day With New EdTech Bill by Joy Resmovits When it comes to education, the role and effects of technology has been a tough nut to crack. As tomorrow'sDigital Learning Day approaches, education groups and officials are offering up their recommendations. Congress is marking the event with a bill. On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat of the House education committee, introduced legislation that aims to make schools' transition to inte... more »

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 2-5-13 #soschat #edreform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
*Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break* PSAT for 2-5-13: Fight the tests – and school closings by admin The enemy has us fighting on at least two fronts: school closings and testing. [image: psat_logo]Most of the time, the two things are completely connected. Low test scores – which are most closely related to economic status - provide corporate reformers with the excuse to close schools. This year CPS has changed it up a bit by crying poor and “underutilized” using a bunch of data (100,000 “lost” city children, 50% empty schools) that is just as fishy as the test scores. Th... more »

Pending Amendment to Indiana SB 193 Requires Public Input on Common Core | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Pending Amendment to Indiana SB 193 Requires Public Input on Common Core | Truth in American Education: Pending Amendment to Indiana SB 193 Requires Public Input on Common Core by Shane Vander Hart Joy Pullman writing for the Heartland Institute’s *School Reform News* reported that Senate Bill 193 in Indiana has “morphed” into a bipartisan bid to have Indiana reconsider the Common Core allowing more public input. When 46 states signed the initiative in 2010, few held public hearings. Kentucky even agreed to adopt the requirements for what K-12 kids should know in English and math... more »

A graduated income tax: Giving with one hand. Taking away with the other. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
A graduated income tax: Giving with one hand. Taking away with the other. « Fred Klonsky: A graduated income tax: Giving with one hand. Taking away with the other. by Fred Klonsky [image: g2e22e20000000000008fe0a4d2d3a16b1c041ec1617b42f799a8ac3e92] *Senate President John Cullerton. “More sacrifice from the pensioners.”* I admit that I am a suspicious guy. Especially of politicians. So I was curious about how quickly Senator Dan Biss responded to my question last night: Why aren’t you a co-sponsor of Representatives Linda Chapa-LaVia and Naomi Jacobsen bill to change the state constitu... more »

Mother Crusader: Reformy Cage Match; CER Takes Down CREDO, NACSA, NJDOE And Cerf!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Mother Crusader: Reformy Cage Match; CER Takes Down CREDO, NACSA, NJDOE And Cerf!: Reformy Cage Match; CER Takes Down CREDO, NACSA, NJDOE And Cerf! by darciecima Oh dear! In a press release titled "National Charter Research Misfires On Charter Schools", Jeannie Allen of the Center for Education Reform (CER) puts the smack-down on Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). A national research study across 23 states and DC assessing charter school performance over time makes erroneous conclusions about the impact of charter schools on students, while *ignoring critical dis... more »

NYC Educator: Another Day

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
NYC Educator: Another Day: Another Day by NYC Educator A language teacher and I have a very special relationship. Basically, every time she sees me, she screams at me. I'm no slouch, so I scream back. In fact, we've altogether stopped listening to one another, and when we see each other, we just begin. Frankly, I have no idea what she's screaming about, and since she's not listening to me either, I'm fairly certain she doesn't know what I'm saying either. We make a colorful pair, walking around yelling at one another. Sometimes people think we're married. Why else would we be so a... more »

Petition | PPS and Portland Student Unions: We support your Opt-Out Campaign, keep up the good work! | Change.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Petition | PPS and Portland Student Unions: We support your Opt-Out Campaign, keep up the good work! | Change.org: [image: PPS and Portland Student Unions: We support your Opt-Out Campaign, keep up the good work!] Petitioning PPS and Portland Student Unions PPS and Portland Student Unions: We support your Opt-Out Campaign, keep up the good work! Petition | PPS and Portland Student Unions: We support your Opt-Out Campaign, keep up the good work! | Change.org: 1. 1. 2. Petition by PPS and Portland Student Unions 2. This is important to the futu... more »

Diane in the Evening 2-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Who Abandoned Detroit? by dianerav Marcie Lippsett writes about the bipartisan failure to save Detroit. The public schools of Detroit, like those of Muskegon Heights and Highland Park, have been put under the unilateral rule of an Emergency Manager appointed by the governor. In the latter two districts, the public schools were abolished, and the children were given to a for-profit charter chain. In Detroit, public education is being privatized and snuffed out with all deliberate speed. All of these districts are majority black, which perhaps made it easi... more »

Daily Kos: Warnings From The Trenches

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Daily Kos: Warnings From The Trenches: Warnings From The Trenches by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) *A high school teacher tells college educators what they can expect in the wake of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.* *Reprinted with permission from the January-February issue of Academe, the magazine of the American Association of University Professors* where you can read it online here You are a college professor. I have just retired as a high school teacher. I have some bad news for you. In case you do not already see what is happening, I want to warn you of what to expect... more »

Right-Wing Kicks-off Wisconsin Voucher Campaign Following School Choice Week « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Right-Wing Kicks-off Wisconsin Voucher Campaign Following School Choice Week « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Right-Wing Kicks-off Wisconsin Voucher Campaign Following School Choice Week by millerlf *Following is a news release from the Koch brothers funded organization, Americans for Prosperity.**Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin: AFP Foundation launches School Choice Academy Series, website* 2/4/2013*Juan Williams to headline Green Bay event* MADISON – Today, Americans for Prosperity Foundation – Wisconsin announced the start of their educational series on School Ch... more »

School Tech Connect: Congratulations Are In Order

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Congratulations Are In Order: Congratulations Are In Order by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I'd like to take this moment to congratulate all teachers who have made it into their fourth year of teaching. Already you have spent more time practicing the profession than Michelle Rhee did. I have admitted before on this blog that I myself was just as misinformed and arrogant as Ms. Rhee is after my third year of teaching. I'd like also to congratulate all teachers who have made it to their seventh year.Your experience is longer than Michelle Rhee's teaching e... more »

Does the Battle in Seattle Foreshadow Trouble for the Common Core? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Does the Battle in Seattle Foreshadow Trouble for the Common Core? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Does the Battle in Seattle Foreshadow Trouble for the Common Core? by Anthony Cody Tomorrow is National Solidarity day with the teachers at Garfield High and elsewhere in Seattle, who have stood together in refusing to administer the district-mandated MAP tests. This is hugely important, not only because of the courageous stand of these teachers, but for what it tells us about the highly touted "next generation" of assessments that will accompany the Common Core. *Her... more »

A Digital worksheet is still a worksheet. « My Island View

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
A Digital worksheet is still a worksheet. « My Island View: A Digital worksheet is still a worksheet. by tomwhitby I have read what seems like several, but in reality is probably a few blog posts recently that have claimed to have examined technology in schools and found that it has made little difference in learning. Of course many of these speak in generalities lacking specifics other than there is technology and there is a classroom and they observed stuff. When it comes to technology too many believe that by dropping it into a classroom magic happens. Even the most ardent sup... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Banda Speaks Out on MAP

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Banda Speaks Out on MAP: Banda Speaks Out on MAP by Melissa Westbrook The Superintendent issued this statement which has a few puzzlers in it. My comments in red. *Dear Garfield staff and families:* * * *I want to thank you for sharing your concerns about MAP assessments. After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of all of our students across the district, I have asked schools to proceed with administering the MAP assessment as scheduled. *(I don't know if this means the administrators will give the test or if they are ordering... more »

Seattle Teachers Maintain MAP Boycott: District forced to back down: Suspension Threat Verbally Rescinded « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Seattle Teachers Maintain MAP Boycott: District forced to back down: Suspension Threat Verbally Rescinded « Seattle Education: Seattle Teachers Maintain MAP Boycott: District forced to back down: Suspension Threat Verbally Rescinded by seattleducation2011 This just in:* * [image: opt out] *Seattle School District forced to evade Garfield teachers in their attempt to implement MAP test.* *Quality Assessment Remains out of Reach* *Teachers Maintain Boycott* *District forced to back down: Suspension Threat Verbally Rescinded* Because of Garfield High School teachers’ boycott of the M... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: PTA Implores Love for the Common Core. Why?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: PTA Implores Love for the Common Core. Why?: PTA Implores Love for the Common Core. Why? by stlgretchen Eric Hargis, Executive Director of the National PTA writes in* Don't Politicize the Common Core *in edweek.org: * * Unfortunately, like so many other issues, the Common Core State Standards are surrounded by myths and are being misrepresented for supposed political gain; the incredible value that the Standards provide to parents wanting to be fully engaged in their children's education makes this all the more dangerous and could represent a huge los... more »

Shanker Blog » A Few Quick Fixes For School Accountability Systems

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Shanker Blog » A Few Quick Fixes For School Accountability Systems: A Few Quick Fixes For School Accountability Systems by Morgan Polikoff *Our guest authors today are Morgan Polikoff and Andrew McEachin. Morgan is Assistant Professor in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Andrew is an Institute of Education Science postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia.* In a previous post, we described some of the problems with the Senate’s Harkin-Enzi plan for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act, based on our own analyses, which yielded t... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Superintendent Banda ordered the administration at Garfield to give the MAP today + Malala Yousafzai - Unstoppable

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Malala Yousafzai - Unstoppable: Malala Yousafzai - Unstoppable by Melissa Westbrook Education matters and there are some in the world willing to fight for it (or die trying). One of those is 14-year old *Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan* who was shot, point-blank in head, by Taliban supporters last year because of outspoken support of education for girls. Her injuries were severe and she could have died. She was left deaf in one ear and has sight problems. But she didn't. And not only is she alive, she's walking and talking. She said yesterday: ... more »

UPDATE: FCMAT » Education Headlines Tuesday, February 5, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Report questions how California schools managed lands* Education Headlines *Tuesday, February 5, 2013* Kern High School District ready to consider AEDs on its campusesThree months after a 15-year-old Centennial High School sophomore collapsed at school and later died, the Kern High School District has signaled it plans to move forward with placing automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, on every campus. Lodi Unified headed for trialThe Lodi Unified School District has opted to go to trial and declined to pay $4.2 million to t... more »

A Brief Overview of Teacher Evaluation Controversies | PBS NewsHour

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A Brief Overview of Teacher Evaluation Controversies | PBS NewsHour: A Brief Overview of Teacher Evaluation Controversies BY: SIMONE PATHE AND JAYWON CHOE *While teacher evaluations remain a controversial topic in education reform, the Achievement First charter school in Bridgeport, Conn. uses a model of consistent evaluation, feedback and other incentives to help improve teacher performance.* *Photo by Mike Fritz / PBS NewsHour.* Why is it so hard to determine what makes a good teacher? The answer is both complicated and polarizing. In recent education reform history, judging teach... more »

Interrogating the pension bombers. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Interrogating the pension bombers. « Fred Klonsky: Interrogating the pension bombers. by Fred Klonsky [image: IMG_0036 2] *Interrogating Senator Biss and Representative Gabel on pensions.* The room at the Wilmette Community Center had 200 chairs. Not enough. They had to open up another room and split up the presenters. There were 250 copies of their handouts. They ran out soon enough. The grass roots movement of active and retired public employees, mainly teachers, in defense of their pensions

Charter Schools: A Primer | the becoming radical

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Charter Schools: A Primer | the becoming radical: Charter Schools: A Primer Posted on February 5, 2013 by plthomasedd [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] Stakeholders in education include virtually everyone in a democracy—students, parents, teachers, politicians, business leaders, the media, and more. Historically, public education in the U.S. has experienced two continual popular narratives: (1) public schools are failing, and (2) [insert reform here] is needed to overhaul schools for (a) international competitiveness and (b) a stronger workforce. Recently, c... more »




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