Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-12-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2


James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP




Right-Sizing Update Sacramento Council PTA

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago
Sacramento Council PTA: [image: Sacramento Council of PTAs] February 12, 2013Right-Sizing Update Read response to Public Information Request from January 17 Board Meeting. Read updated (February 5) Frequently Asked QuestionsAs we perform our work on behalf of families and communities across the Sacramento City Unified School District boundaries our processes are guided in matters of policy such as school closures by California State PTA's position statements. The California State PTA School Closure Position Statement reads: The California State PTA believes that while school cl... more »

Could Community Based Accountability Get the Federal Government Out of Our Schools? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 43 minutes ago
Could Community Based Accountability Get the Federal Government Out of Our Schools? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Could Community Based Accountability Get the Federal Government Out of Our Schools? by Anthony Cody Schools today are seeing an unprecedented expansion of federally-driven accountability practices. In addition to annual high stakes standardized tests, more and more students now take interim assessments for use in teacher evaluations, mandated by NCLB waivers and Race to the Top grants. Soon we will have beginning of the year as well as spring testing ... more »

Read Across America - California Teachers Association

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 45 minutes ago
Read Across America - California Teachers Association: READ ACROSS AMERICA 2013 Read Across America is a national day celebrating reading —this year on Friday, March 1, 2013—sponsored by the National Education Association and California Teachers Association, along with many of the country’s leading literacy and youth groups. [image: Read Across America 2013] Reading Takes You Places! The more children read, the better they read. And the more they read outside of school, the better they do in school. Help teach children that *reading takes you places *by surfing waves in San Diego, ... more »

Leading by example…. | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 47 minutes ago
Leading by example…. | Connected Principals: Leading by example…. by Amber Teamann It’s the title of a number of books and has been mentioned in several twitter chats I’ve lurked through recently. Administrators are called to lead by example. It’s the easiest way to present new information, a new presentation style, or an idea that you’d like to see take root on your campus. [image: keepN calm]I’m a big fan of the book “From Staff Room to Classroom” which provides interactive and engaging strategies that get adults up and involved in the PD being presented. The idea is that the tea... more »

Business Leaders, Feb 2013 supporting common core standards and the decimation of education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Business Leaders, Feb 2013 supporting common core standards and the decimation of education: Open Letter from 73 Business Leaders, Feb 2013 supporting common core standards and the decimation of education by Danny Weil From the NY Times opinion section: full page add http://www.achievethecore.org/business-speaks-for-the-core#letter This ran as a full page in the NY Times. It is hand to hand combat now! What are the Common Core State Standards? In 2010, 46 states and the District of Columbia adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), a set of consistent expectations for what ... more »

The State Lottery was for Education; Native Gaming Slots Revenue was for cities and towns… - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
The State Lottery was for Education; Native Gaming Slots Revenue was for cities and towns… - Wait, What?: The State Lottery was for Education; Native Gaming Slots Revenue was for cities and towns… by jonpelto Right…The State Lottery was for Education; Native Gaming Slots Revenue was for cities and towns…And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. In 1993, the Mashantucket Pequot Nation signed an agreement with Governor Lowell Weicker and the state of Connecticut. In return for the exclusive rights to have slot machines, Connecticut’s Native American Tribes would donate 25... more »

Republican-backed for-profit school caught deleting bad student grades | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Republican-backed for-profit school caught deleting bad student grades | The Raw Story: Republican-backed for-profit school caught deleting bad student grades by David Edwards [image: Students at a K12 for-profit school] Topics: Tennessee Virtual Academy ♦ WTVF A for-profit school that was hyped by Republican lawmakers as a solution to Tennessee’s education problems recently admitted deleting bad grades to “more accurately recognize students’ current progress.” A December email obtained by WTVF showed that Tennessee Virtual Academy’s vice principal instructed middle school teacher... more »

The VIVA Project An online community that connects passionate teachers with top policymakers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
*http://vivanea.mysocialsphere.com/* * * * *

Schools Matter: What are the business leaders afraid of?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Schools Matter: What are the business leaders afraid of?: What are the business leaders afraid of? by skrashen Sent to the NY Times, Feb 12, 2013 Why has the business community posted a full-page ad in the NY Times praising the “tougher” academic standards and more “rigorous” expectations of the common core? (“Open Letter from 73 Business Leaders,” Feb. 12). Maybe it is because there is greater awareness that harder standards and increased testing do not help students, and greater awareness that American academic performance is high: Test scores of American students not living i... more »

School Tech Connect: More Common Core Cheerleading

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
School Tech Connect: More Common Core Cheerleading: More Common Core Cheerleading by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) The key to popular writing about the Common Core State (?) Standards is never, ever to support your arguments with examples of specific standards, as in this piece. I was going to make this comment over at Edutopia but you have to go through such a rigmarole to post a comment there. For example, this is a straw man. The CC standards are organized in an intoxicatingly simple, linear fashion that acknowledges that the work of a first grade teacher contributes to the... more »

Diane in the Evening 2-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Breaking News: Mayor Bloomberg Gives $1 Million to L.A. School Board Candidates by dianerav This is an astonishing development. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, a multibillionaire, is giving $1 million to support three candidates in the Los Angeles school board election. The candidates he is backing are in favor of privately managed charter schools and are generally anti-union. The people of Los Angeles will decide in next month’s election whether the super-rich elite can buy control of the public school system and impose their pet project of pr... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee And The Relentless Marketing Of Education ‘Reform’ - Jeff Bryant

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee And The Relentless Marketing Of Education ‘Reform’ - Jeff Bryant: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee And The Relentless Marketing Of Education ‘Reform’ by Jeff Bryant Is it over yet? Michelle Rhee’s barnstorming of America this week, to hawk her new memoir, taxed the stamina of even the most ardent education wonk. It was a relentless PR campaign that would truly be the envy of any tobacco executive or gun manufacturer. In interview after interview Rhee recited a series of bullet points regardless of who was interviewing her and what the questions ... more »

#Cagebusting 101 | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
#Cagebusting 101 | EduShyster: #Cagebusting 101 by edushyster2012 *Everything that’s wrong with the contemporary education reform movement—wrapped up in a single, noxious term.* If you have managed to live your life so far without once uttering the expression “cage busting,” alas your luck has run out. The first rule of cage busting is that you have to talk about cage busting—alot. But what does this mysterious term mean, and from whence did it come? But what does this mysterious term mean, and from whence did it come? Reader: I give you Dr. Rick Hess, the designated intellectual o... more »

What is Mayor Bloomberg trying to buy? gives $1 million to L.A. school board candidates - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Mayor Bloomberg gives $1 million to L.A. school board candidates - latimes.com: Mayor Bloomberg gives $1 million to L.A. school board candidates [image: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Credit: Takaai Iwabu / Raleigh News & Observer] New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has donated $1 million to a campaign to elect three board candidates who strongly support current L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy — two of the three candidates also are political opponents of the Los Angeles teachers union. The donation was confirmed by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. Bloomberg’s donation is th... more »

NYC Public School Parents: video: the Gates-funded threat to student privacy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: video: the Gates-funded threat to student privacy: video: the Gates-funded threat to student privacy by Leonie Haimson A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Mary Conway-Spiegel of the Partnership for Student Advocacy about the*unprecedented *threat to student privacy represented by the Gates-funded Shared Learning Collaborative, which is collecting, storing and distributing to commercial software developers the confidential, personally identifiable data of public school students in nine states (so far). Since this interview was filmed, the SLC has spun o... more »

Education Research Report: Charter School Report Provides Little Basis for Advocacy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Education Research Report: Charter School Report Provides Little Basis for Advocacy: Charter School Report Provides Little Basis for Advocacy by Jonathan Kantrowitz [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] The overall research base is now clear that the charter school sector largely mirrors the conventional public school sector in terms of students’ test scores. This is again confirmed by a recent analysis of charter schools in Michigan. A new review of that study points to some limitations but concludes that it employs solid analytic methods and relies on a larg... more »

UPDATE: Tell the truth, CPS! + PSAT for 2-12-13: Stand strong Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 2-12-13: Stand strong: Tell the truth, CPS! Won’t say how they made longer day decision by admin Tell the truth, CPS! [image: Tell the truth, CPS!]Intrepid LSC and PURE member Glenn Krell has been trying to use the Freedom of Information Act as a tool to understand how CPS makes key decisions. It can be a useful strategy, one that PURE has used with some success, as in our 2008 report on charter school accountability (we found there isn’t much). Specifically, Glenn wants to know where CPS got some of the “data” they... more »

Is PWCS Wasting Taxpayer Money? « PWC Education Reform Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Is PWCS Wasting Taxpayer Money? « PWC Education Reform Blog: Is PWCS Wasting Taxpayer Money? by pwceducationreform Is the Prince William County School Board being spending our money wisely? I ask this, in part, because of the debate over the pool that will be built in the 12th high school. Most of us aren’t so wealthy that cost doesn’t play a role in the decisions we make for our families. When we need a new car, we tend to buy something we can afford that meets our families needs, even though the Maserati would be so cool. We don’t put in granite counter-tops or buy new stainles... more »

Dallas Parents Upset Over Hiring of alleged Racist Principal | NewsTacoNewsTaco

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Dallas Parents Upset Over Hiring of alleged Racist Principal | NewsTacoNewsTaco: Dallas Parents Upset Over Hiring of alleged Racist Principal by Voxxi [image: kamalia_cotton][image: voxxi]By Tony Castro, Voxxi A group of Latino parents in Dallas backed by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is fighting the hiring of Kamalia Cotton, a suburban elementary principal, who has been involved in the mistreatment of Hispanic students at a previous school. LULAC joined a campaign opposing the hiring of Kamalia Cotton by the Lancaster school system, which overlooked the alle... more »

Evaluate This! | Edwize

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Evaluate This! | Edwize: Evaluate This! by Mr. Thompson Everyone’s talking about the breakdown in the teacher evaluation talks between the mayor and the union as if it were the only chance to fix public education in New York City. Do we need an evaluation system? Absolutely. Is it a cure-all for our educational ills? Absolutely not. I am still in the middle of my honeymoon period with teaching, the first career I’ve truly loved. Sadly, like so many teachers in our city, newbies such as myself and grizzled veterans alike, I am developing a profound sense of regret linked to the gro... more »

Investigation uncovers non-certified teachers at Muskegon Heights new charter school | Michigan Radio

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Investigation uncovers non-certified teachers at Muskegon Heights new charter school | Michigan Radio: Investigation uncovers non-certified teachers at Muskegon Heights new charter school Share Tweet E-mail 3 Comments Print By LINDSEY SMITH Next imagePrevious image Image 0Image 1 Enlarge image Credit Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio This Muskegon Heights teacher at Edgewood Elementary school holds a valid teaching certificate in Michigan. Teachers in Michigan need some kind of certificate or permit to teach. Whether it's in a public school or a charter school, it doesn’t matter; it's ... more »

A Blind Spot in School Safety — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
A Blind Spot in School Safety — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Peter DeWitt]A Blind Spot in School Safety February 12, 2013 by Peter DeWitt School safety is a fairly large umbrella. It encompasses the whole school perspective of keeping children safe through practicing fire drills, lockdown drills, and keeping the school in lockout all day long. School safety also includes keeping students safe through the use of anti-bullying programs, school codes of conduct, or school board policies. All of these are important to the school climate. Educators understand that ... more »

East LA Debate: D2 Challengers Pile On LAUSD - LA School Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
East LA Debate: D2 Challengers Pile On LAUSD - LA School Report: East LA Debate: D2 Challengers Pile On LAUSD by Hillel Aron District 2 candidates onstage at last night’s El Sereno event. Challengers at last night’s District 2 debate in El Sereno rarely invoked School Board President *Monica Garcia*‘s name, even though she was sitting there onstage with them. But they attacked the incumbent indirectly, with vehement criticisms of LAUSD policies and decisions (regarding standardized tests, charters schools and budget cuts) as well as Superintendent John Deasy, who was appointed by t... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, February 12, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers * * * *Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER* * * *Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers* Outside groups trying to influence L.A. school board races Education Headlines *Tuesday, Febr... more »

Building Tomorrow’s Walmart Workers—Today | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Building Tomorrow’s Walmart Workers—Today | EduShyster: Building Tomorrow’s Walmart Workers—Today by edushyster2012 Our nation’s fate hangs in the balance—and once again the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of our union-stifled public schools. Reader: I give you the skills gap. Perhaps the most fiercely urgent chasm we’ve encountered to date, the skillz gap refers to the vast unfilled space between current and future job openings and the skills of the people looking for jobs. Or that’s what we’re supposed to think it means. The real skillz gap—is between what workers *have*—a... more »

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours 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 - 8 hours 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 - 8 hours 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 - 8 hours 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 - 9 hours 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 »

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

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] In Praise of Senator Lamar Alexander by dianerav Some 20 years ago, I worked as Assistant Secretary of Education in the administration of President George Herbert Walker Bush. I was in charge of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement and also Counselor to the Secretary of Education, who was Lamar Alexander. Secretary Alexander took a big risk with me because I was a Democrat with no prior experience in government. I developed great admiration for him as a thinker and leader. He understood the li... more »

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

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 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 - 10 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 - 10 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 - 10 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 - 10 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 - 10 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 - 10 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 - 11 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 - 11 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 - 11 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 - 20 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 - 1 day 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 - 1 day 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 - 1 day 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 - 1 day 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 - 1 day 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 - 1 day 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 »



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