Friday, February 8, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-8-13 #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




District 2 Candidate Skeels' Grassroots Campaign - LA School Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago
District 2 Candidate Skeels' Grassroots Campaign - LA School Report: *District 2 Candidate Skeels’ Grassroots Campaign* Posted on February 8, 2013 by Hillel Aron District 2 candidate Skeels stands with supporters There is, arguably, just one School Board candidate running a truly grassroots campaign built on dozens of volunteers and more than a thousand small contributions of as little as $5 — and little else by way of outside support. His name is *Robert Skeels*. Skeels is one of several candidates running for the Eastside District 2 spot on the LAUSD School Board, and will face ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Teachers Carrying Guns at School - That's a Paramount Duty?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Teachers Carrying Guns at School - That's a Paramount Duty?: Teachers Carrying Guns at School - That's a Paramount Duty? by Melissa Westbrook In a newbie display of idiocy, newly elected Rep. Liz Pike (R-Camas) and several other Republicans are sponsoring HB 1788 that would authorize teachers to carry guns at school. Hilariously, here's their name for the bill: *Sec. 1. This act may be known and cited as the safer schools act of 2013.* Given the huge number of accidental shootings in this country, nothing could go wrong here. (The latest is a 3-... more »

Daily Kos: Updating on Leaves on the Current

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 48 minutes ago
Daily Kos: Updating on Leaves on the Current: Updating on Leaves on the Current by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) She was discharged from Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington on Saturday evening, around 7:30 PM and moved into what we call our music room (used to have an upright piano there) with the tv, with a bathroom off it, and with the kitchen and dining room next door. In the week since we have had 5 additional radiation treatments, with this round scheduled for completion on Tuesday. The following Tuesday she will begin her chemotherapy, which will be a combination of peri... more »

Aspects of Whole Child Classrooms — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 52 minutes ago
Aspects of Whole Child Classrooms — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Celina Brennan]Aspects of Whole Child Classrooms February 8, 2013 by Celina Brennan We are in an intense time of change within education; from the Common Core State Standards Initiative, to the rapid advancement of technology, to new teacher and principal evaluation processes. Ordinarily, the changes we face in education are often just old practices with innovative twists. Today's challenging changes are different, requiring educators to dig deeply for a mindset that will withstand and embrace th... more »

UPDATE: Popular backlash against high stakes testing grows stronger NYC Public School Parents: Mayor's Appointees Force Big Testing Contract Despite Looming Classroom Cuts

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: Mayor's Appointees Force Big Testing Contract Despite Looming Classroom Cuts: A Guide to Corporate Education "reform" by Leonie Haimson Lots of parents are confused by the large number of education organizations that have sprouted up like weeds in recent years, many of which have “Children” or “Students” in the title, and claim to be working in the interests of children but actually pursuing the free-market ideology of privatizers, hedge funders and billionaires. Yesterday on Diane Ravitch’s blog, I wrote how one could identify these astroturf groups... more »

New Report: Profiting from Public Dollars | In the Public Interest

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
New Report: Profiting from Public Dollars | In the Public Interest: *New Report: Profiting from Public Dollars* Posted on 09/11/2012 For years, corporations have joined the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for the opportunity to develop legislation that diverts public dollars into their corporate coffers. A new report by*In the Public Interest,* "Profiting from Public Dollars: How ALEC and Its Members Promote Privatization of Government Services and Assets," exposes ALEC's extensive privatization agenda. The report details how private prison corporations, online edu... more »

Vallas is not the only Bridgeport Board of Education “employee” out consulting - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Vallas is not the only Bridgeport Board of Education “employee” out consulting - Wait, What?: Vallas is not the only Bridgeport Board of Education “employee” out consulting by jonpelto Paul Vallas is a busy guy. As Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools, Vallas is collecting about $234,000 a year from the taxpayers of Bridgeport and Connecticut. Although he hasn’t released his schedule since May 2012, Vallas claimed he was able to work full-time in Connecticut and take on consulting projects around the country and the world because he works no less than ten-hour days and usually... more »

Judith Butler at Brooklyn College last night: Brave and Brilliant « Bill Ayers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Judith Butler at Brooklyn College last night: Brave and Brilliant « Bill Ayers: Judith Butler at Brooklyn College last night: Brave and Brilliant by billayers *Editors Note: Despite a campaign to silence them, philsophers Judith Butler and Omar Barghouti spoke at Brooklyn College on Thursday night. In an exclusive, *The Nation* presents the text of Butler’s remarks.* About the Author Judith Butler Judith Butler is a professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature department at UC Berkeley. She is the… Also by the Author You Will Not Be Alone (War and Peace, Regions and Countries... more »

Technology: Use it, or lose it! « My Island View

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Technology: Use it, or lose it! « My Island View: Technology: Use it, or lose it! by tomwhitby I recently got into a discussion with my friend Errol St. Clair Smith, Executive Producer at BAM Radio Network on the effect that technology has had on the news media. Many of the old tried and true guidelines of journalism have been forever changed with the 24-hour news cycle, as well as, news on demand. There is also the ability of anyone to publish at anytime and have the capacity of communicating to large masses with the click of a return button (command button for Apple Folks). Thi... more »

UPDATE: CSCOPE Announces Changes. Can This Happen In Common Core? Missouri Education Watchdog: Maxine Waters Confirms "Big Brother" Database

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Maxine Waters Confirms "Big Brother" Database: CSCOPE Announces Changes. Can This Happen In Common Core? by stlgretchen *CSCOPE and Common Core have many similarities.* * *From Donna Garner: *Message to the entire United States: It was grassroots citizens in Texas who got involved and uncovered CSCOPE. We can make a difference when we do our “homework” and then contact our elected officials. Our successful efforts in Texas to bring about change in CSCOPE can be replicated throughout this country to uncover the Common Core Standards.* **************... more »

School Tech Connect: Who Knew What When?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Who Knew What When?: Who Knew What When? by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) More letters.. [image: School Tech Connect] Seriously, the blocking of the media from the breakout sessions, the whole hiring of Loran by the Waltons---- this

Illinois is broke. No money for promised teacher retirees. But $35 million more for those connected to the Chicago Democratic Machine and their patronage charters. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Illinois is broke. No money for promised teacher retirees. But $35 million more for those connected to the Chicago Democratic Machine and their patronage charters. « Fred Klonsky: Illinois is broke. No money for promised teacher retirees. But $35 million more for those connected to the Chicago Democratic Machine and their patronage charters. by Fred Klonsky [image: 36698738] *Rahm and UNO Boss, Juan Rangel.* UNO’s Juan Rangel and Alderman Danny Solis’ patronage army get millions from their charter school scams. Their latest multi-million dollar “soccer academy” skimmed millions from... more »

Diane in the Evening 2-8-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Will This Historic School Live or Die? by dianerav Popout DWC High: How A School Can Teach Us All (Trailer) This is a preview of a new hour-long documentary about the fight to keep New York’s DeWitt Clinton High School alive. Based in the Bronx, home of the NY Yankees, “The Bronx Bombers” It has educated more than 200,000 students over a hundred years. It is now being faced with plans by “Educational Reformers” to scale it back in a threat to it’s tradition of excellence. Help us get the word out. See our Facebook page, Facebook.com/dwcfilm for how you can ... more »

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

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Rhee on Stewart: A Breakdown, Part III: Rhee on Stewart: A Breakdown, Part III by Duke I've been breaking down Michelle Rhee's extended interview with Jon Stewart: here's Part I and Part II. This segment is worth a close look as I believe it's one of the few times Rhee has been pressed to explain her agenda to a relatively well-informed skeptic. Stewart makes the case several times that the fixation with schools as the primary cause of and primary solution to poverty misses a critical point: too many kids arrive at "failing" schools not ready to learn, which is wh... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – Feds to streamline compliance rules, reporting

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: Feds to streamline compliance rules, reporting The Obama administration’s Office of Management and Budget released earlier this month a much anticipated proposal for revising compliance rules covering federal cost principles, federal administrative rules and non-federal audits. The OMB also released an 89-page summary and description of the changes from the notice released last February. The proposed changes, of critical importance for anyone responsible for detailing the use of federal funds for a school district, is intended to improve th... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Pritzker nomination causing problems for Obama

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Pritzker nomination causing problems for Obama: Pritzker nomination causing problems for Obama by Mike Klonsky The Wall Street Journal reports that the nomination of Penny Pritzker as the next commerce secretary would threaten to divide President Barack Obama's political coalition, pitting women's advocates against labor leaders angry about the treatment of workers at her family's hotel chain. *Last July, a group of labor leaders, including Obama ally and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, joined Unite Here at a news conference in Washington, whe... more »

Texas Wingnuts Outraged By Their Own Schools Curriculum | Crooks and Liars

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Texas Wingnuts Outraged By Their Own Schools Curriculum | Crooks and Liars: Texas Wingnuts Outraged By Their Own Schools Curriculum 34 comments By karoli Oh, Texas. You never fail to reach a new height of strangeness, especially when it comes to your own schools. On its face, this story appears to look like some librul doofus snuck Commie curriculum into their state-approved materials for online learning. Fox leads off with a big intro from AFP's Texas Director Peggy Venable, and segues into an interview with Texas senator Dan Patrick about horrible, awful, un-American, dirty c... more »

Calling Madigan. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Calling Madigan. « Fred Klonsky: Calling Madigan. by Fred Klonsky Popout . “Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. With kindest personal regards, I remain sincerely yours, Michael Madigan.” *mmadigan@hds.ilga.gov ormmadigan@ilga.gov; (773) 581-8000 or (217) 782-5350.* I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down at my kitchen counter. It doubles as my office. This morning I was going to call Democratic Party Chairman and House Speaker Michael Madigan. He had written a letter to the We Are One coalition of public employee unions saying that he had no time to meet ... more »

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, February 8, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Large crowd lobbies against planned Sacramento City school closures Education Headlines *Friday, February 8, 2013* Mira Monte student caught with gun on campusA student was arrested Thursday after he brought a gun to Mira Monte High School, but authorities said they're not aware of any plans the boy had to actually use the weapon. LAUSD, other districts, raid meal funds for poor students to cover other costs, state reportsDriven to desperation by historic funding shortfalls, school districts across the state in recent years have b... more »

UPDATE: The Ignored Commons: Our Children + Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee is a terrible comedian – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee is a terrible comedian – @ the chalk face: The Ignored Commons: Our Children by plthomasedd I have recently discovered an Eleventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not speaketh to the folly of charter schools.” When I explain that charter schools perform no better than public schools, and in many cases, create problems worse than the ones we need to reform in our current system (see my recent primer), I incite the ire of charter advocates, many of whom are middle-class and progressive. And this has led to another realization: Charter schools allow middle... more »

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Recognizing National School Counseling Week, Feb. 4-8, 2013 | U.S. Department of Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Recognizing National School Counseling Week, Feb. 4-8, 2013 | U.S. Department of Education: Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Recognizing National School Counseling Week, Feb. 4-8, 2013 FEBRUARY 8, 2013 *Contact: * Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the following statement today, recognizing National School Counseling Week, Feb. 4-8, 2013. Every day, caring and dedicated professionals across this country engage in the often unrecognized work of schoo... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee funds right-wingers who push anti-gun-control, anti-LGBT, anti-middle-class agenda - NY-GPS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee funds right-wingers who push anti-gun-control, anti-LGBT, anti-middle-class agenda - NY-GPS: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee funds right-wingers who push anti-gun-control, anti-LGBT, anti-middle-class agenda Posted by New Yorkers for Great Public Schools (Ny Gps) 136pc on February 05, 2013 · Flag (NY, NY)--Today, on the national release of Michelle Rhee's new book, *Radical: Fighting to Put Students First,* New Yorkers for Great Public Schools (NY-GPS) a citywide coalition of thousands of parents, teachers, students, and community leaders, rele... more »

UPDATE: 'Nemo' School Closures Hobble Working Parents During Snowstorm Joy Resmovits: Arne Duncan Defends NCLB Waivers, Texas Testing Reduction? Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Joy Resmovits: Arne Duncan Defends NCLB Waivers, Texas Testing Reduction? Ed Today: 'Nemo' School Closures Hobble Working Parents During Snowstorm by Joy Resmovits NEW YORK -- At 4 p.m. Thursday, Claire Brown Goss, a pregnant working mother of two, learned that her town of Ashland, Mass., planned to shut down its schools on Friday in anticipation of this weekend's blizzard. Ten minutes later, she received a call from her babysitter who lives a few towns over, so she, too, had to cancel. The mother works as a part-time teacher and writer, and is losing one day's pay. "Now I have t... more »

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel Sends Letter to President Obama on State of the Union | NEA Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
NEA President Dennis Van Roekel Sends Letter to President Obama on State of the Union | NEA Today: NEA President Dennis Van Roekel Sends Letter to President Obama on State of the Union by twalker NEA President Dennis Van Roekel today *sent a letter to President Barack Obama about his upcoming State of the Union Address*. The letter outlines three “opportunity” principles that educators believe should guide the president’s second term agenda as well as specific policy priorities that will go a long way towards fulfilling the ambitious and bold agenda president Obama outlined duri... more »

Eduwonky » Disorganization? Why Short Term Unionization Wins In Charters Creates A Long-Term Union Problem

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Eduwonky » Blog Archive » Disorganization? Why Short Term Unionization Wins In Charters Creates A Long-Term Union Problem: Disorganization? Why Short Term Unionization Wins In Charters Creates A Long-Term Union Problem The American Federation of Teachers has successfully organized another charter school, this time in Michigan so some symbolism given everything that’s been happening there. It’s always big news when they win one of these (although the decertifications of unions in charters get less attention for some reason). Anyway, this one is interesting because it highlights ... more »

what is up with red shirting - my sidewalk chalk blog - nyc school help

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
what is up with red shirting - my sidewalk chalk blog - nyc school help: what is up with red shirting by joyce Red Shirting is the practice of holding late birthday kids back so that they benefit from being the oldest in the class. There is always heated debate about if it is really a good idea or not. My kids (girls) have late Nov. birthdays and I was clueless -and desperate to get them into free kindergarten. They started K as old fours and never looked back. In general, someone has to be the youngest, no matter what the cutoff date. It is very important that there not be too lar... more »

Modern School: Teachers Murdered in Southern Thai War for Independence

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Modern School: Teachers Murdered in Southern Thai War for Independence: Teachers Murdered in Southern Thai War for Independence Nearly 160 teachers have been killed in Thailand’s deep south in its sectarian battle for independence, often in front of students, the Teacher Solidarity Website reports. In a recent incident, a principal and teacher were killed in front of 75 elementary school students. In December, teachers went on strike to demand better security. The violence is part of a decades-long struggle for independence by the Malay-Muslim population in Thailand’s south. Du... more »

MMAC Calls for a New Orleans-style “Recovery District” for MPS Low-performing Schools « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
MMAC Calls for a New Orleans-style “Recovery District” for MPS Low-performing Schools « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: MMAC Calls for a New Orleans-style “Recovery District” for MPS Low-performing Schools by millerlf The MMAC is calling for a New Orleans-style “recovery district” for low performing schools in MPS. This district would not be under the MPS board’s jurisdiction and would have a separate superintendent. Following is the MMAC Legislative Update on WisEye, from January 31,2013. Here MMAC representatives describe the “recovery district”: http://www.wiseye.org... more »

Homeless families in our state « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Homeless families in our state « Seattle Education: Homeless families in our state [image: poverty is (2)] According to the Seattle Times: *State had more than 27K homeless students last year* *State education officials say the number of homeless students continues to rise.* *More than 27,000 students were reported as homeless in the 2011-12 school year. That number is up about 5 percent from 2010-11 and up nearly 47 percent from the beginning of the recession.* *Districts blame the still struggling job market, the closing of factories and cuts in funding for programs that prevent ho... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-8-13 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] Why We Need Public Schools! by dianerav Why do we have public schools? Would we be better off, as certain reformers now think, if everyone had school choice and went to a charter or used a voucher to go to a private or religious school? Do we need public schools? I asked Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School in Rockville Center, New York, how she would answer these questions. How would you answer? This is what Carol wrote: “When I think of the purpose of public schooling I always think of Dewey’s... more »

New charter school report: Success or failure set by year three | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
New charter school report: Success or failure set by year three | Get Schooled: New charter school report: Success or failure set by year three by Maureen Downey Interesting study on charter school successes and failures: A new report by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes found that charter schools, as they age or replicate into networks, are very likely to continue the patterns and performance set by their early years of operation, and that for most charter schools their ultimate success or failure can be predicted by year three of a school’s life. ... more »

UPDATE: No Substitute for a Teacher | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
No Substitute for a Teacher | toteachornototeach: No Substitute for a Teacher by aristotlethewise *No Substitute for a Teacher* By June Kronholz My son had a new degree and a nine-month unpaid gap in his training as a Marine Corps lieutenant. Please don’t fill it with a job at a liquor warehouse, I asked. Instead, he became a substitute teacher. In the college town where he was living, an astonishing 47 percent of the school district’s 721 teachers were Students Arrested After Food Fight by aristotlethewise Students Arrested After Food Fight At Ola High School In Georgia by S... more »

Another trophy in the case for Long Beach Unified | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Another trophy in the case for Long Beach Unified | EdSource Today: Another trophy in the case for Long Beach Unified ** February 7th, 2013 | Add a Comment | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on print More Sharing Services Long Beach Unified has grabbed another award for excellence. The state’s third-largest school district and winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education was named Thursday one of the five top school districts in the world by Battelle for Kids, a Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit organization that counsels school districts on s... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Personal Data Collected and Disseminated via Common Core Standards and P20 Pipelines

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Personal Data Collected and Disseminated via Common Core Standards and P20 Pipelines: Personal Data Collected and Disseminated via Common Core Standards and P20 Pipelines by stlgretchen P-20 initiatives connect educational systems for increased student performance, greater efficiency, improved outcomes, and smoother pathways throughout a student's career. These factors are of critical importance in a competitive global economy. The Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) is working on several fronts to help ensure that connections between early c... more »

A Quick Note on Student Voice [Because You Need To Hear It ... Again] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
A Quick Note on Student Voice [Because You Need To Hear It ... Again] | The Jose Vilson: A Quick Note on Student Voice [Because You Need To Hear It ... Again] by Jose Vilson [image: Everything Is Coming Up Millhouse] Everything Is Coming Up Millhouse A couple of days back, I saw an incident with one of my student ambassadors and a teacher. Nothing to write the Post about, but tempers flared, and misunderstandings ensued. Yelling and consternation spill over to the hallway. Frankly, a huge misunderstanding only inflated by the fact that other adults who felt like pushing the buttons... more »

Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson on Assassination by Remote Control

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson on Assassination by Remote Control: Eugene Robinson on Assassination by Remote Control by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) which is the title of his Friday *Washington Post* column. It begins like this: If George W. Bush had told us that the “war on terror” gave him the right to execute a U.S. citizen overseas with a missile fired from a drone aircraft, without due process or judicial review, I’d have gone ballistic. It makes no difference that the president making this chilling claim is Barack Obama. What’s wrong is wrong. This issue has become ever hotte... more »

The Educated Reporter: Under the Microscope: Examining STEM Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: Under the Microscope: Examining STEM Education: Under the Microscope: Examining STEM Education by Emily Richmond I'm at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County today for EWA's seminar for journalists on STEM education. This is a front-burner issue nationally, as politicians and policymakers contend the nation's global competitiveness depends on steering more students successfully into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. We have a jam-packed agenda, including discussion of the implementation of the new Common Core State Standards an... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Does the Times Want BEX to Fail?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Does the Times Want BEX to Fail?: Does the Times Want BEX to Fail? by Melissa Westbrook Sure looks like it. I was first aware of this with their tepid endorsement of the levies over "leadership." It was an interesting reason because if that had been the issue, then they should have been troubled over many other levies. Then, last Friday, on the news roundup on KUOW, I noted that they had a quick discussion of the levies (and naturally, got a lot wrong but those pundits aren't always very up-to-date on school district facts). Eli Sanders from Th... more »

Schools Matter: Portland Student Unions Support Seattle's Opt Out

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Schools Matter: Portland Student Unions Support Seattle's Opt Out: Portland Student Unions Support Seattle's Opt Out by Judy Rabin Here is the place to sign up and support Portland, Oregon students who support Seattle, WA teachers. Who will be next to stand up to the bullies selling "junk" high stakes standardized tests (HSST's) to school districts? Can they fire all the students?Expel them, suspend them, put them in jail? Why are so many students finally just opting out and do these students have any rights? No one knows the answer because it's not on the test. This is important t... more »

NYC Educator: The Back of the Class Kid

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
NYC Educator: The Back of the Class Kid: The Back of the Class Kid by NYC Educator * by Recovering ATR * I have a student, let's call him Tom, who from day one of my class mastered the art of taciturnity. He's one of those teens for whom speaking is just too much to ask. Silent, back of the class all the time, barely ever cracks a smile. But he did his work and his home work and I figured I should just let him be. He also scored very high scores on all my tests, when the rest of the class was struggling to kick out 65's or 75's. Not a surprise that even though he's in a remedial c... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: How's all this privatization working for you, Rahm?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: How's all this privatization working for you, Rahm?: How's all this privatization working for you, Rahm? by Mike Klonsky I don't think so.The Skyway, the parking meters, charter schools, and red-light cameras -- all sold off to politically-connected private companies. The result of these get-rich-quick schemes? Some short-term revenue generated at the expense of long-term debt for the city and lower pay for union-less workers. Pockets lined for a handful of friends of the mayor, Boss *Mike Madigan* or Ald. *Eddie Burke*. Charter and cyber schools, ru... more »

Changing the National Narrative About Public Schools...Next Steps | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Changing the National Narrative About Public Schools...Next Steps | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Changing the National Narrative About Public Schools...Next Steps [image: Cheryl S. Williams's picture] By Cheryl S. Williams on February 7, 2013 *By Cheryl Williams, Executive Director at Learning First Alliance* *The following post appeared on January 31, 2013, as the final LFA entry in the Transforming Learning Blog on Education Week. For the past year, LFA members have contributed postings to the EdWeek blog on a regular basis. Those wise commentaries are archi... more »

H.R.428: School Meals Reimbursement Rates Comparison Act of 2013 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
H.R.428: School Meals Reimbursement Rates Comparison Act of 2013 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: H.R.428 - School Meals Reimbursement Rates Comparison Act of 2013 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to report on the cost differences between providing school meals and supplements in each of the territories of the United States and the 50 States and the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.view all titles (2) - Overview - Actions & Votes - News (0) & Blogs (0) - Comments (0) Bill's Views - Today:2 - Past Seven Days:19 - All-Time:47 Introduced Ho... more »

Outside spending pours into L.A. school board race - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Outside spending pours into L.A. school board race - latimes.com: Outside spending pours into L.A. school board race [image: Photo: Los Angeles School Board Member Steven Zimmer appears deep in thought as the LAUSD board meets March 2012. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times] Outside groups are mounting campaigns to influence the outcome of three races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The outside donations are helping more than one candidate in District 4, which stretches from the Westside to portions of the west San Fernando Valley. That race pits one-term incum... more »

Solidarity with Seattle Teachers and Students Refusing Pointless Standardized Tests! « Classroom Struggle

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Solidarity with Seattle Teachers and Students Refusing Pointless Standardized Tests! « Classroom Struggle: Solidarity with Seattle Teachers and Students Refusing Pointless Standardized Tests! by ClassroomStruggle [image: Students have refused to take the MAP test in solidarity with the teachers.] Many students have refused to take the MAP test in solidarity with the teachers. Solidarity with Seattle Teachers and Students Refusing Pointless Standardized Tests! As Classroom Struggle, we would like to send our deep respect and solidarity to the teachers, parents and students resist... more »

Daily Kos: getting a "quick kill" or a "good, clean kill"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Daily Kos: getting a "quick kill" or a "good, clean kill": getting a "quick kill" or a "good, clean kill" by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) is a justification I have on occasion seen used as a justification for weapons like AR-15s while hunting. Except this idea has been addressed before, in the move "The Magic Christian" as you can see here: Popout

Another crazy conspiracy theory? No – it is a blatant attack on teacher pensions and public education in Illinois, Florida and federally. | Reclaim Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Another crazy conspiracy theory? No – it is a blatant attack on teacher pensions and public education in Illinois, Florida and federally. | Reclaim Reform: Another crazy conspiracy theory? No – it is a blatant attack on teacher pensions and public education in Illinois, Florida and federally. by kenpreviti There is no “crazy conspiracy theory” behind teacher pension problems. There is a blatant attack on teacher pensions and public education in state after state and federally by well financed politicians. Democrats in Illinois, Republicans in Florida, and Democrapublicans at the ... more »

Duncan to Congress: War on Public Education is Working | ED.gov Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Duncan to Congress: Giving States Flexibility is Working | ED.gov Blog: Duncan to Congress: Giving States Flexibility is Working Posted on February 7, 2013 by Cameron Brenchley War on Public Education Drones On States and their schools are breaking free from the restrictions of No Child Left Behind and pursuing new and better ways to prepare and protect all students, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a Senate committee Thursday. In a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Duncan promoted the value of providing flexibility to states under th... more »

Long Beach Named Among Top World Districts - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Long Beach Named Among Top World Districts - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): Long Beach Unified Named Among Top Districts in the World SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today congratulated Long Beach Unified School District for being named among five of the world’s highest-performing school systems in the *Global Education Study*conducted by the Ohio-based nonprofit organization Battelle for Kids. "Hats off to Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser and the teachers, administrators, staff, parents, and students of Long Beach Unified School Distri... more »

Followed by @abcte on #twitter, so what is this American Board? – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Followed by @abcte on #twitter, so what is this American Board? – @ the chalk face: Special episode of At the Chalk Face tonight, 9PM EST/6PM PST by Chalk Face, PhD We’ve invited a great guest, which is why the special day and time: Alexia Garcia, student organizer of a Portland boycott of the OAKS test. Probably the best test acronym by far. There’s some information here I’ll quote from Education Week, which is in turn from OregonLive: Alexia Garcia, a Lincoln High School senior, said the tests take away valuable class time and are ultimately unfair measures for both students and... more »

Schools Matter: When Will Justice Go After the Education Frauds?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Schools Matter: When Will Justice Go After the Education Frauds?: When Will Justice Go After the Education Frauds? by Judy Rabin The U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against Standard and Poors to recover billions of dollars that were lost and destroyed along with jobs, homes, families, and much needed tax dollars. S&P AAA ratings on "junk" otherwise known as Collagerialized Debt Obligations or Collateralized Mortgage Obligations, Credit Default SWAPS, whatever, led to the Great Recession, Depression, financial fiasco, whatever. Ok, it's a start. The $5 billion in penalt... more »

Ruben Brosbe Exposes His Incompetency at MS 331.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Ruben Brosbe Exposes His Incompetency at MS 331 by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) Back in July we here at SBSB shared how Ruben Brosbe, famed former E4E fool had gotten a gig using his Harvard Graduate School of Education skills with Citizens Schools NY as the leader of whatever at MS 331 in the Bronx. Recently a someone who had worked closely with Ruben at MS 331 contacted The Crack Team here at SBSB and we commissioned this person to to guest blog for us. Please sit back and enjoy. *First off was his relationship with the senior member of the... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: TFA Rolls On

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: TFA Rolls On: TFA Rolls On by Melissa Westbrook By the numbers:In an interview on the Huffington Post in December 2012, TFA founder and CEO Wendy Kopp said the following: *"On average, our corps members stay in the classroom for eight years."*Anthony Cody of the Living in Dialogue blog at Ed Week asked for substantiation of this claim because the generally previously accepted number was more like only 10-15% of TFAers stay past their third year. Others doing the math found that one study found that about 40% of TFAers leave after two years and anot... more »

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 2-7-13 #soschat #edreform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
*Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break* Sacramento Current--School Closures:"Too many Questions, too little time." by Kate_Lenox Cosmos Garvin's must read article raises many important questions about the districts push to close "under-enrolled" schools. The future of district bond measures is one issue that hasn't been talked about much in the debate over the closures. Just a few months ago the district sold voters on approving two bond measures to upgrade school facilities. The district had detailed assessments made of each site to give the public some knowledge of where ... more »

Diane in the Evening 2-7-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Strange Bedfellows Oppose Common Core in Indiana by dianerav Glenda Ritz, the new State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Indiana, thrashed reform idol Tony Bennett last November. She received more votes than anyone else on the ballot except the Attorney General (she ran ahead of the governor). Tony Bennett, who famously supports free-market solutions to education problems, is an advocate for charters and vouchers, for evaluating teachers by test scores, and for for-profit online corporations and charters. Tony Bennett is one of the nation’s loudes... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Coalition of education, parent & privacy groups protest plan to share confidential student data with Gates-funded corporation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NYC Public School Parents: Coalition of education, parent & privacy groups protest plan to share confidential student data with Gates-funded corporation: Coalition of education, parent & privacy groups protest plan to share confidential student data with Gates-funded corporation by Leonie Haimson Education, parent and privacy groups, including the Massachusetts ACLU, the MA state PTA, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Citizens for Public Schools, sent a letter today to the MA State Board of Education, protesting the state's plan to share confidential student and ... more »

A Compleat Guide to the Corporate Reform Movement « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A Compleat Guide to the Corporate Reform Movement « Diane Ravitch's blog: *A Compleat Guide to the Corporate Reform Movement * Leonie Haimson, who leads Class Size Matters in New York City and was a co-founder of Parents Across America, has worked with other parents and with educators to compile a comprehensive list of corporate reform organizations and to identify the lingo of the reformers. She asks your help in reviewing the list and letting her know about errors and omissions. Review the list of organizations and definitions. You can let her know your thoughts at the email she... more »

National Union Announces Friday Press Event & Grant - LA School Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
National Union Announces Friday Press Event & Grant - LA School Report: National Union Announces Friday Press Event & Grant by Samantha Oltman AFT President Randi Weingarten American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten is scheduled to hold a Friday, February 8 press conference at Woodland Hills Academy to announce a $150,000 grant to the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). The grant is aimed at helping teachers create strong school improvement plans and prevent the need for any additional “parent trigger” actions in LAUSD. Weingarten’s appearance signals the impo...more »

Evan Horn – Enjoying School Like I Do - Student Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Student Voice: Evan Horn – Enjoying School Like I Do by admin There is nothing sweeter than waking up at 7:30 AM on a sunny Saturday morning in September to tailgate with the entire city of Madison, Wisconsin for an 11:00 AM football game. The streets are a sea of red and white football jerseys and face paint, flooded by the distinct smell of brats and loud cheers of its patrons. On game day, no matter where you go or whom you see, they are not only your friend but also your comrade in battle, ready to defend the University of Wisconsin’s honor and reputation, hand in hand with ... more »

February Is National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
February Is National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Kristen Pekarek]February Is National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month February 7, 2013 by Kristen Pekarek This February whole child partner National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) and communities across the nation will celebrate National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month. School-based health care centers work to redefine health for kids and teens by providing access to mental health services and oral health care, working to prevent obesit... more »





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