Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Most of the 129 schools on The Mayor’s list to close are on the south and west side.
From the CTU Black Caucus:
Indiana Bill Will Mandate Assessment and Public Input of Common Core
The Indianapolis Star spun yesterday’s vote on SB 193 in the Indiana Senate Education and Career Development committee as a sign that the state will likely keep the Common Core State Standards.
I disagree. This coming Tuesday the full Indiana Senate will vote on the bill. This is an extraordinary vote because no such vote on the Common Core has taken place. If the bill passes the Senate, the House and then signed by Governor Mike Pence it will send a message that further review of these standards are needed. That will send a message throughout the country.
It isn’t a knee-jerk response. While I would like to see the standards go this bill will in effect implement the
Thin-Skinned, Reformy Education Commissioners
Why do New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Education Commissioner Chris Cerf get along so well? I think one reason is that they are the same type of personalities: they both have very thin skins. Christie, of course, likes to call up doctors who are concerned for his health to bully them. Cerf, in the same way, likes to snidely dismiss those who criticize him, even when they are on his side.
Case in point:
A few weeks ago, In the Public Interest released a series of emails sent between state-level education officials and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Eduction. As The Nation reported, the
Case in point:
A few weeks ago, In the Public Interest released a series of emails sent between state-level education officials and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Eduction. As The Nation reported, the
Race to the Top for Tots?
Sent to the Christian Science Monitor (Feb. 14).
Obama’s Universal Preschool Proposal (Feb. 13) sounds great until you look at the details.
To be funded, states have to adhere to learning standards, which include a “rigorous” curriculum, and “effective evaluation,” in order to prepare students for the academic load of kindergarten (!!) (see “Fact Sheet President
Obama’s Universal Preschool Proposal (Feb. 13) sounds great until you look at the details.
To be funded, states have to adhere to learning standards, which include a “rigorous” curriculum, and “effective evaluation,” in order to prepare students for the academic load of kindergarten (!!) (see “Fact Sheet President
Voucher Study: Schools offer little Achievement data, a third don't have specialty art, music or physical ed. teachers.
The numbers of kids in voucher schools is crazy when you consider voucher schools aren't even held to the same strict standards and score never quite match up. But advertising and Republican persistence in pushing privatization, that appeals to empowering parents, has made its mark.
jsonline: Milwaukee's private-school voucher program has swelled to nearly 25,000 students in 113.
The news is never good and we’re always finding out something that should piss taxpayers off:
Schools Results from an annual survey of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program released
School board candidates debate Bloomberg's $1-million donation
A record-setting donation to Los Angeles school board contests quickly became a topic Wednesday night at the first candidate forum after word broke of the $1-million contribution by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s donation is targeted for an independent campaign on behalf of three candidates: L.A. school board president Monica Garcia in District 2, challenger Kate Anderson in District 4, and Antonio Sanchez, who is vying for an open seat in District 6. Wednesday's forum was for candidates in District 2 and took place at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex.
Challenger Isabel Vazquez, an elementary school teacher and a former adult school administrator, teed up the
Broad Run High School twitter-bombs RGIII
Broad Run High School students unleashed a flurry of tweets to Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III on Thursday, sending photos of themselves, their teachers and their cafeteria workers “Griffining” around their Ashburn campus and asking a favor: They want him to speak at their commencement this spring.
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Read full article >>
Catania aims to end ‘social promotion’ in D.C. schools
D.C. Council Member David A. Catania says he plans to introduce legislation to repeal a rule that requires most of the District’s elementary- and middle-school students to be passed along from one grade to the next.
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Read full article >>
Evolution of a lesson
It all started with a Facebook post by a friend of mine:
The Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer has generated nearly 3,000 customer reviews that mock the absurdity of this unnecessary product. Ranging from “What can I say about the 571B Banana Slicer that hasn’t already been said about the wheel, penicillin, or the iPhone,” to “Evil comes in many forms, and sometimes that form is banana-shaped,” one could spend hours reading through these very clever and entertaining reviews. I decided my students would probably enjoy them as well, so I crafted a lesson on satire, with the Hutzler reviews as models.
I gave my students class time to practice writing their own satirical reviews, and then the next day I presented them with our own banana slicer-inspired blog. Embedded in the blog are eleven infomercials for products such as the FlowBee, the Hawaii Chair, and the Fish Pen. We watched all eleven, and then each student drew a product name out of a hat and got to work writing a satirical review worthy of banana-slicer status.
The next day we talked about what blogs are and how they differ from other websites, and we reviewed some
“Check out these customer reviews on Amazon! It’s like a whole new kind of writing!”
The Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer has generated nearly 3,000 customer reviews that mock the absurdity of this unnecessary product. Ranging from “What can I say about the 571B Banana Slicer that hasn’t already been said about the wheel, penicillin, or the iPhone,” to “Evil comes in many forms, and sometimes that form is banana-shaped,” one could spend hours reading through these very clever and entertaining reviews. I decided my students would probably enjoy them as well, so I crafted a lesson on satire, with the Hutzler reviews as models.I gave my students class time to practice writing their own satirical reviews, and then the next day I presented them with our own banana slicer-inspired blog. Embedded in the blog are eleven infomercials for products such as the FlowBee, the Hawaii Chair, and the Fish Pen. We watched all eleven, and then each student drew a product name out of a hat and got to work writing a satirical review worthy of banana-slicer status.
The next day we talked about what blogs are and how they differ from other websites, and we reviewed some
Wanted: A new superhero to feed America
"My superhero is the food angel. She leaves a basket . . . " - Feeding America PSA
Continue Reading at The Daily Riff
Continue Reading at The Daily Riff
Will Obama’s early childhood plan actually work? How?
Questions about how much President Barack Obama’s ambitious early childhood partnership plan will cost and how quality will be maintained emerged immediately on Thursday, soon after Obama delivered long awaited details in Decatur, Ga. “Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,’’ Obama told an enthusiastic crowd, after a visit to an early childhood learning center. “…Let’s make it a national priority to give every child access to a high-quality early education. Let’s give our kids that chance.” The plan calls for a guarantee of preschool for all children at the age of 4 that are at or below 200