Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
The Eduttante’s Balls
Eduttante: /ˌedjuˈtänt/ Noun: A shill or paid spokesperson advocating strict no-excuses charters for the urban communities in which he or she does not live. Related terms: educolonialist, whiteousness.
Today we meet a new character in our fast-paced edu-drama: the eduttante. This individual is among the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the academies of excellence and innovation that are rapidly setting up shop in our urban centers. Among his traits: the eduttante, often paid for his efforts (and rather well at that) is a fierce devotee of ‘no excuses’ charter schools—as long as they are for other peoples children. The eduttante’s own spawn seem to thrive in a somewhat, ahem, less restrictive environment.
But where can we meet this fast-talking, quick-stepping lover of rigor and outstandingness? Reader: I invite you to accompany me on a quick trip to Massachusetts, USA, where the eduttantes are out in force, engaged in the annual ‘Liftin’ O the Cap’ dance. Newly fattened with an infusion of Walmart $$$ (signified with this helpful w, the
Today we meet a new character in our fast-paced edu-drama: the eduttante. This individual is among the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the academies of excellence and innovation that are rapidly setting up shop in our urban centers. Among his traits: the eduttante, often paid for his efforts (and rather well at that) is a fierce devotee of ‘no excuses’ charter schools—as long as they are for other peoples children. The eduttante’s own spawn seem to thrive in a somewhat, ahem, less restrictive environment.But where can we meet this fast-talking, quick-stepping lover of rigor and outstandingness? Reader: I invite you to accompany me on a quick trip to Massachusetts, USA, where the eduttantes are out in force, engaged in the annual ‘Liftin’ O the Cap’ dance. Newly fattened with an infusion of Walmart $$$ (signified with this helpful w, the
Montgomery school officials worry about calls to use standardized tests in teacher evaluation
Brian Donlon took notes in a fat three-ring binder, a veteran teacher critiquing the work of a less experienced peer. He learned the young teacher gets visibly frazzled during instruction and sometimes gives students answers to questions without encouraging them to think on their own.
Read full article >>
Read full article >>
In one Calif. school district, teachers help teachers get better
Anonymous
Stephen Smith/The Hechinger Report Writing coach Jandella Faulkner helps students at Edison Elementary School in Long Beach use "thinking maps" to tell a story.
LONG BEACH – Jandella Faulkner crouches beside a table of busy third-graders in Jennifer Larsen’s class at Edison Elementary School. The students have pencils in hand, outlines spread around them, and a story about penguins and otters in progress.Faulkner stands to call across the room: “Loving how this group is already talking, Ms. Larsen.” Then she
Revised closings plan comes at a cost to District
Florida Atlantic University Sells Stadium Naming Rights to Notorious Prison Company
Here’s a mind-boggling one.
Florida Atlantic University, a 29,000-student public university in Boca Raton, will announce today that it has sold the naming rights to its football stadium to a private prison company that until recently ran a youthful offender facility in Mississippi whose “pervasive level of brazen staff sexual misconduct” was called “among the worst in the nation” by a 2012 Department of Justice investigation.
The Justice Department report on the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility found not only that Walnut Grove management was “deliberately indifferent to staff sexual misconduct,” but also that the facility “often use[d] excessive force as a first response” to disciplinary issues, tolerated active gang membership by facility employees, failed to protect inmates against physical and sexual assault by peers, and was “deliberately indifferent to the suicide risks and serious mental health needs of its youth.”
Walnut Grove was operated at the time by GEO Group, a global private prison operator. Later that year, after a
Florida Atlantic University, a 29,000-student public university in Boca Raton, will announce today that it has sold the naming rights to its football stadium to a private prison company that until recently ran a youthful offender facility in Mississippi whose “pervasive level of brazen staff sexual misconduct” was called “among the worst in the nation” by a 2012 Department of Justice investigation.
The Justice Department report on the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility found not only that Walnut Grove management was “deliberately indifferent to staff sexual misconduct,” but also that the facility “often use[d] excessive force as a first response” to disciplinary issues, tolerated active gang membership by facility employees, failed to protect inmates against physical and sexual assault by peers, and was “deliberately indifferent to the suicide risks and serious mental health needs of its youth.”
Walnut Grove was operated at the time by GEO Group, a global private prison operator. Later that year, after a
Bruno: Does Education Major GPA Matter?
As he points out, education majors tend to have higher-than-average GPAs but only average GPAs in their STEM courses. This does probably indicate that education courses are easier than STEM courses at most colleges.
Does this mean our teachers are embarrassingly weak academically? Probably not.
First, it always helps to distinguish elementary and secondary teachers. Education majors that go into teaching are overwhelmingly taking elementary-level jobs; secondary
Two Sides: Common Core Standards
This is the Choice Media Ed Reform Minute for Tuesday, February 19th.
Advocates for educational accountability and educational choice usually find themselves on the same side of the argument when it comes to reforming k to 12 instructing in the U.S.
Not so when it comes to the Common Core State Standards.
Forty-six states have adopted the standards in English-Language Arts and 45 in math.
Yet a continued guerrilla movement of activists and academics in opposition to the Common Core continues to sound alarm about them in state capitals across the country.
Those opposed to the standards worry that the national standards are actually weaker than many of the state
Early Childhood Development Is Key to Economic Development
In last week's State of the Union address, the President claimed that "the size of your paycheck shouldn't determine your child’s future," affirming the iron-clad link between early childhood development and economic development.
The economic future of every country rests with its greatest resource—the skills of its people. Today, we know that skills development starts at birth and lays the foundation for achievement in school, college, career and lif
Green Ninja: A Smokey the Bear for Climate Change
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your own superhero to reduce the global carbon footprint? Enter the Green Ninja, a climate action superhero who fights global warming through education and social change.
We all know the importance of reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases to help stabilize our climate system. In 2012, the U.S. experienced a number of significant weather and climate events including the warmest year o
School Board Report – Feb. 6, 2013
School Board Report – Feb. 6, 2013
February 19, 2013 — pwceducationreform
School Board Report for February 6, 2013.
The meeting began at 7:15 pm. All members were present.
Consent Agenda
There were a number of items on the consent agenda. One item, the sale of the VPSA bonds, was moved to the regular agenda prior to the meeting. The items on the consent agenda, which are listed below, were approved unanimously.
- Adoption of the Consent Agenda
- Newspaper in Education Week
- School Board Clerk Appreciation Week
- Licensed Practical Nursing Budget
- National Women’s History Month
- 2013 Summer School Program
- MOU between Shenandoah University and PWCS
- Contract Award – Construction of Haymarket Drive Elementary School
- Land Acquisition for Construction of Kilby Elementary School Replacement
- School Board Review and Approval of December 2012 Payroll
- Confirmation of Board Poll on Resolution Supporting Teacher Continuing Contracts
- Approval of School Board Minutes for January 16 2013 Meeting
- Approval of Disciplinary Hearing Minutes
Citizen Comments
Five Citizens addressed the school board.
Segregation is Manmade and It Can Be Unmade
Since Wall Street's grand theft of 40 percent of the nation's wealth in 2008, the federal government has passed out billions in grants to states and cities for various projects, many of them even worthy of our tax dollars. This process provided many great opportunities to incentivize policies that could alter what has become the intensification of housing and school segregation over the past 35 years. And yet there were no incentives offered, particularly in the guidance or bonus points or stipulations in Race to the Top. Instead, incentives were provided for more intensely segregated charter schools run by corporations. This madness doesn't have to continue this way.
We could do something different if the plutocrats' corporate drones could be run out of Washington.
From Nation of Change:
We could do something different if the plutocrats' corporate drones could be run out of Washington.
From Nation of Change:
. . . .Our contemporary income segregation becomes even more intense when we drill down from the metro to neighborhood level. Sociologists Sean Reardon and Kendra Bischoff have
Deep Throat & Deep Pockets Made Deeper
I discovered this article the other day and found that if it is true, it completely substantiates my suspicions. I have posted the abstract of the article here.
For the complete article go to:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/15/1187346/-So-why-do-hedge-funds-so-favor-charter-schools
Another former public education official working for Murdoch
Cozy. Justin Hamilton, who recently left the U.S. Department of Education, where he served as press secretary for Secretary Arne Duncan, has gone to work for Amplify, the online education company owned by Rupert Murdoch and run by Joel Klein. … Continue reading →
Why is Obama calling for a ‘rigorous curriculum’ for 3-year-olds?
Given that research clearly shows big benefits of quality early childhood education, President Obama’s new proposal to greatly expand these programs seems like a no-brainer. In fact, the first question to ask might be this: Why didn’t he do this … Continue reading →
Modifying Media Content for Preschool Children: Sesame Street and Dora
Full text
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have revealed that preschool-aged children imitate both aggression and prosocial behaviors on screen, there have been few population-based studies designed to reduce aggression in preschool-aged children by modifying what they watch.
METHODS: We devised a media diet intervention wherein parents were assisted in substituting high quality
Simple interventions bridge the achievement gap between Latino and white students
The achievement gap in academic performance between academically at-risk minorities and white students has concerned educators for decades now. It's a troubling fact that Latino Americans and African Americans, for example, earn lower grades on average than their white peers and are much more likely to drop out of high school.
Intercepted cryptic secret message to reformers
Though there was a recent article by Mike Petrilli about how people on Twitter generally only ‘follow’ people who they agree with, I try to follow a few ‘reformers’ to stay on top of what is going on. So I follow Michelle Rhee, StudentsFirst, John White, and others. I’ve only been blocked one, to my knowledge by a low ranking TFA recruiter. One person I follow is Chris Barbic, superintendent of the Achievement School District (ASD) in Tennessee. I was once pretty good friends with Chris and even wrote him one of my open letters.
The ‘reformers’ generally communicate with each other via e-mail, but I suppose there are times where the message needs to get out quickly and in that case they use a public forum to send a secret message on Twitter.
I intercepted one such message, which promptly disappeared. Fortunately I saved it and am working through various encryption patterns to try to decipher this.
The ‘reformers’ generally communicate with each other via e-mail, but I suppose there are times where the message needs to get out quickly and in that case they use a public forum to send a secret message on Twitter.
I intercepted one such message, which promptly disappeared. Fortunately I saved it and am working through various encryption patterns to try to decipher this.
Morning Read: Union Head & NYC Mayor Battle Over LAUSD
Union Fights Mayor Bloomberg in LA
Mayor Bloomberg and teachers union boss Randi Weingarten are going head-to-head again — this time in a high-stakes, bitter national fight over school reform in Los Angeles. NY Post
The Mayoral Endorsement That Isn’t
Los Angeles Unified School District board member Tamar Galatzan has spent the last few weeks taping informal interviews with Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, Kevin James, Jan Perry and Emanuel Pleitez, getting their views on public education and what their role would be as mayor. LA Daily News Column
Teachers Training Teachers: It Works in California School District
Jandella Faulkner is a teaching coach in the Long Beach, Calif., school district. Her job is to train a select group
Mayor Bloomberg and teachers union boss Randi Weingarten are going head-to-head again — this time in a high-stakes, bitter national fight over school reform in Los Angeles. NY Post
The Mayoral Endorsement That Isn’t
Los Angeles Unified School District board member Tamar Galatzan has spent the last few weeks taping informal interviews with Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, Kevin James, Jan Perry and Emanuel Pleitez, getting their views on public education and what their role would be as mayor. LA Daily News Column
Teachers Training Teachers: It Works in California School District
Jandella Faulkner is a teaching coach in the Long Beach, Calif., school district. Her job is to train a select group
Re:education in Baltimore: Baltimore Brew Edition
Have you ever witnessed an exchange that you couldn’t get out of your head for days? Like seeing a total stranger quit her job on the spot, or watching a fight go down in the street? That’s what the last meeting of the Hampden Community Council was for me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And talking about it. So I sat down (during the Super Bowl, with the radio on in the background) to write about it. Thanks to Fern Shen and Mark Reutter at the Baltimore Brew, I got to share my writing with some of the most thoughtful and engaged readers in town.Here it is, my Brew debut.