BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS
Senate President Williams, Speaker of the House Sharkey; Commissioner Pryor is mocking you and the Legislature - Wait, What?
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 25 minutes ago
Senate President Williams, Speaker of the House Sharkey; Commissioner Pryor is mocking you and the Legislature - Wait, What?: Senate President Williams, Speaker of the House Sharkey; Commissioner Pryor is mocking you and the Legislature by jonpelto Last week the Bridgeport Board of Education voted 5 to 4 to illegally appoint Paul Vallas as Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools effective March 4, 2013. However, as you will recall, during the “education reform” debate, Commissioner Pryor provided the General Assembly with draft language that you adopted and was signed into law tha... more »
A Realistic Approach to Better Testing - Bridging Differences - Education Week
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 28 minutes ago
A Realistic Approach to Better Testing - Bridging Differences - Education Week: A Realistic Approach to Better Testing by Deborah Meier *Eric Hanushek continues his discussion with Deborah Meier on Bridging Differences today.* Dear Deborah, Whenever there is any discussion of accountability, there is always an overhang of issues of testing and the use of tests. Testing clearly falls into the knee-jerk reaction zone, but I'm hoping not to inspire such reactions. Instead I want to lay out a simple idea of how to deal with a number of the current problems and objections in order to se... more »
Fraud. | Fred Klonsky
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 36 minutes ago
Fraud. | Fred Klonsky: Fraud. by Fred Klonsky I’m no expert on high finance. So I don’t understand how the Securities and Exchange Commission works. When I read the news yesterday that the SEC had found that the state of Illinois was guilty of fraud I didn’t quite know how to react. The SEC concluded two things. They found that the state had not met its obligation to adequately fund the state’s public employee pension systems. They found that the state had hidden that fact from investors who bought state bonds. I didn’t know about the lies to investors. But we have been talking
Schools Matter: Learning about Hippies in Louisiana's Voucher Schools
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 46 minutes ago
Schools Matter: Learning about Hippies in Louisiana's Voucher Schools: Learning about Hippies in Louisiana's Voucher Schools by Jim Horn *Beka Books is owned by Arlin and Beka Horton, who both graduated from Bob Jones "University" in 1951. The company, which now has an extensive product line of semi-literate ultra-fundamentalist teaching materials, made headlines a couple of years ago by changing the Christian unfriendly "Slave Trade" to the "Atlantic Triangular Trade." How offensive an unwholesome to talk about slavery in a Christian environment. From Political Research Asso... more »
The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts | Truth in American Education
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago
The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts | Truth in American Education: The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts by Joy Pullman The U.S. Department of Education is investigating how public schools can collect information on “non-cognitive” student attributes, after granting itself the power to share student data across agencies without parents’ knowledge. The feds want to use schools to catalogue “attributes, dispositions, social skills, attitudes, and intrapersonal resources, independent of intellectual ability,” according to a February DOE report, a... more »
Savings from STAR suspension would net about $15 million SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 53 minutes ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: Savings from STAR suspension would net about $15 million *By Tom Chorneau* Tuesday, March 12, 2013 A plan to suspend some statewide testing in advance of transition to new assessments based on the common core standards would save the state about $15 million, according to an estimate released Monday by the California Department of Education. State schools chief Tom Torlakson has recommended that California move quickly to begin testing students based on new common core curriculum standards by the spring of 2015. As part of that goal, Torlakson... more »
Pass / Fail : Despite increase in funding, school districts still sending layoff notices to teachers | 89.3 KPCC
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 54 minutes ago
Pass / Fail : Despite increase in funding, school districts still sending layoff notices to teachers | 89.3 KPCC: Despite increase in funding, school districts still sending layoff notices to teachers by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez *Teachers, parents and supporters rallied last year to protest budget cuts and layoffs. Credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP* [image: Teachers Protest]Year after year, March 15th has been a date of dread for California public school teachers. The date, which falls on a Friday this year, is the preliminary deadline for school districts to send out "Reduction In Force" no... more »
Shanker Blog » A Controversial Consensus On KIPP Charter Schools
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 58 minutes ago
Shanker Blog » A Controversial Consensus On KIPP Charter Schools: A Controversial Consensus On KIPP Charter Schools by Matthew Di Carlo A recent Mathematica report on the performance of KIPP charter schools expands and elaborates on their prioranalyses of these schools’ (estimated) effects on average test scores and other outcomes (also here). These findings are important and interesting, and were covered extensively elsewhere. As is usually the case with KIPP, the results stirred the full spectrum of reactions. To over-generalize a bit, critics sometimes seem unwilling to acknow... more »
UPDATE: Department Of Defense Schools Await Furlough News + Military Schools Grapple With Budget Cuts Confusion, Instability
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Military Schools Grapple With Budget Cuts Confusion, Instability: Department Of Defense Schools Await Furlough News; More Early Education Details From Obama Administration: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *More Early Ed Details?* Yesterday, President Barack Obama's education advisor Roberto Rodriguez addressed the Council of the Great City Schools legislative conference, and gave folks a few more details about Obama's early ed plans, according to Education Week. The program is apparently a full-day preschool program that is to be overseen by school districts, he said. "We want to go bey... more »
Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members | Hechinger Report
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members | Hechinger Report: Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members by Sarah Butrymowicz [image: Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members] At a synagogue in Surfside, Fla., last month, about 40 former teachers gathered for cupcakes, cheesecake and a PowerPoint presentation by a pair of union representatives from New York. The teachers were members of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) retiree chapter, and the representatives had been sent by the UFT and New York State United Teac... more »
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Will College Adjuncts Qualify for Food Stamps? by dianerav I recently posted a news story from Grand Rapids, about teachers who say their pay qualifies them for food stamps. Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune writes that college adjuncts are not likely to qualify for health care. At their current low wages, they already qualify for food stamps. The New York Times wrote recently that the college degree is akin to a high school degree. Just to get a job as What ... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: Professor of Education Policy and Research Written Testimony Supporting the End of Common Core Standards Implementation
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Professor of Education Policy and Research Written Testimony Supporting the End of Common Core Standards Implementation: Professor of Education Policy and Research Written Testimony Supporting the End of Common Core Standards Implementation by stlgretchen The following written testimony by Mark Garrison, Ph.D. was entered to support MO SB 210 and HB 616and end the implementation of Common Core State Standards: *EXPERT TESTIMONY OF MARK GARRISON, PH.D., IN OPPOSITION TO THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS INITIATIVE (CCSSI).* March 3, 2013 Based on my ... more »
Louisiana Educator: Teachers Show They Can Speak Truth to Power
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Teachers Show They Can Speak Truth to Power: Teachers Show They Can Speak Truth to Power by Michael Deshotels *Please click on this link to read the letter from Abby Breaux that was printed in the Washington Post over the weekend. It is getting rave reviews from educators all over the country. Take a look at the many comments from teachers in other parts of the country that are facing the same impossible challenges as Ms Breaux that are being ignored by our "reformer" power structure. People like Jindal and White have no idea what teachers go through, yet the... more »
So, is Direct and Purposeful Teaching Anti-Constructivist? – @ the chalk face
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
So, is Direct and Purposeful Teaching Anti-Constructivist? – @ the chalk face: So, is Direct and Purposeful Teaching Anti-Constructivist? by Kuhio Kane [image: @TCF on Blog Talk Radio] “When it is agreed that all students must know the same things at the same times in order to move on to the next thing that all students must know at the same time, you have killed constructivism. And, as Sir Ken Robinson has virally said, you’ve also killed creativity.” (Quote from Sir Ken Robinson as displayed in Kris Nielsen’s recent blog regarding constructivism and teaching). Clearly, student... more »
UPDATE: Prejudice Daily Kos: What we need to remember about our students
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Daily Kos: What we need to remember about our students: Prejudice by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) I cannot claim I am or ever have been completely free of prejudice, but perhaps I am lucky in the family I lived in and in how I have lived my life. I just read The Price of Hate: $85 + ? (which if you have not read I strongly recommend that you do) and it got me thinking. When I was growing up in Larchmont New York it was a period of time where gifted women like my mother rarely worked - when she went back to work as a lawyer when I was around 8 or 9, and then became an Assistant Atto... more »
Parent Trigger Would Only Apply to “Small, Narrow Universe” of Schools | Scathing Purple Musings
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Parent Trigger Would Only Apply to “Small, Narrow Universe” of Schools | Scathing Purple Musings: Parent Trigger Would Only Apply to “Small, Narrow Universe” of Schools by Bob Sikes *Orlando Sentinel *education reporter Leslie Postal doesn’t attribute the quote in the title to this blog post to anyone, but it was a point of emphasis that the two top advocates for HB 867 were making at the March 7th hearing. The bills would give parents a say in the “turnaround” option selected for an F-graded school (there were 34 last year, including Wheatley Elementary in Apopka). The options ... more »
The Disempowerment Of Public School Parents - Jeff Bryant
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
The Disempowerment Of Public School Parents - Jeff Bryant: The Disempowerment Of Public School Parents by Jeff Bryant *This post is republished from the Education Opportunity Network, a new online publication edited by Jeff Bryant.* For years, policy initiatives stemming from right wing belief tanks have been wrapped in the rhetoric of positive outcomes that are, in fact, the complete opposite of what the measures are really intended to do. A bill called Clear Skies that called for more pollution. Another called Healthy Forestsincentivized cutting down valuable trees. No Child Left ... more »
Anybody out there want to rethink middle schools? | Get Schooled
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Anybody out there want to rethink middle schools? | Get Schooled: Anybody out there want to rethink middle schools? by Maureen Downey [image: grabarart0920]Regular Get Schooled readers know that I have *doubts about the efficacy of the middle school model*. Despite decades of experimentation and refinement, middle school still doesn’t work in most places, leading me to conclude that the problem is not with the execution of the concept but with the concept itself. In 2011, *a Harvard study* found that students moving from fifth grade to a middle school setting suffer a sharp drop in a... more »
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charters grease corporate contracts
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charters grease corporate contracts: Charters grease corporate contracts by Mike Klonsky Rupert Murdoch (AP photo)Writing in Salon.com, David Sirota warns us to stop pretending wealthy CEOs pushing for charter schools are altruistic "reformers." They're raking in billions. * Citing a fact sheet from the for-profit education industry itself, the Washington Post recently reported that “the education sector now represents nearly 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product” while the “for-profit education is valued at $1.3 trillion, and is one ... more »
AFT’s Weingarten on why she got arrested, ‘the gall’ of reformers, etc.
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
AFT’s Weingarten on why she got arrested, ‘the gall’ of reformers, etc.: AFT’s Weingarten on why she got arrested, ‘the gall’ of reformers, etc. Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 12, 2013 at 5:00 am 1 Comments More [image: Weingarten being led away by police. (By Bill Hangley Jr.)] Weingarten being led away by police in Philadelphia (By Bill Hangley Jr.) American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was arrested last week in Philadelphia while protesting a hearing of the School Reform Commission that voted to close 23 public schools. Here’s a Q & A with her about why s... more »
A Veteran’s View of Choices Facing Teachers in Implementing Common Core Standards (David B. Cohen) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
A Veteran’s View of Choices Facing Teachers in Implementing Common Core Standards (David B. Cohen) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: A Veteran’s View of Choices Facing Teachers in Implementing Common Core Standards (David B. Cohen) by larrycuban *David Cohen has been teaching since 1993. He completed a B.A. in English at U.C. Berkeley (’91) with Phi Beta Kappa honors, and earned a Master’s degree in Education through the Stanford Teacher Education Program (’95). After achieving National Board Certification in 2004, David served for two years as a support pr... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Black, Latino legislators step up to the plate
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Black, Latino legislators step up to the plate: Black, Latino legislators step up to the plate by Mike Klonsky Tribune photoLeaders of the Illinois Legislature’s black and Latino caucuses on Monday accused CPS of preparing to close schools without having a comprehensive plan in place and called for a moratorium on closings for the 2013-2014 school year. They were joined by several member of the City Council's Progressive Caucus *“We’re not gonna sit back and say, ‘OK, Mayor Rahm Emanuel do what you want to do, how you want to do it, when you want to ... more »
NYC Educator: Sweet Sixteen
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
NYC Educator: Sweet Sixteen: Sweet Sixteen by NYC Educator As of today, our esteemed Mayor4Life was to finally get his wish--soft drinks over 16 ounces would be banned in much of the city. Alas, a state court has declared the law arbitrary and capricious (ironically, the very same standard he wanted to use to fire teachers). Mike Bloomberg had determined that 17 ounces is just too much, and since he's the richest guy in the city, the man who'd bought Gracie Mansion fair and square (except for that third term), he figured he had the right to tell you just how much Sprite you can ha... more »
Daily Kos: Back to work!
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Daily Kos: Back to work!: Back to work! by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) At least part time. This afternoon/evening Leaves on the Current went into her office for a half-day, that is, five hours - she normally work 4 10 hour days/week, three in the office and one telecommuting. While she had been in her office for a meeting more than a week ago, and had telecommuted once, this was both her longest time working and her longest time on her own without me. A positive sign, with the hope that within two weeks perhaps she will be back to full-time work. This past week has been diffic... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CTU says, it's time to fight back...
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CTU says, it's time to fight back...: CTU says, it's time to fight back... by Mike Klonsky [image: An important message from the Chicago Teachers Union:] *The Board of Education insists the only way to fix schools is to close them. * We disagree. The Board won't listen to reason. It is time to organize and fight back together. Join the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) for a non-violent civil disobedience training session. *Choose one session:* *Westside: Thursday, March 14th at 6:30 PM St. Agatha's Church, 3151 W. Douglas Blvd. Southside: Satu... more »
Beware the Reform-y Types in Constructivist’s Clothing – @ the chalk face
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Beware the Reform-y Types in Constructivist’s Clothing – @ the chalk face: Beware the Reform-y Types in Constructivist’s Clothing by Kris Nielsen There’s been a great way to teach out there in school-o-sphere for quite some time, which we know leads to authentic learning and happy kids. It’s not lecture. It’s not worksheets. It’s not even “hands-on.” (“Hands-on” doesn’t always mean that kids are learning or even engaged.) Put that away and get back to hands-on learning! [image: Put that away and get back to our hands-on learning!]It’s called constructivism, and it is totally aweso... more »
If You Smell What I’m Cooking, Read This. [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
If You Smell What I’m Cooking, Read This. [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson: If You Smell What I’m Cooking, Read This. [Future of Teaching] by Jose Vilson Clearly, we need to define what “teacher” means a little more, and “educator,” for that matter. We also need to understand what that means for teacher voice. I spark a discussion here: The term “celebrity teacher” is such a difficult one too, because it presumes that the spotlight should focus strictly on the teacher and not on the ways in which that teacher helps students. The profession doesn’t lend itself to alpha dog... more »
Group Calls for Radical Changes to Standardized Tests - Higher Education
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
Group Calls for Radical Changes to Standardized Tests - Higher Education: Group Calls for Radical Changes to Standardized Tests from Diverse by cmaadmin *Washington* – Educational assessments should be revamped to help educators improve teaching and learning instead of being narrowly used—and in some cases misused—for purposes of accountability. That is one of the key ideas that an independent commission proffered Monday as the commission released a new report on what its members envision as a radically transformed “assessment enterprise.” “We certainly recognize and endorse the us...more »
Pass / Fail : LAUSD Budget forecast is getting brighter | 89.3 KPCC
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
Pass / Fail : LAUSD Budget forecast is getting brighter | 89.3 KPCC LAUSD Budget forecast is getting brighter by Vanessa Romo *Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images* [image: Mercer 3287]LA Unified’s Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee is convening Tuesday morning. The proposedagenda shows financial improvement at the district after five years of devastating cuts -- due to a boost from Prop. 30 funds. According to the district, the Governor’s proposed budget would provide $1.6 billion to begin implementation of a new funding model that benefits district with large numbers of poor an... more »
That “Girls” Rape Scene |
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
That “Girls” Rape Scene |: That “Girls” Rape Scene by Angus Johnston Last night on Girls there was a scene in which Hannah’s ex-boyfriend Adam sexually abuses his new girlfriend Nat. The scene was clearly written and directed in such a way as to create ambiguity as to whether what Adam — a generally sympathetic, if deeply creepy, character — did was actually rape. Amanda Hess has a particularly good rundown, in which she describes the scene as illustrating “what happens when a person you want to have sex with ‘has sex with you’ in a way that you do not want them to.” But such ... more »
Response: Teachers & Superintendents Must "Work To Understand Each Other" - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
Response: Teachers & Superintendents Must "Work To Understand Each Other" - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher: Response: Teachers & Superintendents Must "Work To Understand Each Other" By Larry Ferlazzo on March 11, 2013 10:35 PM (This is Part Two of a two-part series. You can see Part One here) Last week's question was: *How can teachers best relate to Superintendents -- and vice versa?* A few days ago, we heard responses from a teacher perspective: Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers; Dean Vogel, President of the California T... more »
Is reading at risk? -
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Is reading at risk? - California Teachers Association: Is reading at risk? By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin [image: image] Emily Hager, Mia Gonzales, Najeeb Darwish Growing up, Michelle Albaugh spent lazy afternoons on her couch, nose buried in a book. But that’s not the case with many of her students today. “Teens don’t do that much anymore,” says the Sowers Middle School teacher. “Not long ago, kids could read The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and now they struggle with it. Some can’t read anything of great length and struggle to read a 10-page short story. Students toil reading a... more »
NYC Public School Parents: Glass Size Matters
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: Glass Size Matters: Glass Size Matters by Gary Babad *March 11, 2013 (GBN News):* Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a plan to deal with those unused supersize drink containers that city eateries can no longer sell because of his ban on oversized drinks. He’s going to turn them into classrooms. Ever the environmentalist, the Mayor told reporters today that the Sanitation Department will immediately begin collecting the containers and turning them over to the NYC School Construction Authority. The SCA will in turn recycle them into prefabricated classrooms, to ... more »
Ed Notes Online: Storm of Reform: Carol Burris on Common Core
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: Storm of Reform: Carol Burris on Common Core: Storm of Reform: Carol Burris on Common Core by ed notes online With every passing day education giants like Carol Burris expose the Common Core. Wouldst our own quasi union leaders do the same. Someone (preferably some honest person in Unity Caucus) must ask a fundamental question: WHAT IS STOPPING THEM? Instead Leo Casey attacked Burris for defending teachers from the evils of a junk science evaluation system. The Burris piece is a follow-up to my earlier post: Randi on Board of inBloom: AFT dues-paying members, ho... more »
Diane in the Evening 3-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Anthony Cody and I Talk About the Network @TheChalkface by dianerav Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson are fearless education activists who operate on many fronts to support public education. They write, they blog, they make videos, they spoof the loony ideas called “reform.” On March 11, Anthony Cody and I were interviewed @TheChalkface about the new Network for Public Education. We described how we hope to provide a means for grassroots groups to get connected to one another; to supply them with information and res... more »
Meanwhile, back in Hartford – The State of Connecticut to save $200 million by spending $120 million - Wait, What?
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Meanwhile, back in Hartford – The State of Connecticut to save $200 million by spending $120 million - Wait, What?: Meanwhile, back in Hartford – The State of Connecticut to save $200 million by spending $120 million by jonpelto Or, as the Hartford Courant’s real estate reporter explained in a paragraph that I’m still trying to interpret, “The state expects to save $200 million, adjusted for inflation, over the next 20 years. The savings is roughly $100 million in today’s dollars.” But that statement aside, here are the facts; On Thursday the State Bond Commission will meet to auth... more »
Jersey Jazzman: So THAT'S What A Real Confirmation Hearing Looks Like!
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: So THAT'S What A Real Confirmation Hearing Looks Like!: So THAT'S What A Real Confirmation Hearing Looks Like! by Duke *Accountability begins at home.* Here in New Jersey, we had a perfunctory confirmation hearing for Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. In fairness, there were some pointed questions from the great State Senator Loretta Weinberg, and some good questions from Senator Nellie Pou. But too much of the hearing was spent on questions about Cerf's residency or softball questions about school funding. We never got to Cerf's background, his... *interesting* e... more »
California Joins P21 Network - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
California Joins P21 Network - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces California Joins National Partnership to Teach Students 21st Century Skills *Effort to Help California Prepare Students to Meet Common Core Standards and Career Readiness Standards* SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that the California Department of Education has joined the national Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) [image: External link opens in new window or tab.] network of 18 states, designed to teach every student... more »
Anti-gay parenting study a false manipulation from the start | Pam's House Blend
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Anti-gay parenting study a false manipulation from the start | Pam's House Blend: Anti-gay Parenting Study: A False Manipulation From The Start by Alvin McEwen According to the *American Independent*, via *The Huffington Post*, the Regnerus study – which cause a huge controversy because it said that children raised by same-sex families encounter problems – was created specifically to sway Supreme Court decisions on marriage equality. And the funders of the study knew what the study would “prove” before the work on it began: The conservative funders who bankrolled a flawed and wid... more »
Getting rich off of schoolchildren - Salon.com
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Getting rich off of schoolchildren - Salon.com: Getting rich off of schoolchildrenStop pretending wealthy CEOs pushing for charter schools are altruistic "reformers." They're raking in billionsBY DAVID SIROTA - - 1K - 178 - 10 - - - - - more - - - - TOPICS: EDUCATION, SCHOOLS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, TECHNOLOGY, CEOS, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG,TEACHERS, RUPERT MURDOCH, TECHNOLOGY NEWS, BUSINESS NEWS, POLITICS NEWS [image: Getting rich off of schoolchildren] News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch (AP Photo/Cliff... more »
Schools Matter: Corporate Shill, John Legend
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Schools Matter: Corporate Shill, John Legend: Corporate Shill, John Legend by Jim Horn From the Daily Trojan: Program Board and EdMonth kicked off its second-annual monthlong initiative on the state of education Monday at Bovard Auditorium with a panel discussion on igniting the next generation of leaders. EdMonth aims to bring awareness of the education inequality to students both at USC and at other universities. Opening remarks were presented by David Dwyer, founder of USC Hybrid High School, who highlighted the university’s innovative approaches to education with the ne... more »
Reinventing schools as community institutions | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Reinventing schools as community institutions | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Reinventing schools as community institutionsby thenotebook on Mar 11 2013 Posted in Commentary ="" style="color: rgb(76, 153, 72); cursor: pointer; float: left; padding: 0px 2px;">Share on email COMMENTS (0)PRINT *by Solomon Jones* * * * * * * The sight of children lamenting the School Reform Commission’s decision to close 23 schools was heart-wrenching. And while I feel for those students, I’m convinced that the decision to close some of Philadelphia’s schools is the right one, because a school d... more »
Our Story. Our Time. Our Future. — Whole Child Education
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Our Story. Our Time. Our Future. — Whole Child Education: HOME > THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Our Story. Our Time. Our Future. March 11, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers [image: ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show] ASCD's 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show kicks off this weekend, March 16–18, at McCormick place in Chicago, Ill., and features more than 400 sessions on some of the most important topics in education. Built on the theme “Learning: Our Story. Our Time. Our Future.," the conference will inform, engage, help, and challenge educators from ...more »
Sam Chaltain: Your Education Stories (for a Price)
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Sam Chaltain: Your Education Stories (for a Price): Your Education Stories (for a Price) It's suddenly in vogue to gather and tell stories as part of an organization's larger strategy to build an audience and effect change. On one level, I love this development -- indeed, I've been gathering people's stories about their most powerful learning experiences for years, which has resulted in a website, a radio story series, and even a book(proceeds of which do not go to me, by the way). I've done this because I believe that before we can solve the riddle of how to provide every child ... more »
Bill Gates Has a Solution for Higher Education: Yoda | Inside Higher Ed
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Bill Gates Has a Solution for Higher Education: Yoda | Inside Higher Ed: Bill Gates Has a Solution for Higher Education: Yoda by John Warner Blog: Just Visiting Bill Gates has diagnosed what ails higher education, and the cure is all about technology, and also Yoda. Speaking at the SXSW technology conference, as reported by CNN Money, “Gates’ main theme was personalized learning, which can be enhanced by new technology.” And Yoda. Again according to *CNN Money,* Gates maintains that, “Yoda was a great teacher because the Jedi master understood when Skywalker is losing interest.” ... more »
Introducing Student Voice Live! Keynote Speaker: Jamira Burley Student Voice
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Student Voice: Introducing Student Voice Live! Keynote Speaker: Jamira Burley by admin Popout Jamira Burley, 23, is the first of sixteen children to graduate high school and recently college. Drive, perseverance, and passion, are just a few characteristics that this Philadelphia native is built with. Recent graduate of Temple University, with dual degrees in International Business and Legal Studies. Currently, Jamira is the Executive Director for the City of Philadelphia Youth Commission. Previously, Jamira worked as the Student Leadership Coordinator for the School District of ... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week: Seattle Schools This Week by Melissa Westbrook *Monday, March 11th* *Curriculum&Instruction Committee meeting*, 4-5:30 p.m. Agenda Hey, they're going to discuss Advanced Learning; I'm calling this one a "must attend." Also, they will be discussing a math adoption timeline. I appreciate an agenda that doesn't look like overreach on the part of how much a committee can get done and discussed in the time available. *Tuesday, March 12* *Special Education Advocacy&Advisory Council* Meeting from 6:30-9:00 p.m. *Wednesday, M... more »
How 2 Talk 2 Ur Kids About Testing | EduShyster
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
How 2 Talk 2 Ur Kids About Testing | EduShyster: How 2 Talk 2 Ur Kids About Testing by edushyster2012 That smell in the air can only mean one thing: it’s pre-testing time, which means that the real deal, high-stakes testing season, is just around the corner. But how should parents explain to their kids that these tests are really important, and also that the tests are hard because life is hard and if you think that filling in bubbles with a #2 pencil is hard, just wait until you get your first 21st century job with your new skillz. Fortunately you and your young test taker are not ... more »
The Harvard ‘plumbers’
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
The Harvard ‘plumbers’: The Harvard ‘plumbers’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 11, 2013 at 12:24 pm [image: leak]We at the Washington Post are all too familiar with important people who feel the need to find and close leaks to the media. We knew back in the 1970s when Richard Nixon’s ‘plumbers’ secretly tried to find who leaked classified information and then decided to expand their activities to include breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building. A big scandal followed. *B*ut one of the last places we expected officials to be secretly s... more »
State looking to terminate decades-long agreement with GED test vendorSI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *State looking to terminate decades-long agreement with GED test vendor* *By Tom Chorneau* Monday, March 11, 2013 For the first time in 40 years, students taking the general educational development test as a pathway out of high school are likely to have a new exam administrator by 2014. As a result of a corporate shuffle, the American Council on Education – which has owned the general education assessment used in California since 1974 – has assigned the testing services to a new firm operated in partnership with Pearson PLC – the London base... more »
Bank Street to Host Diane Ravitch at Sold-Out Education Reform Event
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Bank Street to Host Diane Ravitch at Sold-Out Education Reform Event: Bank Street to Host Diane Ravitch at Sold-Out Education Reform EventSpecial guest speaker Diane Ravitch will headline the sold-out “What NYC’s Next Mayor Needs to Know About the Education Reform Movement,” hosted by Bank Street College of Education. - [image: Share on Twitter][image: Share on Facebook][image: Share on Google+][image: Share on LinkedIn][image: Email a friend] [image: Diane Ravitch] Diane Ravitch headlines Bank Street's March 28 event on education reform. While once I had been hopeful, even e... more »
Student protests against standardized tests spreading
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Student protests against standardized tests spreading: Student protests against standardized tests spreading Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 11, 2013 at 10:58 am [image: test1]Colorado students are planning to walk out of the state’s mandatory assessment this week and protest at the state Capitol, the latest in growing student pushback against high-stakes tests around the country. In Providence, R.I., students recently dressed up as zombies and marched at the State House; in Oregon, students are organizing an opt-out campaign to persuade other students not to take state standardi...more »
UPDATE: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report Released Today — Whole Child Education
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report Released Today — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers] Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report Released Today March 8, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers In an effort to increase physical activity levels of all American youth, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today released the report, *Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth* (PDF), as a five-year follow-up to the *2008 Phys... more »
UPDTE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, March 11, 2013
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Adult education's fate in limbo in California* Education Headlines *Monday, March 11, 2013* School merger talks onA group of Tuolumne County voters plans to collect thousands of signatures and put the question of school district unification on the 2014 ballot, with the goal of creating a “Tuolumne County Unified School District.” Monterey County school districts plunge into Common Core testing challengeA select group of seventh-graders from Carmel Middle School recently took part in a test trial to help debug exams to be use... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: Fuzzy Math Coming Home to Roost in Common Core State (sic) Standards?
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Fuzzy Math Coming Home to Roost in Common Core State (sic) Standards?: Fuzzy Math Coming Home to Roost in Common Core State (sic) Standards? by stlgretchen In a recent email, *GovExec.com Today: Pay freeze limbo;** fuzzy math on BRAC savings,* fromgovexec.com: The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission may have achieved recurring annual savings, but flawed cost estimates produced a doubling of anticipated expenses, the Government Accountability Office reported on Thursday. *Auditors also recommended improved methodology for predicting new cost...more »
Dixon teachers’ strike. Testing the waters. | Fred Klonsky
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Dixon teachers’ strike. Testing the waters. | Fred Klonsky: Dixon teachers’ strike. Testing the waters. by Fred Klonsky Popout*Bonnie Driver, Dixon Education Association.* If you are sitting and reading this post out of the state of Illinois you may only be vaguely aware of Dixon. It is the childhood home of Ronald Reagan. But don’t blame his teachers for that. It’s out I-88, past DeKalb. An hour or so before you get to Iowa. The teachers union, an IEA affiliate, has been on strike for the past seven days. On average there are about three teacher strikes in Philly fights back. by... more »
Colorado Student Walkout March 14th: Sharing the Facts | United Opt Out National
coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Colorado Student Walkout March 14th: Sharing the Facts | United Opt Out National: Colorado Student Walkout March 14th: Sharing the Facts by admin Please listen and join Colorado students this Thursday, March 14th as they walkout and gather at the capitol to protest TCAP and corporate education reform. RSVP for the event here. Read press release here.
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