Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-5-13 #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

Why Sending Your Child to a Charter School Hurts Other Children | Alternet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Why Sending Your Child to a Charter School Hurts Other Children | Alternet: Why Sending Your Child to a Charter School Hurts Other Children Parents should fight for quality education for all, not just their own kids. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/iofoto *February 28, 2013* | On a blog post challenging the role of charter schools in education reform, a parent named Dienne left a comment about choosing to remove a child from “a test-prep, drill-to-kill, twelve times a year testing factory” public school, and then posed a powerful question: “I’d ask you what exactly am I supposed t... more »

UPDATE: Protesters sit in outside the mayor's office | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Protesters sit in outside the mayor's office | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Protesters imply SRC is bulldozing schools by thenotebook Inside City Hall right now, a small group of protesters are staging a sit-in, a criticism of the mayor's support for the District's mass school-closings plan. Outside City Hall, the rally to Occupy Nutter is also in full swing. Here's a great photo from the protest, tweeted by the PFT. read more Protesters sit in outside the mayor's officeby Paul Socolar on Mar 05 2013 Posted in Latest news A crowd of about 20 opponents of the School Dist... more »

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 3-5-13 #soschat #edreform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

*Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break* The History of the Term “Failing Schools” by dianerav Kevin Kosar, who earned his Ph.D. at NYU in a study of federal education policy, researched the use of the term “failing schools.” It was seldom used until 1990. Since then, as you can see when you open the link, it has become a commonplace term. This is clearly political, since test scores for every group are higher today than they were in 1990, graduation rates are higher, and dropout rates are lower. “Failing schools” is a term that enables privatizers to take over more public prop... more »

Arne Duncan: The newest rhetoric vs. the reality

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Arne Duncan: The newest rhetoric vs. the reality: Arne Duncan: The newest rhetoric vs. the reality Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 5, 2013 at 1:35 pm [image: Arne Duncan (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)] Arne Duncan (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post) Education Secretary Arne Duncan appeared at a Washington Post-sponsored conference on families today, and he sounded (mostly) highly reasonable: Early childhood education is the absolute “best long-term investment” that the country can make for kids, families and the economy, he said. (Not, apparently, the billions of dollars he spen... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Viva Eastside Memorial High School! by dianerav On other posts, I have told the story of Eastside Memorial High School in Austin, Texas. The school board and superintendent (Broad-trained) decided to give the school to a charter chain called IDEA. This was not popular with the community. Many families in the neighborhood pulled their children out of the IDEA charter in protest and sent them elsewhere. In the November election, the community elected a school board member opposed to the charter takeover, and the ... more »

Three Strategies for Encouraging and Developing Student Voice — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Three Strategies for Encouraging and Developing Student Voice — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Dawn Imada Chan]Three Strategies for Encouraging and Developing Student Voice March 5, 2013 by Dawn Imada Chan Even though student-centered learning is the foundation of student voice, the complexity and demands of teaching often make focusing on student voice yet another "add-on" for educators. However, as Toshalis and Nakkula (2012) assert, "student voice is the antithesis of depersonalized, standardized, and homogenized educational experiences because it begins and... more »

Deborah Meier on Standardized Testing Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center: Best of the Ed Blogs *Best of the Ed Blogs* features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make *Best of the Ed Blogs* your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics. Deborah Meier on Standardized Testing Best of the Ed Blogs Diane Ravitch March 5, 2013 Data Driving: At the Intersection of Arbitrary and Meaningful Best of the Ed ... more »

Special ed advocacy groups set ambitious plan for more federal funding SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: Special ed advocacy groups set ambitious plan for more federal funding As the nation headed toward the fiscal cliff late last week and most educators were scrambling to cover the eventual reductions in federal funds that are sure to accompany sequestration, two major special education groups unveiled an ambitious policy agenda for next year – most of it pressing for more money, not less. The joint release came from the Council for Exceptional Children, which represents over 30,000 professionals and calls itself the “voice and vision of spec... more »

PSAT for 3-5-13 + North Side P.O.W.E.R. forum Sunday against charter school expansion Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » North Side P.O.W.E.R. forum Sunday against charter school expansion: PSAT for 3-5-13: Send me your ISAT stories by admin [image: psat_logo]This is ISAT week and a lot of students, parents and teachers are thinking about opting out of the state tests. PURE believes that standardized testing should be limited and that parents should have the right to opt their children out of any standardized tests. We support SB2156, a bill to limit standardized testing in Illinois. *Part 1 of today’s PSAT* – please contact your state senators ... more »

Regulation Nation: New federal rules for school food will cost millions, group says | Fox News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Regulation Nation: New federal rules for school food will cost millions, group says | Fox News: *Regulation Nation: New federal rules for school food will cost millions, group says* By Shannon Bream Published March 05, 2013 FoxNews.com - Newly proposed federal regulations aimed at the snack foods and drinks served in the nation's schools could come with a hefty price tag. The American Action Forum estimates the regulations, which include caps on serving sizes and calorie counts, will cost schools $127 million and require more than 926,000 hours of paperwork. Sam Batkins, d... more »

When America is One Giant Ticker Tape — University of Phoenix, Massive On-line Education, the Failure of Democracy | Dissident Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

When America is One Giant Ticker Tape — University of Phoenix, Massive On-line Education, the Failure of Democracy | Dissident Voice: When America is One Giant Ticker Tape — University of Phoenix, Massive On-line Education, the Failure of Democracy by Paul Haeder Okay, okay, today es muy interesante, lleno de literatura y periodismo. Full of literature and journalism. Yes, yes, Mister Welfare Man, I am doing job searches to validate myself as a human being. You know, three job applications a week to meet the sequester-fragile unemployment insurance. I do more than three a week, t... more »

Modern School: Union Busting by Liberal NY Governor

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Modern School: Union Busting by Liberal NY Governor: Union Busting by Liberal NY Governor by Michael Dunn Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons New York Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, proposed legislation last week that would impose a new teacher evaluation system for New York City if the teachers’ union, UFT, refuses to accept the conditions of Mayor Bloomberg’s evaluation plan. Last month, Cuomo punished New York school children by withholding $250 million from their city’s school budget because the mayor and the UFT failed to come to an agreement by his arbitrary deadline. When this failed... more »

UPDATE: Does #edweek add any value? + #Sequestration #edreform, the “cartoon” – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

#Sequestration #edreform, the “cartoon” – @ the chalk face: Does #edweek add any value? by Timothy D. Slekar Someone has to say it! Stop calling experiments that use value added data *“research”* unless you are willing to state up front that “the findings you are about to see have absolutely NO VALUE in understanding the complicated work of teaching and learning.” Just today, EdWeek let us know that, New teachers become much more effective with a few years of classroom experience, but aworking paper[image: Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader] by a team of researchers suggests the most—a... more »

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, March 5, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Parents allege massive enrollment fraud at Carpenter Community Charter in Studio City* Education Headlines *Tuesday, March 5, 2013* Contra Costa County superintendent frustrated by snub related to charter reportTensions between the Contra Costa County Office of Education and the Mt. Diablo school district have intensified after the county superintendent was snubbed when a recent report was created for the district. Facebook threat at El Camino High taken seriously; youth arrestedThe swift arrest Sunday of a local teenager who th... more »

John Thompson: Texans Debunk Test-Driven Reform - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

John Thompson: Texans Debunk Test-Driven Reform - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: Texans Debunk Test-Driven Reform by Anthony Cody *Guest post by John Thompson.* Addressing the Save Texas Schools rally in Austin on Feb. 23, Superintendent John Kuhn nailed the essence of test-driven "reform." "Some people have forgotten that good teachers actually exist. They spend so much time and effort weeding out the bad ones that they've forgotten to take care of the good ones. This bitter accountability pesticide is over-spraying the weeds and wilting the entire g... more »

Seattle School District orders teacher to stop teaching class... | www.wpxi.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Seattle School District orders teacher to stop teaching class... | www.wpxi.com: Seattle School District orders teacher to stop teaching class on race - 0 0 0 22 View Larger [image: Center School students] Center School students SEATTLE — A required class on race was suspended at one Seattle public school just two weeks before it was scheduled to end. The Center School class was stopped last Monday on orders from School Superintendent Jose Banda after a student said teacher Jon Greenberg had created an intimidating environment. KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Deborah Horne ... more »

Joy Resmovits: John Legend On Education; North Dakota Withdraws No Child Left Behind Waiver Request: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Joy Resmovits: John Legend On Education; North Dakota Withdraws No Child Left Behind Waiver Request: Ed Today: John Legend On Education; North Dakota Withdraws No Child Left Behind Waiver Request: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *John Legend, Saving Your Schools?* Musician John Legend appeared at USC last night to promote his education reform agenda, according to the Daily Trojan. "If we think demography is destiny, we will allow our school system to confirm that belief," Legend said, echoing basically the entire reform movement. He serves on the board education advocacy group Stand fo... more »

High School Student Disarms Gunman…Gets Suspended? | TheBlaze.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

High School Student Disarms Gunman…Gets Suspended? | TheBlaze.com: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DISARMS GUNMAN…GETS SUSPENDED? Mar. 2, 2013 10:12am Madeleine Morgenstern - 1.7K - 64.3K - 285 - 30 - - - 724 [image: Florida High School Student Disarms Gunman...Gets Suspended?] Image source: WFTX-TV A Florida high school student wrestled a loaded gun away from another teen on the bus ride home this week and was slapped with a suspension in return. The 16-year-old Cypress Lake High student in Fort Myers, Fla. told WFTX-TV there was “no doubt” he saved a life after grappl... more »

UPDATE: Rahm’s BFF + The IEA’s Uncle Charlie. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

The IEA’s Uncle Charlie. | Fred Klonsky: Dan Biss asks for input. Mark supplies it. by Fred Klonsky From Senator Dan Biss: *Senate Bill 35 (comprehensive pension reform). Like most people, I continue to believe that resolving Illinois’ terrible pension problem is the most important step toward righting our fiscal ship. As soon as I arrived in the Senate, I filed SB35 — and last Wednesday, I filed Amendment 1to reflect the most recent negotiations. This proposal has received a lot of attention — some positive, and some negative — from workers who believe it demands too much sacrifi... more »

CUNY Pathways Showdown Looms as Another College Governance Body Declares Opposition |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

CUNY Pathways Showdown Looms as Another College Governance Body Declares Opposition |: CUNY Pathways Showdown Looms as Another College Governance Body Declares Opposition by Angus Johnston Pathways, the CUNY administration’s controversial system-wide general education plan, is supposed to be in place by this fall, but that goal will only be met by ignoring the stated views — and governance prerogatives — of a growing number of faculty and student governance bodies in the CUNY system. Yesterday the College Senate at LaGuardia Community College in Queens — a joint student-faculty ... more »

National Standards, Local Control - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

National Standards, Local Control - Bridging Differences - Education Week: National Standards, Local Control by Deborah Meier Dear Deborah, Now that I am into my first "Bridging" venture, I see the value of the format. Many discussions of education founder on both differing perspectives and a tyranny of language. Our prior discussion of the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act leads me to see important agreement even if described as disagreement, but I also see some talking past each other, and I finally see some fundamental differences. Let me begin with a very import... more »

Four charter schools will be launched under initiative started by Mayor Bloomberg - NYPOST.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Four charter schools will be launched under initiative started by Mayor Bloomberg - NYPOST.com: Classy Mike wants to fund own schools - By YOAV GONEN, Education Reporter - Last Updated: 3:41 AM, March 5, 2013 - Posted: 1:31 AM, March 5, 2013 EXCLUSIVE Mayor Bloomberg is backing — and also wants to bankroll — the creation of four charter high schools, The Post has learned. The state Education Department has received applications to open the schools as part of the mayor’s Young Men’s Initiative, which is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and George Soros’ Open Society Fo... more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Smear Tactics of Corporate Reformers by dianerav Jersey Jazzman has pulled together an impressive collection of smears, wherein the corporate reformers’ attack machine tried to silence and/ or intimidate their critics. JJ’s recitation brought to mind some of the many brushes I have had with the smear machine. The first occurred in 2007, when I realized that someone in the NYC Department of Education was following me to my lectures and taping them. I saw t... more »

Louisiana Educator: Congratulations to LFT; The Fight for Public Education Continues

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Louisiana Educator: Congratulations to LFT; The Fight for Public Education Continues: Congratulations to LFT; The Fight for Public Education Continues by Michael Deshotels The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and its president Steve Monaham deserve to be commended for anexcellent legal challenge to Governor Jindal's Act 1 of 2012. Judge Caldwell agreed with the Federation claim that the new law was unconstitutional and should be struck down in its entirety because it addressed several subjects instead of the one issue per bill required by the Constitution. Act 1 was a very bad l... more »

Late donations bolster pro-Deasy school board candidates - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Late donations bolster pro-Deasy school board candidates - latimes.com Late donations bolster pro-Deasy school board candidates [image: Mayor Bloomberg Your Money Sucks! (Learn More click picture)] Two eleventh hour donations have added financial muscle to a campaign seeking to bolster Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy through the results of Tuesday’s Board of Education elections. The Sacramento-based California Charter Schools Assn. has donated $300,000. And New York City-based News America Inc. has donated $250,000, according to reports filed Monday with the Los Angeles City Et... more »

What it means for parents to support teachers + Our Public Ed Hero of the Day: Senator Vincent Hughes | Parents United for Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Our Public Ed Hero of the Day: Senator Vincent Hughes | Parents United for Public Education: Our Public Ed Hero of the Day: Senator Vincent Hughes by parentsunitedphila [image: Hughes at Gompers] Senator Vincent Hughes visits Gompers Elementary, one of 29 schools slated for closure. (Source: senatorhughes.com) Color us grateful. In response to last week’s jaw-dropping summary of the District’s preliminary contract proposals to Philadelphia teachers, Senator Vince Hughes tweeted: What it means for parents to support teachers by helengym [image: This sign from last summer's Chicago T... more »

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog: Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss? by Gary Rubinstein A few days ago The Pope of the Catholic church and The Pope of Teach For America, Wendy Kopp, both stepped down. I was not always thrilled with the direction that Wendy Kopp was steering the organization in, and I publicly aired my grievances in my open letter to her. I was pleased with her lengthy response. Though she evaded my most important questions, she did admit that TFA needs to do a better job with highlighting alumni who have different views tha...more »

Worst is over: Sharp decline in districts in financial straits | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Worst is over: Sharp decline in districts in financial straits | EdSource Today: Worst is over: Sharp decline in districts in financial straits - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald The number of school districts in financial distress has fallen significantly after cresting last year, according to a state report released Monday. [image: Qualified (in yellow) certifications and negative (in red) district financial certifications from 1999-2000 through last year. This year's totals for the first interim for 2012-13, not shown, are 117 qualified and seven negative. Chart by FCM... more »

Daily Kos: So maybe I am not as smart as people think

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Daily Kos: So maybe I am not as smart as people think: So maybe I am not as smart as people think by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) because I cannot understand how anyone can think a democratic republic can continue when those with more money get to buy elections and officials and write the rules and laws to their benefit while screwing the vast majority of the people. If we are supposed to have the equal protection of the law why is some money more privileged than other money when it comes to taxation? Is Capital really so much more valuable than LABOR that the former can pay 15%... more »

“Is this really all there is?” + The School-to-Workforce Pipeline: At Least it isn’t Prison – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

The School-to-Workforce Pipeline: At Least it isn’t Prison – @ the chalk face: Guest Post: Nichole Berg. “Is this really all there is?” by Timothy D. Slekar As a teacher in this new political climate of school reform, teacher-bashing, high stakes testing, and arbitrary merit pay, I frequently find myself wondering, “Is this really all there is? I mean, did I really spend all those years building my professional repertoire and meaningful relationships with kids just to have it all taken away and replaced with pacing guides and a barrage of initiatives and chores that occupy so much ... more »

Is school reform about replacing blackness?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Is school reform about replacing blackness?: Is school reform about replacing blackness? Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 5, 2013 at 8:00 am 1 Comments More [image: Fifth-graders from Watkins Elementary School in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News)] Fifth-graders from D.C.’s Watkins Elementary School (By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News) Here is an original look at the modern school reform movement. It was written by Natalie Hopkinson is a Washington-based writer, and author of “Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City”. This appeared on The ... more »

UPDATE: The Myopic Menace of Order Schools Matter: What Happens If the Billionaires Boys Club Takes Over Los Angeles Schools?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Schools Matter: What Happens If the Billionaires Boys Club Takes Over Los Angeles Schools?: The Myopic Menace of Order by Storm White man got no dreaming, Him go 'nother way. White man, him go different. Him got road belong himself. I have never been able to discover any Aboriginal word for *time* as an abstract concept. And the sense of 'history' is wholly alien here.... ...The Dreaming conjures up the notion of a sacred, heroic time of the indefinitely remote past, such a time is also, in a sense, still part of the present. One cannot 'fix' The Dreaming in time: it was, and is... more »

UPDATE: Has it come to this…? + Vallas Gets Illegal 3 year contract on 5 to 4 vote - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Vallas Gets Illegal 3 year contract on 5 to 4 vote - Wait, What?: And last but not least, in Finch/Vallas land… jonpelto at Wait, What? - 13 minutes ago Categories: - Bridgeport - Mayor Bill Finch - Paul Vallas Speaking of $100,000 After helping Mayor Finch and five of the six Democrats on the Bridgeport Board of Education push through an illegal 3 year contract for Paul Vallas on a vote of 5 to 4, Joshua Thompson, Finch’s “education point person” continues to have a biography up on a national website calling himself; Deputy [...] *(Read more...)* And while cutting essential servic... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Vallas pulls a fast one in Bridgeport

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Vallas pulls a fast one in Bridgeport: Vallas pulls a fast one in Bridgeport by Mike Klonsky VallasThey pulled a fast one in Bridgeport last night. At a "special" meeting of the board, called to head off any further debate, school privatizer/profiteer *Paul Vallas* was handed a new 3-year contract. The 5-4 vote came just days after the Connecticut Working Families Party mounted an all-out campaign to derail a contract extension for Vallas. Board members *Maria Pereira, Sauda Baraka and John Bagley*, all members of WFP, voted against the extension, alo... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Another Day; Another Reformy Smear!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Another Day; Another Reformy Smear!: Another Day; Another Reformy Smear! by Duke Good mroning, America! So, what are *you* going to do today for our nation's children? Me, I'll be destroying American society by indoctrinating the tykes in socialist rhetoric from my cushy, union-protected, ultra-high-paid job-for-life as a public school teacher! But maybe you'll spend your day nobly saving the kids from lazy and evil teachers like me! You'll be promoting excellence and accountability by suing protectors of the status quo for talking to their town councilperson... ... more »

'Blackboard Wars': Oprah's Education Reality Show Reveals Reform Isn't Always Students-First | Education on GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

'Blackboard Wars': Oprah's Education Reality Show Reveals Reform Isn't Always Students-First | Education on GOOD: 'Blackboard Wars': Oprah's Education Reality Show Reveals Reform Isn't Always Students-First [image: blackboard.wars] As an educator in New Orleans, I've been asked dozens of times, "What do you think of *Blackboard Wars*," the documentary series featured on Oprah's OWN Network about troubled John McDonough High school. My first and most enduring reaction to *Blackboard Wars* is fatigue. I'm simply tired of New Orleans education reform, the spectacle. This is not becau... more »

REALITY, NOT THEORY, WHY LAUSD IS HIRING SUBSTITUTES - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

REALITY, NOT THEORY, WHY LAUSD IS HIRING SUBSTITUTES - Perdaily.com: REALITY, NOT THEORY, WHY LAUSD IS HIRING SUBSTITUTES by Leonard Isenberg [image: David Holmquist.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español)* * * *L.A. Subs website has several posts under the title: "Theory Why LAUSD Is Hiring." There is no theory as to why the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is hiring substitute teachers- it's a financially motivated reality. They are hiring lots of subs to take the place of top of the salary scale teachers like many of you that they got rid of, because it's much cheaper wit... more »

March 14th: Colorado Students Stand Up for Education | United Opt Out National

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

March 14th: Colorado Students Stand Up for Education | United Opt Out National: March 14th: Colorado Students Stand Up for Education admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago March 4th, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WHAT : Students standing up for our education WHEN : March 14th, 2013 from 11am – 2:30pm WHERE : West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol On February 23rd, students gathered to discuss what … MORE Bess Altwerger: Why I am Coming to Occupy the Dept. of Ed. in DC admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago How could I NOT come to Occupy the DOE in DC? At this pivotal m...more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 3-4-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

*Nite Cap UPDATE**UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* *sequester* * * * * Wealth Inequality in America [Video] by Edit Barry This is why every American who makes a middle class living should care about millionaires’ and billionaires’ dabbling in education reform. Why sequestration is hogwash. Why anyone who tells you there is no money for school buildings or public school teachers or health care or medical benefits is full of it. There is more than enough to go around. Commence reality check. Popout Walmart Foundation vs. Walton Foundation by dianerav Earlier today when I posted about Pres... more »

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter: This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter by Larry Ferlazzo Guest Post by Joe Mazza everythingesl.net This week on #PTchat we will be sharing strategies on how to involve the diverse families of English language learners (ELL) in order to foster the partnership between the home and school. @JudieHaynes Schools must constantly seek ways to improve the communication with ELL families and recognize how it parallels with the communication with non-ELL families. How are schools reaching out to their ELL families? Are traditional pare... more »

Guest Post By John Thompson: The Texas Standardized Test Revolt | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Guest Post By John Thompson: The Texas Standardized Test Revolt | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: Guest Post By John Thompson: The Texas Standardized Test Revolt by Larry Ferlazzo School “reformers” complain that the Garfield High School teachers’ boycott of testing, and the protests by teachers, parents, and students in Georgia, New York, and Massachusetts, are bringing the backlash against bubble-in accountability to a “crescendo.” Perhaps the best education news is that 818 Texas school districts oppose the educational malpractice encouraged by standardized testing. On... more »

Are school closings the new urban renewal? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Are school closings the new urban renewal? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Are school closings the new urban renewal? by thenotebook *by Elaine Simon* Recent analyses show that most students from schools recommended for closing in Philadelphia would not end up in better-performing schools. They are likely to wind up in schools much like the ones they were in before, as a recent study by Research for Action shows. Most of the displaced students will not benefit academically from the closings as planned. In addition, they would have to travel a distance outside their nei... more »

Charter schools ‘undemocratic’ – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Charter schools ‘undemocratic’ – @ the chalk face: Charter schools ‘undemocratic’ by Activism in paradise - Voices from down under As part of the New Zealand government’s mindless rush to show like minded governments that they too can implement GERM without rhyme or reason, the process of establishing charter schools is underway, in as undemocratic a fashion as it is possible to imagine in the New Zealand environment. Public and expert opinion is being, and will continue to be, totally disregarded in this process. Sadly, this mindset isn’t just restricted to education, and as a resul... more »

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 3-4-13 #soschat #edreform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

*Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break* Sequestration Cuts Forcing Schools That Serve Military, Native American Students To Squeeze by Joy Resmovits When President Barack Obama signed an executive order Friday night mandating across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, Henry Strom, the superintendent of public schools in Mt. Adams, Wash., was prepared. But the preparations hurt. Mt. Adams serves Washington's Yakima Reservation -- many of its students are Native Americans who live in poverty. That means that unlike most U.S. school districts, Strom counts on a fund... more »

Daily Kos: Is teaching an art or a science?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Daily Kos: Is teaching an art or a science?: Is teaching an art or a science? by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) The thoughts in this piece were occasioned by a conversation where i was asked if I thought teaching more of an art rather than a science. I responded that the question was a false frame, and was asked to explain. My explanation comes in part from my background and formal education in music. I think what we are seeing in education is neither art nor science, but the attempt to turn education into an engineering problem. In engineering, it is of course important to have ... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-4-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Walmart Foundation vs. Walton Foundation by dianerav Earlier today when I posted about President Obama’s decision to name the Sylvia Mathews Burwell, CEO of the Walmart Foundation, to become the head of the Office of Management and Budget, I made the error of identifying her as CEO of the Walton Family Foundation. It was obviously a mistake, and readers quickly called my attention to it. I made the change at once. I didn’t realize that the Walton billionaires have two different foundations. In addition, member... more »

No Kid Hungry Starts with Breakfast — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

No Kid Hungry Starts with Breakfast — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Kumar Chandran]No Kid Hungry Starts with Breakfast March 4, 2013 by Kumar Chandran [image: No Kid Hungry - Share Our Strength] More than 16 million children in the U.S. struggle with hunger, or one out of five American kids. Teachers see this hunger first-hand in their classrooms. In a recent survey, three out of five K–8 public school teachers said they taught kids who regularly came to school hungry because they weren't getting enough to eat at home. What if I told you that there was a solutio... more »

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