Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-7-13 #SOSCHAT #NPE #EDCHAT #P2

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-7-13 #SOSCHAT #NPE #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

Bill Gates greeted by standing ovation from…teachers? | Digital

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 47 minutes ago

Bill Gates greeted by standing ovation from…teachers? | Digital: Bill Gates greeted by standing ovation from….teachers? by Anya Kamenetz Patti Freudenberg works for the Clear Creek Independent School District in the Houston-Galveston area, where she is the "Teaching American History Grant Specialist," currently leading groups of history teachers to historical sites around the US on a Department of Education grant. Clad in leopard print, she arrived bright and early Thursday morning to sit in the very front row of Bill Gates' closing keynote at the South by Southwest Edu conferenc... more »

Neovouchers: The debate continues

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 50 minutes ago

Neovouchers: The debate continues: Neovouchers: The debate continues Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 7, 2013 at 5:15 pm 1 Comments More [image: taxcrdit3]Here’s the latest in a debate on tax credits for private school — dubbed “neovouchers” — that started with this post that I wrote enttitled, “Welfare for the rich? Private school tax credit programs expanding.” Jason Bedrick of the Cato Institute wrote a dissenting March 1st statement on the Hoover Institution’s Education Next Blog in support of these tax credit programs, and in turn, Kevin Welner, director of the National Edu... more »

SCUSD Stonewalls the Community By Denying Access to Budget Data | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 51 minutes ago

SCUSD Stonewalls the Community By Denying Access to Budget Data | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: SCUSD Stonewalls the Community By Denying Access to Budget Data by Kate_Lenox Last Tuesday evening the Putting Students First Coalition hosted a community budget forum. The presenter was Karen Swett, a retired SCUSD teacher who has spent years working with district budget s and is one of the founders of the non-profit Making Cents Work. The non-profit is dedicated to empowering parents and community members with the knowledge of how to read district budgets and mak... more »

Throughout March: Reducing Barriers and Expanding Opportunities — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 58 minutes ago

Throughout March: Reducing Barriers and Expanding Opportunities — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Klea Scharberg]Throughout March: Reducing Barriers and Expanding Opportunities March 7, 2013 by Klea Scharberg Addressing students' needs levels the playing field. Or rather, addressing students' needs is *only* leveling the playing field. If a child is hungry, then the need can be addressed by providing breakfast, lunch, and assistance as needed. The same applies if the child is unwell. Many schools have made great strides in addressing students' needs, but some sc... more »

Silence from Commissioner Pryor on Vallas’ illegal contract - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Silence from Commissioner Pryor on Vallas’ illegal contract - Wait, What?: Silence from Commissioner Pryor on Vallas’ illegal contract by jonpelto During the “Great Education Reform” debate last year, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education asked the Connecticut General Assembly to adopt new statutory language that would allow him to waive the certification requirements for a person to serve as a superintendent of schools in Connecticut. It was an odd move, to say the least, considering the bill was supposed to be about improving education in Connecticut and enhancing the qua... more »

Put Down the Common Core Kool-Aid | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Put Down the Common Core Kool-Aid | Truth in American Education: Put Down the Common Core Kool-Aid by Shane Vander Hart [image: kool-aid]Joy Pullman has to be one of my favorite people who writes about the Common Core. I didn’t realize that she was an Indiana resident until today. She recently wrote this op/ed for one of her hometown newspapers, *The Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette*. The first couple paragraphs of her piece articulates the skepticism we should have when somebody proposes a silver bullet answer to our public education woes. As soon as someone tells you something will s... more »

Ideas for E.L.L.'s | The Real Harlem Shake, Mapping Memories and More - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Ideas for E.L.L.'s | The Real Harlem Shake, Mapping Memories and More - NYTimes.com: Ideas for English Language Learners | The Real Harlem Shake, Mapping Memories and MoreBy LARRY FERLAZZO *Go to related Times interactive showing the history of the dance »* *Each month, the teacher, author and edublogger Larry Ferlazzo presents ways that teachers of English Language Learners can use Times content in the classroom.* *This month: creative uses of Times visuals, from video to photography to maps, to practice spoken and written language … and your dance moves.* Posts published by L... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-7-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: THE NETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION (CLICK PICTURE) [image: The Network for Public Education (click picture)] WE ARE MANY. THERE IS POWER IN OUR NUMBERS. TOGETHER, WE WILL SAVE OUR SCHOOLS. THE NETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION CPS Plans to Close Schools, Increase Class Sizes by dianerav I just received a press release from the Chicago Teachers Union, alerting the public that CPS plans to close schools and to increase class sizes. To call this “reform” is outrageous. The children in Chicago needs smaller classes, not... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Mr. Greenberg's Opus at last night's Seattle School Board Meeting

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Mr. Greenberg's Opus at last night's Seattle School Board Meeting: Mercer Island to Give All 10th/11th Graders iPads by Melissa Westbrook From the Stranger Slog: *The Mercer Island School District will kick off its "One to One" iPad initiative next month by distributing free iPads to all 10th and 11th graders. The iPads will be used by students for the remainder of the year, returned for the summer, and then redistributed in September.* ***Say what you want about the economic disparity that allows districts like Mercer Island to hand out iPads whi... more »

Relationships Key to School Safety — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Relationships Key to School Safety — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Melissa Mellor]Relationships Key to School Safety March 7, 2013 by Melissa Mellor Fostering trusting relationships between adults and students is the most effective way to improve school safety, a panel of experts told members of Congress during a recent House Education Committee hearing convened in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. To facilitate those relationships, the panel suggested increasing the numbers of school counselors and mental health professio... more »

Natalie Meier – Transgendered Visibility on a Single-Sex Campus Student Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Student Voice: Natalie Meier – Transgendered Visibility on a Single-Sex Campus by admin For an institution that identifies as a “women’s college” and produces “strong women” of all different shapes, races, creeds, and sexual orientations, there is a group that hasn’t been receiving the support it needs or deserves: transgendered individuals. The demographic of identities present on women’s college campuses is vast, to say the least. But picture this for a moment… Imagine for a moment that you were born into the wrong body. Imagine that your birth certificate, your driver’s li... more »

Latinos Shifting Black-White Paradigm in Memphis Schools | NewsTacoNewsTaco

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Latinos Shifting Black-White Paradigm in Memphis Schools | NewsTacoNewsTaco: Latinos Shifting Black-White Paradigm in Memphis Schools by NewsTaco By Stan Washington, New America Media MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hispanic parents in this city care about the education of their children just as much as any other ethnic group, declared one Hispanic mother, Marta Lopez, during a recent town hall discussion on education. [image: new american media][image: memphis latino schools]Lopez, who works at a local school, said there is a false stereotype that Hispanic parents in Memphis aren’t engaged in th... more »

UPDATE: 119 of the 129 CPS schools on the closing list are in Black communities. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

119 of the 129 CPS schools on the closing list are in Black communities. | Fred Klonsky: Breaking: Action in the Illinois House on teacher pensions. by Fred Klonsky Three pension amendments to HB 1154 were debated on the House floor this afternoon. *Floor amendment #7 passed 65-7.* Amendments 6 and 8 failed. The amendments to House Bill 1154 included the following: - Limits/freezes pensionable salary of TRS employees to the greater of the Social Security base for the previous year (currently $113,700), or the annual salary of the member in the previous year – does not appl... more »

How school closings affect children

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

How school closings affect children: How school closings affect children Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 7, 2013 at 11:30 am [image: closed]The School Reform Commission in Philadelphia is about to decide whether to go ahead with an unprecedented and controversial plan to close 29 public schools. (There were more schools on the list but activists got about 10 removed). To understand what is at stake for affected students and educators in Philadelphia — and in other cities where closing schools has become a popular reform tactic — here’s testimony that Kate Shaw, executive direct... more »

State Board takes up student fee complaint rules SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *State Board takes up student fee complaint rules* *By Tom Chorneau* Thursday, March 07, 2013 As confusion persists in the field over a new law banning student fees for educational activities, state officials are set next week to consider creating a process for resolving complaints lodged against districts. AB 1575, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last fall, reinforces existing statute that prohibits public schools – including charters and alternative schools – from requiring a pupil to pay a fee, a deposit or make some other charge not sp... more »

A parent’s perspective: Pricey L.A. school board election is wake-up call | Hechinger Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

A parent’s perspective: Pricey L.A. school board election is wake-up call | Hechinger Report: A parent’s perspective: Pricey L.A. school board election is wake-up call by Sara Roos Like my neighbors, it wasn’t until millions of dollars began pouring into my little, local school district that I first paid any attention to the Los Angeles school board race. Most of us were too busy with common travesties in our schools, like sluggish fundraising and chronic understaffing, to notice. In short order, it became clear that this was an end-game for a massive national power struggle in t... more »

The Dalai Lama’s education tweet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

The Dalai Lama’s education tweet: The Dalai Lama’s education tweet Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 7, 2013 at 11:00 am Jon Stewart ridicules preschool critics Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 hours ago Take six minutes and 12 seconds to watch this. Jon Stewart continues to be the best critic of silly education thinking with this “Daily Show” piece about the stupidity of some of the criticism of the idea of government support … Continue reading → Obama, Oprah, Colbert, Ripken etc: The 2013 commencement speakers Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 hours ago Who is speaking... more »

Rotten to the Core | The Journal Gazette

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Rotten to the Core | The Journal Gazette: Rotten to the CoreUntested national school standards stifle local voices Joy Pullmann As soon as someone tells you something will save education, hide your children, hide your wife and check your back pocket. Because education deals with children and the American dream, it’s a land of magical thinking. The latest unproven fad is called Common Core. No one ever field-tested it, but 45 states, including Indiana, adopted it, believing its mental sugar pills will make all U.S. kids “college- and career-ready.” The Core defines what K-12 childre... more »

The brilliant John Dillon dissembles seven simple sentences. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

The brilliant John Dillon dissembles seven simple sentences. | Fred Klonsky: The brilliant John Dillon dissembles seven simple sentences. by Fred Klonsky [image: tryonhead-1]*State Representative Michael Tryon.* From John Dillon’s blog: *Dissemble* – verb intransitive – to conceal one’s true feelings, beliefs or motives. A recent electronic message from Representative Michael Tryon displays the kind of half-truths and factual recklessness that might even make the editorial staff of the Chicago Tribune blush. On the other hand these kinds of false assertions have been so proselyti... more »

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, March 7, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Some teachers to get layoff notices despite rising revenue* Education Headlines *Thursday, March 7, 2013* Education roundup: Taft gets new superintendentBlanca Cavazos, a former Arvin High School principal and current Kern County Superintendent of Schools office administrator, has been offered the job of superintendent of the Taft Union High School District. S.J. office draws heat in migrant-education auditA newly released state audit of California's migrant-education program criticizes the San Joaquin County Office of Educatio... more »

Nothing to Worry About? Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 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. Nothing to Worry About? Best of the Ed Blogs Jason Endacott March 7, 2013 A Tale of Two Schools Best of the Ed Blogs Sam Chaltain March 7, 2013 Hitting the Target,... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Behind the Chicago's school closings: Rahm's gentrification

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Behind the Chicago's school closings: Rahm's gentrification: Behind the Chicago's school closings: Rahm's gentrification by Mike Klonsky Greg Hinz at Crain's unintentionally gives us some clues about the real reasons for Rahm's mass closures of neighborhood schools and their replacement with privately-run charters and selective-enrollment schools. It has much more to do with reshaping the city's demography, pushing out the poor and people of color from the inner city and replacing them with a new class of young, tech and finance professionals. ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: NYC parents sue DOE for failure to comply with public feedback required aw

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

NYC Public School Parents: NYC parents sue DOE for failure to comply with public feedback required aw: NYC parents sue DOE for failure to comply with public feedback required aw by Leonie Haimson The Campaign for Fiscal Equity and the Education Law Center have filed a lawsuit on behalf of New York City parents against the NYC Department of Education for failing to hold the Contracts for Excellence borough hearings required by law, and for scheduling the Community Education Council presentations late in the year after much of the C4E funding has been spent. Here’s an article in th... more »

UPDATE: Where There’s a Reformy Con + School Finance Illiteracy Reaches New Low! (But it was the NY Post?) | School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

School Finance Illiteracy Reaches New Low! (But it was the NY Post?) | School Finance 101: In Connecticut, Where There’s a Reformy Con, There’s a CAN! by schoolfinance101 I was intrigued a few days ago when I saw this headline in my news alerts regarding school funding. *Headline: Report: Funding helps low-performing school districts* I was particularly intrigued because the headline comes from a Connecticut newspaper where I am fully aware that the state really hasn’t done crap to substantively increase resources for low performing, or more specifically high need schools and dis... more »

Teachers Make Handy Scapegoats, But Spiraling Inequality Is Really What Ails Our Education System | Alternet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Teachers Make Handy Scapegoats, But Spiraling Inequality Is Really What Ails Our Education System | Alternet: Teachers Make Handy Scapegoats, But Spiraling Inequality Is Really What Ails Our Education System Stanford University scholar Linda Darling-Hammond explains the connection. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com *March 4, 2013* | No shortage of ink had been put to paper pondering what it is that ails America's education system. We know that, on average, our kids' educational outcomes lag behind those of other wealthy countries, but why is that? But one of the core problems, i... more »

Daniel Shoer Roth: Deadly trigger for public schools - Daniel Shoer Roth - MiamiHerald.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Daniel Shoer Roth: Deadly trigger for public schools - Daniel Shoer Roth - MiamiHerald.com: Daniel Shoer Roth: Deadly trigger for public schools BY DANIEL SHOER ROTHDSHOER@MIAMIHERALD.COM Florida legislators plan to exploit once again the good intentions of parents and their desire for a fine education for their children to advance lawmakers’ privatization crusade. In their effort to manipulate the public, legislators are promoting converting traditional public schools to charter schools as a way to empower parents. The Parent Empowerment in Education bills would allow parents ... more »

UPDATE: Rank, RANK amateurism from #PARCC tools and #commoncore + The Algebra of the Market: “Equality” Does Not Equal “Equity” – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

The Algebra of the Market: “Equality” Does Not Equal “Equity” – @ the chalk face: Rank, RANK amateurism from #PARCC tools and #commoncore by Chalk Face, PhD I’ve commented on this previously. And one more here. I had forwarded to me an email message about PARCC releasing some kind of planning tools to get ready for the big assessments. I decided to examine the prototypes again to see if there was anything different. They’re the SAME things they released in November when I first looked at them. The exact same. But here’s what I want to emphasize, and this is REALLY important, so rea... more »

Schools Matter: KIPPster Jay Mathews, Practiced in the Art of Deception

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Schools Matter: KIPPster Jay Mathews, Practiced in the Art of Deception: KIPPster Jay Mathews, Practiced in the Art of Deception by Jim Horn Leader FeinbergThat's a line from the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want," of course. If Jay could get what he wants, it would be a KIPP in every black or brown community of America, where Alpha male CEO "school leaders," with shaved heads, white shirts, and bad attitudes ride herd on a clueless group of white female TFA "corp members," who were successfully brainwashed during the 6 weeks of basic teacher training to run themselves ... more »

More Than One Way to Judge Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

More Than One Way to Judge Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week: More Than One Way to Judge Education by Deborah Meier Dear Eric, I appreciate the clarity of our differences! I hope I can be as clear. In education—like many other subjects—it's hard, if not impossible, to separate ends from means. What I think it means to be well-educated will influence the means I use, of course. So turning ends over to the president, Department of Education, and/or Congress is a far more critical act than I think you view it, Eric. Even if I had a far higher opinion of all three bod... more »

What is a “Rigorous” Preschool Curriculum? |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

What is a “Rigorous” Preschool Curriculum? |: What is a “Rigorous” Preschool Curriculum? March 7, 2013 by Irene Sege [image: Photo: Micaela Bedell for Strategies for Children] Photo: Micaela Bedell for Strategies for Children There have been some questions raised about the “rigorous curriculum” called for in PresidentObama’s proposal for universal access to preschool, starting with children from low- and moderate-income families. My own daughters went to a wonderful preschool with a “rigorous” curriculum that playfully and intentionally focused on children’s cognitive, social-emotio... more »

Louisiana Educator: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting with Diane Ravitch

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Louisiana Educator: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting with Diane Ravitch: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting with Diane Ravitch by Michael Deshotels *This should be mandatory attendance for all teachers! If you believe in a good public education system for all; if you believe that teaching should remain an honored profession; you should definitely attend this town hall meeting with Diane Ravitch.* ** *When? March 14* ** *Where? BREC Administrative Bld., (Ballroom) 6201 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge * ** *What time? Doors open at 5:30 P. M. **Program starts at 6:00 P. M.* ** *Teachers with a current... more »

In era of high costs, humanities come under attack | Hechinger Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

In era of high costs, humanities come under attack | Hechinger Report: In era of high costs, humanities come under attack by Jon Marcus [image: In era of high costs, humanities come under attack] Oregon State University President Ed Ray flinched when a stranger confronted him to say his daughter had just graduated from the school with a degree in philosophy. “I thought, ‘Oh my God,’” says Ray, who expected he would have to fend off yet another diatribe about the questionable value, in a weak employment market, of majoring in philosophy and other humanities subjects. In fact, the man... more »

Joy Resmovits: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Group Opens South Carolina Outfit; Common Core Supporters Strike Back: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Joy Resmovits: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Group Opens South Carolina Outfit; Common Core Supporters Strike Back: Ed Today: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Group Opens South Carolina Outfit; Common Core Supporters Strike Back: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *Michelle Rhee Sets Up Shop In SC* StudentsFirst, the former D.C. chancellor's national lobbying group, is branching out into South Carolina, reports the Post and Courier. The paper notes that SC received a "D" grade on SF's recent policy report card -- not exactly stellar. On the group's SC agenda: turnarounds, teacher... more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-7-13 Breaking News: New Group to Oppose Corporate Reforms Diane Ravitch's blog

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] Idaho Will Use Khan Academy Videos by dianerav Idaho will introduce Khan Academy videos to 10,000 students in 47 schools, a mix of public, private, and charter. The videos will teach math, science, history, and art. The project is underwritten by a local Idaho foundation. I would like to hear from teachers who have reviewed the Khan Academy videos. What do you think of them? NBCT Teacher Beats Rhee Candidate in West Sacramento by dianerav National Board Certified... more »

Daily Kos: What about the most vulnerable?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Daily Kos: What about the most vulnerable?: What about the most vulnerable? by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) The pain of the sequester is that kind that lurks: a slow, creeping disaster mainly affecting those Americans on the fringes who are barely inching their way back into a still-bleak job market — or hopelessly locked out of it — and poor Americans too old or too young to participate in it.That is how the effects should always have been framed: not as a danger to air travelers and contractors, but as a prowling danger to the most vulnerable in our flock. Not framing it this ... more »

Victorious LAUSD incumbent vows to keep challenging Deasy | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Victorious LAUSD incumbent vows to keep challenging Deasy | EdSource Today: Victorious LAUSD incumbent vows to keep challenging Deasy - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald Having presented the Los Angeles School Board election races as a referendum on Superintendent John Deasy’s future, the club of six- and seven-figure donors in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Coalition for School Reform may have succeeded in making Deasy’s life more complicated. [image: Steve Zimmer won a second term in Tuesday's election despite being outspent more than 4 to 1. Photo courtesy of LA School Repor... more »

Gym: Where is the vision for public education? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Gym: Where is the vision for public education? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Gym: Where is the vision for public education? by Helen Gym *Thursday's School Reform Commission vote on the recommended closure of nearly 30 schools will undoubtedly have a major impact on the future of the city's public school system. In advance of the vote, the **Notebook **asked prominent Philadelphians to offer their thoughts, using **new data and maps on school attendance patterns** in the city as a starting point.* *Read the responses from:* *Mark Gleason and Mike Wang of the Philadelphia... more »

Diane Ravitch Announces New Network for Public Education - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Diane Ravitch Announces New Network for Public Education - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Diane Ravitch Announces New Network for Public Education by Anthony Cody This morning Diane Ravitch announced the launch of a new organization to connect supporters of public education across the country. This could not come at a better time. Tuesday's election in Los Angeles showed the raw power of the money driving corporate education reform. Supporters of corporate reform, including Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp, Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ... more »

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: They Say That School is a Bad Mother...I'm Talkin About Garfield High!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: They Say That School is a Bad Mother...I'm Talkin About Garfield High!: They Say That School is a Bad Mother...I'm Talkin About Garfield High! by Lisa M * **WELL, WE CAN DIG IT!* I admire the teachers of Garfield High so much! What they have done, are still doing is amazing! Not only amazing, but very brave. In the scheme of things, everyone might not see what they are doing as heroic. However, as an educator, in this economy, in this toxic environment, the fact that these teachers stood up, and against, standardized testing by saying, "No, we wo... more »

NYC Educator: The Myth of the Powerful Teacher Union

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

NYC Educator: The Myth of the Powerful Teacher Union: The Myth of the Powerful Teacher Union by NYC Educator There's a piece in Gotham Schools about the incredible power of the teachers' union. It focuses on Lobby Day. Now I've been to Lobby Day, once. Basically the UFT picks people, gives them a message, and the rest of us are supposed to follow that person and nod our heads as he gives the union message, whatever it may be. In fact, I was trying to organize a demonstration at my school so I broke away, found our local pols, and got them to agree to appear. Haven't been back sinc... more »

The Cracks Are Beginning to Show in the Cult of Lucy Calkins.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

http://www.southbronxschool.com: The Cracks Are Beginning to Show in the Cult of Lucy Calkins by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) What a week it has been for Lucy Calkins and her cult of failure. Aside from being vilified on these pages twice inone week, yours truly had inquired, when confronted with "the students are not reading and writing" by a self important person high up the NYC DOE chain with the answer, "so why are we using a program like TC then?" Of course that question was met with silence. But then lo and behold what is it that is gracing the pages of in the Op-Ed s... more »

Mayor Nutter’s Door | Parents United for Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Mayor Nutter’s Door | Parents United for Public Education: Mayor Nutter’s Door by rebeccapoyourow [image: mayor office door] [image: Rebecca Poyourow]Mayor Nutter didn’t come out the front door of his office in City Hall last night. I’m sure mayors have good reason to have alternate exit routes available, and it may be that he uses that other door regularly, rather than just yesterday. I’m not sure, since I’m not in the habit of sitting outside his office. However, I do know for sure that he didn’t come out the front door last night. If Mayor Nutter had come out the front door of... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Example? A Humorous Assessment of David Coleman's SAT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Example? A Humorous Assessment of David Coleman's SAT: Common Core Example? A Humorous Assessment of David Coleman's SAT by stlgretchen Need a chuckle? Read this piece from The Washington Post* SAT to be updated * and this tongue in cheek assessment fashioned in the language of Common Core:

Guess the grade level of this Common Core homework. – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Guess the grade level of this Common Core homework. – @ the chalk face: Guess the grade level of this Common Core homework. by Chris Cerrone [image: 525350_4597216456332_477444975_n] Scroll down beyond my brief rant to find the answer. Let me start off by saying that I believe in challenging my 7th grade students and want the same for my own children. There is a significant difference between getting kids to strive beyond the basics and crossing the line to complete a task that is inappropriate for a certain age group. *At the Chalkface* has explored the issue of the Common Core and ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Queen of Failure

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

School Tech Connect: The Queen of Failure: The Queen of Failure First the Koch brothers fail. Now Bloomberg and Rhee. Every day people, who actually send their kids to public schools, are on to the fact that these people are doing a hell of a lot more harm than good.

ICE 2013 | My Island View

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

ICE 2013 | My Island View: ICE 2013 by tomwhitby I am very fortunate to have a position that gets me invited to education conferences around the country, and occasionally out of it as well. I have written a number of posts describing the benefits, and the blemishes, of many of them over the last year. I am writing this post, as I am en route to Austin, Texas to participate in one of the big ones, the SXSWEdu Conference. Last week however, I attended a gem of a conference conducted by the Illinois ISTE affiliate, The Illinois Computing Educator’s Conference, referred to as ICE13.... more »

UPDATE: The real issue is equity + Debate over school closings asks the wrong questions | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Debate over school closings asks the wrong questions | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Dungee Glenn: The real issue is equity by thenotebook *Thursday's School Reform Commission vote on the recommended closure of nearly 30 schools will undoubtedly have a major impact on the future of the city's public school system. In advance of the vote, the **Notebook **asked prominent Philadelphians to offer their thoughts, using **new data and maps on school attendance patterns** in the city as a starting point.* *Read the response from Mark Gleason and Mike Wang of the Philadelphia Scho... more »

Reading a paced, scripted text is NOT teaching. | Reclaim Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Reading a paced, scripted text is NOT teaching. | Reclaim Reform: Reading a paced, scripted text is NOT teaching. by kenpreviti *Common Core isn’t.* *Reading a paced, scripted text is not teaching.* [image: scripted text] *The Race to the Top is not a race and has no top.* No Child Left Behind left children behind if their arbitrary test scores did not meet a shifting arbitrary number. Homeless students are required to give their home addresses for school attendance. Federal public education funds are given in large amounts to schools that don’t need to improve and are denied to scho... more »

Ed Notes Online: Ed Deform LA Dreamin' Turns Into Nightmare

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Ed Notes Online: Ed Deform LA Dreamin' Turns Into Nightmare: Ed Deform LA Dreamin' Turns Into Nightmare by ed notes online While we were celebrating Steve Zimmer’s thrilling win over Kate Anderson in the Los Angeles school board race, the corporate reform crowd had to figure out how to spin this embarrassing defeat. Here it is, fresh from Twitter: Deasey kept his school board majority! Monica Garcia was re-elected! Big money saves Deasey! Inconvenient facts: The billionaires put together about $5 million to beat Steve Zimmer, who is a member of the school board in his first term..... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Times on a Rampage + Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter Commission Members-Early Parsing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter Commission Members-Early Parsing: Seattle Times on a Rampage by Charlie Mas Man, the Seattle Times is pulling out all the stops in the days before retreating behind a paywall. There are several inflammatory articles and columns about education on the Times web site right now. You would think it was just before an election instead of just after one. Feds probing Seattle schools’ treatment of black students This story is about a U.S. Department of Education investigation into whether black students in Seattle schools are puni... more »