Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 4-1-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Monday, April 1, 2013

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 4-1-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

How the Kansas House Committee on Education Voted on HB 2289 | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 minutes ago

How the Kansas House Committee on Education Voted on HB 2289 | Truth in American Education: How the Kansas House Committee on Education Voted on HB 2289 by Shane Vander Hart [image: Kansas-State-Capitol] I was able to obtain a breakdown of how the members of the Kansas House Committee on Education voted on their anti-Common Core bill, HB 2289, that was defeated 7-11 in committee on 3/21. *Yes*Kelly (R) Bradford (R) Dove (R) Ghandi (R) Lunn (R) Highland (R) Hedke (R)*No*Cassidy (D) Trimmer (D) Boldra (R) Bridges (D) Dierks (R) Ewy (R) Houston (D) Lusk (D) Meigs (R... more »

Monday read. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 minutes ago

Monday read. | Fred Klonsky: Monday read. by Fred Klonsky [image: pay-to-park-sign] *Rahm Emanuel fires CPS spokesperson Becky Carroll.* “Forty kids in a classroom! Is she nuts?” says the Mayor. *In an exclusive interview the Education Secretary* admitted he doesn’t know the first thing about education. “I was hoping for a career in the NBA,” admits Duncan. “But I was too short.” *“Who is Vladimir Gompers?”* asks Michael Petrilli. “I think maybe he’s the guy everybody avoids in the Fordham cafeteria.” *Michael Bloomberg reflects on the end of his third term as Mayor of New York.* ... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, April 1, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 minutes ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: [image: April Fool's greeting by animated cartoon mime] Education Headlines *Monday, April 1, 2013* 11 O.C. districts expect trouble paying billsFinancial reports filed by Orange County's 28 school districts this month show that while fewer schools are facing cash problems than last year, 39 percent of districts are still reporting difficulty meeting their financial obligations. Dublin schools to use drug-dog patrols againDrug-sniffing dogs are returning to Dublin middle and high schools to deter students from bringing alcohol... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Rhee's millions

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 27 minutes ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Rhee's millions: Rhee's millions by Mike Klonsky Michelle Rhee's anti-union group Students First is bankrolled mainly by a collection of corporate billionaires and power philanthropists. The group is not required by law to disclose its donors or what they give. She refused last week, to give L.A. Times reporters, Michael Mishak and Howard Blume, a list. But she names several in her new memoir, "Radical." She uses their money to send out lobbyists to dozens of states to push anti-union and anti-teacher legislation with a staff of more than 120 ba... more »

NYC Educator: If You're Reformy and You Know It, Tell a Lie

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago

NYC Educator: If You're Reformy and You Know It, Tell a Lie: If You're Reformy and You Know It, Tell a Lie by NYC Educator There have been some incredible stories coming out this weekend, not the least of which is that of uber-reformy Michelle Rhee. Rhee proudly boasts of being a public school parent, but it appears one of her kids attends an elite 22K per year private school. This would not be of any consequence whatsover, but for two things. One, of course, is that she lies about it. The second is the school she chooses for her kids does not indulge in the high class sizes or rel... more »

The Selfish Case for the Common Good | educarenow

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

The Selfish Case for the Common Good | educarenow: The Selfish Case for the Common Good Posted on April 1, 2013 | Leave a comment *“Now Tom said ‘Mom, wherever there’s a cop beatin’ a guy Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries Where there’s a fight against the blood and hatred in the air Look for me mom I’ll be there Wherever there’s somebody fightin’ for a place to stand Or a decent job or a helpin’ hand Wherever somebody’s strugglin’ to be free Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me.’”* Bruce Springsteen *The Ghost of Tom Joad* This is a hard post to write, because… I’m white. I’m male. ... more »

Shanker Blog » A Miracle In The Mid-Atlantic

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Shanker Blog » A Miracle In The Mid-Atlantic: A Miracle In The Mid-Atlantic by Matthew Di Carlo The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is often called “the nation’s report card.” Advocates sometimes use the results of the main NAEP tests to argue for their policy agendas. One example (among many) is when supporters of the so-called “Florida Formula,” a battery of market-based reforms that went into effect throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s and are currently spreading throughout the nation, make their case primarily on Florida’s NAEP performance. The basi... more »

Common Core and the Suspension of Child Development | The Public Educator

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Common Core and the Suspension of Child Development | The Public Educator: Common Core and the Suspension of Child Development It was 1977 and I was taking a child development course for my Master’s level program to become a special education teacher. The assignment was simple. Take two children of different ages and conduct some learning experiments on them. The objective was to see if Piaget’s theories were true. I needed two children, so I asked my cousin if I could borrow her two kids—David and Rachel (who still remember as adults the fun we had doing all this). David was eight... more »

Realistic Expectations for New Teacher Evaluation Systems - Dana Goldstein

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Realistic Expectations for New Teacher Evaluation Systems - Dana Goldstein: Realistic Expectations for New Teacher Evaluation Systems by Dana Goldstein I'm seeing some off-the-mark responses to the news--first reported by *Education Week*'s Stephen Sawchuck, and then picked up by the *New York Times*--that many of the new, high-stakes teacher evaluation systems are rating only 2-6 percent of teachers ineffective. This is being greeted by some supporters of numbers-driven teacher reform as a disappointment; while skeptics, like American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weinga... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-1-13 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] Earth to Tennessee: Yes, Muslim Schools Will Get Vouchers by dianerav As we are learning, Tennessee legislators and education “leaders” operate in an alternate universe. They want to cut the welfare benefits of families if their children get low test scores. They want to attract for-profit corporations to drain taxpayer dollars out of the public schools, and never hold them accountable for bad results (see, Tennessee Virtual Academy). They do whatever ALEC tell... more »

Daily Kos: Sometimes there is little one can add

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Daily Kos: Sometimes there is little one can add: Sometimes there is little one can add by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) In this case, the subject of my title is a must-read column by Paul Krugman, titled Lessons from a Comeback He points out California is the birth of much of the modern Conservative Republicanism, dating back to Reagan, a conservatism that has loved to bash California. Except most of what it likes to say has been proven untrue, and the problems the state does have bear little if any relationship to the charges Republicans like to make. You can and should read th... more »

Critique of Scott Walker’s Destructive Policies Aimed at Milwaukee | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Critique of Scott Walker’s Destructive Policies Aimed at Milwaukee | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Critique of Scott Walker’s Destructive Policies Aimed at Milwaukee by millerlf *Walker loves Milwaukee? We’re not feeling it* By John Gurda March 29, 2013 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel It hasn’t been this bad since the 1950s. You have to go back more than half a century to find a time when Wisconsin’s highest elected officials were so antagonistic to the state’s largest city. Then, it was a rural bloc kept in power by skewed legislative boundaries. Now, it’s a Republican bl... more »

Lack of dental services a factor in grades, attendance in state schools - Inside Bay Area

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Lack of dental services a factor in grades, attendance in state schools - Inside Bay Area: Lack of dental services a factor in grades, attendance in state schools By Jane Meredith Adams EdSource Today Posted: 03/31/2013 05:46:04 AM PDT Updated: 03/31/2013 05:46:09 AM PDT As California educators struggle to boost student achievement across economic lines, the teeth of poor children are holding them back. Hundreds of thousands of low-income children suffering from dental disease, some with teeth rotted to the gum line, are presenting California school districts with a widespread ... more »

Diane Ravitch: Good Grief! Teachers Get High Marks on New Evaluations | Classroom Struggle

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch: Good Grief! Teachers Get High Marks on New Evaluations | Classroom Struggle: Diane Ravitch: Good Grief! Teachers Get High Marks on New Evaluations by ClassroomStruggle Some of you might have already seen the shocking results in the New York Times today. Apparently, all the teacher evaluations programs pushed on school districts by Obama’s Race To The Top and the corporate de-formers have found a shocking conclusion: most teachers are, in fact, “highly effective” at their jobs. Diane Ravitch does a great job of poking holes in this “realization” and cites some of t... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Atlanta's testing scandal

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Atlanta's testing scandal: Atlanta's testing scandal by Mike Klonsky I highly recommend these two excellent articles on Atlanta's testing scandal: Atlanta test cheating: Tip of the iceberg? by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post and Ex-Schools Chief in Atlanta Is Indicted in Testing Scandal by Michael Winerip in the New York Times. Both emphasize the connection between the widespread testing scandals and current policies and practices associated with corporate-style school reform, *No Child Left Behind* and *Race To The Top*. Writes Strauss:... more »

Parent Trigger “Uses Parents Like a Cheap Dinner Napkin | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Parent Trigger “Uses Parents Like a Cheap Dinner Napkin | Scathing Purple Musings: Parent Trigger “Uses Parents Like a Cheap Dinner Napkin by Bob Sikes *The following is an opinion piece from Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder of FundEducationNow.org. She has granted permission to publish it here.* Despite a bruising defeat in the 2012 Florida Legislative session, parent trigger is something proponents are too stubborn to drop. Anointed 2013 sponsors Rep. Carlos Trujillo and Sen. Kelli Stargel, struggling to re-position their brand say, “We want to give parents a seat at the table.” Tha... more »

Schools Matter: Japan dem party wants TOEFL univ. entrance/exit in Japan

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Schools Matter: Japan dem party wants TOEFL univ. entrance/exit in Japan: Japan dem party wants TOEFL univ. entrance/exit in Japan by skrashen Sent to the Japan Times, March 31, 2013. English: A suggestion The Japan Times has it right: Money should be investing in teaching English, not testing it (“Testing English versus teaching it.” March 31). Here is a suggestion that will save money and give excellent results. Instead of investing money on expensive standardized testing, invest in English libraries, filled with interesting and comprehensible reading material that students are re... more »

Jersey Jazzman: File Under: "Shameless"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: File Under: "Shameless": File Under: "Shameless" by Duke Gloria Bonilla-Santiago was a guest columnist in yesterday's *Star-Ledger*. Here's how the paper describes her (all emphases in this post mine): *Gloria Bonilla-Santiago is the founder of the LEAP University Academy Charter School, which has a STEM curriculum, in Camden. She is also a Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers University. * *Let me intersperse Bonilla-Santiago's words in her op-ed with some other stories about her and LEAP Academy that have been uncovered this pas... more »

Wealthiest Americans donate 1.3% of their income; the poorest, 3.2%… - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Wealthiest Americans donate 1.3% of their income; the poorest, 3.2%… - Wait, What?: Wealthiest Americans donate 1.3% of their income; the poorest, 3.2%… by jonpelto As so many religions celebrate this season of renewal and rebirth, it would seem that some among us have forgotten the core teachings and guidance of the Wise. Whether those words come from the Holy Books or the Holy Visionaries, they follow a common theme; *“A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”* – Proverbs 22: v 9 *“For it is in giving that we receive.*” – St. Francis of Assisi... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLES by Mike Klonsky The Strip/ By Brian McFadden Linda Darling-Hammond *"If it moves, we test it." *-- NYT, "The Test? Find More Straight-A Teachers" Jackson Potter, CTU *Mayor Emanuel has a responsibility to back this train off the cliff and do the right thing.* -- Sun-Times, Op-ed Michael Winerup * Ms. Moner told Mr. Hyde that she carried the tests in a tote bag to the principal, Clarietta Davis, *

Atlanta test cheating: Tip of the iceberg?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Atlanta test cheating: Tip of the iceberg?: Atlanta test cheating: Tip of the iceberg? Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 1, 2013 at 4:00 am 5 Comments More [image: Iceberg near Greenland (By Bob Strong/Reuters)] Iceberg near Greenland. (By Bob Strong/Reuters) It would be easy to think that the Atlanta cheating scandal by adults on standardized tests is the worst we have seen, given last week’s startling indictment against former Atlanta schools superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 others under a law used against mobsters. But you shouldn’t. In the past four academic years, test cheatin... more »

Inside the Black Box of the Classroom Practice: Change without Reform in American Education | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Inside the Black Box of the Classroom Practice: Change without Reform in American Education | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Inside the Black Box of the Classroom Practice: Change without Reform in American Education by larrycuban [image: insideblackbox_223]Readers who have been with me from August 2009 know that I have mentioned writing a book on the linkages between policy and practice in technology, curriculum, and accountability; I posted pieces of my research, for example, on laptops in a school fictitiously-named Las Montanas (see here, here, and here).... more »

Racial bias feeds the school-to-prison pipeline | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Racial bias feeds the school-to-prison pipeline | The Raw Story: Racial bias feeds the school-to-prison pipeline by The Christian Science Monitor By The Christian Science Monitor Monday, April 1, 2013 0:54 EDT [image: An African-American man behind bars. Photo: Shutterstock.com, all rights reserved.] Topics: Manhood Development Program ♦ Oakland High School [image: Temp Headline Image]Oakland High School sophomore Barry Williams answers a question from instructor Tiago Robinson during the Manhood Development Program at Oakland High School on March 12 in Oakland, California. This ... more »

State still has a role in supporting and holding districts accountable | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

State still has a role in supporting and holding districts accountable | EdSource Today: State still has a role in supporting and holding districts accountable - by Erin Gabel / commentary by Erin Gabel / commentary With the passage of Proposition 30 and almost nine out of 10 local ballot measures last November, the voters of California gave our schools an almost unprecedented chance to begin rebuilding after years of budget cuts. With his budget proposal, Governor Brown kept the promises we made to voters and made education funding his top priority. But his proposal does more th... more »

DIANE RAVITCH Joins GATES FOUNDATION as HEAD of CORPORATE ETHICS #edchat #soschat #uoodc13

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

*CORPORATE ETHICS *

The Educated Reporter: State Takeovers: What Loss of Local Control Means for Schools s

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

The Educated Reporter: State Takeovers: What Loss of Local Control Means for Schools s: State Takeovers: What Loss of Local Control Means for Schools from The Educated Reporter by Emily Richmond How bad does a public school system need to be for the state to take over? Are low student test scores alone enough? And what is a realistic time frame for the state to either turn schools around or restore local control? The looming prospects of state takeovers are making headlines from Maryland to Ohio, as lawmakers express frustration with the glacial pace of school improvement and st... more »

VERT INTERESTING BUT...NBC Learn K-12 makes thousands of historic videos, current events, and original resources available to K-12 teachers and students, all aligned to state standards and mapped to curriculum

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

K-12: < > See more > - Visit NBC Learn K12 - Get a Free Trial - Take a Tour - Schedule a Webinar - NBC Learn Toolkit NBC Learn K-12 subscription includes: - *Over 10,000 resources* - short 2 to 5 minute videos are engaging, relevant and inspiring, and help students develop critical thinking skills. - *Current events* - updated daily Monday-Friday, use these resources to help connect the real world to the classroom. - *Aligned to state standards and the common core* - search titles by state, subject, and grade level. - *Mapped to curriculum* - ... more »

Daily Kos: There is a truly remarkable Facebook Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Daily Kos: There is a truly remarkable Facebook Post: There is a truly remarkable Facebook Post by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) by Robert Valvano, brother of the late coach Jimmy V. He is a broadcaster for the Louisville basketball team. This post is written in the aftermath of today's game, including the horrifying injury to Kevin Ware. Here is the beginning: Okay violating my self imposed Facebook abstinence here just one time before June 1, but I hope you will understand... Today was that exceptional...I have broadcast games for 17 years, 12 on radio with Paul Rogers for the... more »

The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School Part IX: No Library Allowed!.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

http://www.southbronxschool.com: The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School Part IX: No Library Allowed! by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) All is not happy, least of all the books in the library at The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School, where learning, reading, and writing supposedly come first. For several months now, The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School has been without a professional in the library for several months. For years there had been a professional in the library, but alas, there is a professional no more. What is the Th... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-31-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Kevin Huffman Refuses to Meet Nashville School Board by dianerav Kevin Huffman, Tennessee’s State Commissioner of Education, taught for two years as a member of Teach for America. Then he was the TFA “communications director.” That is, the PR guy. Somehow he got picked to be head of education in a whole despite his minimal experience and his lack of any More Details on Tennessee Scrooge Plan by dianerav Here’s more about the Tennessee proposal to cut the welfare benefits of families if their children don’t make ... more »

Daily Kos: Leaves on the Current - a brief update after 8 weeks

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Daily Kos: Leaves on the Current - a brief update after 8 weeks: Leaves on the Current - a brief update after 8 weeks by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) this past week has been somewhat difficult. After two rounds of chemo we now understand why the oncologist has her on a cycle of two weeks on, one week off. By the last day of the 14 days on, which was last Monday, Leaves was very wiped out and without much energy. In the ensuing week she has slowly recovered, but her sense of taste remains very unpredictable. I have, after 6 weeks of chemo treatment and several weeks before th... more »

The Weekly Update: Chicago, Atlanta and the Twin Cities, all victims of corporate reform and Diane Ravitch shares her thoughts | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

The Weekly Update: Chicago, Atlanta and the Twin Cities, all victims of corporate reform and Diane Ravitch shares her thoughts | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: Chicago, Atlanta and the Twin Cities, all victims of corporate reform and Diane Ravitch shares her thoughts by seattleducation2011 [image: chicago students] Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel with the help of Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett who has connections with the Broad Foundation, Gates and all things corporate, is moving right along with the privatizers’ playbook of closing schools and converting many o... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: List of Common Core Corporate Sponsors and State Chiefs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: List of Common Core Corporate Sponsors and State Chiefs: List of Common Core Corporate Sponsors and State Chiefs by stlgretchen Common Core Chief State Officers had 2013 Legislative Conference March 17-19 in Washington DC. *It's interesting that it is listed as a legislative conference as state legislatures (and Congress) have had no idea on what these state chiefs and private interests have decided for states and local school districts.* On page 2/48 of the conference material (the first page) it states CCSSO is: *Supporting states in transforming ... more »

With A Brooklyn Accent: A Jam for Occupy DOE 2.0- The Battle for Public Schools, from Notorious Phd

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

With A Brooklyn Accent: A Jam for Occupy DOE 2.0- The Battle for Public Schools, from Notorious Phd: A Jam for Occupy DOE 2.0- The Battle for Public Schools, from Notorious Phd Teachers and parents don’t be blue Its Occupy DOE Number 2 Duncan must have hoped we’d disappear But we’ve come from all over to bend his ear From New York ,Virginia, Cali and Mass We're taking no prisoners And we're moving fast Because k-12 testing just won’t cut it A young mind needs stirring tests just shut it To the best of our teachers You’ve said “Goodbye M’am” You don’t make the grade According to VAM We'... more »

What Is the Impact of a School District? | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

What Is the Impact of a School District? | toteachornototeach: What Is the Impact of a School District? by aristotlethewise *What Is the Impact of a School District?* by Eric Lerum *Do school districts matter?* The Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institute released an interesting report today that asks, and attempts to answer, this very question. It’s an important question. The authors — Grover Whitehurst, Matthew Chingos, and Michael Gallaher — note that leaders of school districts soak up more than their share of the spotlight when it comes to education reform.... more »

Endorsements - Monica Ratliff for Board of Education 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

Endorsements - Monica Ratliff for Board of Education 2013:

Missouri Education Watchdog: Another Disenchanted Teacher on Common Core

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Another Disenchanted Teacher on Common Core: Another Disenchanted Teacher on Common Core by stlgretchen From tomakeaprairie.com and *On Programs, Broken Promises and Why We Aren’t Finland:* And that brings me to another reason I’m heartsick. Having actually welcomed the Common Core Standards for the emphasis they seemed to place on reading for deeper levels of meaning, I now find myself feeling disappointed and duped. I’m heartsick for another broken promise that’s explicitly stated in the Standards: that teachers would be “free to provide students ... more »

YouTube Is Shutting Down 2013 Official Video

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

YouTube Is Shutting Down 2013 Official Video

Schools Matter: New York's Race to Implement Common Core Before Revolt Breaks Out

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Schools Matter: New York's Race to Implement Common Core Before Revolt Breaks Out: New York's Race to Implement Common Core Before Revolt Breaks Out by Jim Horn Corporate ed reform schoolers across the country are in emergency mode to try to implement the latest testing deliver system, the Common Core, before parents and teachers and students can force a halt to the madness. In doing so, deformers make their desperation apparent as their agendas take precedent over learning or the opportunity to learn. In New York, high stakes decisions will be made this year based on test score... more »

No reprimand for the MAP boycotting teachers in Seattle | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

No reprimand for the MAP boycotting teachers in Seattle | Seattle Education: No reprimand for the MAP boycotting teachers in Seattle by seattleducation2011 [image: Teachers at Orca K8 in Seattle who boycotted the MAP test.] Teachers at Orca K8 in Seattle who boycotted the MAP test. Excerpts from the Scrap the MAP website: *Superintendent Banda promised that teachers who boycotted the MAP test would be disciplined, but because of the overwhelming solidarity from around the nation, he was forced to back down. In his letter he tries to save face by saying that no test coordinators or t... more »

Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can't go Back There!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can't go Back There!: Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can’t go back there! by Danny Weil Friday, March 29, 2013 From Advance Indiana http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com Indianapolis Islamic School Accused Of Cheating On ISTEP Exam The Indiana Supreme Court this past week held that Indiana’s Choice Scholarship program did not violate the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition on the drawing of funds from the state’s treasury for religious purposes. Under the school voucher program, parents are permitted to send their children to a private school of their choice instea... more »

How 2 Send Your Child 2 a Rheely Expensive (and Excellent) Private School | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

How 2 Send Your Child 2 a Rheely Expensive (and Excellent) Private School | EduShyster: How 2 Send Your Child 2 a Rheely Expensive (and Excellent) Private School by edushyster2012 It’s a conundrum faced by nearly every public school parent. You run an organization that puts students first, but sending your own personal student to an elite private school costs a flippin’ fortune. Twenty two thousand large to be exact. And that’s just the start of it. As any public school parent who also sends her child to an elite private school with an annual tuition bill of $22,000 knows all too w... more »

Closing Schools: Why it’s not a good idea | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Closing Schools: Why it’s not a good idea | Seattle Education: Closing Schools: Why it’s not a good idea by seattleducation2011 [image: chicago closing2] Two ALEC style education bills that Washington State Senator Steve Litzow sponsored,SB5328 and SB 5329. The first bill would grade schools and the second bill would either close the “low performing” schools permanently, convert them into charter schools, have the principal fired or replace half of the teaching staff. These two bills represent what has become the favored process for privatizing our public schools; label schools as ... more »

PD: Will It Float? | My Island View

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

PD: Will It Float? | My Island View: PD: Will It Float? by tomwhitby I have long been a David Letterman fan on any of the shows he has hosted. Over the years one of my favorite Letterman bits has been when he and Paul Shaffer would discuss the possible ability of a specific item to float in water. After their predictions the item would be tossed into a giant, transparent vat of water to determine who was correct. The results were apparent and immediate. Professional Development has long been an element in American education. At one time things changed slowly so that the need for ... more »

How to Save Your Child's (and Yours) Sanity From Hi Stakes Testing Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: How to Save Your Child's (and Yours) Sanity From Hi Stakes Testing:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Transportation Changes May Be Coming

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Transportation Changes May Be Coming: Transportation Changes May Be Coming by Melissa Westbrook In starting this discussion, I will make a point about transportation in SPS that was made at the Work Session on the Budget. Overall, SPS transports many more students than the average district does. My understanding of that meaning is that many other districts do not provide transportation to schools outside of your neighborhood and the amount of transportation available to middle/high school students is far less in other districts. I understand th... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Bill Gates Promises More Money for Accelerated Common Core Implementation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Bill Gates Promises More Money for Accelerated Common Core Implementation: Bill Gates Promises More Money for Accelerated Common Core Implementation by stlgretchen Teachers, don't worry that your accountability will be based on assessments not yet written to be taught from curriculum not yet available and tests mandated to be taken on computers that are non-existent. Bill Gates wants you to buy into his vision. He's "here to help you". It's sort of like "it's for the kids". From foundationcenter.org: Gates Foundation Seeks Proposals to Accelerate ... more »

50 ways adults in schools ‘cheat’ on standardized tests

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

50 ways adults in schools ‘cheat’ on standardized tests: 50 ways adults in schools ‘cheat’ on standardized tests Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 31, 2013 at 2:51 pm 0 Comments More [image: test2]Here’s a list of 50-plus ways that schools manipulate standardized test scores to make the results look better than they actually are. They were compiled by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or FairTest, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the misuse of standardized test scores, and were taken from actual cases documented in government and reports. You can learn more here about t... more »

California Father | @califather Califather all spiffed up and ready to stream Occupy the DoE! #edchat #soschat #uoodc13

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

California Father | Educating Sullivan: [image: California Father] califather on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free - ON DEMAND - ABOUT OCCUPY THE DEPT OF ED - HOW TO CHAT

Chesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Commitment to Eradicating Poverty [To The Foolish] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Chesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Commitment to Eradicating Poverty [To The Foolish] | The Jose Vilson: Chesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Commitment to Eradicating Poverty [To The Foolish] by Jose Vilson [image: Cesar Chavez Day Google Doodle]I’m Feeling Lucky Dear critics of Google’s choice for their Google Doodle of the Day: What part of “serving the poor” is not aligned with today, a celebration of Jesus’ renewal and purpose in life? In no way am I saying Cesar Chavez is Jesus, but are Chavez’s (and Dolores Huerta, by the way) works not aligned with the auspices of serving the poor... more »

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) fights back against the corporate raiders and enemies of education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) fights back against the corporate raiders and enemies of education: City College of San Francisco (CCSF) fights back against the corporate raiders and enemies of education by Danny Weil [image: images-1] Recently, students, faculty and community supporters rallied to save the *City College of San Francisco* (CCSF), once known as a “junior college” or “community college” ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ohmyNueU94&feature=youtu.be). However, the names ‘junior college and community college” no longer find resonance in the snaky plans of the pr... more »

New York Times Easter Puzzle: Too Many Effective Teachers | InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

New York Times Easter Puzzle: Too Many Effective Teachers | InterACT: New York Times Easter Puzzle: Too Many Effective Teachers by David B. Cohen The New York Times has a front-page story on teacher evaluation, and the connundrum faced by reformers who came up with misguided attempts to use test scores and cut scores and all manner of quantification and formulation in their efforts to find the “bad teachers.” But now, it turns out their systems aren’t working as intended. A couple of quick reactions here. First, as Randi Weingarten suggests in the story itself, perhaps there aren’... more »

Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez | Photos - ABC News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez | Photos - ABC News: Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated on March 31 in California, Colorado and Texas. Share 93 Share on emailEmail Print More Sharing ServicesMore Google Doodle1 of 30 [image: Previous][image: Next] [image: Google Doodles Cesar Chavez] [image: Google Celebrates Mary Leaky] [image: Google Honors MLK] [image: Google Doodle: A Zamboni Machine] [image: Google Doodle: Zamboni machine] [image: Google Doodle: Ada Lovelace] [image: Google Doodle: Ada Lovelace] [image: Google Doodle: Thanksgiving 2012] [image: Google ... more »

Asimov’s “Cult of Ignorance” and Education Reform? – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Asimov’s “Cult of Ignorance” and Education Reform? – @ the chalk face: Asimov’s “Cult of Ignorance” and Education Reform? by plthomasedd What does an essay by science fiction giant Isaac Asimov in 1980 have to do with education reform in 2013? Writing in *Newsweek* (1980, January 21) in the cusp of America’s shift into the Reagan era of conservatism that included the roots of the current education reform movement built on accountability, standards, and high-stakes testing, Isaac Asimov declared the U.S. “a cult of ignorance,” explaining: There is a cult of ignorance in the United... more »

School vouchers don't work | Arkansas Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

School vouchers don't work | Arkansas Blog: School vouchers don't workPosted by Max Brantley on Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 5:15 AM You just have to follow* Diane Ravitch* if you live in this land of Stepford legislators who accept pronouncements from the Billionaire Boys Club school reform lobby as holy writ. If a Walton says it — or somebody paid by the Waltons — it must be so. There is another side. Speaking of the Waltons: They finance a school up at the *University of Arkansas*'s Walton branch campus in Fayetteville dedicated to churning out support for the BBC's anti-union, pro-vo... more »

Daily Kos: 40 Years After Watergate, It's Almost Impossible to Hold Government Accountable

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Daily Kos: 40 Years After Watergate, It's Almost Impossible to Hold Government Accountable: 40 Years After Watergate, It's Almost Impossible to Hold Government Accountable by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) is the title of this piece by Michael Winship. I am linking to an Alternet version of the piece. It is written in the context of a recent conference on Watergate with many important participants present. Winship had himself been a journalist at the time. to give a quick sense of his attitude, let me quote the following: Yet make no mistake — for all the general hilarity (an... more »

Poison seeds: The bitter harvest of the APS cheating scandal | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Poison seeds: The bitter harvest of the APS cheating scandal | Get Schooled: Poison seeds: The bitter harvest of the APS cheating scandal by Maureen Downey [image: downeyart0401]In 2009, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education featured Atlanta’s Parks Middle School on its annual bus tour of high-achieving schools, and I joined the visit. I arrived early in my own car, beating the bus and getting a chance to chat with students for an hour. The enthusiastic students expressed pride in their school, which was decorated with banners announcing its awards and distinctions. An... more »

Louisiana Educator: Parents and Educators Object to LDOE Takeover Policies

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Louisiana Educator: Parents and Educators Object to LDOE Takeover Policies: Parents and Educators Object to LDOE Takeover Policies by Michael Deshotels Please click on this link to view an open letter written to New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, Steve Barr and the Oprah Winfrey Network by the John McDonogh advisory committee. I believe this advisory committee is made up of dedicated community leaders who would like to see a much better future for the students of John McDonogh High School. Their letter expresses legitimate concerns about the unfair negative depiction of the school ... more »

Is Scientology Sneaking Into Classrooms?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Is Scientology Sneaking Into Classrooms?: Is Scientology Sneaking Into Classrooms? Applied Scholastics, a teaching method explicitly linked to L. Ron Hubbard, has put a group of Phoenix charter schools in the hot seat. [image: Is Scientology Sneaking Into Classrooms?]Actor Tom Cruise attends the grand opening of Applied Scholastics International's new headquarters on July 26, 2003, in St. Louis, Missouri. Applied Scholastics is an international teacher training centre utilizing the learning methods developed by L. Ron Hubbard. (Photo: Getty Images) Scientology could be creeping in... more »

Sunday read. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Sunday read. | Fred Klonsky: Sunday read. by Fred Klonsky [image: IMG_0253] *Photo: Fred Klonsky. Anna Maria Island, Florida.* *No matter what they do, how they measure it or what scheme they put in place*, the results keep coming back showing that we’re pretty damn good. And they act surprised when even their stupid data keeps saying that. *But that doesn’t keep them* from doing away with tenure. *Data collecting, Big Brother and the crazy Glenn Beck.* Even a broken clock is right twice a day. *The rich and powerful are just like us* except they’re rich and powerful. *Michael Madiga... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-31-13 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: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] How Vouchers “Worked” in Cleveland by dianerav A reader in Cleveland comments on today’s post about vouchers in Cleveland. He is responding to a comment by another reader, who defended vouchers: “I’m from Cleveland. The vouchers worked! They raised the cost of per-pupil expenditures in our public schools and resulted in cuts to funding for arts and enrichment programs, making public schools a less desirable “choice.” See Freakenomics for their take on vouchers. T... more »