Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 4-28-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

Short Notes: Disempowerment Is A Cooperative Act | The Jose Vilson

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 minutes ago

Short Notes: Disempowerment Is A Cooperative Act | The Jose Vilson: Short Notes: Disempowerment Is A Cooperative Act by Jose Vilson [image: Sabrina Stevens at TEDxNYED, Brooklyn Tech] Sabrina Stevens at TEDxNYED, Brooklyn Tech A few things: - The Atlantic’s John Tierney joins in the chorus of the annoyed in this essay about the Atlanta / Washington DC cheating scandals and its ramifications for education reform. [The Atlantic] - Michael Doyle makes a clear argument for the village raising the child. [BHS Doyle] - Florida’s investigating K-12 Inc. Hate to use the wo... more »

Rhee, Stargel Got Some ‘Splainin’ to do About Those Parent Trigger Petition Signatures | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 minutes ago

Rhee, Stargel Got Some ‘Splainin’ to do About Those Parent Trigger Petition Signatures | Scathing Purple Musings: Rhee, Stargel Got Some ‘Splainin’ to do About Those Parent Trigger Petition Signatures by Bob Sikes Yes, they did: 9 No, they didn’t: 9 (Updates as responses arrive) Kathleen McGrory’s story that appeared in the *Miami Herald *on Friday included revelations that two people on the list of Parent Trigger supporters Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst submitted to Lakeland Senator Kelli Stargel never signed the petition. One confirmed that she did. Scathing Purple Musings... more »

Remarks by The President at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner | The White House

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 minutes ago

Remarks by The President at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner | The White House: Remarks by The President at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner by The White House Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. 10:14 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. (Laughter.) How do you like my new entrance music? (Applause.) Rush Limbaugh warned you about this -- second term, baby. (Laughter and applause.) We’re changing things around here a little bit. (Laughter.) Actually, my advisors were a little worried about the new rap ent... more »

Duncan Protest Planned at AERA – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Duncan Protest Planned at AERA – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Duncan Protest Planned at AERA by Jim Horn For the first time since I can remember some members of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)—the largest association of educators and educational researchers in the world—are taking a public stand at AERA’s annual meeting in San Francisco against the corporatization, standardization and privatization of education. [image: reclaimaera-thumbnail]Sadly, the leadership of AERA has invited Arne Duncan, who represents and supports the technocratic, dehumaniz... more »

Nancy Kaffer: School reform dangerous if you don't understand value of education | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Nancy Kaffer: School reform dangerous if you don't understand value of education | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: Nancy Kaffer: School reform dangerous if you don't understand value of education There’s a fight brewing over the heart and soul of public education. In one corner, we have Gov. Rick Snyder, who says he believes that the point of an education is to connect the student with a job. It’s not a crazy notion — it worked for Snyder, after all; the governor amassed a slew of degrees at an astonishingly young age, and rode his academic success to the top of three fields. An... more »

Common Core goals come under fire - NewsandSentinel.com |

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Common Core goals come under fire - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel: Common Core goals come under fireStandards are being eyedApril 28, 2013 By EVAN BEVINS , The Marietta Times Save | Post a comment | Standards are being eyed MARIETTA - Three years after Ohio adopted the Common Core educational standards and a little more than 15 months from the start of the first year in which students will be tested on them, the standards are coming under fire at the national, state and local levels. "It's basically a pow... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Parents File Class Action Lawsuit Against State Testing by dianerav Parents in Rochester, New York, filed a federal class action lawsuit against the state and their son’s school, which punished him for refusing to take the tests in accordance with his parents’ wishes. The school not only punished the boy, but sent the sheriff’s office to the ballfield to make sure he was not allowed to play baseball. Good for them! I would sue too. The story says: Hello, NY D... more »

Daily Kos: I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Daily Kos: I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing: I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) So says Thomas Gibbons-Neff in this piece in today's *Washington Post*. WHy should we care that he says that? 13 at the time of the September 11 attacks that justified our going into Afghanistan, he served two tours there as a Marine rifleman. His family home is a few blocks from the blast site in Boston. As he writes, When a relative told me, his voice brimming with anger, that he wanted to kill th... more »

Nearly 12% of Sac City students chronically absent, UC Davis study finds - Education - The Sacramento Bee

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Nearly 12% of Sac City students chronically absent, UC Davis study finds - Education - The Sacramento Bee: Nearly 12% of Sac City students chronically absent, UC Davis study finds lkalb@sacbee.comPUBLISHED SUNDAY, APR. 28, 2013 *"Poverty proved to be a major facet of the problem."* Thousands of Sacramento City Unified School District students consistently fail to take the most basic step toward learning at school – showing up for class. A sobering report on chronically high absenteeism in the district found 11.7 percent of the students miss at least one out of every 10 school days.... more »

Parents struggle with funding the high cost of college educations - The Denver Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Parents struggle with funding the high cost of college educations - The Denver Post: *Parents struggle with funding the high cost of college educations* Brian Kerr and his wife, Julie, oversee studying by their quadruplets at their home in Littleton last week. The quadruplets, from left, are Chrissy, Clare, John and Catherine. After having already paid for their two older daughters to go to college, Brian and Julie Kerr now have their 17-year-old quadruplets, juniors in high school, beginning to look at college. (*Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post*) Brian Kerr admits that whe... more »

Education programs funding - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Education programs funding - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: S.758 Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 7 minutes ago A bill to establish a comprehensive literacy program. Bill Introduced: S.756 Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 7 minutes ago A bill to allow funds under title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to be used to provide training to school personnel regarding how to rec... more »

More on the RESPECT Blueprint: Attracting the Desperate and the Naive – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

More on the RESPECT Blueprint: Attracting the Desperate and the Naive – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: More on the RESPECT Blueprint: Attracting the Desperate and the Naive by Jim Horn [image: RESPECT chart] *“. . . attracting a high-performing and diverse pool of talented individuals to become teachers and principals is a critical priority” (p. 5). * For all the Arne-talk about attracting the best and the brightest, the chart from p. 24 of this Orwellian version of teacher respect shows us a different vision. Click on it to enlarge (my red inserts). ”Beginning teachers”... more »

I need to set the record straight | Opine I will

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

I need to set the record straight | Opine I will: I need to set the record straight I teach my students that their reputation is the most important asset they own. Your reputation is determined by your actions, your deeds, and also how you are viewed by others. Therefore, it is vital that you understand that your reputation ultimately defines you. Success is not judged by how much you make, but rather, real success is judged by your character and how others view your actions and deeds. I believe this with my heart and soul. Unfortunately, my character was questioned by an unprove... more »

RPNPS Voices: Scenes From The Uptown Rally and March Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

RPNPS Voices: Scenes From The Uptown Rally and March Today: "Rogers Park Neighbors For Public Schools" Scenes From The Uptown Rally and March Today Here's a bit of a slide show from today's event in Uptown. It was a terrific rally and march--- we made banners, listened to the Stewart band, had a press conference, and marched around the various parts of Uptown that are struggling to survive. "The stations of gentrification," is how I referred to it. Stewart Elementary, The Men's Hotel, the former Hull House, and Stockton Elementary. Karen Zaccor and Stavroula Harrisis from North... more »

Mexico’s border schools deal with an influx of English-speaking students | The Raw Story

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Mexico’s border schools deal with an influx of English-speaking students | The Raw Story: Mexico’s border schools deal with an influx of English-speaking students by The Christian Science Monitor [image: Temp Headline Image]Schoolchildren scamper across the border to waiting parents in the Mexican town of Palomas in May 2009.(Tony Avelar/The Christian Science Monitor/File) Elementary students at Lamberto Hernández School in this northern Mexican city were long gone by the time teachers sat down recently to learn about the growing population of English-speaking students in their c... more »

Bush Foundation Hides Behind Parent Revolution in Faux Parent Group Flap | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Bush Foundation Hides Behind Parent Revolution in Faux Parent Group Flap | Scathing Purple Musings: Bush Foundation Hides Behind Parent Revolution in Faux Parent Group Flap by Bob Sikes Two separate revelations this week further unmasked the political scam that has become Florida’s Parent Trigger legislation. The first involves evidence that the petition that Michelle Rhee furnished Lakeland Senator Kelli Stargel is filled with people who never signed it. *Scathing Purple Musings* reported on the other that concerns the existence of a faux parent group called The Sunshine Parents... more »

Education in America: right or privilege? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Education in America: right or privilege? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Education in America: right or privilege? by Kuhio Kane So, is schooling in America a right or privilege? Do we hold sacrosanct our hopes and wishes that what still remains is a free and public right to education in America? Or, has the division of inequity in America, driven by the leverage gained by banks too big to fail who are responsible for the shaping of opportunity create education as privilege? I was told recently that schooling in America is a right because it is taxpayer funded. I... more »

Cage-Busting Skunks Disrupting the Status Quo - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Cage-Busting Skunks Disrupting the Status Quo - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Cage-Busting Skunks Disrupting the Status Quo by Nancy Flanagan ** *"When you wage war on the public schools, you're attacking the mortar that holds the community together. You're not a conservative, you're a vandal."* ~Garrison Keillor~ This is a blog about innovation--that is, innovation in public education. More specifically, creating catchy memes to push "pioneering" thinking while simultaneously attacking the "status quo" (painted as bad, very bad) in American education. Und... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Why do the media nearly always frame education issues as the UFT vs. the Mayor; and Ben Chapman's response

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

NYC Public School Parents: Why do the media nearly always frame education issues as the UFT vs. the Mayor; and Ben Chapman's response: Why do the media nearly always frame education issues as the UFT vs. the Mayor; and Ben Chapman's response by Leonie Haimson [image: Corporate Media = Corporate Lies] One of my particular gripes is how the politics of education in NYC is usually framed by the media in simplistic terms as a battle between the teachers union vs. the mayor, without any reference to the views of parents, advocates or other members of the community. This is especially ... more »

Students organizing Georgia integrated prom: Governor’s silence is ‘political suicide’ | The Raw Story

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Students organizing Georgia integrated prom: Governor’s silence is ‘political suicide’ | The Raw Story: Students organizing Georgia integrated prom: Governor’s silence is ‘political suicide’ by Arturo Garcia [image: Georgia Governor Nathan Deal via Wikimedia Commons] Two of the student organizers of the first integrated prom for a Georgia high school told Democracy Now anchors Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez that Gov. Nathan Deal’s (R) reluctance to back them could come back to haunt him politically. “It really shocked me,” Wilcox County High School student Brandon Davis said in an... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Perth Amboy Schools Circus Update

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Perth Amboy Schools Circus Update: Perth Amboy Schools Circus Update by Duke So what's new in Perth Amboy, The Reformiest District in New Jersey™? The superintendent of the city's schools says that a board member is lying about where he lives, the most recent salvo in an ongoing public-education battle. *Janine Caffrey said at a school board meeting Thursday night that the state is investigating whether Israel Varela lives on Lewis Street in the city or 40 miles away in Hunterdon County*. School board members are required to live in the school district. *"He needs... more »

Bennett: #commoncore because Exxon-Mobile said so. – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Bennett: #commoncore because Exxon-Mobile said so. – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Bennett: #commoncore because Exxon-Mobile said so. by Timothy D. Slekar Thanks to Bob Sikes for bringing us a new defense for the common core. It seems that the Sun Sentinel was present at the Broward Workshop’s State of Our County forum on April 12 and got the pleasure of listening to Tony Bennet defend the federally imposed/market driven common core curriculum. You know the #commoncore? - The standards that are really a curriculum that will usher in an era of testing never before ... more »

Diane in the Evening 4-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Parent: I Am Fighting Against the Testing Mania by dianerav I received an email from a parent in Long Island who has decided to join the campaign against high-stakes testing. She blames Common Core for her children’s unhappiness with school, but Common Core is just the latest manifestation of the testing obsession embedded in No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. She blogs, writes letter, button holes elected officials. She is fighting for her children and for all other children. With more parents like h... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Revenge Against Those Who Question "Reform"

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Revenge Against Those Who Question "Reform": Revenge Against Those Who Question "Reform" by Duke Back in November - before Chris Christie declared that poor black people in Camden weren't capable of running their schools like rich white people in the 'burbs - the Camden school board actually wielded a little power. And last year enough members of the board banded together to exercise that power and stop South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross from bringing the national charter chain KIPP into Camden to establish a quasi-charter where a new *public* school was... more »

PAA leader helps expose Parent Revolution carpetbagging | Parents Across America

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

PAA leader helps expose Parent Revolution carpetbagging | Parents Across America: PAA leader helps expose Parent Revolution astroturfers by pureparents Rita Solnet, PAA founding member and leader of PAA Florida affiliate Testing is not Teaching, reports that she and others have helped expose Parent Revolution’s carpetbagging. PR (an apt acronym) is a California group funded by Gates, Walton and the usual gang to promote charter schools and the parent trigger. No Florida parent group has come out in favor of the parent trigger, but Parent Revolution’s astroturfers have staged a... more »

Ed Notes Online: Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman at AERA Conf Sunday in San Francisco

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman at AERA Conf Sunday in San Francisco: Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman at AERA Conf Sunday in San Francisco by ed notes online We were asked to make our real reform film available as a counterpoint to the ed deform WFS. Note they are showing another ed deform film after ours, followed by a panel discussion. NOT FAIR - 2-1. Unfortunately, Brian Jones and Diana Zavala will be heading to AERA on Tuesday for a panel and will miss this. Would have been great to have them rep us in the context of the bookend... more »

Tony Bennett’s Desperate, Disengenuous Defense of Common Core | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Tony Bennett’s Desperate, Disengenuous Defense of Common Core | Scathing Purple Musings: Tony Bennett’s Desperate, Disengenuous Defense of Common Core by Bob Sikes *Indiana Deals Major Blow to National Education Standards — American Principles in Action* *Sun Sentinel *reporter Anthony Man was in attendance when Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett made a speech to Broward Workshop’s State of Our County forum on April 12. Bennett focused his speech on the sudden and unexpected debate that’s emerged on Common Core Standards. “I would like to start my comments today around ...more »

A dozen things teachers won’t tell parents (e.g., ‘Kids dish on your secrets all the time’)

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

A dozen things teachers won’t tell parents (e.g., ‘Kids dish on your secrets all the time’): A dozen things teachers won’t tell parents (e.g., ‘Kids dish on your secrets all the time’) Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 27, 2013 at 12:22 pm 0 Comments More [image: http://thesecretsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/09/secrets.html] (thesecretsjourney.blogspot.com) Interviews with teachers by Reader’s Digest yielded a list of more than 30 things that teachers think but would not tell their students’ parents. Here are a dozen of them, and you can find the rest here. 1. *Kids dish on your secret... more »

A ‘parent trigger’ mystery solved in Florida

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

A ‘parent trigger’ mystery solved in Florida: A ‘parent trigger’ mystery solved in Florida Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 27, 2013 at 11:06 am 0 Comments More [image: parent-trigger1]Every major parents group in Florida, including the PTA, has long been vocally opposed to the “parent trigger” legislationnow before the state legislature. Recently, a new group called Sunshine Parents was formed, this one in support of parent trigger — laws allowing parents at a failing school the right to change the school’s structure. What seemed unusual about the group wasn’t that some parents ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: New Advanced Learning Policy

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: New Advanced Learning Policy: New Advanced Learning Policy by Charlie Mas At the May 1 Board meeting we will see the introduction of the new Advanced Learning policy. There is a LOT wrong with it. A LOT. This is the public's chance to speak up and ask the Board to fix it. It is time to get active. Let's start with the Board Action Report. *"Policy D12.00 was adopted in 1992 and describes services and options for highly capable students that are out-of-date in 2013. A review of Advanced Learning programs conducted in 2007 by nationally recognized... more »

Kelli Stargel’s Fake List of Parent Trigger Supporters that MIchelle Rhee Provided | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Kelli Stargel’s Fake List of Parent Trigger Supporters that MIchelle Rhee Provided | Scathing Purple Musings: Kelli Stargel’s Fake List of Parent Trigger Supporters that MIchelle Rhee Provided by Bob Sikes Earlier this week, Sen. Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), was asked by constituents and members of the media for the list of supporters she’s been touting during her advancement of the Parent Trigger bill she’s sponsoring. The list came from Michelle Rhee’s organization, StudentsFirst. Scathing Purple Musings has a copy of the list, but more importantly, Mary McGrory of the *Miami... more »

Online education is mostly a fantasy | The Raw Story

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Online education is mostly a fantasy | The Raw Story: Online education is mostly a fantasy by Pando Daily [image: Fashion man and laptop, via Shutterstock][image: computer_bored_pd] If you listen to the advocates of online learning, MOOCs and Internet-based courses will cure all of our education problems. Just hand out some Android tablets, stream some courses in Python, and sit back and watch as everyone magically becomes a highly productive knowledge worker propelling the United States to new heights of economic prosperity. But this vision of online learning is so ridiculous I... more »

TALLAHASSEE: Parent trigger bill spawns mystery video from supposed supporters - Florida - MiamiHerald.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

TALLAHASSEE: Parent trigger bill spawns mystery video from supposed supporters - Florida - MiamiHerald.com: Parent trigger bill spawns mystery video from supposed supporters [image: A video that features South Florida moms praising the parent-trigger bill was attributed to a mysterious group known as the Sunshine Parents. But it was actually produced by a California-based advocacy group.] A video that features South Florida moms praising the parent-trigger bill was attributed to a mysterious group known as the Sunshine Parents. But it was actually produced by a California-based ad... more »

Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy? by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Jack Whelan.* [W]hat is at issue here is evaluating the danger of what might happen to our humanity in the present half-century, and distinguishing between what we want to keep and what we are ready to lose, between what we can welcome as legitimate human development and what we should reject with our last ounce of strength as dehumanization. I cannot think that choices of this kind are unimp... more »

Airplanes are taking off and landing on time again; America’s 7.4 million public school students deserve the same support and swift action

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

NEA - Ed Flight: *Airplanes are taking off and landing on time again; America’s 7.4 million public school students deserve the same support and swift action. Tell Congress to make students and public education a priority, too.* *Instructions on how to send a paper airplane message to Congress:* 1. *Click here to download* a printable paper airplane template. 2. What education fixes would you like to see take flight? Write your answer(s) on your paper airplane. 3. Take a photo of your paper airplane and post it to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or another website of your ch... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson 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] Rhee’s StudentsFirst Honored Anti-Gay Legislator in Tennessee by dianerav As Laura Clawson writes at The Daily Kos, Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst honored an anti-gay legislator in Tennessee as its “legislator of the year.” Last year, the organization picked a Georgia legislator known for his strident anti-immigrant views. Rhee supported 105 candidates in 2012. 90 were Republicans. Her organization spent nearly $1 million in Tennessee legislative races to make s... more »

Guest column: Metairie attorney dissects the post-Katrina, ALEC-inspired politicalization of Louisiana public education | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Guest column: Metairie attorney dissects the post-Katrina, ALEC-inspired politicalization of Louisiana public education | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Guest column: Metairie attorney dissects the post-Katrina, ALEC-inspired politicalization of Louisiana public education April 26, 2013 by tomaswell ** * * * * *EDITOR’S NOTE:* LouisianaVoice *traditionally addresses state political events as they occur. Our posts generally run between 1,000 and 1,500 words in length. Recently, however, attorney Nancy Picard, a Metairie law firm partner, submitted the following 4,000-word essay that examines... more »

The Diploma’s Vanishing Value | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

The Diploma’s Vanishing Value | toteachornototeach: The Diploma’s Vanishing Value by aristotlethewise The Diploma’s Vanishing Value Bachelor’s degrees may not be worth it, but community college can bring a strong returnBy JEFFREY J. SELINGO May 1 is fast approaching, and with it the deadline for high-school seniors to commit to a college. At kitchen tables across the country, anxious students and their parents are asking: Does it really matter where I go to school? When it comes to lifetime earnings, we’ve been told, a bachelor’s degree pays off six times more than a high-school dipl... more »

UPDATE: Some thoughts on teaching Daily Kos: A mental meandering of no great importance

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Daily Kos: A mental meandering of no great importance: Some thoughts on teaching by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) for reasons probably not worth explaining, I just had occasion to reread the Press Release put out by Prince George's County Public Schools when I won my Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher award. It reminds me again of why I wanted to be in a classroom, so I thought I would share them here. Do with them what you want. Peace. “I believe that unless the United States can maintain vibrant and viable public schools, we run a real risk that our experiment in democracy will fa... more »

UPDATE: Dear NYS Parents, – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Dear NYS Parents, – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Why Are We in “the Age of Infinite Examination”? by plthomasedd Within the perpetual education and education reform debates, the topics of poverty and testing are central themes (poverty is no excuse, and better tests are always being promised), but we too often are missing the key elements that should be addressed in the dynamic that exists between poverty and testing. Please read the full discussion about poverty and testing HERE. Dear NYS Parents, by Chris Cerrone Here is another terrific guest post from Bianca Tani... more »

Displaced Sac City elementary students stay closer to home - Education - The Sacramento Bee

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Displaced Sac City elementary students stay closer to home - Education - The Sacramento Bee: Displaced Sac City elementary students stay closer to homelkalb@sacbee.comPUBLISHED SATURDAY, APR. 27, 2013 Hundreds of students at schools soon to close in the Sacramento City Unified School District have pushed for transfers to nearby schools rather than pursue the most sought- after campuses in the district, open enrollment data show. And most students, regardless of whether they were affected by school closure, were successful in getting their first or second choice through open enroll...more »

UPDATE: Opened the Door for Public Common Core Discussion Missouri Education Watchdog: The Lone Reporter Gets the Scoop: People Want Answers CC

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Lone Reporter Attending the Common Core Chesterfield Presentation Gets the Scoop: People Want Answers to Common Core Implementation/Ramifications: The Chesterfield City Hall Common Core Panel Has Opened the Door for Public Common Core Discussion by stlgretchen Common Core has become a hot topic of discussion in Missouri. Linked below is an article from the Eureka-Wildwood Patch about the recent panel presentation centering on CCSS adoption, implementation, ramifications, data retrieval and legislative update on SB210 and HB616. Unfortunately the... more »

“Good” Schools Seminar: Gleanings from a Class | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

“Good” Schools Seminar: Gleanings from a Class | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: “Good” Schools Seminar: Gleanings from a Class by larrycuban For at least a decade I have taught a seminar for graduate students at Stanford called “‘Good’ Schools: Policy, Research, and Practice.” The masters and doctoral students who take the course are committed, for the most part, to school improvement and reducing social injustices. They have scored high on the Graduate Record Exam and bring a strong record of prior academic achievement to the seminar. Many have spent time... more »

Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee. by Fred Klonsky [image: IMG_0320] *Photo: Fred Klonsky. Pension rally at Harper College.* It has been a busy week. This morning is no exception. I’m drinking my coffee early. Scrambled an egg. Toasted a slice of multi-grain bread. And out the door heading for suburban Oak Brook for the Spring Conference of the Illinois Education Association Retired. Rumors and official responses have been circulating for a couple of weeks that the IEA and the other public employee unions have been *at the table *with state senate leaders discussing... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-27-13

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

*4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:* *4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT* STUDY WARNS THAT GRAD RATES WILL DIP WITH A-thru-G COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 1 day ago By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/17Zsr53 Thursday, April 25, 2013 :: Requirements that high school students complete college prep courses as a condition of graduation may upgrade the value of the diploma and make some quick inroads on federal goals to produce college and career ready students. But new research released Thursday suggest... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 4-27-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Education Research Report* * *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* * * Shaping Professional Development to Promote the Diffusion of Instructional Expertise Among Teachers Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 hour ago This study examines how high-quality professional development can promote the diffusion of effective teaching strategies among teachers through collaboration. Drawing on longitudinal and sociometric data from a study of writing professional development in 39 schools, this study shows that teachers’ participation in professional development is associat... more »

Teacher Appreciation Week Webinar

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Teacher Appreciation Week Webinar: Teacher Appreciation Week Webinar by Server Teacher Appreciation Week Webinar*Stand Up for a Teacher…Teachers!* May 5, 2013 – 9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time [EDT} *Please Join Us as We Appreciate Our Teachers for a Day, Week, and Years!!!* *Download a Flyer* and Share It With a Friend. During this Save Our Schools hosted Webinar, Teachers Jesse Hagopian, Sonya Romero Smith, David Wilson, Nadia Zananiri, Okaikor Aryee-Price, Becca Ritchie, Margo Murray, and Lauren Cohen will speak to the struggle in their schools. In addition each will share how we mi... more »