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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 4-7-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



Energy or Entropy?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 minutes ago
Energy or Entropy?: Energy or Entropy? by Sam I spent the other morning in my son’s Montessori classroom. It’s a beautiful, old-school room with high ceilings, large windows and plenty of space, which is good because it’s filled each day with twenty-eight 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. No small task. I’ve been in Montessori classrooms before, yet I was still surprised when the day was never officially called to order. Instead the children took off their shoes, found some work (or not), and began their day in twenty-eight different ways while their two teachers, Ms. Luz and Ms. Allison, ... more »

Jeb Bush’s Foundations Falsely Allign Parent Opposition to Unions While Raking in Cash from Edu Corps | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 minutes ago
Jeb Bush’s Foundations Falsely Allign Parent Opposition to Unions While Raking in Cash from Edu Corps | Scathing Purple Musings: Jeb Bush’s Foundations Falsely Allign Parent Opposition to Unions While Raking in Cash from Edu Corps by Bob Sikes *StateImpact’s* John O’Connor got a quote from a spokeswomen who provides statements for both of Jeb Bush’s foundations for his story about the formation of parent inspired Alliance for Public Schools. Jaryn Emhof is listed as National Director of Communications for Bush’s *Foundation for Excellence in Education * (FEE) and as the Director... more »

Daily Kos: Right and Wrong Answers on School Safety

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 33 minutes ago
Daily Kos: Right and Wrong Answers on School Safety: Right and Wrong Answers on School Safety by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Here’s a multiple-choice quiz:Which of the following should be part of a model school safety plan? a) Proven evidence-based models for school violence reduction that focus on preventing misbehavior and violence by promoting a healthy, positive school climate. b) Threat assessment, emphasis on positive behavioral interventions, social and emotional learning, nonviolent conflict resolution, and community engagement including parents, students, educators, a... more »

Schools Matter: The New Abolitionists

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 35 minutes ago
Schools Matter: The New Abolitionists: The New Abolitionists by Jim Horn Offered on Thursday at Arne Duncan's workplace: Testing Abolitionists We are engaged in a struggle to abolish high stakes standardized tests and to bring back local public control to a public school system that serves the needs of all children who choose it. Resistance is growing among teachers, parents, students, legislators, and unions (at least in Chicago). And though our numbers are still thin and our voices, perhaps, muted and our sprouting resistance sometimes subverted and coopted, that does not ke... more »

Destruction of Public Education by Design: DFER Plan for Obama's Education Policy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 40 minutes ago
*Destruction of Public Education by Design: DFER Plan for Obama's Education Policy* Link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7wdDUUSR15dWk42WTNSeFA1WTA/edit?usp=sharing

Daily Kos: Perhaps this will help you understand school closings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Daily Kos: Perhaps this will help you understand school closings: Perhaps this will help you understand school closings by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) why in places like Chicago and Philadelphia the solution to economic problems in schools (even if artificially created) is to close schools. Imagine if you will a detailed step by step guide on how to go about closing schools, field tested. Imagine an organization which trains the leadership of many school districts, even although those it trains often do not meet the state requirements for being superintendents but somehow manage ... more »

California Father | Join me at Occupy the Department of Education, April 4-7, 2013 for a lively discussion about the future of education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour 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 - SCHEDULE Watch live streaming video from califather at livestream.com

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-7-13 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] Is inBloom Engaged in Identity Theft? by dianerav The Gates Foundation spent $100 million along with the Carnegie Corporation to create a massive database consisting of confidential information about students. The database will be created by Rupert Murdoch’s subsidiary Wireless Generation. It will go onto a “cloud” managed by amazon.com. Several states and districts have agreed to turn over their student data. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education quiet... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Bill Allows Parental Access to Data Mined Student Records

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Bill Allows Parental Access to Data Mined Student Records: Bill Allows Parental Access to Data Mined Student Records by stlgretchen Here are details of a New Hampshire bill (HB1139) allowing parental access on the data mining and records of their children. From gencourt.state.nh.us: This bill allows a parent, legal guardian, or person who is 18 years of age or older to have access to the unique pupil identifier and related information in the data warehouse. 224:1 Unique Pupil Identification; Availability. Amend RSA 193-E:5, I(b) to read as follows... more »

Daily Kos: This is nothing but thinking aloud a bit

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Daily Kos: This is nothing but thinking aloud a bit: This is nothing but thinking aloud a bit by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) at this point in my life I think I would enjoy being able to make enough from writing to fill in the difference what I used to make teaching and what I make now in Social Security and Pension. I am lucky in having medical insurance through my wife's job. Looking back, I think from all sources for all the writing I have done - on line, for print, reviewing book proposals - over the past 20 some-odd years, I have grossed a grand total of less than 3,500, an... more »

What If? A Thought Experiment for Your Sunday – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
What If? A Thought Experiment for Your Sunday – @ the chalk face: What If? A Thought Experiment for Your Sunday by Kris Nielsen Oh, boy! What a week! I’m tired, and I’ve been daydreaming a lot. I do that sometimes. Have you ever done a thought experiment? It’s when you stop what you’re doing, clear your mind, and then make your mind take you on a journey through some question or idea that you wonder about. For instance, have you ever tried–I mean *really* tried–to imagine “nothing?” Not just blackness or a vacuum, but the total absence of *anything*. It’s hard to do, if not ... more »

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Tell educators they matter. Place your #BammyAwards Vote!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Tell educators they matter. Place your #BammyAwards Vote!: Tell educators they matter. Place your #BammyAwards Vote! by noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen) *Educator's make their way to the red carpet. I'm in the purple dress with my boyfriend, back right.* *Envision a world that values education like it values entertainment. That is the goal of The Bammy Awards. It’s time for The Bammy nominations, a cross-discipline honor that identifies and acknowledges the extraordinary work being done across the education field every day-- from teachers, pr... more »

Preschool as Panacea? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Preschool as Panacea? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Preschool as Panacea? by larrycuban In the political gridlock that has marked cutting federal budgets, gun control, and immigration legislation, oneissue brings together both CEOs and educational progressives, political conservatives and liberals: investing in tax-supported preschool for three and four year-olds. President Obama’s recent State of the Union speech calledfor increasing children’s access to prekindergarten and assembled legislators applauded across the aisle separating political parties. *... more »

Discrimination lawsuit filed against Turkish-run charter school

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Discrimination lawsuit filed against Turkish-run charter school: * **Discrimination lawsuit filed against Turkish-run charter school* Truebright Science Academy supporters hold their posters high at the SRC hearing. It is one of more than 130 charters nationwide run by followers of a Turkish imam that are drawing scrutiny. (Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer) [image: Truebright Science Academy supporters hold their posters high at the SRC hearing. It is one of more than 130 charters nationwide run by followers of a Turkish imam that are drawing scrutiny. (Steven M. Falk / Staff... more »

This coming week Illinois legislators are back in session. Get ready. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
This coming week Illinois legislators are back in session. Get ready. | Fred Klonsky: This coming week Illinois legislators are back in session. Get ready. by Fred Klonsky From Rich Miller: As it turns out, the Illinois House Democrats didn’t need the Republicans to put 30 votes on a significant pension reform bill.There’s been worry for at least two years that the Democrats would have to rely heavily on the Republicans to get anything out of the chamber and that may be even 30 Republican votes – half the required 60-vote majority – wouldn’t be enough to pass a pension reform b... more »

LAUSD issues offers to charters at local traditional school campuses No charter petitions offered at Venice High, Mark Twain and Westminster | Argonaut Newspaper

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
LAUSD issues offers to charters at local traditional school campuses No charter petitions offered at Venice High, Mark Twain and Westminster | Argonaut Newspaper: LAUSD issues offers to charters at local traditional school campuses No charter petitions offered at Venice High, Mark Twain and Westminster [image: BACK AGAIN – Marina Del Rey Middle School teacher Naomi Roth (center in back row) lost her journalism room to Goethe International School two years ago. Now Goethe, after initially planning to leave the school, has accepted LAUSD’s offer to colocate for another year at the m... more »

What I wanted to say at Occupy DOE 2.0 #UOODC13 – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
What I wanted to say at Occupy DOE 2.0 #UOODC13 – @ the chalk face: What I wanted to say at Occupy DOE 2.0 #UOODC13 by Chris Cerrone I was planning to attend Occupy DOE 2.0 this week, plane tickets purchased-check, hotel reservations-check, viral based illness with bronchitis-uncheck. I have been knocked out by this bug for a couple of weeks with little progress, very frustrating, spending most of my spring break napping and laying around. Needless to say I am bummed. I have watched some of the video footage and caught the social media pictures. The photos of the march to White Ho... more »

Newark Students Plan to WALK OUT on Tuesday 9 April 2013! Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: *Newark Students Plan to WALK OUT on Tuesday 9 April 2013!* Popout On Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 @ 12PM All Newark Public High School Students Will Walk out of their Classrooms to March to the Rutgers Law School (located at 123 Washington Street, Newark) for the State Assembly Budget Hearings on Education. Students, Families, Education Advocacy Groups, and Community will Join in Solidarity to Demand that the State Assembly *"FOLLOW THE LAW, AND STOP THE CUTS'. * *Please JOIN us!* For Information Please contact the ... more »

Student Loan Fairness Act Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: S.654 Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 22 minutes ago A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for collegiate housing and infrastructure grants. Bill Introduced: S.641 Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 22 minutes ago A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of permanent faculty in palliative care at accredit... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids and the Ability to Create Films

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids and the Ability to Create Films: Kids and the Ability to Create Films by Melissa Westbrook @strangerslog As you may have noticed, I'm a big fan of The Stranger's Slog. It's where I get the latest dinosaur news (no kidding, they keep up), politics, religion, good deeds/misdeeds and everything in-between. (They also have some of the funniest comments ever.) They also, thanks to Dan Savage, talk about sex. The latest letter to his sex column was one I found interesting and worthy of your attention (especially the middle/high school parents). ... more »

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Lines of Influence in Education Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
OCCUPY EDUCATION - Lines of Influence in Education Reform: Lines of Influence in Education Reform Lines of Influence in Education Reform

NYC Public School Parents: SLT calls for moratorium on high-stakes testing in New York State

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: SLT calls for moratorium on high-stakes testing in New York State: SLT calls for moratorium on high-stakes testing in New York State by Molly *Here is a letter from the Brooklyn New School Leadership Team, calling on a moratorium on high-stakes testing in NYS. If your SLT would like to sign on, contact Liza Featherstone at lfeather@panix.com.* We, the Brooklyn New School Leadership Team, call for a moratorium on high-stakes testing in New York State. As parents and educators, we don’t object to assessment, when used properly. As currently practiced i... more »

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Charter School Circus: The Next Act

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: NJ Charter School Circus: The Next Act: NJ Charter School Circus: The Next Act by Duke And here we go again: With interest hardly abating, *nearly 40 applications were filed this week to open new charter schools in New Jersey* – a vast majority in cities and one with a notable political name in its title. The state had received by Monday’s deadline for the latest round of charter bids, all for schools seeking to open in the fall of 2014. The decisions on initial approvals for this round of applicants will come in September, with the final approvals in the summer of... more »

Blue Jersey:: Newark Student Walk Out - Tuesday April 9

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Blue Jersey:: Newark Student Walk Out - Tuesday April 9: Newark Student Walk Out - Tuesday April 9 by Rosi Efthim Here we go. On Tuesday, Newark students will walk out of their schools at noon - "no longer separate schools, we are one united voice" - and converge from all over the city to the legislative budget hearings on education, at Rutgers Law School, Newark.I have to say, this makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I've been waiting for this. Watch: Popout

John White’s Great Out-of-State Contract Giveaway | deutsch29

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
John White’s Great Out-of-State Contract Giveaway | deutsch29: John White’s Great Out-of-State Contract Giveaway by deutsch29 Former TFAer and current Louisiana State Superintendent John White was in the hot seat this week as he had to answer to the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee for his and BESE’s (the state education board) budgeting decisions, both for the upcoming year as well as past decisions. One area of concern is altering of language in the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funding. It is not lost on the lawmakers present in this Wednesday, April 3, meeting th... more »

Computers Cannot Read, Write or Grade Papers | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Computers Cannot Read, Write or Grade Papers | toteachornototeach: Computers Cannot Read, Write or Grade Papers by aristotlethewise Computers Cannot Read, Write or Grade Papers **by Robert David Jaffee Shakespeare once famously said that the first thing we should do is kill all the lawyers. Perhaps, computer programmers and electrical engineers should be next on the list. A recent article on *The New York Times*‘ website indicated that EdX, a nonprofit educational organization founded by Harvard and MIT, has come up with a computer program that will replace teachers in grading essays... more »

Justice for the children of Atlanta | Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Justice for the children of Atlanta | Parents Across America: Justice for the children of Atlanta by pureparents This article was written by PAA-Atlanta/GA/Atlanta Public Schools chapter leader Kimberly Brooks, whose children attended one of the schools where officials have been indicted for racketeering in connection with widespread standardized test cheating. **** My name is Kimberly Brooks, parent of two children that attended Parks Middle School in Atlanta, where the principal was recently indicted for cheating on state tests. For the past two years the Atlanta Public School s... more »

“The best and wisest parent” | Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
“The best and wisest parent” | Parents Across America: “The best and wisest parent” by pureparents “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.” *John Dewey, The School and Social Progress* That’s how PAA opened our position paper on ESEA. It’s also an apt description of our co-founder Leonie Haimson, who became the target of attack this week for having enrolled one of her children in a private school after many years as a... more »

Pilfering the public commons: on-line 'earning' scheduled for California Community Colleges

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Pilfering the public commons: on-line 'earning' scheduled for California Community Colleges: Pilfering the public commons: on-line ‘earning’ scheduled for California Community Colleges By Danny Weil on April 6, 2013 7:26 pm / no comments As students, faculty and community groups hasten to bow down at the thrown of the ACCJC to assure continuing accreditation, going so far as to appeal to corporate Senator, Nancy Pelosi of all people or, at worst, surly Senator Diane Feinstein whose husband Richard Blum is the knight in shining armor for the corporatization of higher education.... more »

Tennessee Clergy Speak Out Against Bill To Cut Welfare For Children Who Get Poor Grades | ThinkProgress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Tennessee Clergy Speak Out Against Bill To Cut Welfare For Children Who Get Poor Grades | ThinkProgress: Tennessee Clergy Speak Out Against Bill To Cut Welfare For Children Who Get Poor Grades By Aviva Shen on Apr 5, 2013 at 5:00 pm As Tennessee prepares to consider two bills to reduce welfare assistance for needy families whose children are not doing well in school, a Change.org petition has popped up to fight the measure. The petition was started by Clergy for Justice, a Tennesse-based organization of clergy that has previously advocated for causes including immigration reform, h... more »

Daily Kos: "I realize that I am not leaving my profession, in truth, it has left me. It no longer exists."

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Daily Kos: "I realize that I am not leaving my profession, in truth, it has left me. It no longer exists.": "I realize that I am not leaving my profession, in truth, it has left me. It no longer exists." by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) So wrote Gerald J. Conti, who taught for 40 years, the last 27 in the high school from which he is taking retirement at the end of this school year. You can - no, you *SHOULD* - read the entire letter, which appears here at the Answer Sheet blog at the*Washington Post*. Over the past few years words like those offered by Conti have become ever m... more »

Arizona Bans Student Funding of Independent Groups |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Arizona Bans Student Funding of Independent Groups |: Arizona Bans Student Funding of Independent Groups by Angus Johnston Arizona Governor Jan Brewer yesterday signed a bill that bans the use of student fee money for lobbying on legislation or support for independent state or national organizations. The new law dismantles the funding model under which the Arizona Students Association has operated for decades, and may well mean the end of that group. The ASA came under attack by lawmakers last fall after it donated more than a hundred thousand dollars to a ballot measure that woul... more »

"School 'reformers' should at least follow the law" + "Who Is Holding Education Reformers Accountable?" - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
"School 'reformers' should at least follow the law" + "Who Is Holding Education Reformers Accountable?" - Wait, What?: “School ‘reformers’ should at least follow the law” + “Who Is Holding Education Reformers Accountable?” by jonpelto Fellow public school advocates and columnists, Wendy Lecker and Sara Darer Littman have written *TWO MUST READ* columns this week. “School ‘reformers’ should at least follow the law” (Wendy Lecker) and “Who Is Holding Education Reformers Accountable?” (Sarah Darer Littman) present a stunning portrayal of the abuses that have become the hallmark of Co... more »

BAMN | April 10, 2013 IMMIGRANT RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHINGTON: Full Citizenship Rights for ALL!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
BAMN | April 10, 2013 IMMIGRANT RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHINGTON: Full Citizenship Rights for ALL!: [image: April 10 Immigrant Rights March on Washington] *April 10, 2013 IMMIGRANT RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHINGTON: Full Citizenship Rights for ALL!* IT IS TIME FOR THE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS MOVEMENT TO RETURN TO THE STREETS. We can fight and win more than what is being offered. On April 10th, we will declare that we will never be satisfied until we have the full equality, dignity, and respect we deserve. [image: fist] Join the BAMN contingent on April 10th to DEMAND: - REPLACE PARTIAL PROBATIONAR...more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: April is Autism Awareness Month

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: April is Autism Awareness Month: April is Autism Awareness Month by Melissa Westbrook Autism affects one in 88 children in the US. It affects 1 in 54 boys. About 1.5 million people live with some kind of autism spectrum disorder. - Only 56% of students with autism finish high school.12 - The average per-pupil expenditure for educating a child with autism was estimated by SEEP to be over $18,000 in the 1999-2000 school year. This estimate was nearly three times the expenditure for a typical regular education student who did not rece... more »

Karen Lewis at Occupy the Dept of Ed on Vimeo

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Karen Lewis at Occupy the Dept of Ed on Vimeo: Karen Lewis at Occupy the Dept of Ed from Vincent Precht on Vimeo.

LIVE Stream Occupy the DoE! #edchat #soschat #uoodc13

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Occupy the Department Of Education Returns to DC | Mother Jones Occupy the Department Of Education Returns to DC | Mother Jones: *California Father | @califather Califather all spiffed up and ready to stream Occupy the DoE! #edchat #soschat #uoodc13* coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 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 Occupy the Department Of Education Returns to DC —By Stephanie Mencimer | Thu Apr. 4, 2013 3:20 AM PDT Post - ... more »

You Can’t Fatten Your Cows by Constantly Weighing Them | Dissident Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
You Can’t Fatten Your Cows by Constantly Weighing Them | Dissident Voice: You Can’t Fatten Your Cows by Constantly Weighing Them by Myles Hoenig *Well Maybe* Thanks to Chris Nielson for this title’s line and to the nearly dozens of other speakers on Thursday and this weekend who comprise the line up of activist educators in Washington, DC for the Occupy the Department of Education 2.0. This year’s show of force is sponsored by United Opt Out, a parents/teachers based grass roots organization dedicated to having public school children in America refuse to take high stakes tests thr... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-6-13 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] The Myth of Charter Waiting Lists by dianerav One of the arguments advanced to expand charter schools is that they have long waiting lists. Or so they say. But no one knows how many are on those lists. This reporter in Chicago started digging and discovered that the list is not real. The Chicago charters say there Best Comment of the Day (So Far) by dianerav The comment below draws attention to a debate that followed Dr. Mercedes Schneider’s methodological di... more »

California courts familiar with gay parent issues - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
California courts familiar with gay parent issues - latimes.com: California courts familiar with gay parent issues [image: Jon W. Davidson]Gay rights lawyer Jon W. Davidson (Los Angeles Times / April 5, 2013) By Maura Dolan April 6, 2013, 7:05 a.m. SAN FRANCISCO -- When the California Supreme Court struck down a same-sex marriage ban in 2008, the majority ruling reflected a series of decisions the court had already reached in disputes involving gay parents. Gay rights lawyers said this week that those cases were critical to the court’s historic marriage ruling — later partly over... more »