Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 5-27-13 AM Posts #edreform #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

What’s in Texas' $500 Million Testing Contract with Pearson? | KUT News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 minute ago

What’s in Texas' $500 Million Testing Contract with Pearson? | KUT News: What's in Texas' $500 Million Testing Contract with Pearson? Enlarge image Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/40964293@N07/4728093020/ By any measure, Texas’ contract with standardized testing company Pearson is gigantic. The state’s latest agreement covers five years of testing (2010-2015), and costs nearly half a billion dollars. For about $90 million per year, the State of Texas receives a battery of tests, and the top-to-bottom services those tests require. By the time a current student in Texas public sch... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Stop Common Core Argument: There is no one "common" path or yellow brick road to educational excellence.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Stop Common Core Argument: There is no one "common" path or yellow brick road to educational excellence.: The Stop Common Core Argument: There is no one "common" path or yellow brick road to educational excellence. by stlgretchen CCSS proponents would have you to believe the standards will create an educational utopia and nudge us to a better place. Let's look at the facts. They may lead to a wizard who promises a lot but in reality, it's just rhetoric. Follow the educational reform yellow brick road! We now have standards that will make our ki... more »

Modern School: Charges Dropped and Free Trip to Space Camp for Kayla Wilmot

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago

Modern School: Charges Dropped and Free Trip to Space Camp for Kayla Wilmot: Charges Dropped and Free Trip to Space Camp for Kayla Wilmot by Michael Dunn 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot was recently arrested and charged as an adult with two charges for a science experiment that went a tiny bit awry (see *Zero Tolerance for Science, or Common Sense*). Thanks to the public outcry, all charges have been dropped. However, it gets even better: former NASA engineer Homer Hickam is sending Kiera and her twin sister Kayla to space camp, according to Good Education. Hickam, who had served as Spac... more »

SKrashen: The end of the teaching profession?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

SKrashen: The end of the teaching profession?: The end of the teaching profession? "No matter how *cynical** *you get, it is impossible to keep up." - *Lily Tomlin*. Anthony Cody has posted an interesting (and chilling) vision of the future of education, predicting that by 2018 all teaching will be strictly controlled, with frequent testing, classes monitored and taped for regular inspection, and teacher evaluation based, among other things, on value-added analyses of student test scores, and videos evaluated by outsiders. http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in dialogue/2013/... more »

I don’t know anything about them, but they suck! Reformy thoughts on Ed Schools | School Finance 101

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

I don’t know anything about them, but they suck! Reformy thoughts on Ed Schools | School Finance 101: I don’t know anything about them, but they suck! Reformy thoughts on Ed Schools by schoolfinance101 It all started here, when Ben Riley of NSVF suggested that comments from Finnish Ed Guru Pasi Sahlberg (hero of the anti-reformers) regarding teacher preparation in Finland (and elsewhere) meant that the U.S. really needed to start shutting down teacher preparation programs. - *Benjamin Riley* ‏@*benjaminjriley* 1hDon’t look now, but I think Finnish edu-guru @*pasi_sahlberg*... more »

NYC Educator: It Will Be a Reformy September

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

NYC Educator: It Will Be a Reformy September: It Will Be a Reformy September by NYC Educator Next year, there will be a new evaluation system in place. No one knows precisely what it will be like since Reformy John of Albany has not made up his mind yet. We do know, however, that teachers will be judged by value-added methods. We have heard a number of arguments from the union as to why this is a good idea. 1. *Principals have too much power under the current system*. It's true that, via observations and whatever else makes principals decide, they can pretty much singlehandedly say... more »

Ending Exit Exams a Start, But Not Enough | the becoming radical

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Ending Exit Exams a Start, But Not Enough | the becoming radical: Ending Exit Exams a Start, But Not Enough Posted on May 27, 2013 by plthomasedd As the first decade of the twenty-first century drew to an end, Frederick Douglass High School (Maryland) stood as a contradiction of social history, education and racial promise, the claimed failures of public schools, and the essential flaws in high-stakes accountability. Focusing on Douglass High, documentarians Alan and Susan Raymond detail the realities of both day-to-day schooling in a high-poverty, majority-minority public schools an... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson 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] EduShyster: Wall St Is Only Thinking About the Kids by dianerav What happened when the head of the biggest charter chain in Illibois had a frank conversation with Wall Street investors? EdShyster listened in. This is what she learned. Good News: Texas Legislature Reduces Number of Tests to Graduate; Bad News: More Privatization by dianerav The good work of many parent organizations and local school boards achieved a positive result yesterday when the Legislature p... more »

Get Off the Pot – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Get Off the Pot – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Get Off the Pot by antiqueteacher60 Something has been nagging in my brain for a while now. It was a comment left on one of my posts about being tired that said “Shit or get off the pot.” When the comment was posted, my mouse hovered over the “unapprove” button, but then I thought to myself that the comment, while I may have found it rude, could perhaps lead to some discourse and understanding. That comment didn’t. But yesterday, Tim Slekar posted http://atthechalkface.com/2013/05/26/the-bird-is-the-word/. Tim said what I ... more »

Daily Kos: Krugman on "The Obamacare Shock"

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Daily Kos: Krugman on "The Obamacare Shock": Krugman on "The Obamacare Shock" by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) notes the Republican hope that when the Affordable Care Act goes into effect people will be so shocked it will give their side a political advantage, In his *New York Times* column he lays out his premise with news many here already know; his second paragraph reads No doubt there will be problems, as there are with any large new government initiative, and in this case, we have the added complication that many Republican governors and legislators are doing all they can t... more »

Study: “Human Intelligence is on the Decline” | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Study: “Human Intelligence is on the Decline” | toteachornototeach: Study: “Human Intelligence is on the Decline” by aristotlethewise *Research Shows Idiots Are On The Rise, Intelligence On The Decline* by Daniel Doherty Yah don’t say. Setting aside the fact that literacy rates are generally higher today than they were, say, a hundred years ago, can there be any doubt that people are becoming increasingly less intelligent? A new study merely “suggests” human intelligence is in free fall, but I don’t think it takes a social scientist or dedicated academic to reach that conclusion. Do ... more »

NPE Webinar: Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform – June 4, 2013 | The Network For Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

NPE Webinar: Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform – June 4, 2013 | The Network For Public Education: NPE WEBINAR: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT EDUCATION REFORM – JUNE 4, 2013 *Learn from the Experts: Mercedes Schneider and Michael Corwin* **Are you frustrated when corruption goes on and nobody even seems to notice? Do you want to learn how to uncover the truth about what is happening to our schools? We are presenting a special webinar where two outstanding experts will share tips and techniques. *Michael Corwin,* a licensed investigator with twenty-five years of case preparati... more »

Is teaching a special career, or a job like any other? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Is teaching a special career, or a job like any other? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: Is teaching a special career, or a job like any other? [image: Teaching: A calling or a job? photo] Peter Smagorinsky of the University of Georgia is a frequent contributor to the Get Schooled blog. He gives us a lot to think about this Memorial Day. On a personal note, thanks to our women and men in uniform, past and present, and a special shoutout to my son-in-law, 1st Lt. Lane Pratt, an Army Ranger now serving in Afghanistan. Now, back to the business at hand: teaching. By Peter Sm... more »

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: No Money for Schools..But Money for Pearson?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: No Money for Schools..But Money for Pearson?: No Money for Schools..But Money for Pearson? by Lisa M The content of this article, "Schools Add to Test Load, Just to Test Questions",. How our students are being used as guinea pigs to field test future tests. But then, this jumped out at me,* " **The (NY)state currently has a five-year, $32 million contract with Pearson, a testing company."* * *What the...? Are you serious? *A 5 year, $32 million contract? Let's see, that's $6.4 million a year*! That can't be right. The state doesn't have any m... more »

Teachers quietly serve as first responders to poverty - Philly.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Teachers quietly serve as first responders to poverty - Philly.com: Teachers quietly serve as first responders to poverty [image: Collingswood High's Dennis Gaughan with Saizon Sanders, whom he has given food and clothes. Sanders returnsthe favor, teaching dance moves.]Collingswood High's Dennis Gaughan with Saizon Sanders, whom he has given food and clothes. Sanders returnsthe favor, teaching dance moves. (APRIL SAUL / Staff Photographer) By Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer Staff WriterPOSTED: May 26, 2013 At Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, teachers and staff use a school washer a... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLES by Mike Klonsky "I believe this was when I was telling the press I was embarrassed as a Jewish woman to have a Jewish mayor experimenting on black children after listening to a bunch of board members say that black parents don't know how to raise their children." -- Wendy Katten, RYHOklahoma teacher, Jennifer Simonds *"The children were asking why a train was coming through the school.The next thing we knew, the entire roof of the building was torn off and we were being pelted with all this stuff. I laid myself ov... more »

Diabetes in California schools: Legal battle over insulin shots goes before state's high court - San Jose Mercury News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diabetes in California schools: Legal battle over insulin shots goes before state's high court - San Jose Mercury News: Diabetes in California schools: Legal battle over insulin shots goes before state's high court By Howard Mintz hmintz@mercurynews.com Posted: 05/24/2013 04:48:44 PM PDT Updated: 05/26/2013 09:58:21 AM PDT Barbara Wright, an Albany resident with a diabetic son, has been one of the lucky parents. From elementary school to high school, she has been able to count on a teacher, administrator or someone else to help her son Jonathan Mahmoud with his insulin shots wh... more »

The Educated Reporter: In Case You Missed It: Students, Teachers Push Back Against Testing

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

The Educated Reporter: In Case You Missed It: Students, Teachers Push Back Against Testing: In Case You Missed It: Students, Teachers Push Back Against Testing by Emily Richmond *I'm traveling overseas this week, and while I'm gone I thought I would share a recent post that you might have missed the first time around. Given that the rising tide of pushback against standardized testing shows no signs of dissipating, it seemed appropriate to revisit this post from March: * While it's become a common refrain for students, teachers and parents to complain that too much time is spent ... more »

All Lives Have Equal Value, Right Bill and Melinda? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

All Lives Have Equal Value, Right Bill and Melinda? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Lives Have Equal Value, Right Bill and Melinda? by Kris Nielsen A letter from Susan DuFresne: Dear Bill and Melinda Gates, Yes, I include Melinda in this letter, because as I understand it, Melinda is very involved in the Gates Foundation’s ideas and policies on public education. Your influence has won you the Notorious PhD’s aka Mark Naison’s poll: Most Influential Corporate Reformer title. As a result, you will be getting more than one letter from me as we have so much to talk about. ... more »

Teaching Our Children to Fear Dissenters: South Dakota Schools Edition | Firedoglake

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Teaching Our Children to Fear Dissenters: South Dakota Schools Edition | Firedoglake: Teaching Our Children to Fear Dissenters: South Dakota Schools Edition by Phoenix Woman On Tuesday, May 14, a series of emergency preparedness drills were held in schools in at least five South Dakota school districts: While the drill actually commenced at 12:30 p.m., things began early when a bus driver reported a suspicious SUV with several people following during his morning route. Next, a letter handed to a student at the Elementary School over the lunch hour is turned in to Principal. The lett... more »

My Discussion with Matt Barnum Part 4 | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago

My Discussion with Matt Barnum Part 4 | Gary Rubinstein's Blog: My Discussion with Matt Barnum Part 4 by Gary Rubinstein Gary, If you’re not finding any thoughtful reform writing, then you’re not looking hard enough. Read Michael Petrilli and the Fordham Institute’s stuff, particularly Education Next; read some of the Dropout Nation, which includes important discussion of school discipline; read Rick Hess or Jay Green. Not of course that all these writers fit neatly into the ‘reform’ box – and I think that’s a good thing. I certainly agree with you that TFA can be far too simplist... more »

All Education Matters: AirForce Times: Many Vets Charged Out-of-State Tuition, Driving Them Into Debt

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

All Education Matters: AirForce Times: Many Vets Charged Out-of-State Tuition, Driving Them Into Debt: AirForce Times: Many Vets Charged Out-of-State Tuition, Driving Them Into Debt by Cryn Johannsen During a time in which service members face continued battles abroad, while most Americans falsely presume that the war, for instance, in Afghanistan is winding down, they are facing another hurdle at home - according to a* recent article*, published in the *AirForce Times *by Rick Maze, many public colleges and universities charge student veterans out-of-state tuition. However, the ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privacy Issues and Your Child's Future

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privacy Issues and Your Child's Future: Privacy Issues and Your Child's Future by Melissa Westbrook I have a two-fold purpose to this thread. One is to continue to provide food for thought about what your child's generation faces in terms of privacy. Yes, I know, just as many say "advertising is all around them so who cares if it's in their test materials", I'm sure there are those of you who will shrug. Whether we like it, think it's just the wave of the future or what, the fact is that things are going to be different for our children. Two is t... more »

solidaridad: @TCFKSM: Jason Stanford rightly states "Time to Stop Waiting for Superman"

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

solidaridad: @TCFKSM: Jason Stanford rightly states "Time to Stop Waiting for Superman": @TCFKSM: Jason Stanford rightly states "Time to Stop Waiting for Superman" by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene First published on @TCFKSM on May 26, 2013 ------------------------------ *"According to Whitmire, Rhee and Fenty should have paid heed to the "fears" of African Americans, but not because there were any actual race issues during Rhee's tenure. Racism in DC is all done now--all that racism and "experimentation" is history and happened 1960s and 1970s. According to Whitmire, black people in D... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Duncan: In Chicago, I Cut Testing by 50% by dianerav Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy at a meeting with students in Hartford, Connecticut. The main topic was school security, but at one point a student asked what could be done to cut back on excessive testing. This was the exchange: “Student Justin Vega said he feels as if all the time and money spent on standardized testing has compromised Jersey Jazzman Shows the Love for the Indomitable Karen Lewis by dianerav Jerse... more »

Prince William father learns how to opt out of standardized test - The Washington Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Prince William father learns how to opt out of standardized test - The Washington Post: Prince William father learns how to opt out of standardized test Courtesy of Greg Barlow - Austin Barlow (from Left), Karen Barlow, Greg Barlow and Christian Barlow, during a recent trip to the Outer Banks. By Michael Alison Chandler, Sunday, May 26, 2:47 PM E-mail the writer Greg Barlow did not want his fourth-grade son to take the Standards of Learning math test, but he did not know what would happen if he refused. Would his son get a failing grade? Would it go on his permanent record? Barlow re... more »

Ten minute drawing. Dennis Van Roekel on “safe passage routes.” | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

Ten minute drawing. Dennis Van Roekel on “safe passage routes.” | Fred Klonsky: Ten minute drawing. Dennis Van Roekel on “safe passage routes.” by Fred Klonsky [image: DVR] Click on image to enlarge.

How we could fix public education, and why it won’t happen | PWC Education Reform Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago

How we could fix public education, and why it won’t happen | PWC Education Reform Blog: How we could fix public education, and why it won’t happen by pwceducationreform How we could fix public education, and why it won’t happenMay 26, 2013 — pwceducationreform *This week, I saw a donation stand for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The stand was located between the in and out doors of a grocery store, and the older veteran standing there must have felt chilled. I gave him a donation, and on the way out, I offered to get him a cup of coffee. He looked like he wanted one, but he... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Comptroller John Lui's letter to the Commissioner and Regents about inBloom

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

NYC Public School Parents: Comptroller John Lui's letter to the Commissioner and Regents about inBloom: Comptroller John Lui's letter to the Commissioner and Regents about inBloom On May 21st, Comptroller John Lui sent a letter to Commissioner John King and the NY Board of Regents urging King to halt NYSED's plan to share personally-identifiable student data with inBloom, Inc. Lui's letter comes just weeks after 4 of the 9 states participating in inBloom are planning to pull out of the project due to privacy concerns. See the letter below along with a press clip covering the news. ... more »

With inBloom, the student as data stream - Opinion - The Boston Globe

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

With inBloom, the student as data stream - Opinion - The Boston Globe: First-grader, or cloud-based data stream? By Joanna Weiss WE HAVE nearly a month of school left, but the end-of-year activities are already piling up: field days and fairs, concerts and art shows, ways to placate fidgety kids who know they’ll be leaving their classrooms soon. And it’s worth considering the kinds of classrooms many of them will leave: state-of-the-art, digitized. In my daughter’s elementary school, the chalkboards have disappeared, replaced by smartboards with digital bells and whistles, plus lapt... more »

2013 K-12 Student Protests | Students United for Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

2013 K-12 Student Protests | Students United for Public Education: 2013 K-12 Student Protests Featured below are students at the K-12 level who have protested against issues regarding their education in 2013. Issues vary from boycotting standardized testing, budget cuts, mass school closings–just to name a few! We expect the list to grow as the struggle continues. If you know about a protest that is not featured, please contact us at SUPEcontact@gmail.com so we can add it to the list! Solidarity! *COLORADO* *Denver* March 14: Students walk out of class to protest TCAP tests [image: S... more »

My release of the John White, Alan Seabaugh taped conversation | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

My release of the John White, Alan Seabaugh taped conversation | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: My release of the John White, Alan Seabaugh taped conversation *Posted on May 26, 2013* 0 [image: thrown me something] I have been getting requests to release the taped conversation between Alan Seabaugh and John White discussing the manipulation of VAM, or the Value Added Modeling system devised by the state to evaluate teacher performance to serve a few of Seabaugh’s constituents. I did not receive the full 14 minutes that Tom Aswell received, just 3 or so minutes of some of the more interestin... more »

Choosy Kids Choose Choice | EduShyster

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Choosy Kids Choose Choice | EduShyster: Choosy Kids Choose Choice by edushyster2012 *A wealthy Colorado county strives to become the choiciest place in America* It’s one of the great unfairnesses of our time: why are kids on the wrong side of the excellence gap getting all of the “choice”? Now, thanks to the bold innovativeness of one Colorado county, kids on the right side of the excellence divide may soon have all of the choices they can choose from. Welcome to Douglas County, the wealthiest county in all of Colorado—and soon to be the choiceiest. When we last visited this scenic l... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Karen Lewis and the New, Shrewd Unionism

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Karen Lewis and the New, Shrewd Unionism: Karen Lewis and the New, Shrewd Unionism by Duke *Great minds, thinking alike.* This was a very bad week for Chicago's children. On Wednesday evening, the *unelected* Chicago Board of Education approved the largest school closing plan in history. 50 schools will be shuttered in a pattern that is clearly racially biased: *black students account for 40% of the CPS population, but 88% of the students who are being displaced are black*. It obviously makes the elites who run CPS uncomfortable to point out such things, but it is ... more »

StudentsFirst's Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee returns to Michigan as education reform group makes mark | MLive.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

StudentsFirst's Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee returns to Michigan as education reform group makes mark | MLive.com: StudentsFirst's Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee returns to Michigan as education reform group makes mark LANSING, MI -- StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee will serve as a keynote speaker at next week's Mackinac Policy Conference, addressing business and political leaders from across Michigan, where her controversial education reform group has quickly become a major player. "Michelle will continue to drive the discussion about education, making sure that busin... more »

Ed Notes Online: Dear Mr. Condon: On May 18, 2013, Dennis M. Walcott crossed the line

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Ed Notes Online: Dear Mr. Condon: On May 18, 2013, Dennis M. Walcott crossed the line: Dear Mr. Condon: On May 18, 2013, Dennis M. Walcott crossed the line by ed notes online Hi Norm, My mother (a NYC resident) will be going to the post office this week to mail her letter (pasted below). Although she will include her name and address on the letter I redacted both in this email. .......Elementary school teacher in the Bronx It's great to see entire families involved in battling the ed deformers: Mr. Richard J. Condon Special Commissioner of Investigation 80 Maiden Lane - 20th flo... more »

Thinking About Schools: "... but NOT the federal state" ... - John Dewey

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Thinking About Schools: "... but NOT the federal state" ... - John Dewey: "... but NOT the federal state" ... - John Dewey A little colony, the members of which are probably mostly known to one another in advance, settle in what is almost, or quite, a wilderness. From belief in its benefits and by tradition, chiefly religious, they wish their children to know at least how to read, write, and figure. Families can only rarely provide a tutor; the neighbors over a certain area, in New England an area smaller even than a township, combine in a “school district.” They get a schoolhous... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-26-13 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] Teacher: What Happens in an IDEA Charter High School by dianerav In response to an earlier post about the IDEA charter chain, which won a $29 million Race to the Top grant just months ago, a teacher writes: I taught at an IDEA secondary school during the school year 2011-2012. When I began, one of the phrases scarred in teachers’ and students’ minds is “No Excuses”. I understood this to mean that students should not give any excuses because the teachers equip them ... more »

Why Memorial Day is confused with Veterans Day

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Why Memorial Day is confused with Veterans Day: Award-winning Virginia teacher: ‘I can no longer cooperate’ with testing regime by Valerie Strauss Ron Maggiano is a social studies teacher at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County. In 2005, he won the Disney Teacher Award for innovation and creativity, and in 2006, he won the American Historical Association’s Beveridge Family Teaching Prize … Continue reading → Why Memorial Day is confused with Veterans Day By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 26, 2013 at 5:00 amE-mail the writer 3 Comments More [image: Washington, DC - May,... more »

solidaridad: Cheryl Ortega: Logan St. School Celebrates 125th Birthday

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

solidaridad: Cheryl Ortega: Logan St. School Celebrates 125th Birthday: Cheryl Ortega: Logan St. School Celebrates 125th Birthday by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene [image: Logan Street Elementary School LAUSD] [image: Logan Street Elementary School LAUSD] [image: Logan Street Elementary School LAUSD] Posted by Cheryl Ortega, May 23, 2013 at 10:46 am on Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch *Saturday, June 1, 2013, 10:00 AM* 1711 W, Montana St LA 90026 In 1888 children came to Logan St. School in horse-drawn wagons. In a wooden building on the corner or Montana and Logan St. classes began in the o... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Teacher Advises Students of their Constitutional Rights. He Now Faces Possible Disciplinary Action.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Teacher Advises Students of their Constitutional Rights. He Now Faces Possible Disciplinary Action.: Teacher Advises Students of their Constitutional Rights. He Now Faces Possible Disciplinary Action. by stlgretchen A teacher is in trouble after advising students of their Constitutional rights before they were to complete a school survey: A Batavia High School (Illinois) teacher's fans are rallying to support him as he faces possible discipline for advising students of their Constitutional rights before taking a school survey on their behavior. Stud... more »

Turning Around Failing School Districts: How Many Examples Do Policymakers Need?? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Turning Around Failing School Districts: How Many Examples Do Policymakers Need?? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Turning Around Failing School Districts: How Many Examples Do Policymakers Need?? by larrycuban David Kirp’s new book, *Improbable Scholars*, tells the quarter-century story of the Union City (NJ) victory in creating a successful, largely minority and poor school district as measured by test scores, college admissions, parent surveys, teacher accounts–take your pick. It is a story where stable city and district leadership, over the course of a gene... more »

In native schools, hope and fears about new nationwide standards | Hechinger Report

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

In native schools, hope and fears about new nationwide standards | Hechinger Report: In native schools, hope and fears about new nationwide standards by Sarah Butrymowicz [image: In native schools, hope and fears about new nationwide standards] PIÑON, Ariz. — A dozen students had sacrificed their spring break to gather at Arizona’s Star Charter School to prepare for the upcoming state standardized test. On a sunny Thursday morning in March, they sat doing math problems on worksheets or computers instead of surfing the web or playing video games. Nearly 100 percent of the pre-kinderg... more »

Sunday reads. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Sunday reads. | Fred Klonsky: Sunday reads. by Fred Klonsky [image: class picture] *Third grade. Bella Vista Elementary School. Monterey Park, California. 1958. I’m third row, fourth from the left.* *Karen Lewis is on the Smiley and West Show this week.* Chicago’s public radio station dropped the show a while ago leaving little programing that specifically addresses listeners in a third of the City and of importance to all of the City. But Smiley and West are carried locally by WPCT, Progressive Radio, 820 AM. *An open letter to Bill Gates* from an overwhelmed teacher. *Woke up this ... more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: Test Teaching

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

An Urban Teacher's Education: Test Teaching: Test Teaching by James Boutin On a recent road trip, I listened to the audiobook *Moneyball. *It made me wonder if anyone has written on the clear connection between ideas presented in the book and the focus of public education on standardized test scores. A good portion of *Moneyball* discusses a man named Bill James's obsession with the way general managers in Major League Baseball were using statistics to make poor decisions about where to spend their money. Among the problems he noticed were: - baseball statisticians have long rec... more »

ILLINOIS TEACHER ELLIE RUBENSTEIN QUITS ELOQUENTLY- SHE NAILS IT (VIDEO) - Perdaily.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

ILLINOIS TEACHER ELLIE RUBENSTEIN QUITS ELOQUENTLY- SHE NAILS IT (VIDEO) - Perdaily.com: ILLINOIS TEACHER ELLIE RUBENSTEIN QUITS ELOQUENTLY- SHE NAILS IT (VIDEO) by Leonard Isenberg [image: Ellie Rubenstein.jpg] (Mensaje se repite en Español) *The following post and video was taken directly from the Huffington Post. Let me know if your situation at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) sounds disturbingly the same. At perdaily, we are getting teachers from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Riverside, Sacramento, and all over the United States telling us the same story a... more »

solidaridad: UCLA IDEA: Standardized Tests Don't Measure Education Quality

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

solidaridad: UCLA IDEA: Standardized Tests Don't Measure Education Quality: UCLA IDEA: Standardized Tests Don't Measure Education Quality by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene UCLA IDEA is often quite good on issues, even though they represent an only slightly left-of-center viewpoint. UCLA as a whole sometimes does excellent work, like their study on how so-called school choice and charter school industry has brought back Jim Crow with a vengeance. They (namely IDEA) also sometimes works with right-wing groups funded by the Broad Foundation, like ICS. Now that I've returned to UCLA, I k... more »

Daily Kos: a few random thoughts on teaching and learning

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Daily Kos: a few random thoughts on teaching and learning: a few random thoughts on teaching and learning by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) let me grant for a moment that there should be some standard/goals we want for our students if we truly want to leave no child behind there would be only two grades Meets standards/goals/expectations Does not YET meet standards/goals/expectations the only "penalty" for not YET is to work with the child to help her/him reach it assignments/assessment should have as their goal helping students achieve those "Meets" criteria which means there is no ... more »

Republished: A Look Back from the Middle | Lefty Parent

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Republished: A Look Back from the Middle | Lefty Parent: Republished: A Look Back from the MiddleMay 25th, 2013 at 12:24 [image: Eric Profile]Republishing a recollection from our son Eric’s own writings about his development, “A Look Back from the Middle”, written in 2009, calling out some of the key developmental threads of his older youth after leaving school at fourteen and pursuing the unschooling path… There was a period; in fact, it was the entire span of time between so long as I can remember and age twenty one. One might observe that this period serves as one definition of t... more »

Why We Need Schools To Uplift Their Communities Now More Than Ever | Education on GOOD

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Why We Need Schools To Uplift Their Communities Now More Than Ever | Education on GOOD: Why We Need Schools To Uplift Their Communities Now More Than Ever [image: we.future] As Helen Keller said, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." That's why on Wednesday, when Chicago Public Schools decided to shut down 50 public schools, along with either combining or putting others in a turnaround model, even the casual observer could see the absolute failure of our current public education system and its wayward reforms. Closing 10 percent of the Chicago Publ... more »

Cleaning Up John White’s Mess | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Cleaning Up John White’s Mess | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Cleaning Up John White’s Mess by crazycrawfish [image: Time to start eliminating the mess. . .] Time to start eliminating the mess. . . John White is likely to be gone by the end of June but Louisiana will still have its work cut out cleaning up the messes he will leave behind. Some of those messes off the top of my head are: - Unmonitored, standardless voucher program is an utter failure and a poorly performing mess from what little White has permitted us to see - The Course Choice program is fraught with fraud which ... more »