Sunday, May 12, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-12-13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."


A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP



Reflections on Teaching » Week 32: The beginning of the end…

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 32: The beginning of the end…: Week 32: The beginning of the end… by alicemercer [image: 32] There’s a quote from Churchill that I love, “It’s not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.” Teaching sixth graders in elementary school really feels like the beginning of an end, and now that we are entering the final month of school, it’s that much moreso. Still, it’s not just an ending for the kids, but the start of a new beginning. I’m doing a bit for Larry Ferlazzo’s Ed Week column on the final weeks of school, and this p... more »

Parent Advocates - Pulling the Parent Trigger: The Push to Privatize Public Schools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org: Pulling the Parent Trigger: The Push to Privatize Public Schools by Yasha Levine * * * *"The parents told me that a Los Angeles-based group calling itself Parent Revolution organized a local campaign to harass and trick them into signing petitions that they thought were meant for simple school improvements. In fact those petitions turned out to be part of a sophisticated campaign to convert their children’s public school into a privately-run charter — something a majority of parents opposed. At times, locals say, the Parent Revolution volunt... more »

Last Stand for Children First: Happy Teacher Appreciation Week

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
Last Stand for Children First: Happy Teacher Appreciation Week: Happy Teacher Appreciation Week by Last Stand for Children Teachers make such a difference in the lives of so many children. I know this first hand because I was a student in San Diego for nearly a year before coming to work at Last Stand for Children First. In that time, I was a truly and unsung hero and I remember it fondly. I had wanted to do a drive to have parents donate used mugs that we could clean and then present to teachers as our little way of saying thanks, but unfortunately I forgot about Teacher Apprec... more »

Daily Kos: Sharing a time I lied, and I am proud of it

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
Daily Kos: Sharing a time I lied, and I am proud of it: Sharing a time I lied, and I am proud of it by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) *deciding to share after reading How a saleman lost a sale* It was very late. I do not know if it was just after 4 AM, when bars closed on Friday nights in NYC in those days, or somewhat earlier, when they closed on Saturday night. That doesn't matter. I had closed out a bar on E. 79th Street and hailed a cab to take me home to Brooklyn Heights. I got in the cab, which in those days had no partitions between driver and passenger(s) in the rear set... more »

Two moms and two (or more) problems regarding #commoncore – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Two moms and two (or more) problems regarding #commoncore – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Two moms and two (or more) problems regarding #commoncore by Chalk Face, PhD Kudos to these education activists receiving some notoriety for their anti-common core views in Indiana. After spending four years in the state for graduate school, I can say I’m somewhat familiar with how that state does things. Although, I have some concerns. First, not necessarily from an ideological standpoint, I on this day of all days take issue with the “Two Moms” thing. Motherhood does not confer exp... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Teacher Tells Missouri What Common Core Really Means. The Post-Dispatch Didn't Cover These Points.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Teacher Tells Missouri What Common Core Really Means. The Post-Dispatch Didn't Cover These Points.: Teacher Tells Missouri What Common Core Really Means. The Post-Dispatch Didn't Cover These Points. by stlgretchen Peg with Pen, the Colorado teacher who implored teachers and parents to oppose Common Core and whose blog we reposted this morning, followed up with an extraordinary article responding to the St. Louis Post Dispatch's article this morning on Common Core. Little did I know when I resposted her original blog, she was a native Missourian and ... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: GERM in Scotland by dianerav A group funded by a rightwing think tank calls itself the “Commission on School Reform” and attacks Scottish public schools. The BBC reports the “findings” of the “commission” as objective research, not advocacy. Sound familiar? A Teacher’s Life by dianerav A teacher writes to explain how life in the classroom differs from his earlier life in another field: I worked in industry for 15 years before switching careers and moving into education. I can honestly say I work harder as ... more »

Students Last: Top Ten Reasons I Joined Teach for America by Kai Merikal

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Students Last: Top Ten Reasons I Joined Teach for America by Kai Merikal: Top Ten Reasons I Joined Teach for America by Kai Merikal by Students Last Kai Merikal, a twenty-two-year-old from Wisconsin, will be teaching fourth graders in Newark, New Jersey beginning in September. Below she shares her reasons for joining Teach for America. 10. I didn't get into law school... yet. 9. I want to be sainted. 8. I believe that if teachers just expect their students to learn, they will. 7. How hard could teaching really be? 6. Because I'm blind to the long-term consequences of m... more »

The Facts: the Phony Crisis | Deborah Meier on Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The Facts: the Phony Crisis | Deborah Meier on Education: The Facts: the Phony Crisis by debmeier Some of the additional facts regarding international comparisons need to become common knowledge–to back up the previous (below) blog. Also from Tienken article. (Anyone know how you can link into this?) Examples. . 2009 PISA. The US scores were better than 77% above of 65 OED nations. Better than you thought? BUT–and that’s where it gets interesting–Tienken documents why we’re comparing apples to oranges. “Because of (a) selective sampling on the part of some countries, (b) (the effe... more »

Ed Notes Online: “No” to Testing: More and More City Parents Boycott Standardized Tests

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: “No” to Testing: More and More City Parents Boycott Standardized Tests: “No” to Testing: More and More City Parents Boycott Standardized Tests by ed notes online *On April 8th, parents from the Earth School, a progressive school on the Lower East Side, held a meeting to announce the boycott and spread the word to parents at other schools. The meeting was advertised by flyers posted in playgrounds and by word of mouth. News of the boycott trickled out and took hold most firmly in schools that are known for their alternative styles education.* I was going to try t... more »

Peg with Pen: For the Show Me State of Missouri: What They Didn't Show You

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Peg with Pen: For the Show Me State of Missouri: What They Didn't Show You: For the Show Me State of Missouri: What They Didn't Show You by Peggy This is in response to an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This article is missing some key information. First and foremost, we must look at the money trail. The common core standards are a cash cow for the corporations who plan to implement new testing, new curriculum, new professional development, and more, in order to adhere to the requirements under Race to the Top, Obama’s education policy. Now, Missouri was not awarded RTTT... more »

Memphis School Fragmentation Plan Shifts Hundreds of Million to Corporate Charters – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Memphis School Fragmentation Plan Shifts Hundreds of Million to Corporate Charters – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Memphis School Fragmentation Plan Shifts Hundreds of Million to Corporate Charters by Jim Horn Just weeks away now from the official beginning of the Memphis/Shelby County schools fragmentation/privatization plan, Memphis citizens continue to be misled by the *Memphis Commercial Appeal*, which does not even mention charter schools when discussing the gaping hole in the merged school budget plan. The closest the local newspaper of record has come so far to a... more »

Student face backlash for seeking removal of Ten Commandments from classrooms | The Raw Story

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Student face backlash for seeking removal of Ten Commandments from classrooms | The Raw Story: Student face backlash for seeking removal of Ten Commandments from classrooms By Eric W. Dolan Sunday, May 12, 2013 13:26 EDT [image: Gage Pulliam image via Facebook] An atheist student in Oklahoma has faced a backlash after contacting the Freedom From Religion Foundation about Ten Commandments displays posted in his high school’s classrooms. Gage Pulliam of Muldrow told Patheos on Saturday that he wanted to remain anonymous, but decided to reveal his identity after other students were... more »

My Mom’s Story | Lefty Parent

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
My Mom’s Story | Lefty Parent: My Mom’s Story by Cooper Zale [image: Jane Grad Pic 2 B&W] In honor of Mother’s Day this is a reposting of the bio I wrote on my mom, Jane Roberts, who died in 2006 at the age of 83. She had a long life with successes and failures, and became a great mentor and at times even comrade to me. During my teenage years in the early 1970s her struggle to recover from her divorce from my dad led me to finally start seeing her as a person like me, and not some iconic parental figure. That realization transformed my life… *Childhood in Dedham, Massachusetts* J... more »

Recording: K12 Inc. struggled to comply with law - Florida - MiamiHerald.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Recording: K12 Inc. struggled to comply with law - Florida - MiamiHerald.com: Recording: K12 Inc. struggled to comply with law BY TREVOR AARONSON AND JOHN O’CONNORFLORIDA CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING/STATEIMPACT FLORIDA The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida have obtained internal emails and a recording of a company meeting that provide new insight into allegations that K12 Inc., the nation’s largest online education company, uses teachers in Florida who do not have all of the required state certifications. Last month, a draft report by th... more »

Five hysterical commencement speeches

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Five hysterical commencement speeches: Five hysterical commencement speeches By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 12, 2013 at 12:36 pmE-mail reporter 0 Comments More [image: cap]Every year commencement speakers drone on and on, usually boring the daylights out of their audience. As the 2013 commencement season gets underway, here are some of the funnier addresses that have withstood the test of time. *Jon Stewart* *College of William & Mary, 2004* Thank you Mr. President, I had forgotten how crushingly dull these ceremonies are. Thank you…. I am honored to be here and to receive this... more »

Mothers Day reads. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Mothers Day reads. | Fred Klonsky: Mothers Day reads. by Fred Klonsky [image: Mom] *Helen Klonsky. 1916-1977.* *Mothers Day* has a radical history. *Working mothers* deserve better. *Cartoonist Chris Ware* on his great New Yorker Mothers Day cover. *Mothers Day* for peace. *Mother Jones.* The most dangerous woman in America.

Jersey Jazzman: Tom Moran's Pig-Headed Ignorance

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Tom Moran's Pig-Headed Ignorance: Tom Moran's Pig-Headed Ignorance by Duke What do you do when someone in a position of influence refuses to see a basic truth over and over again? Like, for instance, the *Star-Ledger's* op-ed page editor Tom Moran, here speaking about Newark's charter schools: The best charter schools have waiting lists that stretch into the thousands. The council wants [Superintendent Cami] Anderson to block any expansions — and even bar the charter schools from even using empty classrooms in district schools. And so we have yet another piece by ... more »

NYC Educator: Principal Suit Deals With His Bad Rating

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
NYC Educator: Principal Suit Deals With His Bad Rating: Principal Suit Deals With His Bad Rating by NYC Educator The faculty had been polled by the DOE, and they overwhelmingly declared they had little confidence in him. How could this happen? Didn't he wear a tie every day? Didn't he observe their classes and tell them every little thing he could find wrong with them? Didn't he make sure they actively engaged in his anti-bullying initiative? There could be only one answer. It was Susan, the UFT Chapter Leader. She had poisoned the staff's minds with her vitriol. Wasn't it her who ... more »

Backlash of new education standards is rooted in suspicion of federal government : News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Backlash of new education standards is rooted in suspicion of federal government : News: Backlash of new education standards is rooted in suspicion of federal government 8 hours ago • By Elisa Crouch ecrouch@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8119 19 Critics question Common Core education standards at St. Louis County meeting People uncertain of new education standards pack Lindbergh meeting room. Read more Mo. Senate wants hearings on new ed. standards JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate has given first-round approval to legislation requiring the state education department to ... more »

A Superintendent Shortage Is Shaking Up America’s Schools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
A Superintendent Shortage Is Shaking Up America’s Schools: A Superintendent Shortage Is Shaking Up America’s Schools One of the most misunderstood—and important—jobs in our country is in need of qualified candidates. [image: Baltimore Schools, School Superintendents, Superintendents] Earlier this week, Baltimore City Public Schools made headlines when CEO Andres Alonso tearfully announced his retirement at the end of the school year. Alonso’s tenure at the troubled school district is touted as a true success story within national education reform movement circles. Since his appointm... more »

We read the Tribune so you don’t have to. Representative Lou Lang on treating the Illinois Constitution like yesterday’s newspaper. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
We read the Tribune so you don’t have to. Representative Lou Lang on treating the Illinois Constitution like yesterday’s newspaper. | Fred Klonsky: We read the Tribune so you don’t have to. Representative Lou Lang on treating the Illinois Constitution like yesterday’s newspaper. by Fred Klonsky By Lou Lang May 12, 2013 It’s about time that the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board stop treating the Illinois Constitution like yesterday’s newspaper. For years the editorial page has loudly bellowed for and against Illinois pension proposals and petulantly insulted and denigrated lawmake... more »

Another name for Ezra Klein’s 501c4 list: Rhee’s StudentsFirst

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Another name for Ezra Klein’s 501c4 list: Rhee’s StudentsFirst: Another name for Ezra Klein’s 501c4 list: Rhee’s StudentsFirst by Valerie Strauss My colleague Ezra Klein, the founder of theWonkbook blog, just wrote a post about the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of the tea party. It carried this headline: “The IRS was wrong to target the tea party. They should’ve gone after all 501(c)4s.” These nonprofit organizations are tax-exempt, which, as Klein notes, means that they are subsidized by American tax dollars — but, they don’t have to tell the public where they get thei... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] *LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 5-11-13 * Paul Vallas’ “Nixon-to-China” Moment by dianerav I posted a few days ago about a panel discussion in New York City where Paul Vallas made this startling statement: “We’re losing the communications game because we don’t have a good message to communicate.” He spoke bluntly of the “testing industrial complex.” Here Valerie Strauss briefly reviews Vallas’ role in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Or... more »

UPDATE: The World’s Greatest Teacher – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The World’s Greatest Teacher – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: The World’s Greatest Teacher by Kris Nielsen I’m going to take a short break from my activism to honor the world’s best teacher. Seriously! THE best teacher. In. The. World. [image: And it's not this guy] And it’s NOT this guy When I was 18, I went to a huge graduation commencement ceremony at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Arena to watch the graduating class of 1993 (or was is 1992? I’m starting to get old). I sat too far away to make out the faces under the mortar boards, but I do remember seeing ... more »

Daily Kos: A brief weekly update on Leaves on the Current

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Daily Kos: A brief weekly update on Leaves on the Current: A brief weekly update on Leaves on the Current by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) We are coming to the end of the week not on chemo, and it has been a difficult one. She caught a cold, always a problem when one is in the overall chemo cycle, because of the body's reduced immune system. A cold is less worrisome than a fever - in that case we call the oncologist immediately. But it still had its share of problems. By Tuesday evening she could no longer taste anything. Our hope of course was that this would be a temporary ph... more »

Ed Notes Online: Take the Test

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: Take the Test: Take the Test by ed notes online Where the people pushing high stakes testing are themselves challenged to "Take the Test." And as this film from the Providence Student Union shows, they don't do all too well. Popout Take The Test from Providence Student Union on Vimeo.

Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education » - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: H.R.1845 Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 9 hours ago To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to promote the education of pregnant and parenting students. Bill Introduced: H.R.1783 School Food Modernization Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 9 hours ago To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue loan guarantees for purposes of financing improvements to school lunch facilities, training school food service... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Teacher Implores Other Teachers (and Parents) to Oppose Common Core

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Teacher Implores Other Teachers (and Parents) to Oppose Common Core: Teacher Implores Other Teachers (and Parents) to Oppose Common Core by stlgretchen Teachers are becoming increasingly concerned about Common Core. Here's another teacher speaking out against the federal stimulus funded initiative. From *Peg with Pen: The Greatest Fight of Our Lives: * *************************************** The admissions of error, the requests for moratoriums, the recognition that perhaps testing has gone too far, are running like wildfire in the last few weeks. ... more »

A powerful term in U.S. high schools: DBQ - Class Struggle - The Washington Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
A powerful term in U.S. high schools: DBQ - Class Struggle - The Washington Post: A powerful term in U.S. high schools: DBQ By Jay Mathews You may not know what a DBQ is. For most of my life, neither did I. But in the high schools of this region and the rest of the country it has become an important and in some ways fearsome term. It haunts the dreams of 400,000 teenagers who will take the Advanced Placement exam in U.S. history Wednesday. It is part of a massive reform of the AP exam system that controls the schedules of most of the nation’s high schools every May. DBQ is an ac... more »

Canada’s Legend-ary TED Talk Lie | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Canada’s Legend-ary TED Talk Lie | Gary Rubinstein's Blog: Canada’s Legend-ary TED Talk Lie by Gary Rubinstein Geoffrey Canada recently did a TED talk entitled ‘Our failing schools. Enough is enough.’ Canada is the president and CEO of The Harlem Children’s Zone and star of ‘Waiting For Superman.’ Popout The premise of Harlem Children’s Zone is a good one. It serves to provide school and complete wrap-around services (health, mental health, nutrition, etc.) to kids from Harlem beginning at birth and supporting them all the way through college. The program, you might imagine, is... more »

Louisiana Educator: Proposed Changes to Discipline and Bullying Laws

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Proposed Changes to Discipline and Bullying Laws: Proposed Changes to Discipline and Bullying Laws by Michael Deshotels My post of May 7 on this blog included a short discussion of HB 646 (click on the bill number to see the engrossed version of the bill) and my concerns that the bill may possibly water down the discipline law and may adversely affect the learning environment in classrooms. With those concerns in mind, I approached the author of the bill, Patricia Smith of Baton Rouge, to discuss my concerns. *To her great credit she suggested a prompt meeting*... more »

SB-12404 & 3/4 | Reclaim Reform

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
SB-12404 & 3/4 | Reclaim Reform: SB-12404 & 3/4 by kenpreviti [image: Killers]The passage of Illinois SB-2404 seems somewhat doubtful. The appeasing union chorus is too loud, the fears of future teacher maiming too small, and the public posturing too meek. In Florida public pensions have been whacked by the Tea Party Sociopath Gov. Rick Scott with the full blessing of the uber-corrupt Republican legislature. Present pensions are crippled and awaiting atrophy, and any possibility of a future pension for active teachers is dead. Present teachers have no tenure laws to protect them fr... more »

LAUSD cracks down on teacher misconduct; 100 fired, 200 resign, 300 'housed' - LA Daily News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
LAUSD cracks down on teacher misconduct; 100 fired, 200 resign, 300 'housed' - LA Daily News: LAUSD cracks down on teacher misconduct; 100 fired, 200 resign, 300 'housed' by By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy is opening the files on cases of misconduct against district teachers. (Hans Gutknecht/L.A. Daily News) THE LAUSD MISCONDUCT FILES - LAUSD cracks down on teacher misconduct; 100 fired, 200 resign, 300 'housed' - The LAUSD misconduct files, teacher by teacher: Dr. John Deasy chronicles 15 months of accusations against educators who were t... more »

NYC Public School Parents: More states fall away from inBloom, though NY remains, and all parents should remain vigilant!

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: More states fall away from inBloom, though NY remains, and all parents should remain vigilant!: More states fall away from inBloom, though parents should remain vigilant! by Leonie Haimson Yesterday we learned from the twitter feed of the invaluable Reuters investigative reporter Stephanie Simon that "*there are no plans*" for Delaware, Georgia or Kentucky to share their confidential, personally identifiable student data with the Gates-funded corporation called inBloom Inc. Moreover, Bob Swiggum, Chief Information Officer at the Georgia Department of ... more »

John White Explains It All. . . | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
John White Explains It All. . . | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: John White Explains It All. . . *Posted on May 11, 2013* 0 *I decided to have a sit down with John White and ask him a few questions that I’m sure are on everyone’s mind with all the recent scandals swirling around his DOE. Much to my surprise he agreed to my request. Here is my interview and his responses. I have a feeling many of you don’t believe I really interviewed John White, so I included the responses he made in audio form. Apparently WordPress requires 20 dollars to make this kind of magic possible, so I hope you ... more »

Daily Kos: thoughts on merit pay for teachers

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Daily Kos: thoughts on merit pay for teachers: thoughts on merit pay for teachers by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) or this one *which was written as a comment on this thread at Diane Ravitch's blog.*. The presumption of Merit pay for teachers is that the impact of the teacher can in some fashion be immediately measured, usually by utilizing scores on the atrocious tests upon which we rely way too much. I would remind people of the statement by Henry Adam in his autobiography, *The Education of Henry Adams*, A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ... more »

Lies, Lies and so on…. | Deborah Meier on Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Lies, Lies and so on…. | Deborah Meier on Education: Lies, Lies and so on…. by debmeier I cant get used to it! Skeptic that I am, the lies astound even me. Thank you Christopher Tienken for providing us with the Gerald Bracey info we always counted on! Everyone–get hold of his article in Kappa Delta Pi Record, current April-June issue, “For the Record: Conclusions from PISA and TIMSS Testing.” Aside from his amazing conclusions (if it’s test scores that make a nation great we’ve already won). Plus he has some interesting little facts about Shanghai and HongKing, as well as how nat... more »

Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities | toteachornototeach: Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities by aristotlethewise *Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities* by Kate Markin Coleman Americans handed their communities a grade earlier this year and the results were mixed. Most communities are earning a passing grade, but no one will be putting their report cards on the fridge. The community “report card” comes from the Y Community Snapshot survey, which asked 1,500 Americans from around the country to rate their communities on 33 attributes th... more »

Dim view on Emanuel eduction policy, Tribune poll finds - chicagotribune.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Dim view on Emanuel eduction policy, Tribune poll finds - chicagotribune.com: Dim view on Emanuel education policy, Tribune poll finds - [image: print] - Email - - 1 - 2 - next - | single page Two thirds of Chicagoans disapprove of Mayor Emanuels handling of the Chicago school system. By Bob Secter and Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune reporters 2:52 a.m. CDT, May 11, 2013 Chicago voters hold a dim view of Rahm Emanuel's stewardship of public education after a tumultuous year that featured a teachers strike and the mayor's push to close many...more »

UPDATE: The Feds Are Making a List; inBloom™ Is Checking It Twice | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The Feds Are Making a List; inBloom™ Is Checking It Twice | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News: The Feds Are Making a List; inBloom™ Is Checking It Twice by Susan Ohanian On April 30, 2013 the Obama administration announced they’d cut the much-maligned application form for the health insurance exchanges from a 21-page application to three pages for individuals and seven pages for families.(This isn’t counting the 61-page instruction manual for applying online.) The devil is in the details. They now use three application forms and multip... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-11-13 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: SAT Canceled for South Korea, Due to Cheating by dianerav The latest administration of the SAT has been canceled in South Korea, due to allegations of widespread cheating. The nation is known for its “hyper-competitive academic environment.” Test questions that were on the exam scheduled for May 4 were circulating in test prep centers. Staff members at some test prep centers were detained for questioning. Thousands of students were affected. The article says: “Though academic cheating is a world-wide concern... more »











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