Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-1-13 #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

Diane in the Evening 6-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why Other Nations Fear Race to the Top by dianerav A reader writes about his experience at an international conference: *Last May I had the privilege to be invited to the Van Leer Education conference in Jerusalem with outstanding educational leaders from across the globe. Award winning Teachers, Principals, University Professors and Director Generals/Heads of State were there to discuss the topic “Regulation and Trust”.* As the receipient of the “New York State Outstanding Educator Award” from the School Admin... more »

Commissioner Pryor to Bridgeport Parents: DROP DEAD - Wait, What?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 minutes ago

Commissioner Pryor to Bridgeport Parents: DROP DEAD - Wait, What?: Commissioner Pryor to Bridgeport Parents: DROP DEAD by jonpelto Back when it was Dan Malloy, instead of Dannel, the candidate running for governor said that increasing parental involvement in schools, especially through the utilization of Connecticut’s school governance councils was a high priority. In fact, candidate Dan Malloy even said he’d take the concept of school governance councils statewide, instead of just requiring them in poorer school districts. When Governor Malloy pushed through his “education reform”... more »

Ed Notes Online: Video: Since You Asked, Mr. Walcott

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 18 minutes ago

Ed Notes Online: Video: Since You Asked, Mr. Walcott: Video: Since You Asked, Mr. Walcott by ed notes online Excess'd - A Teacher Without a Room comes up with another in a series of videos this time spoofing Walcott's appearance at the principal's conference (Whining Walcott Misuses Public Funds and Public Space) two weeks ago. Popout

NYC Educator: Highlights of Reformy John's New Decree

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 26 minutes ago

NYC Educator: Highlights of Reformy John's New Decree: Highlights of Reformy John's New Decree by NYC Educator For third grade and above, 5% of your rating will come from students. Surveys will be piloted next year and will count the following year. While observations and whatever will count as 60% this year, they will be reduced to 55% the following year. So think twice before confiscating that cell phone, contacting parents, or demanding that homework assignment. A majority of the 55 or 60% must be based on observations from administrators. 20% to be determined at school level. Co... more »

Jersey Jazzman: DFER's Misleading and Innumerate "Research"

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 28 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: DFER's Misleading and Innumerate "Research": DFER's Misleading and Innumerate "Research" by Duke Bruce Baker has sort of cornered the market on critiquing stupid education policy graphs, so I feel like maybe I need to pay him a royalty or something when I say this: *Democrats For Education Reform has produced quite possibly the year's dumbest education policy graph.* Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes (p.4): Let's go right to the text of the policy brief this comes from, written by Mac LeBuhn, and see if we can figure out what the young gentleman is trying to sa... more »

State releases outline of evaluation system it’s imposing on NYC | GothamSchools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 30 minutes ago

State releases outline of evaluation system it’s imposing on NYC | GothamSchools: State releases outline of evaluation system it’s imposing on NYCby Philissa Cramer, at 5:29 pm;; Student surveys, observation options for teachers, and a role for educators at each school are part of the city’s new teacher evaluation system, which State Education Commissioner John King is imposing today. The plan appears to contain some elements that will please each of the Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers, which were not able to agree on a system by a January deadline. Th... more »

Student loans: The financialized economy of indentured servitude | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 36 minutes ago

Student loans: The financialized economy of indentured servitude | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News: Student loans: The financialized economy of indentured servitude by Danny Weil [image: chomskeydebt] Get ready students! Your college student loans are due to double on July 2013! The cost of higher education is spiraling and with it the cost of student loans, one of the biggest Wall Street rackets currently in existence. Both the Obama administration and the Republicans are seeking “market solutions” they say will staunch the bleeding ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: video: Diane Ravitch vs. Michelle Rhee

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 39 minutes ago

NYC Public School Parents: video: Diane Ravitch vs. Michelle Rhee: Warning to parents and CECs considering DOE's proposals to dezone your district schools by Leonie Haimson At the end of the school year and towards the end of the Bloomberg reign, DoE has been hurriedlyHazel Dukes of the NAACP, who spoke up against dezoning District 5proposing to dezone Districts 4, 5, 6 (twice), 7 (unzoned into two large preference zones this year), 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 23 (unzoned for MS this year). In order to achieve this, theCommunity Education Councils in these districts have to approve.... more »

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

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

NPE Webinar: Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform – June 4, 2013 | The Network For Public Education ← NPE News Briefs: *NPE News Briefs* NPE Webinar: Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform – June 4, 2013 | The Network For Public Education by NPE News Briefs 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 ... more »

Homeschool Academy Launched to Teach Science From Biblical Worldview | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Homeschool Academy Launched to Teach Science From Biblical Worldview | toteachornototeach: Homeschool Academy Launched to Teach Science From Biblical Worldview by aristotlethewise *Innovative New Home-school Academy* *Launched to Teach Science From Biblical Worldview* By Garrett Haley *DAYTON, Tenn.* – In 1925, a historic court case forever changed the way many Americans view science and religion. Today, nearly 90 years later, two professors are launching a new Christian science organization less than a mile from where that momentous trial unfolded all those many years ago. In the ea... more »

Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee. by Fred Klonsky [image: davidgoliath] The sun rose over a partly cloudy Illinois this morning and teachers still had their pensions intact. The attempt to allow Chicago to short their obligation to the teacher pension fund failed in spite of the attempts by both Madigan and Cullerton to pass a bill allowing another so-called *pension holiday. * That would be a holiday for the political hucksters. Not the teachers. Illinois public employees keep their constitutionally guaranteed benefits. What a David and Goliath battle that was. On the ... more »

Adventures in Late Koppitalism | EduShyster

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Adventures in Late Koppitalism | EduShyster: Adventures in Late Koppitalism by edushyster2012 Like its better known elder sibling, Koppitalism is increasingly global and relies upon a vast army of foot soldiers. No doubt you are familiar with capitalism, the economic system that has more Facebook likes than any other. But another powerful profit-making system is also making some waves. Known as Koppitalism, it has much in common with its better known elder sibling. Like capitalism, Koppitalism has a well-known figure head at its helm, is guided by an invisible hand and directs its b... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Philly HS Senior Asks the Big Question

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Philly HS Senior Asks the Big Question: Philly HS Senior Asks the Big Question by Duke I am increasingly convinced that the resistance to corporate reform that is most effective is being led by students. It certainly was in Newark, and it looks like it was in Philadelphia. Here's a clip of the Philly walkout, including a senior who boils it all down to one important question: Popout (1:24) *If you are unable to take care of us now, how do you expect us to take of you later?* * * Word.

Blue Jersey:: NJ Education News Round-Up, 6/1/13

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Blue Jersey:: NJ Education News Round-Up, 6/1/13: NJ Education News Round-Up, 6/1/13 by Jersey Jazzman Here's this week's NJ education news round-up:*- NJ School Funding Getting Increasingly Unequal* This is disturbing: according to Bruce Baker at Rutgers, New Jersey's school funding system - once considered one of the "fairest" systems for addressing the funding gap between rich and poor districts - is getting increasingly unequal: ** *We may or may not begin to see the fallout - the real damages - of these shifts this year, or even next. But there will undoubtedly be consequenc... more »

The Pedagogy-Public Opinion Gap | Connected Principals

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

The Pedagogy-Public Opinion Gap | Connected Principals: The Pedagogy-Public Opinion Gap by Johnny Bevacqua *This post was originally published by J. Bevacqua on Figuring It Out* I contend that there is a Pedagogy-Public Opinion Gap in education. For the sake of this post, I would define this Pedagogy-Public Opinion “gap” as: *The gap in understanding between what professional educators and researchers, who work with students on a daily basis, see as “best practice” in education (teaching, learning and schooling) and those “outside” the world of professional education – whose ideas, u... more »

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, NAZI GERMANY, AND THE NATIONAL DEBT | Teachers Fight Back

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, NAZI GERMANY, AND THE NATIONAL DEBT | Teachers Fight Back: CHICAGO TRIBUNE, ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, NAZI GERMANY, AND THE NATIONAL DEBT by alkleen I want to thank the Chicago Tribune for contributing to the many reasons that “pension reform” didn’t happen during this recent Illinois General Assembly. I believe the Tribune’s constant bullying and belittling of Illinois legislators helped to defeat “pension reform”. The Tribune wrote dozens of editorials blasting legislators and trying to intimidate them into passing a pension law wh...more »

solidaridad: Right-wing groups stand behind Parent Revolution and Ben Austin—The FreedomWorks Teabaggers

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

solidaridad: Right-wing groups stand behind Parent Revolution and Ben Austin—The FreedomWorks Teabaggers: Right-wing groups stand behind Parent Revolution and Ben Austin—The FreedomWorks Teabaggers by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene Right-wing groups stand behind Parent Revolution and Ben Austin—The FreedomWorks Teabaggers. #LAUSD #parenttrigger twitter.com/FreedomWorks/s… — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) June 1, 2013 While the community and social justice activists protest Ben Austin and his neoliberal wrecking crew, the birchers, birthers, and teabaggers have lined up behind them a... more »

The in box. What a pack of Wily Coyotes. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

The in box. What a pack of Wily Coyotes. | Fred Klonsky: The in box. What a pack of Wily Coyotes. by Fred Klonsky From my pal, Mark Stefanik: The war for our rights is far from over, but the GA’s salvo of dud bills did more damage to that chamber’s prestige than any session in recent memory. Schemes to excuse their malfeasance and renege on pension covenants failed. What a pack of Wily Coyotes. A bill to recognize same sex marriages fails in the House after passing in the Senate. What a flock of poliboobs. And yet, they still manage to pass a bill allowing concealed weapons in a s... more »

To be or not to be a drama major in this economy: Chancellor... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

To be or not to be a drama major in this economy: Chancellor... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: To be or not to be a drama major in this economy: Chancellor and drama major disagree By Maureen Downey Georgia higher education Chancellor Hank Huckaby recently gave a speech in Athens about the problems filling jobs in Georgia. *According to the Athens Banner-Herald*, Huckaby said large numbers of jobs are going unfilled “because students are studying the wrong things. If you can’t get a job, and you majored in drama, there’s probably a reason." The drama remark led to t*... more »

The clueless tweet of TFA’s Wendy Kopp

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

The clueless tweet of TFA’s Wendy Kopp: The clueless tweet of TFA’s Wendy Kopp By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 1, 2013 at 11:43 amE-mail the writer 0 Comments More [image: (TFA)] Wendy Kopp (TFA) Teach For America founder Wendy Kopp actually published the following tweet on the same day that Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission approved a budget without funding for things such as paper, new books, athletics, arts, music, counselors, assistant principals and more. In Philadelphia today.So much more to be done, but I can’t get over the progress in this city’s schools in ... more »

Safe Harbor in the Fight Against VAM | United Opt Out National

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Safe Harbor in the Fight Against VAM | United Opt Out National: Safe Harbor in the Fight Against VAM by admin The United Opt Out administrators realize that many educators are fearful of engaging in direct actions against state and district policy mandates that are not conducive to quality teaching and learning. The use of Value Added Measure (VAM) is one such mandate that most educators realize is a faulty and unfair method to evaluate teacher effectiveness. They also know using VAM has an impact on teaching and learning resulting in a narrowed curricular focus, pervasive cheati... more »

1/3 of kindergarten class banned from promotion ceremony because of school policy | news10.net

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

1/3 of kindergarten class banned from promotion ceremony because of school policy | news10.net: 1/3 of kindergarten class banned from promotion ceremony because of school policy Kindergartener Sierra was banned from her promotion ceremony at John Cabrillo Elementary School. SACRAMENTO, CA - A third of the kindergarten class at John Cabrillo Elementary school are banned from participating in an end of the year promotion ceremony. "It breaks my heart," Maria Peterson said. Peterson's daughter Sierra, 6, will move on to the first grade, but without the pomp and circumstance. It's t... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Will Your Child's Iris Scans Head for the Clouds....Like the Army's?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Will Your Child's Iris Scans Head for the Clouds....Like the Army's?: Will Your Child's Iris Scans Head for the Clouds....Like the Army's? by stlgretchen What is the Learning Registry gathering and sharing? Why is the Department of Defense partially funding the Learning Registry? The practice of iris scans being taken on children for "bus information and safety" was confirmed by the Polk County Board of Education. These scans were performed and parental consent was not asked for nor given before the scans took place. The company has assured parents th... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Teens and Drunk Driving - It's Prom and Graduation Season

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Teens and Drunk Driving - It's Prom and Graduation Season: Teens and Drunk Driving - It's Prom and Graduation Season This very sad video was made by the Issaquah Police Department and Eastside Fire and Rescue and was performed at Issaquah High School. Watch it. Show your teen. Don't shrug and say "Kids will be kids" or "I trust my kid." When my mother would express concern for me when I was a teen driver, I would tell her I was a good driver. (I also did not ever drink in high school.) She would look at me and say, "It's not your driving I'm w... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: While public ed suffers, private D.C. contractors ask, 'What sequester?'

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: While public ed suffers, private D.C. contractors ask, 'What sequester?': While public ed suffers, private D.C. contractors ask, 'What sequester?' by Mike Klonsky Life in the Ownership Society Public education and the public sector in general is being devastated by sequester's budget ax. But today's WSJ reveals how private sector federal contracting has created a new "gilded age" and a new class of super-rich in and around the nation's capital. Journal writer Elizabeth Williamson describes an incredible mansion built in the suburbs of D.C. by ... more »

How About a Peoples' Policy Conference? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

How About a Peoples' Policy Conference? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: How About a Peoples' Policy Conference? by Nancy Flanagan So the future-policy-for-Michigan confab at Mackinac Island has wound down. The media's preferred word to describe the 2013 Mackinac Policy Conference seems to be "confab," so I'm going to go with that. Consider this: "confab" is short for "confabulation" which has two basic meanings: "an informal, private conversation" and"filling in mental gaps with fabrications one believes are facts." So--confab is exactly right. The usual conf... more »

Is the Tea Party Right About the Common Core? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Is the Tea Party Right About the Common Core? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Is the Tea Party Right About the Common Core? by Anthony Cody Yesterday's Washington Post carried a banner story about growing Tea Party opposition to the Common Core. We learn that across the country, Tea Party activists have been organizing around opposition to the Common Core, and have succeeded in blocking or delaying the standards in at least nine states. There has been a contemptuous reaction from the highest levels of our educational system. Arne Duncan has implied that opponents a... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-1-13 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] On Common Core: The Leading Groups Are Wrong Again by dianerav Yesterday I posted a statement endorsed by leading education organizations that endorsed the Common Core but called for more time to implement the new standards. ############## This reader disagrees. The reader commented: “The joint statement issued by the National School Boards Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principles, and th... more »

6-1-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: New Research Cuts Oxygen to School Vouchers by Jim Horn The corporate reform schoolers continue to push their wheezing antiquarian agendas, and school vouchers, once on life support, have been revived with cash from ALEC and the Oligarchs (that’s not a rock band). Even though Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-people crusade has put him in a deep political hole, he, nonetheless, keeps digging, with renews efforts […] Right-wing groups stand behind Parent Revolution and Ben Austin—The FreedomWorks Teabaggers by rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels Right-wing g... more »

Mother Crusader: Could YOUR District Lose Real Funds To K12 Inc.'s Virtual Charter?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Mother Crusader: Could YOUR District Lose Real Funds To K12 Inc.'s Virtual Charter?: Could YOUR District Lose Real Funds To K12 Inc.'s Virtual Charter? by darciecima Well folks, it's getting close to that time of year again, when almighty Education Commissioner Chris Cerf decides which charters get to play in the big leagues and which need to sit back down on the bench for another year. One that was benched last year but is hoping to come up to the plate in September is K12 Inc.'s New Jersey Virtual Academy Charter School (NJVACS). K12 Inc. CEO Ron Packard celebrates the company’s ... more »

Kids Bullied in Elem. School More Likely to Self-Injure as Teens | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Kids Bullied in Elem. School More Likely to Self-Injure as Teens | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com: Kids Bullied in Elementary School More Likely to Self-Injure as Teens [image: Kids Bullied in Elementary School More Likely to Self-Injure as Teens] *There are no harmless forms of bullying, study warns.* Children who are bullied in elementary school are almost five times more likely to engage in self-harm by the time they are teenagers, according to a new study. Based on their findings, the British researchers behind the study concluded that no form of bullying—from name-calling to ph... more »

solidaridad: Weigand ES Community protest the trigger happy Parent Revolution astroturf reactionaries

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

solidaridad: Weigand ES Community protest the trigger happy Parent Revolution astroturf reactionaries: Weigand ES Community protest the trigger happy Parent Revolution astroturf reactionaries by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *"This further substantiates our claim that by not openly demanding wealth redistribution, reparations, or justice for exploited workers, white social justice non-profits function as brokers for the wealthy." — Tiffany Lethabo King and Ewuare Osyande (The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, 82)* PopoutGreat footage by LArepresents of the community protesting the astro... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Survey

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Survey: Advanced Learning Survey by Charlie Mas Shauna Heath, the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, has posted a survey about the character traits we look for in our next Manager of the Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs. Please do let her know. The survey is one page with these five rather open-ended questions: 1. *What qualities do you think are the most important to have in a Program Manager of Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs? * 2. *What do you think has b... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum Week in Review 6-1-13

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Survey Charlie Mas at Seattle Schools Community Forum - 7 minutes ago Shauna Heath, the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, has posted a survey about the character traits we look for in our next Manager of the Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs. Please do let her know. The survey is one page with these five rather open-ended questions: 1. *What qualities do you think are the most important to have in a Program Manager of Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning Programs? * 2. *What do you thi... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: 'Illinois is open for business...' No revenue for pensions. Millions for new basketball stadium.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: 'Illinois is open for business...' No revenue for pensions. Millions for new basketball stadium.: 'Illinois is open for business...' No revenue for pensions. Millions for new basketball stadium. by Mike Klonsky *“Today, with this bill, Illinois is open for business,” said state Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields), the chief Senate sponsor.of the $173 million DePaul basketball arena bill. * With the failure last night, to pass a bill that would have given Chicago Public Schools another pension holiday, the IL State Legislature ended it Spring ... more »

NYC Educator: Principal Sappenbottom and Priorities

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

NYC Educator: Principal Sappenbottom and Priorities: Principal Sappenbottom and Priorities by NYC Educator * by Curious Teacher* It's June. There are graduating seniors who won't graduate, there are Regents exams, makeup labs, and the usual end-of-year chaos. During this time the Principal should be busy, busy, busy doing Very Important Work. But Principal Sappenbottom is Not That Kind of Principal who worries about those things. Students have no idea who she is, and that's the way she likes it, thank you very much. One day Principal Sappenbottom decided to get up out of her air co... more »

Online Instruction for K-12 (Part 1) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Online Instruction for K-12 (Part 1) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Online Instruction for K-12 (Part 1) by larrycuban For those familiar with past efforts to install new technologies in schools, the many claims for online instruction transforming traditional teaching and learning in K-12 public schools either cause snickers for their hyperbole or strike a flat note in their credibility. Consider the following answer Clayton Christensen author of *Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Transform the Way the World Learns* gave to an interviewer’s... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 6-1-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Education Research Report *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* * * The Impact of a Classroom-Based Guidance Program on Student Performance in Community College Math Classes Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 minutes ago Passing through remedial and required math classes poses a significant barrier to success for many community college students. This study uses random assignment to investigate the impact of a “light-touch” intervention, where an individual visited math classes a few times during the semester, for a few minutes each time, to inform students about a... more »

All Week 6-1-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Weigand ES Community protest the trigger happy Parent Revolution astroturf reactionaries rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 hours ago First published on solidaridad on June 1, 2013 “This further substantiates our claim that by not openly demanding wealth redistribution, reparations, or justice for exploited workers, white social justice non-profits function as brokers for the wealthy.” — Tiffany Lethabo King and Ewuare Osyande (The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, 82) Great footage by LArepresents of […] N... more »

Watts teachers urge public notice for parent trigger campaigns - latimes.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Watts teachers urge public notice for parent trigger campaigns - latimes.com: Watts teachers urge public notice for parent trigger campaigns by By Teresa Watanabe [image: Parent Trigger] A rally to support Irma Cobian, principal of Weigand Avenue Elementary School, who was recently ousted under the parent trigger law, provoked confrontation between her supporters and opponents.(May 30, 2013) By Teresa Watanabe May 31, 2013, 7:45 p.m. Teachers at an embattled Watts campus where the principal was recently ousted under the state parent trigger law are pledging to join forces with oth...more »

LAUSD board offers conflicting options for spending new revenue - LA Daily News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

LAUSD board offers conflicting options for spending new revenue - LA Daily News: LAUSD board offers conflicting options for spending new revenue by By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer LAUSD board offers conflicting options for spending new revenue By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer Posted: 05/31/2013 07:56:14 PM PDT Updated: 05/31/2013 08:07:13 PM PDT With millions in Proposition 30 dollars trickling in and more revenue promised under Gov. Jerry Brown's school-funding plan, Los Angeles Unified board members are jump-starting the debate over the best way to rebuild a school district de... more »

Chicago pension holiday fails in House. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Chicago pension holiday fails in House. | Fred Klonsky: Chicago pension holiday fails in House. by Fred Klonsky SB1920 failed to pass the House this afternoon. The agreement to let the Chicago underfund the Chicago Teacher’s Fund collapsed. Jesse Sharkey, Vice President of the CTU issued the following statement. *Legislative session ends. Senate Bill 1920 House Amendment 2 failed. CPS “budget crisis” looming.* 1. For now, no cuts to pension benefits have passed the legislature. We may see a special session this summer where they will try again. 2. CPS has a $600 million pension paymen... more »

Teacher Oral History Project is Launched! | United Opt Out National

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Teacher Oral History Project is Launched! | United Opt Out National: Teacher Oral History Project is Launched! by admin United Opt Out National is launching a Teacher Oral History Project and we will serve as the national digital repository for the oral histories collected. Dr. Mark Naison, a Liberator for United Opt Out National, is the lead for this project. Mark Naison can be reached at mnaison@aol.com and naison@fordham.edu. Join the conversation on our Teacher Oral History Project Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/teacheroralhistoryproject/. *Teacher Oral Histo... more »

Moore: Profit motive behind Common Core Standards | savannahnow.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Moore: Profit motive behind Common Core Standards | savannahnow.com: Moore: Profit motive behind Common Core Standards Posted: May 30, 2013 - 9:19pm | Updated: May 31, 2013 - 12:11am The rhetorical war on the Common Core Standards Initiative is heating up and Georgia’s participation is in the balance. To stave off mutiny within his party over implementation of CCSI, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has weighed in with his support for CCSI, and — more importantly — affirmed that the standards are not federal intrusion into education. He is only partially correct. The CCSI is an outcome of ... more »

Education Reform: Why Michelle Rhee Is Wrong About Everything –  Deadline Detroit

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Education Reform: Why Michelle Rhee Is Wrong About Everything – Deadline Detroit: Education Reform: Why Michelle Rhee Is Wrong About Everything [image: Columnist_tn_wattrick-small] Jeff Wattrickjeff@deadlinedetroit.com May 30th, 2013, 12:52 PM Back when I was a igh school senior in 1995, I fulfilled an elective requirement with a BASIC-programming course. We spent about 45 minutes every day writing rudimentary and basically pointless computer programs. I think I escaped with a C-. I was bored to tears by the assignments and couldn’t quite master BASIC in the manner expected. So inst... more »

Women Educators and Philosophers: A Crowdsourced Celebration | Women on GOOD

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Women Educators and Philosophers: A Crowdsourced Celebration | Women on GOOD: [image: Crop?image_url=http%3a%2f%2fs3.amazonaws.com%2fproduction.calumet.good.is%2fbookmarks%2fphotos%2f000%2f226%2f690%2foriginal%2fscreen_shot_2013-05-31_at_4.32.09_pm] Women Educators and Philosophers: A Crowdsourced Celebration The majority of teachers in this country are women, their impact on the history of education is vast, but only a few are covered in textbooks on education or talked about among the major thinkers in the history of education. Their wisdom, experience and action research in and ou... more »

Student Voice | Uniting Student Voices Worldwide | Empowering Grassroots Student Activism

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Student Voice | Uniting Student Voices Worldwide | Empowering Grassroots Student Activism: Education Across Oceans: One Student’s Fight for Education from Her Home City to Her Homeland by Student Voice Staff Writer Living in the western world, students are not always aware of the changes that are occurring in education internationally. With students that come from other parts of the globe, such as Katebah Alolefi from Yemen, education is just as important a topic as it is for many American-born students. Katebah, an American resident since 2003, was born in Yemen, a nation with o... more »

California Bill to Prevent Child Abuse in Schools Passes Assembly (AB 349) - eNewsChannels News Magazine

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

California Bill to Prevent Child Abuse in Schools Passes Assembly (AB 349) - eNewsChannels News Magazine: California Bill to Prevent Child Abuse in Schools Passes Assembly (AB 349) by California Newswire on Thu, 30 May 2013 [image: Calif. Assemblyman Mike Gatto]SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, the California State Assembly took action to prevent child abuse in our schools and track those accused of crimes against children, by passing AB 349 with a bipartisan vote of 71-0. The bill creates a landmark, statewide, information system to help prevent repeat offenders fro... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: My Conversation with Glenn Beck on Data Retrieval. Just Remember The Wizard of Oz.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: My Conversation with Glenn Beck on Data Retrieval. Just Remember The Wizard of Oz.: My Conversation with Glenn Beck on Data Retrieval. Just Remember The Wizard of Oz. AFT Statement on Privacy and Security Concerns about inBloom and Other Data Collection Efforts AFT - A Union of Professionals AFT - A Union of Professionals - AFT Statement on Privacy and Security Concerns about inBloom and Other Data Collection Efforts: AFT Statement on Privacy and Security Concerns about inBloom and Other Data Collection Efforts Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShar... more »

AFT Statement on Privacy and Security Concerns about inBloom and Other Data Collection Efforts AFT - A Union of Professionals

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

AFT - A Union of Professionals - AFT Statement on Privacy and Security Concerns about inBloom and Other Data Collection Efforts: AFT Statement on Privacy and Security Concerns about inBloom and Other Data Collection Efforts *Washington*—Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the growing privacy and security concerns regarding inBloom's database and other data collection efforts by parents, teachers and others. The AFT has sent the funders of inBloom a letter requesting clarification on many of these concerns. "Any potential inBloom has to improve and personalize learning i... more »

Teachers' higher calling - The Denver Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Teachers' higher calling - The Denver Post: Teachers' higher calling POSTED: 05/31/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT *By Greg Dobbs* Jennifer Doan, a teacher at Plaza Towers elementary school, is pulled out from under tornado debris at the school in Moore, Okla., on May 20, 2013. Greg Dobbs says teachers like Doan are heroes. (AP Photo Sue Ogrocki) ( | ) We all too often forget who the real heroes are. Even when we see them right before our eyes in places like Moore, Okla., and Newtown, Conn. We see them, but somehow don't call them what they are: heroes. Probably because they're just common f... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-31-13 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: Leading National Groups Support Common Core But Insist on Better Implementation by dianerav A joint statement by the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National School Boards Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals expressed support for the Common Core standards, but called for more time to prepare teachers, students, and schools for the new standards. Their polling showed growing concern about lack of reso... more »

In the News: Privatization promotes inequality: Panel | catalyst-chicago.org

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

In the News: Privatization promotes inequality: Panel | catalyst-chicago.org: In the News: Privatization promotes inequality: Panel - are on windycitizenShare on facebookShare on ema*By: *Cassandra West / May 31, 2013 *Tags: *school closings The ongoing push for charter schools across the Chicago Public School district may infringe upon the fundamental human right to equal opportunity for education, according to a group of panelists who discussed privatization and education at the University of Chicago Wednesday night, Progress Illinois reports. *SEEKING ANOTHER OPTION:* ... more »

Does Anyone Care? | Diane Ravitch’s blog ← NPE News Briefs

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Does Anyone Care? | Diane Ravitch’s blog ← NPE News Briefs: 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 162 Next » With fifth-grade test now revealed, New York’s tougher new reading exams set students up to fail, critics warn | Susan Ohanian Speaks Out MAY 31 2013 by Corinne Lestch and Ben Chapman; posted by Susan Ohanian – If you think you’re smarter than a fifth-grader, consider yourself lucky you don’t have to take this exam. A concerned educator leaked the Daily News a copy of a new, more challenging state reading exam for fifth-graders, and it’s as much of a doozy ... read more → **Common Core · New York · N... more »

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