Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, March 11, 2013

NYC Educator: Sweet Sixteen

NYC Educator: Sweet Sixteen:


Sweet Sixteen

As of today, our esteemed Mayor4Life was to finally get his wish--soft drinks over 16 ounces would be banned in much of the city. Alas, a state court has declared the law arbitrary and capricious (ironically, the very same standard he wanted to use to fire teachers).

Mike Bloomberg had determined that 17 ounces is just too much, and since he's the richest guy in the city, the man who'd bought Gracie Mansion fair and square (except for that third term), he figured he had the right to tell you just how much Sprite you can have in one sitting.

The problem, of course, is that if you want another Sprite badly enough, you could just leave that restaurant and go next door to the 7-11, which for some reason wasn't covered.  I suppose, if that were too much effort, you could even buy a second one in the same place.

I didn't envision black market Big Gulp Sprites popping up around the 

Daily Kos: Back to work!

Daily Kos: Back to work!:


Back to work!

At least part time.  This afternoon/evening Leaves on the Current went into her office for a half-day, that is, five hours - she normally work 4 10 hour days/week, three in the office and one telecommuting.
While she had been in her office for a meeting more than a week ago, and had telecommuted once, this was both her longest time working and her longest time on her own without me.  A positive sign, with the hope that within two weeks perhaps she will be back to full-time work.
This past week has been difficult. The cumulative effect of two weeks of chemo overlapping with the second round of radiation actually caught up with her.  We had to cancel several social engagements we had planned as she adjusted to the differences in how she was feeling.  We saw her oncologist on Friday, there have been some minor modifications in meds, and after a very rough few days, she is getting her appetite back and starting to feel more comfortable.
And so far, she still has her hair!

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CTU says, it's time to fight back...

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CTU says, it's time to fight back...:


CTU says, it's time to fight back...


 
An important message from the Chicago Teachers Union:
The Board of Education insists the only way to fix schools is to close them. 
We disagree. 
The Board won't listen to reason. It is time to organize and fight back together. 

Join the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) for a non-violent civil disobedience training session.

Choose one session:
Westside: Thursday, March 14th at 6:30 PM St. Agatha's Church, 3151 W. Douglas Blvd.

Southside: Saturday, March 16th at 10:00 AM Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church, 4526 S. Greenwood
Let's fight for our kids, schools, and our communities. 

Learn to fight back:
  • Peaceful, Non-violent Protest Tactics
  • Neighborhood Organizing Techniques
  • How to Build Alliances

If you have questions, contact CTU's Organizing Director Norine Gutekanst at 312-329-6226.

Beware the Reform-y Types in Constructivist’s Clothing – @ the chalk face

Beware the Reform-y Types in Constructivist’s Clothing – @ the chalk face:


Beware the Reform-y Types in Constructivist’s Clothing

There’s been a great way to teach out there in school-o-sphere for quite some time, which we know leads to authentic learning and happy kids.  It’s not lecture.  It’s not worksheets. It’s not even “hands-on.”  (“Hands-on” doesn’t always mean that kids are learning or even engaged.)
Put that away and get back to hands-on learning!
Put that away and get back to our hands-on learning!It’s called constructivism, and it is totally awesome.  Seriously, though, it is!  When we hear the buzzwords, like “child-centered,” “inquiry-based,” “student-led,” etc., what we are hearing is an attempt to get kids to lead their own learning path and construct their own understanding.  You know what happens when people construct meaning from their own learning?  They remember.  They transfer.  They apply.
There have been critics along the way, just like there are with everything.  Some suggest that if you allow kids to construct meaning, they’ll come up with outlandish ideas that don’t fit the scenarios or problems.  I say, fine!  Let them make up silly ideas!  It helps start the thinking process towards more logical ones.  And–and this is a big AND–it keeps the creativity in tact, without adults knocking it down before 5th grade.
The education reform we’re seeing now, sitting on top of the trash heap we call the Common Core State 

If You Smell What I’m Cooking, Read This. [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson

If You Smell What I’m Cooking, Read This. [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson:


If You Smell What I’m Cooking, Read This. [Future of Teaching]


Clearly, we need to define what “teacher” means a little more, and “educator,” for that matter. We also need to understand what that means for teacher voice. I spark a discussion here:
The term “celebrity teacher” is such a difficult one too, because it presumes that the spotlight should focus strictly on the teacher and not on the ways in which that teacher helps students. The profession doesn’t lend itself to alpha dogs and sunbathers of the egoistic type. Yet, I have a hard time with the idea that, in a landscape with people so replete with opinions about our profession, that we shouldn’t have the same viability when we speak about it ourselves.
Please read the rest. Chime in. Like. Share. Thanks.

Group Calls for Radical Changes to Standardized Tests - Higher Education

Group Calls for Radical Changes to Standardized Tests - Higher Education:


Group Calls for Radical Changes to Standardized Tests

Washington – Educational assessments should be revamped to help educators improve teaching and learning instead of being narrowly used—and in some cases misused—for purposes of accountability.
That is one of the key ideas that an independent commission proffered Monday as the commission released a new report on what its members envision as a radically transformed “assessment enterprise.”
“We certainly recognize and endorse the use of some type of assessment for accountability,” said Dr. Edmund Gordon, a psychology professor at Yale and Teachers College at Columbia University who serves as chairman of the Gordon Commission on the Future of Assessment in Education.
“But on our commission,” Gordon said of the commission that is named in his honor, “we most often talked about the possibility that another purpose may be superior, and this is informing and improving teaching and learning, both the processes by which we learn and teach and the outcomes.”

Pass / Fail : LAUSD Budget forecast is getting brighter | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : LAUSD Budget forecast is getting brighter | 89.3 KPCC


LAUSD Budget forecast is getting brighter

Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Mercer 3287LA Unified’s Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee is convening Tuesday morning. The proposedagenda shows financial improvement at the district after five years of devastating cuts -- due to a boost from Prop. 30 funds.

According to the district, the Governor’s proposed budget would provide $1.6 billion to begin implementation of a new funding model that benefits district with large numbers of poor and English-learning students, like LAUSD. L.A. Unified is also expecting the state to pay the district $1.8 billion in "deferrals" -- money it already owed the district from past budgets. It also stands to gain $400.5 million in Prop 39 energy efficiency projects
However, LAUSD funding won’t get back to 2007-08 levels until the start of the 2014-2015 school year. And, despite revenues generated by Prop 30, the impact of the federal sequester remains an issue.

Another bright spot: the partnership between LAUSD and FilmLA, a nonprofit group that coordinates filming 

That “Girls” Rape Scene |

That “Girls” Rape Scene |:


That “Girls” Rape Scene

Last night on Girls there was a scene in which Hannah’s ex-boyfriend Adam sexually abuses his new girlfriend Nat.
The scene was clearly written and directed in such a way as to create ambiguity as to whether what Adam — a generally sympathetic, if deeply creepy, character — did was actually rape. Amanda Hess has a particularly good rundown, in which she describes the scene as illustrating “what happens when a person you want to have sex with ‘has sex with you’ in a way that you do not want them to.”
But such equivocation, it seems to me, is focused on the question of whether Nat can properly say that she’s been raped. But that’s not the only way of framing the issue at hand, and it seems to me that if we ask instead whether we can say that he raped her, it gets a lot simpler.
Because we know that he didn’t have Nat’s consent. We know that she wasn’t liking what was happening, and 

Response: Teachers & Superintendents Must "Work To Understand Each Other" - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher

Response: Teachers & Superintendents Must "Work To Understand Each Other" - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher:


Response: Teachers & Superintendents Must "Work To Understand Each Other"

(This is Part Two of a two-part series. You can see Part One here)
Last week's question was:
How can teachers best relate to Superintendents -- and vice versa?
A few days ago, we heard responses from a teacher perspective: Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers; Dean Vogel, President of the California Teachers Association, and Barnett Berry of the Center For Teaching Quality contributed to that post.
Today, we'll hear from three Superintendents (along with comments from readers): Joshua Starr, Pamela Moran, and John Kuhn.
Response From Joshua Starr
Joshua Starr is the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools:
In my first Superintendent position I was 35 years old and had been brought in to rapidly reform a system that was failing a significant number of children. I was serious, focused and determined to be a relentless advocate for great instruction for every child. During my first few months I spent as 

Is reading at risk? -

Is reading at risk? - California Teachers Association:


Is reading at risk?

By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
image
Emily Hager, Mia Gonzales, Najeeb Darwish
Growing up, Michelle Albaugh spent lazy afternoons on her couch, nose buried in a book. But that’s not the case with many of her students today.
“Teens don’t do that much anymore,” says the Sowers Middle School teacher. “Not long ago, kids could read The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and now they struggle with it. Some can’t read anything of great length and struggle to read a 10-page short story. Students toil reading anything that’s a novel if it isn’t popular literature like Twilight. It’s frustrating.”
While young children enjoy reading, enthusiasm frequently fades as they get older, say teachers worried about the trend. Reading becomes work, and reading for pleasure takes a back seat. Because older students don’t like reading as much, they don’t read as well, Albaugh observes.
Older youths are reading less in their free time than a generation ago, according to a report by the National Endowment for the Arts. The report said:
• Teens read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.
• Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of nonreaders doubled over a 20-year period.
• Those ages 15-24 spend two hours a day on TV, and only seven minutes of daily leisure time reading.
Kelly Gallagher, an English teacher at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, worries about a decline in reading he’s seen in students over the past decade.
“It’s not a California issue, it’s a national issue,” says the author of Readicide: How Schools are Killing 

NYC Public School Parents: Glass Size Matters

NYC Public School Parents: Glass Size Matters:


Glass Size Matters


March 11, 2013 (GBN News): Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a plan to deal with those unused supersize drink containers that city eateries can no longer sell because of his ban on oversized drinks. He’s going to turn them into classrooms.

Ever the environmentalist, the Mayor told reporters today that the Sanitation Department will immediately begin collecting the containers and turning them over to the NYC School Construction Authority. The SCA will in turn recycle them into prefabricated classrooms, to replace many of the controversial trailers which are currently used to alleviate student overcrowding.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott was enthusiastic about the plan. Standing by the Mayor’s side at City Hall, Mr. Walcott noted the innovative round design of the new classrooms, 

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-11-13 #SOSCHAT #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



Ed Notes Online: Storm of Reform: Carol Burris on Common Core

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago
Ed Notes Online: Storm of Reform: Carol Burris on Common Core: Storm of Reform: Carol Burris on Common Core by ed notes online With every passing day education giants like Carol Burris expose the Common Core. Wouldst our own quasi union leaders do the same. Someone (preferably some honest person in Unity Caucus) must ask a fundamental question: WHAT IS STOPPING THEM? Instead Leo Casey attacked Burris for defending teachers from the evils of a junk science evaluation system. The Burris piece is a follow-up to my earlier post: Randi on Board of inBloom: AFT dues-paying members, ho... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 54 minutes ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Student Leader Is Running for Board of Education! Please Help! by dianerav Stephanie Rivera is a wonderful student activist in New Jersey. She is a junior at Rutgers and is preparing to be a career educator. Stephanie is running for the New Brunswick, NJ, school board! For the past 20 years, every member of the New Brunswick school board was appointed by the same mayor (you can see how that did not work). Next month is the town’s first school board election. Please help her in any way you can. She is a brave youn... more »

Meanwhile, back in Hartford – The State of Connecticut to save $200 million by spending $120 million - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 58 minutes ago
Meanwhile, back in Hartford – The State of Connecticut to save $200 million by spending $120 million - Wait, What?: Meanwhile, back in Hartford – The State of Connecticut to save $200 million by spending $120 million by jonpelto Or, as the Hartford Courant’s real estate reporter explained in a paragraph that I’m still trying to interpret, “The state expects to save $200 million, adjusted for inflation, over the next 20 years. The savings is roughly $100 million in today’s dollars.” But that statement aside, here are the facts; On Thursday the State Bond Commission will meet to auth... more »

Jersey Jazzman: So THAT'S What A Real Confirmation Hearing Looks Like!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Jersey Jazzman: So THAT'S What A Real Confirmation Hearing Looks Like!: So THAT'S What A Real Confirmation Hearing Looks Like! by Duke *Accountability begins at home.* Here in New Jersey, we had a perfunctory confirmation hearing for Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. In fairness, there were some pointed questions from the great State Senator Loretta Weinberg, and some good questions from Senator Nellie Pou. But too much of the hearing was spent on questions about Cerf's residency or softball questions about school funding. We never got to Cerf's background, his... *interesting* e... more »

California Joins P21 Network - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
California Joins P21 Network - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces California Joins National Partnership to Teach Students 21st Century Skills *Effort to Help California Prepare Students to Meet Common Core Standards and Career Readiness Standards* SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that the California Department of Education has joined the national Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) [image: External link opens in new window or tab.] network of 18 states, designed to teach every student... more »

Anti-gay parenting study a false manipulation from the start | Pam's House Blend

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Anti-gay parenting study a false manipulation from the start | Pam's House Blend: Anti-gay Parenting Study: A False Manipulation From The Start by Alvin McEwen According to the *American Independent*, via *The Huffington Post*, the Regnerus study – which cause a huge controversy because it said that children raised by same-sex families encounter problems – was created specifically to sway Supreme Court decisions on marriage equality. And the funders of the study knew what the study would “prove” before the work on it began: The conservative funders who bankrolled a flawed and wid... more »

Getting rich off of schoolchildren - Salon.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Getting rich off of schoolchildren - Salon.com: Getting rich off of schoolchildrenStop pretending wealthy CEOs pushing for charter schools are altruistic "reformers." They're raking in billionsBY DAVID SIROTA - - 1K - 178 - 10 - - - - - more - - - - TOPICS: EDUCATION, SCHOOLS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, TECHNOLOGY, CEOS, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG,TEACHERS, RUPERT MURDOCH, TECHNOLOGY NEWS, BUSINESS NEWS, POLITICS NEWS [image: Getting rich off of schoolchildren] News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch (AP Photo/Cliff... more »

Schools Matter: Corporate Shill, John Legend

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Schools Matter: Corporate Shill, John Legend: Corporate Shill, John Legend by Jim Horn From the Daily Trojan: Program Board and EdMonth kicked off its second-annual monthlong initiative on the state of education Monday at Bovard Auditorium with a panel discussion on igniting the next generation of leaders. EdMonth aims to bring awareness of the education inequality to students both at USC and at other universities. Opening remarks were presented by David Dwyer, founder of USC Hybrid High School, who highlighted the university’s innovative approaches to education with the ne... more »

Reinventing schools as community institutions | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Reinventing schools as community institutions | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Reinventing schools as community institutionsby thenotebook on Mar 11 2013 Posted in Commentary ="" style="color: rgb(76, 153, 72); cursor: pointer; float: left; padding: 0px 2px;">Share on email COMMENTS (0)PRINT *by Solomon Jones* * * * * * * The sight of children lamenting the School Reform Commission’s decision to close 23 schools was heart-wrenching. And while I feel for those students, I’m convinced that the decision to close some of Philadelphia’s schools is the right one, because a school d... more »

Our Story. Our Time. Our Future. — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Our Story. Our Time. Our Future. — Whole Child Education: HOME > THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Our Story. Our Time. Our Future. March 11, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers [image: ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show] ASCD's 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show kicks off this weekend, March 16–18, at McCormick place in Chicago, Ill., and features more than 400 sessions on some of the most important topics in education. Built on the theme “Learning: Our Story. Our Time. Our Future.," the conference will inform, engage, help, and challenge educators from ...more »

Sam Chaltain: Your Education Stories (for a Price)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Sam Chaltain: Your Education Stories (for a Price): Your Education Stories (for a Price) It's suddenly in vogue to gather and tell stories as part of an organization's larger strategy to build an audience and effect change. On one level, I love this development -- indeed, I've been gathering people's stories about their most powerful learning experiences for years, which has resulted in a website, a radio story series, and even a book(proceeds of which do not go to me, by the way). I've done this because I believe that before we can solve the riddle of how to provide every child ... more »

Bill Gates Has a Solution for Higher Education: Yoda | Inside Higher Ed

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Bill Gates Has a Solution for Higher Education: Yoda | Inside Higher Ed: Bill Gates Has a Solution for Higher Education: Yoda by John Warner Blog: Just Visiting Bill Gates has diagnosed what ails higher education, and the cure is all about technology, and also Yoda. Speaking at the SXSW technology conference, as reported by CNN Money, “Gates’ main theme was personalized learning, which can be enhanced by new technology.” And Yoda. Again according to *CNN Money,* Gates maintains that, “Yoda was a great teacher because the Jedi master understood when Skywalker is losing interest.” ... more »

Introducing Student Voice Live! Keynote Speaker: Jamira Burley Student Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Student Voice: Introducing Student Voice Live! Keynote Speaker: Jamira Burley by admin Popout Jamira Burley, 23, is the first of sixteen children to graduate high school and recently college. Drive, perseverance, and passion, are just a few characteristics that this Philadelphia native is built with. Recent graduate of Temple University, with dual degrees in International Business and Legal Studies. Currently, Jamira is the Executive Director for the City of Philadelphia Youth Commission. Previously, Jamira worked as the Student Leadership Coordinator for the School District of ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week: Seattle Schools This Week by Melissa Westbrook *Monday, March 11th* *Curriculum&Instruction Committee meeting*, 4-5:30 p.m. Agenda Hey, they're going to discuss Advanced Learning; I'm calling this one a "must attend." Also, they will be discussing a math adoption timeline. I appreciate an agenda that doesn't look like overreach on the part of how much a committee can get done and discussed in the time available. *Tuesday, March 12* *Special Education Advocacy&Advisory Council* Meeting from 6:30-9:00 p.m. *Wednesday, M... more »

How 2 Talk 2 Ur Kids About Testing | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
How 2 Talk 2 Ur Kids About Testing | EduShyster: How 2 Talk 2 Ur Kids About Testing by edushyster2012 That smell in the air can only mean one thing: it’s pre-testing time, which means that the real deal, high-stakes testing season, is just around the corner. But how should parents explain to their kids that these tests are really important, and also that the tests are hard because life is hard and if you think that filling in bubbles with a #2 pencil is hard, just wait until you get your first 21st century job with your new skillz. Fortunately you and your young test taker are not ... more »

The Harvard ‘plumbers’

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
The Harvard ‘plumbers’: The Harvard ‘plumbers’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 11, 2013 at 12:24 pm [image: leak]We at the Washington Post are all too familiar with important people who feel the need to find and close leaks to the media. We knew back in the 1970s when Richard Nixon’s ‘plumbers’ secretly tried to find who leaked classified information and then decided to expand their activities to include breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building. A big scandal followed. *B*ut one of the last places we expected officials to be secretly s... more »

State looking to terminate decades-long agreement with GED test vendorSI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *State looking to terminate decades-long agreement with GED test vendor* *By Tom Chorneau* Monday, March 11, 2013 For the first time in 40 years, students taking the general educational development test as a pathway out of high school are likely to have a new exam administrator by 2014. As a result of a corporate shuffle, the American Council on Education – which has owned the general education assessment used in California since 1974 – has assigned the testing services to a new firm operated in partnership with Pearson PLC – the London base... more »

Bank Street to Host Diane Ravitch at Sold-Out Education Reform Event

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Bank Street to Host Diane Ravitch at Sold-Out Education Reform Event: Bank Street to Host Diane Ravitch at Sold-Out Education Reform EventSpecial guest speaker Diane Ravitch will headline the sold-out “What NYC’s Next Mayor Needs to Know About the Education Reform Movement,” hosted by Bank Street College of Education. - [image: Share on Twitter][image: Share on Facebook][image: Share on Google+][image: Share on LinkedIn][image: Email a friend] [image: Diane Ravitch] Diane Ravitch headlines Bank Street's March 28 event on education reform. While once I had been hopeful, even e... more »

Student protests against standardized tests spreading

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Student protests against standardized tests spreading: Student protests against standardized tests spreading Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 11, 2013 at 10:58 am [image: test1]Colorado students are planning to walk out of the state’s mandatory assessment this week and protest at the state Capitol, the latest in growing student pushback against high-stakes tests around the country. In Providence, R.I., students recently dressed up as zombies and marched at the State House; in Oregon, students are organizing an opt-out campaign to persuade other students not to take state standardi...more »

UPDATE: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report Released Today — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report Released Today — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers] Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report Released Today March 8, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers In an effort to increase physical activity levels of all American youth, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today released the report, *Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth* (PDF), as a five-year follow-up to the *2008 Phys... more »

UPDTE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, March 11, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Adult education's fate in limbo in California* Education Headlines *Monday, March 11, 2013* School merger talks onA group of Tuolumne County voters plans to collect thousands of signatures and put the question of school district unification on the 2014 ballot, with the goal of creating a “Tuolumne County Unified School District.” Monterey County school districts plunge into Common Core testing challengeA select group of seventh-graders from Carmel Middle School recently took part in a test trial to help debug exams to be use... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Fuzzy Math Coming Home to Roost in Common Core State (sic) Standards?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Fuzzy Math Coming Home to Roost in Common Core State (sic) Standards?: Fuzzy Math Coming Home to Roost in Common Core State (sic) Standards? by stlgretchen In a recent email, *GovExec.com Today: Pay freeze limbo;** fuzzy math on BRAC savings,* fromgovexec.com: The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission may have achieved recurring annual savings, but flawed cost estimates produced a doubling of anticipated expenses, the Government Accountability Office reported on Thursday. *Auditors also recommended improved methodology for predicting new cost...more »

Dixon teachers’ strike. Testing the waters. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Dixon teachers’ strike. Testing the waters. | Fred Klonsky: Dixon teachers’ strike. Testing the waters. by Fred Klonsky Popout*Bonnie Driver, Dixon Education Association.* If you are sitting and reading this post out of the state of Illinois you may only be vaguely aware of Dixon. It is the childhood home of Ronald Reagan. But don’t blame his teachers for that. It’s out I-88, past DeKalb. An hour or so before you get to Iowa. The teachers union, an IEA affiliate, has been on strike for the past seven days. On average there are about three teacher strikes in Philly fights back. by... more »

Colorado Student Walkout March 14th: Sharing the Facts | United Opt Out National

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Colorado Student Walkout March 14th: Sharing the Facts | United Opt Out National: Colorado Student Walkout March 14th: Sharing the Facts by admin Please listen and join Colorado students this Thursday, March 14th as they walkout and gather at the capitol to protest TCAP and corporate education reform. RSVP for the event here. Read press release here.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] California Tightens Rules for Teacher Interns by dianerav In a move clearly intended to require greater supervision of Teach for America, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing tightened the rules about the training and supervision of interns. At hearings, civil rights groups argued that it was unfair to put poorly trained interns in charge of students with high-needs, especially English-language learners and students with disabilities. Suporters o... more »

“Gifted” to the right, “Special” to the left, the rest of you sit down and wait - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
“Gifted” to the right, “Special” to the left, the rest of you sit down and wait - Wait, What?: “Gifted” to the right, “Special” to the left, the rest of you sit down and wait by jonpelto As Wait, What Readers learned in late February after reading, *Blessed are the Gifted for they shall inherit the earth*, “education reformers” extraordinaire Steven Adamowski and Paul Vallas have struck again. Adamowski, Hartford’s former Superintendent of Schools and now “Special Master” of in Windham and New London schools thanks to Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor and Paul Vallas, who wa... more »

Oregon Save Our Schools: The Rebellion Against Testing: A Q&A with Jesse Hagopian

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Oregon Save Our Schools: The Rebellion Against Testing: A Q&A with Jesse Hagopian: The Rebellion Against Testing: A Q&A with Jesse Hagopian by Ms. Emily Jesse Hagopian is a leader in the group Social Equality Educators focused on social justice unionism within the Seattle Teachers Association ( www.socialequalityeducators.org). He has written many articles on education reform. He co-wrote the chapter “Teachers’ Union and Social Justice” for the book *Education and Capitalism Struggles for Learning and Liberation* ( www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/education-and-capitalism). Jesse teaches so... more »

‘Storm of reform’ — principal details damage done

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
‘Storm of reform’ — principal details damage done: ‘Storm of reform’ — principal details damage done Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 11, 2013 at 5:00 am 1 Comments More [image: (Naval Research Laboratory)] (Naval Research Laboratory) Principal Carol Burris’ recent post on why she is no longer a fan of the Common Core stirred wide interest and lively debate — enough that Carol decided to follow up with a piece that addresses some of the questions voiced in the comments following the piece, as well as in the emails she received after its posting. Burris, principal of South Side High... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLES by Mike Klonsky UIC Prof. Pauline Lipman *“These school closings have been happening in communities that were already destabilized by the dismantling of public housing, by gentrification and effects of the economic crisis.” *-- New York Times State Rep. Curtis Thomas (D., Phila.) *"I think it is time for the parents, teachers, and students of Philadelphia to go into federal court - *

Daily Kos: Krugman: Dwindling Deficit Disorder

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Daily Kos: Krugman: Dwindling Deficit Disorder: Krugman: Dwindling Deficit Disorder by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) People still talk as if the deficit were exploding, as if the United States budget were on an unsustainable path; in fact, the deficit is falling more rapidly than it has for generations, it is already down to sustainable levels, and it is too small given the state of the economy. that's from the 2nd paragraph of Dwindling Deficit Disorder, Paul Krugman's powerful *New York Times* column this morning, which I strongly urge you read. As he says in the paragraph i... more »

Student walkout of TCAP tests coming up this week – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Student walkout of TCAP tests coming up this week – @ the chalk face: Student walkout of TCAP tests coming up this week by Chalk Face, PhD [image: @TCF on Blog Talk Radio] Popout Here’s a video diary to learn more. If any teacher decided to carry a handgun in the classroom… by Chalk Face, PhD … then they, from my perspective, are unfit to teach. Pull your kids out. From Think Progress. Pride in Primary by Activism in paradise - Voices from down under Queued in alphabetical order, I was the third to walk through the door to the Queensland Legislative Council Chambers up to the pod... more »

UPDATE: The legacy of Jonah Edelman The in box. When did it become acceptable to take money from old people? | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The in box. When did it become acceptable to take money from old people? | Fred Klonsky: The in box. When did it become acceptable to take money from old people? by Fred Klonsky *When did it become acceptable to take money from old people? That’s the question I have been asking. Because the truth is, it is not. And never has been. It is evil to hurt pensioners. It is evil to take money from people who have earned it. The pension is a life savings for years of hard work and study. It is earned, a kind of delayed wages.* *So how is this happening? And maybe there is a glimpse of hop... more »

The Educated Reporter: EWA Seminar: STEM Students Learn Now, Earn Later

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: EWA Seminar: STEM Students Learn Now, Earn Later: EWA Seminar: STEM Students Learn Now, Earn Later by Emily Richmond [image: EWA Logo] EWA recently held a one-day seminar focused on STEM education at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. We invited some of the journalists attending to contribute blog posts from the sessions. Today's entry is from education reporter Nichole Journal of the (Del.) News Journal. You can find additional resources from the seminar, including materials from many of the presenters, here. *Session:* Why STEM? Why Now? From t... more »

UPDATE: School Tech Connect: Rogers Park Marches Against Charters

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Rogers Park Marches Against Charters: Remember This? by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Apropos of nothing in particular, I wanted to run a miniclip from last year, just to remind people about what a remarkably overprivileged and I'm sorry to say horrid person Bruce Rauner is. This clip is where he got into a little tussle with Carol Marin, and it's probably indicative of how he would behave if he ever successfully bought the governorship of Illinois. Rauner running as the GOP candidate is probably the only thing that could save the Quinn administration, at t... more »

The Opt Out Update: Students and parents opting out around the United States | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The Opt Out Update: Students and parents opting out around the United States | Seattle Education: The Opt Out Update: Students and parents opting out around the United States by seattleducation2011 [image: CCS2] *Mike Lofgren:* *“Apart from the Medicare Prescription Drug Act and the lucrative war and homeland security cash flows, the Bush administration engineered the No Child Left Behind Act, largely as a sop to the school privatization industry and the educational testing racket…”* *The Party is Over: How the Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became useless and the Middle Class G... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Testing madness leading to massive retention of 3rd graders

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Testing madness leading to massive retention of 3rd graders: Testing madness leading to massive retention of 3rd graders by Mike Klonsky *“The children all knew if you didn’t pass, you weren’t going on. A lot of them gave up. They weren’t trying to do any work. The attitude was, ‘What’s the difference? I failed.’”* -- *Paula Peterson*, principal at Charles Fairbanks Elementary in Indianapolis The testing madness, unleashed under No Child Left Behind and still running amok under Race To The Top, is having devastating effects on hundreds of thousand... more »

Short Notes: My Dreams Is Vivid, Work Hard To Live It | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Short Notes: My Dreams Is Vivid, Work Hard To Live It | The Jose Vilson: Short Notes: My Dreams Is Vivid, Work Hard To Live It by Jose Vilson [image: chattanoogastockmarketsurges] A few short notes: - Dart Adams is easily one of my favorite non-education bloggers out there, and his latest entry about the Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy gives plenty of reasons why. [Bastard Swordsman] - Tara Conley writes an open letter to popular feminist Amanda Marcotte, wondering aloud about the exclusion of womynists and feminists of color in the online feminism movement. You can pre... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Michelle Rhee Book Failure Watch

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Michelle Rhee Book Failure Watch: Michelle Rhee Book Failure Watch by Duke So, how's America's Favorite Reformer™ doing in the book sales department this week? Wow - even after her dream book tour Michelle Rhee still can't crack the top 1,000 in book sales on Amazon. And she never cracked the *NY Times* bestseller list - it looks like she never will. And yet the press will still credulously report that Rhee's group, StudentsFirst, has two million members. Does it ever occur to reporters like Motoko Rich that maybe they ought to confirm SF's membership numbers befo... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Classroom Discipline: Who Decides (and how)?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Classroom Discipline: Who Decides (and how)?: Classroom Discipline: Who Decides (and how)? by Melissa Westbrook *On the heels of the issue of disproportionality of discipline in SPS, c*omes this op-ed from SPS teacher, Dan Magill. *Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5244, approved by the Senate last week, would reduce the number of days students can be excluded from school due to discipline.* ***Do those in favor of the bill understand how damaging just one incorrigible student can be to a classroom? I’m not arguing against this bill necess... more »

Last Stand for Children First: School Closings Offer Opportunities for Students to Learn a Trade

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Last Stand for Children First: School Closings Offer Opportunities for Students to Learn a Trade: School Closings Offer Opportunities for Students to Learn a Trade by Last Stand for Children Commentary by Representative Jack Kimble (R-CA, 54) Unfortunately, it's very easy for parents to get angry over school closings. After all, neighborhood schools can be sanctuaries in a neighborhood of boarded up and abandoned buildings and the school community can be a family for children whose own parents are unable to provide them with the stability every child deserves. This is a nationwi... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Shocker! Gates Funded PTA Supports Common Core.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Shocker! Gates Funded PTA Supports Common Core.: Shocker! Gates Funded PTA Supports Common Core. by stlgretchen The following snippet is from the Missouri PTA on Senate Bill 210 and House Bill 616. It is included in a list of bills to watch regarding Missouri education. The PTA is in opposition to these bills. What isn't stated in this statement is that the National PTA has received over $1 Million from the Gates Foundation to push Common Core to parents. From mopta.org: *SB 210* sponsored by Senator John Lamping, District 24, and *HB 616* spo... more »

JAYWALK for EDUCATION JUSTICE | Reclaim Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
JAYWALK for EDUCATION JUSTICE | Reclaim Reform: JAYWALK for EDUCATION JUSTICE by kenpreviti The president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, was arrested for physically blocking the entrance to a Philadelphia School Reform Committee hearing. Civil Disobedience. [image: Jaywalk pic 2a]A CHALLENGE: Well, if she can go that far, we must demand that our state and local leaders Jaywalk for Education Justice. All of us must also do the same. Jaywalk. The president and board members of the National Education Association (NEA). Jaywalk. The presidents and board ... more »

Seating by Gender at UK University Debate on Islam Stirs Protest |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Seating by Gender at UK University Debate on Islam Stirs Protest |: Seating by Gender at UK University Debate on Islam Stirs Protest by Angus Johnston Seating arrangements for a debate at University College London Saturday has led prominent atheist Richard Dawkins to accuse the event’s Muslim organizers of “sexual apartheid,”but the group is challenging his version of events. The debate, “Islam or Atheism: Which Makes More Sense?,” pitted physicist Lawrence Krauss against Islamic lecturer Hamza Andreas Tzor. Seating was in three sections — one reserved for men, one reserved for wo... more »

Daily Kos: Something we need to realize about health insurance

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Daily Kos: Something we need to realize about health insurance: Something we need to realize about health insurance by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) has become very apparent to me as the statements and bills from the illness and treatment of my wife have begun to arrive at our house. I could show this clearly from many of them, but since it was 6 weeks ago this evening, just about this time, that we got the new she would not be leaving the hospital after an MRI we thought had been merely preparatory for referral to a pain management specialist, let me focus on the hospital bill.... more »

New Orleans’ Recovery School District: The Lie Unveiled | deutsch29

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
New Orleans’ Recovery School District: The Lie Unveiled | deutsch29: New Orleans’ Recovery School District: The Lie Unveiled March 5, 2013 Yesterday, I was watching a video clip of the 2011 Aspen Institute debate between Wendy Kopp and Diane Ravitch. In a final effort to defend corporate reform, Kopp tells the audience, “I encourage everyone to see for yourself, study for yourself… New Orleans….” I intend to take Kopp up on her offer in this post. I have written this piece with a particular audience in mind: Those in other states who are considering following what they think is “mo... more »

David Anthony of Raise Your Hand Texas on charter schools and accountability | Education Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
David Anthony of Raise Your Hand Texas on charter schools and accountability | Education Blog: David Anthony of Raise Your Hand Texas on charter schools and accountability By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist wmckenzie@dallasnews.com 6:08 pm on March 10, 2013 | Permalink 0 1 0 *Dr. David Anthony is CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas, a statewide organization that bills itself as a non-profit education advocacy group. You can read more about the organization at this website. Anthony also once served as superintendent of the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District.* ** *He and I exc... more »

After 63 years, Palisades High English teacher closes the book | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
After 63 years, Palisades High English teacher closes the book | toteachornototeach: After 63 years, Palisades High English teacher closes the book by aristotlethewise *After 63 years, Palisades High English teacher closes the book* *Rose Gilbert, who retired three weeks ago at 94, achieved celebrity status for being the oldest full-time teacher in the L.A. Unified School District. A drama classroom has been named in her honor.* By Louis Sahagun The boisterous applause of hundreds of admirers echoed through Palisades Charter High School’s newly refurbished drama classroom on Saturda... more »

The Weekly Cheddar : blue cheddar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The Weekly Cheddar : blue cheddar: The Weekly Cheddar March 10, 2013 By bluecheddar March 3 - 9, 2013 Here’s another edition of my round-up of Wisconsin political news. If I missed something major, please leave a comment about it. *Public Education for K-12 is–* – on the chopping block. More on that here: Walker’s budget is a school killer; legislative Republicans propose a severe beating instead And here: ‘This is an all-out attack on public education’: ”SIREN—Those were the sentiments of Scott Johnson, district administrator for the Siren Schools to his school board Monday night.... more »

Melissa Harris-Perry: Why people are saying Detroit is where democracy goes to die

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Melissa Harris-Perry: Why people are saying Detroit is where democracy goes to die: *Melissa Harris-Perry video: Why people are saying Detroit is where democracy goes to die* - Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lost Apple Core, Part I: Nagging Doubt |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Lost Apple Core, Part I: Nagging Doubt |: Lost Apple Core, Part I: Nagging Doubt [image: "The Dame School", 1887. Frederic George Cotman (1850-1920), British landscape, portrait, genre and history painter. Oil on canvas.] “The Dame School”, 1887. Frederic George Cotman (1850-1920), British landscape, portrait, genre and history painter. Oil on canvas. Recently I was sitting down with a fellow educator discussing the Common Core State Standards and what affect we thought they might have on public schools. I have been on the fence regarding The Core for a while now, not wanting to pas... more »







Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-10-13 

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-9-13Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-8-13 Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-7-13Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-6-13 Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-5-13Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-4-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-3-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-2-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-1--13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-28-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-27-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-26-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-25-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-24-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-23-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-22-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-21-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-20-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-19-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-18-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-17-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 2-16-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2