Friday, October 4, 2013

Under pressure, charters nix cash-for-applicant tactic | GothamSchools

Under pressure, charters nix cash-for-applicant tactic | GothamSchools:

Under pressure, charters nix cash-for-applicant tactic

by Geoff Decker, at 9:36 pm
A city charter school network abruptly abandoned a recruiting effort today that would have paid families cash rewards for bringing new students to its schools. The retraction happened two and a half hours after Ireported the effort on Twitter earlier today.
Screen shot 2013-10-04 at 9.20.17 PM
A screenshot of the bulletin posted to Girls Prep charter school’s web site, offering cash to parents who recruited students. Girls Prep’s network later removed the page after canceling the program.The network, Public Prep, yanked an bulletin for the offer on the website of two of its charters.
The tweet caused a “firestorm,” said Public Prep CEO Ian Rowe, and even prompted a worried call from the Department of Education. ”Given the way it’s been framed and received, we decided to pull it,” he said.
The cash reward was available at two Girls Prep Lower East Side schools, which have vacant seats in their kindergarten through sixth grades. Public Prep promised to give current parents a $100 cash card and a $100 contribution to a college savings plan if they found students to enroll at the schools and stay for at least three months.
Rowe said the program was part of an aggressive recruiting strategy required by the Lower East Side’s competitive school marketplace. Besides attracting students, he said, another goal was to “incentivize ou

Remainders: Tips for helping neighborhood schools get better

by Philissa Cramer, at 9:39 pm
  • A parent who wants to help her zoned school get better receives tips about where to start. (Insideschools)
  • New York education officials looked to Kentucky when predicting Common Core test scores. (Capital NY)
  • A 50CAN staffer is heading back to work at the New York State School Boards Association. (Eduwonk)
  • Arne Duncan had to cancel his “Education Nation” date due to the government shutdown. (Politics K-12)
  • A Queens middle school teacher describes realizing that he had gotten through to a student. (Edwize)
  • A city teacher advocates for teaching with one’s door open, both literally and figuratively. (Jose Vilson)
  • A Florida student was briefly held back after falling one point short of passing a state test. (Answer Sheet)
  • A quarter of Detroit students got prizes for showing up on Michigan’s “Count Day.” (Joanne Jacobs)
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Diane Ravitch: ‘Schools are not doing well because our society is not doing well’ — All In with Chris Hayes MSNBC

Diane Ravitch: ‘Schools are not doing well because our society is not doing well’ — MSNBC:

Diane Ravitch: ‘Schools are not doing well because our society is not doing well’

, @youngcollier



Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Diane Ravitch, an education historian, was once an avid and vocal supporter of No Child Left Behind and the Charter Movement. But she has changed her mind. Last month the current Research Professor of Education at New York University released a condemnation of the very positions she once promoted. Ravitch appeared on All In to discuss her 
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Parent Teacher Home Visit Project

Parent Teacher Home Visit Project:

missionstmt
THE PARENT/TEACHER HOME VISIT PROJECT
is an inexpensive and easily replicated model of family engagement that has been proven to end the cycle of blame between families and school staff by building trust and respect, instilling cultural competency and increasing personal and professional capacity for all involved.
The increased communication, trust and support between families and teachers via home visits result in:
  • Increased student attendance rates.In Past Year
  • Increased student test scores.
  • Decreased suspension and expulsion rates.
  • Decreased vandalism at school site.
Home visits also provide a positive opportunity to meet federal and state mandates that families be meaningfully informed of their child’s academic standing.
This model began in Sacramento, California but has since been adopted and adapted by schools and districts in eleven other states.



MATT DAMON JOINS DIANE RAVITCH TOUR

Matt Damon Diane Ravitch book tour Reign of ErrorAfter a stop in Sacramento last week where she shared the stage with CTA Secretary-Treasurer Mikki Cichocki , Diane Ravitch continued her tour promoting her new book Reign of ErrorWednesday Night at CSU Northridge. Matt Damon, whose educator mother was in the audience, brought some Hollywood star power to the event, introducing Ravitch and lauding her stands on major education issues.
Ravitch wasted no time in her hour-long presentation, exposing what she calls hoaxes being perpetrated on the public and on the education community, largely by corporate and billionaire so-called reformers. "America is not falling behind," noted Ravitch, sharing recent data that ties the US with Finland, a nation often ranked at the top in education. Among her other targets:
  • No Child Left Behind:  Ravitch said her former boss Lamar Alexander admitted that NCLB’s target of 100% of US children being proficient by 2014 wasn’t possible to reach, but that it was “good to have a goal.” Ravitch rightly pointed out that thousands of American schools were being called “failures” and people were getting fired for not reaching that “good” goal.
  • Charter schools: While acknowledging there are excellent charters, Ravictch deplored the “risk management” strategy of some that cherry-pick higher achieving students. She had especially harsh words for online charter schools raking in millions of tax dollars with little overhead to spend it on, and pointed out that on average charters do just about as well as traditional public schools.
  • Abolishing tenure: Ravitch defended tenure laws, saying that all they do is allow teachers due process and to be heard if they are dismissed. Ravitch attacked the whole “get rid of bad teachers” strategy as a ridiculous way to improve schools. Quoting Linda Darling-Hammond, she observed, “You can’t fire your way to Finland.”
  • Parent Trigger laws: Ravitch sees them as a way to trick parents into turning public institutions over to private profiteers. She compared such efforts to a group of unhappy public bus passengers seizing the bus and giving it a private bus company. Citing such public entities as belong to the entire community whether they have children or ride the bus, she said of those who try to seize control, “It’s not their bus and it’s not their school,” she said.
  • Attacks on teacher unions: Ravitch pointed out that the same people who want to evaluate teachers on test scores are usually the same people who attack unions. She said those same people find it hard to reconcile that the nation’s top achieving states have unionized teachers.
Reign of Error is available in stores and online. Be sure to follow Diane Ravitch for her latest posts and commentary on the education reform landscape.
Photo credit: John Saringo-Rodriguez / Daily Sundial
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America's Kids Start Learning Way Before Kindergarten | Jim Steyer

America's Kids Start Learning Way Before Kindergarten | Jim Steyer:

America's Kids Start Learning Way Before Kindergarten




 Much of my work during the past decade has involved helping parents better understand the problems of unfettered media and technology access to their kids. But this doesn't mean that my colleagues and I oppose children using media and the latest digital content and tools. Rather, there are many positives that can come from the appropriate use of high-quality media and technology. Moreover, when used widely, and with appropriate supervision from parents and teachers, kids can learn a ton from those mobile videos, apps and programs that saturate their lives 24/7.
The bottom line is clear: children learn from everything and everyone around them. Research makes it evident that early learning begins well before kids start walking and talking. Indeed, more than 80 percent of a child's brain develops before age 5. This means that much of the critical learning that will mold that child's brain and help her become successful later in school starts with the early efforts of her parents.
Everyone recognizes that a parent is a child's first teacher. As community members, each of us has a moral and economic responsibility to ensure that these early teachers have all of the resources they need so that their children get their best shot at success. Unfortunately, 
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10-4-13 Rethinking Schools

Rethinking Schools:




NEW PUBLICATIONS
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Cover Story:

Of Mice and Marginalization

By Michelle Kenney
Under pressure from parents, a high school English teacher assigns a classic: Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Her students' reactions lead her to a deeper understanding of what's wrong with “the canon.”
– ALSO FEATURED –

Standing Up for Tocarra

By Tina Owen
When a homophobic minister preaches about the “sin” of a transgender student at her funeral, a teacher leads her students to focus instead on the beautiful spirit of the young woman they loved.

The Mystery of the 3 Scary Numbers

By Bill Bigelow
A classroom mixer prepares students to study “Global Warming's Terrifying New Math.”

Charter Schools and the Future of Public Education

By Stan Karp
Charter schools began as educator-initiated, local efforts to provide alternative approaches to education. What role are they playing now? And what is the impact on public education?
Founded in 1986 by activist teachers, Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit, independent publisher of educational materials.

We advocate the reform of elementary and secondary education, with a strong emphasis on issues of equity and social justice.
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10-4-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman:







RIP Jean Anyon
Anyon was a scholar who documented the most obvious thing in the world: Professor Anyon, who died on Sept. 7 at 72, was one of the first people to study that landscape in detail — and among the first to assert that without accompanying social reforms like job creation, antipoverty initiatives and urban renewal, the problems of education in urban, poor areas would never be surmounted. “The struc
2 by Duke / 45min 




10-3-13 Jersey Jazzman
Jersey Jazzman: Another Reformy Practice Not Grounded in Research: SGOsLike all teachers around New Jersey, I have been attending workshops and working with my administrators and colleagues on a new, reformy project: Student Growth Objectives. My SGO will count for 15% of my annual evaluation - a percentage mandated by state code - because I teach an "untested" subject: in other words, I
by mike simpson / 13h 
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Children are going without food or education. In Somalia, Syria and the USA. | Reclaim Reform

Children are going without food or education. In Somalia, Syria and the USA. | Reclaim Reform:

Children are going without food or education. In Somalia, Syria and the USA.

Posted on October 4, 2013by 
Children are going without food or education. In Somalia, Syria and the USA. Yes, the USA. Now. Today and tomorrow and… Sequestration is another name for unnecessary austerity. Closing down the government is destructive for all Americans. Why are media headlines repeating the propaganda and political infighting as our children are denied food and education?
307259_466820956688939_1437343020_n
Since the sequestration began, over 57,000 children have been denied Head Start education. In addition over 3,200 children have lost it since the government shut down began. Read the Think Progress article HERE.
stossel close more
In Arkansas alone, 85,000 people, many of whom are infants and children, are losing nutritional assistance (food) -in spite of Bill Kristol’s media assurances that the government shut down isn’t hurting anybody. What is the reality? “The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) will not issue new payments to states, meaning that any state that has already spent all its federal 
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Charter school operator sentenced to prison as industry group fights on his behalf | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Charter school operator sentenced to prison as industry group fights on his behalf | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Charter school operator sentenced to prison as industry group fights on his behalf

Annie Gilbertson | 
People vs. Selivanov and Berkovich

Annie Gilbertson/KPCC

Judge Stephen Marcus complained that there were far to many lawyers involved. A total of six spoke during Friday's sentencing hearing.
At the end of a four hour hearing, a Los Angeles judge sentenced the founder of a San Fernando Valley charter school on Friday to 4 years and 8 months in state prison for embezzling school funds, money laundering and filing a false tax return. His wife, and co-founder, received 45 days in the county jail, probation and community service.
The case was unusual - in part because the California Charter School Association has been heavily involved and spent nearly the entire four hours Friday arguing that a jury's conviction of Yevgency "Eugene" Selivanov and Tatyana Berkovich ought to be thrown out.
"Certain money that goes to charter schools at some point no longer becomes charter schools," said defense attorney Jeffrey Rutherford, citing what he said is the California Charter School Association's position. "That these charter schools are not considered districts."
An investigation by the L.A. District Attorney's office found that Selivanov and Berkovich bought personal items and teacher gifts from the checking account of Ivy Academia Charter Schools with campuses in Woodland Hills, Winnetka, West Hills and Chatsworth. Selivanov and Berkovich owned the facility where the school was housed and hiked the rent up $25,000 per year. The couple also lent money to the 

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Jesse Hagopian & Monty Neill | California Father

Jesse Hagopian & Monty Neill | California Father:

California Father


Jesse Hagopian & Monty Neill

by  on October 4, 2013 · Leave a Comment

 Here are two great voices in the testing reform movement.  I saw them at a recent United Teacher’s of Los Angeles Event hosted.  Thanks to all the new friends I made there.

 
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“It’s Not a School Problem” | Texas Monthly

“It’s Not a School Problem” | Texas Monthly:

“It’s Not a School Problem”

DIANE RAVITCH USED TO BE A STAUNCH SUPPORTER OF EDUCATION REFORM. NOT ANYMORE.
by JAKE SILVERSTEIN
OCTOBER 2013
Photograph by Ryan Dorsett
JAKE SILVERSTEIN: You are famous for having made a dramatic public reversal on the subject of education. As a historian and as somebody who was involved in the policy making process as a member of George H. W. Bush’s Department of Education, you were a supporter of some of the elements of what is now known as reform—high-stakes testing, accountability, competition, school choice. And then three years ago you broke with that movement and became one of its fiercest critics. Was it difficult to admit you’d been wrong?
DIANE RAVITCH: Writing a book is a very public way of saying I was wrong, and it was very important to say I was wrong. I won’t say it was easy because I alienated a lot of people with whom I’d been very friendly, and I had to break a lot of longtime associations with organizations and friends, and that was hard. The easy part was saying, “This is wrong. I’m sorry that I had anything to do with it, and I want to do whatever I can to reverse it.”
JS: In your new book, Reign of Error, you say that the well-meaning people who support these reforms—and presumably these are the people who used to be your allies—have “allied themselves with those who seek to destroy public education.” You really think the result of the reform movement will be the destruction of public education?
DR: I think that’s the direction we’re heading in. First of all, I have a lot of trouble with the word “reform” being attached to what’s happening right 
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Nite Cap 10-4-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change


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

TODAY

The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform | Cloaking Inequity
The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform | Cloaking Inequity: The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down ReformEli Broad is infamous for his book The Art of Being Unreasonable. Broad is also know for venture philanthropy, the approach billionaires have taken to influence and direct educational po
3 by mike simpson / 44min 
Previews STEM Task Force Report - Year 2013
Previews STEM Task Force Report - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson PreviewsExpert Task Force Report on Boosting STEM EducationWALNUT CREEK—To stay on the cutting edge of STEM, California needs to start laying educational foundations in the early grades, boost professional development for teachers, and more, according to an upcoming report to State Superintendent
by mike simpson / 49min 
Organization to look out for: ScholarMatch Project combines Philanthropy and Education Student Voice
Student Voice: Organization to look out for: ScholarMatch Project combines Philanthropy and Education Today the crowdsourcing campaign ScholarMatch Project has launched, aiming to send 12 deserving students to college. As an online fundraiser, it makes it makes it easy for students to help other students receive an education by donating as little as $25. The following is a repost from http://www.
by mike simpson / 55min 
How Congress flunked basic Schoolhouse Rock lesson
How Congress flunked basic Schoolhouse Rock lesson: How Congress flunked basic Schoolhouse Rock lessonBy Valerie Strauss, Published: October 4 at 3:45 pmE-mail the writer(By J. Scott Applewhite/AP )With the federal government shut downbecause Congress failed to fund it, it seems reasonable to ask just how far astray our lawmakers have gone from doing what school children learn as being its basic j
by mike simpson / 2h 
Support teachers! The key to our future is in their hands
On World Teachers' Day' , October 4, the International Labour Organization (ILO) salutes Teachers and commits to supporting their key role in building the citizens and societies of the future, says Guy Ryder, the ILO's Director-General.
by mike simpson / 2h 
Matt Damon visits CSUN to introduce NYU professor Diane Ravitch, a representative of the Education on the Edge speakers series | Daily Sundial
Matt Damon visits CSUN to introduce NYU professor Diane Ravitch, a representative of the Education on the Edge speakers series | Daily Sundial: Matt Damon visits CSUN to introduce NYU professor Diane Ravitch, a representative of the Education on the Edge speakers seriesBy Alex VejarOctober 3rd, 2013Section: News - PhotosMatt Damon and Dr. Diane Ravitch embrace at the “Education on Edge” speaker se
by mike simpson / 2h 
10-4-13 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down ReformA study in evil from Julian Vasquez Heilig   The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform.    by Michael Paul Gold... / 0min mark as read  //  saveThe Problem With Charter SchoolsReblogged from Moi Naturale: In the fall of 2008, I dec
by mike simpson / 3h 
Tom Corbett’s Back and So Are We! | WeArePCAPS
Tom Corbett’s Back and So Are We! | WeArePCAPS: Tom Corbett’s Back and So Are We!Posted on October 4, 2013by wearepcapsThis Thursday we unwelcomed Tom Corbett when he rode into Drexel to dedicate a new school of business. Now he’s coming to join Urban Outfitters to unveil a new project at the Navy Yard. We will be on hand to remind the Governor that Philadelphians hold him responsible for the cris
by mike simpson / 3h 
Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! — Whole Child Education
Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! — Whole Child Education: Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! by Tina Byland / 1h mark as read  //  saveStudent Voice and Resilience in LearningPost written by Kristine Fox, Megan Bedford, and Brian Connelly Although research has a lot to say about how to foster academic resilience, encouraging student voice—which an abundance of research shows to have a positive
by mike simpson / 3h 
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack RavitchI haven't heard much from ’60s ultra-radical turned far-right think-tanker Sol Stern since 2008 when he tried to paint Barack Obama as a commie symp and make Bill Ayers the focus of the presidential election debate. He used to write me letters, trying to befr
by mike simpson / 3h 
10-4-13 Wait What?
Wait What?: Child Abuse in the form of the “No Excuses” education modelThe new Jumoke Academy at Dunbar (AKA The Paul Dunbar School, A FUSE Family Urban Schools of Excellence) recently posted job announcements that it was looking for four new teachers. Putting aside why Jumoke, the charter school management company that was hired to take over and run the Dunbar elementary school is looking for fou
by mike simpson / 5h 
Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!
Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in MadisonFiled under: MPS Buildings,Privatization — millerlf @ 11:57 am A hearing will be held Wednesday October 9 on legislation that authorizes seizure of MPS buildings. This is a hostile
by mike simpson / 5h 
Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher - SFGate
Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher - SFGate: Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacherBy LINDSEY ZILIAK, Kokomo TribuneUpdated 8:10 am, Friday, October 4, 2013KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — Markanna Huffer panicked last week when she left her 10-month-old son with a stranger for the first time.She ran down the staircase at South Side Christian Church to where a group of women were ca
by mike simpson / 5h 
Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes Global | NEA Today
Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes Global | NEA Today: Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes GlobalOctober 4, 2013 by twalker  Filed under Featured News, Top StoriesLeave a CommentBy Tim WalkerIn July, NEA launched “Raise Your Hand,” a national campaign to empower educators across the nation to lead the charge for students and quality public education. A loud and strong teacher voice, however,
by mike simpson / 5h 
CDE urges cautious administrators to spend LCFF money SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: CDE urges cautious administrators to spend LCFF moneyBy Tom ChorneauFriday, October 04, 2013More than $2 billion in new state funding targeting educationally disadvantaged students arrived at California schools in August. But sources in the field said this week that more than a few school administrators have been reluctant to spend any of the money j
by mike simpson / 6h 
10-4-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open ThreadThe Times reports on new state standards for Science which sound great (except they left out Computer Science and I think that's a mistake).  But the story really misses one huge thing: Common Core which is likely to come out with its own standards.  What happens then?   Hmm.No director community meetings for Saturday but there is a candidate deba
by mike simpson / 6h 
20,000 TEACHERS on the COMMON CORE | Scholastic Inc.
Primary Sources 2013 Preview | Scholastic Inc.: 20,000 TEACHERS on the COMMON COREThe third edition of Primary Sources is in final preparations and features 20,000 of our nation’s public school teachers sharing their thoughts on teaching in an era of change. In advance of the full report, teachers’ views are now available on the Common Core State Standards, a set of clear, consistent guidelines fo
by mike simpson / 6h 
Stop This Madness
Stop This Madness - Dudley aka Origin: This is the official music video for "Stop This Madness" by Dudley aka Origin. For a FREE download of the song or to learn more about the symbolism, interact with the hash tags, and link up with others who are fighting for the best interest of children around the country please visit: http://www.originalrap.com/stop-this-...Support is always appreci
by mike simpson / 6h 
Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 4, 2013
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Report: California school districts spend less on students than before recessionEducation HeadlinesFriday, October 4, 2013Report: California school districts spend less on students than before recessionCalifornia school districts spend an average of $873 per student less now than they did in 2008, according to a report by the Center on Budget
by mike simpson / 7h 
Morning Wink 10-4-13 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSTODAY10-4-13 Schools MatterSchools Matter: Will Value-Added Testing Do as Little for the Nation as It Has for Tennessee?If you go the Washington Post education page, hang a right down the hallway to the back bedroom and look under the bed in the box labeled "Stuff Jeff Bezos Won't Like," you will find this article, which is based largely on findi
1 by mike simpson / 7h 
10-4-13 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Will Value-Added Testing Do as Little for the Nation as It Has for Tennessee?If you go the Washington Post education page, hang a right down the hallway to the back bedroom and look under the bed in the box labeled "Stuff Jeff Bezos Won't Like," you will find this article, which is based largely on findings from TMoE.  2 by Jim Horn / 40min  10-3-13 Schools MatterSchools
by mike simpson / 8h 
International People's Assembly: Detroit, October 5-6 | OccupyWallSt.org
International People's Assembly: Detroit, October 5-6 | OccupyWallSt.org: International People's Assembly: Detroit, October 5-6Posted 1 hour ago on Oct. 4, 2013, 8:08 a.m. EST by OccupyWallStTags: austerity, Michigan, Detroitvia International People's Assembly:We call on all activists fighting banker-imposed austerity – here in the U.S. and worldwide – to come to Detroit, Michigan, on October 5 an
by mike simpson / 8h 
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-4-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Researchers: Literary Fiction Is Excellent Preparation for Real WorldThere have been many debates since the promulgation of the Common Core standards about the appropriate balance between literature and “informational text.” The writers of the Common Core think that American children spend too much time reading fiction, not enough
by mike simpson / 10h 
10-4-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Halloween ResourcesI’ve just updated The Best Websites For Learning About Halloween. Feel free to offer additional suggestions…by Larry Ferlazzo / 21min Infographic: “Twitter For Teachers”I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About: Twitter for Teachers4 by Larry Ferlaz
by mike simpson / 10h 
The Id, The Ego, and The Super-Rhee-go | Gary Rubinstein's Blog
The Id, The Ego, and The Super-Rhee-go | Gary Rubinstein's Blog: The Id, The Ego, and The Super-Rhee-goReformers have been obviously working on re-vamping their public images.  People are tiring of their empty promises, their overly simplistic remedies, and their unwillingness to engage in an honest discussion about what is and isn’t working.  So the reformer’s reformer, Michelle A. Rhee, my old a
by mike simpson / 10h 
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Guzzardi leads in the race against incumbent Democratic Machine pension-bomber.It is early and the candidates haven’t even officially filed yet. But when the daughter of Machine Boss and Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios voted with Speaker Mike Madigan for the public employee pension-busting Senate Bil
by mike simpson / 10h 
10-4-13 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Shael in the Eye of the Storm in Debate with Parents on TestingIn many ways this was the most remarkable part of Monday night's CEC 15 High Stakes Testing event -- a real debate between a chief Tweedie (Gotham lists him as one of 5 potential Chancellor candidates) and parents and teachers. (You can see MORE's Lisa North and Michelle Hamilton making comments. You won't see anyone f
by mike simpson / 10h 
FOUR DAYS until PUBLIC ENEMY is ON-SALE! | Bill Ayers
FOUR DAYS until PUBLIC ENEMY is ON-SALE! | Bill Ayers: FOUR DAYS until PUBLIC ENEMY is ON-SALE!Apart from being a committed activist, engaging thinker, brilliant parent, Bill Ayers is a great storyteller.~~Aleksander Hemon, author ofNowhere Man; The Lazarus Project.On October 8—not the day before and not the day after—order 1, 2, 3, or more copies of Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissid
by mike simpson / 10h 
10-4-13 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: The Charter School Question In The NY Times/Siena PollThe NY Times is hawking a Siena poll today that shows Bill de Blaiso with a 50 percentage point lead over Joe Lhota, but says the poll shows notes of caution for de Blasio because some of his signature policy positions are in opposition to what a majority of New Yorkers feel about things.One of those policy positions is o
by mike simpson / 10h 
The failures of for-profit K-12 schools
The failures of for-profit K-12 schools: The failures of for-profit K-12 schoolsBy Valerie Strauss, Published: October 4 at 5:00 amE-mail the writer0CommentsMoreMoney and more money.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Here’s a smart look at the spotty record of for-profit schools, by Larry Cuban, a high school social studies teacher for 14 years, a district superintendent (seven years in Arlington, VA),
by mike simpson / 10h 
Is The Common Core 2013 the "new math" of 1963?
The Straight Dope: What exactly was the "new math"?: What exactly was the "new math"?Dear Straight Dope:I'm old enough to have heard of the "new math" but as far as I can tell that was what I was taught in school. I have asked people older than myself what exactly the "old math" was. They were definitely sure I must have been exposed to the newfangled stuff,
4 by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 10-3-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
Nite Cap UPDATEUPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATECORPORATE ED REFORMCongressman Kimble Doesn't Let Shutdown Stop Him[Reprinted from the Oakdale Value Shopper] The recent government shut down has been a hardship for Congressmen.   The Members Dining Room has closed leaving many politicians wondering where their next meal will come from and without interns to operate things like remote controls and bottle
1 by mike simpson / 19h 
10-3-13 Jersey Jazzman
Jersey Jazzman: Another Reformy Practice Not Grounded in Research: SGOsLike all teachers around New Jersey, I have been attending workshops and working with my administrators and colleagues on a new, reformy project: Student Growth Objectives. My SGO will count for 15% of my annual evaluation - a percentage mandated by state code - because I teach an "untested" subject: in other words, I
by mike simpson / 20h 
Open Doors, Open Classrooms, Open Minds - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson
Open Doors, Open Classrooms, Open Minds - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson: Open Doors, Open Classrooms, Open Mindsby JOSE VILSON on OCTOBER 3, 2013in MR. VILSONA few days ago, United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew asked a collection of us, “How many of you teach with your doors open?” I presumed he meant metaphorically, so I raised my hand. During breakfast, he reiterated the p
by mike simpson / 21h 
Student Voice and Resilience in Learning — Whole Child Education
Student Voice and Resilience in Learning — Whole Child Education: Student Voice and Resilience in LearningOctober 3, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost written by Kristine Fox, Megan Bedford, and Brian ConnellyAlthough research has a lot to say about how to foster academic resilience, encouraging student voice—which an abundance of research shows to have a positive effect on school success—has
by mike simpson / 21h 
Today's WOW Story: Yong Zhao's "Be Careful What You Wish For" - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.
Today's WOW Story: Yong Zhao's "Be Careful What You Wish For" - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.: China: Flipping Standardized Testing on its Ear Who Woulda Thunk?by C.J. WesterbergYong Zhao, presidential chair and associate dean for global education in the College of Education at the University of Oregon, is one of our favorite outspoken critics of standardized testing over
by mike simpson / 22h 
NYC Public School Parents: Is there a connection between the Common Core and data privacy violations?
NYC Public School Parents: Is there a connection between the Common Core and data privacy violations?: Is there a connection between the Common Core and data privacy violations?inBloom was sold to states and districts and still is being justified by NY State as helping kids become “college and career ready,” and its interoperable instructional tools were supposed to be be aligned with the Common C
by mike simpson / 22h 
What Teachers Around The World ACTUALLY Get Paid | toteachornototeach
What Teachers Around The World ACTUALLY Get Paid | toteachornototeach: Average Teacher Salary Around The WorldVaries By Tens Of Thousands, Report FindsBy Rebecca KleinTeachers should be held in the same regard as highly respected professionals like doctors, according to Sunny Varkey, the chairman of the Varkey Gems Foundation, which seeks to improve education for underprivileged youth.But even if
by mike simpson / 23h 
Philly parents file hundreds of school complaints with Pa. education department | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Philly parents file hundreds of school complaints with Pa. education department | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Philly parents file hundreds of school complaints with Pa. education departmentby thenotebook on Oct 03 2013 Posted in Latest news="" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; padding: 0px 2px;">Share on emailMore Sharing ServicesCOMMENTS (0)PRINTby Holly Otterbein
by mike simpson / 23h 
AFT Human Rights Conference
AFT Human Rights Conference: AFT Human Rights ConferenceOver the last 30 years, the AFT has organized a series of biennial Civil, Human and Women’s Rights conferences addressing a wide range of social justice issues.
This year’s conference, organized in collaboration with the National Opportunity to Learn Campaign, the National Education Association, and Communities for Public Education Reform, co
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Nite Cap 10-3-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change
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 CAPTODAYAssembly Bill 484 Questions and Answers + $7.5 Million to Linked Learning ProgramsAssembly Bill 484 Questions and Answers - Assessment Information (CA Dept of Education): Assembly Bill 484 Questions and AnswersQuestions and answers regarding
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