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Friday, December 27, 2013

The Ten Best Books on My (Pretty Long) List for 2013 - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

The Ten Best Books on My (Pretty Long) List for 2013 - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

The Ten Best Books on My (Pretty Long) List for 2013



Many bloggy friends have been tallying up and promoting their best-of  lists and top ten mega-traffic posts.  Doing that produces a bump in numbers, I suppose--but I feel as ambivalent about blog numbers as I do about achievement data. I've read some passionate, articulate thinking on education issues from virtually unknown teachers--and found some pieces with thousands of re-tweets shallow and poorly written.
What feeds me is reading, not being read--although I certainly appreciate everyone who reads "Teacher in a Strange Land" and especially those who comment and share. 
Back in January, 2012, my friend Claudia Swisher--a high school English teacher who taught the all-time dream course for Language Arts educators, Reading for Pleasure--challenged me to read 150 books in 2012. I thought that was beyond my grasp (it was), and re-set my personal bar to 125 books. I made it, barely.
This year, Claudia's retired and not reading five hours a day in school, but still way ahead of me in our friendly competition. We both use Goodreads to log our books, critique and rate completed volumes, one to five stars. My goal this year is 135 books (I have a couple left to go). I just sorted my 2013 reads by stars granted, and found 35 five-star reads. I suppose you could say I'm an easy 

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Sites That Help Kids Do Good:

Common Sense Media



Califather Live! Hannah Nguyen crashing Michelle Rhee’s party (Show Starts 1 Min In) | California Father

Califather Live! (Show Starts 1 Min In) | California Father:

Hi, folks. This is my first “studio” (actually my shed, but hey) live streaming effort. Watch me talk about Hannah Nguyen crashing Michelle Rhee’s party. Watch for upcoming eps!
Watch live streaming video from califather at livestream.com

Tyrrany of a tiny minority | BCS in Context

Tyrrany of a tiny minority | BCS in Context:

Tyrrany of a tiny minority




 Democracy settles differences between competing visions of public life, so after every election there are inevitably happy winners and unhappy losers.
Under our traditional “50%-plus-1” majority rule, a whopping “50%-minus-1” losing minority could feel jilted after an election, which is an awful lot of unhappiness within a community. Rarely are ballots evenly split, so the unhappy losing camp is usually far less than half the number of voters.
Here in the US, mythic birthplace and bastion of ‘majority rule,’ we sometimes intentionally allow a minority to win on election day. This was possible in LASD a couple years ago when we voted on Measure E, the school parcel tax increase. If just one third of voters had voted against Measure E it would have failed, since a two thirds supermajority is required for such tax measures. (Luckily, Measure E passed, but only just barely.)
Allowing a one-third minority to overrule majority sentiment is like political leverage; each No vote cancels out two Yes votes.
Parcel tax measures require a two-thirds majority Yes vote, and so can be particularly difficult to pass, because even semi-organized opposition can be hard to overcome even if it isn’t richly funded. But “one-third/two-thirds” is the farthest we stray from majority rule. We would never dream of allowing a 10% minority camp to win over a 90% majority. That 

DailyCensored com – "The tragedy of the Public Commons": California City College and the neo-enclosure movement in education

DailyCensored.com – Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News"The tragedy of the Public Commons": California City College and the neo-enclosure movement in education:

“The tragedy of the Public Commons”: California City College and the neo-enclosure movement in education

 
Readers who are familiar with the controversy over the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and theAccrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) (ACCJC’s) failure to accredit the once community college, are also familiar with the Lumina Foundation and the role it played in assuring that CCSF would not be re-accredited.
sanajay90
College and university the accrediting agencies are much like stock rating agencies: they are in the hands of the one percent.  Moody’s (owned by Warrens Buffet) and Standard and Poors or Fitch all ‘rate’ stocks.  Look how they rated the sub-prime mortgage stocks (Triple A) or Enron.  They work for Wall Street and are faux ‘agencies’ designed to dupe the public into thinking they provide some ‘oversight’.  I am reminded of car and auto magazines which rate ‘cars and trucks’.  They too are endorsed and run by industry.
The same is true for the agencies that accredit colleges.  They are tied into the Wall Street mob, like the Lumina Foundation, which poses as a public charity when in fact it is founded on the sound principles of advocacy philanthropy designed to decimate the public commons in exchange for public largess.  In North Carolina, American Legislative Exchange Council members (ALEC), working with Kaplan University, a for-profit scam even passed laws which turned college accrediting agencies over to for-profit colleges (http://truth-out.org/news/item/9317-did-kaplan-lobby-to-deregulate-for-profit-colleges-while-one-of-its-schools-defrauded-students).

Join the Project Censored Newsletter Here!

plutocrats5
Occupied’ accrediting agencies now work to assure that colleges and universities dance to the tune of Wall Street investors.  If they do not, then they become as did CCSF, targets and low hanging fruit for the silk backed 

Nite Cap 12-27-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #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




2013 in Review Part 3: Gatesian Reforms Rejected - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
2013 in Review Part 3: Gatesian Reforms Rejected - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: 2013 in Review Part 3: Gatesian Reforms RejectedBy Anthony Cody on December 27, 2013 5:31 PMIn the year 2013, what was wrong with corporate reform became even clearer, and we also made a strong case for an alternative vision for public schools. In 2012, I spent considerable time working on a dialogue wi
Charter schools fight pension proposal - SFGate
Charter schools fight pension proposal - SFGate: Charter schools fight pension proposalBy The Associated PressUpdated 3:06 pm, Friday, December 27, 2013ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia charter schools are fighting a proposal that would require the independent public schools to contribute money toward pension debt for the traditional public education system.The idea may have a hard time in the Georgia Genera
Why Do UFT Retirees Get to Vote in UFT Elections? southbronxschool.com
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Why Do UFT Retirees Get to Vote in UFT Elections?Late on Christmas night I jumped into the middle of a Twitter conversation between Norm Scott and Randi Weingarten. The jist of the conversation was about the lack, and rightly so, of democracy in the the UFT. Of course Leo Casey chimes in with;
NYC Public School Parents: Our nine most popular posts in 2013
NYC Public School Parents: Our nine most popular posts in 2013: Our nine most popular posts in 2013Here are our most viewed nine posts from 2013.  As you can see, most relate to inBloom and student privacy, the Common Core tests, and to my surprise, StudentsFirst.  Hoping that next year we will have an even more diverse selection of issues and topics!1.  This year's NYS/Pearson ELA exams: an Epic
12-27-13 Wait Corporate welfare gone amok: “For ESPN, Millions to Remain in Connecticut”
Corporate welfare gone amok: “For ESPN, Millions to Remain in Connecticut” - Wait What?: Corporate welfare gone amok: “For ESPN, Millions to Remain in Connecticut”The New York Times had an incredible article yesterday about Governor Malloy’s decision to give tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funded corporate welfare checks to the extraordinarily successful ESPN Company. Malloy is hardly the
12-26-13 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: A College Rating System Designed to Benefit the Testing Industrial Complex and the Efficiency ZealotsIn these days of casino capitalism, the corporate education losers look more like losers every day.  If those of us who are determined to restore sanity to our schools and colleges keep pushing, the whole corrupt and cowardly con game known for decades now as "education reform&
NYC Public School Parents: Best and worst education news of 2013
NYC Public School Parents: Best and worst education news of 2013: Best and worst education news of 2013THE BESTHere’s a brief look back at the best and worst education news of the past year.   These are the six best, from my perspective of course; please put your nominations in the comment section below!1. The nationwide revolt against excessive, hi-stakes and low-quality testing grew stronger, wh
Rotten to the Core Conference in Missouri | Truth in American Education
Rotten to the Core Conference in Missouri | Truth in American Education: Rotten to the Core Conference in MissouriFiled in Common Core State Standards, Education at State Level by Shane Vander Hart on December 27, 2013 • 0 Comments92Saturday, January 4, 2014 in Lee’s Summit, MO there will be a Rotten to the Core conference hosted by Concerned Women for America of Missouri.All the pertinent informa
12-27-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open ThreadInteresting news about the necessity of dental X-rays for kids from the Los Angeles Times. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Chicago Public Schools is making computer science a core subject.   In the next three years, every high school will offer a foundational computer science course, and within five years, CPS plans to be the first urban d
12-27-13 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Miami Herald Gets it Wrong on Common Core OppositionFew dispute that most of the professional journalists who staff the state’s top newspapers lean democrat and leftward. It often becomes obvious in their reporting on Common Core. Consider this from the editors of the Mi
Year End Resolution Failure | My Island View
Year End Resolution Failure | My Island View: Year End Resolution FailureDecember 27, 2013 by tomwhitbyOf course the end of this year is about to slam us in the face with the fact that all of those well-intended resolutions, both personal and professional, for 2013 will no longer have the time to be fulfilled. Undoubtedly, we will feel really bad about it this year, because they were all great res
Top Posts of 2013 | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights
Top Posts of 2013 | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Top Posts of 2013By Anne O'Brien on December 27, 2013In 2013, we tackled a number of issues here at the Learning First Alliance. For example, in June, our members – representing over 10 million public education stakeholders – came together in calling for a transition period in Common Core implementation, removing high-stakes
12-27-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG 2013 Best of the Blog — Whole Child Education
2013 Best of the Blog: 10–6 — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG2013 Best of the Blog: 10–6December 27, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersIn the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supp
Update: What kind of Jihad is This? Gulen Charter Schools The underpinnings of a banana republic for Turkey? | Al Jazeera America
The underpinnings of a banana republic for Turkey? | Al Jazeera America: The underpinnings of a banana republic for Turkey?by Joseph Dana December 27, 2013 10:30AM ETTurkey's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan blames a growing corruption scandal on shadowy foreign plottersTopics: Turkey Muslim Brotherhood InternationalAdem Altan/AFP/Getty ImagesWhen it comes to political conspiracy theories, Turkey migh
Morning Wink 12-27-13 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Gulen Charter Schools Embroiled in International DisputesSharon Higgins has followed the expansion of the Gulen charter chain for years. The Gulen schools are now the largest charter chain in t
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Gulen Charter Schools Embroiled in International DisputesSharon Higgins has followed the expansion of the Gulen charter chain for years. The Gulen schools are now the largest charter chain in the nation. They were founded by allies of a reclusive Turkish cleric, Fetullah Gulen, who lives in the Poconos. She writes: A political cris
12-27-13 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Not a Wonderful Life: Education Writer’s BlockThe Wave - Published Friday, Dec. 27, 2013 - www.rockawave.comby ed notes online / 3h 12-26-13 Ed Notes OnlineEd Notes Online: Farina Delay: Charter lobby, ed deformers and UFT and allies working behind the scenes?Who might be opposing a Farina appointment? I know some people are left scratching their heads at what seems on the surface
12-27-13 The Answer Sheet
The Answer Sheet: The invisibility of teachersIt’s one of the great ironies of modern school reform that the very people who you would think should have some input into policy decisions — teachers —  don’t. They are, for that purpose, invisible (though they someone wind up front and center when it comes time for reformers to find people to blame for […]    by Valerie Strauss / 35min hide  //  save
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: How about telling the Tale of 2 Cities in Chicago?
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: How about telling the Tale of 2 Cities in Chicago?: How about telling the Tale of 2 Cities in Chicago?Lovely Warren (left) celebrates victoryThe two-cities movement is spreading beyond New York City, where it swept Mayor-elect Bill de Blasiointo office. This same focus on inequality is also what led to the election last month of Lovely Warren as Mayor of Rochester.Ac
12-27-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Infographic: “Good Luck Food for New Year”I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sites For Learning About New Year Celebrations: by angelvicky. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually. Via Gourmandiaby Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 12-26-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the
12-27-13 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.: Mayoral Tutorial. Our pensions situation is not a crisis.  Me, Don Washington and Chicago Newsroom’s Ken Davis. From my friend Don Washington, The Mayoral Tutorial: Our pension situation is not a crisis in the sense that pensions will suddenly run out of money or not be able to pay benefits. – Don Was
12-27-13 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": Ed Week Reports On How School Reformers Are Using Parents As “Foot Soldiers”Newer Advocacy Groups Find Foot Soldiers in Parents is a very interested new Education Week article highlighting how “school reform” groups are trying to involve parents in their efforts. Though substantial portions of the article make clear that so
12-27-13 teacherken at Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson on The GOP’s growing divide
Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson on The GOP’s growing divide: Eugene Robinson on The GOP’s growing divideThe Republican Party, which should have the wind at its back, enters 2014 in disarray bordering on open warfare. That is how the Pulitzer Prize winner begins this column in today's Washington Post The "should" can be derived from the recent CNN poll showing a 5 point preference for a generi
12-27-13 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: Spellings Doubles-Down on “Incredibly Complicated” High-Stakes TestingWhile political and popular debates teeter on the brink somewhere between surreal and catastrophic—consider the mess that is Sarah Palin homophobic-splaining the Phil Robertson controversy—the media access afforded Margaret Spellings may be reaching a level that rises about worse-of status for just a single yea
12-27-13 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs
With A Brooklyn Accent: Tough Questions to Ask About Charter SchoolsThe powers that be in the Democratic Party, including our President, have made Charter Schools their main vehicle for educational renewal in low income communities. And there are more than a few civil rights leaders, and elected officials in Black and Latino communities who view them as a chance to give families in their neighborh
12-27-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): The Answer Sheet: The invisibility of teachersThe Answer Sheet: The invisibility of teachersby plthomasedd / 3min hide  //  saveSpellings Doubles-Down on “Incredibly Complicated” High-Stakes TestingSpellings Doubles-Down on “Incredibly Complicated” High-Stakes Testing.1 
12-27-13 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: No Chancellor Pick Announcement Again TodayFrom Daily Politics:Mayor-Elect de Blasio is in Connecticut. There are no public events scheduled.More and more it's looking like come January 2, some of the same demented people running the NYCDOE now will still be in charge.by reality-based edu... / 1h  12-26-13 Perdido Street SchoolPerdido Street School: Governor Cuomo Is Vulnera
“Creative Disruption” Destroys Public Education in Chicago’s Bronzeville | janresseger
“Creative Disruption” Destroys Public Education in Chicago’s Bronzeville | janresseger: “Creative Disruption” Destroys Public Education in Chicago’s BronzevillePosted on December 27, 2013 by janressegerPortfolio school reform is the theory that underpins much of what is happening across the school districts in America’s biggest cities.  It is the idea that a school district should be managed like
empathyeducates – Education Reform: Our Field, Our Voices Simply Do Not Matter
empathyeducates – Education Reform: Our Field, Our Voices Simply Do Not Matter: Education Reform: Our Field, Our Voices Simply Do Not MatterBy Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published at The Becoming Radical. December 26, 2013“I am an invisible man,” announces the unnamed narrator of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, adding:I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me….When
The Weekly Update: The corporate empire of public education and where that leaves the rest of us, ALEC, Gates and charter schools | Seattle Education
The Weekly Update: The corporate empire of public education and where that leaves the rest of us, ALEC, Gates and charter schools | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: The corporate empire of public education and where that leaves the rest of us, ALEC, Gates and charter schoolsSo much news, so little time.From Real News:U.S. Student Homelessness Up 10% Since Last Year Highest increases of homele
Petition circulates to appoint former administrator to L.A. school board | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC
Petition circulates to appoint former administrator to L.A. school board | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: Petition circulates to appoint former administrator to L.A. school boardAnnie Gilbertson | December 27th, 2013, 6:00amThe campaign to pick a successor to Los Angeles Unified board member Marguerite LaMotte, who died earlier this month, is gaining steam.A single sentence petition, "Appoint Dr. M
NYC Educator: UFT's Road Not Taken
NYC Educator: UFT's Road Not Taken: UFT's Road Not TakenLet's say our union has to decide who represents it at conventions. Since only 14% working teachers find it worthwhile to even vote in union elections, and since Unity-New Action has had an ironclad monopoly on elections for over half a century, it pretty much comes out to who Unity-New Action sees fit to nominate. So let's look at who they c

YESTERDAY

Darling-Hammond Deplores Failure of No Child Left Behind and Test-and-Punish | janresseger
Darling-Hammond Deplores Failure of No Child Left Behind and Test-and-Punish | janresseger: Darling-Hammond Deplores Failure of No Child Left Behind and Test-and-PunishPosted on December 27, 2013 by janressegerThis morning, December 26, Linda Darling-Hammond spoke with Steve Inskseep on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.  You can listen or read the transcript here.Darling-Hammond is the Stan
The Educated Reporter: Guest Post: Making Sense of MOOCs
The Educated Reporter: Guest Post: Making Sense of MOOCs: Guest Post: Making Sense of MOOCsWith the year winding down, higher education journalists and pundits are wondering whether 2013 will be remembered as a tipping point for MOOCs - massive open online courses. Earlier this month a new study from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education found MOOCS had "relatively few
Some Governors and Common Core: “Hot Friends Cooling” | deutsch29
Some Governors and Common Core: “Hot Friends Cooling” | deutsch29: Some Governors and Common Core: “Hot Friends Cooling”December 26, 2013Hoping to advance your own political career? Better be quiet about Common Core.Amazing how a number of formerly outspoken, pro-CCSS governors have strategically opted for silence (or some other form of distance) regarding the now-highly-charged CCSS.New York: And
Why School Reform Advocates Aren’t So Businesslike After All | TIME.com
Why School Reform Advocates Aren’t So Businesslike After All | TIME.com: Why School Reform Advocates Aren’t So Businesslike After AllBy Rick Wartzman @DruckerInstDec. 18, 20131 Comment   inShare3 Read LaterEmail  PrintShare  Comment Follow @TIMEBusinessIn her book Curriculum Mapping, education consultant Kathy Glass invokes Peter Drucker—and his deep knowledge of the corporate world—to help explai
Growing Up Jewish in Texas: Christmas | Diane Ravitch
Growing Up Jewish in Texas: Christmas | Diane Ravitch: Growing Up Jewish in Texas: ChristmasPosted: 12/25/2013 1:15 pmI was born and raised in Houston, Texas.I am third of eight children.My parents were both Jewish, as am I.Yet every year we celebrated Christmas.Is this puzzling? It wasn't at all puzzling to me and my siblings.Every Christmas, the family bought a Christmas tree, and we all joined
#4 on Your Hit Parade: War on Public Education, the Battle Against Teachers | Reclaim Reform
#4 on Your Hit Parade: War on Public Education, the Battle Against Teachers | Reclaim Reform: #4 on Your Hit Parade: War on Public Education, the Battle Against TeachersPosted on December 26, 2013by Ken PrevitiAlterNet and ThinkProgress have looked back over the year and chosen nine societal abuses that are incredibly important yet generally ignored by major media. The #4 spot tells of the “Hit” a
12-26-13 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.: We need a fair income tax in Illinois.  Ken Griffin, hedge fund manager and head of Citadel LLC, is Illinois’ richest person and is worth $4.4 billion. He pays the same state income tax rate as an associate at Walmart. Want to know why Illinois is broke? Maybe that’s why Representative Elaine Nekritz,
12-26-13 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Farina Delay: Charter lobby, ed deformers and UFT and allies working behind the scenes?Who might be opposing a Farina appointment? I know some people are left scratching their heads at what seems on the surface an unholy alliance. Can we talk?We know that de Blasio has been getting pressure from the Obama administration to appoint a pro-test person. As Naison says, given that she
Nite Cap 12-26-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #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 CAPSchooling in the Ownership Society: Big bucks to be made in K-12 edSchooling in the Ownership Society: Big bucks to be made in K-12 ed: Big bucks to be made in K-12 edThere's big money to be made in K-12 education, especially in the technology ar