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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Nite Cap 3-23-14 #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

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Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond at Vergara v. California |
Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond at Vergara v. California |: Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond at Vergara v. CaliforniaAs you recall from my most recent post, this past Tuesday (March 18, 2014 – “Vergara Trial Day 28“), David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University (ASU), testified for six hours on behalf of the defense at Vergara v. California. He spoke
NYC Public School Parents: The Mayor's speech at Riverside Church today; "we will not accept the neighborhood school that fails them"
NYC Public School Parents: The Mayor's speech at Riverside Church today; "we will not accept the neighborhood school that fails them": The Mayor's speech at Riverside Church today; "we will not accept the neighborhood school that fails them"Mayor de Blasio spoke today at Riverside Church about the need for systemic education reform, including expanding preK, afterschool program
The Daily Censored » Zero-tolerance, the school-to-prison-pipeline, charter schools and the war on children
The Daily Censored » Zero-tolerance, the school-to-prison-pipeline, charter schools and the war on children: Zero-tolerance, the school-to-prison-pipeline, charter schools and the war on childrenThe featured image is of students expelled under zero-tolerance policies engaging in military training as punishmentIt was tougher to sponge it all up after I had talked to ‘Frank’ (we will call him Frank
Unmeasured Success: What Standardized Testing Doesn’t Assess | Connected Principals
Unmeasured Success: What Standardized Testing Doesn’t Assess | Connected Principals: Unmeasured Success: What Standardized Testing Doesn’t Assessby Tom Martellone • March 23, 2014 • 0 CommentsThis year, I’ve been working with my school staff to implement strategies that will raise student achievement and be reflected on MCAS, our state standardized assessment.  The staff have been working diligent
Marie Corfield: Rally for NJ Public Education Part 3: ‘Bad Teachers’ & ‘Failing Students’ are the WMDs of Ed 'Reform'
Marie Corfield: Rally for NJ Public Education Part 3: ‘Bad Teachers’ & ‘Failing Students’ are the WMDs of Ed 'Reform': Rally for NJ Public Education Part 3: ‘Bad Teachers’ & ‘Failing Students’ are the WMDs of Ed 'Reform'Thirteen years ago, after the horrific attacks of 9/11, the Bush/Cheney/Condi triumvirate sold the nation on a war based on a lie: that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
Geaux Teacher!: Fallacies Or Conspiracies?: NAEP, PISA & ACT/SAT Tests
Geaux Teacher!: Fallacies Or Conspiracies?: NAEP, PISA & ACT/SAT Tests: Fallacies Or Conspiracies?: NAEP, PISA & ACT/SAT TestsThis was written in response to concerns by some legislators who are working with their constituencies (finally) to sponsor bills for this Louisiana legislative session that will remove our state from the flawed policies associated with the adoption of Common Core S
3-23-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Race in our Public SchoolsMore news on race and children in America.I offer this information as news.  I have tried not to editorialize much here but to listen to what others are saying.  Somewhere in this country, people are suspending preschoolers and most of them are children of color or Special Education students.  (I didn't even know you could suspend a pre-sc
CORE waiver is bad idea | Letters to the Editor | FresnoBee.com
CORE waiver is bad idea | Letters to the Editor | FresnoBee.comCORE waiver is bad ideaThe Fresno Unified CORE waiver hurts kids. Superintendent Michael Hanson characterizes the waiver as a plan to improve education, but in reality the waiver is a business model designed to privatize education, which ultimately harms Fresno Unified children.The California Office to Reform Education waiver is a plan
In Defense of Teaching
In Defense of TeachingSee what happens when a high school art teacher and a high school English teacher collaborate to let the public know how they feel about the current state of education. Are your faculty meetings this entertaining?
Relentless | EduShyster
Relentless | EduShyster: Relentless Education Reform, Inc. vs. democracy—now playing on a screen near youWhen Netflix bazillionaire Reed Hastings proclaimed recently that, by their sheer relentlessness, charter school warriors will succeed in eliminating the scourge of elected school boards from the earth, the reaction from critics was swift and furious. “Like a shiny red apple that’s rotten to th
Louisiana Educator: Destroying the Teaching Profession in Louisiana
Louisiana Educator: Destroying the Teaching Profession in Louisiana: Destroying the Teaching Profession in LouisianaDestroying the teaching profession? That's a pretty sensational pronouncement. My background as a science teacher requires me to provide evidence when I make such a dramatic claim. Lets look at the evidence:Starting with Act 54 of 2010, our State, in an effort to win Race to the Top
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » How Does PISA Put the World at Risk (Part 3): Creating Illusory Models of Excellence
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » How Does PISA Put the World at Risk (Part 3): Creating Illusory Models of Excellence: How Does PISA Put the World at Risk (Part 3): Creating Illusory Models of Excellence23 MARCH 2014 144 NO COMMENTFew numbers in the world command as much power as PISA scores, not even the number of Olympic medals or Nobel Prize winners in the world today. It
3-23-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Sunday reads.NYC Educator runs for union office. More like him should. They pissed away $3 million supporting the candidate from ALEC, an idea the membership wouldn’t buy.  The bill is the best charter bill of the season and deserves your immediate support.  David Sirota. Annual pension shortfall = $4
Chicago 4th Grade Activist-Scholar, Asean Johnson, and his mother, Shoenice Reynolds, Give the Moving and Informative Keynote at the NYCORE - Coalition for Public Education/CoaliciĂłn por la EducaciĂłn PĂşblica
Coalition for Public Education/CoaliciĂłn por la EducaciĂłn PĂşblica: Great Keynotes From the NYCORE2014 Radical Possibilities ConferenceChicago 4th Grade Activist-Scholar, Asean Johnson, and his mother, Shoenice Reynolds, Give the Moving and Informative Keynote at the NYCORE-Organized Radical Possibilities Conference held on March 15, 2014 in Brooklyn, NY.
What’s Wrong with Grit?
Grit Academic Success: What’s Wrong with Grit?By Vicki Zakrzewski Grit is all over the news these days–the “latest fad in schools, ” according to author Alfie Kohn. With research suggesting that grit is linked to academic success, many policy makers, school leaders, and educators are crossing their fingers that this might be the silver bullet needed to give a boost to struggling students.Yet a clo
Chicago Teachers Union | Response on Candid Video of Karen Lewis
Chicago Teachers Union | Response on Candid Video of Karen Lewis: Media » Response on Candid Video of Karen LewisChicago Teachers Union President spoke to U.S. Education Secretary about candid remarksClick here to watch President Lewis' address at the Rethinking Schools - Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference.Click here for Edward McClelland's take on the flap.Click here for a statement
3-23-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: Another MUST READ comment from the Wait,What? reader known as jrp1900One of yesterday’s Wait,What? posts was entitled, “Election Year: Incumbent or challenger – You MUST READ this column.” The article re-posted a column written by Sarah Darer Littman and began with the statement. In a stunning piece written by pro-public education advocate and CT Newsjunkie columnist Sarah Darer Littma
3-23-14 The Answer Sheet
The Answer Sheet: Kindergarten teacher: My job is now about tests and data — not children. I quit.Susan Sluyter is a veteran teacher of young children in the Cambridge Public Schools who has been connected to the district for nearly 20 years and teaching for more than 25 years. Last month she sent a resignation letter ( “with deep love and a broken heart”) explaining that she could no longer align
3-23-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: New Obamacare ResourcesHere are new additions to The Best Interactives Showing How Obamacare Works: Obamacare: Enrollment numbers and Medicaid expansion is from CNN.by Larry Ferlazzo / 13min Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 3-22-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLarry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching E
Federal complaint filed on behalf of parents who speak Spanish and Vietnamese | The Lens
Federal complaint filed on behalf of parents who speak Spanish and Vietnamese | The Lens: Federal complaint filed on behalf of parents who speak Spanish and VietnameseBy Katy Reckdahl, Contributor    1 HOUR AGO      PRINTMatthew Hinton/The AdvocateUsing an app that scans an English text and translates it into Spanish, Ramon Leon helps his son with homework at the VAYLA office in eastern New Orlean
Michelle Gunderson: Chicago School Officials Question Children Who Opt Out: Intimidation? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Michelle Gunderson: Chicago School Officials Question Children Who Opt Out: Intimidation? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Michelle Gunderson: Chicago School Officials Question Children Who Opt Out: Intimidation?By Anthony Cody on March 23, 2014 10:23 AMGuest post by Michelle Gunderson.Chicago Public School officials sank to a new and unprecedented low this week. Children whose paren
RPNPS Voices: SUPER BLINKING RED ALERT ON HB6005 *
RPNPS Voices: SUPER BLINKING RED ALERT ON HB6005 *: SUPER BLINKING RED ALERT ON HB6005 **(I will update this post as other people submit their witness slips.)Ok, I'm ratcheting up the threat level from Red Alert to SUPER BLINKING RED ALERT on HB 6005, the Charter Accountability Act, which has a hearing in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Monday, April 24, which is in two d
Morning Wink 3-23-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-23-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Jason Stanford: A Hard Choice in Texas: $100 for a Graphic Calculator or $15 for an App?Jason Stanford is a political journalist in Texas who keeps a close watch on the nexus between money, poli
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-23-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Jason Stanford: A Hard Choice in Texas: $100 for a Graphic Calculator or $15 for an App?Jason Stanford is a political journalist in Texas who keeps a close watch on the nexus between money, politics, and education. He is especially interested in how lobbyists shape decisions about where the education money should be spent. In this
Russ on Reading: What Education Reformers Can’t Do (And What They Should)
Russ on Reading: What Education Reformers Can’t Do (And What They Should): What Education Reformers Can’t Do (And What They Should)The corporate education reformers love to tell teachers what they need to do, what they have failed to do and where they need to place their focus. One of their favorite pieces of advice to teachers is that since teachers can’t fix the problems outside of school (such
3-23-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Video: 12 Days to Being Tossed Out By Eva Moskowitz Success CharterInterview with former Success Charter parent exposes shady tactics.Great work by GEM's Darren Marelli.An interview with New York City Parent Karen Sprowal.  Ms. Sprowal tells the story of her kindergarten son's 12 days at Success Academy Charter School. Ms. Sprowal describes how her son was pushed out of the charte
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-23-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Avoiding the front-runners: UTLA BOARD RECOMMENDS - ¡Not Endorses!- 3 TEACHERS FOR LA UNIFIED SEAT  UTLA board endorses 3 teachers for LA Unified seat, not Omarosa by LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1dn0U3P March 20, 2014 9:37 am  ::  The board of directors of the Los Angeles teachers union, UTLA, voted last night to recommend that the union endorse th
3-23-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Be in Worcester, MA Wednesday Morning to Greet DuncanFrom MassLive:WORCESTER — Hoping to bring more attention to the federal changes in academic standards, protesters will greet U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with picket signs along Skyline Drive and Belmont Street Wednesday morning.Duncan is scheduled to visit Worcester Technical High School on Wednesdayat 9 a.m. as part
3-23-14 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: AIR’s Connections to Florida’s “Miserable” VAM ScoresLakeland Ledger columnist Glenn Marston dug deeper into Florida’s new testing contractor: More concerning about AIR’s Florida connections is the miserable teacher-grading program it created for the state, known as the
3-23-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: Of the thousands of slacktivists, we only have 1,756 signatures?I know what you’re going to say: petitions don’t matter. I get it. But I’ve seen one of the most respected authors and activists around, Susan Ohanian, publish a new White House petition to “Direct the Department of Education and Congress to Remove Annual Standardized Testing Mandates of NCLB and RtTT.” Just this mor
3-23-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week
With A Brooklyn Accent: Is High Stakes Testing the Best Way to Improve Educational Performance Among Students of Color and Students Living in Poverty?     Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, there has been a concerted effort to reduce gaps in educational  performance  by race and class by promoting regular testing in all grades and subjects and rating schools and teachers on the basis those
3-23-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): The Politics of Misinformation in Education ReformAppointed and elected officials related to education have some important characteristics in common. Consider U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and South Carolina Superintendent of Education Mick Zais. Neither have e
3-23-14 EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
empathyeducates: Don’t Help Your Kids With Their HomeworkIllustration; By Jean Jullien By Dana Goldstein | Originally Published at The Atlantic. March 19 2014, 9:06 PM ET One of the central tenets of raising kids in America is that parents should be actively involved in their children’s education: meeting with teachers, volunteering at school, helping […]by empathy / 3h 3-22-14 the becoming radica
3-23-13 CURMUDGUCATION Week
CURMUDGUCATION: News from Institute of GrittologyHere at the Institute of Grittology, we're committed to helping monetize the work of our research partners, The Research Institute for the Study of Obvious Conclusions ("Working hard to recycle conventional wisdom as proprietary programing").Our speakers bureau has determined that statements such as "treating children with support and
3-23-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: How Education Reform Is Harming The Health Of ChildrenThere is a horrific story in the NY Post this morning about a rash of suicides involving NYC school children over the last seven weeks: The city’s public schools are in the grip of a suicide epidemic. Ten students have taken their own lives in the past seven weeks, according to remarks made Saturday by Chancellor Carmen F
NYC Educator: On Timeliness and Learning
NYC Educator: On Timeliness and Learning: On Timeliness and LearningI apologize to regular readers of this little blog for not posting as frequently as usual. I'm sure you know I'm a full-time teacher. In addition, I've been running for Executive VP of NYSUT these last few weeks.Last Tuesday, I went to a forum in Manhattan. On Wednesday, there was one in Newburgh. On Thursday, there was another in
solidaridad: Open note to Bill Gaffney of Steve Barr and Bill Gates' Teacher Action Network
solidaridad: Open note to Bill Gaffney of Steve Barr and Bill Gates' Teacher Action Network: Open note to Bill Gaffney of Steve Barr and Bill Gates' Teacher Action NetworkMr. Gaffney:Last time we spoke you were very angry that I had exposed your ties with Bill Gates and Steve Barr's privatization organization. That's understandable, since no public school teacher would want to be associated with w
New Orleans charter schools scramble to teach non-English speakers | Hechinger Report
New Orleans charter schools scramble to teach non-English speakers | Hechinger Report: New Orleans charter schools scramble to teach non-English speakersBy Katy ReckdahlThis story also appeared at:NEW ORLEANS — Every school night, Ramon Leon helps his older son, a third grader at a New Orleans charter school, with his homework. Typically, they speed through the math worksheets. Word problems take

YESTERDAY

Success Academy parent's secret tapes reveal attempt to push out special needs student - NY Daily News
Success Academy parent's secret tapes reveal attempt to push out special needs student - NY Daily News: Success Academy parent's secret tapes reveal attempt to push out special needs studentThe Upper West Side Success Academy charter school has touted itself for not trying to push out kids with special needs or behavior problems, but a parent has audio to the contrary.Call them the charter school
Thinking About Schools: An Open Letter to State Legislators Everywhere
Thinking About Schools: An Open Letter to State Legislators Everywhere: An Open Letter to State Legislators EverywherePublic education is the only form of education where every principle and practice of democracy is enacted by local citizens. Public education is the only form of education that does not exclude children for any reason.Please support the mission, intention, and benefit of public edu
Nite Cap 3-22-14 #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 CAPRegister to Vote | Voter Registration Forms | RegistertoVote.org http://bit.ly/1dlx9Aksolidaridad: LAUSD Coalition for School Reform Rogues Gallery Profile: Eli Broadsolidaridad: LAUSD Coalition for School Reform Rogues Gallery Profile: Eli Broad





Nite Cap 3-18-14