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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Morning Wink 4-6-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS




4-6-13 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: Six Heads of the Reformy HydraPublic education really does have many enemies these days, and while it may sometimes seem like they are a large amorphous mass, there are distinctions to be made. These six groups have come together in a perfect storm to bring us to the mess that is our current high stakes test driven corporate agenda status quo. To defend ourselves, it's best to see
4-6-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Solidarity ForeverWell, the results haven't been officially announced, but the pro-Andy Cuomo, Michael Mulgrew- and Randi Weingarten-backed Revive NYSUT slate has won the NYSUT election.Given how many votes the UFT bloc of delegates had and how some smaller locals had fallen in line with the larger bloc, the results were not unexpected.Despite her protests to the contrary, t
4-6-14 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.  IEA Retired members vote #19 on your mail-in ballot. Schools will be a big issue in Illinois governor’s race. Rauner and Quinn/Vallas on opposite sides? Really? Looking back to when Rahm was the Wolf of Wall Street. Coaches are management. Players are employees. Classroom teachers sayin
Pointing To Your True North | Connected Principals
Pointing To Your True North | Connected Principals: Pointing To Your True Northby Sandra Trach • April 6, 2014 • 0 Comments     Instructionally savvy educators know that personalized learning is the heart of student success.  As schools strive to customize education through instructional design, technology efforts and professional learning, highly successful schools know that these initiatives in
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-6-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Good News: You Will Never Need to Think for Yourself Again!Deborah Meier brought to my attention this series of workbooks that contain 180 days of Common Core worksheets in math and English. What a relief for anxious teachers! No more worrying about what to do. Here are the daily activities you need. No more planning or thinking. A
4-6-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": Secretary Duncan To Be Guest On Next #PTchatAs I’ve previously posted, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be participating in April 8th’s #PTchat on Twitter. Here’s the announcement on the DOE’s blog: On April 8, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be taking to Twitter to gain additional feedback from parents and educ
Video: Best Documentary of Evolution Crushing Faith for Education's Sake | MyFDL
Video: Best Documentary of Evolution Crushing Faith for Education's Sake | MyFDL: Video: Best Documentary of Evolution Crushing Faith for Education’s SakeBy: jbade Sunday April 6, 2014 6:00 amTweet Faith- “the strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.”Why is faith in anything, without proof, in spite of proof, a virtue? Those are the
4-6-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs
With A Brooklyn Accent: Under Pressure: Does Test Stress at School Added to Economic Stress at Home Constitute a Toxic Combination?During the last decade, America's public school students have seen a steady increase in the amount of testing they have to endure. As a result of state policies and federal mandates, schools have transformed curricula from Pre-K up to raise scores on standardized tests
4-6-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: Susan Ohanian – “On 21st Century Drones, Destroyers and Teachers”Teacher, author, and public school advocate Susan Ohanian is one of the nation’s leading voices in the battle to take back control of the public education system from the corporate education reform industry.  She is also a winner of the NCTE George Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Lang
4-6-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Florida Republicans, Chamber of Commerce Can’t Recocile Conflicts Between Vouchers and STEM AdvocacyWriting in the Lakeland Ledger, Floridian Citizens for Science president Jonathan Smith points to some alarming numbers about private schools which receive voucher money:
4-6-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: This Week In Web 2.0In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth , I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” (you might also be interested in The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2013). I also sometimes include tech tools that might not exactly fit the defin
Business as Usual in Corporations and Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Business as Usual in Corporations and Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Business as Usual in Corporations and SchoolsIn the heart of Silicon Valley where start-ups are a way of life, open space offices and teams rule the landscape. Even at the biggest of the big companies such as Google and Facebook, power struggles among and between bureaucrats are a thing of the past
Common Core Copyright Fine for Students? | Missouri Education Watchdog
Common Core Copyright Fine for Students? | Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Copyright Fine for Students?inShareAs seen on Facebook.  Is this true?This Facebook message has been circulating in several anti-Common Core groups.  Would children actually be threatened with a fine anywhere from $750 to $30,000?  The language mirrors that in the copyright notice from the US Copyright Office:Would
empathyeducates – Can Schools Be Held Accountable Without Standardized Tests?
empathyeducates – Can Schools Be Held Accountable Without Standardized Tests?: Can Schools Be Held Accountable Without Standardized Tests?By Katrina Schwartz | Originally Published at MindShift. April 2, 2014The focus on scoring well on standardized tests has wedged educators into a difficult spot. Teachers are concerned that a poor showing on the tests will jeopardize school funding, or even thei

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Classroom Struggle: Vision – Platform – Strategy | Classroom Struggle
Classroom Struggle: Vision – Platform – Strategy | Classroom Struggle: Classroom Struggle: Vision – Platform – StrategyVISIONWe are Oakland parents, students, teachers and school workers who are organizing for the defense and transformation of our public schools. We are fighting for the public schools that students and communities deserve. These are public schools that are fully-funded, safe, demo
Charter School Refugees - NYTimes.com
Charter School Refugees - NYTimes.com: Charter School Refugees LAST week, the New York State Legislature struck a deal ensuring thatcharter schools in New York City would have access to space, either in already crowded public school buildings or in rented spaces largely paid for by the city. Over the next few years, charters are expected to serve an increasing proportion of city students — perhaps
Nite Cap 4-5-14 #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 CAPOur Contract = a Social Justice Document | Classroom StruggleOur Contract = a Social Justice Document | Classroom Struggle: Our Contract = a Social Justice DocumentWhat is the future of collective bargaining? According to the Saint Paul Federatio
Our Contract = a Social Justice Document | Classroom Struggle
Our Contract = a Social Justice Document | Classroom Struggle: Our Contract = a Social Justice DocumentWhat is the future of collective bargaining? According to the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers, “our contract…[is] the most important legal document – and social justice document – for ensuring a quality education for our students.” To push back against “management prerogatives”, SPFT has been e
Schooling in the Ownership Society: How Cuomo engineered de Blasio's defeat on charters with help from Wall St.
Schooling in the Ownership Society: How Cuomo engineered de Blasio's defeat on charters with help from Wall St.: How Cuomo engineered de Blasio's defeat on charters with help from Wall St.Cuomo at staged rally: “You are not alone. We will save charter schools.”Javier Hernandez and Susanne Craig, writing in the New York Times, tell an eerie tale about how Gov. Cuomo backed by powerful Wall Streeter
Parents defend Santa Monica teacher who fought with student - latimes.com
Parents defend Santa Monica teacher who fought with student - latimes.com: Parents defend Santa Monica teacher who fought with studentParents of several Santa Monica High School students are coming to the defense of a teacher who was placed on leave Friday after he was recorded on video in a physical altercation with a student.The incident took place in a classroom at the school and was videorecor
4-5-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Jersey Jazzman: Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekCharter School "Success": There's ALWAYS a CatchCamden's public school district is being systematically dismantled to become a "portfolio" district of "choice." This is, of course, all part of the formerly secret plan that was implemented by Former Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf -- a plan paid for by his mentor and patron
Fordham’s Mike Petrilli: Selling Common Core in States with Better Standards | deutsch29
Fordham’s Mike Petrilli: Selling Common Core in States with Better Standards | deutsch29: Fordham’s Mike Petrilli: Selling Common Core in States with Better StandardsApril 5, 2014This post is about the for-profit “reform”-promoting think tank, the Fordham Institute.The Fordham Institute likes to grade.Mind you, Fordham doesn’t bother to grade itself. But it does promote the grading of teacher trai
Was Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Adopted? A Tale of Two Cities
Was Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Adopted?
Preschool Suspensions: Yes, They're Happening, and the Consequences Aren't Fun and Games - Yahoo News
Preschool Suspensions: Yes, They're Happening, and the Consequences Aren't Fun and Games - Yahoo News: Preschool Suspensions: Yes, They're Happening, and the Consequences Aren't Fun and GamesBy Suzi Parker | Takepart.com23 hours agoTakepart.comIt may seem absurd, but each year thousands of preschool children are suspended from school. Kids as young as four years old are sent home for so-called mis
Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality: Support the publication of this new book for educators | I AM AN EDUCATOR
Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality: Support the publication of this new book for educators | I AM AN EDUCATOR: Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality: Support the publication of this new book for educatorsBy I AM AN EDUCATOR on April 5, 2014VIDEO: Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and SexualitySupporters of social justice education will be thrilled to learn that Rethinking Schools is currently wo
2nd Banana 4-5-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #RealEdTalk #p2
BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANARECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POSTThe Biggest Public School Problem Might Be the Brand - Yahoo NewsThe Biggest Public School Problem Might Be the Brand - Yahoo News: The Biggest Public School Problem Might Be the BrandThis article was created as part of the social action campaign for the documentary TEACH, produced by TakePart's parent company, Participant Media, in partner
Fishin’ 4 Schools | EduShyster
Fishin’ 4 Schools | EduShyster: Fishin’ 4 Schools The CEO of Charter Schools USA puts his yacht, Fishin’ 4 Schools, up 4 saleHave you ever encountered a story so sadly tragic that you were forced to break your own rule regarding pre-noon winebox decanting?  I have… Hankies at the ready, reader, for we are *going there.* I’m talking about the super sad true tale of Charter Schools USA founder and C
Morning Wink 4-5-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS4-5-13 Curmudgucation WeekCURMUDGUCATION:WaPo Wastes Space on That WomanWhy? Just.... why??When the media need somebody to comment on modern surgical techniques, editors do not bark out, "Find me a surgeon with a super-high mortality rate who left the profession in disgrace!" ESPN bosses do not holler, "Find me a failed t-ball coach to do co
4-5-13 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION:WaPo Wastes Space on That WomanWhy? Just.... why??When the media need somebody to comment on modern surgical techniques, editors do not bark out, "Find me a surgeon with a super-high mortality rate who left the profession in disgrace!" ESPN bosses do not holler, "Find me a failed t-ball coach to do commentary for pro football!" And yet, time and again, media outl
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 4-5-14
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:Afghanistan: A Photographer's LegacyAssociated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed in Afghanistan  on Friday, apparently gunned down by an Afghan policeman.  She and Kathy Gannon, a Canadian journalist, were shot while traveling in a government convey as they covered preparations for the Afghanistan presidential election on Saturday.  Gannon was wounded and i
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 4-5-14
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:Afghanistan: A Photographer's LegacyAssociated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed in Afghanistan  on Friday, apparently gunned down by an Afghan policeman.  She and Kathy Gannon, a Canadian journalist, were shot while traveling in a government convey as they covered preparations for the Afghanistan presidential election on Saturday.  Gannon was wounded and i
4-5-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":A Parent-Teacher Conference Without NumbersTwo recent posts by parents at other blogs both made the point that they are tired of having the focus of their conversations on measuring their children by numbers. In What parents don’t want to hear at parent-teacher conferences, Journo Adviser says: When my wife and I sat down at
4-5-14 NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education
NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:NPE News Briefsfrom The Network for Public EducationMore protests after thousands opt out of New York Common Core testing | 7online.comNEW YORK (WABC) — A new round of protests are underway Friday one day after elementary school students completed the latest Common Core testing. The biggest complaint from teachers is that they were not given
4-5-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog Insights on Writing: A Core SkillWriting powerfully is a skill that teachers know every student needs to develop if he or she is to have the best chances in life. Yet, paradoxically, it's one of the skills that students most often resist practicing. The April 2014 issue of Educational Leadership examines the many w
4-5-14 This Week in LA - School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):Deasy releases draft of LAUSD’s next budget, with new moneySuperintendent John Deasy LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy made public today the first draft of a $6.8 billion budget for the 2014-15 school year, a presentation that offered the first glimpse of how the new Local Control Funding Formula is goi
Stephen Krashen Blog 4-5-14
SKrashen:Testing Talk: A Weapon of Mass DistractionThe testing discussion: A Weapon of Mass DistractionStephen KrashenWe are invited to give our opinions about the content of common core tests on a website called "testing talk" (http://testingtalk.org). We are not invited to discuss whether we need the tests or for that matter whether we should have the common core. For those who haven't
4-5-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week
With A Brooklyn Accent:With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All WeekA Tale of Two School Systems:The disparity between the amount of testing taking place in the nation's public schools and between the top private schools where most policy makers and business leaders send their children is simply shocking! Not only do none of these elite schools use Common Core, they never rate their teachers on the basi
4-5-14 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education This Week - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress
Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:Bill Sent To President: S. 1557: Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize support for graduate medical education programs in children's hospitals.April 01, 2014: Presented to President.2d Bill Introduced: S. 2164: Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2014A bill
4-5-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:Scathing Purple Musings  Color me purple in Florida ALL WeekGainesville Sun: Lawmakers Need to Be Honest About Voucher ProgramFrom the editors of the Gainesville Sun: Lawmakers still haven’t addressed the fact that voucher recipients aren’t required to take the same stand
teacherken at Daily Kos This Week 4-5-14
teacherken at Daily Kos:teacherken at Daily Kos This WeekA remarkable op ed on gay marriageI slept with a gay man for six months in Afghanistan. No one asked. He did not tell. So begins A Marine silent no longer on gay marriage, a Washington Post op ed by Roger Dean Huffstetler, a former Marine Corps sergeant, who is also a serious Southern Baptist. He talks about TWO men who he thought he knew we
All Week @ The Answer Sheet 4-5-14
The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetTeachers refuse to administer standardized testsThree teachers from P.S. 364 Earth School in New York have informed their administration and Chancellor Carmen Fariña that they will not proctor Common Core state standardized tests this year — or ever — saying in a letter (see below) that they “can no longer implement policies that seek to transform the br
4-5-14 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership Society All Week
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog:Schooling in the Ownership SocietyMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership SocietyMy memo to Sheldon AdelsonThe wing-nut billionaire is in the market for a few good Republican pols. I guess his stable is running low on horses. He's got a few old nags but no winners in his gold-plated paddock. So when they read his want ads, GOPers sprinted as fast as their
4-5-14 Wait What? All Week
Wait What?:  Wait What? All WeekState Board of Education is tone-deaf to needs of the childrenWendy Lecker, fellow public school advocates and columnist has done it again! In here latest MUST READ column published in this weekend’s Stamford Advocate and other Hearst media outlets, Wendy shines the light of truth on the Malloy administration’s unrelenting effort to undermine and privatize Connectic
4-5-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week
Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumMore Insights from Common Core Testing in NYCThis is truly a fascinating article from the New York Times as they interviewed students about testing.I love the way it opens:William Summitt and Simon Sanders said they were ready. Their fourth-grade class at the Children’s School, near Park Slope in Brooklyn, had prepared for the state re
4-5-14 Ed Notes Online Week
Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineNYC Parent Urges Farina and King to Cancel Upcoming Math ExamThere was no rigor applied to the development of these tests, nor does the practice of high-stakes testing in general stand up to critical analysis....I was offended by your remarks earlier this week to the effect that while parents' opinions should be respected, children should come to school prepared to
4-5-14 Fred All Week 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.: Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacherThe Illinois Policy Institute. The moral relativism of the corporate class.For some reason having to do with Facebook algorithms, the FB page of the Illiinois Policy Institute – a right-wing stink tank – frequently appears more of
4-5-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekWeingarten And Mulgrew Look To Take Us BackwardIf and when the pro-Andrew Cuomo forces backed by UFT President Michael Mulgrew and AFT President Randi Weingarten take over the NYSUT this weekend, the fight that NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi and others in the NYSUT leadership have shown against Andrew Cuomo, SED Commissioner King and Regents Chanc
4-5-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
THE BECOMING RADICALRadical ScholarshipEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical  A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by AlterNet: Why Are Americans So Inclined to Disrespect Children?Why Are Americans So Inclined to Disrespect Children?by plthomasedd / 19h Skepticism or Cynicism for Obama Education Agenda?One response to my Relaxing zero tolerance in schools could be Obama’s boldest civil rights reform
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-5-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  Deasy Releases Draft Of Lausd’S Next Budget, With New Moneyby Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1skr4bw [THE SUPERINTENDENT’S PROPOSED BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS 2014-2015 – are posted here: http://t.co/4WX9QQxA0D] April 4, 2014 6:50 pm  ::  LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy made public today the f
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 4-5-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLLARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAYThe iTunes Link To My Interview With Carol Tomlinson Wasn’t Working Before, But It Is Now!I had previously posted a link to my ten minute BAM! podcast interview with Carol Tomlinson. You could here it on BAM!’s website, but, because of technical problems, couldn’t download it on iTunes. It’
This Week's Education Research Report 4-5-14 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Education Research ReportTHIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORTA Research Agenda for the Common Core State Standards: What Information Do Policymakers Need? As part of a broader project to better connect the research on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to policy and practice, Center on Education Policy met with individuals from organizations representing state and local education policymakers to
4-5-14 Schools Matter All Week
Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekCommon Core Corporate Standards Floating Around in an Evidence Free Zone A compacted version of this op-ed was published by the Memphis Commercial Appeal.Arguments for Common Core Offer No Evidence that Learning Will ImproveJim HornThe implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represents the most grand curriculum experiment in educational history
All Week 4-5-14 @ THE CHALK FACE
@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Remember the musicians who changed their tuneAs organizations jumble and revise their official positions, remember those who tried to stifle you in the past. Forgive, cooperate, but never forget those who told you that, for instance, opting out was a great and radical evil. Remember those who called you crazy, passionate with no sense, and tried to teas
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 4-5-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGA Teacher Offers Sound Advice to Tom FriedmanJohn Ogozalek teaches in upstate Néw York. He read Tom Friedman’s column in the Néw York Times on Sunday and had a strong reaction of cognitive dissonance, as in, why can’t Tom be consistent? Tom Friedman’s describes a thrilling ride on a nuclear submarine, where there is no ro