Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Common Core: A Matter of Perspective | WagTheDog

Common Core: A Matter of Perspective | WagTheDog:



Common Core: A Matter of Perspective





20130810-131430
Part of the reason there has been such strong disagreement and debate regarding the Common Core is people “see” ed reform and the new Standards very differently, depending on their perspective.
When talking about ed reform with someone you may not agree with, it is very important to pay close attention to the words they use and don’t hesitate to ask for clarification rather than just assume you know what they mean.
For example when teachers express concern and reject the use of standardized test scores to evaluate student achievement and teacher quality, many ed reformers will respond and even the media will report that teachers don’t want to be evaluated or held accountable for their performance.
That would be like a doctor questioning why his patient doesn’t want his temperature taken because he protested when the nurse walked in the examining room with a rectal thermometer.
In both examples a particular method of gathering data was objected to, but it would be wrong to claim that the patient or teachers are opposed to any effort at gathering information to evaluate their health or job performance.
I believe that many ed reformers are looking at education from a macro perspective or Common Core: A Matter of Perspective | WagTheDog:

What National Group Is Funding the Pro-Common Core Lawsuit in Louisiana? | deutsch29

What National Group Is Funding the Pro-Common Core Lawsuit in Louisiana? | deutsch29:



What National Group Is Funding the Pro-Common Core Lawsuit in Louisiana?

July 31, 2014
BAEO chapter

On July 29, 2014, the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted 6 to 4 to become plaintiffs in the pro-Common Core (CCSS) lawsuitwhose plaintiffs include nine individuals and the charter management company, Choice Foundation. (Click here for Choice Foundation’s home page. However, the information on their schools has not been updated since 2011.)
The group footing the bill for this lawsuit is a well-funded, national “choice” group known as the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO).
In my July 22, 2014, post on the issue, I mention that I wrote about BAEO in my book, A Chronicle of Echoesan encyclopedic whistle blower on the exploitation of public education. In Chronicle of Echoes, BAEO shares a chapter with another “pro-choice” group, Parent Revolution.
For those who are considering buying my book– and for those who just would like to What National Group Is Funding the Pro-Common Core Lawsuit in Louisiana? | deutsch29:

This Will Make Some Special Education Advocates Really Happy

This Will Make Some Special Education Advocates Really Happy:



This Will Make Some Special Education Advocates Really Happy

JOHN KING EDUCATION
New York State Education Commissioner John King Jr.'s proposal to change testing for some students with severe disabilities
won't happen next school year. (AP Photo/Michael Sisak) | ASSOCIATED PRESS


 NEW YORK -- New York students with disabilities will be held to the same academic standards and take the same standardized tests as other kids their age next school year, the U.S. Education Department said Thursday, spurning the state's efforts to change the policy.

Some special education advocates hailed the Education Department decision, saying it will enable students with disabilities to continue receiving the same opportunities as peers. "We think it's a victory for the potential of every child," said Denise Marshall, executive director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates Inc. "We thank the department for sticking to their guns."
The Education Department said Thursday that New York, as well as Minnesota, South Carolina, Delaware and Georgia, could hold onto waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act for another year. A federal official told New York schools chief John King in a letter that the state "may continue to implement" flexibility of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act though the 2014-15 school year, keeping state standards for students with disabilities the same as they had been.
King had proposed allowing up to 2 percent of New York students with severe disabilities to be tested at their instructional ability -- not their chronological grade year -- up to two full grade levels below current grade level. The change would, for example, allow a 5th grader with autism to be tested on exams written for third graders.
King made the proposal after taking heat for months over the state's implementation of the Common Core State Standards, a set of learning benchmarks being adopted by most states. State officials had said the outcry from special education teachers was especially loud.
The schools chief's idea for testing students with disabilities was part of his bid toThis Will Make Some Special Education Advocates Really Happy: 

“White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement” Was Held Today | Engaging Parents In School…

“White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement” Was Held Today | Engaging Parents In School…:



“White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement” Was Held Today



I had previously posted about the Kellogg Foundation-sponsored White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement, and it was held today.
I’d be interested in hearing a report from anyone who attended.
Here’s the information I have about it so far:
White House symposium focuses on family engagement appeared in The Washington Post, but says surprisingly little about what actually happened at the event.

The Kellogg Foundation put-out a press release 
this morning about the event. The most interesting info in it is a summary about a poll they had taken of parents. Here are some results:
The event also dovetails with the release of a recent public opinion poll, commissioned by the Kellogg Foundation*, of 1,000 parents nationwide, which found that 96 percent of parents believe they play a role in ensuring their child has a quality education, but that teachers (73 percent), principals (58 percent) and local officials (46 percent) also have meaningful roles. Among other findings:
U.S. parents believe that involvement in their child’s education is most critical between birth and pre-school (42 percent). That percentage increases among African American and Hispanic parents to 51 and 47 percent, respectively.
Ten percent of all parents, rising to 18 percent of Hispanic parents, say they are actively involved in “White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement” Was Held Today | Engaging Parents In School…:

Stereotypes, Testing and the 'Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations' | NewBlackMan (in Exile)

Stereotypes, Testing and the 'Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations' | NewBlackMan (in Exile):



Stereotypes, Testing and the 'Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations'
by William A. Darity, Alan A. Aja, & Darrick Hamilton | HuffPost

Earlier this month a divided Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the University of Texas' right to use race amongst its criteria for undergraduate admissions, however limited that right may be. While the decision will be viewed as a small victory for supporters of race-based affirmative action, there is little reason to believe that the widely held claim that black and Latino students enter selective universities as comparatively inferior students will not cease to rear its ugly head. It is a pervasive stereotype that minority students must face from matriculation to graduation, a stigma with undoubted adverse psychological and economic consequence that follows them well beyond higher education and into the labor market.

This claim, reasserted in a study published in 2012 in the Journal of Labor Economics by two Duke faculty members and a graduate student (Peter Arcidiacono, Esteban Aucejo, and Kenneth Spenner), anchors on a combination of black students' relative standardized-test scores and the authors' prior beliefs about the operation of affirmative action in admissions. It also should be noted that Arcidiacono has been a member of the research team for Project SEAPHE, a collective led by one of the chief architects of the war against affirmative action waged in California, UCLA Law School professor Richard Sander.

In their study, which was undertaken at the highly selective Duke University, the authors express concern about the pattern of students switching from majors in the natural sciences, engineering, and economics, which they view as more demanding majors, to majors in the humanities and social sciences, ostensibly less demanding majors. For black students, they argue, the tendency to switch from the "harder" majors to the "softer" majors is fully explained by the Stereotypes, Testing and the 'Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations' | NewBlackMan (in Exile):

Sabotaging our children and our schools | Parents United for Public Education

Sabotaging our children and our schools | Parents United for Public Education:





Sabotaging our children and our schools




This afternoon, the House GOP leadership announced that it would not return to Harrisburg to vote on a proposed cigarette tax bill that had been delayed in the state Senate. The failure to pass the bill means Philadelphia schools are more than $83 million short of last year’s inadequate funding. This is Parents United’s statement about the latest failure of the state leadership.
Republican lawmakers have scheduled golf outings and fundraisers for next week but they won’t find time for the simple act of passing a marginal cigarette tax for Philadelphia schools – the only district in the state run by the state of Pennsylvania.
The House GOP decision to refuse the barest of funding gestures is a planned sabotage of our schools, our children, and our city. It proves that under Governor Tom Corbett, the “crisis” in Philadelphia has never been accidental, unpredictable, or a surprise. It’s been a purposeful act of cruelty and neglect.
Parents United for Public Education calls upon the School District of Philadelphia to stand for the safety and academic well-being of Philadelphia children. There should be no cuts to schools as a result of the state legislature’s failure. Moreover, the District must conduct a needs-based assessment of every school and restore key personnel to assure the academic success and health of children. Schools should not open otherwise.
Parents United will consult with legal counsel about our rights and options in the weeks ahead. We believe our children’s lives and well-being are at stake, and will do what’s necessary to protect them from the unforgiveable failure and patent cruelty of too many of our elected officials.Sabotaging our children and our schools | Parents United for Public Education:

Nite Cap 7-31-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT



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




Cigarette tax vote canceled; schools opening in jeopardy | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
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Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE) meeting agenda. (CA Dept of Education)
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4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 7-31-14
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7-31-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
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7-31-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Member of FBI-Raided School Funds Todd Rokita AFTER the Raid: Member of FBI-Raided School Funds Todd Rokita AFTER the Raidby Doug Martin I mention Todd Rokita, the Indiana US congressman from the 4th district, in my book Hoosier School Heistbecause of his role with the Muslim Gulen charter schools recently raided by the FBI (see more on this at the end of this article). Since Rokit
Badass Teachers Association Protest Rally Results In Meeting With U.S. Secretary Of Education Arne Duncan
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The End of Paper-and-Pencil Exams? - The Atlantic
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7-31-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy
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2012 Campaign Cash Scandal Ends With PAC’s Shutdown | KQED News Fix
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Why Teachers Need Tenure. Part 1 southbronxschool
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New Web Site: Student Privacy Matters - Parent Coalition for Student Privacy
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Schooling in the Ownership Society: NCRP calls for investigation of the Bremer Foundation
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NYC Public School Parents: My speech when I received the Parent Voice award in DC on Monday night
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Shanker Blog » Lost In Citation
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@Campbell_Brown Lawsuit Fails the Test of Common Sense By Mark Naison| BK Nation
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7-31-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
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7-31-14 The Whole Child Blog — A Letter to My New Principal
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NYC Public School Parents: Letter to SUNY board from Councilmembers, urging them not to approve any more charter schools until true accountability is achieved
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Lily Eskelsen GarcĂ­a's Netroots Nation Keynote | Lily's Blackboard
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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The politics of water and schooling in Detroit
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7-31-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida
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Beware the Technology Panacea | Missouri Education Watchdog
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Morning Wink 7-31-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSGeaux Teacher!: Consumers Have Rejected the Common Core Sales PitchGeaux Teacher!: Consumers Have Rejected the Common Core Sales Pitch: Consumers Have Rejected the Common Core Sales PitchThis insightful article reported from "Politico"  is by Stephanie Simon.  Thanks to Stephanie for pulling back the curtain on a product that no sales pitch with
Geaux Teacher!: Consumers Have Rejected the Common Core Sales Pitch
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LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-31-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
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7-31-14 Curmudgucation
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7-31-14 Ed Notes Online
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Answer Sheet 7-31-14
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7-31-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
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7-31-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
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@ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursd
7-31-14 With A Brooklyn Accent:
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7-30-14 Perdido Street School
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Using A Gates Grant to Sidestep Standardized Testing in University Admissions? | deutsch29
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Why A Great Principal Burned Out – And What Might Have Helped (Ellie Herman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
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Louisiana Educator: Getting the Truth Out About Ed Reform
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The Truth About The New Orleans School Reform Model
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PCAPS Statement on Budget Impasse | WeArePCAPS
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Jeff Bryant Interviews New NEA President Who Is Not Afraid to Speak Truth to Power | janresseger
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NYC Educator: Campbell's Wonderland
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YESTERDAY

Christie, bully and punk, puts down a Newark teenager | Bob Braun's Ledger
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Three Lawsuits: BESE, White Out on a Limb and Wielding a Saw | deutsch29
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Arne Gets An Earful! By Mark Naison
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Arne Duncan Drops in Unexpectedly on Meeting With BATS - Badass Teachers Association
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7-30-14 Teacher Appreciation | WagTheDog
Teacher Appreciation | WagTheDog: Learning To CareIf you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. ~ Atticus Finch, ( Gregory Peck) “To Kill A Mockingbird”    by getwhatugive / 29min hide  //  saveTeacher Appr
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Campbell Brown’s anti-union group uses union slogan (update) - The Washington Post
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Lesson 5: Love is the Answer. And Also Skills. But Also Love. | Gatsby In L.A.
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7/30/2014 – Dishonest Case for New Orleans School Reform Model Education Opportunity Network by Jeff Bryant
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Nite Cap 7-30-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT
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 CAPTeacher In-Service: The Good, the Bad and the UglyTeacher In-Service: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Teacher In-Service: The Good, the Bad and the UglyJULY 30, 2014 BY NANCY BAILEY LEAVE A COMMENTMany teachers are starting back to work already.