Big Education Ape: Morning Wink 7-10-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-10-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Reader: That Nonsensical Moratorium on High-StakesThe Gates Foundation called for a two-year suspension of the high stakes evaluation of teachers–ratings and rankings tied to student scores—but not a moratorium on the testing. A reader writes: “If there is a moratorium on the evaluations connected to the tests, then there is no poi

by mike simpson / 0min

7-10-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy

Wait What?: Wait What? All WeekStep #1 – Dump the Common Core and its testing maniaStep #2 – Focus on properly funding our schools and helping children overcome the educational challenges associated with poverty, language barriers and unmet special education needs. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense [or wasteful education reform industry junk] than on

by mike simpson / 3min

7-10-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: Weingarten Riding High on Teacher Union DuesMercedes Schneider has another solid piece on the secret society memberships and sordid political machinations of Rhonda (aka Randi) Weingarten, the corporate manufactured president of the AFT. Seems that Randi recently plunked down 30K to join and another 100K promised every year to wine and dine with ostensibly liberal billionaires. Y

by mike simpson / 5min

7-10-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman: Teacher Evaluation and the Illusion of PrecisionI testified before the NJ State Board of Education today about our year-old teacher evaluation system, AchieveNJ -- aka Operation Hindenburg. Time was limited to five minutes, so I focused on something I hope to be exploring more fully this month: the illusion of precision found in teacher evaluations.For now, here's today's testimony

by mike simpson / 7min

7-10-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Texas In The Vanguard Of The Anti-Common Core MovementTexas never jumped on the CCSS bandwagon, but the vehemence of this opposition is interesting:AUSTIN — Attorney General Greg Abbott’s gubernatorial campaign turned up the rhetoric against federal education standards Monday, soliciting donations with a fiery call to arms that “We must crush Common Core.”“Help Greg Abbott e

by mike simpson / 10min

empathyeducates – The Dirty, Little Secret in America’s Education Wars? Money Matters

empathyeducates – The Dirty, Little Secret in America’s Education Wars? Money Matters: The Dirty, Little Secret in America’s Education Wars? Money MattersPhotograph; From left to right: Five year old Taylor Weber, in pink in middle, helps her older brother Andrew Weber, 8, right in green, hold up a protest sign they made by hand. The two go to Hutchinson Elementary School in Lakewood and are on a

by mike simpson / 13min

Marie Corfield: Educators stand up, speak out, fight back: NJBOE Testimony Part l

Marie Corfield: Educators stand up, speak out, fight back: NJBOE Testimony Part l: Educators stand up, speak out, fight back: NJBOE Testimony Part lYesterday was an NJEA Lobby Day at the NJ State Board of Education, and as usual, our members didn't disappoint. There was a good crowd, among which were many first-time speakers. I'm proud to be part of an association that includes so many articulate

by mike simpson / 17min

NEA Repudiates Arne Duncan, Demands America Pay Closer Attention | janresseger

NEA Repudiates Arne Duncan, Demands America Pay Closer Attention | janresseger: NEA Repudiates Arne Duncan, Demands America Pay Closer AttentionPosted on July 10, 2014 by janressegerIt shouldn’t really be surprising that the delegates at the National Education Association’s recent convention passed a resolution calling on U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to resign.Arne Duncan, through regul

by mike simpson / 19min

An Urban Teacher's Education: On Shutting Teachers Up

An Urban Teacher's Education: On Shutting Teachers Up: On Shutting Teachers UpNothing but net for Nancy Flanagan the other day in her post over at Teacher in a Strange Landentitled, "Shutting Teachers Up."She writes, "When practitioners aren't allowed to openly share their critical perspectives, they lose the ability to speak their own truths and use first-hand experience as a lever

by mike simpson / 27min

Study: Teacher associations in Georgia among nation's weakest | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Study: Teacher associations in Georgia among nation's weakest | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Study: Teacher associations in Georgia among nation's weakest Previous PostsGet ready: Goodbye CRCT and EOCT. Hello Georgia Milestones. July 9, 2014Which districts get best return on education spending? Gwinnett at top. Atlanta near bottom.July 9, 2014Money matters: More than one in six US teens confused ab

by mike simpson / 29min

Data is Fool’s Gold of the Common Core | WagTheDog

Data is Fool’s Gold of the Common Core | WagTheDog: Data is Fool’s Gold of the Common CoreTeachers should strive to meet the individual needs of their students, not the “needs” of standards or tests. There should be high academic expectations for all students, but to expect everyone, regardless of ability/disability, to meet those standards simultaneously and in the same way is foolish and inheren

by mike simpson / 31min

SKrashen: Literacy Education: Need We Start Early?

SKrashen: Literacy Education: Need We Start Early?: Literacy Education: Need We Start Early?Stephen KrashenLanguage and Language Teaching, Vol 3, number 2, issue 6: pp 1-7. 2014Most people are convinced that children will have a powerful head start in reading if they are introduced to sounds and letters well before they start school. The conclusions of this paper are these: For the development of

by mike simpson / 33min

By getting it half right feds get it all wrong :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

By getting it half right feds get it all wrong :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: JULY 10, 2014By getting it half right feds get it all wrongby Lee FunkAfter taking a step forward by incorporating student outcomes into the accountability index for students with disabilities, the Office of Special Education Programs promptly took a gigantic lea

by mike simpson / 35min

Report urges more active state role in Common Core | EdSource

Report urges more active state role in Common Core | EdSource: CREDIT: ALISON YIN FOR EDSOURCEThe Common Core State Standards require non-fiction books in subjects such as history and science, as seen in this Oakland, Calif., classroom.Report urges more active state role in Common CoreJuly 9, 2014 | By John Fensterwald | 1 Comment SHARE THIS ARTICLEThe move to local control under the state’s new

by mike simpson / 43min

Still Waiting in Lines, Nine Years Later | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

Still Waiting in Lines, Nine Years Later | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish's BlogZesty Louisiana Education PoliticsStill Waiting in Lines, Nine Years LaterPosted on July 10, 20140crazycrawfish:One of the tragic truths behind all the hype about choice. Congrats to all tbe Reformers for extending the tragedy of Katrina out 9 years later and still going. I can’t wait till i can queue in lines a

by mike simpson / 48min

http://www.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com: Sam Pirozzolo Loves Money From UnionsMona Davids has been in the news lately due to her publicity seeking, attention seeking lawsuit to have a judge declare tenure and seniority unconstitutional.She has been dissected, but not vilified, hereand here. But she is not alone in this.Where every Kirk has his Spock, every Laurel his Hardy, ever Frick his Frack, every Lav

by mike simpson / 51min

NYC Educator: Battle of the Titans

NYC Educator: Battle of the Titans: Battle of the TitansIn California, a bunch of rich guys got together and pushed a lawsuit designed to shoot teacher tenure right smack between the eyes. After all, if you can't get the law changed, you go wherever your wallet takes you. So in the case of Vergara they've won for the moment, and those awful teachers will have fewer job protections if appeals aren'

by mike simpson / 55min

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More fudging the numbers on Chicago's horrific gun violence

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More fudging the numbers on Chicago's horrific gun violence: More fudging the numbers on Chicago's horrific gun violenceGwen Ifill interviews Chicago Tonight's Paris Shutz on the PBS News Hourabout the city's killing fields, after the horrible July 4th weekend when 82 people were shot, 14 fatally. Nobody seems to have a handle on the actual numbers from that weekend

by mike simpson / 58min

YESTERDAY

Geaux Teacher!: THIS is CHOICE in the New Orleans RSD Charter Takeover

Geaux Teacher!: THIS is CHOICE in the New Orleans RSD Charter Takeover: THIS is CHOICE in the New Orleans RSD Charter TakeoverToday, New Orleans parent Fiyah Like Ayanna posted the following plea for attention on Facebook. Fiyah showed up to place her child on the Recovery School District Lottery list hoping, she says, for a "B or C school." (Why not an "A" school?) This was

by mike simpson / 12h

Join National Campaign to Put Focus of Public Education on Student Learning | Dennis Van Roekel

Join National Campaign to Put Focus of Public Education on Student Learning | Dennis Van Roekel: Join National Campaign to Put Focus of Public Education on Student LearningThe average American student and teacher now spend about 30 percent of the school year preparing for and taking standardized tests. This is time that schools could use to achieve their primary purpose of educating students. Inst

by mike simpson / 13h

First English Framework Based On Common Core - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

First English Framework Based On Common Core - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces State Adoption of First English Framework Based on Common CoreSACRAMENTO—California teachers have new guidance in teaching English language arts under the Common Core State Standards with additional support for English learners, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom

by mike simpson / 13h

The Big Brain of the Right on American Exceptionalism | Bill Ayers

The Big Brain of the Right on American Exceptionalism | Bill Ayers: The Big Brain of the Right on American ExceptionalismDavid Brooks, the moderate “human face” of the plutocrats and its dangerous fang faction within the Repulsican Party, trumpeted the need for “a national greatness agenda” in his New York Times column and managed to evoke a grotesquely mangled and romanticized image of the Black

by mike simpson / 14h

NYC Public School Parents: Audit on school overcrowding released today confirms our findings that the crisis is getting worse

NYC Public School Parents: Audit on school overcrowding released today confirms our findings that the crisis is getting worse: Audit on school overcrowding released today confirms our findings that the crisis is getting worseToday's Daily News, and no that it not me screaming in facepaint.Today's audit from the City Comptroller reinforces the findings in our recent report,Space Crunch, showing tha

by mike simpson / 14h

Nite Cap 7-9-14 #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 CAP7-9-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacherFred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Greg Hinz. Rauner and Quinn and Stroger and Madigan.- Greg Hinz If you put tog

by mike simpson / 16h

7-9-14 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.: Greg Hinz. Rauner and Quinn and Stroger and Madigan.- Greg Hinz If you put together a list of Illinois politicians whom Bruce Rauner would be least likely to funnel campaign cash to, Chicago’s Stroger clan and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan would be right at the top. The late John Stroger and

by mike simpson / 16h

solidaridad: 'Crenshaw' documents what education reform monsters like Deasy do to schools with black students

solidaridad: 'Crenshaw' documents what education reform monsters like Deasy do to schools with black students: 'Crenshaw' documents what education reform monsters like Deasy do to schools with black studentsFrom Filmmaker Lena Jackson. Please forward widely:Please join us for the first Los Angeles screening of Crenshaw at the Southern California Library this Thursday, July 10th at 6:30pm. The even

by mike simpson / 16h

1,000 LCAPs later, let’s hope we learn something | EdSource

1,000 LCAPs later, let’s hope we learn something | EdSource: 1,000 LCAPs later, let’s hope we learn somethingJuly 9, 2014 | By Carrie Hahnel / commentary | No Comments SHARE THIS ARTICLESOURCE: EDUCATION TRUST-WESTCarrie HahnelAs districts completed their first-ever Local Control and Accountability Plans this spring, the caveat “this is a learning year” became their oft-shared refrain. Now that m

by mike simpson / 16h

Teacher Tenure | Deborah Meier on Education

Teacher Tenure | Deborah Meier on Education: Teacher TenurePosted on July 9, 2014 by debmeierdebmeier:My son’s latest blog on the teacher tenure issueOriginally posted on Nicholas Meier:There was a recent lower court ruling against so-called “Teacher Tenure” here in California. I am really not sure about the extent of the ruling, but the general verdict was that “tenure” was unfair to providing an

by mike simpson / 17h

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Banda asks Duncan to allow SPS Waiver

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Banda asks Duncan to allow SPS Waiver: Banda asks Duncan to allow SPS WaiverFrom Superintendent Banda:Dear Seattle Public Schools community,Over the last several years we have made great strides in ensuring our students graduate ready for success in college, career and life. However, much work remains to ensure that each and every student has the academic and commu

by mike simpson / 17h

At AFT Convention teachers union expected to fire up the base

At AFT Convention teachers union expected to fire up the base: At AFT convention, teachers union expected to fire up the basePosted on July 9, 2014 1:36 pm by Vanessa RomoRandi Weingarten, AFT PresidentThe American Federation of Teachers (AFT) kicks off itsannual convention in downtown Los Angeles tomorrow bringing more 3,500 national union delegates to the home ofLA Unified, the second largest sc

by mike simpson / 17h

All Things Education: Not your mother's PE class

All Things Education: Not your mother's PE class: Not your mother's PE classMy sons are headed to middle school next year. They are disappointed (as am I) that there won't be recess, however, they are excited that they will have PE for a 90-minute block every other day. A few days prior to the end of their fifth grade year, I had been discussing this with a few other parents and some of their olde

by mike simpson / 19h

Russ on Reading: Thinking about Critical Thinking, Common Core and Vergara

Russ on Reading: Thinking about Critical Thinking, Common Core and Vergara: Thinking about Critical Thinking, Common Core and VergaraRecent headlines have me thinking about critical thinking.House Speaker John Boehner Wants to Sue the PresidentSarah Palin Says, “Impeach the President.”Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Praises the Vergara DecisionReading some of these pronouncements makes me think

by mike simpson / 19h

TO FINALLY FIX PUBLIC EDUCATION- IS TIMELY REGRESSION A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO EQUALLY FAILED CONCEPTS OF SOCIAL PROMOTION OR RETENTION? - Perdaily.com

TO FINALLY FIX PUBLIC EDUCATION- IS TIMELY REGRESSION A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO EQUALLY FAILED CONCEPTS OF SOCIAL PROMOTION OR RETENTION? - Perdaily.com: TO FINALLY FIX PUBLIC EDUCATION- IS TIMELY REGRESSION A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO EQUALLY FAILED CONCEPTS OF SOCIAL PROMOTION OR RETENTION?(Mensaje se repite en Español)Between dishonest social promotion of students without prior and current grade-leve

by mike simpson / 19h

One Compliant County in Florida and its New 724 Tests |

One Compliant County in Florida and its New 724 Tests |: One Compliant County in Florida and its New 724 Tests Beginning this fall, in Collier County Florida as per the state of Florida’s new teacher accountability policy, district teachers/administrators are to create new tests for each and every class it offers (including all electives) to hold all teachers accountable for the value they purport

by mike simpson / 20h

How Much Do Reformers Think Job Security Is Worth To Teachers? | Paul Bruno

How Much Do Reformers Think Job Security Is Worth To Teachers? | Paul Bruno: How Much Do Reformers Think Job Security Is Worth To Teachers?By PAUL BRUNO | Published: JULY 9, 2014A couple of weeks back at This Week in Education I tried to explain why the Vergara decision in California doesn’t have easily-predictable major consequences, even if you hand-wave away all of the inevitable legal wranglin

by mike simpson / 20h

What a “free press”–pause here for laughter–means to Newark: Cowardice | Bob Braun's Ledger

What a “free press”–pause here for laughter–means to Newark: Cowardice | Bob Braun's Ledger: What a “free press”–pause here for laughter–means to Newark: CowardiceNJTV–wimping outFor the first time in nearly two centuries, Newark–the largest city in the eighth largest state in America–will not be home to a daily newspaper. After Sept. 8, The Star-Ledger will move its operations to Woodbridge and E

by mike simpson / 20h

The Answer Sheet 7-9-14

Answer Sheet: Will the FCC ignore educators in modernizing key U.S. technology program?This post is a rebuttal to one that I published a few days ago about the federal “E-Rate” program — which offers discounts for schools and libraries to get Internet access and telecommunications — under the headline “A watershed moment for technology in education.” The earlier piece was co-written by Julius Gena

by mike simpson / 21h

7-9-14 The Whole Child Blog — Keeping a Hidden Population Safe at School

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: Keeping a Hidden Population Safe at SchoolWhat percent of students is it okay to let feel unsafe at school? 0 percent 1 percent 5 percent 10 percent You, like me, probably answered zero percent. As an educator dedicated to a whole child approach to education, you recognize the value of each and every learner. What if I told you we have allowed (albeit

by mike simpson / 21h

Kristal Clear on Common Core: And This Fat Lady Sings

Kristal Clear on Common Core: And This Fat Lady Sings: And This Fat Lady SingsThis is customer service nowadays and it is also what it feels like when you call the Capitol and attempt to voice constituent concerns with legislators, Governors and policy directors -- DEAF EARS!! Even those "good" politicians (which there are not very many) compromise when push comes to shove and or get ov

by mike simpson / 21h

HOW TO ENTICE THE BEST TEACHERS TO WORK IN HIGH-POVERTY CLASSROOMS | Teachers Fight Back

HOW TO ENTICE THE BEST TEACHERS TO WORK IN HIGH-POVERTY CLASSROOMS | Teachers Fight Back: HOW TO ENTICE THE BEST TEACHERS TO WORK IN HIGH-POVERTY CLASSROOMSleave a comment »The Obama administration is ordering states to devise strategies to get better teachers into high-poverty classrooms. The Education Department is directing every state to devise a plan by April 2015 to get more good teachers i

by mike simpson / 21h

7-9-14 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): Morning Read: Overpaid Centinela Valley superintendent firedCentinela Valley school board fires embattled Superintendent Jose Fernandez The Centinela Valley school board Tuesday night voted to fire Superintendent Jose Fernandez, ending a five-month chapter that began with revelations that the leader of th

by mike simpson / 21h

Evangelical Christian clubs coming to Portland-area public schools, opposition says curriculum is 'hardcore fundamentalist indoctrination' | OregonLive.com

Evangelical Christian clubs coming to Portland-area public schools, opposition says curriculum is 'hardcore fundamentalist indoctrination' | OregonLive.com: Evangelical Christian clubs coming to Portland-area public schools, opposition says curriculum is 'hardcore fundamentalist indoctrination' Hundreds of Portland-area residents are organizing to stop a network of Christian clubs from proselytizi

by mike simpson / 22h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 7-9-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: California Court: CORRUPTION IS NOT SUFFICIENT REASON TO CLOSE A HIGH-SCORING CHARTER SCHOOLBy Diane Ravitch, from her blog | http://is.gd/Ar1v9e July 6, 2014 :: For a few years, the American Indian Model Charter Schools in Oakland, California, were the most celebrated charter schools in the nation, beloved especially by the conservative and rightwing

by mike simpson / 22h

What Would Mark Twain Have Thought of Common Core Testing? - David Perrin - The Atlantic

What Would Mark Twain Have Thought of Common Core Testing? - David Perrin - The Atlantic: What Would Mark Twain Have Thought of Common Core Testing?In his autobiography and in Tom Sawyer, the author skewered the test-centered teaching of his day. It's not hard to imagine what he would have thought about an exam that grades student essays via computer.I've been teaching high school English in Illin

by mike simpson / 22h

What’s Obama’s Problem With School Choice? - Gov. Bobby Jindal and Gov. Scott Walker - POLITICO Magazine

What’s Obama’s Problem With School Choice? - Gov. Bobby Jindal and Gov. Scott Walker - POLITICO Magazine: What’s Obama’s Problem With School Choice?By GOV. BOBBY JINDAL and GOV. SCOTT WALKER July 08, 2014Koch BrothersWhy would the federal Department of Justice cite the Civil Rights Act and the specter of segregation to try and block a school choice program where more than nine in 10 participants c

by mike simpson / 22h

A view of the future through kindergarten demographics | Pew Research Center

A view of the future through kindergarten demographics | Pew Research Center: A view of the future through kindergarten demographicsBY JENS MANUEL KROGSTADLEAVE A COMMENTToday’s kindergartners offer a glimpse of tomorrow’s demographics. A new data analysis by Pew Research Center finds a big increase over the past decade in the number of states where at least one-in-five public school kindergartner

by mike simpson / 22h

Teacher Quality And The Decline In Teachers of Color - The Jose Vilson

Teacher Quality And The Decline In Teachers of Color - The Jose Vilson: Teacher Quality And The Decline In Teachers of Color This morning, I came across this article on Huffington Post (I know, I know, hear me out, though) and thought I should ask questions about President Obama’s initiative to enforce former President George W. Bush’s mandates for “excellent teachers” to stay in the highest-need

by mike simpson / 23h

Clowns In The Tent, Oh My!

The Camel's Nose In The Tent.The Camel's Nose In The Tent.One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.A little later the Arab awoke t

by mike simpson / 23h

Organizing and Action | educationalchemy

Organizing and Action | educationalchemy: Organizing and ActionI have created (see link at here chart3 and at end of blog) a chart that may help folks in thinking through how to organize effective resistance to ed reform and crafting meaningful and effective alternatives to current education policies. My motivation to create this came from my own frustrations with a few things:1) Where to begin? S

by mike simpson / 23h

Morning Wink 7-9-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-9-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: “Data Is Fool’s Gold of the Common Core”Common Core standards are usually described in the mainstream media in idealistic terms, using the positive and affirmative messages to sell the idea to the public. Doesn’t

by mike simpson / 1d