Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Much ink has been devoted to the teaching profession’s increasingly gray and green complexion — the profusion of teachers at the two extremes of the age spectrum. There are lots of veteran teachers older than 50. Meanwhile, school systems have hired hundreds of thousands of cheaper newbies without much experience in the classroom. That leaves the U.S. school system without as much weight in the h
Missouri passes training law for teachers who take guns to schools
Lawmakers approve bill to help train 'school protection officers' in handling firearms, expand open-carry rights
Libia Gil, assistant deputy secretary and director of the U.S.
Washington State High Court Holds Legislature in Contempt on K-12 Funding
The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that the state legislature is in contempt for failing to identify a long-term plan for substantially increasing public school funding.
Common Core’s Latest PR Campaign Is Awfully Lame
Common Core still hasn’t found its softer, fuzzy side.Opponents have video of exasperated kids, we don’t need to produce a video with actors when we can talk to real moms, dads, and kids. On the other side Six One Seven Studios, a group of filmmakers who want to help get the word out about Common Core, made this two minute video. They describe the video, “Pop-pop takes Hector late to his first da
District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons questions the Dallas ISD board’s dedication to transparency
Gary Fitzsimmons, Dallas County district clerk Gary Fitzsimmons, the Dallas County district clerk, questioned the Dallas school board’s … [visit site to read more]
Accessible playgrounds for all children: Find one near you
; Credit: /John W. Poole/NPR MAP: Find the playgrounds near you Janna Espinoza's daughter Coraline has hearing loss, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and developmental delays. Nearly 2 years old, she can't sit up, stand, creep or use her hands as a typically developing child does. Coraline is among an estimated 6.4 million children in the U.S. with a disability. And for these kids the simple ritual of pl
After just discovering that top ranking district administrators and private vendors effectively fixed a billion-dollar deal ahead of open bidding, this week our school board explicitly voted to thwart uncovering such embarrassments in the future. It was emails obtained by Annie Gilbertson at KPCC that were two years old which spotlighted the LAUSD administration’s tawdry collusion with private ven
From Newark to Philadelphia: People Demand Local Control
While students in Newark boycott schools demanding the return of local control, the organizations that have been leading the fight to get a November ballot question on abolishing the School Reform Commission were at City Hall today urging Council to honor the wishes of over 40,000 registered voters who sign petitions. City Council acted to table the vote, effectively ignoring this outpouring of de
Kindergarten teacher: ‘There is a good possibility I will be fired but…’ (update) - The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/11/kindergarten-teacher-there-is-a-good-possibility-i-will-be-fired-but/ (Marlon Correa/The Washington Post) (Update: Statement from superintendent of district in which teacher works has been added) Teachers are increasingly speaking up about the onslaught of standardized tests that students in all grades — including kindergarten — are
A recent Finnish study shows that higher levels of physical activity are related to better academic achievement during the first three school years particularly in boys. The study published in PLOS ONE was conducted in collaboration with the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) Study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland and the First Steps Study at the University of Jyväsk
New research from North Carolina State University finds that young people who have had mentors are more likely to find work early in their careers that gives them more responsibility and autonomy – ultimately putting them on a path to more financially and personally rewarding careers.“We wanted to look at the long-term impacts on mentees in naturally occurring mentorship relationships, rather than
Common Core: What’s true, false and fuzzy
Thomas Scarice, the superintendent of Madison Public Schools in Connecticut, has been a vocal critic of high-stakes test-based school reform. This year he sent a letter to state legislators explaining why these “reforms will not result in improved conditions since they are not grounded in research” and he has spelled out what he sees as […]
Curriculum Doesn’t Matter, Unless You Care about Achievement and Mobility
Five years ago, Russ Whitehurst published an important paper comparing the effects of various education reforms. Better teachers and curriculum rose to the top, with what is taught being just as important as who is doing the teaching. But that finding didn’t fit with reformers’ obsession with teachers, so the paper was largely ignored. Two […]
NEA President Salutes Florida Educators For Focusing on the Whole Child | NEA Today
NEA President Salutes Florida Educators For Focusing on the Whole Child | NEA Today: NEA President Salutes Florida Educators For Focusing on the Whole ChildSeptember 11, 2014 by twalker Filed under Featured News, Top StoriesBy Brenda ÁlvarezNEA President Lily Eskelsen García traveled to Florida this past week (Sep. 4-5) as part of the Association’s Back-to-School tour, where she visited schools i
So There’s A Moratorium. Now What? | Taking Note
So There’s A Moratorium. Now What? | Taking Note: So There’s A Moratorium. Now What?by JOHN MERROW on 11. SEP, 2014 in 2014 BLOGS, COMMON CORE Those seeking a moratorium on using high stakes tests to judge teachers seem to have gotten what they asked for. What happens now?Remember that a “moratorium” is nothing more than ‘a suspension of activity.’ It does not imply any pro-active behavior or a r
Embrace The Common Core – IQ2 Debates For the Motion: Carmel Martin, Michael Petrilli Against the Motion: Carol Burris, Frederick Hess
Embrace The Common Core – IQ2 Debates: Illustration by Thomas JamesTUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014In K-12 education, there is nothing more controversial than the Common Core State Standards, national academic standards in English and math. Adopted by more than 40 states, they were developed, in part, to address concerns that American students were falling behind their foreign counterparts and graduati
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Byrd-Bennett promised not to close any more schools. But that doesn't mean she can't militarize them.
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Byrd-Bennett promised not to close any more schools. But that doesn't mean she can't militarize them.: Byrd-Bennett promised not to close any more schools. But that doesn't mean she can't militarize them.Study war no more...?The Sun-Times reports:No teachers teach in this school. No students are enrolled. It has nearly no budget. The principal sits miles away in anot
New York Times Ignored Teacher Input on Eva Moskowitz | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.
New York Times Ignored Teacher Input on Eva Moskowitz | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.: New York Times Ignored Teacher Input on Eva MoskowitzThe September 7th New York Times Magazine ran a story by Daniel Bergner called “The Battle for New York Schools: Eva Moskowitz vs. Mayor Bill de Blasio”. Bergner’s piece reads as an astonishing piece of hagiography to appear in the paper of record, ignoring any substant
Louisiana Educator: Higher Student Expectations?
Louisiana Educator: Higher Student Expectations?: Higher Student Expectations?What is an acceptable level of performance for an 8th grade math student? All public school teachers are required to set student learning targets (SLTs) each year for each classroom of students. Where should the passing scores be set and what is an acceptable level of student failure? One good point of reference should b
9-11-14 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: LA Unified board enforces email deletion ruleMorning Read: LA Unified board enforces email deletion rule L.A. school board approves contract to destroy emails after a year The Los Angeles Unified School District took steps this week to enforce rules under which emails are deleted after one y
9-11-14 Curmudgucation - Forever Less Than, Frederick Douglass, and No Excuses
CURMUDGUCATION: Forever Less Than, Frederick Douglass, and No ExcusesMy esteemed colleague and exceptional citizen journalist over at Edushyster has an interview up that is well worth your time to read.She talks to Joan Goodman, director of the TFA program at U Penn, about the no excuse charters of Philadelphia (among other things, the piece is a reminder that we can not knee-jerkingly sort good g
New Testing Makes No Sense | The Crucial Voice of the People
New Testing Makes No Sense | The Crucial Voice of the People: New Testing Makes No Sense Two “Super Supers” came to Idaho to bring us their wisdom. It is always good to listen to the voices of experience; it helps clarify things. It certainly threw light on some issues for me.Dr. David P. Driscoll (MA) and Dr. Eric Smith (FL) were brought to Idaho by the Albertson Foundation, which has been financ
Principals’ Perspectives on Value-Added |
Principals’ Perspectives on Value-Added |: Principals’ Perspectives on Value-AddedPrincipals are not using recent teacher evaluation data, including data from value-added assessment systems, student surveys, and other student achievement indicators, to inform decisions about hiring, placements, and professional development, according to findings from a research study recently released by researche
Lecker: Our real national standards - StamfordAdvocate
Lecker: Our real national standards - StamfordAdvocate: Lecker: Our real national standardsWe now know that the fiction that the Common Core State Standards are nationally agreed-upon standards that grew from some grassroots movement in the states is manufactured hype. It is now broadly understood that these standards were developed behind closed doors under the direction of two private organizati
Morning Wink 9-11-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTSWe coddle bad cops, vilify good teachers - Salon.comWe coddle bad cops, vilify good teachers - Salon.com: We coddle bad cops, vilify good teachersWe defer to cops even when they kill, and scapegoat schools for the ills America has given up on. This must changePAUL ROSENBERG Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan in "The Departed" (Credit: Warner Bros. Ente