Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 1-25-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Please Support Lew Frederick’s HB 4062 on Student Privacy

State Legislator Lew Frederick, a real champion for education, is sponsoring a bill in the coming legislative session protecting student records and privacy. We urge you to contact legislators in support of this bill.  BACKGROUND: Recent administrative decisions by  the U.S. Department of Education to FERPA (the federal law governing student data privacy)  have weakened  privacy safeguards and shi

by Oregon SOS / 5h 

Calif. law gives foster care kids a boost into adulthood

A 19-year-olds brave steps into independence after so many foster homes, she lost count

15min 

Is this American Justice?

Today, I learned about two “education theft” cases where a parent, Kelley Williams Bollar, served nine days in jail, and a set of parents, Hamlet and Olesia Garcia are facing up to seven years in prison. I’m ashamed I wasn’t aware of this problem before today – January 25th. However, now that I’m aware this […]

4h hide  //  save

Lively discussion (debate) in the Japan Times over libraries/recreational reading

Lively discussion in the Japan Times (Krashen vs. Chris Clancy)My original letter:Recreational reading will scorePublished in the Japan Times,  January 19, 2014Regarding the Dec. 31/Jan. 1 article “English to get 2020 push but teachers not on the same page“: Experts have criticized Japan’s reform plan for English for not including enough hours of English instruction to accomplish its goals. They

4 by skrashen / 4h 

Is this American Justice?

Today, I learned about two “education theft” cases where a parent, Kelley Williams Bollar, served nine days in jail, and a set of parents, Hamlet and Olesia Garcia are facing up to seven years in prison. I’m ashamed I wasn’t aware of this problem before today – January 25th. However, now that I’m aware this practice exists, I’m […]

4 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 4h 

Late Bloomers

So there’s this boy in our High School who seems to thrive on negative attention. For whatever reason, he seems to always be in some sort of trouble or giving his teachers some cause for concern, and it’s unfortunately making it hard for people not to judge or label him in a less than flattering light. He’s outspoken, he questions authority, he isn’t all that concerned with his academic standing a

by dkerr / 1h

Are Teachers Too Tame?The Hijacking of Public Education!

Public education  has been hijacked. It has been taken hostage by "ed reformers", standardized test makers, and "teacher accountability". How did this happen to a profession full of intelligent, passionate, outspoken people? Are we uninformed?  Are we choosing bliss via ignorance? Why is this happening? I have some thoughts... Teachers love their students and their jobs.Those o

by Lisa Mims / 56min 

Don’t Opt Out of SBAC Tests

Wendy Lecker has written a powerful piece on what a colossal waste of time preparing for the SBAC tests in our classrooms, and how parents absolutely have a legal right to opt their students out of taking these tests this year. And while I agree with everything she says, nevertheless, if I were a parent [...]

by Jonathan Kantrowi... / 4h 

Video: “Who Invented Writing?”

TED Ed has a nice lesson and video called “Who Invited Writing?” You can see the entire lesson here.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h hide  //  save

January’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part Four

There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h 

Talking to the President, War on Poverty and More in Weekly Blog Roundup!

It’s been a busy January at MomsRising so far. We’ve been tackling a variety of issues and we’re revving up for the President’s State of the Union address coming up next Tuesday, January 28. (If you’re on Twitter, join us @MomsRising!) Our members and partners have also been hard at work – check out a few of their stories from our MomsRising blog below! #Radio This Week! — This Week! Democracy Is

1 by Connie K. Ho / 2h 

Bay Bridge, UNSAFE?

On September 2, 2013, the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic. The seismic opening of the new span is more than just an upgrade of one of the country's busiest bridges--it is an epic transformation of the bridge into a global icon.Public safety has always been the driving factor behind building the new East Span of the Bay Bridge. Over the years, the project has

by Annedreah Santiag... / 1h hide  //  save

Folsom Lake: Gold Rush History

Richard Preston said, “The actual town itself is close to 90 feet underwater.” Currently, the water level at Folsom Lake is lower than during the winter season of 1976-77, one of worst drought years in history, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. Experts say what is exposed now would have been on the outskirts of the once-booming community, founded by Mormon prospe

by Annedreah Santiag... / 1h 

An Unsafe Enviroment at PS 154 as Students Run Amok in the Bronx, Yet Again

From the files of the "You Can't Make This Shit Up Department," it just keeps getting nuttier and crazier at PS 154 in the Bronx. Is it possible that the wheels of the bus that DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal controls are flying off?After last night's blog post featuring how a student, The Flash, ran out of school property twice, once onto dangerous 135th St, several teachers cont

by noreply@blogger.c... / 1h 

Lecker: Opting out, parents answer to a higher authority - StamfordAdvocate

Lecker: Opting out, parents answer to a higher authority - StamfordAdvocate: Lecker: Opting out, parents answer to a higher authority Opt-Out/Refusal Guides for each State | United Opt Out NationalOpt-Out/Refusal Guides for each State | United Opt Out National: OPT-OUT/REFUSAL GUIDES FOR EACH STATEAll documents are for informational purposes only and do not substitute as legal advice or legal coun

by mike simpson / 4min 

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: Education in the U.S. and South Korea: Why Would We Want a Hagwon Hell?Test scores are not a good measure of the value of an individual or of an education.    In a speech on January 14th, Arne Duncan praised Korean parents and the Korean educational system for producing strong test results and high college completion rates.  He qualified his statements by stating, &quo

by mike simpson / 10min hide  //  save

The School Nobody Wanted - Except the Community | Alternet

The School Nobody Wanted - Except the Community | Alternet: The School Nobody Wanted - Except the CommunityThe closure of Sarah T. Reed Senior High School in New Orleans will usher in the first school district in the country with no publicly-run schools.COMMENT NOW!  A  A  AEmailPrintPhoto Credit: Infrogmation via Wikimedia CommonsJanuary 20, 2014  |   The recently announced closure of Sarah T. Re

by mike simpson / 5h 

Bill Gates' Viral Video: GatesLetter.com

Bill Gates wants to promote his website, GatesLetter.com, with a viral video, but Jimmy doesn't think they have time to make one.http://www.GatesLetter.comSubscribe NOW to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: http://full.sc/IcjtXJWatch Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Weeknights 12:35/11:35c

by mike simpson / 5h 

Nite Cap 1-25-14 #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 CAP1-25-14 Saturday Matinée Special Double Feature Corporate Reform News BreakoutSaturday Matinée Special Corporate Reform School Girls News BreakoutSpecial  Sneak Preview - Witch Hunter starring Campbell Brown  News BreakComing to a theater near yo

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Lecker: Opting out, parents answer to a higher authority - StamfordAdvocate

Lecker: Opting out, parents answer to a higher authority - StamfordAdvocate:

Lecker: Opting out, parents answer to a higher authority

 

Opt-Out/Refusal Guides for each State | United Opt Out National

Opt-Out/Refusal Guides for each State | United Opt Out National: OPT-OUT/REFUSAL GUIDES FOR EACH STATEAll documents are for informational purposes only and do not substitute as legal advice or legal counsel. The information contained in these documents and this website may or may not reflect the most current developments in education policy within our nation or within each state. Information share

by mike simpson / 6h 

This year, Connecticut school districts had the option of administering the CMTs and CAPTs one more year, or the Common Core tests, known as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test, or the SBAC. The SBAC is just a field test, an experiment conducted in actual conditions -- on our actual children. For some reason, the vast majority of districts elected to offer the SBAC field tests.

I live in a district that chose the SBAC. The SBAC is to be administered on computers. Actually in our schools, some children will take the SBAC on computers and some on iPads. How this differential test administration qualifies as "standardized" is puzzling. The iPads are more difficult to type on, so now, in January, children are practicing -- for a test in May. What a productive way to spend school time.

As this SBAC test prep overtakes our schools, and interferes with learning, more parents may realize they do not want their children participating in this experiment. This realization may be especially important for parents of 11th-graders, who already took the CAPTs last year, and who will be facing these standardized tests, which do not count, at roughly the same time they are taking SATs, SAT subject tests, APs and ACTs.

As I detailed in my column several weeks ago, theState Department of Education knew this protest might be coming, so it orchestrated a strategy for bullying parents into not opting out of these tests. I noted that SDE provided districts with a sample letter to parents who indicate they want to opt their children, warning them that state law "requires that all children enrolled in public schools must take yearly state assessments;" but not informing parents 

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure:

Education in the U.S. and South Korea: Why Would We Want a Hagwon Hell?

Test scores are not a good measure of the value of an individual or of an education.    In a speech on January 14th, Arne Duncan praised Korean parents and the Korean educational system for producing strong test results and high college completion rates.  He qualified his statements by stating, "I'm not saying we should be just like South Korea."  Referencing Amanda Ripley, he pointed at

by Adam Bergstein / 1h 

Meet Public-School Mummy

Under the new evaluation system teachers can present up to eight "artifacts" to try to prove their professional integrity.  In this strange new land of educational deformity, I began to feel like an artifact myself.  I imagined a teacher who might feel even more this way than myself.He is Public-School Mummy.  Having superior knowledge of Incan society, he has been teaching in the classr

by Adam Bergstein / 1h 

Public-School Mummy in the Educational Deformers' Lineup

by Adam Bergstein / 1h 

Charter-School Mummy Co-Locates!

Charter-School Mummy co-locates, pushing Public-School Mummy out of his classroom.Public-School Mummy in his "new" classroom.

by Adam Bergstein / 1h hide  //  save

Public-School Mummy Mobilizes!

Public-School Mummy attempts to ask a question during a forum with Chancellor King and Regent Tisch.Public-School Mummy Turns to Activism and gets the surprise of his life!

by Adam Bergstein / 1h