Wednesday, September 3, 2014

On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now) | The Jose Vilson

On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now) | The Jose Vilson:

On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now)

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 JOSE 1 COMMENT

The first audience reaction to my speech at the Network for Public Education came from a older, burly white man with big hands and a soft voice. Not that any of this scares me much since I’m from the hood, but context matters.

“Jose, I’m glad you’re here and I appreciate what you had to say today, but, when you referred to Tea Party people as subhuman …”

Whoa, what?

“No, that’s not what I said,” as I furled my eyebrows. “I said that Tea Partiers look at many of us [read: people of color, women, people who identify as LGBT ...] as subhuman, and that’s the thing …”

“OK, I get you. I just wanted to make sure because you need to be careful not to insult others. Once we start insulting people, then that becomes a problem …”

I tried to wrap up the conversation and say “Thank you” before getting smiles and hugs from the people of color in the audience, many of whom have had to deal firsthand with activists within the same supposed umbrella disavowing social justice in favor of alliance along single-issue lines like student privacy and Common Core State Standards. Before my comments on the panel, I thought it obvious that a group committed to social justice would include discussions on race, class, and gender, which would force those who sought allies within said group to have a better grounding on these issues, and their accompanying -isms.

My bad.

So when Peter Cunningham dropped this post on his new education website, I laughed, not because I disagreed with him. I don’t know much about him except that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan congratulated him on having a new website. Because vitriol seems to do well On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now) | The Jose Vilson:

"Out of this cacophony rises a beautiful, lyrical voice—one that is uncompromisingly self-aware, reflective, and analytical. That transcendent voice belongs to “The” José Luis Vilson."

- Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union

My debut solo book, This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education already has endorsements from Karen Lewis, Pedro Noguera, Raquel Cepeda, Gregory Michie, Chris Lehmann, Randi Weingarten, Dennis van Roekel, Diane Ravitch, Barnett Berry, Renee Moore, Cindi Rigsbee, and many more ...

Order Here!

Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast | Alan Singer

Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast | Alan Singer:

Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast

"And the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds." -Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, Book 1, chapter XIX, c. 14769

Being trapped in the belly of the beast is scary. In the Old Testament, Jonah was trapped in the belly of a great fish. In modern urban slang, the "belly of the beast" means being incarcerated.

But beasts can also be vulnerable. Jonah escaped. In medieval lore, knights slayed dragons. In the folk tale, Jack defeated the giant. Harry Potter bested Voldemort. The sun never set on the British Empire, until it withered away. The Soviet Union suddenly collapsed. In the same way Pearson, the publishing mega-giant, is looking more and more like it is vulnerable and its time dominating education in the United States and around the world may be coming to an end. Beasts are scary, but they can be brought down.

In Los Angeles investigators from the school district's inspector general's office uncovered a questionable email exchange on May 22, 2012 between John Deasy, the Superintendent of Los Angeles schools, and Marjorie Scardino, who at the time was the CEO of Pearson. They also had a lunch meeting prior to the awarding of a contract to Apple and Pearson to provide Apple iPads with Pearson software to L.A. students. Deasy emailed Scartdino, "Looking forward to further work together for our youth in Los Angeles!" Scardino replied, "Dear John, It's I who should thank you, really can't wait to work with you."

There were also email exchanges between Jaime Aquino, the head of instruction for the district and Pearson officials. After a series of newspaper exposes, L.A. schools Superintendent John Deasy suspended the contract which was potentially worth $1 billion.

Contacts between school officials, Apple, and Pearson may have been going on for nearly a year before bidding was opened. According to the Los Angeles Times, the entire process was "beset by inadequate planning, a lack of transparency and a flawed bidding process." Ties between Deasy and Apple and previous ties between Aquino and a Pearson affiliate gave an appearance of impropriety, initial rules for securing the contract may have actually been written to favor Apple and Pearson, and rules were then changed after most competitors were eliminated. I will have details from these emails in my next blog.

In New York State, college faculty rallied on the steps of the state capitol in Albany demanding that the State Education Department "stop sabotaging student teachers" and cancel contracts with Pearson. Pearson designs, administers, and grades the state's teacher certification exams including the video and portfolio assessment of student teachers. Karen Magee, President of New York State United Teachers, "shook a copy of the state's contract with Pearson in the air before tearing out a page and Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast | Alan Singer:

The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting Back | Randi Weingarten

The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting Back | Randi Weingarten:

The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting Back

As part of Wal-Mart's back-to-school marketing efforts, the company recently launched a series of teacher appreciation videos, ads, hashtags and discounts. Teachers--who routinely dig deep into their own pockets to pay for supplies and materials for their students--are grateful for appreciation in all its forms. They are understandably less pleased when half-hearted discounts come from a company with a terrible track record for respecting its own employees and are accompanied by a large-scale effort to dismantle our nation's public education system and silence their voice. In fact, teachers are so offended by the so-called education reform agenda promoted by Wal-Mart's owners, the Waltons, that one teacher recently launched a petition calling on his peers not to shop at Wal-Mart this back-to-school season. More than 5,000 teachers have already added their names to his pledge.

A closer look at the Walton family's massive investment in "education" paints a clear picture of why teachers are so upset. Since 2000, the Walton Family Foundation has given more than $1 billion to destabilize public education--draining funds from students and closing neighborhood schools, and instead supporting corporate-style education policies in an attempt to bring Wal-Mart's business model to classrooms across the country.

With a collective $148 billion fortune, the Walton family is using their unfathomable wealth to exert outsized influence on school systems in cities across the country, often in communities where they neither reside nor do business. In Chicago, the Waltons gave $500,000 to support the process that resulted in the closure of nearly 50 public schools in underserved communities. Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton spent $2.25 million in 2012 alone to promote the charter and private school sectors in Georgia, Indiana and Washington--hundreds of miles from her current home state of Texas.

In California, the Walton Family Foundation cheered the recent attack on teachers' due process rights in the Vegara v. California decision, which not only strips teachers of the ability to advocate for their students without fear of retribution, but also suggests that teachers' needs are at odds with students' interests. One family member also contributed $250,000 to defeat a ballot measure that would have instituted public universal pre-K education for the state.

The Walton family's actions in the education realm are very familiar to those of us The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting Back | Randi Weingarten:

Reflections of a BadAss Teacher – Year Two - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

Reflections of a BadAss Teacher – Year Two

Getting ready for work this morning, I experienced something I had never felt before.

I was not ready to go back to work.

I am sure that my working at the school for four weeks during the summer had something to do with it. But it was more than that. Trying to pinpoint exactly what it was at first was hard. Last year I had found BATs before going back in September. Last September I was energized, excited, aware and awake.

Where were these feelings this year? BATs had worked hard over the past year, forming relationships in our fight against corporate education reform. Strides had been made, bringing our pushback to a point that I had not predicted, that passed my expectations.

So then I should be even more energized, right? I should be strapping on my virtual boxing gloves and tightening those laces.

Why the hesitation this year? Why the lack of enthusiasm to go into the classroom? I could hardly believe that, as I got dressed this morning, I toyed with thoughts of finding yet another career, even though that would almost guarantee that I worked until the day that they wheeled me out on a stretcher.

Thinking about all of this as I sat in our opening day staff welcome sessions I thought about what had made me become a teacher in the first place. We all know it wasn't for the money, (minimal) or the summers off, (a myth) or the 8am to 3pm workday (a joke). So what was it. Why had I become a teacher in the first place? What had changed since then?

Sitting in these meetings, with three more days of meetings still ahea, I realized what had changed. I knew what had shifted in focus this year.

The children.

The children have not changed. They will always be these creatures with sponge-like brains that have new ways of doing things. Different ways, that we as adults, will always struggle and race to keep up with. That has not, and will never, change.

But education no longer focuses on the children. It has become a political tool that is used in an attempt to shift power. To shift power from one political party to another, to shift power from the have-nots to the haves, to shift power from the people to those that rule their state with an iron fist. From a Badass Teachers Association:

BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils

BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils:

BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils:

BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is a progressive talk radio show. The show is hosted by Dr. Tim Slekar and Dr. Jed Hopkins.

BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils:

Nite Cap 9-3-14 #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

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-3-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: DEASY: “Dear LAUSD Family, I would like to speak to you personally…” but instead here are two links to the same memo I sent to the Board of Ed yesterdayan email blast sent to all LAUSD employees From: Superintendent John Deasy [superintendent_john@LAUSD.NET]Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 2:39 PMTo: LAUSD_EMPLOYEES@LIST.LAUSD.NETSubject: Ed-Blast: C

by mike simpson / 1min

9-3-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Education Post: A Sorry Attempt to Repackage Privatization as “Conversation”There is a test-score-driven, privatizing war on public schools and on the teaching profession. It is no secret that those chiefly financing the war stand above the chaos they create via their “philanthropy.” In short, they use their billions in order to promote their own ideal of American education priva

by mike simpson / 4min

It Isn’t Over in Lee County or Elsewhere! And About Common Core…

It Isn’t Over in Lee County or Elsewhere! And About Common Core…: It Isn’t Over in Lee County or Elsewhere! And About Common Core…SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 BY NANCY BAILEY LEAVE A COMMENTThe Lee County School Board has backed out and students will get tests and tests and more tests. But I know parents will not give up. I’m hoping they will hold their Superintendent accountable for stating that she wanted

by mike simpson / 6min

9-3-14 Wait What? - Foley and Malloy are just plain wrong on taxes

Wait What?: Foley and Malloy are just plain wrong on taxes[A special note of thanks to all of you who have posted comments and sent emails of support urging me to continue writing posts Wait, What? While I will continue to mull over the various issues and opportunities, the following is an attempt to gingerly re-enter the fray by using this blog to raise what […] The post Foley and Malloy are jus

by mike simpson / 8min

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: Why Teach For America’s Push for “Diversity” Should Not Be Celebrated

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: Why Teach For America’s Push for “Diversity” Should Not Be Celebrated: Why Teach For America’s Push for “Diversity” Should Not Be CelebratedYesterday, I was disappointed to see Teaching Tolerance-a social justice education resource which I have personally used many times-publish a blog post entitled Teach For (a Diverse) America. It was difficult to see a TFA alum spout thi

by mike simpson / 13min

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: Why Teach For America’s Push for “Diversity” Should Not Be Celebrated

by mike simpson / 13min

9-3-14 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Welcome back to your school, now under AUSL

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Col. Tyrell as GreshamWelcome back to your school, now under AUSL management.Col. Tyrell as GreshamDAY ONE -- LEVEL ZERO Ex-Marine Col. Tom Tyrell was there to oversee the first day of school at Gresham. Before Coming to CPS to supervise school closings, Tyrell coordinated "prisoner-exchange" work in Kosovo. He then went on to work as Chief Operating Office

by mike simpson / 21min

9-3-14 Jersey Jazzman - Is "One Newark" Racist?

Jersey Jazzman: Is "One Newark" Racist?Is One Newark, the school reorganization plan for New Jersey largest city, racist? Well...- Under One Newark, "Schools assigned the consequential classifications have substantively and statistically significantly greater shares of low income and black students." That's racist.- Under One Newark, "NPS’s black teachers are far more like

by mike simpson / 27min

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-3-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: FairTest: Resistance to Over-Testing Grows NationwideHere is FairTest’s weekly roundup of resistance to test mania: This week’s biggest assessment reform news was the vote to “opt out” of state-mandated standardized exams by the Lee County, Florida School Board. Though that was the most dramatic action so far this school year, we a

by mike simpson / 29min

Education Post: A Sorry Attempt to Repackage Privatization as “Conversation” | deutsch29

Education Post: A Sorry Attempt to Repackage Privatization as “Conversation” | deutsch29: Education Post: A Sorry Attempt to Repackage Privatization as “Conversation”September 3, 2014There is a test-score-driven, privatizing war on public schools and on the teaching profession.It is no secret that those chiefly financing the war stand above the chaos they create via their “philanthropy.” In short,

by mike simpson / 31min

Louisiana Educator: New Revelations About LEAP and NAEP

Louisiana Educator: New Revelations About LEAP and NAEP: New Revelations About LEAP and NAEPThe LA State Dept. of Education yesterday attempted to explain the setting of cut scores on LEAP. There is a section of theSeptember 2 LDOE newsletter addressing the testing issue. Readers may remember that this blog demonstrated that the percentage of correct answers needed for a rating of basic in 2014 dr

by mike simpson / 36min

9-3-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Video: Iceland VolcanoI’m adding this video to The Best Sites For Learning About Volcanoes:7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h hide // saveAll My Ed Week Posts On “Relationships” From The Past 3 Years — In One Place!My latest Ed Week Teacher column brings together all my posts there from the past three years on the topic of “relati

by mike simpson / 38min

The Book That Got Teaching Right (Samuel Freedman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Book That Got Teaching Right (Samuel Freedman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: The Book That Got Teaching Right (Samuel Freedman)Samuel G. Freedman has authored seven books one of which is Small Victories: The Real World of a Teacher, Her Students, and Their High School. He is a frequent contributor to the New Yorker. This piece was published September 1, 2014.In the co

1 by mike simpson / 39min

9-3-14 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): Deasy on his critics: Constant attacks are ‘politically motived’Deasy on his critics: Constant attacks are ‘politically motived’ Superintendent John Deasy Under withering criticism over the iPad program, a new student-tracking computer system and discordant relations with the teachers union, LA Unified Su

1 by mike simpson / 41min

State awards Common Core test contract | EdSource

State awards Common Core test contract | EdSource: State awards Common Core test contractSeptember 3, 2014 | By John Fensterwald | No Comments SHARE THIS ARTICLEWith the State Board of Education’s approval, California became the ninth state Wednesday to award a contract to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for the standardized tests in the Common Core State Standards that students will t

3 by mike simpson / 44min

9-3-14 Answer Sheet

Answer Sheet: A pledge school reformers should takeEducation historian Larry Cuban notes that no matter what part of the political spectrum school reform originates, reformers keep making the same mistakes, decade in and decade out. What mistakes? Cuban explains in this post. Cuban was a high school social studies teacher for 14 years, a district superintendent (seven years in Arlington, VA), and

by mike simpson / 47min

Something’s Coming (Something Good) | Taking Note

Something’s Coming (Something Good) | Taking Note: Something’s Coming (Something Good)by AMANDA on 03. SEP, 2014 in 2014 BLOGS, ARNE DUNCAN, TEACHING“Something there is that doesn’t love more bubble testsAnd students bubbling and learning how to bubbleWhen they might be making robots or reading Frost….”When I adapted Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” earlier this year, I was aware of the growing resen

by mike simpson / 59min

9-3-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Title IX UpdateAs you may know, Seattle Public Schools wasn't quite up to snuff on Title IX compliance. The person responsible for Title IX compliance didn't know his responsibilities and, consequently, failed to perform his required duties. When this dreadful situation came to light (with tragic consequences), the District... well, the District didn't do anything

by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Kevin Carey, Logically AdriftKevin Carey and the billionaire patrons of CorpEd who pay him to record his thought disorders in the New York Times are moving on from K-12 to more fertile education grounds to make money and to impose their idiocy. Watch out, higher ed. With more and more young adults graduating from college with fewer good jobs available to them and the next generati

by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 With A Brooklyn Accent:Where Are You From? A Guest Post by Malaya Velasquez Saldana

With A Brooklyn Accent: Where Are You From? A Guest Post by Malaya Velasquez Saldana“Whereare you from?” the ubiquitous question posed to me since I learned to formulate my first English sentence, has overtime accrued the weight of a multitude of implied questions, and exclamations. Now by 22 years old the weight of that question is so heavy with implications, and assumptive self-erasing experienc

by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 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.: The Napa Wine Club is worth two years of my pension. Rauner and Quinn think I get too much.11 by Fred Klonsky / 3h Retired teachers are not just about pensions. We had a lively charter discussion.This blogger, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and S.O.R.E. organizer, Harriet Sheeley. We often discuss polit

1 by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Samuel Freedman, on Bel Kaufman, Goes After Teacher Bashing, With Ties to the 68 StrikeAround the same time that “Up the Down Staircase” was published, New York City was convulsed by a battle over community control of public schools. The struggle reached its apogee between 1967 and 1968, with the installation of a black governing board in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville section of Broo

1 by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): The Conversation UK: Keeping children back a year doesn’t help them read betterKeeping children back a year doesn’t help them read better2 by plthomasedd / 14h 9-2-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindnessthe becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy o

by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks: NPR Whitewashes Charter Schools and Disaster Capitalism in New Orleans | the becoming radicalNPR WHITEWASHES CHARTER SCHOOLS AND DISASTER CAPITALISM IN NEW ORLEANS It was bad enough when NPR whitewashed the "grit" narrative, but now NPR is whitewashing charter schools and disaster capitalism in New Orleans. Framed as "remarkable changes," erasing public sc

by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14empathyeducates - Keeping Children Back a Year Doesn’t Help Them Read Better

empathyeducates: Keeping Children Back a Year Doesn’t Help Them Read BetterVery high stakes. Holtsman, CC BY-NC By Paul Thomas, Ed.D., Furman University | Originally Published at the The Conversation. September 3, 2014 If you’re an eight-year-old living in Charleston, South Carolina, you’re soon going to need to study extra hard at reading. The US state has joined […]20 by empathy / 2h hide // s

1 by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION: Can We Renew "The Conversation"? There has been a renewal of calls lately to refresh, renew, restart, and otherwise rehabilitate the conversation about Common Core.It has taken a variety of forms. In the Washington Times, Mike Petrilli and Neal McClusky put out a call to retire some of the standard talking points, admitting that the Core is after all kind of curriculummy

by mike simpson / 1h

9-3-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Cuomo: Debates Are Bad For DemocracyYou just can't make this stuff up:Mr. Cuomo’s primary challengers include Zephyr Teachout, a law professor, whose candidacy has attracted attention of late partly because of the governor’s simultaneous concern about it (he tried to get her removed from the ballot) and refusal to acknowledge it exists (he avoids uttering Ms. Teachout’s name

by mike simpson / 1h

SKrashen: My response to Bill Nye (The Science Guy"): Standards OK but not the Common Core Standards

SKrashen: My response to Bill Nye (The Science Guy"): Standards OK but not the Common Core Standards: My response to Bill Nye (The Science Guy"): Standards OK but not the Common Core StandardsResponse to Bill Nye (“Science Guy”), Posted Sept 2 at: Could Common Core be the antidote for Creationist teachers?Bill Nye: If I were king of the forest we would have math in the core curriculum. S

by mike simpson / 1h

Russ on Reading: Keeping Your Balance in Literacy Instruction

Russ on Reading: Keeping Your Balance in Literacy Instruction: Keeping Your Balance in Literacy InstructionBy now veteran teachers are accustomed to the pendulum swing in literacy instruction that veers wildly from one new best practice to another, often recycling through a back to basics heavy emphasis on phonics and then swinging back to a more holistic comprehension strategies approach. With th

by mike simpson / 1h

On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLB | I AM AN EDUCATOR

On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLB | I AM AN EDUCATOR: On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLBBy I AM AN EDUCATOR on September 3, 2014Today is the first day of school in Seattle. I have never been more excited and nervous for the

by mike simpson / 1h

How Did Writing My Book Change My Own Opinions? | Dana Goldstein

How Did Writing My Book Change My Own Opinions? | Dana Goldstein: How Did Writing My Book Change My Own Opinions?Thanks to Nona Willis Aronowitz for a perceptive interview at NBC.com about The Teacher Wars:Did any of your opinions change over the course of your research?I started the project with the assumption that teachers are somewhat unfairly maligned and attacked in our public discourse. And

by mike simpson / 1h

PowerPoint Doesn’t Suck; 10 Ideas To Make it Great | Connected Principals

PowerPoint Doesn’t Suck; 10 Ideas To Make it Great | Connected Principals: PowerPoint Doesn’t Suck; 10 Ideas To Make it Greatby George Couros • September 3, 2014 • 0 CommentsI have often heard of people saying, “we shouldn’t just keep teaching our kids PowerPoint anymore”‘ as if it is some terrible technology. Presentation software (PowerPoint, HaikuDeck, Keynote, Prezi, etc.) is actually pretty

by mike simpson / 1h

LA schools iPads: Superintendent Deasy explains Pearson, Apple meetings | 89.3 KPCC

LA schools iPads: Superintendent Deasy explains Pearson, Apple meetings | 89.3 KPCC: LA schools iPads: Superintendent Deasy explains Pearson, Apple meetings More than a week after new questions arose regarding the bidding process for the 1:1 technology program, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy sent a six-page memo to the school board Tuesday defending his actions and stating that neit

by mike simpson / 1h

Big Education Ape Has Jury Duty

Big Education Ape Has Jury DutyIn the PM

2 by mike simpson / 12h

YESTERDAY

BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils

BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils: BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils:BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is a progressive talk radio show. The show is hosted by Dr. Tim Slekar and Dr. Jed Hopkins. BustED Pencils - Fully Leaded Education Talk - BustED Pencils:

2 by mike simpson / 22h

VAMs in U.S. Healthcare: A Parody |

VAMs in U.S. Healthcare: A Parody |: VAMs in U.S. Healthcare: A Parody Remember the AZ teacher who has written some great posts for us at VAMboozled (seehere and here)? She’s at it again. Read this one for an (unfortunately) humorous parody on the topic of VAMs and how they might also be used to evaluate America’s doctors.We have a real problem in this country. People are dying. They are dying fro

1 by mike simpson / 1d

Brazile: It's all about the children by Donna Brazile | The Herald-News

Brazile: It's all about the children | The Herald-News: Brazile: It's all about the childrenTime and again, we hear this refrain from everyone who ever talks about education, from every angle. It’s been the purported basis of speeches, documentaries and now lawsuits.But how can it be all about the children when you have some – under the guise of “education reform” – undermining America’s public sc

8 by mike simpson / 1d

When (A)=(B), neither is the lesser of two evils. | Reclaim Reform

When (A)=(B), neither is the lesser of two evils. | Reclaim Reform: When (A)=(B), neither is the lesser of two evils.Posted on September 2, 2014by Ken PrevitiWhen (A)=(B), neither is the lesser of two evils.When (D)=(R), neither can claim to be a Democrat or a Republican.(Who ever said you would never find a use for algebra?)When one has damaged public education, ignored the state Constitution, or

2 by mike simpson / 1d

L.A. school board member Ratliff pushes for release of iPad report - LA Times

L.A. school board member Ratliff pushes for release of iPad report - LA Times: L.A. school board member Ratliff pushes for release of iPad reportLos Angeles school board member Monica Ratliff will seek the release of an internal probe into the decision to provide iPads to every student in the nation’s second-largest school system.Officials had classified the report, by the school district’s inspe

5 by mike simpson / 1d

Nite Cap 9-2-14 #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 CAPempathyeducates – Why ‘Funny Kid Shaming’ Isn’t Really Funnyempathyeducates – Why ‘Funny Kid Shaming’ Isn’t Really Funny: Why ‘Funny Kid Shaming’ Isn’t Really FunnyPhotograph; Teenage girl (16-18) sitting by laptop, woman in background. A mother?

5 by mike simpson / 1d