SPECIAL NITE CAP
CORPORATE ED REFORM
CURMUDGUCATION: Cage Busting Teachers?
CURMUDGUCATION: Cage Busting Teachers?: Cage Busting Teachers?One of my summer reads was Rick Hess's book The Cage-Busting Teacher. Hess comes to us from theAmerican Enterprise Institute, a right-tilted free-market-loving thinky tank, but Hess is no dummy and has shown at times his willingness to think things through, whether that thinking leads him into disagreement with reformster orthodoxy or n
Bush’s Education “Blueprint” Before 9/11 - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice
Bush’s Education “Blueprint” Before 9/11 - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: Bush’s Education “Blueprint” Before 9/11Before 9/11 of 2001, there was an article printed in The Standard-Timesof New Bedford, Massachusetts titled “Bush’s education ‘blueprint’ bound to be inadequate.” It waspublished on September 6th.Bush’s education “blueprint” became No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 2002 reauthoriza
Major media continues to block any news of #FightForDyett hunger strike. This is from In These Times. | Fred Klonsky
Major media continues to block any news of #FightForDyett hunger strike. This is from In These Times. | Fred Klonsky: Major media continues to block any news of #FightForDyett hunger strike. This is from In These Times.It a journalistic scandal.The Chicago print and electronic media continue to block any news of the Dyett high school’s twelve hunger strikers.Only the progressive, alternative and s
The Washington Post
The real reasons behind the U.S. teacher shortage - The Washington Post: The real reasons behind the U.S. teacher shortageThere’s a teacher shortage across the United States — but that’s not exactly news. The U.S. Department of Education maintains an annual list — state by state — showing the subject areas in which there are too few teachers going back to the 1990-91 school year. What’s new is the
African American teachers in New Orleans demand a Congressional Hearing | Educate All Students: Larry Miller's Blog
African American teachers in New Orleans demand a Congressional Hearing | Educate All Students: Larry Miller's Blog: African American teachers in New Orleans demand a Congressional Hearing What is the true story behind the mass firing of 7500 state-certified and tenured public school employees following Katrina? Those fired were overwhelmingly African American. This was a strategic and intentional
In Chicago, Hunger Striking to Save a School | EduShyster #fightfordyett
In Chicago, Hunger Striking to Save a School | EduShyster: In Chicago, Hunger Striking to Save a SchoolWhy are Chicago parents on a hunger strike to save a neighborhood school? Because after five years of fighting, they’ve run out of options... By Jeanette Taylor-RamannWhat’s happening in Bronzeville isn’t just about Dyett High School. There’s an agenda to push out black and brown low income and w
Schools Matter: Charters Drive School Resegregation, Duke Study Finds
Schools Matter: Charters Drive School Resegregation, Duke Study Finds: Charters Drive School Resegregation, Duke Study FindsWe have known for almost a decade that charter schools are more segregated (follow the links in this commentary) than the public schools they are replacing, and we have known much longer that diverse, inclusive classrooms are the most cost effective and just way to improve ac
Alfie Kohn: The ‘mindset’ mindset: What we miss by focusing on kids’ attitudes - The Washington Post
The ‘mindset’ mindset: What we miss by focusing on kids’ attitudes - The Washington Post: The ‘mindset’ mindset: What we miss by focusing on kids’ attitudesCarol Dweck is a psychology professor at Stanford University and a renowed researcher in the field of motivation. She has written important works, including the award-winning “Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Developmen
Who are these guys?
Who are these guys?When Republican candidates went on stage to show off for big donors who want to privatize public education, they offered some really bad ideas and tried to mislead the public on their own records. But that's OK--we're always happy to set the record straight.
The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders | Psychology Today
The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders | Psychology Today: The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental DisordersChildren are more anxious and depressed than ever before. Why?Rates of depression and anxiety among young people in America have been increasing steadily for the past fifty to seventy years. Today, by at least some estimates, five to eight times as many high sc
The Badass Teachers Association Supports #FightforDyett = Badass Teachers Association
Badass Teachers Association: The Badass Teachers Association Supports #FightforDyettBATs we are asking you to do 2 events for the 12 Parents who are on a hunger strike to save Dyett HS. EVENT #1 ON MONDAY -->Please take part in the social media event on Monday from 7-8 P.M. EST if you are on twitter #FightforDyett - we want it to trend. Tweet to Rahm, Will Burns, and major media outlets. If you
Map: How student poverty has increased since the Great Recession - The Washington Post
Map: How student poverty has increased since the Great Recession - The Washington Post: Map: How student poverty has increased since the Great RecessionNot only are more American children poor today than before the Great Recession, but poor kids are increasingly clustered with poor classmates at school, according to an analysis from the nonprofit EdBuild.Between 2006 and 2013, the number of studen
Governor Kasich’s education agenda, unmasked - Toledo Blade
Governor Kasich’s education agenda, unmasked - Toledo Blade: Governor Kasich’s education agenda, unmaskedIt was probably an accident. Ohio Gov. John Kasich let his public education mask slip. He ranted when he should have relaxed.What Mr. Kasich blurted out to a roomful of incoming legislators, assembled in Columbus for an orientation session last November, was enormously revealing. It was prophet
Benioff takes hands-off approach with donations to S.F. schools - SFGate
Benioff takes hands-off approach with donations to S.F. schools - SFGate: Benioff takes hands-off approach with donations to S.F. schoolsThe list of high-tech moguls looking to disrupt, remake, revamp and ultimately “fix” public education is long — from Bill Gates to Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg, not to mention William Hewlett and David Packard, to name a few.In San Francisco, the big name in edu
Ta-Nehisi Coates and the History Our Kids Need to Contemplate | John Thompson
Ta-Nehisi Coates and the History Our Kids Need to Contemplate | John Thompson: Ta-Nehisi Coates and the History Our Kids Need to ContemplateToni Morrison rightly compares Ta-Nehisi Coates to James Baldwin. I hope all high school students read Coates' Between the World and Me, "The Case for Reparations,"and/or his other journalism. I have my doubts that enough students are reading Coates
With A Brooklyn Accent: Six Good Reasons for Parents in NY State to Support the Opt Out Movement
With A Brooklyn Accent: Six Good Reasons for Parents in NY State to Support the Opt Out Movement: Six Good Reasons for Parents in NY State to Support the Opt Out Movement1.Testing in the state has reached abusive proportions. Third graders in NY take have six days of tests that are more time consuming than the LSAT's, the MCAT's, and the SAT's There are too many tests which take too much time2. Th
CURMUDGUCATION: Duncan: Magical One Size Fits All Test Unicorn
CURMUDGUCATION: Duncan: Magical One Size Fits All Test Unicorn: Duncan: Magical One Size Fits All Test UnicornOne of the central tenets of Arne Duncan's edu-amateur structure of beliefs is that Low Expectations Are Bad. This has led him to the corollary that special education, adaptations, modified curriculum, and specially altered assessments are all bad things, that special ed is a morass of per
Why Teach? In Defense of the Public Good
Why Teach? In Defense of the Public Good: Why Teach? In Defense of the Public GoodBy Jim MillerThese days it seems a new school year can’t start without being greeted by yet another pronouncement that my profession and/or higher education itself is heading for the dustbin of history.Last year around this time, I pondered the proclaimed death of the English major and this year the front page of the
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Feds Told NY State that Financial Penalities for Opt-Outs up to State
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Feds Told NY State that Financial Penalities for Opt-Outs up to State: Feds Told NY State that Financial Penalities for Opt-Outs up to StateThe NY Times has devoted much coverage to the issue of how the state/feds would deal with the massive number of students who opted out of their state testing (about 20%). Naturally that number of opt-outs caused NY state to fa
Out-of-state money floods into fight over Mississippi education funding - Watchdog.org
Out-of-state money floods into fight over Mississippi education funding - Watchdog.org: Out-of-state money floods into fight over Mississippi education fundingPhoto illustration by Steve WilsonPAINFUL EQUATION: The Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding calculation is not exactly easy to figure.Out-of-state money is flowing into the fight over the controversial Nov. 3 ballot initiative tha
Moskowitz: Running for mayor is an 'interest' | POLITICO
Moskowitz: Running for mayor is an 'interest' | POLITICO: Moskowitz: Running for mayor is an ‘interest’Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz said Friday that she is interested in running for mayor, and that she will "let everyone know" when she decides whether to run against Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017."It's an interest," Moskowitz told the New York Post's Fred Dicker
CURMUDGUCATION: PDK Factoid Parade
CURMUDGUCATION: PDK Factoid Parade: PDK Factoid ParadeThe Phi Delta Kappa poll of US attitudes about education is out, and education writers are on that puppy like a lake full of carp on a loaf of bread. I'm scanning the report. It's a report that establishes PDK's bona fides right off the bat because-- well, when a pool is commissioned by somebody to prove something, it generally arrives cloaked
Jersey Jazzman: The American Public Understands: Our Schools Are Underfunded
Jersey Jazzman: The American Public Understands: Our Schools Are Underfunded: The American Public Understands: Our Schools Are Underfunded The evidence has been accumulating for a while: America's schools do not have the funds they need to achieve the results that we expect. Most states have flat funding systems that do not move resources into high-poverty districts where it is needed. School fund
Randi Weingarten to Deliver Keynote at the 2015 WIN Summit Presented by The Negotiation Institute
Randi Weingarten to Deliver Keynote at the 2015 WIN Summit Presented by The Negotiation Institute: Randi Weingarten to Deliver Keynote at the 2015 WIN Summit Presented by The Negotiation InstituteNEW YORK, Aug. 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Negotiation Institute announced today that Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, will deliver the closing keynote add
#TzomDyett. | Fred Klonsky #FightForDyett #wearedyett
#Tzom Dyett. | Fred Klonsky: #Tzom Dyett.-By Brant Rosen. Brant is the Rabbi of the newly formed social justice Jewish Congregation Tzedek in Chicago.Since Monday, twelve Bronzeville parents, grandparents, and community members have been on hunger strike to save Dyett High School, the last open enrollment school the historic Bronzeville Community.The hunger strikers have called for a fast day of s
How The U.S. Is Neglecting Its Smartest Kids : NPR Ed : NPR
How The U.S. Is Neglecting Its Smartest Kids : NPR Ed : NPR: How The U.S. Is Neglecting Its Smartest KidsChester E. Finn, Jr. has three very bright granddaughters. He thinks they "have considerable academic potential and are not always being challenged by their schools." But Finn is not just a proud grandpa; he's a long-established expert on education policy with the Fordham Institute an
New twist on accountability: focus on existing reports :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet
New twist on accountability: focus on existing reports :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: New twist on accountability: focus on existing reports(Calif.) Rather than creating new tools for evaluating school performance, state officials appear to be focused on using a number of existing academic and fiscal reports to help explain how well school
New Research Study: Controlling for Student Background Variables Matters | VAMboozled!
New Research Study: Controlling for Student Background Variables Matters | VAMboozled!: New Research Study: Controlling for Student Background Variables MattersAn article about the “Sensitivity of Teacher Value-Added Estimates to Student and Peer Control Variables” was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. While this article is not open-access, h
Malloy – You can’t hide the sham 2015 SBAC results forever! - Wait What?
Malloy – You can’t hide the sham 2015 SBAC results forever! - Wait What?: Malloy – You can’t hide the sham 2015 SBAC results forever!The January 2, 2015 the Wait, What? headline read;Governor Malloy – Our children are not stupid, but your system is!The initial Wait, What? post of 2015 may very well be the most important of the year because it reiterates the disturbing truth about the Common Core,
Under John Kasich, Ohio's Charter Schools Became a "National Joke" | Mother Jones
Under John Kasich, Ohio's Charter Schools Became a "National Joke" | Mother Jones: Under John Kasich, Ohio's Charter Schools Became a "National Joke"The GOP presidential candidate expanded a system that's bred failing schools.WHEN LEON SINOFF WAS ASKED to sign off on a building lease for Imagine Columbus Primary Academy in Columbus, Ohio, in the summer of 2013, he had little re
Brooklyn parent: Surveys show missed opportunities in schools - News - The Bulletin - Norwich, CT
Brooklyn parent: Surveys show missed opportunities in schools - News - The Bulletin - Norwich, CT: Brooklyn parent: Surveys show missed opportunities in schools BROOKLYN — A parent’s two-year quest to get copies of the school climate survey has ended, but it has only raised more questions for the school district.Lisa Arends began her effort to get copies of the survey results in May 2013, but it t
New challenge to public employee unions, made simple : SCOTUSblog
New challenge to public employee unions, made simple : SCOTUSblog: New challenge to public employee unions, made simpleEditor’s note: This post examines Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case the Supreme Court has agreed to review during its upcoming Term. The blog will be hosting a symposium on the case this week.New challenge to public employee unions, made simpleEditor’s note: T
The Life and Death of Jamaica High School - The New Yorker
The Life and Death of Jamaica High School - The New Yorker: The Life and Death of Jamaica High School Jamaica High School, in Queens, was once the largest high school in the United States. For most of its history, it occupied a majestic Georgian Revival building on Gothic Drive, designed in the nineteen-twenties by William H. Gompert, who had begun his career at McKim, Mead & White. With east
"Sorry, I'm Not Taking This Test" | Mother Jones
"Sorry, I'm Not Taking This Test" | Mother Jones: "Sorry, I'm Not Taking This Test" ONE HOT MORNING in May, Kiana Hernandez came to class early. She stood still outside the door, intensely scanning each face in the morning rush of shoulders, hats, and backpacks. She felt anxious. For more than eight months she had been thinking about what she was about to do, but she didn't wan
YESTERDAY
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Good Edureads from the Week
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Good Edureads from the Week: ICYMI: Good Edureads from the WeekI really thought I was going to fumble the ball this week. A combination of working the second weekend of our production of The Fantasticks, beginning-of-year in-service days, ninth grade orientation, organizing a 5K race, etc etc etc-- well, I got a bit behind on my own reading. But yesterday and today I stumble
Raising graduation bar poses challenges for school districts | EdSource
Raising graduation bar poses challenges for school districts | EdSource: Raising graduation bar poses challenges for school districtsParents from Familias Unidas rally outside LAUSD headquarters in 2010 to promote college readiness.Graduating more college-ready students ranks as one of most important education initiatives in California, leading Los Angeles Unified School District to implement a sw
USDOE Wants Most Special Ed Students to Take Common Core Assessments | deutsch29
USDOE Wants Most Special Ed Students to Take Common Core Assessments | deutsch29: USDOE Wants Most Special Ed Students to Take Common Core AssessmentsEffective September 21, 2015, a number of special education students nationwide will be required to learn the same “college and career ready standards” and to take the same assessments as students in regular education.In 2007, the US Department of Ed
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/23/15 #SaveDyett
SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMSeattle Schools Community Forum: Let's Talk SBAC Scores - Part TwoSeattle Schools Community Forum: Let's Talk SBAC Scores - Part Two: Let's Talk SBAC Scores - Part TwoLet's Talk SBAC Scores - Part TwoI watched Superintendent Randy Dorn's press conference last Monday where he reviewed the state's SBAC scores.I found his remarks somewhat scattered as if he were tr
