CORPORATE ED REFORM
Time for a New Strategy | Tikkun Magazine
Time for a New Strategy | Tikkun Magazine: Time for a New StrategyFor those on the front lines of the fight to defend and improve public education, the 2016 presidential election is already a minefield. On July 11, 2015, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten announced that the roughly one-million-member organization would officially throw its weight behind Hillary Cl
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Moskowitz tells her charter students, 'No more foreign languages'
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Moskowitz tells her charter students, 'No more foreign languages': Moskowitz tells her charter students, 'No more foreign languages'”We can’t do everything... And by the way, Americans don’t tend to do foreign languages very well.” -- Eva Moskowitz One can only imagine who Moskowitz is referring to as "Americans". Moskowitz, speaking in 2014 at a forum sp
Credentialing commission pursuing plan for new longer term teacher permit | EdSource
Credentialing commission pursuing plan for new longer term teacher permit | EdSource: Credentialing commission pursuing plan for new longer term teacher permitThe California Commission on Teacher Credentialing voted yesterday to move ahead with consideration of a new teacher permit that will replace a decades-old permit that limits the amount of time substitutes can fill in for teachers on medical
Gerald Lenoir and Jesse Hagopian: Gentrifying Black History | The Progressive
Gentrifying Black History | The Progressive: Gentrifying Black HistoryThanks to a long history of redlining, formerly black neighborhoods in cities around the country are continuously disappearing under the rapacious churn of financial real estate interests. But city blocks in prime locations aren’t the only things being lost. Gentrification is also happening in our classrooms and books, pushing o
Guest: Reforms like charters confront the law of unintended consequences |
Guest: Reforms like charters confront the law of unintended consequences |: Guest: Reforms like charters confront the law of unintended consequencesShouldn't we care about those hurt by "reforms"? Much has been written about the inability of some to be able to foresee the potential downsides of a decision. Psychology and business publications abound with examples of cognitive dissonance
State won't pay for DMV contract upgrade until it is done right… Connecticut? No Kansas - Wait What?
State won't pay for DMV contract upgrade until it is done right… Connecticut? No Kansas - Wait What?:State won’t pay for DMV contract upgrade until it is done right… Connecticut? No KansasCertainly not … Over the past three decades, most of Connecticut’s health and human service programs were successfully shifted to community based non-profit providers. (The very social service agencies that ar
Political Pawns—The Real Equality Problem Girls Face
Political Pawns—The Real Equality Problem Girls Face: Political Pawns—The Real Equality Problem Girls FaceA gender-equal society would be one where the word ‘gender’ does not exist: where everyone can be themselves.Gloria SteinemTo be a girl today is still paved with obstacles due to gender differences. Girls are not always valued for their thoughts and ideas.While in politics we mostly hear about
CURMUDGUCATION: ME: The Governor Takes Over
CURMUDGUCATION: ME: The Governor Takes Over: ME: The Governor Takes OverWhat do you do if you're the governor of a state and you can't get your choice for head of the Department of Education approved?You just appoint yourself.Yup. The Governor of Maine has appointed himself commissioner of the Department of Education. The legislature wouldn't approve his choice, currently acting commissioner Willi
CURMUDGUCATION: How Scary Can Big Data Get
CURMUDGUCATION: How Scary Can Big Data Get: How Scary Can Big Data Get There are plenty of people talking repeatedly and forcefully about resisting the infection of public education by the many tentacle-like limbs of Big Data. We know that reformsters have been talking for decades about the prospect of a cradle-to-career pipeline in which all manner of data can be collected and crunched and used t
Two 'no-brainers' for fixing Oklahoma's budget crisis - NonDoc
Two 'no-brainers' for fixing Oklahoma's budget crisis - NonDoc: Two ‘no-brainers’ for fixing Oklahoma’s budget crisis The theme of the Oklahoma Policy Institute’s third annual State Budget Summit could have been the exhortation by the institute’s outreach and advocacy specialist, Kara Joy McKee, who urged the audience, “Feel the fear, but do it anyway.”The institute pulled no punches in documentin
Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia Science Academy OIG (Office of the Inspector General) Audits and Investigations
Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia Science Academy OIG (Office of the Inspector General) Audits and Investigations: The Gulen Movement is fantastic at advertising, PR, and bestwowing fake honors on their students, politicians, local media and academia. The Parents4Magnolia blog is NOT American parents it is members of the Gulen Movement in damage control mode. Magnolia Sci
With A Brooklyn Accent: Restore Recess Party New York State- Draft of Education Program
With A Brooklyn Accent: Restore Recess Party New York State- Draft of Education Program: Restore Recess Party New York State- Draft of Education Program "Let Kids Be Kids!"1. Restore Recess. No use of Recess or Physical Education time for Test prep2. Cut the state testing budget in half and use the money to lower class size and fund arts programs, sports programs and school counselors.3
How Competition Hurts Children in Detroit's Schools
How Competition Hurts Children in Detroit's Schools: How Competition Hurts Children in Detroit's Schools Many charter school advocates -- often guided by a "free market" ideology -- claim that charter schools force traditional public schools to innovate and provide better education. But in Detroit, where teachers and parents this week performed "walk ins" to show support for th
CAROL BURRIS: Common Core will lead to misery, not higher achievement - The Hechinger Report
Common Core will lead to misery, not higher achievement - The Hechinger Report: Common Core will lead to misery, not higher achievementA Raging debate over whether Common Core is good or bad for American schoolchildren is intensifying, but in most U.S. schools, the new standards already govern how teachers teach and what students study. In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine
Opinion: Honest Answers About PARCC Results Versus Scores on NJASK - NJ Spotlight
Opinion: Honest Answers About PARCC Results Versus Scores on NJASK - NJ Spotlight: OPINION: HONEST ANSWERS ABOUT PARCC RESULTS VERSUS SCORES ON NJASKWhat is PARCC telling us about New Jersey schools that we can’t learn from NJASK results? Nothing.Mark WeberAre New Jersey’s new state tests more “honest” than its old ones? Now that the data has been released, we can confidently say:No.For the last f
Does PARCC Still Consider Mitchell Chester the “Real” Chair? | deutsch29
Does PARCC Still Consider Mitchell Chester the “Real” Chair? | deutsch29: Does PARCC Still Consider Mitchell Chester the “Real” Chair?The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is playing around with information on its website in a manner that makes it appear that PARCC still considers Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, Mitchell Chester, its chair.First of al
WATCH THIS VIDEO – The Charter School Industry’s abusive “no excuses” approach to education - Wait What?
WATCH THIS VIDEO – The Charter School Industry’s abusive “no excuses” approach to education - Wait What?:WATCH THIS VIDEO – The Charter School Industry’s abusive “no excuses” approach to education Charter Schools – Privately owned, but publicly funded.Charter schools “pride” themselves on their “no excuses” strategies and techniques.This time the horrifying video is from one of the infamous charte
Report Critiques State Takeover School Districts in LA, TN, and MI; Michigan’s Will Be Dissolved | janresseger
Report Critiques State Takeover School Districts in LA, TN, and MI; Michigan’s Will Be Dissolved | janresseger: Report Critiques State Takeover School Districts in LA, TN, and MI; Michigan’s Will Be DissolvedThe Center for Popular Democracy released a fine new report earlier this week about three “‘takeover districts’ in which schools that are deemed ‘chronically failing’ are removed from the loca
Kenney asked to investigate why Wister went charter
Kenney asked to investigate why Wister went charter: Kenney asked to investigate why Wister went charterA coalition of officials, parents, and activists asked Mayor Kenney on Wednesday to direct an investigation into an eleventh-hour School Reform Commission vote to hand Wister Elementary School over to a charter organization.Councilwoman Helen Gym, chiefs of the unions representing Philadelphia S
Virginia Charter School & Reform Status with Rachel Anne Levy | Education Town Hall Forum
Virginia Charter School & Reform Status with Rachel Anne Levy | Education Town Hall Forum: Virginia Charter School & Reform Status with Rachel Anne Levy The Commonwealth of Virginia, for better and worse, has been slow to adopt charter schools and a variety of other education policies common in other states, says Rachel Levy, Virginia resident, teacher, activist, and “All Things Education”
Unaccountable Private School Voucher Program a Billion Dollar Boondoggle Under Gov. Walker and Republican Legislature
Unaccountable Private School Voucher Program a Billion Dollar Boondoggle Under Gov. Walker and Republican Legislature | Educate All Students: Larry Miller's Blog: Unaccountable Private School Voucher Program a Billion Dollar Boondoggle Under Gov. Walker and Republican Legislature‘A Bad Deal For Our Children, Our Public Schools and Wisconsin Taxpayers’MADISON, Wis. — A new analysis from the nonpart
Great Public Schools are for Every Student. No Exceptions! - Lily's Blackboard
Great Public Schools are for Every Student. No Exceptions! - Lily's Blackboard: Great Public Schools are for Every Student. No Exceptions!By Toni Smith, Trainer and board member, Georgia Safe Schools Coalition. Educator for 32 years. As an educator, I’ve been guided by a philosophy that evolved as I worked and developed my practice, and I’ve tried to articulate what I want for all children, includ
James Kirylo: Gates’ Plan to Take Over Teacher Education Advances | Diane Ravitch's blog
James Kirylo: Gates’ Plan to Take Over Teacher Education Advances | Diane Ravitch's blog: James Kirylo: Gates’ Plan to Take Over Teacher Education AdvancesMany of us could live our lives without giving a second thought to teacher education. Either we earned a degree in a teacher preparation program or we didn’t. Only those who work in these institutions are deeply engaged in their future.Never fea
This is What You Should Do for Valentine's Day (Pretty Please) - Lily's Blackboard
This is What You Should Do for Valentine's Day (Pretty Please) - Lily's Blackboard: This is What You Should Do for Valentine’s Day (Pretty Please) We’re a little more than midway through the 2015-16 academic year, and what a whirlwind it’s been! I bet many of you can hardly remember those first heady days of school – learning students’ personalities, finding your rhythm, making it all work. After
At Success Academy School, TWA Teaching While Angry - The New York Times
At Success Academy School, a Stumble in Math and a Teacher’s Anger on Video - The New York Times:At Success Academy School, a Stumble in Math and a Teacher’s Anger on Video In the video, a first-grade class sits cross-legged in a circle on a brightly colored rug. One of the girls has been asked to explain to the class how she solved a math problem, but she has gotten confused.She begins to count:
The new math section of the SAT doesn’t just test students’ knowledge of math - Quartz
The new math section of the SAT doesn’t just test students’ knowledge of math - Quartz:The new math section of the SAT doesn’t just test students’ knowledge of mathThe SAT, one of the US’ two major college admissions exams, has long been separated into its math and verbal components. But the newest version of the test, to be administered starting on March 5, would seem to make the split a little l
Stop Humiliating Teachers - The New Yorker
Stop Humiliating Teachers - The New Yorker:Stop Humiliating TeachersA Necessary commonplace: Almost everyone we know has been turned around, or at least seriously shaken, by a teacher—in college, maybe, but often in high school, often by a man or a woman who drove home a point or two about physics, literature, or ethics, and looked at us sternly and said, in effect, You could be more than what you
Bringing failing charter schools to heel
Bringing failing charter schools to heel:Bringing failing charter schools to heelGov. Rick Snyder and would-be education reformers in both parties talk ad nauseum about holding all Michigan’s schools accountable. But charter schools, which now serve 145,000 K-12 students in Michigan and vacuum up more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds, remain maddeningly insulated from public scrutiny.When state l
Common Core State Standards: Debunking myths and concerns | Fox17
Common Core State Standards: Debunking myths and concerns | Fox17: Common Core State Standards: Debunking myths and concerns GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Since Michigan adopted the Common Core State Standards into our classrooms, they have become highly politicized and very controversial. Parents and teachers alike have concerns and some have led to myths about what these teaching standards actually are.
Chicago Dad's Sarcastic Absence Note Takes on Standardized Testing
Chicago Dad's Sarcastic Absence Note Takes on Standardized Testing: Dad's Cheeky Absence Note Takes on Standardized TestingChicago's Jeff Jenkins said his daughter couldn't wait to get back to examsIn this Feb. 12, 2015, file photo, practice test books sit on a table at Morgan South Elementary School in Stockport, Ohio. (AP Photo/Ty Wright, File)(NEWSER) – A Chicago girl was sick from school on
Don't Scoff Conservatives and labor find common ground. Can they do it again? | The Weekly Standard
Don't Scoff | The Weekly Standard: Don't ScoffConservatives and labor find common ground. Can they do it again? The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind, unceremoniously ushers Uncle Sam out of a domestic arena like no legislation since welfare reform two decades ago. How in the world did that happen during the hyper-progressive Obama administration?
Is America's Most Controversial Education Group Changing Its Ways? | Mother Jones
Is America's Most Controversial Education Group Changing Its Ways? | Mother Jones: Is America's Most Controversial Education Group Changing Its Ways?"The fact that we're discussing race and privilege in such a frank way is completely new."Audrey Pribnow, with Teach for America, leads her class at University Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Tammy Ljungblad/TNS/ZUMAPRESS.com Last
Sacramento County, our Action Civics Initiative | Comstock's magazine
Action Civics | Comstock's magazine: Action CivicsCivic learning belongs at the forefront of preparing students for college, career and civic life We hear a lot about the bad news: Fewer than 8.2 percent of eligible voters ages 18–24 turned out in the 2014 general election; most Americans cannot name the three branches of government; many young people do not think their civic involvement is worthw
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CURMUDGUCATION: Fordham Provides More Core Testing PR
CURMUDGUCATION: Fordham Provides More Core Testing PR:Fordham Provides More Core Testing PRThe Fordham Institute is back with another "study" of circular reasoning and unexamined assumptions that concludes that reformster policy is awesome. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is a right-tilted thinky tank that has been one of the most faithful and diligent promoters of the reformster agenda
Toni Morrison Speaks To Me About Racism [The Work] | The Jose Vilson
Toni Morrison Speaks To Me About Racism [The Work] | The Jose Vilson: Toni Morrison Speaks To Me About Racism [The Work]For Lent, I’ve given up.Actually, that’s not true at all. If anything, I’ve re-dedicated myself to loving in spots that I shouldn’t, and letting go in spaces where I wouldn’t. The issue with many racists is that they’re heavily-armored in pushing some of us to the edge. In turn,
NYC Public School Parents: Looking for volunteers for a Citizen's Oversight Committee on DOE wasteful contracts
NYC Public School Parents: Looking for volunteers for a Citizen's Oversight Committee on DOE wasteful contracts: Looking for volunteers for a Citizen's Oversight Committee on DOE wasteful contractsAs part of the reforms promised after the scandal with the $1.1 billion Computer Specialists contract erupted, DOE officials promised to post more complete information about proposed contracts (called t
CALPADS Update FLASH #114 - California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) (CA Dept of Education)
CALPADS Update FLASH #114 - California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) (CA Dept of Education): CALPADS Update FLASH #114Fall 1 Amendment Window Deadline Has Been Extended.FALL 1 DEADLINE EXTENDEDDue to the delay in the availability of the preview of Fall 1 data, which includes the Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) that will be used in 2015–16 Second Principal Apportionment (P-2),
A new political strategy: throw online charters overboard to save the rest of the school privatization industry.| Alternet
Online Public Schools Are a Disaster, Admits Billionaire, Charter School-Promoter Walton Family Foundation | Alternet:Online Public Schools Are a Disaster, Admits Billionaire, Charter School-Promoter Walton Family FoundationA new political strategy: throw online charters overboard to save the rest of the school privatization industry. For the second time in three months, the Walton Family Foundati
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/11/16
CORPORATE ED REFORMEducational Malpractice – The Child Manufacturing Process | Creative by NatureEducational Malpractice – The Child Manufacturing Process | Creative by Nature: Educational Malpractice – The Child Manufacturing Process“Asking kids to meet target on standardized tests is like making them meet a sales quota. Our kids are not commodities.” ~K.L. Nielson In many nations around the worl
