Undermining Public Education Has Been A Bipartisan Affair | : Undermining Public Education Has Been A Bipartisan Affair “[T]he Obama administration, in education laid the groundwork for Trump and Betsy DeVos because they were big supporters of charter schools . . . [C]harter schools are the first step toward full privatization.” – Diane Ravitch, Democracy Now , December 1, 2016 If there is one th
California should not be a Scrooge when it comes to educating our young people | The Sacramento Bee : California should not be a Scrooge when it comes to educating our young people At this festive time of year, one of my favorite short stories is “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. In this story, Dickens reflects on a sour man named Ebenezer Scrooge who finds little joy in any aspect of life
Sacramento News & Review - K.J.’s shadow coup - News - Local Stories - December 22, 2016 : K.J.’s shadow coup Former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson left office with a huge political victory—so why haven’t you heard about it? Kevin Johnson wasn’t used to watching the big game pass him by from the bench. But with Darrell Steinberg standing in the wings to be sworn in as Johnson’s replacement, the s
AD 07 Male Candidates | California Democratic Party : Walter Kawamoto 2017 Assembly District Delegate Candidate AD 07 | California Democratic Party I am an Adjunct Professor at American River College and the PAC Chair of the Los Rios College Federation of Teachers / AFT 2279. I also had the honor of serving Twin Rivers USD as a Trustee from 2012-2016. I have been endorsed for Trustee or ADEM dele
‘You are all our kids, no matter what’: Award winning teachers band together, speak out to protect students - The Washington Post : ‘You are all our kids, no matter what’: Award winning teachers band together, speak out to protect students In the wake of the presidential election, dozens of the best teachers in the nation have banded together to say with a unified voice that public schools are va
Teacher: A one-size-fits-all approach to instruction is stifling our classrooms - The Washington Post : Teacher: A one-size-fits-all approach to instruction is stifling our classrooms Lily Howard Scott is an educator who first worked with children as a teaching artist, visiting schools in Brooklyn and using playwriting and creative drama to help kids access curricula in unconventional ways. She d
Schools Matter: Mass Customized Learning Comes to Central Pennsylvania : Mass Customized Learning Comes to Central Pennsylvania This post was originally written this past fall as a FB note, but I am posting it here now so that it can be more widely available. “Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning” is a book and an educational program developed by education theorists Charles Schwahn and Bea McGarv
Teacher traveled statewide to capture the spark in California classrooms | EdSource : Teacher traveled statewide to capture the spark in California classrooms David B. Cohen, a veteran English teacher at Palo Alto High and columnist for Education Week, spent a year crisscrossing California observing some of the state’s best teachers. The result was Capturing the Spark: Inspired Teachers, Thriving
When A School's Online Eavesdropping Can Prevent A Suicide : NPR Ed : NPR : When A School's Online Eavesdropping Can Prevent A Suicide Ken Yeh thought his school was buying software to keep kids off of certain websites. What he didn't know was that it could help identify a student who might be considering suicide. Yeh is the technology director at a private K-12 school near Los Angeles. Three yea
Charter schools controversy will only grow under Trump - CNNPolitics.com : Charter schools controversy will only grow under Trump (CNN) President-elect Donald Trump hasn't been coy about his vision for public schools: He wants them to become more like their private counterparts. Trump proposes spending $20 billion to allow for "school choice" -- the ability for families to use federal dollars in
Many Americans Live in ‘Education Deserts,’ New Research Shows - Real Time Economics - WSJ : Many Americans Live in ‘Education Deserts,’ New Research Shows Prospective college students in rural areas often live miles away from programs offered in a given career field Call them education deserts. In vast parts of the country, Americans in need of skills training often live many miles away from a c
County board overrules LAUSD to keep the embattled Magnolia charter schools open - LA Times : County board overrules LAUSD to keep the embattled Magnolia charter schools open A Little-known county board overruled its own staff and the powerful Los Angeles Unified School District this week to allow three embattled charter schools to remain open. The reprieve represents a full turnabout for Magnoli
Students who opted out of PARCC cost N.J. more than $1M, state says | NJ.com : Students who opted out of PARCC cost N.J. more than $1M, state says TRENTON -- An enthusiastic testing "opt-out" movement , fueled in part by the state's largest teachers union, cost New Jersey taxpayers more than $1 million in 2015, according to the state Department of Education. New Jersey paid testing giant Pearson
Schools Matter: Almost 40 Percent of ASD Teachers Lack Basic Qualifications : Almost 40 Percent of ASD Teachers Lack Basic Qualifications When Walton Foundation shill, Dr. Gary Henry , was asked about the fact that almost 40 percent of ASD teachers lacked basic teaching qualifications, his response included this gem: "It’s a relatively low bar for traditional schools to meet, but it’s probably no
Jeff Bryant: Expect the Most Extremist Federal Education Policies Ever | Diane Ravitch's blog : Jeff Bryant: Expect the Most Extremist Federal Education Policies Ever Jeff Bryant of the Education Opportunity Network investigates Betsy DeVos’s connections to Hillsdale College, a rare outlier that refuses to accept any federal funding, even student aid. Behind this nexus he finds a deep ideological
CURMUDGUCATION: 12 Reasons To Evaluate Teachers : 12 Reasons To Evaluate Teachers Like giving students standardized tests, evaluating teacher is one of those things that the vast majority of people believe that you do because, well, of course you do. Reasons. You know. Federal policy has required it, and required it with fairly specific provisions, for the past few administrations. Reformsterism
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's email dump tells little we didn't already know. : Rahm's email dump tells little we didn't already know. Brother Fred captures Rahm boasting about pension theft. Yes, he did use his personal email to conduct city business. So if Rahm ever runs for president (not likely), he will never hear the end of it. But if you were hoping Rahm's forced email dump would p
A Reaction To Mayor de Blasio's Equity and Excellence Plan [Math for America] | The Jose Vilson : A Reaction To Mayor de Blasio’s Equity and Excellence Plan [Math for America] My third essay of the week was published on Math for America’s Teacher Voices blog. I wrote about my time at Math for America’s Fall Function where New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was the keynote. I had a few things to s
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/22/16 Featured Post The Inevitable Rise of Trumplandia: Market Ideology Ate Our Democracy Carol Burris: Under Trump, will the marketplace be the only regulator of school