It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education | Seattle Education : It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education The structure of the USDOE as of 2013 and now with 5,000 employees. Two of our constitutional amendments played an important role in public education. In 1791, the 10th Amendment stated, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohib
Shishi Rose: "White women do not get to speak over Black women when we discuss the divide." - SF Public School MomSF Public School Mom : Shishi Rose: “White women do not get to speak over Black women when we discuss the divide.” Each day, I see calls to normalize a Trump presidency while he attempts to stack the Executive Office with cabinet members such as white nationalist, Steve Bannon , and p
Five Questions You Should Ask about Secretary of Education Nominee Betsy Devos – Cloaking Inequity : Five Questions You Should Ask about Secretary of Education Nominee Betsy Devos The election of Donald Trump, and his subsequent nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, may turn the tide in favor of private control of public education. The President-elect promised during his campaign
New Legislation to Promote Media Arts Education - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education) : State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Supports New Legislation to Promote Media Arts Education SACRAMENTO— Legislation introduced Monday will help California showcase its role as a world leader by improving media arts education so students will be better prepared for jobs in movies, animation, video games, virtual re
What Diane Ravitch Means To Me | gadflyonthewallblog : What Diane Ravitch Means To Me Am I crazy? That’s what many of us had been wondering before we read Diane Ravitch. As teachers, parents and students, we noticed there was something terribly wrong with our national education policy. The Emperor has no clothes, but no one dared speak up. Until Diane Ravitch. We were told our public schools are
CURMUDGUCATION: Write Your Own PISA Post : Write Your Own PISA Post I actually considered a Reaction to PISA Scores post and then decided that I didn't have the heart for this annual exercise in futility, and wiser heads than mine were already on the case. So instead, I'll let you take this little quiz (in, of course, multiple choice form) and in the process create a Choose Your Own Madlibs Fake
School funding and welfare: How low can Oklahoma go? - NonDoc : School funding and welfare: How low can Oklahoma go? O klahoma’s growing failures in school funding and social welfare were recently showcased across two in-depth National Public Radio reports. Both are warnings to the rest of the country, revealing what happens when states take the route pioneered by Kansas, Michigan and Oklahoma, a
The Blaine Game | Blue Cereal Education : The Blaine Game Way back in 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant called for a Constitutional amendment that would mandate free public schools and prohibit the use of public money for “sectarian” purposes. The idea of free public schools wasn’t new, but neither was it universal. And it wasn’t unheard of for various state governments to support education provid
Audit finds 99 percent of teacher evaluations were inaccurate or incomplete : AUDIT FINDS 99 PERCENT OF TEACHER EVALUATIONS WERE INACCURATE OR INCOMPLETE An independent education research group found that 99 percent of Idaho teacher evaluations reviewed in an audit were completed incorrectly — and sometimes illegally. Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra’s State Department of Educat
ACLU criticizes S.D. elementary school for forcing students to plank - The San Diego Union-Tribune : ACLU criticizes S.D. elementary school for forcing students to plank Horton Elementary School in southeastern San Diego has come under fire for disciplining students for misbehavior by forcing them to hold a plank position on a hot blacktop surface, which the ACLU said amounts to corporal punishme
These San Francisco High School Students Are Recruiting Teachers To Resist Trump | Fast Company | Business + Innovation : These San Francisco High School Students Are Recruiting Teachers To Resist Trump Alarmed by Trump's win, students at one predominantly black and Latino school are teaching adults a few things about social-media activism. Sixteen-year-old Brianna Carreno dreams of being a nurse
Boston Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Trump | NECN : Boston Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Trump Nearly 300 Boston students walked out of their classes Monday afternoon to march to the Massachusetts State House and Boston's City Hall in their protest against Donald Trump's election. The walk-out started just after 1 p.m. on the Boston Common, where students gathered. Student organiz
Pussy Riot member warns: ‘When Putin came to power, everybody was thinking that it will be OK’ : Pussy Riot member warns: ‘When Putin came to power, everybody was thinking that it will be OK’ Nadya Tolokonnikova — the Russian artist, activist and Pussy Riot member — warned Americans not to grow complacent after the election of Donald Trump, who she said has the power to reshape political norms to
Youth aren’t props — they need an actual seat at the policy table - The Hechinger Report : Youth aren’t props — they need an actual seat at the policy table School discipline ranks high among concerns Just one-third of students rate their school culture positively, according to data released this week by the San Francisco-based nonprofit YouthTruth Student. The stat wouldn’t make for a good consu
Colleges face a new reality, as the number of high schools graduates will decline - The Hechinger Report : Colleges face a new reality, as the number of high schools graduates will decline An increase in low-income and minority-group students will challenge colleges to serve them better The nation’s colleges and universities will soon face a demographic reckoning: A new report projects that the t
DeVos Would Be First Ed. Sec. Who Hasn't Been a Public School Parent or Student - Politics K-12 - Education Week : DeVos Would Be First Ed. Sec. Who Hasn't Been a Public School Parent or Student President-elect Donald Trump's pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, would be the first person to head the department in its more than 35-year history who hasn't either attended public schools or sen
Why it's important to talk about successful black and Latino boys - LA Times : Why it's important to talk about successful black and Latino boys While Chukwuagoziem Uzoegwu was growing up, his mother often would throw what he and his brothers called “educational tantrums.” On those weekends or on random days in the long stretch of summer vacation, the Uzoegwu boys would be barred from TV “from su
Education Law Prof Blog : Meditation Instead of Detention: Misbehavior As Learning Opportunity Rather Than a Punishment Trigger Robert Coleman Elementary School's shift from detention to meditation has been creating a lot of buzz since the media covered the story early this fall. In late September, the school reported that it had yet to suspend a single student, attributing the fact to the increa
Resisting Fatalism in Post-Truth Trumplandia: Charter Schools and the End of Accountability | the becoming radical : Resisting Fatalism in Post-Truth Trumplandia: Charter Schools and the End of Accountability Bill asks Mike Campbell how Mike goes bankrupt, and Mike answers: “‘Two ways….Gradually and then suddenly.'” This conversation in Ernest Hemingway’s sparse dramatization of the Lost Generati
America's Math Scores Are Getting Worse | The Huffington Post : America’s Math Scores Are Getting Worse New international test results show that American scores have either stagnated or slipped. When it comes to literacy in math, science and reading, American teens are far from top performers, according to new results from an international exam released Tuesday. American teens posted uninspiring
Russ on Reading: The Mis-measure of Schools and School Children : The Mis-measure of Schools and School Children Currently, at least 14 states grade their public schools on an A-F scale. Educators are correct to point out that this is a stupid way to hold schools accountable. Three reasons pop out right away when we think about the idiocy of giving schools a letter grade and then publicizing this
ECOT Tries to Hold On to Over $60 Million in Tax Dollars It Collected for Phantom Students | janresseger : ECOT Tries to Hold On to Over $60 Million in Tax Dollars It Collected for Phantom Students The Ohio legislature is in the midst of its lame duck session—the opportunity for lawmakers to do something about the outrageous scam at the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT). And today, accordin
NAACP moves ahead with its call for moratorium on charter schools - The Washington Post : NAACP moves ahead with its call for moratorium on charter schools Attendees listen to Hillary Clinton speak at the NAACP annual convention at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati on Monday, July 18, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Leaders of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights orga
SKrashen: "Failing" schools, poverty and libraries : "Failing" schools, poverty and libraries S.Krashen: www. sdkrashen.com; twitter = skrashen; skrashen.blogspot.com Presentation at Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee, Board of Education, LAUSD December 6, 2016 "Failing" schools, poverty, and libraries: "We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education, instead of preceding th
Nevada Vouchers and More: Making Public Funds Private | deutsch29 : Nevada Vouchers and More: Making Public Funds Private On September 29, 2016, the Nevada Supreme Court issued a permanent injunction against the state’s voucher, program, called the Education Savings Account (ESA) Program, also known as SB 302 . What is interesting about the ruling is that the Court did not find that the ESA Progr
Christmas spirit at a Newark charter school–the children will “suffer” | : Christmas spirit at a Newark charter school–the children will “suffer” The Gray Charter School in Newark has warned its students they face punishment, including reductions in their academic grades, if they do not attend and participate in a school-sponsored holiday program scheduled off-campus at night and bring at least o
CURMUDGUCATION: Kindergrinder Toxicity : Kindergrinder Toxicity The LA Times last week ran this story aimed directly at the feels. It's the tragic cautionary tale of a poor little five year old who arrived at kindergarten only to discover that she was already behind. At a kindergarten screening two months before her first day, she happily chattered about her dog Toodles, her favorite color pink,
Rural America in the Crosshairs: A New Frontier for Profiteers - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People : Rural America in the Crosshairs: A New Frontier for Profiteers This is my plea to rural America and to all the people who carried Mr. Trump into the White House. Please remember your power and use it well. Don’t let corporate interests ruin our American small-town way
“Schools Matter” on Democrats’ Public School Betrayal | GFBrandenburg's Blog : “Schools Matter” on Democrats’ Public School Betrayal Jim Horn (I think) here excoriates the heads of the AFT, NEA and Diane Ravitch for helping sell out public school students, their families and their teachers to the corporate and financial oligarchs. Is he going to far? I know for a fact that Randi Weingarten is pla
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/5/16 Featured Post Teach For America in Charlotte: Making segregated schools work | The Charlotte Observer Blaming teachers. I am a “negative demographic change.” I ain’t dead yet. | Fred
