Seattle Schools Community Forum: What's the Matter with Seattle Schools? : What's the Matter with Seattle Schools? I have always been an action-oriented person who believes that there are solutions to problems. But, as it was stated in the Moss-Adams report (from the Olchefske scandal in 2004), i f you don't change the culture of a bureaucracy, you will change nothing . The things that have been
President Obama’s “Bubble” and Our Fear of Losing America’s Democratic Public Schools : President Obama’s “Bubble” and Our Fear of Losing America’s Democratic Public Schools In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King, Jr. We become so secure in our bubbles, that we start only accepting information, whether it’s true or not, that f
Teachers have some tough questions for Trump’s education nominee, Betsy DeVos - The Washington Post : Teachers have some tough questions for Trump’s education nominee, Betsy DeVos Teachers have some tough questions they want Congress to ask Betsy DeVos, the Michigan billionaire and former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be his education secretary. De
CURMUDGUCATION: MLK & Another Christmas : MLK & Another Christmas Every year around December 25, a whole bunch of people who aren't actually Christians get all misty about a watered-down version of the original faith, make some generic noise about peace and good will while ignoring all the parts of the message that might be, well, more uncomfortable ("But wouldn't the moneylenders get upset if we
solidaridad: Los Angeles student groups to protest racism and other right-wing hate : Los Angeles student groups to protest racism and other right-wing hate A busy week will be upon us. As most of you know, CEJ's campaign-turned-movement for the Schools LA Students Deserve has really grown in the last few years. Many of our chapters (we have 14 now!!) are called Students Deserve and our students,
CURMUDGUCATION: MOOCs and the Failure of Innovators : MOOCs and the Failure of Innovators Today at IEEE Spectrum, Robert Ubell has a rough and telling explanation of " How the Pioneers of the MOOC Got It Wrong ." It includes some important lessons for many of the "innovators" in the education world today. Massive Open Online Courses took off five years ago, when Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig d
Hoosier political ties run deep for Trump's education secretary pick : Hoosier political ties run deep for Trump's education secretary pick Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary has deep ties to Indiana’s largest-in-the-nation private school voucher program, having played an influential role in its development and in routing millions of dollars in campaign contributions and school choice su
Six Reasons To Oppose Betsy DeVos As Secretary Of Education | The Huffington Post : Six Reasons To Oppose Betsy DeVos As Secretary Of Education Senate hearings on Herr Trump’s cabinet picks are coming up soon, and you should be calling your Senator. Regardless of your political leanings, there are many good reasons for opposing Betsy DeVos as a Secretary of Education. 1) No experience with public
Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools: The Media and Research : Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools: The Media and Research Marketplace, which has a time slot on most public radio stations, had a piece last week on the replacement of a high-performing community public elementary school in Baltimore by a "no excuses" KIPP school. Most often these community wrecking ball sch
How exactly did the Department of Defense end up in my child’s classroom? – Wrench in the Gears : How exactly did the Department of Defense end up in my child’s classroom? You cannot fully understand what is happening with Future Ready school redesign, 1:1 device programs, embedded assessments, gamification, classroom management apps, and the push for students in neighborhood schools to supplemen
NYC Educator: MLK Was a Strong Proponent of Union--Let's Honor His Memory : MLK Was a Strong Proponent of Union--Let's Honor His Memory AFL-CIO has an entire section devoted to Martin Luther King Jr. and his ties to organized labor. Make no mistake, he would be horrified by what's going on in the United States today. While King is largely remembered for his battle for civil rights, it's less wide
Schools Matter: Big Data and Small Junkies : Big Data and Small Junkies If you are a reluctant teacher or parent now being inundated with reasons you should embrace more computer screen time for school kids, there are good reasons for your skepticism. Here's one : Most people are shocked to hear that a video game can actually be more potent than morphine. While this is a phenomenal advance in pai
Martin Luther King Day – As growing inequality sinks our nation - Wait What? : Martin Luther King Day – As growing inequality sinks our nation Connecticut’s wealthiest residents pay about 5.5% of their income in state and local taxes. The middle class pay about 10%, while the poor pay about 12% of their income in state and local taxes. But Governor Dannel Malloy will continue to fight any and all
The Big Lie about the Left in the U.S. | radical eyes for equity : The Big Lie about the Left in the U.S. The Big Lie about the Left in the U.S. is that the Left exists in some substantial and influential way in the country. The Truth about the Left in the U.S. is that the Left does not exist in some substantial and influential way in the country. Period. The little lies that feed into the Big Li
How Mass Incarceration Contributes to the Achievement Gap - The Atlantic : How Mass Incarceration Pushes Black Children Further Behind in School A new study shows that the disproportionate imprisonment rates faced by people of color contribute to race-based inequalities in educational attainment. In the summer of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the closing remarks at the March on Washingto
Five key trends in U.S. student performance: Progress by blacks and Hispanics, the takeoff of Asians, the stall of non-English speakers, the persistence of socioeconomic gaps, and the damaging effect of highly segregated schools | Economic Policy Institute : Five key trends in U.S. student performance Progress by blacks and Hispanics, the takeoff of Asians, the stall of non-English speakers, the
Dream. | Fred Klonsky : Dream -Mark Stefanik is a middle school language arts teacher. He writes frequently and poetically for this blog. I try to get him to do it more often. It’s a weekend for dreamers. I wonder how many of this readership still dream. I’m aiming for the Boomers whose freedom to dream was unprecedented in American History. You know who you are. Fairy tales did come true and the
Jersey Jazzman: How To Correctly Compare Charter and Public District Schools : How To Correctly Compare Charter and Public District Schools Jersey Jazzman (artist's conception) Why do states collect education data if they won't use it properly? I found myself asking this question once again this week as I read through a " Comment/Response Form " put together by the New Jersey Department of Educat
Is government a ‘force for good,’ or does it ‘really suck’? Ed. Dept. at a pivot point between Obama, Trump - The Washington Post : Is government a ‘force for good,’ or does it ‘really suck’? Ed. Dept. at a pivot point between Obama, Trump The fiercest critics and most ardent supporters of President Obama’s Education Department — which has arguably wielded more influence and sparked more controve
How The Systemic Segregation Of Schools Is Maintained By 'Individual Choices' : NPR Ed : NPR : How The Systemic Segregation Of Schools Is Maintained By 'Individual Choices' Sixty-three years after the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education , many schools across the country either remain segregated or have re-segregated. Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones tells Fresh Air 's Terry Gross
Voices of the People: Our Vision for Our Children, Our City, and the Future of Public Education | Parents United for Public Education : Voices of the People: Our Vision for Our Children, Our City, and the Future of Public Education On May 21st, 2016, a group of Philadelphians concerned about the education of our city’s children gathered to envision a better present and future for our communities.
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES : WEEKEND QUOTABLES Congressman John Lewis’s bestselling graphic novel March: Book One was inspired by a 56-year-old comic, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, that helped spawn the Civil Rights Movement. Rep. John Lewis It doesn’t matter how Senator Sessions may smile, how friendly he may be, how he may speak to you... We need someone as
Religious Freedom Day, 2017 – Live Long and Prosper : Religious Freedom Day, 2017 This year, Martin Luther King Day is also Religious Freedom Day, which commemorates the realization of Thomas Jefferson’s vision of an end to the state-established church in Virginia. [This is an edited version of a post originally published on January 16, 2015 ] THE VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM In 1993 Pr
The Myth of “Failed” School Reform, Part 3 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : The Myth of “Failed” School Reform, Part 3 Practitioner time . If media time (see previous post) often looks like speeded-up Chaplinesque frames from 1920s films, then think of practitioner time as slow motion. One example should suffice. As computers spilled into schools during the 1980s, news medi
Save Martin Luther King from Obsolescence | BustED Pencils : Save Martin Luther King from Obsolescence The Real King Image and ownership of image are a trip. Especially on Martin Luther King Day. What is Dr. King’s image, vs. w hat he really represented in his life. If we are to believe the dominant institutions, we may think that his main contribution was reconciling with white people or turning
From the Betsy DeVos Archives: Letters to the Editor and Much More | deutsch29 : From the Betsy DeVos Archives: Letters to the Editor and Much More As a part of her response to “Common Questions for Executive Branch Nominees,” US ed sec nominee Betsy DeVos listed the following 19 entries as her “publications”: Opinion Column, Detroit News , July 31, 1994 Letter to the Editor, Detroit News , Augus
TFA CEO’s Husband Heads One Of The 73 Lowest Rated Schools In Texas | Gary Rubinstein's Blog : TFA CEO’s Husband Heads One Of The 73 Lowest Rated Schools In Texas YES Prep is a charter school network of sixteen schools in Houston. Founded by a TFA alum and staffed by many TFA teachers, it has been hailed as a TFA success story. Fueled by being the school to invent the invented ‘100% college accep
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/15/17 Featured Post Betsy DeVos: “Government Sucks” and “We Don’t Fire Teachers Enough” | deutsch29 The Racists Roots and Racist Indoctrination of School Choice | gadflyonthewallblog
