RIP VAN DEMOCRAT, THE UNWOKE AMERICAN'S TALE
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*RIP VAN DEMOCRAT*
*THE UNWOKE AMERICAN'S TALE *
*Inspired by "Rip Van Winkle," a classic American short story by Washington
Irving*
In the quiet embrac...
A History Lesson
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On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern
Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant of the United States Army at
Appomattox ...
The Reason We Still Need Conferences
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I am just back from the Network for Public Education conference, held this
year in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is an eight-hour drive from my house, and
we ar...
The Only Question Any of Us Every Have
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*You're walking.*
*And you don't always realize it, but you're always falling.*
*With each step you fall forward slightly.*
*And then catch yourself from...
PA Tells Trump To Back Off In Slickest Way Possible
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Some days I love my commonwealth's current administration.
Here's the sequence. First, the US Department of Ed had a civil rights
office, the purpose of wh...
New York and The Fight For Truly Public Schools
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A few days ago, the New York State Education Department rebuked the Trump
administration’s efforts to pull federal funding. Namely, the federal
administr...
Teacher in a Strange Land: Diversity and Tracking
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Teacher in a Strange Land: Diversity and Tracking
If you were in the classroom, as I was for well over three decades, you
will have had some experience wi...
Denny Middle School Protecting Students From ICE
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From the West Seattle Blog, messaging from Principal Mary Ingraham:
It was brought to our attention that a U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE...
On Tyranny: Lessons for Educators 9
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Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Be kind to our
language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone does. Think up your own
way of sp...
On Tyranny: Lessons for Educators 9
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Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Be kind to our
language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone does. Think up your own
way of sp...
Venue Change: Sanders and AOC in Folsom California
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TPlease be advised that there is a venue change: *we will now be at the
Folsom Lake College Athletic Track in Folsom, CA.*
Here's everything you need to...
Trump plays Putin’s Playbook
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Recently Aleksander Dugin was interviewed on CNN, last week, and he stated
that he believes Trump is closer ideologically to President Putin than to
Washin...
NPE2025 Columbus Impressions
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By Thomas Ultican 4/8/2025 This weekend, it was a rainy sad environment
greeting the 2025 Network for Public Education (NPE) conference but inside
the Colu...
Risks of using AI in the Classroom
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Cross posted at Parent Coalition for Student Privacy website. April 8, 2025
The annual conference of Network for Public Education, on whose board I
sit, wa...
Risks of using AI in the classroom
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April 8, 2025 The annual conference of Network for Public Education, on
whose board I sit, was held last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. It was
terrific as usu...
Pre-Order Clint Smith’s New Book for Young Readers
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How the Word Is Passed (Adapted for Young Readers) will be out September
2nd and is now available for pre-order. Can’t wait for you all to read it.
Shou...
What Every White Person in the US Knows: 2025
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[Header Photo by Walid Hamadeh on Unsplash] Here are two texts that may not
immediately appear to be saying something similar about the state of the US
in ...
What Every White Person in the US Knows: 2025
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[Header Photo by Walid Hamadeh on Unsplash] Here are two texts that may not
immediately appear to be saying something similar about the state of the US
in ...
¿Qué hace falta para que gane la resistencia?
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Una ola de resistencia se levanta. ¿Qué hará falta para que ganemos?
Dondequiera que miremos, una ola de resistencia se levanta. Mi corazón se
llena de ale...
Where Are You Going to Go? Home?
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“It is curious to observe how customs and ceremonies degenerate.” ― Maria
Edgeworth, Complete Novels of Maria Edgeworth We have lost the ability to
liste...
Should We Be Rooting FOR Catastrophe?
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More than 100 years ago H.G. Wells observed that “Human history becomes
more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” Wells was stacking
the dec...
Mike Shulman the ARISE UFT Judenrat
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I was surprised to learn that Mike Shulman has aligned himself with ARISE.
I previously supported him, advocating that the Castle Doctrine could have
bee...
Trump actually already can serve a third term
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and even a fourth and a fifth ….
so could Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama.
There are no limits on how many terms a President can serve
Here are the relevan...
How Do We Fight Trump?
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Dear Friends, I don’t know when and why it hit me. But I suddenly realized
how serious Trump is about changing the country into something that
horrifies. I...
March’s Parent Engagement Resources
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What does our research say about grades, attendance, test scores, & “on
track” metrics for @chipubschools.bsky.social students? How can parents use
this in...
Dismantling Public Education: No Laughing Matter!
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Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s
gone… ~Joni Mitchell Many educators and parents found it painful watching
Donald...
Standing with Federal Workers? Or backing Trump?
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The ABC group shows a dangerous side. “Leaving politics at the door”
apparently means not taking on Trump when he denies rights to workers.
Focusing on “Br...
Are we all on the same team?
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Copied from Quora; I didn’t write any of this… As an American I ask my
fellow Americans, why can’t you realize at the end of the day we are all on
the same...
Who is the new CEO of Teach For America?
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From 1990 until 2013, the CEO of TFA was the founder, Wendy Kopp. Under her
leadership the program grew from a small organization that struggled to
make pa...
Site Index - Updated December 31, 2024
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When I was teaching,
I got tired of hearing how bad American educators were.
*My Promise *
WHEN I STARTED BLOGGING IN 2011, I said I planned to speak ...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
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*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
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Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Reminiscences
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I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
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Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
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Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
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It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards
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Figuring I did not need to invite any more darkness and vulgarity into my
head than that provided on a daily basis from Trump’s White House, and
after read...
Reduced time for testing? Not so fast.
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NYSED and Commish Elia continue to say that the NYS Assessments are of
reasonable length, I completely disagree.
Here is what NYSED states are average expe...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
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It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
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Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
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In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
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States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
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In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
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By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
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Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
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Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
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*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
NYC Public School Parents: “Another Squandered Opportunity”: Parents and Educators Slam NY State Education Department’s Flawed ESSA Proposal & Process : “Another Squandered Opportunity”: Parents and Educators Slam NY
Schooling and Immigration; Education Budget: on the next Education Town Hall – Education Town Hall Forum : Schooling and Immigration; Education Budget: on the next Education Town Hall How are schools responding to immigration-related stresses on students and families? How will recent budget decisions affect DC students and teachers? Join the Education Town Hall, Thursday June 8, 11 a.m. — noon Ea
What we just learned from Betsy DeVos’s painful appearance before Congress - The Washington Post : What we just learned from Betsy DeVos’s painful appearance before Congress Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that she won’t offer protections to ensure that public money is not used by for-profit education companies to make their owners rich. She also said that private sch
NYC Public School Parents: What the Trump budget cuts would do to class size and "priceless moments" in the classroom : What the Trump budget cuts would do to class size and "priceless moments" in the classroom Trump would cut $9 billion from education -- while transferring millions of dollars into private hands through the expansion of charter schools and vouchers. His cuts could imperil NYC cla
'Teaching in Oklahoma is a dysfunctional relationship' - NonDoc : ‘Teaching in Oklahoma is a dysfunctional relationship’ F ollowing the absurd last week of the 2017 regular legislative session, Oklahoma made the front page of The Washington Post for gutting education funding to the point where 96 of the state’s 513 school districts will be reducing the school week to four days. The Post reviews t
Why You Shouldn't Care About Your Teacher Evaluation - Teacher Habits : Why You Shouldn’t Care About Your Teacher Evaluation Evaluations are in. All of your good intentions, hard work, and personal sacrifice has been boiled down to a number and a label. Are you “highly effective” or “innovating,” or merely “developing,” like you’re an insect in its larval stage instead of a professional educator?
Beware of Billionaires Bearing Gifts: A Review of "The Givers" - Living in Dialogue : By John Thompson. I began David Callahan’s The Givers with a commitment to avoid three types of confirmation bias. As Callahan observes, plenty of teachers (like me) detest corporate school reform, but if he turned out to be supportive of accountability-driven, competition-driven policies, I shouldn’t let that p
Does majority black school, open to all, uphold segregation? | McClatchy Washington Bureau : Does majority black school, open to all, uphold segregation? NEW ORLEANS A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments on whether the opening of a charter school in rural Louisiana violated a decades-old desegregation order. Court briefs state that Greater Grace Charter Academy is in a district west of
Betsy DeVos Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee About Education Department's Budget TIME - YouTube : Betsy DeVos Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee About Education Department's Budget Betsy DeVos Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee About Education Department's Budget TIME - YouTube :
Oakland is the latest big district turning to an insider to head schools | EdSource : Oakland is the latest big district turning to an insider to head schools When the Oakland Unified School District last month announced that it had settled on Kyla Johnson-Trammel to be its next superintendent, it was another example of a growing trend: school boards are turning increasingly to candidates with de
The Demolition of American Education | by Diane Ravitch | NYR Daily | The New York Review of Books : The Demolition of American Education Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos’s proposed budget for the US Department of Education is a boon for privatization and a disaster for public schools and low-income college students. They want to cut federal spending on education by 13.6 percent. Some programs would
An (Epic) Interview with Captain Underpants Creator - NEA Today : An (Epic) Interview with Captain Underpants Creator From the banned books list to a major motion picture, the Captain Underpants series has had its share of adventures almost as epic as those of pranksters George and Harold and their unwitting superhero himself, their principal Mr. Krupp, aka Captain Underpants. NEA Today talked to
The Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools - The New York Times : The Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools In San Francisco’s public schools, Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, is giving middle school principals $100,000 “innovation grants” and encouraging them to behave more like start-up founders and less like bureaucrats. In Maryland, Texas, Virg
With Police Reform Flip-Flop, Mayor Emanuel Fails Leadership Test – Troy LaRaviere's blog : WITH POLICE REFORM FLIP-FLOP, MAYOR EMANUEL FAILS LEADERSHIP TEST Having lived and worked under a flawed system of school accountability institutionalized by the Bush administration in 2002, and wholly embraced by Rahm Emanuel when he took control of Chicago Public Schools in 2011, I find his latest backwa
Why Betsy DeVos Is Wrong about Privatization of Education: Growing Consensus about Charters | janresseger : Why Betsy DeVos Is Wrong about Privatization of Education: Growing Consensus about Charters U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos relentlessly promotes school privatization—framed as parental choice—through such schemes as charter schools and virtual charter schools, and vouchers and neo
ONE PARENT’S VOICE ON SCHOOL CHOICE « Dad Gone Wild : ONE PARENT’S VOICE ON SCHOOL CHOICE I started this blog some four years ago due to encouragement and inspiration by a blogger named Crazy Crawfish. Crazy would say, I’m not the smartest man in the room but my job is to make enough noise to get the smartest people possible in to the room to start having a real convesation about the issues. I’ve
Nation’s largest school district announcing effort to diversify segregated public schools - The Washington Post : Nation’s largest school district announcing effort to diversify segregated public schools Federal data shows that poor, black and Hispanic children are becoming increasingly isolated from their white, affluent peers in the nation’s public schools, as my Washington Post colleague Emma
CURMUDGUCATION: Expertise : Expertise Follow Visible Learning @VisibleLearning Do teachers need to be experts in the subjects they teach or ‘just’ experts at teaching? # education # visiblelearning # teaching 5:05 PM - 4 Jun 2017 28 28 Retweets 60 60 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy I was not the only person to see this tweet and have the following thought... One of my college education profess
Admission Offers Yanked: A Social Media Lesson from Harvard University | deutsch29 : Admission Offers Yanked: A Social Media Lesson from Harvard University On June 04, 2017, the Harvard Crimson posted an article about the university’s yanking its offers of admission for at least ten prospective freshmen. It seems that Harvard officials had an eyeful of some ugly social media postings of these ind
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/5/17 Featured Post Plan to outlaw for-profit charters hits online ed too :: SI&A Cabinet Report Testing for Wisdom? | Truth in American Education by mike simpson / 14min Testing for Wisdom? |