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Saturday, February 15, 2020

TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 2/15/20 #REDFORED #tbats

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 TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 2/15/20 




 TOP POSTS THIS MONTH 2/15/20 





POSTS THIS WEEK 2/15/20 

Blue Serials (2/15/20) | Blue Cereal Education

by Mike Simpson / 1h
Blue Serials (2/15/20) This week’s Blue Serials largely features blogs and other online sources which have absolutely no need of a signal boost from me. Still, if they’re going to be so narcissistic as to create great content that’s not shared here FIRST, I should at least have the right to abscond it and use it for my own glorification. Plus, these are all, like… really good pieces. So there’s
SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Hedge Funds Take Over Sacramento Bee

by Mike Simpson / 1h
Hedge Funds Take Over Sacramento Bee Financial Engineers Ravage American Newspapers—McClatchy’s Turn. Friday’s news reports played the story as McClatchy filing for bankruptcy. But that’s not the deeper story. The venerable chain, publisher of The Sacramento Bee , Miami Herald , and 28 other papers, is doing a deal with a hedge fund, Chatham Asset Management, which also owns supermarket tabloids
Don’t Fear Summer Lee. Fear the Devil’s Bargain Labor Leaders Are Willing to Make Opposing Her | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Don’t Fear Summer Lee. Fear the Devil’s Bargain Labor Leaders Are Willing to Make Opposing Her Cancer or unemployment. That’s the choice Pennsylvanians are being asked to make in 2020. Do we allow hydraulic fracking to continue to destroy our environment and increase our risk of cancers and other debilitating illnesses ? Or do we clean things up and risk losing jobs? Some labor leaders seem will
Indiana: Two Virtual Charter Schools Steal More Than $68 Million from State | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3h
Indiana: Two Virtual Charter Schools Steal More Than $68 Million from State The biggest and worst charter scandals are perpetrated by virtual charter schools. Why do states tolerate their waste, fraud, and abuse? The only online charters should be operated and supervised by public officials, not by grifters and entrepreneurs. Indiana was just scammed of more than $68 million by two virtual chart
2020 Medley #5: The Education of American Children Living in Poverty | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 3h
2020 Medley #5: The Education of American Children Living in Poverty Poverty disrupts school achievement In 1965 President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which established Title I, the section of the program that set aside funding for children in poverty. Title I is still part of the Federal Government’s response to poverty in American education, because, as a nation,
With A Brooklyn Accent: The Tragedy Facing the Gaifuna People of Honduras- A Guest Post by Geraldo Sambola

by Mike Simpson / 3h
The Tragedy Facing the Gaifuna People of Honduras- A Guest Post by Geraldo Sambola As many Blacks in the U.S. face systemic violence and challenging policies threatening their livelihood, Blacks in Honduras, Central America also face distressing threats to their survival. Last year 2019 Honduran Blacks also known as “Garifuna or Garinagu (plural),” faced unprecedented deaths from criminal acts.
The Ultimate Troubling Question: Will you Campaign and Vote for Bloomberg against Trump? (Nose-holding permissable) | Ed In The Apple

by Mike Simpson / 3h
The Ultimate Troubling Question: Will you Campaign and Vote for Bloomberg against Trump? (Nose-holding permissable) I was at a celebration of The City College (CCNY) at the Center for Jewish History, a packed auditorium, panels about the college from the 30’s to the 60’s, and, Sid Davidoff, one of the closest advisors to former mayor John Lindsay was one of the panelists. I started to talk with
LAUSD District 7 Endorsement – Parent Patricia Castellanos

by Mike Simpson / 4h
LAUSD District 7 Endorsement – Parent Patricia Castellanos The “LAUSD should not send mixed messages to parents by claiming [an] interest in their perspectives, but making it nearly impossible to participate, let alone attend school board meetings” – Patricia Castellanos The race to replace long-time Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board member Richard Vladovic in Board District 7 pr
Prodigious Funding Drives Distorted Accusations in LAUSD3 – Los Angeles Education Examiner

by Mike Simpson / 4h
Prodigious Funding Drives Distorted Accusations in LAUSD3 Scurrilous flyers have been peppering LAUSD board member Scott Schmerelson’s 3rd District. As former teacher, counselor and principal, the incumbent board member, Mr. Schmerelson, is challenged by Marilyn Koziatek, a community outreach spokesperson for a large charter school in that district, and by Elizabeth Bartels-Badger, a long-time p
Catch Up With Newblackman (In Exile)

by Mike Simpson / 4h
NewBlackMan (in Exile) 'Ghost' DNA In West Africans Complicates Story Of Human Origins by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h 'Modern genomes from Nigeria and Sierra Leone show signals that scientists call "ghost" DNA — from an unknown human ancestor. That means that prehistoric humans likely procreated with an unknown group.' -- Morning Edition FEB 13 #BackChannel: ‘Hair Love,’ Remembering Kobe Bryant & Mic
THIS WEEK Education Research Report

by Mike Simpson / 5h
Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Poor cognitive performance in children is affected by the amount of sleep by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d Depression, anxiety, impulsive behaviour and poor cognitive performance in children is affected by the amount of sleep they have, researchers from the University of Warwick have found. Sleep states are active processes that support reo
This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 5h
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be intere
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

by Mike Simpson / 5h
KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all Slaying Goliath The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools CLICK HERE TO Order NOW Indiana: Two Virtual Charter Schools Steal More Than $68 Million from State by dianeravitch / now The biggest and worst charter scandals are perpetrated by virtual charter schools.

YESTERDAY

John Thompson Reviews SLAYING GOLIATH, Part 1 | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1d
John Thompson Reviews SLAYING GOLIATH, Part 1 John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, reviews SLAYING GOLIATH in two-parts. This is part one. He begins: Diane Ravitch’s Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools is the history of the rise and fall of corporate school reform, but it is much more. It isn’t that surpr
The Rhetoric Behind Choosing White’s Successor – Educate Louisiana

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The Rhetoric Behind Choosing White’s Successor If you want to observe an example of building consensus behind a narrative by employing rhetoric, look no further than the search that is underway to find someone to replace outgoing Superintendent of Education, John White. I am disappointed in myself for not seeing it sooner. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the practice of persuasion usin
What Federal and State Reading Legislation Should and Should Not Do – radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 1d
What Federal and State Reading Legislation Should and Should Not Do Since the early 1980s, a significant role of state government has included funding and mandating public school practices and policies. Spurred by A Nation at Risk under Ronald Reagan, most states committed to the accountability era in U.S. public education grounded in state standards and high-stakes testing. Bringing that state-
LeBron James Surprises 193 Students with Free College Tuition to Kent State University: 'It's Probably the Best Thing I've Ever Done'

by Mike Simpson / 1d
LeBron James Surprises 193 Students with Free College Tuition: 'It's Probably the Best Thing I've Ever Done' While Sallie Mae has never put me in a headlock—I love you too, Air Force!—I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about her wreaking havoc on the bank accounts and mental stability of my peers. But hopefully, students at I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, won’t suffer a similar fate after LeBr
Charter School Support Fades: the Network for Public Education Deserves Much of the Credit | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Charter School Support Fades: the Network for Public Education Deserves Much of the Credit Earlier this week, this blog explored what Betsy DeVos hopes will be a major restructure in the U.S. Department of Education. That she is considering the restructure of the department became clear in the President’s FY21 budget proposal, which collapses Title I into a huge block grant with 28 other program
School Reforms That Are Persistent and Admired But Marginal (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 1d
School Reforms That Are Persistent and Admired But Marginal (Part 2) After Minnesota authorized charter schools in 1991, a group of veteran teachers founded City Academy in St. Paul. It became the first publicly funded charter school in 1992. A quarter-century later 43 states and Washington, D.C. permit charter schools to operate. Charters are innovative ways to govern, fund, and organize public
TN Supt. Penny Schwinn Bypasses Legislature with No-Bid Voucher Contract | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 1d
TN Supt. Penny Schwinn Bypasses Legislature with No-Bid Voucher Contract Teach for America (TFA) alum Penny Schwinn is Tennessee’s education commissioner, a post that she has held for a year as of this writing. Within ten months of Schwinn’s arrival as Tennessee ed commissioner, the Tennessee Department of Education experienced 250 resignations, including “people with decades of institutional kn
A geometry lesson inspired by a silvering company – and a rant about computerized learning programs | GFBrandenburg's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 1d
A geometry lesson inspired by a silvering company – and a rant about computerized learning programs Here is some information that teachers at quite a few different levels could use* for a really interesting geometry lesson involving reflections involving two or more mirrors, placed at various angles! Certain specific angles have very special effects, including 90, 72, 60, 45 degrees … But WHY? T
Marie Corfield: The Fight For Our Children

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The Fight For Our Children 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 tragic consequences of an emerging public health crisis. An NJ Advance Media report... highlighted New Jersey’s rising suicide rate among teens and young adults amid a mental health crisis. - Adam Clark/NJ Advance Med
Enrollment and Equity Report; Charter School Facilities Issues in Ward 8 – Education Town Hall Forum

by Mike Simpson / 1d
ENROLLMENT AND EQUITY REPORT; CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES ISSUES IN WARD 8 The Feb 13 Education Town Hall included one segment on issues with charter school facilities and one on the DC auditor’s report on enrollment and equity. Segment 1 begins at 10:26 mark Segment 2 begins at 45:00 mark For our first segment, Ward 8 residents Tina Batchelor and Camille Joyner were in studio to discuss their exp
Letter to Interim Commissioner Tahoe on Testing on Earth Day | Class Size Matters

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Letter to Interim Commissioner Tahoe on Testing on Earth Day | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes Letter to Interim Commissioner Tahoe on Testing on Earth Day Below is the letter sent out on February 13, 2020 to NYSED about Earth Day and the state middle school math test. Class Size Matters, Senator Jackson’s office, Teachers for the Future, an
CURMUDGUCATION: FL: BEST Standards To Roll Back The Calendar

by Mike Simpson / 1d
FL: BEST Standards To Roll Back The Calendar Somewhere Jeb! Bush is drowning his tears in his sarsparilla. His beloved Florida, the state that launched a thousand bad ed reform ideas, has tried to roll back one-- the Common Core./ Governor Ron Desantis dispatched a task force to drive a stake through the heart of the unbeloved standards and replaced them with B.E.S.T.-- Benchmarks for Excellent
Educators and Students Have Privatizers on the Run, Says Ravitch

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Educators and Students Have Privatizers on the Run, Says Ravitch Diane Ravitch, former assistant secretary of education in President George H.W. Bush’s administration and NEA Friend of Education in 2010, has written a new book that she wants every public school educator to read. In “ Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools,” [Kno

FEB 13

Relationships | Blue Cereal Education

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Relationships Good morning. Welcome to our first back-to-school faculty meeting. We have several important items on the agenda today, then we’re going to fill the afternoon with pointless activities we found online because the district says we have to professionally develop until at least 3:00 whether we need it or not. As some of you know, we had a bit of unpleasantness last spring which we’d l
A response to the Boston Police Union Attack on Black Lives Matter at School: “This is a movement for equity, inclusion, and the uplifting of Black students” – Black Lives Matter At School

by Mike Simpson / 2d
A response to the Boston Police Union Attack on Black Lives Matter at School: “This is a movement for equity, inclusion, and the uplifting of Black students” We, the organizers of the Black Lives Matter at School movement, strongly condemn the shameful attack on Boston educators launched by Boston Police Patrolmen’s Union President Michael Leary. During the first week of February, 2020, thousand
What Gives You the White of Way? How Seattle Public Schools Educators of Color Are Fighting Back – I AM AN EDUCATOR

by Mike Simpson / 2d
What Gives You the White of Way? How Seattle Public Schools Educators of Color Are Fighting Back The below statement was written by Ethnic Studies Advisory Group in Seattle in an urgent defense of their program. This group, comprised of a majority of womxn of color, has been doing vital work to create Ethnic Studies curriculum and guide the implementation of Ethnic Studies for the Seattle Public
Let’s pause the charter school experiment in Newark: NAACP - nj.com

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Let’s pause the charter school experiment in Newark: NAACP The Newark NAACP supports Newark Superintendent Roger León who has requested closure of four low performing charter schools and a halt to the expansion of charters in Newark based on the tremendous strain on the district’s budget and their failure to serve a greater cross section of the city’s children. The charter schools were first per
Jackie Goldberg: Lies the Billionaires Tell | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Jackie Goldberg: Lies the Billionaires Tell Jackie Goldberg is running for re-election to the Los Angeles Unified School Board. She is an experienced public official who has supported public schools for decades as a school board member and state legislator. A rightwing billionaire dumped nearly half a million into her low-budget race to try to stop her in the March 3 election (early voting has a
RQILA Passes A Marker: Launching The Los Angeles Education Examiner – redqueeninla

by Mike Simpson / 2d
RQILA Passes A Marker: Launching The Los Angeles Education Examiner Welcome to the Los Angeles Education Examiner , your new source for news on public education in Los Angeles! We will address questions surrounding education in the vast LA region hoping to raise public consciousness about how things-educational matter to everyone here, day to day. We will host stories from other writers, do a we
Education Research Report TODAY

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Education Research Report Poor cognitive performance in children is affected by the amount of sleep by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 13min Depression, anxiety, impulsive behaviour and poor cognitive performance in children is affected by the amount of sleep they have, researchers from the University of Warwick have found. Sleep states are active processes that support reorganisation of brain circuitry.
3 easy ways to help get smaller classes for NYC kids! | Class Size Matters NYC kids! | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

by Mike Simpson / 2d
3 easy ways to help get smaller classes for NYC kids! | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes 3 easy ways to help get smaller classes for NYC kids! Please help us urge the Speaker and NYC Council to invest $100 million in hiring additional teachers to lower class size, starting first in the early grades and in struggling school
CURMUDGUCATION: NC: Can Fed Money Get Charters To Accept Poor Students

by Mike Simpson / 2d
NC: Can Fed Money Get Charters To Accept Poor Students North Carolina's charter schools have some issues, such as draining resources from public schools and increasing segregation in a state that has not exactly set a high standard for de-segregation . White flight segregation academies are turning into charters , and they're also looking at district secession (white flight via redrawing school
Education Week: Common Core Is Still a Hot Item for Vendors | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Education Week: Common Core Is Still a Hot Item for Vendors The controversy over the Common Core standards has died down since so many states have renamed and rebranded them as if they no longer exist. But below the eye of public attention, Common Core does what it was intended to do: It has created a marketplace for vendors. Alex Harwin, in her update of the marketplace, writes that more than t
In Budget Snub, Betsy DeVos Treats Charters Like “Public Schools” | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 2d
In Budget Snub, Betsy DeVos Treats Charters Like “Public Schools” In President Trump’s proposed FY2021 budget, charter school funding is lumped together in block-grant fashion with funding once seperately designated for 29 federal K12-related programs. From the US Department of Education (USDOE) FY2021 proposed budget press release : The budget calls for consolidating nearly all existing K-12 fo
Jersey Jazzman: Sorry, NJ Charter Schools -- You Can't Have It Both Ways

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Sorry, NJ Charter Schools -- You Can't Have It Both Ways Some news on the NJ charter school front this week *: The state Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a lawsuit that had challenged the expansion of charter schools in Newark, arguably the state’s nexus for the alternative schools with more than a third of its students enrolled in them. By apparent coincidence, a group of charter school p
NYC Educator: UFT Delegate Assembly February 12, 2020--We Reminisce About Emperor Mike, and Many Resolutions

by Mike Simpson / 2d
UFT Delegate Assembly February 12, 2020--We Reminisce About Emperor Mike, and Many Resolutions 4:28 UFT President Michael Mulgrew welcomes us. National —Impeachment’s done, DeVos wants to voucher everything. Horrendous. President’s SOTU v. budget proposals contradictory. Watching presidential race. Mentions former mayor running, gets many boos from crowd. Says we have worked with him, really kno
Schools Reach Beyond The Classroom – redqueeninla

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Schools Reach Beyond The Classroom On the eve of launching LA’s new Education Examiner , I attended a Los Angeles Public Library “ ALOUD ” discussion stimulated by the new book of America’s leading populist, progressive Education theorist Diane Ravitch: Slaying Goliath . UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl very capably nailed out the corners of a conversational tapestry warped by the current realit
Local Law 167 & 168, Information and Memo to City Council | Class Size Matters

by Mike Simpson / 2d
| A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes Local Law 167 & 168, Information and Memo to City Council Two bills were passed last year by the City Council, with the goal of helping to alleviate school overcrowding: Local Law 167 which required the DOE to make more transparent its data sources and methodology for projecting the need for new school seats

FEB 12

The Effective Classroom. Do You Know It When You See It? | Teacher in a strange land

by Mike Simpson / 3d
The Effective Classroom. Do You Know It When You See It? Over the past couple of days, there’s been a flurry of pushback against this tweet from Tom Rath : Classrooms are such an overlooked part of the sitting epidemic. We need to blow up our thinking about the best ways for kids and adults to learn in groups. We simply learn better when we move more. Daniel Pink responded: Offices are adopting
Why charter school leaders are now furious at President Trump and Betsy DeVos - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Why charter school leaders are furious at Trump and Betsy DeVos The charter school world was certain it had faithful supporters in President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. After all, the pair made “school choice” their No. 1 education priority. DeVos has spent decades working to expand the charter sector. And Trump and DeVos repeatedly proposed boosting charter school funding, withou
Test the water and HVAC systems just as much as the students

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Pay attention to school infrastructure if we care about equity in education If we care about equity in education, we need to pay attention to school infrastructure When boilers failed at multiple public schools in Baltimore in 2018, teachers adapted by bringing in space heaters to warm shivering students’ hands. Kids huddled in their winter coats indoors. A full 60 schools had problems, though a
NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

by Mike Simpson / 3d
NewBlackMan (in Exile) Rappers are ‘Products Made to Crumble’: A Review of Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America by Mark Anthony Neal / 12min by Tyler Bunzey |@t_bunzey | NewBlackMan (in Exile) Hip-hop has changed quite a bit since its early years as a small cultural movement in the South Bronx. Almost half a century old, hip-hop is now a massive international cultural force with multi
Redefining Reading Achievement Creates Reading Problems in Children!

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Redefining Reading Achievement Creates Reading Problems in Children! A critic who charges that children aren’t reading well and teachers need to learn about the Science of Reading, also says children must read sooner than they did in the past. This new ideological construct promotes standards that many children will not be capable of achieving. It also sets children and their teachers up to fail
Trump’s Proposed Education Budget Would Slash Title I and Establish Vouchers. It is Likely Dead on Arrival. | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Trump’s Proposed Education Budget Would Slash Title I and Establish Vouchers. It is Likely Dead on Arrival. President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2021 federal budget proposal on Monday. A president’s February budget proposal describes federal appropriations the President would like to see enacted for the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1st. Congress will deliberate on the President’
The Total Neoliberal Misrepresentation of the Recent History of Indianapolis K12 Education | Cloaking Inequity

by Mike Simpson / 3d
THE TOTAL NEOLIBERAL MISREPRESENTATION OF THE RECENT HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS K12 EDUCATION Is a total neoliberal misrepresentation coming to K12 Education in a public district near you? A recent article in the pro-charter, pro-neoliberal “magazine,” called Education Next, is a thorough misrepresentation of the recent history of Indianapolis K12 education (see the article at https://www.education
John Thompson: Diane Ravitch's Slaying Goliath Documents Decades of Disruption - Living in Dialogue

by Mike Simpson / 3d
John Thompson: Diane Ravitch’s Slaying Goliath Documents Decades of Disruption By John Thompson. Part Two of two. Diane Ravitch’s Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools is the history of the rise and fall of test-driven, competition-driven school reform. As in her two previous, ground-breaking books, Ravitch changes the terms of

FEB 11

Why charter school leaders are now furious at Trump and DeVos - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Why charter school leaders are furious at Trump and Betsy DeVos The charter school world was certain it had faithful supporters in President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. After all, the pair made “school choice” their No. 1 education priority. DeVos has spent decades working to expand the charter sector. And Trump and DeVos repeatedly proposed boosting charter school funding, withou
FOON RHEE: Kids count, but can adults? • SN&R Extra

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Editor's note: Kids count, but can adults? • SN&R Extra Editor’s note: Kids count, but can adults? Should taxpayers trust Sac City schools with more money? Children deserve everything they need for a chance to succeed in school, including well-equipped classrooms, labs and libraries. But what if the adults in charge are terrible at math—specifically, balancing the budget? That’s the difficult cho
JEFF BRYANT: How corporations are forcing their way into America’s public schools | Salon.com

by Mike Simpson / 4d
How corporations are forcing their way into America’s public schools | Salon.com How corporations are forcing their way into America’s public schools A story unfolding in Virginia reveals how big corporations want to control schools right down to the curriculum In the expanding effort to privatize the nation's public education system, an ominous, less-understood strain of the movement is the corp
Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions to shape education policy. Now, they say, they’re ‘skeptical’ of ‘billionaires’ trying to do just that. - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions to shape education policy. Now, they say, they’re ‘skeptical’ of ‘billionaires’ trying to do just that. You won’t believe what Bill and Melinda Gates are saying makes them “skeptical.” For years, they have spent a fortune trying to shape public education policy, successfully leveraging public funding to support their projects, but never having the kind
It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... A VERY BUSY DAY | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... A VERY BUSY DAY The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Atlantic Begins Photo Series On Each State by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h pinkzebra / Pixabay The Atlantic Magazine recently began publishing a series of photos about each U.S. state. Unfortunate
DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG NOW WORRIES CATCH UP NOW - Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG NO WORRIES CATCH UP NOW Bloomberg Blocks Release of His Comments at Aspen About Minorities and Guns by dianeravitch / 18min Four years ago, Michael Bloomberg spoke candidly in Aspen about his stop-and-frisk policies that targeted young black and Hispanic men, but he immediately requested that it no
Education Reform De-professionalizes Women Educators – radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Education Reform De-professionalizes Women Educators Who were your teachers? In elementary school, nearly 9 of 10 teachers are women; by high school, about 6 of 10 are women. And nearly all of your teachers, 80%, were white (see NCES data ). As a student and a teacher, then, I have spent a great deal of my life in spaces where women are the overwhelmingly majority; often I am the only man in the
CURMUDGUCATION: Trump and DeVos Abandon Charter Schools

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Trump and DeVos Abandon Charter Schools Surprise! Never mind Sanders or Warren. Just like that, the charter supporters have found themselves abandoned by the Trump administration. The Trump budget axes federal support for charter schools , rolling the federal money for charters into a big fat all-purpose block grant, a big chunk of money retrieved from various programs that have been deemed redu
2 Big Teachers Unions Call For Rethinking Student Involvement In Lockdown Drills | 89.3 KPCC

by Mike Simpson / 4d
2 Big Teachers Unions Call For Rethinking Student Involvement In Lockdown Drills Ryan Pascal, a 17-year-old student at Palos Verdes High School near Los Angeles, says when her school holds active shooter drills, it's "chaos." The first time it happened, not long after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in 2018, rumors started flying over Snapchat and text tha
School Reforms That Are Persistent and Admired But Marginal (Part 1) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 4d
School Reforms That Are Persistent and Admired But Marginal (Part 1) A head-scratching puzzle of school reform over the past century is the innovation that arrives in tinsel and enters tax-supported public schools. Often districts adopt such glittering new programs and they settle into protected niches. But, and here is the puzzle, praised and admired as they are, they cannot break out of that n
All Things Education: Love Grow Your Own (but not without the actual growth part)

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Love Grow Your Own (but not without the actual growth part) The Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, recently announced a grow-your-own type of program for teachers. According to this piece : On Monday, Governor Ralph Northam unveiled what he called a potential new solution to Virginia’s teacher shortage problem. Northam announced a proposed $1 million investment toward attracting STEM teachers
Download the new Screens in Schools Action Kit! | Parents Across America

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Download the new Screens in Schools Action Kit! From our friends at the Children’s Screen Time Action Network, a project of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, comes the Screens in Schools Action Kit, released just today. In 2016, Parents Across America did a deep dive into the edtech movement. Since then, classroom digital device use by students has skyrocketed and increasingly, parents,

FEB 10

Clarifications: Greenville desegregation: Academic achievement gap slowly closing, but inequities persist – radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Clarifications: Greenville desegregation: Academic achievement gap slowly closing, but inequities persist Ariel Gilreath offers a strong overview in her Greenville desegregation: Academic achievement gap slowly closing, but inequities persist . A key point in this look at desegregation confronts the disturbing consequences of South Carolina’s libertarian streak: The public school district in Gre
Six Things To Know About The Trump-DeVos-Cruz ‘Education Freedom’ Plan

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Six Things To Know About The Trump-DeVos-Cruz ‘Education Freedom’ Plan The early buzz says that Donald Trump will use a chunk of his State of the Union Address to plug a voucher-style program that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been pushing for months under the name “Education Freedom.” The Houston Chronicle reports that Ted Cruz pitched the plan to Trump ; Cruz has taken the lead on try
Girl chosen by Trump to symbolize failing schools attends a popular charter program - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Girl chosen by Trump to symbolize failing schools attends a popular charter program The Philadelphia fourth-grader whom President Trump singled out during his State of the Union address as one of thousands of students “trapped in failing government schools” actually attends a sought-after charter school. Janiyah Davis and her mother, Stephanie Davis, were seated in the House chamber for the pres
OPINION: Education Freedom Scholarships ignore kids with disabilities

by Mike Simpson / 5d
OPINION: President Trump’s school choice proposal leaves students with disabilities behind An expert on special education in charter schools weighs in on the proposed Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act In his 2020 State of the Union address, President Donald J. Trump promoted the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act as a means to “rescue” students “trapped in failin
City Council Candidate Seeks A Working Relationship with School District

by Mike Simpson / 5d
City Council Candidate Seeks A Working Relationship with School District “I am the only major candidate in this race who has pledged to never take donations from the corporations, developers, and charter school investors that have controlled the City Council for decades.” - Cyndi Otteson The FBI dropped a bomb onto CD14’s power base on November 7, 2018, when it raided the offices and home of lon
How the media image of the ‘great’ teacher hurts the real-life good teacher - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 5d
How the media image of the ‘great’ teacher hurts the real-life good teacher This is the first of a five-part series on The Answer Sheet this week about the stories we tell about teaching. All of them will be written by Roxanna Elden, who combines 11 years of experience as a public-school teacher with a decade of speaking about education-related topics. Her first book, the nonfiction “See Me Afte
National Education Policy Center: The Myth of Charter School Waitlists | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
National Education Policy Center: The Myth of Charter School Waitlists Five years ago, Kevin Welner and Gary Miron explained why you should not believe claims about charter “wait lists.” At the same time that they released this caution (2014), the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools [sic] put out a press release claiming that more than one million students were wait-listed to get into c
When Betsy DeVos Goes on the Campaign Trail for President Trump, Here Is the Ideology She Promotes | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 5d
When Betsy DeVos Goes on the Campaign Trail for President Trump, Here Is the Ideology She Promotes If you listened to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Message last week, you know that he lauded school choice and attacked government schools : “The next step forward in building an inclusive society is making sure that every young American gets a great education and the opportunity to ac
Betsy DeVos Personally Saves Philly Student from a Government… Charter School(?) | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Betsy DeVos Personally Saves Philly Student from a Government… Charter School(?) In his February 04, 2020, State of the Union (SOTU), President Donald Trump presented a Philadelphia student with a scholarship paid for “personally” by US ed sec, Betsy Devos, all in the name of “rescuing” a student “trapped in failing government schools.” Turns out this student attends a Philly charter school, MaS

FEB 09

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Ice Edition (2/9)

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Ice Edition (2/9) It's the weekend of our b ig ice carving festival here in town, and the weather is perfect. There are cool sculptures to see, and it's the perfect festival for people who don't like crowds because nobody wants to stand around in the cold. And the Board of Directors has a lovely time. In the meantime, here is some reading from the week. Nashville Art School Will Purge Non-Christ
John Thompson: Diane Ravitch's Slaying Goliath Explains How the Disruptors Have Failed - Living in Dialogue

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Diane Ravitch's Slaying Goliath Explains How the Disruptors Have Failed By John Thompson. Part One of Two. Diane Ravitch’s Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools is the history of the rise and fall of corporate school reform, but it is much more. It isn’t that surprising that a scholar like Ravitch, like so many researchers and
Fake Film History Demeans the Education of Young Women

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Fake Film History Demeans the Education of Young Women Helping girls grow into strong women must be built on truth, not lies. Tonight, many will watch the Academy Awards. I thought it appropriate to write about the movies and their effect on young women. Public schools should be places that encourage all students to be good at sports, mathematics, engineering, at being the President of the Unite
Trump Lied About Philly Student in “Failing Government School” | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Trump Lied About Philly Student in “Failing Government School” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Trump singled out a child from Philadelphia who, he said, was “trapped in a failing government school.” In fact, the child attends one of the city’s most elite charter schools. Didn’t Betsy DeVos realize she had given $1.3 million to the self-same charter school in 2019? President Donald Trump
Book Tour, San Francisco, Part 2 | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Book Tour, San Francisco, Part 2 Despite my ongoing struggle to overcome the remnants of the flu, I managed to get through an event last night with the United Educators of San Francisco. I have become very comfortable with a new format, in which I don’t give a speech but instead engage in conversation with the interlocutor. Last night, my partner was Susan Solomon, the union president. I learned
Shawgi Tell: Charter Schools Fail to Eradicate the Achievement Gap | Dissident Voice

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Charter Schools Fail to Eradicate the Achievement Gap | Dissident Voice Charter Schools Fail to Eradicate the Achievement Gap Numerous inequalities characterize societies in which the majority produce the wealth but only a handful own it. The so-called “achievement gap” is mainly an expression of the harsh social class divide in society that keeps growing. One of the conceited claims of charter s
UTLA Shames the “Corporate Special Interests” with Billboards | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
UTLA Shames the “Corporate Special Interests” with Billboards The United Teachers of Los Angeles is militantly fighting back against the privatizers who are attacking public schools and seek to divert public money to charters and vouchers. The UTLA embodies Resistance to privatization and to those who oppose full funding of Los Angeles’ public schools. UTLA has created a billboard portraying the
Michael Mulgrew: The “Inconvenient Truth” Behind “Successful” Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
MIchael Mulgrew: The “Inconvenient Truth” Behind “Successful” Charter Schools Michael Mulgrew is president of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers, the largest local in the nation and in the American Federation of Teachers. He published this article in the New York Daily News, which is strongly pro-charter and often writes about the “success” of the city’s charter schools compared to it
NYC Educator: Bernie Sanders Catch 22

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Bernie Sanders Catch 22 Catch 22 is my favorite book. I don't even remember how many times I've read it. It's about Captain Yossarian, who had to fly incredibly risky missions. No matter how many he does, the number keeps getting raised. Yossarian goes to the doctor and says he can't fly any more missions because he's crazy. The doctor says if he's crazy he can stop flying missions, but by sayin
CURMUDGUCATION: What Charter Advocates Want From States

by Mike Simpson / 6d
What Charter Advocates Want From States What exactly would charter proponents like to see in state charter regulations? As it turns out, we don't have to guess, because the National Alliance of Public [sic] Charter Schools regularly publishes a ranking of the states based on the "strength" of their charter laws. This year's edition is the 11th, and it's available right now ! Woot! If you are con

FEB 08


TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 2/8/20 #REDFORED #tbats

by Mike Simpson / 7d
Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 2/8/20 Big Education Ape: My Book Tour Dates for SLAYING GOLIATH | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-book-tour-dates-for-slaying-

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