Rankin Seeks To Shut - It - Down
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Boy, Seattle School Board President Liza Rankin has a bee in her bonnet
about shutting down the current school closure process.
I had first noticed that ...
The Morbidly Rich
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The Morbidly Rich are $276 billion richer just in the two weeks
since November 5th, so, of course, Republicans want to give them trillions
more in tax...
To Build The Wall
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It's just the latest brick. Florida has moved past banning courses that are
expressly about that woke stuff, and has moved on to removing subjects like
soc...
November Parent Engagement Resources
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Greeting a family in their preferred language is a small gesture that
demonstrates respect and eagerness to connect with parents. Creating a
Welcoming Envi...
Student Debtors Could See Hopes Vanish Under Trump
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Student Debtors Could See Hopes Vanish Under Trump: Not just mass debt
relief, but borrowers promised debt relief through various programs could
be denied ...
Self-Actualization
-
Most of us are aware of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow because of
his famous hierarchy of needs, usually portrayed as a pyramid. At the
bottom...
Will AI Transform Teaching and Learning?
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Recently, I was invited to be part of a five member panel at Google to
discuss the impact that AI will have on teaching and learning in schools.
My fellow ...
Boom! Boom boom! It’s Deer Season
-
So– we live in the northern Michigan woods. And beginning last Friday, we
have been hearing shooting. Lots and lots of shooting. It’s deer season
(firearms...
MEMES THAT MADE ME LAUGH TODAY 11-22
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*MEMES THAT MADE ME LAUGH TODAY 11-22*
Big Education Ape: TRUMP, MCMAHON AND THE GREAT BODY SLAM OF THE U.S.
DEPAR...
An Apology
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I want to apologize for not responding personally to those who shared their
views on last week’s blog post, my analysis of why the Democrats lost.
I’ve be...
Divider in Chief Shares Education Plan
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By Thomas Ultican 11/22/2024 President Trump’s new video on the Carter
Family’s YouTube channel lays out his ten points for public education. It
is no surp...
EXCERPT: When Freedom is the Question…
-
When Freedom is the Question… In Bertolt Brecht’s 1938 play Galileo, the
astronomer’s breathtaking discoveries about the movement of the planets and
the st...
¡Si, ganamos!
-
En victorias desde la Carolinia del Norte hacia el Estado de Washington y
Maine, encontramos la evidencia que cuando nos organizamos, ganamos.
Siempre encu...
Pointing Out The Parralles
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“Your friend professes belief yet I’m not convinced. What about you? Are
the gods real?” “They are real,” says I, “And you’re a prick.” ― Ferdia
Lennon, Gl...
A message from Quaker Meeting for Worship
-
the branch of Society of Friends to which I belong is unprogrammed, we have
no designated ministers. Anyone who feels moved by the Spirit is free to
rise...
Trump and Education
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I do not believe American education is a top concern for Donald Trump. I do
believe that he could well turn it over to the likes of the Heritage
Foundation...
Don’t Obey In Advance
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Last week, I hopped off a bus and voted early. It was quick, convenient,
and came with two stickers: one for me and one for ...
Read More
The post Don’t...
Try Substack?
-
Seems like the popular new thing. Here’s my first try – it’s about
yesterday’s UFT Retired Teachers Chapter meeting – first ever not run by
Unity. (Spoiler...
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
-
This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
Time to Rein in Vouchers
-
Universal voucher programs have, in many states led to substantial budget
stress (Baker, 2024;[1] Hager, 2024). Initial cost estimates in Florida
were that...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
-
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 ...
15 Questions for the Candidates
-
Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified
compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a
modern bur...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
-
In 2020, I was approached by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais and I decided
we should document the story of Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS).
This ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
-
Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
-
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...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
-
In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
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...
Skin Deep
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She spends so much time on her outward appearance. There is never a hair
out of place. Her makeup is perfect and her clothes are stylish and match
to ...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
-
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...
-
*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Updated: May 2024*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good a...
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. NOT!
-
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 certi...
Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It!
-
NOTE: This post contains my opinions on Catholicism based on my experiences
as a child in the 1960's and 70's. Take what you like and leave the rest. I
m...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
-
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...
On the Edge of Silence
-
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamen...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
-
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
-
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
-
[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
-
Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
GA run-offs need your help!
-
Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already
doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph …
Continue reading →
The Threat of Integration
-
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!
-
The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
-
I climbed the hill leading up to one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle
this morning to enjoy a coffee while taking in a phenomenal view of the
city o...
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...
Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19
-
Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half
ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did,
there's...
NAEP scores and "the science of reading"
-
*Sent to US News. They just informed me that they no longer publish
letters to the editor. *
*Re: “National reading emergency” November 12*
*[https://www...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
-
Here you go: A ‘Disturbing’ Assessment: Sagging Reading Scores,
Particularly for Eighth-Graders, Headline 2019’s Disappointing NAEP Results
NAEP 2019: Re...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Storm is Coming! (…again)
-
A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new
meteorologist will have on …
Continue reading →
The World According to Michelle Rhee
-
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...
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
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
-
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...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
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Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
-
Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
-
I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to ...
Education Is a Civic Question
-
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
-
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...
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)
-
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
-
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...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
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...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
-
Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
-
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
-
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
-
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...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
-
Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
The MAP Test
-
Teachers will be voting this afternoon on the contract that has been
tentatively agreed upon. I am asking all teachers to not allow an
evaluation system th...
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
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 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 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 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,
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) 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 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 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
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
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
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
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.
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 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 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: '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 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) 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 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 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
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 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 | 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
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 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
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” 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 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 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 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 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 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 | 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
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 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” 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
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
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 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
| 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
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 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
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) 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! 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. 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 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 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
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
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
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. 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
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
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 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
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 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) 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
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! 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,
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 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 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: 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 “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 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 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 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(?) 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
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
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 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” 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 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
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 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 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
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
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
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-