Saturday, April 14, 2012

Remember when people used to post videos they liked on their blog? Now we just tweet or post them to Facebook which is fine I suppose.
This video is one I'm sure many of seen as it is destined to go viral if it already hasn't. I first saw it on twitter and since have watched it at least 7 times showing it to all members of my family who each watch with smiles and joy as they watch a little boy be a little boy who's enamored with play and science and creating an experience for others to enjoy. I don't want you to miss it.
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Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.
So many lessons to be learned, so much to appreciate. The lost art of boredom, trial and error, giving

Real Reform versus Fake Reformy Distractions: More Implications from NJ & MA for CT! « School Finance 101

Real Reform versus Fake Reformy Distractions: More Implications from NJ & MA for CT! « School Finance 101:

Real Reform versus Fake Reformy Distractions: More Implications from NJ & MA for CT!

by schoolfinance101

Recently, I responded to an absurd and downright disturbing Op-Ed by a Connecticut education reform organization that claimed that Connecticut needed to move quickly to adopt teacher evaluation/tenure reforms and expand charter schooling because a) Connecticut has a larger achievement gap and lower outcomes for low income students than Massachusetts or New Jersey and b) New Jersey and Massachusetts were somehow outpacing Connecticut in adopting new reformy policies regarding teacher evaluation. Now, the latter assertion is questionable enough to begin with, but the most questionable assertion was that any recent policy changes that may have occurred in New Jersey or Massachusetts explain why low income children in those states do better, and have done better at a faster rate than low income kids in Connecticut. Put simply, bills presently on the

Get Rid of Teachers or Encourage them To Stay -- What is Best for our Schools? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Get Rid of Teachers or Encourage them To Stay -- What is Best for our Schools? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Get Rid of Teachers or Encourage them To Stay -- What is Best for our Schools?

by Anthony Cody

Guest post by Mark Simon.
After over a decade of "corporate reform" strategies in many places, we have a chance to compare the results of two drastically different approaches to improving public schools. In some places, such as Washington, DC, we have seen teacher turnover skyrocket, in line with the belief that lagging student performance is due to inferior teachers. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the teachers' union and District have been following a different path for the last fifteen years, and are seeing dramatic results.
"Corporate reform" is the moniker earned by the dominant paradigm in school turnarounds, the one promoted by the US Department of Education and championed by foundations established by successful corporate titans Bill Gates and Eli Broad. According to this approach, if students aren't performing, start by getting rid of the adults who must be, by definition, responsible. This blame, fire, and hire strategy is imported from the corporate world where Jack Welsh and Donald Trump are the archetypal heroes. The problem is that after over thirteen years of

Letters to the Reading DCAS(Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System):My Students Write How They Feel! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

Letters to the Reading DCAS(Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System):My Students Write How They Feel! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:

Letters to the Reading DCAS(Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System):My Students Write How They Feel!

by Oldschoolteach

When my kids were done their DCAS Reading test last month, I had them write letters to the test. I am posting some of the letters they wrote.

Dear Reading DCAS,

Why do you have to be hard? I know I do your tests in the beginning, middle, and end of the year. But doing 55 questions in 3 days is a lot. We have to take our time to get a good score, otherwise we might get a 1 and that’s not good. Can we see what questions we dot right and what questions we got wrong at the end of the test? So that way we

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Inslee's Plan for Better Educational Outcomes

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Inslee's Plan for Better Educational Outcomes:

Inslee's Plan for Better Educational Outcomes

by Melissa Westbrook

I attended a Renton event a couple of weeks ago where Jay Inslee rolled out his ideas for public education. It was held at Talbot Hill Elementary school where they have a student-based governance system and the school's leaders were front and center. (And they were well-behaved and truly seemed to be listening.)

It was smallish, held right in the front lobby of the school, and crowded with reporters, staff and many education advocates including WEA's Mary Lindquist and Lisa Macfarlane of Democrats for Education Reform.

Also in attendance was Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel, Superintendent of Renton School District and 2011 Washington State Superintendent of the Year and someone I hope applied for Seattle's job. Steve Sundquist was there as well.

I was pretty happy with his plan. He starts with a simple two-pronged premise. The first is that 1 out of 5

Did Mavericks Charter School in Palm Beach Ask Teachers to Falsify Grades? | Scathing Purple Musings

Did Mavericks Charter School in Palm Beach Ask Teachers to Falsify Grades? | Scathing Purple Musings:

Did Mavericks Charter School in Palm Beach Ask Teachers to Falsify Grades?

by Bob Sikes

According to another lawsuit filed by one of three whistle-blowers they did. From Palm Beach Post reporter Allison Ross-Ferrelli:

A former teacher at the new Mavericks High School in Palm Springs has filed a lawsuit alleging that the school falsifies enrollment records and fabricates student grades in classes the students did not take.
The lawsuit, filed by Angenora Mechato, is the third such whistleblower lawsuit to be filed by former employees of the chain of Florida charter schools. The chain is run by a for-profit

Big Education Ape: 4-14-12 PM Check out new reports to see if your state is considering ALEC bills! EDition

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Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

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Check out new reports to see if your state is considering ALEC bills! « Parents Across America

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Check out new reports to see if your state is considering ALEC bills! « Parents Across America: Check out new reports to see if your state is considering ALEC bills!by leoniehaimsonExchange Council...

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After Number of Gifted Soars, a Fight for Kindergarten Slots

nytimes.com - Nearly 5,000 children qualified for gifted and talented kindergarten seats in New York City public schools in the fall, 22 percent more than last year and more than double the number four years ago...

mikeklonsky

Does U.S. have a high-tech worker shortage?

articles.philly.com - STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.Unemployed electrical engineer Jonathan Mercado isn't seeing it from his perch. "I think it's a lie," said Mercado, a 2010 Temple U...

arneduncan

Leaders of New Group Have an "Interest" in Education

huffingtonpost.com - Few people define themselves as being a member of a special interest. That term applies to the folks on the other side -- the people you disagree with. New Yorkers got more evidence of that this mo...

DianeRavitch

After Number of Gifted Soars, a Fight for Kindergarten Slots

DianeRavitch

- Wait, What?

jonathanpelto.com - Apr 14 jonpeltoCharter Schools, Education, Malloy, Stefan Pryor Education Reform, Malloy, Michelle Rhee, StudentsFirst the 2012 “Education Reformers” – They bully, they’re arrogant and they appear ...

DianeRavitch

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The Essence of Teaching | Reflections of a First Year Math Teacher

mathequality.wordpress.com - “…what profound thoughts and feelings are at the heart of his desire to teach. It is more than a job or a possible career; teaching is a calling of the most personal kind. It reaches deep into our ...

DianeRavitch

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - The first time I ever went to Springfield, Illinois was in 1975. Anne, our daughter and I were heading out on a road trip to Los Angeles. We had planned to leave early in the morning, but by mid-af...

mikeklonsky

nyceducationnews : Message: Ed Writer's Association's annual conference: what a sell-out

groups.yahoo.com - Education Writer’s Association: keynote speakers this year are Steve Brill, who wrote the worst book ever on ed reform, with factual misstatements on nearly every page, and Sen. Bennet, DFER’s fav...

leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

ALEC Revisited | Impatient Optimists

impatientoptimists.org - Over the past several weeks, many of our friends, partners and grantees, as well as some members of the general public, have expressed their concerns about the foundation’s recent grant to the Amer...

leoniehaimson

Check out new reports to see if your state is considering ALEC bills! « Parents Across America

parentsacrossamerica.org - Apr 14, 2012 leoniehaimson A lot of attention has been given lately to ALEC –the American Legislative Exchange Council, the secretive, right-wing group that produces and disseminates legislation in...

leoniehaimson

Is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Serious Trouble? Look at their website.

dailykos.com - Remember this one... This is a website screen shot of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) April 13, 2012. The day they all, the Koch Brothers and their mega-wealthy cabal, greedy CEOs...

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PoliticsSee all

Taxing the rich: it's the American way

beinglatino.us - Photo: nuttakit On April 16, the Democrats will broadside their political rivals in the Senate by forcing a vote on the so-called Buffet rule, a proposed bill that would raise the minimum tax rate ...

coopmike48

Modern School: Land of the Free, Home of the Ch*ckenshit?

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Modern School: Land of the Free, Home of the Chickenshit?: Land of the Free, Home of the Chickenshit?by Michael DunnMiami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was suspended for five games for saying he id...

coopmike48

Go Stuff your Bully, Arrogant, Uncompromising, Authoritarian, One Party Takeover up Your Collective...!

democurmudgeon.blogspot.com - But alas, we'll never hear that from the Democratic Party. We'll never hear that from our elected Democratic Party lawmakers. And we'll never hear it from our liberal reporters, pundits and anchors...

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LeisureSee all

Thousands of cyclists and pedestrians to participate in CicLAvia

latimesblogs.latimes.com - April 14, 2012 | 2:01 pm About 100,000 cyclists and pedestrians are expected to participate in the fourth CicLAvia festival Sunday that will close 10 miles of streets in and around downtown L.A. f...

coopmike48

Guayabera by Raul Guerrero - Hispanically Speaking News

hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 1:40 pm EST, April 14, 2012 Once upon a time, Vice President Dan Quayle, on his way to an official visit to Latin America, lamented not having taken Latin in high school to communicate...

coopmike48

Join Us at the Online Education Conference!

edupln.com - It's time for SimpleK12's Online Education Conference - a 24 hour Training Extravaganza! An international conference that's 100% FREE! No travel. No registration fees. Register for upcoming session...

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Art & EntertainmentSee all

We have one thing she hasn’t got. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - The story of the Detroit charter school teacher who was fired for allowing and encouraging her students to organize a fund raising event for Trayvon Martin is another lesson in why I treasure my un...

mikeklonsky

‘Texts from Hillary’ creator: Always loved ‘the idea of powerful women texting each other’

rawstory.com - By Kay SteigerSaturday, April 14, 2012 12:40 EDT Stacy Lamb and Adam Smith told Jennifer Granholm on Current’s the War Room Friday about how the genesis of their wildly popular Texts from Hillary...

coopmike48

Reports: Robin Gibb, former Bee Gee, gravely ill in hospital

northjersey.com - LONDON — Former Bee Gee Robin Gibb is gravely ill with pneumonia in a London hospital, British media reported Saturday. ASSOCIATED PRESS This Saturday Aug. 15, 2009 file photo Britain's Robin Gibb ...

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