The PUBLIC ENEMY Rainbow National Tour rolls on! | Bill Ayers

The PUBLIC ENEMY Rainbow National Tour rolls on! | Bill Ayers:

The PUBLIC ENEMY Rainbow National Tour rolls on!

Please come out if you can and join me and Bernardine Dohrn in a conversation about Movement Building: Where do we go from here, chaos or community??

Wednesday, October 16th
7:00 pm – People’s Book Cooperative
804 E. Center Street
Milwaukee, WI

Thursday, October 17^th
5:30pm – 6:30pm: Pre-event Reception
7:00pm – Wisconsin Book Festival
Capitol Theater
Overture Center for the Arts
201 State Street
Madison, WI

Friday, October 18^th
7:30pm – Women and Children First
5233 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL

Leading Innovative Change Series – A New Staff Experience | Connected Principals

Leading Innovative Change Series – A New Staff Experience | Connected Principals:

Leading Innovative Change Series – A New Staff Experience

October 13, 2013

By George Couros

I wanted to try my hand at writing a series of blog posts on “Leading Innovative Change.” As I am looking at writing a book on the same topic, I thought I would put some ideas out there and hopefully learn from others on these topics. I also want to give these ideas away for free. These posts are for anyone in education, but are mostly focused on school administrators. In all of these, the idea that administrators openly model their learning will only accelerate a culture of innovation and risk-taking.  You can read the previous post here. 

A New Staff Experience

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” — Albert Einstein

Staff meetings were something that I dreaded in my beginning years as a teacher.  We would often spend the majority of our time together discussing rules and policies, and would debate, on end, things that are seemingly significant.  Hours have been spent in schools talking about whether kids should wear hats or not in school.  Really?
I saw the following quote on a slide, and I have shared it many times in talks that I have given to leadership groups.  It seems to resonate with many:

“If I die, I hope it’s during a staff meeting because the transition to death would be so subtle.” Unknown

Time is limited, but is this how we want it to be remembered?  How do we make better use of our time?
Epiphany
A few years back, as principal in a school, I had an interesting conversation with my brother (Alec Couros) and Will Richardson.  As we talked about something as simple as bookmarking, he asked 

SES IS (WAS?) A MESS:Tutoring Company Draws Fire as State Pulls Back Services - NYTimes.com

Tutoring Company Draws Fire as State Pulls Back Services - NYTimes.com:

THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

Tutoring Company Draws Fire as State Pulls Back Services

By MORGAN SMITH

 When two of Marcos Sifuentes’s children received free laptops from a tutoring program through their San Antonio middle school, the family signed up for wireless access at home for the first time. Mr. Sifuentes added an Internet hot spot to his cellphone plan so they could continue their lessons.

But when his son and his daughter tried to log on to the online tutoring program, they received an error message. He called Tutors With Computers, the company that offered the program, and was told his school district would no longer pay for the service.

Mr. Sifuentes’s children are among those who will no longer receive tutoring services through a 2001 No Child Left Behind Act provision that required struggling schools to set aside a portion of their federal financing to pay for after-school tutoring.

After years of complaints from school districts and few academic improvements, and with the approval of a federal waiver, the program is shutting down in Texas. Among the companies that began operating in the state after the program began, few offer a better window into the 

Cuban Newspaper Criticizes Teachers Charging for Tutoring | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com

Cuban Newspaper Criticizes Teachers Charging for Tutoring | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com:

Cuban Newspaper Criticizes Teachers Charging for Tutoring

Published at 5:03 pm EST, October 12, 2013

Cuban Communist Party daily Granma complained Friday that some salaried teachers are breaking the law by charging fees for individual tutoring.

“Charging for that work is an illicit exercise upon which limits must be imposed,” Granma warned in an article saying that such activities reveal “the lack of professional ethics” and “the loss of the teacher’s role.”

Tutoring for money was illegal in Cuba until 2010, when the government of Raul Castro, as part of its move to expand the possibilities of private work, authorized a kind of “self-employed teacher” to help students do better.

However, salaried teachers cannot obtain a tutor’s license.

At present, according to official sources cited by Granma, 1,023 Cubans have a license to practice that activity as a private business.

But in addition, the daily’s report says, there are salaried university professors who urge students to attend their private classes, for which they charge the equivalent of $10 per 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: I Suffer from FOEA- Fear of Education Acronyms!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: I Suffer from FOEA- Fear of Education Acronyms!:

I Suffer from FOEA- Fear of Education Acronyms!

I didn't always fear acronyms. Acronyms like PEMDAS, RARE, SWAP, are good acronyms. Their sole job? To help my students remember, like all good acronyms do.

But alas, acronyms have become something for teachers to fear. Whenever, there is a new acronym introduced into education, it strikes fear in our hearts. You know what I'm talking about. It seems that about every 6 months, a new one is introduced. One that I'm really afraid of in DE is,  DCAS (Delaware ...) Ok, I can't lie, I don't even know what it stands for! I just know it means test the hell out of our kids.

Within the past year, we have been introduced to the Common Core Standards(CCSS). Supposedly, it will help prepare our children to be College and Career Ready(CCR), using terms like RI(Reading Informational),  RL(Reading Literacy), NBT(Numbers and Operations in Base Ten, etc... My head is about to burst!

We have to create lesson plans using the LFS(Learning Focused Schools) templates to prepare our students for SBA (Smarter Balanced Assessment ), which will be completed using CBT(Computer Based Testing). Of course my evaluation, DPAS (Delaware 

Malala Yousafzai meets Barack Obama, asks for drone strikes to end | The Raw Story

Malala Yousafzai meets Barack Obama, asks for drone strikes to end | The Raw Story:

Malala Yousafzai meets Barack Obama, asks for drone strikes to end

By George Chidi
Saturday, October 12, 2013 18:00 EDT

 Malala Yousafzai may have missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, but she did get a chance to talk to the president about education, human rights … and drone strikes in Pakistan.

Obama invited Yousafzai to the White House “to thank her for her inspiring and passionate work on behalf of girls education in Pakistan,” the White House said in a statement Friday. “The United States joins with the Pakistani people and so many around the world to celebrate Malala’s courage and her determination to promote the right of all girls to attend school and realize their dreams.”

The 16-year-old campaigner for girls education and survivor of a Taliban assassination attempt said in a later statement that she was honored to meet with the president, but “I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism,” she said. “Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact,” she said.

Militants have continued to vow to kill her for her advocacy in girls’ education. She began her 

Coop Goes to High School Part 6 – In Front of the Lights | Lefty Parent

Coop Goes to High School Part 6 – In Front of the Lights | Lefty Parent:

Coop Goes to High School Part 6 – In Front of the Lights

October 12th, 2013 at 15:15

Me on the right in Lord of the Flies

Returning from a week of something completely different, my junior year spring break trip with my school Russian club to the Soviet Union, I was about to plunge into a new developmental phase after a recent twelve months filled with one developmental experience after another.  I was already in many ways transformed from the person I’d been that previous April.  Still shy and intimidated by most adults, and filled with a fair amount of general anxiety, but beginning to be able to define and establish myself as a unique person playing a significant role in a larger community of people.

At the moment, Junior Light Opera, the unique youth theater group I had plunged into the midst of, was my main developmental “growing edge”, along with the feminist ideologies I was being exposed to in my extended “family” of my mom’s close female friends (what I now dub my “Feminist Aunts”).  In JLO I had become a respected member and part of the leadership circle of the company and had developed and demonstrated my technical skills backstage, 

The argument over fair funding continues; some look to N.J. for a better way | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

The argument over fair funding continues; some look to N.J. for a better way | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

The argument over fair funding continues; some look to N.J. for a better way

by Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 11 2013 Posted in Latest news

Across the river in New Jersey, the neediest school districts have more money per student to spend, not less, than their nearby and generally better-off neighbors that surround them.

What a concept.

This is directly opposite to the situation in Pennsylvania, where wealthy districts spend more, and the gap is growing.

And where Philadelphia, the state's largest city, is so starved for funds that its schools lack counselors, librarians, full-time nurses, and other basic services, as Gov. Corbett's administration is holding back $45 million in allocated state funds while awaiting reforms in the teachers' contract.

This week, a coalition of civil rights leaders, inclluding from the NAACP, the National Urban League and the National Conference on Civil Rights, sent a letterto Gov. Corbett calling Philadelphia's situation "an embarrassment to the entire nation."  The coalition called on Pennsylvania to develop a rational funding formula for schools and for Corbett to immediately release the $45 million to Philadelphia.

Corbett's response, through a spokesman, was to argue that his administration actually has increased education spending (much of the money he refers to has gone to teacher pensions, not to fund programs in schools) and that the Genral Assembly specified that reforms were a prerequisite to releasing the $45 million. 

People who support Corbett's position often point to Camden, which spends $20,000 or more per student and gets mostly dismal results, as a rationale for requiring reforms as a condition for more resources.

David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center of New Jersey, was among those who appeared at a Wednesday forum on school funding co-

NYC Educator: King John's Epic Fail

NYC Educator: King John's Epic Fail:

King John's Epic Fail

Today I went to a Bar Mitzvah. It was a big party at a Holiday Inn. My wife and I were at table 6. We all sat down, and there were 4 or 5 elderly people at our table. One of Holiday Inn's crack employees informed us that there were not enough seats, and that furthermore, this was not, in fact, table 6. It was table 5 and someone had switched the table numbers!

I asked what the difference was, but she was unpersuaded. We all had to get up, even those who had trouble walking. What we found when we got to the new table was this--it was exactly the same size as the other table, but contained one extra chair. To me, it seemed ridiculous that we all had to switch places when we could've pushed over one chair and a place setting. But the woman in charge could not imagine any other way.

Of course, she is not a teacher, and would not 

HuffPost: Ravitch “Hooray!” – Rhee “Phffft” | Reclaim Reform

HuffPost: Ravitch “Hooray!” – Rhee “Phffft” | Reclaim Reform:

HuffPost: Ravitch “Hooray!” – Rhee “Phffft”

Posted on October 12, 2013

by Ken Previti

What is going on with education today? Two authors tell the story.

Diane Ravitch combines data and empathy.
Michelle Rhee combines hype and profit.

Diane Ravitch possesses knowledge and practical solutions.
Michelle Rhee possesses celebrity status and scare tactics.

Diane Ravitch has thousands of experienced educators and conscientious parents supporting her.
Michelle Rhee has hundreds of millions of private investor dollars and their hedge fund managers supporting her.

Want specifics?

“As Andrew Delbanco all but says in the New York Times Review of Books, the biggest difference between education scholar Diane Ravitch’s new book, Reign of Error, and former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s book, Radical, is that the first is based o

UPDATE: The Hubris of Bill Gates + Won’t Someone Please Think of the Children? | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

Won’t Someone Please Think of the Children? | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

Won’t Someone Please Think of the Children?

Posted on October 12, 2013by Teachers'LettersToBillGates

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Gates,

The next time you wanted to fund a huge EXPERIMENT in America,
perhaps you should consult the PARENTS of the 50 million children!

And don’t ever think you will get away with stealing a decade of our children’s lives.

MAMMON AND MORALS do not make for good bedfellows.

I think, personally that the two of you should go somewhere for about 10 months straight and write a paper, a serious soul-searching paper, about the things money can’t buy.

And when you are done doing all of that, I think you should spend the next 4 straight years apologizing to the teachers and children (and parents) you have harmed. I have not had a day this week where I have not seen another’s tears, or heard of another AWESOME INCREDIBLE teacher quitting. I started researching all of this bogus bad business deal in

The Hubris of Bill Gates

Posted on October 12, 2013by Teachers'LettersToBillGates

Dear Bill Gates,

IF, after 10 more years of destroying our nation’s public education system, you DO determine that you have made some grand mistakes that affected nearly all Americans negatively, and having in the meantime lined your own pockets in a big way, what will America get from you—-an apology?  Your remaining fortune to try to begin to rebuild the damage, which won’t even be possible at that point?  I would urge you to make very careful decisions in future, as your unmitigated hubris is not appreciated by the vast majority of Americans, regardless of what your 1% cronies tell you.  You and they will NOT buy America’s education system for your own profits in spite of having O’Bama and the 

10-12-13 Saturday Matinée Special Corporate Reform School Girls News Breakout

Saturday Special Corporate Reform School Girls News Breakout

NYC Public School Parents: NY parents react in fury to Common Core and testing; Commissioner John King disengages. Watch the OTHER video to see why.

NYC Public School Parents: NY parents react in fury to Common Core and testing; Commissioner John King disengages. Watch the OTHER video to see why.: NY parents react in fury to Common Core and testing; Commissioner John King disengages. Watch the OTHER video to see why.So the fury of parents and teachers with the state's botched implementation of the Common Core, testing and data collection was v

by mike simpson / 1h 

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Malala Yousafzai

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Malala Yousafzai: Malala Yousafzai    You may have already heard of Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old Pakistani girl who has become the symbol for women's right to education in her region and around the world. When the Taliban took over her region of the Swat Valley, they declared that girls would not be able to go to school and get an education. She recalls the Taliban m

3 by mike simpson / 1h 

Don't Drink The Common Core Kool Aid

Christopher Tienken, Ed.D is an assistant professor of Education Administration at Seton Hall University. Dr. Tienken confirms what many believe that Common Core lacks the appropriate scientific evidence for its very existence.--West Harrison, NY. September 21, 2013.

by mike simpson / 1h 

2nd Banana 10-12-13-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #RealEdTalk #p2 #1u

BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANA RECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POSTSeattle Schools Community Forum: Yeah? What If They Don't?coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours agoSeattle Schools Community Forum: Yeah? What If They Don't?: Yeah? What If They Don't? by Charlie Mas There's a lot of talk about accountability and why we can't seem to be able to hold anyone accountable in culture of public K-12 educatio

1 by mike simpson / 3h 

Morning Wink 10-12-13 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Lubic: The Cozy Nepotism in Los AngelesMight Makes Right When Viewing LAUSD and California Nepotism…..or does it? By Ellen Lubic, Educator and angry taxpayer Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times pr

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Lubic: The Cozy Nepotism in Los AngelesMight Makes Right When Viewing LAUSD and California Nepotism…..or does it? By Ellen Lubic, Educator and angry taxpayer Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times printed two stories that affect public school education, and those who ‘dabble’ in it. One was by journalist Howard Blume on the Billion Dolla

by mike simpson / 5h 

Parents Voice Concerns About Common Core: NY Dept of Ed Cancels Further Hearings - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Parents Voice Concerns About Common Core: NY Dept of Ed Cancels Further Hearings - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Parents Voice Concerns About Common Core: NY Dept of Ed Cancels Further HearingsBy Anthony Cody on October 12, 2013 10:27 AMTwo days ago, parents and teachers gathered at Spackenkill High School in Poughkeepsie, New York, for a public hearing to discuss the Common Core, w

by mike simpson / 5h 

Coalition to Corbett: Fund schools, develop formula - Philly.com

Coalition to Corbett: Fund schools, develop formula - Philly.com: Coalition to Corbett: Fund schools, develop formulaBy Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff WriterPOSTED: October 11, 2013A coalition of civil- and human-rights groups has urged Gov. Corbett to release state funds for Philadelphia's cash-strapped schools and develop a new funding formula for education."This crisis quickly has become a

by mike simpson / 5h 

17th Annual BBQ - Tom Torlakson for State Superintendent of Public Instruction 2014

17th Annual BBQ - Tom Torlakson for State Superintendent of Public Instruction 2014: 17th Annual BBQ - Tom Torlakson for State Superintendent of Public Instruction 2014: 17TH ANNUAL BBQ & HEALTHY CHILI COOK-OFFPosted by Craig Cheslog 242pc on September 15, 2013 · FlagIt's almost time for one of my favorite events of the year: my Annual BBQ and Healthy Chili Cook-Off! It's amazing to think we'v

by mike simpson / 5h 

If I Were A Student, I Would Ask My… | Ward 8 DC Teacher

If I Were A Student, I Would Ask My… | Ward 8 DC Teacher: If I Were A Student, I Would Ask My…by ACINTRONJR • OCTOBER 12, 2013http://www.teachhub.com/empty-desk-story-classroom-communityIf I were a student in a high poverty public school, I would pose the following questions to my teachers, guidance counselor, principal, and parents/guardians. The intent of this piece is not to score cheap educati

by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: Girl dies after getting sick at school without nurseBY VALERIE STRAUSSOctober 12 at 9:45 amA 12-year-old girl got sick late last month while she was at her Philadelphia school — a school without a full-time nurse. She died later that day. Here’s a piece on what happened to Laporshia Massey from the website of the nonprofit Parents United for Public Education in Philadelphia. The

by mike simpson / 6h 

solidaridad: We have good people running for the El Rancho and South Pasadena School Boards - support them

solidaridad: We have good people running for the El Rancho and South Pasadena School Boards - support them: We have good people running for the El Rancho and South Pasadena School Boards - support themRobert D. Skeels @rdsatheneThe Network for Public Education endorses Suzie Abajian for South Pasadena School Board http://j.mp/186ENcs  7:40 PM - 11 Oct 2013Robert D. Skeels @rdsatheneNPE Endorses Jo

by mike simpson / 6h 

Louisiana Educator: A Letter to Education Officials

Louisiana Educator: A Letter to Education Officials: A Letter to Education OfficialsThe following is an editorial written by the mother of an autistic student. It points out the absurdity of requiring IEPs for students with disabilities but at the same time expecting them to master the same Common Core requirements as all the other students. It seems that an Individual Education Program is no long

by mike simpson / 6h 

Daily Kos: Thoughts on a Saturday morning

Daily Kos: Thoughts on a Saturday morning: Thoughts on a Saturday morningbyteacherkenFollowperhaps this should be a reflection on teaching. It is for the most part not, because I have other things on my mind.I think of the past, the present, and the future.The past - I look back 15 years ago to this date in Wyoming, where Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence post, brutalized, and left to die.The pr

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Holly Boffy – John White, CCSSO, CCSS conflicts of interest that will make your head spin | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

The Holly Boffy – John White, CCSSO, CCSS conflicts of interest that will make your head spin | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish's Blog The Holly Boffy – John White, CCSSO, CCSS conflicts of interest that will make your head spinPosted on October 12, 20133 BESE member, Holly Boffy, taught thru the 2010-2011 school year for Lafayette Parish; before getting elected to BESE.Boffy’s May 15, 2012

by mike simpson / 6h 

Coalition for Public Education Speaks Out Against Charter Schools/Coalición por la Educación Pública Habla en contra de las escuelas charter

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: The Coalition for Public Education Speaks Out Against Charter Schools Junebug Jabbo Jones asks this simple question to the Charter School-loving Black and Latino Parents: “If Charter Schools are so great, why aren’t white parents asking for them?”As last spring’s state exams indicated, with very few exceptions (most of whom were me

by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership Society

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Schooling in the Ownership SocietyMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership SocietyTaking back ChicagoI'm looking forward to next Tuesday, October 15th when a coalition of union and community groups will come together to "Take Back Chicago." Several thousand people are expected to take part in this community meeting at the UIC Forum. Things will s

by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:Steve Perry: “No Excuses” – Except for himself…In response to yesterday’s Wait, What? post about his latest twitter diatribe and the fact that his claims about Capital Prep’s success don’t match up the actual facts, Dr. Steve Perry, the self-proclaimed “Most Trusted Educator” in America, returned to tweeter to complain that, “One [critic] spent his morning counting my tweets not realizi

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Who is on the Advanced Learning Task Force?From the Friday Memo to the Board of October 4:Advanced Learning Task ForceAdvanced Learning has contracted with a facilitator, Barbara Grant to help guide two task forces this year. The first is focused on the identification of students for highly capable services, with particular attention to reaching culturally diverse a

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: MORE Reflections on the Delegate AssemblyWednesday was an interesting day in UFT-land, a lot of it related to MORE and its growing reputation at the school level and at the DA. And I should point out that the parent dominated Change the Stakes which co-sponsored the rally is also growing in reputation amongst parents.There is no question that the Unity resolution on high stakes te

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman:Tales of Inequity in Chris Christie's New Jersey, Part IAll high schools are equal in Chris Christie's New Jersey - but, as David Sciarra explains in this great piece, some are more equal than others (all emphases mine): The buildings of Phillipsburg High School and Trenton Central High School are remarkably similar. Phillipsburg was built in 1928, Trenton in 1932, in classical styl

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Fred Klonsky | Daily postsFrom Tim Furman. Byron Sigcho on UNO: Politics and corruption.Tim Furman is a friend, activist and master of technology. Hi Fred, I’m coordinating a series of talks by the UIC researcher and activist Byron Sigcho in UNO-impacted wards. He’s giving an updated talk about the UN

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street SchoolIn Which I Use The Danieslon Rubric To Evaluate John King's EffectivenessNYSED Commissioner John King has deemed the Danielson rubric the evaluator tool of choice for teacher observations in New York City.I have deemed the Danielson rubric the evaluator tool of choice for NYSED Commissioner observations in Poughkeepsie.On Thursday, NYSED Commissioner Kin

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

10-12-13 Radical Scholarship

Radical Scholarship: Common Core in the Real World: Destroying Literacy through Standardization (Again) | the becoming radicalCommon Core in the Real World: Destroying Literacy through Standardization (Again) | the becoming radical1 by P. L. Thomas / 2d OCT 09The Central Issue at the Heart of America's Growing Education GapThe Central Issue at the Heart of America's Growing Education Gap2 by P. L.

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 10-12-13 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLLARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAYNew Project-Based Learning ResourcesMy newest “question-of-the-week” at my Education Week Teacher column is “What’s Your Best Advice On Doing Project-Based Learning?” So it’s timely to make a few additions to The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas: Essentials For Project Based Learni

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

This Week's Education Research Report 10-12-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Education Research ReportTHIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORTNew approach urged for 'abysmal' K-12 writing instructionWriting instruction in U.S. classrooms is "abysmal" and the Common Core State Standards don't go far enough to address glaring gaps for students and teachers, a Michigan State University education scholar argues.In a new study, Gary Troia calls for a fresh approach to pr

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 10-12-13

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FITSCHOOLS OPT OUT OF LAUSD iPAD PLAN, ASKING FOR MORE PLANNINGLA Unified’s iPads pilot phase continues on bumpy road: schools back out, suffer technical glitches by Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1efjSFz   Grant Slater/KPCC : A student uses an iPad during class in Huntington Park. October

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education 10-12-13

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:NPE News BriefsCaveat Emptor–Charter School Poster Kids and Private/Public Education | Huffington PostBy Michele Somerville Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, closed her schools in New York, on Tuesday October 8th so as to allow students parents and teachers to join a demonstration to defend public school priva

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

10-12-13 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekThe Head Start Enron Trader Initiative: The Arnold Foundation in Indiana, Louisiana, NYC, Texas, and BeyondBy Doug MartinThe national news has painted Enron’s retired trader and hedge fund manager John Arnold as a Jesus figure since he and his wife announced they were going to cover the government costs of funding Head Start during the government shutdown (b

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

All Week 10-12-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Reformy NY Education Commish gets taken to the woodshed by parents.From a PTA Town Hall in Poughkeepsie. This event is one of several that the New York State PTA is sponsoring to spread Common Core propaganda across the Empire State. The NYS PTA’s plan looks to be backfiring as parents see the Common Core as damaging their children’s

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 10-12-13 -13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGDid ACT Scores Go Up in Dallas Because of Data Manipulation?A reader sent the following comment. I can’t vouch for its authenticity but urge reporters in Dallas to do so:   A newly exposed DISD controversy involves claims that college readiness improved in 2012/13 under Mike Miles. This claim is on page 218 of the “Data P

1 by mike simpson / 7h