10 Best Education Posts of 2013 | Gatsby In L.A.

10 Best Education Posts of 2013 | Gatsby In L.A.:

10 Best Education Posts of 2013

 It’s been a crazy year in education!  If you’re taking time over winter break to reflect on 2013’s highs and lows, here are the education “hits” that have changed my thinking this year:

1. Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot, New York Times.  Anyone who talks about the achievement gap in this country needs to read this searing profile of a 11-year-old girl cycling in and out of homelessness in New York City.  If we are serious about addressing the needs low-income students of color in this country, we need to first understand the conditions in which many of our students are growing up.
2. Educating the Educators by Mike Rose, The Answer Sheet, Washington Post.  Cutting through the hysterical rhetoric of so much of the conversation in education these days, Rose, a professor at UCLA, sheds light on the meaning of teaching with his thoughtful, wise, complex and compassionate discussion of what it means to become a teacher and who ought to be one.  Part One is a re-examination of some of the terms we use to define teaching.  Part Two is a discussion of diversity and what we mean when we say “selectivity.
3. Teaching Isn’t Rocket Science.  It’s Harder by Ryan Fuller, Slate.  This post has gone viral for good reason.  Fuller, who became a teacher with TFA after several years as an engineer, is in his second year in the classroom. This piece brilliantly unpacks exactly why the job is so challenging.
4. Examine Yourself by Camika Royal, youTube.  A viral video from TFA’s convocation on the East Coast this year.  Whatever you think of TFA, Royal, a veteran teacher, rips into opportunistic newbies who plan to fluff their resumes and get out, reminding them—and us—of why the battle for educational equality matters 

NYC Schools Chancellor Pick Carmen Fariña Leaves More Questions Than Answers:

NYC Schools Chancellor Pick Carmen Fariña Leaves More Questions Than Answers

Carmen Farina reacts during a news conference, Monday, Dec. 30, 2013 at MS 51 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Farina, a former teacher, principal and longtime advocate of early childhood education, will be the next leader of the nation's largest public school system. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Standing in front of 20 fidgety kids in a middle school gymnasium Monday, New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio (D) announced what he called "literally one of the most important decisions" he'd make as mayor: the appointment of longtime educator and one-time Bloomberg education deputy Carmen Fariña as chancellor of the nation's largest public school system.

At a press conference at Brooklyn's William Alexander Middle School, a school his two children attended, de Blasio called Fariña "a brilliant innovator and someone who knew how to bring people together." He also heralded a new attitude and direction for the schools, stressing the importance of a relationship with parents and teachers that is less antagonistic than the polarization that marked his predecessor's tenure.

"There are things that need to happen, but they need to happen with people -- not to people," Fariña said, summarizing her approach to education management in New York.

But the appointment leaves much up in the air: During the Monday press conference, de Blasio and Fariña declined to answer many specific questions about the fate of Bloomberg initiatives like charter school growth and teacher evaluations, and about how they would approach contract negotiations with the United Federation of Teachers.

After months of campaign promises, Farina only has two days between her appointment and the first day of her job. The quick turnaround means advocates and experts throughout the country are left to wonder whether -- and how soon -- the 

DailyCensored Learning to fight the tyranny of a neo-liberal education: Chile and Ecuador

DailyCensored.com – Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal NewsLearning to fight the tyranny of a neo-liberal education: Chile and Ecuador:

Learning to fight the tyranny of a neo-liberal education: Chile and Ecuador

By Danny Weil on December 30, 2013 11:36 pm / no comments

 

 picture of student protester and organizer, Camila Vallejo recently elected to Chilean Congress

As the hoax known as Obama’s 20/20 plan for higher education is barely mentioned in the US press, what is also missing from any discussion is what is going on in other parts of the world when it comes to higher education.  This is especially true of S. America where dramatic, positive changes are taking place.

In this two-part article we look at two countries that are going through a remarkable transition in Latin America:  Chile and Ecuador.  By studying the issues that face the Chilean and Ecuadorian people and how they are uniting to assure free, open access for all students wishing to go to an institution of higher education the US people might begin to learn how to mount a real mobilization to defend and preserve public education.  As you will see, this movement must be offensive, defensive and well organized.

Join the Project Censored Newsletter Here!

We begin with Chile

In 2006, during the first presidential term of President Michelle Bachelet, her government was facing its first main challenge with riots, strikes and a countrywide boycott put together by more than a million students.

A national strike called by the Coordinating Assembly of Grade School Students brought the Chilean education system to its knees back in June of 2006.  Teenagers occupied schools, barricading the entrances with desks, while street riots raged for 10 hours in the capital of Chile, Santiago. Police 

12-30-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG 2013 Best of the Blog — Whole Child Education

2013 Best of the Blog: 5–1 — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

2013 Best of the Blog: 5–1

December 30, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

In the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged and prepared for success in higher education, employment, and civic life.

School Safety Lessons Learned: From Cleveland to Newtown by Stephen Sroka Working with school safety for more than 30 years, I have tried to help schools and communities keep our youth safe and healthy so that they can learn more and live better. Here are several lessons that I have learned.

Where Are We Going and Why? by Andy Hargreaves and Pasi Sahlberg In his book The Fourth Way, Andy Hargreaves states, "We are entering an age of post-standardization in education. It may not look, smell, or feel like it, but the augurs of the new age have already arrived and are advancing with increasing speed." He and noted expert Pasi Sahlberg discuss how this "fourth way" goes "beyond standardization, data-driven decision making, and target-obsessed distractions to forge an equal and interactive partnership among the people, the profession, and their government."

Who Is Today's Principal? by Daniel W. Smith In order to effectively lead as a principal in today's schools, individuals must focus on high-quality classroom instruction. Yes, principals must serve as visionary, instructional, influential, and learning leaders, but they must serve in these roles in relation to effective instruction.

21st Century Skills and the Common Core Standards by Andrew Miller The Common Core State Standards explicitly call for 21st century skills, so through uncovering the 3 Cs in the Common Core standards, we can see how educators must teach and assess them.

There Is No Debating the Six Shifts by Peter DeWitt As we continue down the road of more mandates and accountability than we have ever seen, we cannot lose touch, no matter how hard it may be, with our jobs to teach the whole child.

Happy holidays and a healthy, safe, engaging, supportive, and challenging 2014!

12-25-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG 2013 Best of the Blog — Whole Child Education

2013 Best of the Blog: 15–11 — Whole Child Education: 2013 Best of the Blog: 15–11In the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged and prepared for success in higher educati

by mike simpson / 26min 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: On de Blasio's Choice

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: On de Blasio's Choice:

On de Blasio's Choice

Pedro Noguera

“Mayor-Elect de Blasio has made an excellent choice in picking Carmen Fariña to lead New York’s public schools. For the first time in many years the nation’s largest school system will be led by an educator with a keen understanding of curriculum and instruction, who is committed to actively supporting our public schools.” -- Gotham Schools

Diane Ravitch

 It is a new day in New York City. The era of punishing, blaming, and shaming professional educators is over. De Blasio announced that he will immediately scrap the A-F grading system that Mayor Bloomberg picked up from Governor Jeb Bush. He will initiate a moratorium on school closings and charter co-

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Operation Feedback! Just Give Me 30 Minutes a Week, and You Too Will Be an Amazing Teacher!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Operation Feedback! Just Give Me 30 Minutes a Week, and You Too Will Be an Amazing Teacher!:

Operation Feedback! Just Give Me 30 Minutes a Week, and You Too Will Be an Amazing Teacher!

I should have know something was wrong when the faculty meeting started with a video of Bill Gates EEE (Education Expert Extraordinaire) talking about what teachers need.

What does Bill think we need more than anything in the world? Feedback! I don't see anything wrong with feedback, but on a Top 10 list of things teachers need, this is not it.

But, what do I know? Who am I to contradict what Bill Gates has to say regarding any educational issues? So I sat, and stared mindlessly at the video, inwardly becoming more and more agitated as I listened to....

I couldn't imagine what this video had to do with why we were at this after school faculty meeting that had 30 extra minutes tagged onto it.

And then there it was, the A.N.T (Another New Thing)...Operation Feedback!

This is what I have to look forward to when I return to work in 2014:

• An administrator or coach(my peer), will make an announced visit to my room,every week, for the rest of the school year.
• They will watch me,  observe me, take notes, (or videotape me if I allow), for 15 minutes, every week.
• They will read their notes and come up with an "action step" to correct whatever they observed that could be improved on. No, they will help me become a better teacher by pointing out my flaws every week. No, they will praise me, and then tell 

Will New York City Lead the Way on Pre-K? | The Nation

Will New York City Lead the Way on Pre-K? | The Nation:

Will New York City Lead the Way on Pre-K?

The outlook for Mayor de Blasio’s signature initiative just got a whole lot brighter.

Dana Goldstein 

December 26, 2013  

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Preschool children watch El Museo del Barrio’s thirty-fourth annual Three Kings Day parade, Thursday, January 6, 2011, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

At the Future of America Learning Center in the West Bronx, the pre-K curriculum is built around adult jobs—visiting real workplaces and then learning about the vocabulary and skills that grown-ups use every day. 

At a career-month event, 4-year-olds meet doctors and nurses from the Montefiore Medical Center. Back in their classroom, they set up a replica triage desk and play doctor with a real stethoscope and blood-pressure cuff. In another unit, students visit a Citibank vault and then deposit real coins in a classroom bank. 

If they are upset, children can choose to visit the “oasis,” a corner furnished with soft carpets, pillows and a mini-armchair. The idea is for kids to learn resilience, the self-soothing skills that help people of all ages overcome conflict, disappointment and discomfort. There are three adults in each twenty-student classroom at Future of America, one with a master’s degree. And the center is open for eleven hours per day, which means people—a good number of them single parents—can drop their children off on the way to work and pick them up when their shift is over, without worrying about arranging after-school baby-sitting or nutritious meals. All of that is provided at one location. 

This is a gold-standard pre-K education—the kind that, according to research by Nobel Prize–

12-30-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Washington State Charter Applicants - No Conversions

I've been pacing myself to go through all the charter school applications.  At about 566 pages each, it's a long slog.But I can confirm that I see none of them - submitted to the Charter Commission - that are applying to be conversion schools.  What is somewhat troubling is that one of them - Pioneer School which currently exists as a private school - didn't even seem to understand the question. 

by Melissa Westbrook / 9min 

Patt Sutton - A Champion for Public Education in Seattle

The West Seattle Herald has a very good obituary of Patt Sutton who served two-terms as president of the Seattle School Board.  That's a very little bit of what this woman did for Seattle Public education (as well as being the mother of 12 children and working for Boeing.)  She also:Upon learning there was no kindergarten due to a double levy loss, Patt volunteered for the school levy campaign in

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

12-29-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed Reform and NY StateNew York State, and in particular, NYC, is a great place to consider what has happened and what changes may be coming for ed reform.  Call it the ghost of ed reform today, the future and, of course, the past.   NYC - the ghost of ed reform in the futureNaturally, all the change in how NYC will based on new mayor-elect, Bill de Blasio.  Here's

by mike simpson / 13h

FERPA is Worthless at Protecting Student Data | Truth in American Education

FERPA is Worthless at Protecting Student Data | Truth in American Education:

FERPA is Worthless at Protecting Student Data

Filed in Privacy/SLDS by Shane Vander Hart on December 30, 2013 • 0 Comments

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Louisiana education politics blogger Crazy Crawfish has a great article on FERPA entitled “FERPA Does Not Protect Student Privacy and Never Did.”  He explains how the law is outdated and how it has been gutted through U.S. Department of Education rule changes.

Money quote:

This means US ED has no authority over vendors or use or misuse data, that it must first try and convince abusers to stop abusing and disclosing the data they have received, and that their only recourse is to forbid school districts from providing data to them directly for 5 years or more. However if they obtain the data from another source, say another vendor, agencies can bypass even this very minor censure. Additionally, since DOE has no enforcement mechanism provided by FERPA, agencies can ignore this decision with impunity. This is why inBloom is not going out of business with no one officially committing to provide data to them. They intend to get this data secretly other ways and through other avenues. FERPA does allow schools, school districts and states to state their own civil penalties in their 

The Five Most Popular Posts of 2013 | Paul Bruno

The Five Most Popular Posts of 2013 | Paul Bruno:

The Five Most Popular Posts of 2013

By PAUL BRUNO | Published: DECEMBER 30, 2013

• 
• I'm a middle school science teacher in southern California, having recently relocated from Oakland.

I do most of my writingelsewhere, where the statistics are more elusive. Here, however, are my five most popular posts on this site in 2013.

1. The Problem with Ted Talks, Including Ken Robinson’s. This one struck a chord with people, and many responded with something along the lines of, “I thought I was the only one who thought this”. My hope at this point is that the TED talk bubble has burst.

2. Teacher Salaries and Household Income by State. I think this was popular in large part because it include a chart. I’d like to think there’s also pent-up demand for numbers-in-context, which we often don’t get, particularly in education.

3. Why Do Teachers Call In Sick? This one might have slipped in as a fluke, since many of the hits seem to come from people searching for a “how-to” guide for convincing your boss you’re too ill to come into work. Still, this post captures well much of my attitude toward teaching.

4. KIPP Schools Have Very High Teacher Turnover. A short and sweet post that succinctly presents something people seem to want to to know about.

5. Once More, With Feeling: “Student-Centered” Doesn’t Mean Anything. This post is actually not as analytically-complete as I usually want to be, but it works as a sort of cathartic primal scream. I’m not sure if nonsense jargon is as common in other fields, but in education it drives me nuts.

The Post-Equity Era in School Finance | School Finance 101

The Post-Equity Era in School Finance | School Finance 101:

School Finance 101

Data and thoughts on public and private school funding in the U.S.

The Post-Equity Era in School Finance

Posted on December 30, 2013

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I’ve written a few posts in recent months where I’ve raised concern about the apparent complete disregard (& outright ignorance) for the role of equitable and adequate financing of our public schools. The bottom line is that providing for a high quality, equitably distributed system of public schooling in the United States requires equitable, adequate and stable and sustainable public financing. There’s no way around that. It’s a necessary underlying condition.

I too often here pundits spew the vacuous mantra – it doesn’t matter how much money  you have – it matters more how you spend it. But if you don’t have it you can’t spend it. And, if everyone around you has far more than you, their spending behavior may just price you out of the market for the goods and services you need to provide (quality teachers being critically important, and locally competitive wages being necessary to recruit and retain quality teachers).  How much money you have matters. How much money you have relative to others matters in the fluid, dynamic and very much relative world of school finance (and economics more broadly). Equitable and adequate funding matters.

But alas, it seems that one of the first things to go when the economy tanked a few years back was any sense that equity could ever be important. Take, for example, NY Governor Cuomo’s recent 

Common Core, China, and the Myth of Meritocracy - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Common Core, China, and the Myth of Meritocracy - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Common Core, China, and the Myth of Meritocracy

By Anthony Cody on December 30, 2013 1:38 PM

We all know that the chief arguments for the Common Core revolve around making our workforce "more competitive," by "raising the bar" to "global standards."

A few weeks ago, Diane Ravitch posed this very important question. "What happens to kids who don't graduate?" She wrote:

What exactly is the point of making tests so "hard" that only 30% or 40% or maybe 50% can pass them? What will happen to those who never get a diploma? Do we really want to manufacture failure, knowing that those who fail will be those who already have the fewest advantages in life? As we follow this path, what kind of a society will we be 10 years from now?

While the rhetoric of the reformers always insists that when we raise the bar, everyone somehow manages to rise to the challenge. But the results are likely to be quite different, in my opinion. We have already seen the proportion of students passing Common Core tests drop to around 31% in New York, with officials reacting with gladness, as this proves how "rigorous" their system has become.  And this leads me to wonder what is underneath this urgent push to make it harder to get a high school diploma - and to tie that diploma to achievement on ever more difficult tests.

There was a very interesting essay I read on Yong Zhao's site a while back. It relates the reason 

12-30-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman:

Teachers Are Professionals, Not Saints

Via Fred Klonsky, here's yet another way to screw teachers out of money:STATELINE (WIFR) -- Local teachers may be forced to spend more of their own money on school supplies next year, now that a federal tax break is about to expire.Teachers are able to deduct up to $250 on what they spend on classrooms supplies including workbooks, pencils, and posters. Congress hasn't passed a measure that would

4 by Duke / 40min  

12-28-13 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekGive @digby56 & @EduShyster Some Holiday LoveThere are several bloggers I look to for inspiration. Diane Ravitch, of course, is the heart of the edu-bloggosphere. Bruce Baker forces us all to raise our games. Darcie remains a moral compass for me; Blue Jersey keeps me up to date on the state news. Bob Braun has the chops that only come from years o

by mike simpson / 41min