Eduflack: Some Resolutions for 2011

Eduflack: Some Resolutions for 2011

Some Resolutions for 2011

by Eduflack

Another year about to go down in the history books. Are we any closer to truly improving our public schools? For every likely step forward we may have taken in 2010, it seems to be met with a similar step back. For every rhetorical push ahead, we had a very real headwind blocking progress.

So as we head into 2011, your friendly neighborhood Eduflack offers up a few "resolutions" for all on the education reform boat to consider as we start a new year. We need to come to accept the following:

1. True reform does not happen at the federal level. The federal government is an important lever in the school improvement process, offering some necessary financial resources and some bully pulpit language to inspire reform. But true improvement happens at the state and local levels. It is about what our SEAs and LEAs do with those resources and whether they embrace the call from the bully pulpit. Just as all politics is local, so too is all education reform. Why do you think groups like DFER are so keen on launching new statewide efforts, like the new one in California?

2. ESEA reauthorization really doesn't matter. As much as we want to fret about when ESEA is going to be

Last Stand for Children First: Ryan Wilson wishes everybody a rip snorter of a New Year

Last Stand for Children First: Ryan Wilson wishes everybody a rip snorter of a New Year

Ryan Wilson wishes everybody a rip snorter of a New Year

by Last Stand for Children

This New Years Eve finds me about to leave for a B & S I'm having with some of my fellow expatriates and a few Sheepshaggers as well, but before I do I wanted to wish everybody an Ace New Year. I won't bore you by recapping all the news that Myron did yesterday, but needless to say 2010 was alright and 2011 will be even better.

You know, I know that teachers and their reunions are responsible for the bodgy schools in this country and sometimes I think they're about as useless as an ashtray on a

Education-Related Predictions For 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Education-Related Predictions For 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Education-Related Predictions For 2011

by Larry Ferlazzo

Earlier this week, I asked readers to contribute their education-related predictions for 2011. I received some great responses, and I’ll share them all in this post.

If you didn’t get a chance to contribute earlier, though, I’d encourage you to leave one-to-three of them in the comments section. At the end of the year, I’ll revisit them and we’ll all see who among us has good powers of prognostication.

And, if some of you wonder what the point is in making predictions, you can go to The New York Times which recently published a piece on Why Do We Need Predictions? Here are a few of the reasons commentators there gave: it’s fun, we need “positive illusions,” it helps us gain a “sense of control,” the human identity is based in

Afternoon Update: New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

Parents 4 democratic Schools

• Agitated Education Aggregator Daily
• State Superintendent of Public Instruction-Elect Tom Torlakson Announces Transition Advisory Team Co-Chairs and Members
• Top 10 Human Rights Victories of 2010 | Human Rights | Change.org
• Education reform: eight school chiefs to watch in 2011 – Jason Glass, Iowa – CSMonitor.com
• The Education Year in Review – 2010 | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
• Employment: Solving California’s jobs crisis – latimes.com
• Schools Matter: “Highly-Qualified” Temporary School Missionaries for Children Who Need Experienced Teachers
• Diploma likely out of reach for some Michigan students | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
• Analysis: How new contract will impact Cincinnati Public Schools | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com
• 4LAKids – some of the news that doesn’t fit: L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTRACTING UNDER FIRE AGAIN AS CONTRACTS CANCELLED + smf’s 2¢
• 10 Big Things to Watch in 2011 | California Progress Report
• School parcel tax opponents launch campaign – Inside Bay Area
• Murals: Name Those Schools – District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog
• The Coopmike48 Daily
• EPA steps in to protect kids, gives new guidelines to schools – EducationNews.org        
• 2010′s political winners and losers
• Richmond County Daily Journal – California parents trigger a revolution
• Where true school reform occurs
• Bill Daley and Jim Edgar: Opportunity knocking for school reform – Springfield, IL – The State Journal-Register
• Difficult decisions looming for K-12 schools in 2011
• For-Profit Colleges Charging More While Doing Less for Poorest – Bloomberg
• 2010 Year in Review: A tsunami of education budget cuts – Freeport, IL – The Journal-Standard
• Top five education stories of the year | shreveporttimes.com | Shreveport Times
• Chula Vista charter school getting high marks for efforts – SignOnSanDiego.com
• Catalyst Notebook :: In the News: Coalition demands elected school board; CPS at ‘fork in the road’

NYC Public School Parents: The best and worst of 2010

NYC Public School Parents: The best and worst of 2010

The best and worst of 2010

by Leonie Haimson

Here are my choices for the best and worst education events of the past year; what are yours? Leave a comment!

Worst education events of 2010:

1. Class sizes increasing in NYC and many other areas of the country, due to budget cuts and wrong-headed priorities.

2. The rapid spread of credit recovery and substandard “virtual” instruction, with the goal of replacing real-life teachers with computers. Meanwhile, Joel Klein and Rupert Murdoch wait in the wings, eager to make a buck off online learning and the further degradation of public education.

3. The huge amount of money poured into the political campaigns of candidates who backed the agenda of the privateers, the funding of pseudo-documentaries like Waiting for Superman and The Lottery, the proliferation of fake grassroots groups like Stand for Children and Michelle Rhee’sStudents First, the week-long horror show that was NBC’s Education Nation, all singing the same demented tune of privatization and high stakes testing. These political action funds, organizations, and media extravaganzas were financed and promoted by the same small group of powerful

11 People to Watch in 2011: Tom Brady | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

11 People to Watch in 2011: Tom Brady | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

11 People to Watch in 2011: Tom Brady

01:00 AM EST on Sunday, January 2, 2011

By Linda Borg

Journal Staff Writer

Steve Smith, left, president of the Providence Teachers’ Union, and Providence School Superintendent Tom Brady are embarking on a grand experiment to create a labor-management partnership to turn around low-performing schools.

The Providence Journal / Bill Murphy

While teachers and administrators duke it out in Central Falls, a very different relationship has emerged in Providence, where Supt. Tom Brady has forged a partnership with teachers’ union President Steve Smith to revamp four low-performing schools.

Brady, who arrived here 2½ years ago with a mandate to restore the district’s tarnished reputation, had a choice: he could unilaterally impose a new world order on the district’s struggling schools or he could collaborate with the union and jointly develop a plan to transform the schools.

Brady chose to work with the union. The labor-management partnership quickly garnered national attention, winning accolades from none other than Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4-million-

A quiet New Year’s eve at home. Then get ready to fight, tell hard truths and bring backup. « Fred Klonsky's blog

A quiet New Year’s eve at home. Then get ready to fight, tell hard truths and bring backup. « Fred Klonsky's blog

A quiet New Year’s eve at home. Then get ready to fight, tell hard truths and bring backup.

by Fred Klonsky

It will be a quiet evening at home for Anne, me and Ulysses.

We just got home from a two day drive from New York to see family and friends. Despite the blizzard and the cold, there wasn’t a bad moment.

Of course, we didn’t need to get to work, get a car out of a parking space or need an ambulance.

Naturally there are rumors going around NY that the disaster of a clean-up was somehow caused by the union workers in the Sanitation Department who were out to punish the Mayor for cutting the budget and laying off workers.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the source of this rumor was the Mayor’s office. Isn’t it just like an uber manager to cover his ass when things go bad. This mayor-manager loves blaming unions any chance he gets. Witness his

Federal job money funds bonuses in Wyoming schools

Federal job money funds bonuses in Wyoming schools

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BEN NEARY Associated Press | Posted: Friday, December 31, 2010 1:23 pm | No Comments Posted

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CHEYENNE — The U.S. Department of Education persisted in giving Wyoming more than $17 million this fall for a program intended to avert teacher layoffs even after Gov. Dave Freudenthal told the federal agency the energy-rich state didn't need the money.

Although rebuffed by Freudenthal, the U.S. Department of Education then pledged the money straight to the Wyoming Department of Education. The state agency in the past several weeks has approved applications from school districts around the state to use the federal windfall to pay for bonuses and other benefits for teachers and school employees.

While some Wyoming school districts intend to pay bonuses, most will use the money to cover rising health insurance and pension costs that otherwise would come out of employees' pockets. A few district

Democurmudgeon: Profit Seeking Philanthropists, education Deformers, pushing Charter and Voucher Schools.

Democurmudgeon: Profit Seeking Philanthropists, education Deformers, pushing Charter and Voucher Schools.

Profit Seeking Philanthropists, education Deformers, pushing Charter and Voucher Schools.

by Democurmudgeon

Next time you hear someone talking about charter and voucher schools, keep in mind the discussions talking points had to come from somewhere, and the below abbreviated article lays it out clearly:

The Cuckingstool: Just below the surface of every aspect of education discourse lies the education deform movement. It’s not like the creation of the school choice movement by conservative philanthropies in the 1980s is any secret. People For The American Way (Norman Lear's outfit) had reported extensively on the movement in its 1995 report Buying A Movement (full pdf):

The Bradley Foundation’s involvement in the issue of school vouchers is a useful illustration of a single foundation’s comprehensive funding strategy around the development of a single political

Subject Matter Expertise and Successful Teaching

Subject Matter Expertise and Successful Teaching

This topic is dear to me. I have had this conversation with a colleague several times over the last couple of years. He contends there is no correlation between advanced degrees and successful teaching. I contend that may be true to an extent, but more knowledge, whether it is subject matter or pedagogical knowledge, can never be a bad thing. What I do know

School Tech Connect: The Great Mystery of American Education

School Tech Connect: The Great Mystery of American Education

The Great Mystery of American Education

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Mike Klonsky puts it in so many words.

I think the point of departure is here:

Mayor Bloomberg bids farewell to outgoing Schools Chancellor Joel Klein with pat on the back

Fact Check: Break out the hot cocoa. City says tomorrow is a snow day | GothamSchools

Mayor Bloomberg bids farewell to outgoing Schools Chancellor Joel Klein with pat on the back

BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, December 31st 2010, 2:29 PM

Wenig/AP

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, speaks while outgoing Chancellor of New York City Public Schools Joel Klein, left, and the new Chancellor Cathie Black look on during a news conference at City Hall Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010.

Mayor Bloomberg had kind words for Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who stepped down Friday after an eight-year stint, and predicted his successor will have a tough job because of budget cuts.

"The city owes Joel Klein a great debt of gratitude," Bloomberg gushed during his weekly radio show on WOR.

Klein, the first New York schools boss to serve under mayoral control and the city's longest-serving chancellor, laid a solid foundation for future education leaders, said Bloomberg.

"Joel is a change agent. He is dedicated. He

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/12/31/2010-12-31_mayor_bloomberg_bids_farewell_to_outgoing_schools_chancellor_joel_klein_with_pat.html#ixzz19iogrAPL

Year In Review 2010: This Is It — The Jose Vilson

Year In Review 2010: This Is It — The Jose Vilson

Year In Review 2010: This Is It

by Jose

Michael Jackson, This Is It, Rehearsal

In the last couple of years, these blogs have been exercises in thorough research and reflectiveness. Isn’t that what the end of the year should mark, anyways? A sense that we’re going to take a few hours and commemorate the last 365 days by remembering what the hell just happened and wash it away with a little alcohol and the energy of any group willing to share in this purging activity. Unfortunately, we never get the opportunity to carry that ebullience into the new year. Like our new year’s resolutions, we get on the treadmill for the first couple of weeks only to realize that running in place doesn’t help us with actually running away from the lessons we should have learned the previous years.

For instance, when 2009 ended, we entered 2010 hoping we’d be able to convert our bad fortunes into good stock the very next week. It started working until the tragedy in Haiti erupted. My ancestors yelled out to the world and the average person responded through donations to non-governmental organizations and pleas to our