Sunday, July 10, 2011

Big Education Ape:7-10-11 AM The Charter School Bubble! EDition

Published by Coopmike48 – 6 contributors today

Next update in about 10 hours
See all articles

The Charter School Bubble! Never ending CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALSFlorida charter schools (high failure rate) *“I-Team: Lawmakers React To Charter School FCAT Failures.”* CBS4 News (FL) 7/6/11 ...Of Florida’s 2,280 public elementary and mid...

coopmike48

Jonah Edelman Spills the Oligarchs' Blueprint for Crushing the Teaching Profession

schoolsmatter.info - Please share this WIDELY. Why? Here's why in 15 minutes or less: As Lisa Guisbond said, "this is an amazing video from the Aspen Ideas Festival in which Stand For Children’s Jonah Edelman explain...

DianeRavitch

Gatsby without greatness - Roger Ebert's Journal

blogs.suntimes.com - Did it seem to you that The Great Gatsby was especially difficult to read? It's a book that most American students encounter in high school. When I read it the first time, I certainly missed some o...

DianeRavitch

Whites recover, but the black recession lingers

cbsnews.com - (AP) BALTIMORE — Growing up black in the segregated 1960s, Deborah Goldring slept two to a bed, got evicted from apartment after apartment, and watched her stepfather climb utility poles to turn t...

mikeklonsky

We really are a secret weapon. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - As promised, the summer mailing of the IEA arrived in my mailbox today. “You are the secret weapon,” the cover said. On page 5 there is a picture of incoming IEA President Cinda Klickna. The captio...

fklonsky

EducationSee all

New Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reform | MLive.com

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - New Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reform | MLive.comNew Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reformPub...

coopmike48

Report: Decline in Utah ed funding effort is ‘unprecedented’

sltrib.com - The decline in Utah’s education funding effort over the past 16 years is "unprecedented," according to a new Utah Foundation research report. The report, released Tuesday, says that Utah’s funding ...

leoniehaimson

Sunday Dialogue: What to Do to Make Our Schools Better

nytimes.com - (Page 3 of 3) Certainly, poor children can learn and excel, but the odds are stacked against them. Every testing program — be it the SAT, the ACT, state scores or federal tests — shows a tight corr...

leoniehaimson

PoliticsSee all

Boehner abandons efforts to reach comprehensive debt-reduction deal

washingtonpost.com - Unless Congress acts to raise the $14.3 trillion legal limit on the debt, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that the government will begin to default on its obligations after Aug. 2. The...

mikeklonsky

Boehner abandons efforts to reach comprehensive debt-reduction deal

washingtonpost.com - House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) abandoned efforts Saturday night to reach a comprehesive debt-reduction deal worth more than $4 trillion in savings, telling President Obama that a mid-size p...

mikeklonsky

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release July 09, 2011 “The President believes that solving our fiscal problems is an economic imperative. But in order to do that, we ca...

coopmike48

StoriesSee all

School Tech Connect: Aspengate and HuffPo

schooltechconnect.com - So.... Arianna was at the Aspen Approved Ideas Only Festival; she's been appointed as a voice for progressives for some reason. She's also personally very much in the ed deform camp from what I can...

tbfurman

Results Bachmann FB page flash mob

teamsternation.blogspot.com - Well, thousands of comments have been posted on Michele Bachmann's FB page this afternoon as a result of a virtual flash mob. We're not sure about the usefulness of this kind of online activism -- ...

coopmike48

How Educator's Dress for Work: Perception is Everything - The Educator's PLN Educators-Dress to Impress

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - How Educator's Dress for Work: Perception is Everything - The Educator's PLNHow Educator's Dress for Work: Perception is EverythingPosted by Bill Burkhead on July 3, 2011 at 7:30amView Bill Burkhea...

coopmike48

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Scandals Redefine Rules for the Press in Europe

nytimes.com - (Page 2 of 2) In France and Britain, the past days and weeks have shown both models of reporting to be strained to the point of failure, leaving journalists in both countries to define the role the...

DianeRavitch

A 007 Principal’s Ride | Connected Principals

connectedprincipals.com - This week, my family and I saw Cars 2, the sequel to the fabulous, animated story of Lightening McQueen and his learnings of humility with his new-found family in Radiator Springs. In Cars 2, McQue...

coopmike48

Facundo Cabral: “El día que yo me muera…con una milonga alcanza”

miltonramirez.org - “El día que yo me muera no habrá que usar la balanza, pues pa’velar a cantor con una milonga alcanza”Facundo Cabral nunca se detuvo en ningún lugar, ni siquiera en el puerto donde naciera. No le in...

coopmike48

EnvironmentSee all

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：Beef from Fukushima found with high levels of radioactive cesium

asahi.com - The Tokyo metropolitan government on July 8 detected levels of radioactive cesium 4.6 times the national standard in meat from a cow raised in Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, officials said.The ...

mikeklonsky

UA(Arizona)-led research sounds alarm on danger of rising sea levels

democraticunderground.com - Source: AZCentral.comA 1-meter increase in sea level doesn't sound like much.But the 3.3-foot rise would be enough to flood 90 percent of New Orleans, 33 percent of Virginia Beach, Va., and 18 perc...

coopmike48

BP argues Gulf recovery so strong that future loss claims should end

democraticunderground.com - Source: AP / Toledo BladeNEW ORLEANS -- BP is arguing that victims of last year’s Gulf oil spill should not be paid any more claims for future losses because the areas affected by the spill have re...

coopmike48

LeisureSee all

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - There’s was no Saturday coffee last week. I was at the NEA RA. Last night, Anne and I took Ulysses to Wilson beach on the Lakefront so he could play with the hundreds of other dogs at Chicago’s gre...

fklonsky

Saturday coffee. + Old school « Fred Klonsky's blog

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky's blogSaturday coffee.by Fred KlonskyThere’s was no Saturday coffee last week. I was at the NEA RA.Last night, Anne and I took Ulysses to Wilson beach on the Lakefro...

coopmike48

Thinking About the American Zeitgeist

saveourschoolsmarch.org - You are here: Home » Blog » Uncategorized » Dusty & Gay: Thinking About the American ZeitgeistJuly 10, 2011 Cross Country by Bike – Glenville – Madrid – Bardstown – Berea – Buckhorn – Lookout, Kent...

coopmike48

#edu Read this paperSee all

New Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reform | MLive.com

coopmike48

Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 10

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 10District statement: We never got 2009 report | Philadelphia Public School Notebook District statement: We never got 2009 report | Philadelphia Public School N...

coopmike48

Daily Kos: Mr. President, please consider these words

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Daily Kos: Mr. President, please consider these wordsMr. President, please consider these wordsby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)as tomorrow you continue your discussions on the debt ceiling.They wer...

coopmike48

#edpolicySee all

School Tech Connect: Aspengate and HuffPo

tbfurman

Media0

Photos0

Cheating scandal adds fuel to debate over high-stakes tests | ajc.com

Cheating scandal adds fuel to debate over high-stakes tests

By Jaime Sarrio

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta's school cheating scandal, one of the largest in U.S. history, has launched a national discussion about whether the increased use of high-stakes tests to rate educators will trigger similar episodes in the years ahead.

Pressure to meet testing targets was a major reason cheating took place in 44 Atlanta schools involving 178 educators, according to a state investigation released last week. The revelations, called "deeply disturbing" by the Obama administration, have tarnished Atlanta's Cinderella story of school reform.

This comes as Georgia and states across the country are working on new strategies to retain, pay and promote teachers and principals based -- in large part -- on how much growth students show on standardized tests. Starting next year in 26 Georgia districts, student test data will count as 50 percent in pilot evaluations of teachers in core subjects such as math and science.

“I am convinced you’ll see more [cheating],” said DeKalb County teacher Laura Pittman, who added she was “sickened” by the scandal. “Anybody whose job is tied to

Vocational education funding in US at risk - The Boston Globe

Vocational education funding in US at risk

By Motoko Rich

New York Times / July 10, 2011

Text size – +

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Despite a competitive economy in which success increasingly depends on obtaining a college degree, one in four students in this country does not even finish high school in the usual four years.

Matthew Kelly was in danger of becoming one of them.

Tests showed he had a high intellect, but Kelly skipped homework and was barely passing some of his classes in his early years of high school. He was living in a motel part of the time and both his parents were out of work. His mother, a former nurse, feared that Matthew had so little interest he would drop out without graduating.

Then his guidance counselor suggested he take some courses at a nearby vocational academy for his junior year. For the first time, the teenager excelled, earning A’s and B’s in subjects like auto repair, electronics and metals technology.

As UC tuition rises, quality outranks access - Inside Bay Area

As UC tuition rises, quality outranks access

By Matt Krupnick
Contra Costa Times
© Copyright 2011, Bay Area News Group

Posted: 07/08/2011 02:00:00 PM PDT

Updated: 07/09/2011 08:30:12 PM PDT

Universities are constantly recruiting professors from one another, creating a kind of circulatory system that keeps higher education alive.

But Rice University's jarring hire of three prominent UC San Diego cancer researchers earlier this year sent shock waves through the University of California system, and UC leaders are using the issue to illustrate why students will be asked to pay more than ever for their education this year.

UC regents on Thursday will consider raising undergraduate tuition nearly 10 percent for the fall term, which begins next month at some campuses, including UC Berkeley. Taken in combination with another increase approved by the board in November, UC students would pay about 18 percent more than they did last fall.

California State University leaders, meanwhile, are set to vote this week on a 12 percent tuition increase, which would

Pa. has option to launch its own inquiry into school cheating - Philly.com

Pa. has option to launch its own inquiry into school cheating

July 09, 2011|By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer

If the Philadelphia School District's investigation into possible cheating at two schools is deemed inadequate, the state Department of Education could launch its own probe, an official said Friday.

Although the district has said it found no evidence of testing improprieties at Roosevelt Middle and FitzSimons High Schools, it has not yet submitted reports to the state as required.

In all, the district investigated allegations of cheating at 15 schools in the last year, said spokeswoman Shana Kemp. Most accusations are unfounded, she said.

How My Theory Of Knowledge Students Evaluated The Class & Me This Past Year | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About Against my better judgment [image: :)] , I took advantage of Lee Kolbert’sgenerous offer today of providing Google+ invites to her Twitter followers. I’m still trying to figure out how, and if, I’m going to find the time for another network (for those ...

How My Theory Of Knowledge Students Evaluated The Class & Me This Past Year As regular readers know, I regularly have students in my various classes complete anonymous evaluations which I tabulate and share on this blog and with my colleagues. You can find previous posts about this at My Best Posts On Students Evaluating ...

Modern School: Perfect Liberal Storm: Guns, Homophobia, Child Abuse and Juvenile Justice

Perfect Liberal Storm: Guns, Homophobia, Child Abuse and Juvenile Justice

by Michael Dunn

Three years ago, at the age of 14, Brandon McInerney walked into class and shot a gay classmate, Lawrence King, with a .22-caliber handgun he had in his backpack and then calmly walked out of the room. McInerney is now being tried as an adult and faces 53 years to life, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The prosecution claims that McInerney is a neo-Nazi and is calling the murder a hate crime. However, witnesses testified that McInerney mostly hung out with the black athletes at his school, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, drawing into question the neo-Nazi claims. In fact, a black friend testified at the trial that he was unaware of any Nazi affiliations. Regardless, McInerney’s views on race are irrelevant to the case. However, it is clear that his actions were

Stand for Children Stands for the Rich and the Powerful… | Seattle Education

Stand for Children Stands for the Rich and the Powerful…

by seattleducation2011

…who want to break the backs of the teachers’ unions.

Many of us have said that before, now you can see and hear it for yourselves.

This video was taken at the Aspen Ideas Festival which is heavily funded by Bill Gates. Stand For Children’s Co-Founder Jonah Edelman explains how he, with the support of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Arne Duncan’s senior advisor Jo Anderson, out foxed the Chicago teachers’ union.

This is where the money that Stand for Children raises actually goes to, to gain power for the billionaire boyz club, DFER and all of those hedge fund millionaires who want to take over and privatize our pubic schools.

Schooling in the Ownership Society: NY Mag: Klein should be well-prepared for fixing Murdoch scandal

NY Mag: Klein should be well-prepared for fixing Murdoch scandal

by Mike Klonsky

He took a position with News Corp. after stepping down from his education post in December, and now it looks as if he's got his first big project on behalf of Rupert Murdoch: Klein, a lawyer by training, will "provide important oversight and guidance” as the company deals with the fallout from

Can Schools Stop Kids from Getting Fat? Second Time Around | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Can Schools Stop Kids from Getting Fat? Second Time Around

by larrycuban

In this post, I focus on the national habit of turning to schools to solve social problems, in this case child and adult obesity. What has happened in the past two years since I published this post (August 23, 2009) has been a sharp increase in anti-obesity campaigns led by First Lady Michelle Obama and more research studies that both strengthen and challenge the school’s role in battling obesity.

The short answer to the question in the title is no. The long answer is this post.

fat-obese-overweight-kid-child-15

The cliche that when the nation has a cold, the schools sneeze remains true when it comes to the media-hyped frenzy over obesity. In the past, moral crusades often led to public schools getting drafted to help solve the

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 10

District statement: We never got 2009 report | Philadelphia Public School Notebook District statement: We never got 2009 report | Philadelphia Public School Notebook District statement: We never got 2009 reportby Paul Socolar on Jul 09 2011 Posted in Latest news - COMMENTS (10)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - testing ...

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: THE GREAT DISTRACTION OF TEACHER EVALUATION 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: THE GREAT DISTRACTION OF TEACHER EVALUATION THE GREAT DISTRACTION OF TEACHER EVALUATION THEMES IN THE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 5-8, 2011 BY UCLA IDEA | HTTP://BIT.LY/QQNEHA 07-08-2011 - This week, the 3.2 ...

Schools Matter: Will Duncan Lose Sleep for Detroit Charter School Basement Scores ? Schools Matter: Will Duncan Lose Sleep for Detroit Charter School Basement Scores ? Will Duncan Lose Sleep for Detroit Charter School Basement Scores ? by Jim Horn *Just a couple of years ago Duncan was losing sleep, he said, about Detroit's public ...

New Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reform | MLive.com New Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reform | MLive.com New Detroit charter school report, Atlanta test scandal reveal ineffective education reformPublished: Thursday, July 07, 2011, 12:27 PM Updated: ...

Puckering Up for Education Reform in Chile (VIDEO) - Hispanically Speaking News Puckering Up for Education Reform in Chile (VIDEO) - Hispanically Speaking News Puckering Up for Education Reform in Chile (VIDEO) [image: Puckering Up for Education Reform in Chile (VIDEO)] Thousands of university students in Chile stage a kissing ...

Stand for Children chief dupes Illinois | DeFENSE Stand for Children chief dupes Illinois | DeFENSE Stand for Children chief dupes Illinois by defensedenver This video features Jonah Edleman, head of Stand for Children, presenting to the Aspen Ideas Institute. He lays out how he connect the state ...

Why I will march, pt. 1 — Pull me! | Reflections on Teaching Why I will march, pt. 1 — Pull me! | Reflections on Teaching Why I will march, pt. 1 — Pull me! by alicemercer Saturday July 30th, I will be heading out to the California Capitol building in a statement of solidarity with others about current education ...

4LAKids - A LOCKE HIGH MILESTONE 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: A LOCKE HIGH MILESTONE: It's an emotional time for the last of the 'original' pre-charter students and a graduation of sorts for their two guidance counselors as well A LOCKE HIGH MILESTONE: It's an emotional ...

20 Years in Trenches, What Keeps Me Going « Cooperative Catalyst 20 Years in Trenches, What Keeps Me Going « Cooperative Catalyst 20 Years in Trenches, What Keeps Me Going by Jamie Steckart *7000 High School students drop out each day, one dropout every 26 second. Averaged nation wide that is 30% of all students, and ...

NEA Nixes TFA, Inc. | Seattle Education NEA Nixes TFA, Inc. | Seattle Education NEA Nixes TFA, Inc. by seattleducation2011 One of our very own teachers in Seattle, Marianne Bratsanos, brought forth an item regarding the hiring of Teach for America, Inc. recruits which was approved by the ...

California teacher layoffs: New law on teacher layoffs stirs confusion, criticism - latimes.com

California teacher layoff law stirs confusion, criticism

The state measure bars layoffs for a year, but districts are uncertain whether it will require them to rehire teachers or restore programs cut earlier this year.

By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times

July 10, 2011

School district officials across the state are wrestling with the fallout over a controversial new law that bars teacher layoffs for a year even amid deep financial uncertainty.

The law, passed at the last minute with no public debate as part of the budget package in late June, requires districts to maintain this year's level of teachers and programs in the upcoming 2011-12 school year. This means that even if funding drops, school boards and superintendents will be prevented from making mid-year cuts to campus programs.

The law also restricts fiscal oversight of district budgets by county offices of education, which have had that authority for two decades.

Education officials have denounced the law as a stunning blow to local budget control and said it could drive more districts into financial insolvency. More than 140 districts are in financial jeopardy, according to the state Education Department, after three years of

School Tech Connect: Aspengate and HuffPo

Aspengate and HuffPo

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

So.... Arianna was at the Aspen Approved Ideas Only Festival; she's been appointed as a voice for progressives for some reason. She's also personally very much in the ed deform camp from what I can gather, which makes sense given how popular that hobby is with the wealthy.

My question is this: will any of you folks still blogging over at HuffPo write

Daily Kos: Mr. President, please consider these words

Mr. President, please consider these words

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

as tomorrow you continue your discussions on the debt ceiling.

They were spoken many years ago by one of your predecessors, at his second Inaugural, on January 20, 1937.

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

He wrote in a time of great sorrow, having said shortly before those words

I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.

More than 20% of our school children live in need. Food banks have empty shelves. The social safety net of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food support programs are all that sustain many of our people, and

Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Archives

OTHER HEADLINES OF INTEREST

Live Twitter stream on

@coopmike48/big-edu-ape-news-11

Cheating scandal adds fuel to debate over high-stakes tests

Vocational education funding in US at risk

As UC tuition rises, quality outranks access

Pa. has option to launch its own inquiry into school cheating

Saturday, July 9, 2011

California teacher layoff law stirs confusion, criticism

The state measure bars layoffs for a year, but districts are uncertain whether it will require them to rehire teachers or restore programs cut earlier this year.