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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Big Education Ape: 9-18-11 PM Call Your Senators STOP !! HR 2218 Charter School Bailout Bill EDition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:

Published by Coopmike48 – 5 news spotters today

California public school students decline in SAT scores

latimesblogs.latimes.com - Among the interesting details in the latest SAT results from the College Board: California's public school students scored much lower on the high-stakes test than other members of the state's 2011...

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coopmike48 Fighting Bob Fest: Stand up! Fight back! | Defend Wisconsin -http://t.co/fZ8VO5iwabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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mikeklonsky Read this (especially Anita Dunn's remarks) and Rahm's abusive behavior towards Karen Lewis begins to make sense. http://t.co/H7b3aWSg12 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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DianeRavitch RT @Jeff_Bernstein: RT @fklonsky: More attacks on MI teachers. House passes bill banning union dues check-off. http://t.co/sYl55knIabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

Getting teacher evaluation right - The Answer Sheet

washingtonpost.com - Here is an edited version of a briefing on the right way to evaluate teachers that Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond and other leading education research experts gave this week on...

DianeRavitch

SocietySee all

House passes HB 4929 | Michigan Education Association

mea.org - On a close 55-53 vote today, the House passed HB 4929 which prohibits the deduction of union dues by public school employers. The bill was fast-tracked through the House after being introduced Tues...

fklonsky

The Land of (Unequal) Opportunity « MomsRising Blog

momsrising.org - From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org The weather changed literally overnight. Yesterday it was shorts and sunglasses. Today...

coopmike48

PoliticsSee all

Ryan: 'Buffett Rule' class warfare - POLITICO Live

politico.com - September 18, 2011 House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is ripping President Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on the rich, calling it "class warfare." "Class warfare might make for good poli...

mikeklonsky

Chicago’s Mayor Challenges Teachers Union

nytimes.com - CHICAGO — One by one, teachers at public elementary schools here have been voting to buck their own union and take Mayor Rahm Emanuel up on an unusual offer: to accept bonus pay in exchange for wai...

mikeklonsky

StoriesSee all

Live Blog for #OccupyWallStreet: Day Two

dissenter.firedoglake.com - Yesterday was the first day of Occupy Wall Street, an action inspired by occupations that have taken place in Egypt, Greece, Spain and other countries over the past months. FDL’s The Dissenter has ...

coopmike48

HealthSee all

Recess Is Making a Comeback in Schools

nytimes.com - As more Chicago public schools cash in on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s longer-day financial incentives by adding 90 minutes to their school day, the previous votes by a dozen schools to add about a half ...

mikeklonsky

Speech Therapy 3-2-2011 | Special Needs in Education

edusped.com - Here I am practicing reading words in speech therapy. —————————- OnNovember 25, 2009, I had a stroke. An aneurysm burst in my brain, I began to slur my words and then (apparently) I collapsed on th...

coopmike48

Marketing of Menopause Creates its Own Misery

womensenews.org - There's no one size fits all for menopause, says Dr. Wulf Utian in his new book "Change Your Menopause," released this month during National Menopause Awareness Month. In this excerpt he says confu...

coopmike48

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Michael Moore On His Penchant For 'Trouble' : NPR

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Michael Moore On His Penchant For 'Trouble' : NPR: Michael Moore On His Penchant For 'Trouble'Michael Moore didn't plan on becoming a filmmaker. As a teenager growing up in the Midwest, he consider...

coopmike48

#occupywallstreetSee all

Live Blog for #OccupyWallStreet: Day Two

dissenter.firedoglake.com - Yesterday was the first day of Occupy Wall Street, an action inspired by occupations that have taken place in Egypt, Greece, Spain and other countries over the past months. FDL’s The Dissenter has ...

coopmike48

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      Do Private Contractors Save the Government Money? - Forbes

      Do Private Contractors Save the Government Money? - Forbes:

      Do Private Contractors Save the Government Money?

      by E.D. Kain
      Inside of a Private Prison

      Inside of a Private Prison (Image by Sean Davis via Flickr)

      I’ve written about faux “privatization” before, which typically entails renting out government work to contractors who are said to be cheaper and more efficient. Private prisons are a major example of this. So are mercenary outfits which you hear referred to as simply “private contractors” in reference to private armed forces in Iraq and elsewhere (think Blackwater here). In any case, there is a time for contractors to do work for the government – short-term, project-based work makes sense, like construction jobs. We don’t expect the government to have a

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      Deion Sanders, former Redskin, to open Texas charter school - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

      Deion Sanders, former Redskin, to open Texas charter school - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

      Deion Sanders, former Redskin, to open Texas charter school

      by Valerie Strauss

      Only in Texas.

      R enowned athlete Deion Sanders has persuaded the Texas State board of Education to allow him to open a charter school — even though some members expressed concerns about just how academically rigorous the school would be.

      According to The Texas Tribune, the board voted 8 to 4 Friday to approve Sanders’ application to open a school called Prime Prep, which will focus on sports and education on two campuses in the Fort Worth area.

      Read full article >>
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      Teachers unions challenge Florida's merit-pay law in court | jacksonville.com

      Teachers unions challenge Florida's merit-pay law in court | jacksonville.com:

      Teachers unions challenge Florida's merit-pay law in court

      Posted: September 14, 2011 - 7:21pm | Updated: September 15, 2011 - 6:31am

      First Coast FCAT Scores

      Use the search below to see how your area school performed. You may enter full or partial school names in schools field. 2010-11 school grades are available for elementary and middle schools.

      Year:

      Grade Level:

      School Grade:

      School Name:

      School District:

      By Matt Dixon

      Two state teachers unions are challenging legislation passed last spring that eliminates tenure and ties a portion of teachers’ pay to student performance.

      “These changes swept away the right of employees to negotiate their wages and terms and conditions of employment, a right that is guaranteed and protected by the Florida Constitution,” said Florida Education Association President Andy Ford.

      His group, the largest public employee union in the state, and the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association filed suit Wednesday in Tallahassee. They list six teachers as plaintiffs, including Vicki Hall, president of the St. Johns County teachers



      Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2011-09-14/story/teachers-unions-challenge-floridas-merit-pay-law-court#ixzz1YKeyVdhK
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      EdNews/PBS panel on educator effectiveness | EdNewsColorado

      EdNews/PBS panel on educator effectiveness | EdNewsColorado:

      EdNews/PBS panel on educator effectiveness

      from EdNewsColorado by admin

      Panelist Jessica Keigan, a high school English teacher in the Adams 12 School District.

      Rocky Mountain PBS and Education News Colorado hosted a lively panel discussion Friday on the state’s new educator effectiveness law, which will dramatically change how Colorado teachers and principals are assessed.

      State officials are still working on implementation of the new legislation, officially known as the Great Teachers and Leaders Law. By 2014, at least 50 percent of educator evaluations will be based on students’ academic growth.

      Panel members included:

      • Michelle Mann, principal of Freed Middle School in Pueblo
      • Henry Roman, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association
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      The Paradox of Wealth - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

      The Paradox of Wealth - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:

      The Paradox of Wealth


      wealth.jpg


      "But what is overlooked in all the shouting is that paradoxically,
      the people who
      have the most to gain from insuring some measure of
      economic equality and social justice
      are the wealthy.      "

      The Paradox of Wealth

      by Joseph Ganem, Ph.D.

      "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?"
      -- I Corinthians 12: 14-17

      Imagine that you are by far the wealthiest person in the world. Your net worth tops that of
      Bill Gates and Warren Buffet combined. You have used your vast resources to fulfill a life-long ambition---become the first person on Mars. Strapped into your custom built rocket, the engines ignite and your journey into space begins. Your co-pilot, seated next you, has also dreamed of this journey. He has worked in aviation all his life for middle class wages, and
      has a net worth that is a tiny fraction of yours. What will it be like when you arrive on Mars? Will the vast wealth disparity cause problems because you and your co-pilot will expect different standards of living? It is easy to see in this scenario that it will not. Once you leave planet
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      Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “Teach With, Not ‘To” The Test”

      Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “Teach With, Not ‘To” The Test”:


      “Teach With, Not ‘To” The Test”

      Filed under teacher resources

      “Teach With, Not ‘To” The Test” is an article about a short interview with Princeton Neuroscientist Sam Wang.

      In it, he points out reasons why high-stakes standardized tests are not helpful to learning, including the fact that feedback is not immediate and that they create needless anxiety. He says low-stakes quizzes are useful, however, and suggests they be done in a game-style. That’s how I often use them, and you can see descriptions of some of the games I use at Games Students Play (more extensive lists can be found in my books).

      He also points out that one benefit typical standardized tests provide

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      Call Your Senators STOP !! HR 2218 Bill to expand charter school moves on to U.S. Senate | SeacoastOnline.com

      Bill to expand charter school moves on to U.S. Senate | SeacoastOnline.com:

      Bill to expand charter school moves on to U.S. Senate

      TODAY'S MOST VIEWED ARTICLES

      By Jamie Webben
      news@seacoastonline.com
      September 17, 2011 2:00 AM

      WASHINGTON — With a largely bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives this week approved legislation aimed at expanding and promoting charter schools throughout the country.

      The Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act, passed 364-54, now goes to the Senate for further consideration. Although the bill, designated as HR 2218, had wide backing from both parties, including "ayes" from Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., skepticism about the effectiveness of charter schools looms.

      Organizations opposed to the bill include the National Education Association, the nation's largest teacher organization, the American Association of School Administrators and Parents Across America.

      According to staffers on the Education and the Workforce Committee, from which the legislation emerged, HR 2218 is designed to facilitate states' expansion of charter schools and make it easier for them to obtain federal funding, as well as support an evaluation of such schools and encourage them to recruit troubled students.

      Originally intended for struggling students, charter schools are publicly funded, but unlike most public schools, are not subject to strict government rules or regulations. However, charter schools are generally required to show their students have made significant educational improvements each year to continue to

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