Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “How Economic Inequality Harms Societies”

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “How Economic Inequality Harms Societies”:

“The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas is an unusual list I’ve just posted at my other blog, Engaging Parents In School. Feedback is welcome.

“How Economic Inequality Harms Societies”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

“How Economic Inequality Harms Societies” is the title of a new TED Talk that I’ve embedded below: How Economic Inequality Is (Literally) Making Us Sick is a new TIME Magazine article on a similar topic. I’m adding them to The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality.

Bill Gates Writes Another Guest Column For The Wall Street Journal

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

Bill Gates (co-authored by his wife, Melinda) has written another guest column for The Wall Street Journal one evaluating teachers. It’s arrogantly titled “Grading the Teachers: Schools have a lot to learn from business about how to improve performance, say Bill and Melinda Gates.” Walt Gardner posted a good critique of their column at Ed [...]

Diwali Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

The Hindu celebration of Diwali in 2011 will start on Wednesday, the 26th of October and will continue for 5 days until Sunday, the 30th of October. I’ve just updated The Best Sites For Learning About Diwali.

I’ll Be A Guest On #UrbanEd Next Sunday (Plus Some Neat Twitter Tools)

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

This is an all-in-one post on Twitter: First, I’ll be a guest on #urbaned Chat on Twitter next Sunday at 6:00 PM Pacific/ 9:00 PM Eastern time, and will be discussing motivation. Second, if you want to know how to participate in a Chat on Twitter, Read Write Web just posted How to Get Started [...]

Even More Halloween Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Halloween: Haunting Ideas: Halloween in the Classroom and ‘On the Street’ is from The New York Times Learning Network. What will Americans be dressing up as this Halloween? is a useful infographic from Newsweek. Amazing Literature-Inspired Jack-O’-Lanterns

Very Thoughtful Report On Issues Around Teacher Seniority

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

What’s Missing In The Debate On Senority? is a new report from Annenberg Institute for School Reform. It’s probably the best analysis of the topic that I’ve seen. I’m adding it to The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Both Why Teacher Tenure Is Important & The Reasons Behind Seniority-Based Layoffs.

More Research Showing Why Inductive Learning Works

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

The Mind Hacks blog revisits an older study that restates why inductive learning, student autonomy, and choice works in the classroom. The blog also has a useful chart. It’s worth checking-out but, in summary, it discusses findings that students will remember things far better if they bring their own meaning to in a way they [...]

Benefits To Attending College

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

Here are new additions to “The Best Resources For Showing Students Why They Should Continue Their Academic Career”: Who is falling out of the middle class, in one chart is from The Washington Post, and shows the importance of education to economic security. Education Five Times More Important Than Gender for Income is from The [...]

The Best Posts & Articles On Recent Study About Student Anxiety

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 28 seconds ago

Earlier this month, and earlier this year, Professor Sian Beilock released two widely publicized studies — one on the causes of math anxiety among students and the other a related one on “choking” under pressure. The both included potential interventions, including “taking 10 minutes before a high-stakes situation to write about goals and worries.” I [...]

Engaging Parents In School… - The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas

Engaging Parents In School… - The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas:

The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas

by Larry Ferlazzo

I’ve posted a lot about good parent engagement/involvement ideas, but sometimes you can learn just as much from looking at bad examples. You can see lots of good ideas at all my parent engagement-related “The Best” lists here.

Here are my choices for The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas:

Putting Parents in Charge is a condescending NY Times column on parent engagement that was written by Peg Tyre. Among other things, she talks about how parents aren’t “sophisticated” enough to truly know what a good school is because often times they will pick ones with “low academic achievement” — and that’s usually a code phrase for low test scores. Excuse me — perhaps many parents know that there is far more to getting a good education than being able to do well on a multiple choice standardized test! She calls for “substantive training

A Brief History Of the Lies Told By The Washington Post | Dailycensored.com

A Brief History Of the Lies Told By The Washington Post | Dailycensored.com:

A Brief History Of the Lies Told By The Washington Post

by Danny Weil

While it is difficult to say when those who run the Washington Post began lying or how many lies they have told. The Graham family (major stock holders in the company traded as WaPo) and their cohorts continue to shamelessly lie. Editor Marcus Brauchli and Publisher Katharine Weymouth, were caught lying to the New York Times about [...]

Larry Miller’s Blog: Educate All Students!: Are charter schools the only way to protect LGBT students from bullying and intimidation?

by Danny Weil

October 24, 2011 Milwaukee’s Alliance High Featured in Time Magazine as Model Program From the Alliance School web-site: The Alliance School is a small, charter school of the Milwaukee Public School system. The school opened in 2005 with the goal of providing a safe and accepting environment for all students. The Alliance School is a place where [...]

Ignoring Science: It’s Not Just The Schools | California Progress Report

Ignoring Science: It’s Not Just The Schools | California Progress Report:

Ignoring Science: It’s Not Just The Schools

by megan

By Peter Schrag

Anyone looking for big news in the just released report on the teaching of science in California elementary schools may well file it under dog bites man.

In a word, elementary school science teaching is lame – an average of a little over an hour a week – by teachers most of whom say they’re not well prepared to teach it and have few resources to work with. Some 77 percent of elementary principals say teaching science is essential but only 44 percent say “that a student would receive high-quality science instruction in his/her school.” Is anyone surprised?

More pertinent, perhaps, is what the report, commissioned by the Center on the Future of Teaching and Learning, doesn’t discuss, and that’s the national environment of willful ignorance and proud denial of all intellectual discipline, science and economics particularly. Even the ablest teachers have a steep hill to climb.

read more

Bridging the Income Gap

by megan

By Dick Meister

There's obviously no easy way to bridge the income gap between the rich and the rest of us or to combat the other serious economic problems raised by the Occupy Wall Street movement. But keep in mind the crucial ­ if not decisive ­ role that labor unions can play in righting our economic wrongs.

Union members earn a lot more than non-union workers overall and within particular occupations, and in age, gender and racial groups, and so spend more. They have more and greater fringe benefits, a greater voice in community and political affairs and otherwise are in a good position to span the income gap as well as contribute to the growth of the economy that's so badly needed.

read more

The 99% Seek a Just Economy, Not Just an Economy

by megan

By Leo Gerard
United Steelworkers

Republicans jammed together a mess of old, failed and vague schemes and called it a jobs bill. Sen. John McCain conceded the reason for the rehash: “Part of it is in response to the president saying we don’t have a proposal.”

They still don’t. This despite the fact that they promised voters during their campaign to take control of the U.S. House one year ago that they’d create jobs. That they’d focus on jobs. That nothing was more important to them than jobs.

read more

Is NCLB bill passed by Senate panel real or pseudo reform? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Is NCLB bill passed by Senate panel real or pseudo reform? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Is NCLB bill passed by Senate panel real or pseudo reform?

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Monty Neill, executive director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to ending the misuse of tests. This post is about a bill passed last week by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that is a rewrite of No Child Left Behind, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The committee sent the bill to the full Senate on a 15-7 vote. A version of this post was published on the National Journal Education blog.

Read full article >>

“Click Clack Moo”… I Won’t Be an Empowerment School Principal « City School Stories

“Click Clack Moo”… I Won’t Be an Empowerment School Principal « City School Stories:

Click Clack Moo… I Wouldn’t Be an Empowerment School Principal

by fmurphy

Reflections of an Author

Submitted by Frank Murphy on October 25, 2011

My recollection of the exact moment when I decided that I would not be the principal of an empowerment school is a vivid one. I was attending a bi-weekly regional principals’ meeting at a school located not far from my own. We met in the school’s library.

The library had been recently renovated. The room’s windows had been replaced with new ones that had the appearance of translucent rice paper. I looked at them with admiration while appreciating the beauty of the

Shanker Blog » Higher Education: The Great Equalizer Or Business As Usual

Shanker Blog » Higher Education: The Great Equalizer Or Business As Usual:

Higher Education: The Great Equalizer Or Business As Usual

by Esther Quintero

Several weeks ago, a survey of college admission directors and enrollment managers conducted by Inside Higher Education sparked considerable media coverage about an issue that is not entirely new: Money, not only merit, matters in college admissions.

According to the survey of 462 directors and managers, in the face of generalized budget cuts, universities are favoring applicants who don’t need financial assistance to pay their tuition. About 22 percent agreed that “the financial downturn [had] forced them to pay more attention to an applicants’ ability to pay when [making] admissions decisions.” Directors acknowledged seeking more candidates who would not need financial aid, including out-of-state and international students. Furthermore, 10 percent of four-year colleges reported that the admitted students who could pay in full had lower grades than their peers who couldn’t.

These findings resulted in headlines like “College Admission Directors Finally Admit They Want Rich Students

Ignoring science in schools starts with ignorance of science by the electorate | Thoughts on Public Education

Ignoring science in schools starts with ignorance of science by the electorate | Thoughts on Public Education:

Ignoring science in schools starts with ignorance of science by the electorate - by Peter Schrag

by Peter Schrag

Anyone looking for big news in the just released report on the teaching of science in California elementary schools may well file it under “dog bites man.” In a word, elementary school science teaching is lame; it’s taught an average of a little over an hour a week, by teachers most of whom say they’re not [...]

Woeful state of science instruction - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

California elementary school teachers feel unprepared, under-resourced, unsupported, and under pressure when it comes to teaching science. As a result, they spend scarcely any time on the subject, which is at odds with what the public says it expects from schools. And it’s hardly the way for a state that’s betting much of its economic [...]

Daily Kos: A sensible proposal for education for the Democratic platform

Daily Kos: A sensible proposal for education for the Democratic platform:

A sensible proposal for education for the Democratic platform

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

has been proposed by Democrats Abroad in France. As you will see in the text of the document, which appears below the fold, it was submitted to DA Resolutions Committee on September 14, 2011, and approved for transmission to the DA Platform Committee by the DCPA on October 17, 2011, Washington, D.C.

You will find things supportive of the administration's educational policy at least in part, and things at least implicitly critical of the administration's policy. That may make it difficult to get the entire proposal as written

NPR finds new discrepancies in Rubio’s family history

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

so reads the headline on this entry at Chris Cillizza's Washington Post blog, The Fix. Posted by Rachel Weiner online a few hours ago, the story presents yet another untruth the Senator from Florida has told about his family. Apparently the Senator does not seem to realize that he cannot tell contradictory stories. This involves his mother returning to Cuba to care for her father who had been in an accident. Allow me to offer the key paragraphs, which begin with a statement by the Senator, after a set-up about the grandfather having been injured on a visit back to Cuba. The first quote is from an interview at NPR with Robert Siegel.

He went on: “When the time came to come home, the Cuban government wouldn’t let her. So my

I am the 99%

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

well technically, our family income may actually put us marginally above that (actually, we are probably just below the top 2%). We both have secure government jobs with good benefits, including a defined benefit pension.

But there is no doubt where our allegiance lies.

We are both union activists, me as lead union rep for more than 110 teachers in my building, she on the negotiating team for her local bargaining unit in the Federal government.

We both strongly support the rights of people to protest under the 1st Amendment, and are shocked that Democratic office holders like Andrew Cuomo and Rahm Emanuel seek to suppress such expression under the

Jersey Jazzman: All Hail the Czar!

Jersey Jazzman: All Hail the Czar!:

All Hail the Czar!

by Duke

Czar Duncan will hear your grievance now:

But Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education & the Workforce Committee, denounced the waivers as a “dangerous precedent” and said he “simply cannot support a process that grants the secretary of education sweeping authority to handpick winners and losers.”

In February 2009, soon after the stimulus was signed into law, Duncan said he wasn’t interested in power — but in what he could do with power. “There’s going to be this extraordinary influx of resources,” he told The New York Times. “So people say, ‘You’re going to be the most powerful secretary ever,’ but I have no interest in that. Power has never motivated me. What I love is opportunity, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something special, to drive change, to

Me and Tom Moran

by Duke

I wrote an admittedly stinging piece over at Blue Jersey about Tom Moran's hagiographic treatment of David Tepper, the man behind the money behind the corporate reform movement in New Jersey. Moran actually posted a response, and I responded back in kind. You can follow the fun at the link.

I'll admit it: I've been very hard on the guy. And yes, I've been snarky. But it seems to have drawn his attention.

And it's not like he hasn't dished out plenty of the same himself. His reflexive disdain for unions is a constant refrain in his work, and it contrasts starkly with the laurels he throws Tepper's way.

But what bothers me more is how superficially he treats education reform. It actually flows nicely into his anti-union message: if a teachers union is against something, it must be good! Even if it really isn't.

Checking Email Every Minute, The Plastic Brain, and Schooling | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Checking Email Every Minute, The Plastic Brain, and Schooling | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Checking Email Every Minute, The Plastic Brain, and Schooling

by larrycuban

If readers check email or Google during the day far more than they would ever admit while sober–or others stop what they are doing every few seconds to check Twitter–brain researchers have not helped us answer the question: why?

On the one hand, neuroscientists and journalists have argued that unrestrained access to information and communication have rewired the brain. The brain is plastic altering itself in response to the environment and creating new neural pathways that ancestors lacked. So multi-tasking has become the norm and, better yet, we are more productive and connected to people as never before.

On the other hand, there are those neuroscientists who concur that the brain is plastic but it has hardly been rewired. Instead, complete access to information and people–friends, like-minded enthusiasts, and strangers–

Scott Cronie Operates Three Failing Charter Schools in Florida | Scathing Purple Musings

Scott Cronie Operates Three Failing Charter Schools in Florida | Scathing Purple Musings:

Scott Cronie Operates Three Failing Charter Schools in Florida

by Bob Sikes

It was reported here Sunday, that Imagine Schools CEO Dennis Bakke operates the failing and financially challenged charter school in West Melbourne. It seems thats not the only failing school Bakke runs. There are two other F schools - both in North Lauderdale.

Bakke was on Rick Scott’s education transition team and likely played a role in establishing a legislative agenda which would be friendly to charters. One piece of legislation now allows charter school operators to go over the

Manatee Board Closes Charter School

by Bob Sikes

From the Bradenton Times:

BRADENTON — Based on the investigatory report of June 16, 2011, the School Board of Manatee County unanimously voted to require Richard Milburn Academy of Florida, Inc., to discontinue all instructional activities as of October 31, 2011.

Superintendent Tim McGonegal recommended the school be closed in September after an investigation revealed students were not fulfilling graduation requirements and courses didn’t comply with Florida Department of Education standards.

“We work very hard to support our charter schools. This is the best solution for this situation,” said board member Harry Kinnan.

The American Dream, Awoken Aprubtly | The Jose Vilson

The American Dream, Awoken Aprubtly | The Jose Vilson:

The American Dream, Awoken Aprubtly

by Jose

Pardon the disruption of the heady talk, but I’d rather preface my optimism for our children’s future for a realism I’ve understood since first born. We ought to look more clearly at what students in disadvantaged areas believe about our silly nationalistic fascinations. There’s a set of people in an older generation that believes in instilling names like “American Dream” and “work ethic” in the minds of youth whose country rarely works in their favor (relatively speaking). Imagine me asking one of my students being asked about the American Dream. They’d probably respond with some packaged quotes like doing well in school and staying out of trouble. Rarely will their passions and quandaries about the world stretch farther than the square plots we prepare their minds for.

By the time they reach me, many become adept at straddling the lines of what will get them past the 8th grade,

NYC Public School Parents: Lynne Winderbaum on the destruction of large Bronx High Schools

NYC Public School Parents: Lynne Winderbaum on the destruction of large Bronx High Schools:

Lynne Winderbaum on the destruction of large Bronx High Schools

by Leonie Haimson

Five major high schools in the Bronx received "Fs" today from the DOE; including the last remaining large schools in the borough. Here is Glenn Tepper's story of the decline of Jane Addams Vocational High School, which was once the second highest performing school in the borough, but which was brought down by the Bloomberg administration's preferential treatment of the new small schools. Below is the account of the foreordained demise of DeWitt Clinton High School, another once excellent school, in the words of Lynne Winderbaum, former UFT Bronx district leader:

I know you need no reminder of how the relentless march of high school closings in the Bronx have created

Breaking the Barriers: Talking About Race in Baltimore | Re:education in Baltimore

Breaking the Barriers: Talking About Race in Baltimore | Re:education in Baltimore:

Breaking the Barriers: Talking About Race in Baltimore

Baltimore in Black and White from Urbanite. Thanks to Michael Corbin for the tip.

A number of heavy hitters in education reform name closing the achievement gap as a driving mission. They’re mostly white. Because I was curious about whether closing that gap was in itself a driver for education reform-minded African Americans, I made my way to the Enoch Pratt Free Library on the night of October 20 to listen to two black male professors tackle the subject of black male achievement.

The event was called “Breaking the Barriers: Helping Black Males Achieve Academic Success,” the twelfth event in the Open Society Institute -Baltimore‘s Talking About Race series. The panelists: Ivory Toldson, associate professor at Howard University, and Raymond Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. The moderator:Shawn Dove, campaign manager for the Open Society Campaign for Black Male Achievement.

In the first answer of the night, Toldson questioned the “achievement gap” talk in precisely the way I was

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Stand For Children stands with Carr, Sundquist and Martin-Morris (but not Maier?)

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Stand For Children stands with Carr, Sundquist and Martin-Morris (but not Maier?):

Stand For Children stands with Carr, Sundquist and Martin-Morris (but not Maier?)

from Seattle Public Schools community blog by Melissa Westbrook

Stand has done a couple of puzzling things recently.

First, they sent out a postcard supporting Sherry Carr, Steve Sundquist and Harium Martin-Morris. The question I had was - where's Peter Maier? Why leave him off? Damaged goods from Pottergate? Offended their leadership? It's just kind of a sore thumb that sticks out.

Second, the postcard's top five funders are all from out-of-town except for Jon and Judy Runstad. Again, I do appreciate that business types from around the Puget Sound area are interested in Seattle public education but I

Thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street Movement | Mr. D's Neighborhood #ows

Thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street Movement | Mr. D's Neighborhood:

Thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street Movement

by ldorazio1

As a born and bred 99%-er, I have spent an inordinate amount of time among the 1%.

Going to college with many of the sons and daughters of the top tier, I absorbed many of the traits, both good and bad, that go with a life of privilege. Exposure to both plenty and want gave me a window into two worlds—and allowed me to view two sides to every social issue.

On the other hand, their carefree and blasé attitude about the world also wormed into my psyche—along with a