Engaging Parents In School… - Going Beyond Parent “Involvement”

Engaging Parents In School… - Going Beyond Parent “Involvement”:

Just this week, two short pieces talking about community organizing and parent engagement were published. They might be worth a look: What Inspired Me to Study Parent and Community Engagement at Harvard Education Publishing. Education reform through community action at The Washington Post.

“Building Trust With Parents”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 day ago

Building Trust With Parents is another excellent post by Chris Wejr. I’m adding it to The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.

“Parent Involvement…begins with ‘Hello’”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 4 days ago

“Parent Involvement…begins with ‘Hello’” is a very thoughtful response to the recent Louisville article about parent involvement there. It’s written by Myrdin Thompson, a former PTA president there.

Informative Parent Involvement Infographic & Article

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 4 days ago

The Louisville Courier Journal has published an extremely informative infographic about parent involvement. In fact, there’s so much information packed into it that it’s difficult to decipher it all! It accompanies a very long article on parent involvement, which is okay, but doesn’t cover any new ground.

“To Teach a Child: The Parents’ Role”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 6 days ago

To Teach a Child: The Parents’ Role is the headline The New York Times gave to a small collection of letters to the editor reacting to Tom Friedman’s piece on parent involvement. None are super-special, but it’s worth a quick look.

“Parents denied chance to observe classroom”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 week ago

Parents denied chance to observe classroom is the title of a post by Jay Mathews at The Washington Post. Not letting parents who might be sending their child to a school doesn’t seem to me to be the wisest parent engagement policy for a school to have. There are plenty of comments on his post. [...]

“We need to make sure we use words that will build relationships not walls”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 week ago

The title of this post is the last line from a post titled Hey, That’s My Kid You’re Talking About! It provides some good advice on how teachers speak with parents. I’m adding it to The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.

Useful Webinar Notes

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 week ago

Joe Mazza, who blogs about parent engagement issues, participated in The Harvard Family Research Project family involvement webinar I posted about last week. He took some great notes, which he has graciously shared online.

The NY Times’ Tom Friedman On Parent Involvement

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 week ago

New York Times’ columnist Tom Friedman has just published a pretty interesting column on the importance of parent involvement, though I do wish he had a better headline than “How About Better Parents?” In it, he highlights a a couple of new studies (and includes links to them) and quotes one researcher: Schleicher explained to [...]

“The Family Engagement for High School Success Toolkit”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 week ago

The Family Engagement for High School Success Toolkit is a new report from The Harvard Family Research Project and United Way. It may be worth a look.

“International Day for the Abolition of Slavery”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

Today, December 2nd, is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. ESL Holiday Lessons has a lesson for English Language Learners on the day. I’ve also updated The Best Resources For Learning About Human Trafficking Today.

Special ESL/EFL/ELL Edition Of “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

NOTE: I usually publish a list like this once or twice a week. Today, though, I’m sharing several impressive resources that might hold particular interest for ESL/EFL/ELL teachers. I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to … Continue reading →

Additional Resources On HIV & AIDS

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 10 hours ago

Today is World AIDS Day, and I’ve added many new resources to The Best Web Resources For Learning About HIV & AIDS: World AIDS Day 2011 is a photo gallery from the Sacramento Bee. HIV and Aids: interactive timeline of … Continue reading →

“What Is The Most Important Thing To Remember About Classroom Management?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 11 hours ago

What Is The Most Important Thing To Remember About Classroom Management? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher column. As that post explains, the response will be a three-part series. I hope readers will offer … Continue reading →

Best Of TED Talks — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 19 hours ago

TED has announced 18 ideas that will shape 2012: Counting down TEDTalks on Huffington Post. This is how they describe it: TED and The Huffington Post are launching a year-end collaboration around 18 groundbreaking ideas that premiered on TED.com in … Continue reading →

Create A Simple Online Poll With “Hall”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 23 hours ago

Hall is a new site that lets you do several things — all apparently without requiring registration — including creating a simple poll. That tool seems the most useful to me, so I’m highlighting it here and adding it to … Continue reading →

There Are Now 816 “The Best…” Lists

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

There are now 816 categorized “The Best…” lists. That’s a lot of lists…. You can find them categorized by subject here. They are listed chronologically here. The best way to find one that you’re looking for is to go to … Continue reading →

Gun-Toting Santas, Talking Coffee-Mates & Other Christmas “Delights”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa (by the way, a portion of that list was temporarily missing earlier today, but it’s all back now): Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander is … Continue reading →

Join Me On Dec. 13th For A Free Webinar On “Student Motivation & Classroom Management”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

Eye On Education is sponsoring a free one hour webinar on December 13th, 4:30 PM Eastern Time, with me to discuss Student Motivation & Classroom Management. You can learn more about the Webinar, and register for it, here. EOE are … Continue reading →

The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

I periodically post “most popular” lists of websites (and books) that I think educators might find useful. Of course, there are a number of ways to gauge “popularity.” I just view these lists as opportunities to check-out some new sites, … Continue reading →

More On Christmas

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa: Here’s a video from The New York Times called “Educating Santa”: Christmas approaches is a photo gallery from The Boston Globe. Christmas – Links … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a … Continue reading →

“Several Ways Teachers Can Create A Supportive Environment For Each Other”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

Several Ways Teachers Can Create A Supportive Environment For Each Other is my newest post at Education Week Teacher. It including my ideas, and ones from Bill Ferriter and others….

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post:

What matters most in college admissions — money or merit?

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 hours ago

This *was written by Esther Quintero, a research associate at the nonprofit Albert Shanker Institute. It first appeared on the institute’s blog. * By Esther Quintero A recent 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 incollege admissions . Read full article >>

Why gifted students can be so challenging

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 hours ago

This* was written by Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education at San Francisco State University and author of a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal. * * By Mark Phillips What do Woody Allen and Steve Jobs have in common? Among other things (including brilliant, creative minds), they both hated school and were discipline problems. Read full article >>

Has teacher quality declined over time?

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

This *was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. This post originally appeared on the institute’s blog. * * By Matthew Di Carlo One of the common assumptions lurking in the background of our education debates is that “quality” of the teaching workforce has declined a great deal over the past few decades (see here, here, here and here [slide 16]). There is a very plausible storyline supporting this assertion: Prior to the dramatic rise in female labor force participation since the 1960s, professional wo... more »

Report: How much high-poverty schools get cheated on funding

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

A new U.S. Education Department report shows that more than 40 percent of schools across the country that serve mostly students from low-income families are being shortchanged when it comes to state and local funding. The findings won’t surprise anybody who follows equity issues in public education funding, as high-poverty schools have long had fewer resources than wealthier ones — even those schools that have received extra federal money through the Title 1 program that is aimed at helping needy students. Read full article >>

Diocese letter pushed principals to promote vouchers

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

Just how involved did the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh get in the effort to promote vouchers? Very. This is clear in an Oct. 20 letter that Dr. Ronald R. Bowes, assistant superintendent for policy and development in the diocese, wrote in October to Catholic school principals. It calls for them to be “relentless” in promoting school choice, in part by telling parents who had received financial aid that they had to call their state legislators and push for school choice legislation to receive more financial aid the next year. Read full article >>

‘Broader, bolder’ strategy to ending poverty’s influence on education

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago

This was *written by Pedro Noguera, Peter L. Agnew professor of education at New York University.* * By Pedro Noguera While it might seem encouraging for education and civil rights leaders to assert that poverty isn’t an obstacle to higher student achievement, the evidence does not support such claims. Over 50 years, numerous studies have documented how poverty and related social conditions — such as lack of access to health care, early childhood education and stable housing — affect child development and student achievement. Read full article >>

Jersey Jazzman: America's Worst Mayor

Jersey Jazzman: America's Worst Mayor:

America's Worst Mayor

by Duke

Oh, dear:

Some New Yorkers may have wondered what Mayor Michael Bloomberg was smoking when he proclaimed he has his "own army” and admitted he "smoked up" in college during an unscripted speech at MIT Tuesday.

During that speech, Bloomberg let down his guard on a wide range of topics – including his own drug and alcohol use in the 1960s.

“I don’t know where you went to school, but we were too smoked up and drunk to carry a gun,” Bloomberg said, after describing a conversation with an Oklahoma lawmaker about legislation

NYC Educator: Congratulations, Miss, You're Old

NYC Educator: Congratulations, Miss, You're Old:

Congratulations, Miss, You're Old

by Miss Eyre

In my ongoing and increasingly desperate attempts to appear young, hip, and with it to my tenth graders, I planned a lesson that included some musical selections. "Yes!" I thought, as no doubt many of you have also thought. "They will think this lesson is relevant and interesting! They will rap and human-beatbox their way through author's craft like those kids in Dangerous Freedom Mind Writer Kids Leaning on Me! I can TEACH ALL THE THINGS" etc. etc.

In fact, I was so excited for this lesson that I decided to include a snappy PowerPoint with some celebrity pictures from the Google Images on the Intertubes. These pictures

A Surgeon Gets a Coach | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

A Surgeon Gets a Coach | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

A Surgeon Gets a Coach

by larrycuban

Image via Wikipedia

Mention progress in medicine, business, and education and the first thought is usually getting new technologies that are faster, better, and more efficient than current ones. New drugs and new communication devices cure diseases and speedily digest information to make breakthroughs in better health, increase productivity, and improve teaching and learning. But even more important to many folks than progress through new technologies

Daily Kos: The Banksters KNEW what they were doing

Daily Kos: The Banksters KNEW what they were doing:

The Banksters KNEW what they were doing

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

My daughter and I are reading Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” aloud to each other, and those Depression-era injustices seem so familiar today. That’s why the Occupy movement resonates so deeply: When the federal government goes all-out to rescue errant bankers, and stiffs homeowners, that’s not just bad economics. It’s also wrong.

That is the final paragraph of A Banker Speaks, With Regret, today's terrific New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof. The banker is James Theckston, who had been a regional vice president for Chase Home Finance in southern Florida. He is very open about the kind of mortgages being written, where

some account executives earned a commission seven times higher from subprime loans, rather than prime mortgages. So they looked for less savvy borrowers — those with less education, without previous mortgage experience, or without fluent English — and nudged them toward subprime loans.

They wrote no documentation loans - no income verification for example, with executives looking the other way while people making $20K bought half million dollar houses hoping to quickly flip them. Why didn't they care?

Please keep reading

Harold Meyerson on the GOP's war on labor unions

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

is a must read. If you think the Boeing-IAM settlement stopped anything, think again. The NLRB is down to three members. If it goes to 2, it ceases to function. And Senate Republicans are determined (a) to confirm no new members while Obama is President, and (b) not to allow a recess so that Obama can do a recess appointment. They could not persuade the sole remaining Republican member to resign (which gives the Dems a 2-1 advantage for now), but member Craig Becker's appoint is about to expire at the end of this month.

You can read the whole piece here

Let me offer part of the article. I am going to start with part of one paragraph:

In the mid-20th century, 40 percent of private-sector workers belonged to unions; today, just 7 percent do. But the Republican struggle continues for two reasons. When it comes to elections, unions are still the most potent mobilizers of the Democratic vote — getting minorities to the polls and persuading members of the white working class to vote Democratic. Indeed, Republican gains among working-class whites (whom they carried by an unprecedented 63 percent to 33 percent in

Mayor 1% has another Cathie Black moment. « Fred Klonsky

Mayor 1% has another Cathie Black moment. « Fred Klonsky:

Mayor 1% has another Cathie Black moment.

by Fred Klonsky

New York Mayor 1% had a another Cathie Black moment.

Speaking at a conference yesterday the billionaire mayor proposed his next step in school reform: Fire half the teachers and have class sizes of 70 or more.

Research based? Are you kidding? The guy’s rich. He don’t need no stinking research. He knows what to do.

“If I had the ability to just design the system and say ex cathedra this is what

Schools Matter: Career Education for the Poor: Child Janitors

Schools Matter: Career Education for the Poor: Child Janitors:

Career Education for the Poor: Child Janitors

by Jim Horn

As the biggest out-of-the-box thinker that the Republican sideshow can muster, Newt Grinchish is using some well-worn, yet reliable, racist rhetoric to justify a push into new corporate education terrain. But the Newt is not backing down--he is all about breaking the cycle of poverty, if it means breaking the backs of children in the process--as they "pursue happiness."

From ABC:

Des Moines, Iowa — Responding to controversial comments he made about child labor in late November at Harvard University, Newt