Fighting back against mandatory school testing: It’s my way or the highway, says No Child Left Behind—but is it really? « Parents Across America

Fighting back against mandatory school testing: It’s my way or the highway, says No Child Left Behind—but is it really? « Parents Across America:

Fighting back against mandatory school testing: It’s my way or the highway, says No Child Left Behind—but is it really?

by leoniehaimson

Aaryn is a parent in San Diego. This piece is cross posted at Aaryn’s blog,Thematically Fickle. An opt out letter that California parents can use is posted here.

by Aaryn Belfer

The red pillow takes the least space. The yellow pillow takes more space than the blue pillow. Which of the following is not true:

• The red pillow takes more space than the blue pillow.

• The yellow pillow takes more space than the red pillow.

• The blue pillow takes more space than the red pillow.

• The red pillow takes less space than the yellow pillow.

• The blue pillow is the one I will bury my face in while I cry myself to sleep because my frustrated child told me today, “I’m a loser.”

That there is a real homework question (mostly) from my child’s third week in first grade. She’s in a language immersion program and isn’t reading fluently in any language just yet,

Schools Matter: How Are Online Learning and Online Dating Different?

Schools Matter: How Are Online Learning and Online Dating Different?:

How Are Online Learning and Online Dating Different?

by Jim Horn

Online dating can be fun, and it might lead to something.

Teachers and professors are the last obstacles standing in the way of a virulent corporate educational caste system based on shrinking public investment in education and a larger and more lucrative role by online diploma mills in the exploitation, containment, and marginalization of the non-privileged, whose shrinking hope for moving into the middle class depends upon acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to compete for an evaporating pool of good jobs.

When Phillips Exeter and Harvard go online, that's when I'll become interested in distant learning.
From the NYTimes:

By MATT RICHTEL

POST FALLS, Idaho — Ann Rosenbaum, a former military police officer in the Marines, does not

Modern School: Is The OWS Movement Too Nice?

Modern School: Is The OWS Movement Too Nice?:

Is The OWS Movement Too Nice?

by Michael Dunn

OWS Poster (Image from Flickr, by Takomabibelot)

Aside from the few allegations of protesters throwing paint, smashing windows, or spray painting buildings, the tactics of the OWS have been pretty peaceful, mellow and nice. Sure, it troubles some that they have persistently tried to live outdoors in public where their frustration and anger are clearly visible to all, or that they have shut down a few terminals of a few ports for

An Anti-Bullying Strategy for One Child that Affected the Whole School

An Anti-Bullying Strategy for One Child that Affected the Whole School:

An Anti-Bullying Strategy for One Child that Affected the Whole School

by Rick

“I Am Not the Only One”

Part 1

In the autumn of 1974, in my first year as school principal, a kind and gentle fifth grader named Davion was having trouble with some of the other boys in the class. In particular, Jeremy was becoming increasingly intimidating. The teachers intervened anytime they saw an incident. Jeremy had already been sent to my office once, and the teachers were beginning to talk to me about him. We felt that bullying was going on, but saw very few punishable offenses.

One day, Davion’s mother—a kind, thoughtful, single parent —came to my office to complain about Jeremy. I assured her that we had a policy of no tolerance for bullying or harassment. Any kind of physical or verbal violence was unacceptable.

She said, “I can understand people saying mean things to each other, but I have told Davion never, ever to be

Occupy DOE in DC Rules of Engagement | United Opt Out National

Occupy DOE in DC Rules of Engagement | United Opt Out National:

Occupy DOE in DC Rules of Engagement

by admin

Occupy the DOE Rules of Engagement

400 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024

We are requesting to everyone that this remain a PEACEFUL occupation with NON-VIOLENT actions. We are not responsible for the actions of individuals or groups that do not follow the general rules of engagement outlined here.

GSA property includes The Department of Education Building and the surrounding Plaza along Maryland Avenvue. (However: Lyndon Baines Johnson Plaza is DC property and under DC police jurisdiction) Guidelines for Occupying Dept of Ed GSA

The #1 Reason Girls Drop Out (and What You Can Do About It) « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

The #1 Reason Girls Drop Out (and What You Can Do About It) « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

The #1 Reason Girls Drop Out (and What You Can Do About It)

by Laura Varlas

The United States has the highest teen birthrate in the industrialized world, and teen pregnancy and parenting is the number one reason girls drop out of school. (See the infographic below for the far-reaching effects of teen pregnancy.)

This is an avoidable crisis—teen parents don’t have to be left behind. Not only can access to comprehensive sex education (including information about both abstinence and birth control) help drive down those numbers, but measures to keep pregnant and parenting students in school actually reduce the incidence of repeat teen pregnancies, and lead to improved outcomes for teen parents and their children.

Building school connectedness, empowering students with accurate sex education, and ensuring school policies

This Week In Education: Reform: Will Reformers Ever Broaden Their Agenda?

This Week In Education: Reform: Will Reformers Ever Broaden Their Agenda?:

Reform: Will Reformers Ever Broaden Their Agenda?

by Alexander Russo

Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone was their front. They might have loved "The Wire" but they didn't incorporate any of its lessons into their agenda. Skyrocketing child poverty rates didn't persuade them to pay more than lip service to broader social issues. Even universal preschool was too broad a challenge for them to take on in any meaningful way.

You might think that the last few months of awareness-raising around class would finally change all that -- would finally make poverty and other social issues a stronger part of the reform agenda. But it won't be a quick or easy shift, and

Race gap in school discipline? | Recordnet.com

Race gap in school discipline? | Recordnet.com:

Race gap in school discipline?

Blacks expelled, suspended more than others at SUSD

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By Roger Phillips

Record Staff Writer

January 01, 2012 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Though they represent only a small percentage of the population at Stockton Unified's four comprehensive high schools, black students receive a sizable percentage of the expulsions and suspensions, a disparity experts say is reflective of conditions across the nation.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California has been studying school discipline in numerous districts this year, and a member of the Stockton community provided the organization's report on Stockton Unified to The Record.

According to the data, black students represented 12.2 percent of the population at Chavez, Edison, Franklin and Stagg high schools during the 2010-11 school year. But they received 23.1 percent of the expulsions and 22.9 percent of the suspensions.

Stockton Unified officials were not surprised by the ACLU's

Ben Velderman stalking me is okay but filing a FOIA request about Sears tax breaks is illegal. « Fred Klonsky

Ben Velderman stalking me is okay but filing a FOIA request about Sears tax breaks is illegal. « Fred Klonsky:

Ben Velderman stalking me is okay but filing a FOIA request about Sears tax breaks is illegal.

by Fred Klonsky

Last Spring Ben Velderman, the creepy guy pictured above, filed an Illinois FOIA request for all my work emails. After school district lawyers redacted the names of students and other innocent by-standers, hundreds of emails were delivered to Ben.

Then this Fall Ben Velderman’s boss, Kyle Olson of the Education Action Group, having promised to “make a project” out of me, filed another FOIA request for my personnel file. After the district lawyers redacted confidential material, my personnel file was sent to Olson.

By the way, I can view my own personnel file, but I can’t remove it from the HR office. But Olson can get an

Support PURE! » UIC Monty Neill event – save the date Feb. 15th

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » UIC Monty Neill event – save the date Feb. 15th:

UIC Monty Neill event – save the date Feb. 15th

by admin

WINNING THE TESTING BATTLE: OVERHAULING ESEA/NCLB
CReATE (Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education) welcomes Monty Neill, FairTest executive director and chair of the national Forum on Educational Accountability, who will address

• A decade of failed testing policy
• What the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act should look like
• Strategies for winning: local and national action

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 6 to 8 p.m., room 302 of UIC’s Student Center East (701 S. Halsted at Polk, public parking in structure across Halsted)

Monty Neill, Ed.D., Executive Director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (http://www.fairtest.org/), has led FairTest’s work on testing in the public schools since 1987. He has initiated national and state coalitions of education, civil rights, religious, disability and parent organizations to work toward fundamental change in the assessment of students and in accountability. He chairs the national Forum on Educational Accountability (http://www.edaccountability.org/), an alliance working to overhaul the No Child Left Behind/Elementary and Secondary Education Act. FEA bases its actions on the Joint Organizational Statement on NCLB, signed by more than 150 national groups. Under his leadership, FairTest has collaborated on testing reform efforts with organizations in many states.

This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement and the UIC Asian American Studies Program.

Additional support has been provided by: the School of the Art Institute, Department of Art Education; Concordia University Chicago, College of Graduate and Innovative Programs; National-Louis University College of Education; DePaul University School of Law; Northeastern Illinois University College of Education; DePaul University College of Education; Cultural & Educational Policy Studies, Loyola University Chicago; Mansfield Institute, Roosevelt University.

Top 25 Website Resources in 2011 | First Focus

Top 25 Website Resources in 2011 | First Focus:

Top 25 Website Resources in 2011

By Bruce Lesley

January 3, 2012

As we enter the new year, we have looked back to review the issues or topics that captured our website vistors’ attention throughout the year. Below we have identified the 25 most popular resources on the First Focus website in 2011. Here they are (and note that some resources from 2010 continued to be quite popular in 2011):

Top Reports/Fact Sheets on Children in Federal Budget

• Children's Budget 2011 by Jared Solomon and First Focus Staff (July 21, 2011)
• Chairman Ryan's Proposed FY 2012 Budget Resolution Risks the Health and Future of Our Nation's Children by Bruce Lesley and Lisa Shapiro (April 7, 2011)
• Impact of the President’s FY 2012 Budget Request on Early Childhood Programs by Morna Murray (February 21, 2011)
• Kids’ Share 2011 by Julia Isaacs, Heather Hahn, Stephanie Rennane, C. Eugene Steuerle, and Tracy Vericker (July 21, 2011)
• At a Glance: Kids in the President's 2012 Budget by Chris Kelly (February 17, 2011)

Top Reports/Fact Sheets in Children’s Health

• Medicaid Works: A Review of How Public Insurance Protects the Health and Finances of Children and Other Vulnerable Populations by Leighton Ku and Christine Ferguson (June 13, 2011)
• Medicaid Works - Key Findings from the Report by Lisa Shapiro (June 13, 2011)
• Medicaid Block Grants are Bad for Kids by Peter Harbage and Sarah Arnquist (September 8, 2011)
• Chairman Ryan's Proposed FY 2012 Budget Resolution Risks the Health and Future of Our Nation's Children by Bruce Lesley and Lisa Shapiro (April 7, 2011)
• Improving Children’s Health and Well-being by Integrating Children’s Programs by Cheryl Austein Casnoff (March 21, 2011)
• Net Effects of the Affordable Care Act on State Budgets by Stan Dorn and Matthew Buettgens (December 1, 2010)

Top Reports/Fact Sheets on Child Poverty and Well-Being

• The Effect of the Recession on Child Well-Being by Katherine Sell, Sarah Zlotnik, Kathleen Noonan, and David Rubin (November 15, 2010)
• Tackling Child Poverty and Improving Child Well-Being: Lessons from Britain by Jane Waldfogel (December 7, 2010)
• Protecting Children in Tough Economic Times: What Can the United States Learn from Britain? by Jane Waldfogel (June 16, 2011)
• Child Poverty During the Great Recession: Predicting State Child Poverty Rates for 2010by Julia Isaacs (December 10, 2010)
• The Recession’s Ongoing Impact on America’s Children by Julia Isaacs (December 20, 2011)
• Big Ideas: Game-Changers for Children by Various Authors (October 5, 2010)
• TANF Supplemental Grants: Reforming and Restoring Support for Children Who Need it Most by Bruce Lesley and Megan Curran (December 8, 2011)

Top Reports/Fact Sheets on Child Welfare

• Title IV-E Waivers: Expanding and Modifying Child Welfare Demonstration Waivers to Promote Flexibility and Foster Innovation by Shadi Houshyar (March 9, 2011)
• Addressing the Health Care Needs of Children in the Child Welfare System by Shadi Houshyar (November 1, 2011)
• Caught Between Systems: The Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare Policies by Wendy Cervantes, Yali Lincroft and Ken Borelli (May 21, 2010)

Top Reports/Fact Sheets on Immigrant Children

• Children in Immigrant Families: Ensuring Opportunity for Every Child in America by Wendy Cervantes and Donald J. Hernandez (March 3, 2011)
• The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Child Welfare by Wendy Cervantes and Yali Lincroft (April 7, 2010)
• Caught Between Systems: The Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare Policies by Wendy Cervantes, Yali Lincroft and Ken Borelli (May 21, 2010)

Top Polling Results

• Public Support for the DREAM Act by Opinion Research Corporation (June 29, 2010)
• Poll Results: Protecting Children's Programs in the Federal Budget by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (April 26, 2011)
• Speaking of Children… by Drew Westen (July 14, 2010)

Herding Sluts: The Paternalistic Feminism of Hugo Schwyzer « Student Activism

Herding Sluts: The Paternalistic Feminism of Hugo Schwyzer « Student Activism:

Herding Sluts: The Paternalistic Feminism of Hugo Schwyzer

by Angus Johnston

Male feminist blogger and professor Hugo Schwyzer has been taking a lot of heat recently, much of it precipitated by a blogpost in which he detailed what he describes as “a binge episode that ended with my attempt to kill myself and my ex-girlfriend with gas.” (The incident took place in 1998, and he disclosed it publicly for the first time earlier this year.)

Schwyzer has put up a new post this morning expressing additional regret for the murder-suicide attempt, and apologizing for certain elements of the original piece. But his apologies evade many of his critics’ core complaints.

First, there’s the incident itself. The woman, his sometime lover, came to him for help after being tied up, raped, and abused by her drug dealer. They went back to his apartment, took more drugs, and had “desperately hot,

The 2012 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings :: Frederick M. Hess

The 2012 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings :: Frederick M. Hess:

The 2012 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings

by Frederick M. Hess • Jan 4, 2012 at 7:47 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Today, RHSU unveils the 2012 Edu-Scholar Public Presence rankings. The metrics, as explained yesterday, are designed to recognize those university-based academics who are contributing most substantially to public debates about schools and schooling. The rankings offer a useful, if imperfect, gauge of the public impact edu-scholars had in 2011, factoring in both long-term and shorter-term contributions. The rubric reflects both a scholar's body of academic work--encompassing books, articles, and the degree to which these are cited--and their 2011 footprint on the public discourse. The following table reports the 2012 rankings.

Click chart for larger view, with zoom

A Letter From a Parent to Our Legislators Regarding Charter Schools | Seattle Education

A Letter From a Parent to Our Legislators Regarding Charter Schools | Seattle Education:

A Letter From a Parent to Our Legislators Regarding Charter Schools

by seattleducation2011

A Parents Across America, Seattle member sent me this letter that she is planning to take to her school and have other parents sign before sending it on to our representatives in Olympia.

It is actions such as this one which will keep our public schools public and open to the democratic process.

Dora

Dear ,

I am writing to you today because I am concerned with the direction our state is heading with regard to education reform, in particular the move toward allowing charter schools into our state. Charter school supporters see them as the panacea to closing the achievement gap. Unfortunately what they fail to take into account is the effects of poverty on student achievement and the mounting tide of research that fails to show any significant

Changing the narrative. And where are the administrators? « Fred Klonsky

Changing the narrative. And where are the administrators? « Fred Klonsky:

Changing the narrative. And where are the administrators?

by Fred Klonsky

Administrators pensions are in TRS too. But they leave the heavy lifting to teachers. As usual.

A Twitter follower comments on the last post:

change the narrative to make this about children, and teachers’ pensions will be safe

I understand what she means. She’s is concerned that talking about teacher compensation needs to include something about being for the children or we will be branded as selfish. Of course, that after almost three