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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Big Education Ape: 3-21-12 AM Regarding Teach for America, Inc EDition #SOSCHAT

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 5 news spotters today

New York kids face more testing - NYPOST.com

nypost.com - Changes to the state’s testing program could leave public- schools kids in grades 3 through to 11 taking as many as nine exams per year in English and math — more than four times the current number...
Diane Ravitch

Letters: Greed hiding behind phony reforms | Home

theadvocate.com - Democracy is governance by all the people. It’s no exaggeration to say that our nation’s heart, soul, and survival depends on a strong public school system. What happens when it erodes? For 40 year...
Diane Ravitch

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coopmike48 The Educated Reporter: School Improvement Grants: Is the Federal Initiative Working? bit.ly/GDBnwQ3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 Read Damn Good Education Daily ▸ today's top stories via@leoniehaimson @SchlFinance101@Larryferlazzo ▸paper.li/coopmike48/bir…13 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 Schools Matter: Ignoring the facts about American educationbit.ly/GH3e2t12 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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Big Education Ape: Schools Matter: The Big Lie

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Here we go again. A new report, part of the shock and awe campaign being waged against public education, teacher unions and anyone who can still think critically and ask questions, is being brought...
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Proposed San Onofre wave farm halted by feds - latimes.com

latimesblogs.latimes.com - Surfrider Foundation, based in San Clemente, heralded the federal government's decision “because this project failed to meet the most basic requirements to prepare baseline information to assess ri...
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Teachers' Satisfaction Tanks On Survey When Higher Expectations Come With Fewer Resources

Teachers' Satisfaction Tanks On Survey When Higher Expectations Come With Fewer Resources:


Teachers' Satisfaction Tanks On Survey When Higher Expectations Come With Fewer Resources

by Joy Resmovits
For the last four years, Beth Sanders has taught ninth and 11th-grade social studies at Tarrant High School in Birmingham, Ala., a school where many students live in poverty. She, too, has to do more to make ends meet, as well as cover her student loans. So after the final bell of the day rings, after she leaves school (a 10 hour day), after grading and lesson plans -- she fills her financial gaps by running a website, tutoring students for the ACTs, and coaching teachers online.

"I don't sleep, I don't get paid enough, and I work too many jobs," Sanders says.

Her work as a teacher is already difficult enough: Her school isn't hitting federal standards established by No Child Left Behind, and performance targets are moving too fast for her special-education and non-English-speaking students.

"We're up against this impossible barrier," she says.

Sanders' concerns reflect those of teachers nationally: As demonstrated by recent survey data, job satisfaction within the profession is at its lowest since the Reagan years. What's at stake is the future of an entire 
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Third time wasn’t a charm but now L.A. can win Race to the Top | Thoughts on Public Education

Third time wasn’t a charm but now L.A. can win Race to the Top | Thoughts on Public Education:


Third time wasn’t a charm but now L.A. can win Race to the Top - by Yolie Flores

by Yolie Flores
Second chances don’t come around too often. Fourth chances? Almost never. But Los Angeles now has a remarkable opportunity to make up for California’s failures to win federal funds and to institute much-needed education reforms. Three times in the last two years, California has competed in Race to the Top, the federal program that provides [...]

Big price, little time for initiative - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
The California Federation of Teachers has stopped collecting signatures for its Millionaires Tax, throwing its full effort into an expensive race against time to qualify an initiative it negotiated last week with Gov. Jerry Brown. The union had vowed to continue its own initiative drive as a backup in case the compromise effort with the governor [...]

Community colleges hurt by CSU freeze - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron
President Obama has called community colleges “the unsung heroes of America’s education system.” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “no other system of higher education in the world does so much to provide access and second-chance opportunities as our community colleges.” Yet community colleges can’t catch a break. Two days after California State University announced [...]
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Best part of ‘schools-threaten-national-security’ report: The dissents - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Best part of ‘schools-threaten-national-security’ report: The dissents - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:


Best part of ‘schools-threaten-national-security’ report: The dissents

by Valerie Strauss
The most interesting part of the new Condoleezza Rice-Joel Klein report, which bemoans how American national security is threatened by the poor state of public education, is not in the body of the document itself. The real story is in the dissents at the end of the report.
Read full article >>

A million teachers may be on the march — out of the classroom

by Valerie Strauss
This was written by educator Anthony Cody, who worked for 24 years in the Oakland schools, 18 years teaching science at a high-needs school and six years as a mentor and coach of teachers. He is a National Board-certified teacher. You can follow him on Twitter at @anthonycody. A version of this post appeared on hisEducation Week Teacher blog, Living in Dialogue .
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THE IDEAL CANDIDATE « Teachers Fight Back

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE « Teachers Fight Back:


THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

by alkleen
I found the ideal candidate running in the Illinois primary today. Here is what he stood for:
Unequivocal support for teachers and teacher unions.
A belief that most teachers are highly qualified and competent.
Had an understanding that poverty and poor early childhood education are the biggest factors in low student test scores, not incompetent teachers.
Believed we need to find an alternative to property taxes for funding of public schools.
Believed in collective bargaining for all public employees.
Insisted that Illinois replace the money that was stolen from the teachers’ pension.
Agreed that the State should live up to their share of pension funding.
Wanted to continue the State’s share of the retired teachers insurance program
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SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Whitney Tilson Turns Trayvon Martin Tragedy About Himself

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Whitney Tilson Turns Trayvon Martin Tragedy About Himself:


Whitney Tilson Turns Trayvon Martin Tragedy About Himself

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)
What happened to Trayvon Martin is nothing less than a tragedy. As a parent, I can't imagine what Trayvon's parents are going through and I hope I never will. As a person who is white I can't, nor will I ever, imagine what it must be to be an African-American male in this country, or just any African-American and have to deal with idiots like George Zimmerman. 

But that is all I will say and can say, other than that my thoughts are of Trayvon Martin and what his family are going through. I don'
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A letter to the Seattle PTA President regarding Teach for America, Inc. | Seattle Education

A letter to the Seattle PTA President regarding Teach for America, Inc. | Seattle Education:


A letter to the Seattle PTA President regarding Teach for America, Inc.

by seattleducation2011
Dear Lauren,
I am a fellow SPS parent and I just read this in the Seattle Times:
Controversy about TFA may lag behind the times. Seattle PTSA Council President Lauren McGuire tells The Times that TFA is not a major issue for most parents.
Did you really say this? If so, how do you know whether Teach for America is or isn’t a significant issue for most parents? How many parents and guardians of the 48,000 or so families of SPS have you spoken to about the subject? How many families do you think are even aware of what TFA, Inc. is and that it has a presence in Seattle?
If you do not in fact know for certain how the majority of SPS families feel about this issue, then I ask that you stop making such erroneous public statements.
If all 48,000 SPS families were fully informed about TFA, do you still believe it wouldn’t matter to parents whether 
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School Tech Connect: Heartbreaker

School Tech Connect: Heartbreaker:


Heartbreaker

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)
Damn. 70 votes short over in the 39th.

70 votes is ground game. It's people calling up their friends. We didn't do enough for Will Guzzardi and I blame myself. Next time he runs, and I hope there is a next time, we'll be ready to make a more coordinated effort, I'm pretty sure.

If even one colleague today tells me he/she was too busy to vote, I may fly into a Rahm-like rage.

Even Rudy Lozano came right up to the wire. It's disappointing, but there's definitely hope for the future with numbers like this.

Voting Optional

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)
Political activist dog, Scout, on an earlier visit to the beach.
I have lived in Rogers Park since the dawn of time. Tonight I took Scout around the neighborhood and knocked on the door of anyone I know even remotely to get out the vote for my state representative, Kelly Cassidy, who is running against a challenger who holds Rahm's position on charter schools: they're superior.

That was enough for me. I like the original Al Shanker vision of charter schools, but the movement has grown into a vehicle for very, very bad ed policy. Kelly Cassidy's position on the issue is wiggle-roomy but not crazy,  so, I knocked on doors until the polls closed. Most of the people I know here now are dog people--- I know their dogs' 
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Hack Job, Anyone?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Hack Job, Anyone?:


Hack Job, Anyone?

by Melissa Westbrook
 I mentioned previously that at the last School Board meeting, Liv Finne of the right-wing Washington Policy Center, got up to support TFA and used a lot of hyperbole to make her point (for example, the district was "banning" TFA).   Her latest epistle is off the charts.  Some excerpts with comments: 

TFA educators set high goals for their students: a clear focus on math and science, 40 minutes of reading every night, and a desire to graduate and go on to college. In Seattle and other cities TFA is helping children raise their sights and reach for the stars.
Whenever I read this kind of uplift for one group, I wonder what they think about the other group.  Meaning, if TFA is this great, what do they think regular teachers (read: real teachers) are doing every day and expect to do in the future in their chosen profession?


Not everyone is happy, however. The teachers’ union sees opening schools to TFA graduates as a 
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NYC Educator: Good Cop, Bad Cop

NYC Educator: Good Cop, Bad Cop:


Good Cop, Bad Cop

by NYC Educator
Today, one of my favorite students surprised me by getting the highest test score in her class. She's a good student of English. She has a good ear and likes to use it. But this test focused on grammar, something about which she is totally indifferent. She learns it, but only because she can't really avoid it. She tends to pass tests, occasionally not, but ranges closer to 80% for the most part.

The student in the class who usually gets the highest marks was horrified. He couldn't understand how she beat him. I couldn't either, to tell the truth. She's not the type to cheat, and in any case I had arranged the seats in three rows, so it would have been difficult to do. She would have scored significantly lower if she copied from the guy in front of her.

"Did you study?" I asked her.

"No," she said. "I'm very smart."

That was an odd response. She usually says, "You're very smart," sarcastically, whenever anyone does 
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Teachbad: Teachbad Book Club Going “Pretty Badly” | Mr. Teachbad

Teachbad: Teachbad Book Club Going “Pretty Badly” | Mr. Teachbad:


Teachbad: Teachbad Book Club Going “Pretty Badly”

by teachbad
FAKE EDUCATION NEWS –Washington, DC Mr. Teachbad, author and creator of the wildly popular Mr. Teachbad’s Blog of Teacher Disgruntlement, says he is “less than giddy” about his first venture into the cutthroat world of online teacher book clubs and adds that the “whole thing is going pretty badly.” Mr. Teachbad’s audience of unhappy, disgruntled, angry, saddened, forlorn, castigated and otherwise disenfranchised, disaffected, downtrodden teachers has responded poorly to the first discussion Read more […]
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Missouri Education Watchdog: "Educational Bureaucracies Operate as if they are the Fourth Branch of Government"

Missouri Education Watchdog: "Educational Bureaucracies Operate as if they are the Fourth Branch of Government":


"Educational Bureaucracies Operate as if they are the Fourth Branch of Government"

by stlgretchen
Below is an excellent article on the Common Core Standards reprinted from The Georgia Public Policy Foundation:

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation is an independent think tank that proposes practical, market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians. 

Since 1991, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation has conducted scholarly research and analysis of state public policy issues and worked to educate citizens, policy-makers and the media. The Foundation is state-focused, independent, non-partisan and market-oriented in its approach. Its philosophy is that good public policy is based upon fact, an understanding of sound economic principles and the core principles of our free enterprise system – economic freedom, limited government, personal responsibility, individual initiative, respect for private property and the rule 

Arne Duncan Loses Another Teacher's Endorsement

by stlgretchen
Arne Duncan is having a tough time selling his educational reform as noted by a teacher in Dissident Voice..."a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice":

The terrorist leaders at the Department of Education hate what America stands for. They hate our individualism. They hate our creative thinking.  They hate every red-blooded American Norma Rae and are threatening our very standing in the world.  Our widgets (I mean students) used to be the best in the world. Now they’re outsourced.

These terrorists, led by Duncan, have murderous machines at their disposal; the spreadsheet, 
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Jersey Jazzman: Why Are We Listening To Joel Klein?

Jersey Jazzman: Why Are We Listening To Joel Klein?:


Why Are We Listening To Joel Klein?

by Duke
If Ben and Jerry chaired a task force that concluded that American children needed more rich, chocolaty swirls in their diets, would anyone take them seriously?

So why does anyone care about what Joel Klein has to say about education? The man is paid millions to make Rupert Murdoch boatloads of money off of the privatization of American schools. Guess what his prescription for our made up eduction problems is?
The Klein-Rice report makes three broad recommendations to fix the stated problem.
It calls for:
* expanding the Common Core State Standard initiative to include subjects beyond math 


Do Older Teachers Suck?

by Duke
Mitt Romney seems to think so:
The former Massachusetts governor continued his criticism of unions on Sunday at a town hall meeting in Vernon Hills, Ill. "We should pay our beginning teachers more," he said, according to Crystal Lake Patch. "The national unions are too interested in benefits for the older teachers."
I don't know why they would be: younger teachers pay the same dues as older teachers (at least, they do in New Jersey). The implication here is that the hated unions are protecting burned-out older teachers, who aren't nearly as effective and able to "connect" with their students as younger teachers.

I've tried to find some academic studies about this, but my first look has come up blank. Is there any evidence 
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