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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Big Education Ape: 3-25-12 PM Trayvon Martin Stand Your Ground ALEC NRA EDition #trayvonmartin

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

Published by Coopmike48 – 6 news spotters today

Trayvon Martin Stand Your Ground ALEC NRA

tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com - Ryan J. Reilly March 22, 2012, 6:00 AM Trayvon Martin was just 10 years old when politicians in Florida passed legislation that, seven years later, is being blamed for letting his killer walk free....
mikeklonsky

Meet the New Boss - Magazine

theatlantic.com - Image credit: Tim KleinI was walking around my sister’s Near North neighborhood in Chicago recently and came upon a small patch of green called Bauler Park. Paddy Bauler was the rollicking tavern o...
mikeklonsky

‘Pink Slime’ Losing Place on School Lunch Menus

nytimes.com - BOSTON — Andy Gomez, a ninth grader at Brighton High School, was not sure why hamburgers and meatballs had disappeared from the cafeteria, but he was not happy about it. “Today I just ate peanut bu...
mikeklonsky

Arne Duncan: Indifferent Maniac

jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com - What a nutcase:Publishing teachers' ratings in the newspaper in the way The New York Times and other outlets have done recently is not a good use of performance data, U.S. Secretary of Education Ar...
DianeRavitch

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DianeRavitch Teachers in upstate NY oppose test-based evaluation, flawed and inaccurate. Please support themlancasterteachers.comabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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EducationSee all

EducatorsForAll - Myth Contents!

EducatorsForAll.org - By the end of her second year at MacFarland Middle School, fifth-grade teacher Sarah Wysocki was coming into her own. “It is a pleasure to visit a classroom in which the elements of sound teaching,...
DianeRavitch

SocietySee all

What should average citizens know about US war history?

dailycensored.com - This is my paper for The Center of Process Studies’ conference, Money-Creation in a Finite World (free and open to the public, April 10-12, 2012; Claremont Colleges, CA): Money and credit as public...
coopmike48

CrimeSee all

Churches amplify call for justice for Trayvon

democraticunderground.com - Source: Excite-APEATONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - African-American community churches around the nation are amplifying the cries for justice in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Martin was s...
coopmike48

US could bring hate charge in Fla. teen shooting

democraticunderground.com - Source: Excite-APBy CURT ANDERSON MIAMI (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department could bring a hate crime charge against the shooter in the killing of black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin if there is su...
coopmike48

NJ school district sues superintendent over salary

northjersey.com - PARSIPPANY  — A northern New Jersey school district has sued its superintendent in a bid to recover almost $38,000 in alleged salary overpayments he received under a contract the state forced it to...
coopmike48

PoliticsSee all

Aide: Obama reacted as parent to Florida shooting

northjersey.com - WASHINGTON  — A top presidential adviser says President Barack Obama's decision to comment on the shooting death of an African-American teenager in Florida was motivated by parental instinct more t...
coopmike48

Divided Congress settles for below-the-radar bills

northjersey.com - WASHINGTON  — Congress is finding it hard to do what used to be easy. AP PHOTO The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington. The Washington divide, hardened by election-year politics, has stifle...
coopmike48

Who Will Police Captured Agencies?

firedoglake.com - Judge Jed S. Rakoff, a hypothetical normal person The Supreme Court finally took notice of one of the changes in the criminal justice system: we don’t do trials any more. Justice Kennedy wrote for ...
coopmike48

LeisureSee all

State Council - California Teachers Association

cta.org - Special announcements:  California Teachers of the Year Women's History Month Presentation Candidate speeches for the following offices:    NEA Director, District 2  NEA Director, District 11  NEA ...
coopmike48

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Si Obama no fuera político sería...

vidayfamilia.univision.com - Según Harvey Weinstein, productor de la aclamada cinta "The Artist", Obama le envió una novela para que la adaptase al cine. - Getty Images VIDEO El Presidente Obama bromeó acerca de... - Univision...
coopmike48

#eduRead this paperSee all

Not Common. Not Core, Either. - Teacher in a Strange Land

blogs.edweek.org - My friend Claudia Swisher, an exceptional veteran teacher from Oklahoma, recently posted an update in Goodreads, a kind of virtual book club where we hang out together. We have challenged each othe...
tbfurman

School Tech Connect: Let's Join Forces In Illinois #soschat

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - School Tech Connect: Let's Join Forces In Illinois: Let's Join Forces In Illinoisby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)As you might know, I've been working on a database. It's a project where people interest...
coopmike48

#edreformRead this paperSee all

Not Common. Not Core, Either. - Teacher in a Strange Land

blogs.edweek.org - My friend Claudia Swisher, an exceptional veteran teacher from Oklahoma, recently posted an update in Goodreads, a kind of virtual book club where we hang out together. We have challenged each othe...
tbfurman

 PhotosSee all


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Watch us on Livestream from March 30th to April 2nd: Occupy the DOE in DC | United Opt Out National

Watch us on Livestream from March 30th to April 2nd: Occupy the DOE in DC | United Opt Out National:


Watch us on Livestream from March 30th to April 2nd: Occupy the DOE in DC

by admin

For those interested in watching the occupation of the Department of Education  in D.C. from March 30th to April 2nd,  the majority of our livestreaming will  be athttp://www.livestream.com/califather.  (all day Saturday, all day Sunday and Monday afternoon.
During other times, including Friday, one of the following two channels below will be used. We may have multiple channels running at the same time broadcasting different things so check them all out!
Here is our USTREAM channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/unitedoptout
Here is our LIVESTREAM channel: http://www.livestream.com/unitedoptout?t=997514
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Resources for Teachers Teaching about Trayvon Martin | Outside the Cave #trayvonmartin

Resources for Teachers Teaching about Trayvon Martin | Outside the Cave:


Resources for Teachers Teaching about Trayvon Martin

by Stephen Lazar
Tomorrow we will begin a formal discussion of Trayvon Martin’s murder in my classes.  As all my students are of the colors that causes them to experience police harassment and distrust in lighter communities, there won’t be much need for background.  We’ll read this article to establish facts, and then use the following protocol:
  1. Students are presented with readings (and sometimes video) on the event
  2. The class constructs a list of the facts of the event based on the texts and their knowledge
  3. The class lists questions that the event raises
  4. The class discusses the questions
This will allow my students concerns and voices to dictate the class, as it should be in a case like this that 
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School Tech Connect: Let's Join Forces In Illinois #soschat

School Tech Connect: Let's Join Forces In Illinois:


Let's Join Forces In Illinois

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)
As you might know, I've been working on a database. It's a project where people interested in our issues--- public education,  neighborhood schools, pensions, the fight against privatization, testing, segregation, etc.-- can organize themselves by political districts.

It's all about building effective lobbying relationships with the individuals most accountable to us.

The database project is coming out this week, so brace yourself.

As a part of this project, I have also created a Ning social network devoted to the same issues. It's called Illinois Teachers and Neighbors United, and it's here. The young person inside of me tells me that a social network space will help us build relationships that we can parlay into hugely effective lobbying with our state representatives and senators. The old person that I see in the mirror worries about people's ability to figure out what a social network is.

We'll just see. Certainly we'll never know unless we try.

I invite you to join today.  If you are an Illinois-based pro-education activist, if you are a member of CTU, IEA, IFT, IRTA, SOS,  or any other group working for the common good, please join. In fact, ask your whole organization to sign up.  There are already two familiar faces waiting there for you. One more familiar than the other, I might add.

We have terrific organizations working toward the same goals--- let's help the individual members of those organizations meet each other and start working together with the people who represent us in Springfield.



Again, you're invited. Please join!

And keep your eye our for the database. It's the sort of thing that could re-sort your entire organization into effective politically active subgroups--- in just a few mouse clicks!
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What the latest revelations on test cheating really mean - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

What the latest revelations on test cheating really mean - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:
Answer Sheet 


What the latest revelations on test cheating really mean

by Valerie Strauss
This was written by Gary Miron, professor of education at Western Michigan University who has extensive experience evaluating school reforms and education policies. Over the past two decades he has conducted several studies of school choice programs in Europe and in the United States, including nine state evaluations of charter school reforms. Before coming to Western Michigan University, he worked for 10 years at Stockholm University in Sweden.
Read full article >>
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The Commissioner’s Network is not about school improvement or community engagement. It is about power. - Jonathan Kantrowitz - Connecticut News

The Commissioner’s Network is not about school improvement or community engagement. It is about power. - Jonathan Kantrowitz - Connecticut News:


Jonathan Kantrowitz

Jonathan Kantrowitz

Political activist, health nut
About Jonathan Kantrowitz

The Commissioner’s Network is not about school improvement or community engagement. It is about power.

March 25, 2012 at 1:56 pm by Jonathan Kantrowitz
by Wendy Lecker
…SB 24…gives sweeping powers over schools with the lowest test scores to the state education commissioner in establishing a Commissioner’s Network. The commissioner will decide how and by whom these schools are run. He can assume the powers of the board of education and waive any board of education rule that interferes with his plan for the school. He can withhold funding if the school doesn’t comply with his plan.
He can bring in any “entity,” even a private company, to run the school.
The proponents of the Commissioner’s Network repeatedly declare that “the status quo isn’t working” and 
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Calif. Hmong community launches online translator - Boston.com

Calif. Hmong community launches online translator - Boston.com:


Calif. Hmong community launches online translator

By Gosia Wozniacka
Associated Press / March 25, 2012
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FRESNO, Calif.—When Phong Yang, a Hmong refugee from Laos, landed in California's Central Valley -- via stops in Thailand and France -- he was 14 years old. He learned to speak Hmong from his parents, but today he has a hard time teaching the language to his children, who are distracted by cell phones and computers.
Many Hmong are losing their language, Yang said, leading to fears that their cultural identity will be lost.
A new technological tool may help bridge generation gaps and encourage preservation of their language among the Hmong. The community in Fresno, in partnership with researchers at Microsoft, has launched an online Hmong translator.
It's a significant step, community leaders say, because the language that withstood assimilation efforts throughout history is now at risk of being lost. Hmong -- an ancient language, whose oral tradition goes back thousands of years -- developed a written form only 60 years ago.
"It tells our elders and our children, your language is important, it's on the map now," said Yang, a teacher of Hmong at California State University, Fresno who served as coordinator for the project. "And you can have fun while using it."
The Central Valley has been home since the 1970's to one of the largest communities of Hmong -- an Asian ethnic minority group -- who had fled their mountain villages in Laos and languished for years in Thai refugee camps. Approximately 33,000 Hmong live in Fresno, according to census figures, the 
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The in box. Kyle Olson’s papa wasn’t exactly a rolling stone. « Fred Klonsky

The in box. Kyle Olson’s papa wasn’t exactly a rolling stone. « Fred Klonsky:


The in box. Kyle Olson’s papa wasn’t exactly a rolling stone.

by Fred Klonsky

Fred,
As a MI resident, I know all about the Mackinac Center, even did a point-counterpoint op-ed for them once. (Yes, I was counterpoint. Ha.) While they get Koch money, they have other usual-suspect funders, including Walton, DeVos & VanAndel, and Dow. It’s hard to track where all that money comes from and goes but the purpose is clear.
But it seems to me that Kyle Olson just might have a familial connection to Joe Olson (that would be D. Joseph Olson, founder and long-time chair at Mackinac Center). Call it a seven-salaries-
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A former KIPP teacher comments on her experience | Seattle Education

A former KIPP teacher comments on her experience | Seattle Education:


A former KIPP teacher comments on her experience

by seattleducation2011
KIPP is one of the charter school franchises that’s been tossed around in Seattle  by ed reformers as an option if charter schools were to be legalized in our state. I’ve been following KIPP and several articles that I have come across are listed in the right column of this blog under “KIPP”. It could possibly be the worst example of a school experience a child could have but they do market well.
I was reading a post by Leonie Haimson that is well worth a read “At KIPP, I would wake up sick, every single day”. The post is an interview that Leonie had with a former KIPP parent and the parent’s daughter who was a student attending KIPP.
At the end of the post was the following comment written by a former KIPP teacher that I wanted to share with you  today:
I was a teacher at a KIPP school for 1 /1/2 years. (Not in NYC) It was the most horrible experience of my life. The teachers and students are literally in school for 11 hours a day. You basically have no personal life as it is 
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