Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Who will stand up for Public Education in this election?
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Who will stand up for Public Education in this election?: Who will stand up for Public Education in this election? by Mike Klonsky Romney lands the first punch. Will Dems strike back? If not, who will? In the run-up to the elections, neither candidate(s) has said much about education issues. As for party platforms, neither party has a real education plank. The Republicans have been playing only two notes -- bust the teacher unions and don't tax the rich. The Democrats have been playing none. They have been tight-roping between the teacher unions and t... more »
U.S. TO GIVE $400 MILLION FOR IDEAS ABOUT “PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTION”, I’LL GIVE THEM ONE FOR FREE « Teachers Fight Back
U.S. TO GIVE $400 MILLION FOR IDEAS ABOUT “PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTION”, I’LL GIVE THEM ONE FOR FREE « Teachers Fight Back: U.S. TO GIVE $400 MILLION FOR IDEAS ABOUT “PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTION”, I’LL GIVE THEM ONE FOR FREE leave a comment » Seeking to spur a bold rethinking of the classroom, the Obama administration on Tuesday proposed divvying up $400 million among local school districts that devise ways of reaching children, especially from poor and rural families. The competition will reward districts that move away from the model of a teacher standing at the front of a classroom an... more »
Morning Fizz: $7 Million committed to the charters cause | Crosscut.com
Morning Fizz: $7 Million committed to the charters cause | Crosscut.com: Morning Fizz: $7 Million committed to the charters cause Caffeinated news & gossip featuring: The Gates Foundation and charter schools; Cory Booker and the Washington State Democrats; Laura Ruderman; and Greg Nickels. [image: Corey Booker, left, talks with reporters at an event with Story Corps founder Dave Isay.] Courtesy of WBGO/Flickr Corey Booker, left, talks with reporters at an event with Story Corps founder Dave Isay. *1. Jolt pooh-poohed* the charter schools initiativeTuesday—it seems a bit ... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Big Money Rolling in for Charter Initiative
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Big Money Rolling in for Charter Initiative: Big Money Rolling in for Charter Initiative by Melissa Westbrook *Well that didn't take long.* Crosscut is reporting that the initiative is receiving a $4M boost from the Gates Foundation and $1M from Nick Hanauer (and I suspect the rest is from Stand or some other booster). Bad news for Dem candidates: *Speaking of Jay Inslee, if the charter initiative does go forward, watch for the anti-charters Washington Education Association, the teachers' union, to match the charter camp in spending, which will d... more »
The Romney Education Agenda « Diane Ravitch's blog
The Romney Education Agenda « Diane Ravitch's blog: The Romney Education Agenda by dianerav What would education policy look like in a Mitt Romney administration? As the saying goes, people are policy. Romney’s list of campaign advisers was released this week and it is a re-run of the George W. Bush administration. There is Rod Paige, Nina Rees, Bill Hansen, Russ Whitehurst, Bill Evers, Carol D’Amico, and possibly others who were high-level Bush II appointees. Margaret Spellings has also advised Romney but is not on this task force. There are representatives of big corporations,... more »
4,000 Chicago Teachers to Rally Downtown | NBC Chicago
4,000 Chicago Teachers to Rally Downtown | NBC Chicago: *4,000 Chicago Teachers to Rally Downtown*As a possible strike looms, teachers say they want to show unity By Lauren Petty & Mary Ann Ahern [image: 4,000 Chicago Teachers to Rally Downtown] The NATO Summit is over, but Chicago isn't done with protests. As a possible strike looms, an estimated 4,000 Chicago Public School teachers will rally at the Auditorium Theatre at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday before marching to Board of Education's headquarters just before 6 p.m. The Chicago Teachers Union said teachers will be bused in after scho... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: DOEd - The Master of Loopholes?
Missouri Education Watchdog: DOEd - The Master of Loopholes?: DOEd - The Master of Loopholes? by Anngie The DOEd has just released their draft regulation for the latest round of the Race To The Top grant competition. Many have noted extensively how they no longer seem to care that they are forbidden by law from developing national standards. Duncan and his representatives have repeatedly stated that they are not doing that. Rather, it is state consortia (which DOEd incentivized the creation of through the first RTTT) who are developing standards (which they require states to adopt... more »
Decline to Sign: The charter school initiative | Seattle Education
Decline to Sign: The charter school initiative | Seattle Education: Decline to Sign: The charter school initiative by seattleducation2011 *A charter school initiative was submitted by the League of Education Voters yesterday and will require 250,000 signatures by July 8, 2012 to be on the ballot in November.* *This piece was written by Parents Across America, Tacoma member Jennifer Boutell.* *Charter Schools Initiative Introduced Today, First Analysis* A charter school initiative introduced today will be on the November ballot, if supporters are able to gather 250,000 signatures ... more »
HechingerEd Blog | What can the failures of desegregation teach us?
HechingerEd Blog | What can the failures of desegregation teach us?: What can the failures of desegregation teach us? by Sarah Garland In a *New York Times* editorial over the weekend, University of California, Berkeley professor David Kirp asks why we’ve turned away from school integration, an education reform that has quite extensive evidence showing it worked: “Economists’ studies consistently conclude that African-American students who attended integrated schools fared better academically than those left behind in segregated schools. They were more likely to graduate from high ... more »
LAUNCH: EDUCATE NY NOW! Statewide Campaign to Address New York State’s Growing Educational Crisis
Educate NY Now!: *LAUNCH: EDUCATE NY NOW! Statewide Campaign to Address New York State’s Growing Educational Crisis* Today marked the public launch of a major new statewide campaign, Educate NY Now! The purpose of the 12-month campaign is to address the growing education crisis in New York State’s public schools. Educate NY Now! unifies parents, educators, administrators, unions, school board members, community organizations, education advocates and others statewide around a broad-based campaign to demand that our state government fulfills New York’s constitutional obligation to... more »
FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, May 23, 2012
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Wednesday, May 23, 2012* Review of Twin Rivers police focuses on vehicles, weapons, command structureThe Twin Rivers Police Department has curtailed its emphasis on traffic enforcement, and more operational changes will follow if the school district police force moves forward with recommendations in a report released Tuesday. Documents detail alleged illegal loans to Twin Rivers trusteeMoney orders, bank statements and credit card bills are among the documents Twin Rivers Unified School District officials tu... more »
What the *#&@? … “Teacher evaluation panel moves its work behind closed doors” - Wait, What?
What the *#&@? … “Teacher evaluation panel moves its work behind closed doors” - Wait, What?: What the *#&@? … “Teacher evaluation panel moves its work behind closed doors” by jonpelto * “A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. A people who mean to be their own governor must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” — James Madison* *Hello…..is there anyone home?* *What was that about the whole “still revolutionary” thing?* *From yesterday afternoon’s CT Mirror: Teache... more »
Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 5-23 AM Posts #soschat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS Lily Ledbetter MJS Op-Ed on Walker’s Denial of Working Women’s Rights « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students! coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 minutes ago Lily Ledbetter MJS Op-Ed on Walker’s Denial of Working Women’s Rights « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Lily Ledbetter MJS Op-Ed on Walker’s Denial of Working Women’s Rights by millerlf *Wisconsin’s working women deserve fairness* By Lilly Ledbetter Milwaukee Journal Sentinel May 22, 2012 When Wisconsin passed the Equal Pay Enforcement Act in 2009, it completed a 20-y... more »
Lily Ledbetter MJS Op-Ed on Walker’s Denial of Working Women’s Rights « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!
Lily Ledbetter MJS Op-Ed on Walker’s Denial of Working Women’s Rights « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Lily Ledbetter MJS Op-Ed on Walker’s Denial of Working Women’s Rights by millerlf *Wisconsin’s working women deserve fairness* By Lilly Ledbetter Milwaukee Journal Sentinel May 22, 2012 When Wisconsin passed the Equal Pay Enforcement Act in 2009, it completed a 20-year fight to strengthen the state’s equal pay law. The act finally gave women in the workplace the right to hold employers accountable for discrimination in Wisconsin. On April 6, Wisconsin’s Republican-con... more »
Malloy Makes It Clear: Your State Senator is Your Business, Your Board of Education Member is My Business. - Wait, What?
Malloy Makes It Clear: Your State Senator is Your Business, Your Board of Education Member is My Business. - Wait, What?: Malloy Makes It Clear: Your State Senator is Your Business, Your Board of Education Member is My Business. by jonpelto You can call it an interesting commentary on politics and the control of education resources or you could call it yet another installment in the “you just can’t make this stuff up” saga that continues to swirl around the “education reform movement” in Connecticut. This week, the Bridgeport Democratic Party selected former State Senator Ernie Ne... more »
Chicago schools. Huge rally tonight. Strike vote set. « Fred Klonsky
Chicago schools. Huge rally tonight. Strike vote set. « Fred Klonsky: Chicago schools. Huge rally tonight. Strike vote set. by Fred Klonsky In what has become a hallmark of the fighting spirit of the Chicago Teachers Union and their leadership, a huge rally is planned tonight at the historic Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University. The Auditorium holds over 4,000, and with only CTU members allowed in, thousands more supporters are expected to gather outside. CTU leaders also announced a strike authorization vote will be taken in the next few weeks. CPS is not happy with that tur... more »
Hot! Popular! Swears Like a Longshoreman! « The Core Knowledge Blog
Hot! Popular! Swears Like a Longshoreman! « The Core Knowledge Blog: Hot! Popular! Swears Like a Longshoreman!by Robert Pondiscio *May 23rd, 2012* Tags: language, reading, Sarah Coyne, Scholastic, Young adult fiction Posted in Education News, Literacy, Teaching | No Comments » If you’ve read more than a handful of young adult (YA) novels, you’re probably well past the point of being dismayed by the thematic darkness and swear words. A new study by Brigham Young University professor Sarah Coyne finds that on average, teen novels contain 38 instances of profanity between the covers or ... more »
Obama daughters’ school hit with prank email about sex, contraception | The Ticket - Yahoo! News
Obama daughters’ school hit with prank email about sex, contraception | The Ticket - Yahoo! News: Obama daughters’ school hit with prank email about sex, contraception By Olivier Knox | The Ticket – 19 hrs ago - Email - - - 14 - - Print RELATED CONTENT - [image: FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2008 file photo, Sidwell Friends School is seen in northwest Washington. The exclusive private school attended by President Barack Obama's daughters is the target of a $10 million lawsuit accusing a former school psychologist of having an affair with the mother o... more »
Modern School: DfER Defiles the Holy Name of Democrats
Modern School: DfER Defiles the Holy Name of Democrats: DfER Defiles the Holy Name of Democrats by Michael Dunn Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons Democrats for Education Reform (DfER) is a veritable who’s who of Education Deformers, privatizers, vultures and union busters. In California the group includes Gloria Romero, an anti-teacher Democratic state legislator, as well as Ben Austin, a leader of the astroturf organization Parent Revolution. One of DfER’s primary objectives is to get pro-charter school, anti-teachers’ union officials elected to office. Eric Bauman, chair of the Los... more »
Me! Me! Me! (And My Issues) - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Me! Me! Me! (And My Issues) - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Me! Me! Me! (And My Issues) by Nancy Flanagan Here's a story: Teachers and spouses are milling around after a statewide Educator Recognition banquet. It's been a wonderful evening, celebrating dozens of teachers and administrators who have been named Teacher/Principal/Superintendent of the Year, Milken Award winners, National Board Certified Teachers, etc. A former TOY's husband comments: *Why did all the teachers cross the stage tonight with their heads down? Why were they so anxious to get back t... more »
John Thompson: Why are Reformers so Insensitive? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
John Thompson: Why are Reformers so Insensitive? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: Why are Reformers so Insensitive? by Anthony Cody *Guest post by John Thompson.* Diane Ravitch was recently informed of the contents of the New York City Department of Education e-mails that the United Federation of Teachers gained information through a Freedom of Information request. The first thing that Ravitch recognized in the communications was "the chummy exchanges between the public officials in charge of the New York City public school system and the top dogs of ... more »
2012 Labor-Management Conference Kicks Off – Watch Live | ED.gov Blog
2012 Labor-Management Conference Kicks Off – Watch Live | ED.gov Blog: 2012 Labor-Management Conference Kicks Off – Watch Live Posted on May 23, 2012 by Cameron Brenchley Secretary Arne Duncan, national education leaders and over 100 district and state leadership teams are converging in Cincinnati today to kick off the two-day 2012 Labor-Management Conference. The conference will encourage participants – teams of state and district school chiefs, union leaders, and school board leaders from over 100 states and districts — to exchange ideas, share lessons learned, and encourage leade... more »
Occupy School Choice? :: Frederick M. Hess
Occupy School Choice? :: Frederick M. Hess: Occupy School Choice? *by Frederick M. Hess • May 23, 2012 at 7:54 am Cross-posted from Education Week* Last week, I had an exchange with the Fordham Institute's "school choice czar" Adam Emerson, in which I argued that Emerson showed an unfortunate disregard for the legitimate concerns of parents and taxpayers in Zachary, Louisiana, in upbraiding them for not opening their schools to the state's new voucher program. I didn't mean to pick on Emerson in particular. I fear that too often even putatively "conservative" advocates for school ... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Hey, What Ever Happened To Those Backpacks?
Jersey Jazzman: Hey, What Ever Happened To Those Backpacks?: Hey, What Ever Happened To Those Backpacks? by Duke Oh, my: Written by Stephen Sawchuk for EdWeek. Read the entire article here. “*StudentsFirst… claims to have 1.3 million members, each of whom has donated an average of $40. Individuals can become members through several channels, including by signing up at a live event; through outreach drives at college campuses; signing up on its website; signing the organization’s pledge; or signing one of its petitions hosted on outside websites.* *In the latter instance, some crit... more »
The Normalcy of School Segregation [It Matters If You're Black Or White] | The Jose Vilson
The Normalcy of School Segregation [It Matters If You're Black Or White] | The Jose Vilson: The Normalcy of School Segregation [It Matters If You're Black Or White] by Jose You’re a firm believer that we as a country has made tremendous progress since the Jim Crow laws. We have a Black president whose education policy advances the last white one’s education’s policy. Black people are all over TV, and Black man can kiss White women on TV without much ado. This country gets closer to a tipping point where people of color as a whole eclipse the dominant culture in population. Oh yeah,... more »
Daily Kos: now 66 and counting . . .
Daily Kos: now 66 and counting . . .: now 66 and counting . . . by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) 66 does not seem as if it should be a momentous birthday. Except for those of us reaching that age now, it means we are eligible for our full Social Security benefits (except I chose to begin to receive mine at the start of the calendar year, taking cash now and taking a small hit over time). I am also this weekend heading to a college reunion, also not necessarily a momentous one. This will be the 45th of my original class. And yet, for many of us, whether we are 66 or more likely 67... more »
Cory Booker has crossed the aisle before — on school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
Cory Booker has crossed the aisle before — on school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Cory Booker has crossed the aisle before — on school reform by Valerie Strauss Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, has been in the news forblasting President Obama’s campaign ads attacking Mitt Romney’s career with a private-equity firm and calling the tone of the presidential campaign “nauseating to me on both sides.” This isn’t the first time that Booker has sided with Republicans over the leader of his own party. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, left, jokes with New Jersey Governor ... more »
OUSD’s black male students: school-by-school data - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools
OUSD’s black male students: school-by-school data - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: OUSD’s black male students: school-by-school data Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 12:01 pm in 6 Comments » This morning, Urban Strategies Council released a series of reports about the experience of black boys in the Oakland school district: one on out-of-school suspensions, one on chronic absenteeism, and lastly, an analysis of numerous factors to estimate how many children are on track to graduate high school — beginning in elementary. There is so much data here that the s... more »
NYC Educator: Trash Teachers! Sell Papers!
NYC Educator: Trash Teachers! Sell Papers!: Trash Teachers! Sell Papers! by NYC Educator I don't need to recount the stories about the UFT President. The Post has done a fine job of that, demonstrating it does not discriminate between lowly teachers and union leaders. It's willing to convict any and all of us without a trial, without a hearing, without conscience, and without reservation. Mulgrew is a public figure, unlike the teachers they usually go after, so I suppose he has to live with this stuff regardless. The tabloids, Dennis Walcott and therefore Michael Bloomberg, don't ... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Thousands of CTU members, supporters will rally today
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Thousands of CTU members, supporters will rally today: Thousands of CTU members, supporters will rally today by Mike Klonsky If *Rahm Emanuel* thought that Chicago teachers would roll over and play dead in the face of his war on the CTU, he's badly mistaken. Yesterday it was announced that nearly 80 percent of CTU members have voted to reject the latest teacher contract proposal in recent straw polls — more than what would be needed to authorize a real strike under the new anti-union law, SB7. At 3 this afternoon, thousands of Chicago teachers will ... more »
Inside Rick Scott’s FCAT Spin Machine | Scathing Purple Musings
Inside Rick Scott’s FCAT Spin Machine | Scathing Purple Musings: Inside Rick Scott’s FCAT Spin Machine by Bob Sikes Brandon Larrabee gives a fascinating look into how Florida Governor Rick Scott and his staff sought to establish the narrative of the release of FCAT data. From the News Service of Florida, Larrabee writes: The test crisis began when passing scores on the writing test plummeted from 81 percent to 27 percent for fourth graders and showed similar drop in eighth and 10th grades. The Florida Board of Education eventually met in emergency session to lower the passing gra... more »
A Few Quick Notes on Tonight’s NYC Montreal Solidarity March and the NYPD « Student Activism
A Few Quick Notes on Tonight’s NYC Montreal Solidarity March and the NYPD « Student Activism: A Few Quick Notes on Tonight’s NYC Montreal Solidarity March and the NYPD by Angus Johnston I’ve just returned home from a trip to downtown for tonight’s march in solidarity with the students of Montreal, and I want to say a couple of things. For background, it was a march of about three hundred people, give or take. Ebullient, given today’s events to the north, but not raucous. We started at Union Square, meandered around for about an hour and a half, and ended where we began. Pretty st... more »
LAUSD HAS BECOME TOO COMFORTABLE WITH BAD EDUCATION - Perdaily.com
LAUSD HAS BECOME TOO COMFORTABLE WITH BAD EDUCATION - Perdaily.com: LAUSD HAS BECOME TOO COMFORTABLE WITH BAD EDUCATION by Leonard Isenberg [image: Clarence Thomas.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Espaรฑol) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) Human beings are creatures of habit and as such seem to become uncomfortable when you ask them to deviate in any way from what they are accustomed to, even if what they are accustomed to is clearly an inferior public education that leaves them with a level of achievement that will cause them frustration fo...more »
Are teachers taught how to use tests? | EdNewsColorado
Are teachers taught how to use tests? | EdNewsColorado: Are teachers taught how to use tests? by Todd Engdahl The National Council on Teacher Quality is out with another report on teacher preparation, this time focusing on how well future teachers are trained in effective use of assessment data. [image: Pencil on test paper]The report takes an overall gloomy view of the situation, concluding, “School districts, states and teacher preparation training programs have yet to establish what knowledge a new teacher should have to enter a classroom with some facility for applying data to i... more »
Big Education Ape Nite Cap UPDATE 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
*UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* If I have to take one more of these frigging standardized test, I think my head will explode! *GO TO * *National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing* College Is No Guarantee of Success by Duke Professional blind squirrel Campbell Brown finds a nut: Hardly reassuring words when you look at the reality. According to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, about 53.6 percent of men and women under the age of 25 who hold bachelor’s degrees were jobless or underemployed last year, the most in at least 11 years. According to the Pew... more »
