BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Contact Senator Murray Today
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Contact Senator Murray Today: Contact Senator Murray Today by Melissa Westbrook From our friends over at the Seattle Education blog, comes news from a column in the Huffington Post by Leonie Hamison, "*Will Our Federal Government Renounce Their Proposal to Increase Class Size*". *The Obama administration has proposed that in next year’s education budget, 25 percent of the funds to reduce class size or keep teachers on staff be diverted to a competitive grant program to create and expand “new pathways” to teaching — e.g. to help fund organizations ... more »
Oakland Parents and Teachers Are Sitting-in to Keep Neighborhood Schools Open! | Dailycensored.com
Oakland Parents and Teachers Are Sitting-in to Keep Neighborhood Schools Open! | Dailycensored.com: Oakland Parents and Teachers Are Sitting-in to Keep Neighborhood Schools Open! by Danny Weil *“Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It’s like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won’t fatten the dog.” ~ Mark Twain* *At the end of this school year, the Oakland Unified School District plans to close 5 public elementary schools and hand children’s school buildings over to private charter schools and district admi... more »
Technocratic Expansion of Education Data Systems Stirs Privacy Concerns - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Technocratic Expansion of Education Data Systems Stirs Privacy Concerns - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Technocratic Expansion of Education Data Systems Stirs Privacy Concerns by Anthony Cody Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody What will it mean for every one of the nation's 50 million students to have a unique ID number, and be included in a national database that tracks every test they ever take? And teachers will get ID numbers as well, so the database can track the test performance of our students over our entire careers. I have been exploring in recent weeks t... more »
Geaux Teacher!: REP. JOHN BEL EDWARDS EXPOSES FAILURES OF GOV. JINDAL'S LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE
Geaux Teacher!: REP. JOHN BEL EDWARDS EXPOSES FAILURES OF GOV. JINDAL'S LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE: REP. JOHN BEL EDWARDS EXPOSES FAILURES OF GOV. JINDAL'S LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) State Representative John Bel Edwards' Letter to the Editor of The Advocate http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/3073305-123/letters-jindals-successes-werent *Letters: Jindal's 'successes' weren't* June 11, 2012 * Gov. Bobby Jindal can claim victory in the just completed legislative session but — thank goodness — the facts prove otherwise. As the session started, ... more »
Schools Matter: First Steps to End TFA's Federally Funded Corporate Welfare Program
Schools Matter: First Steps to End TFA's Federally Funded Corporate Welfare Program: First Steps to End TFA's Federally Funded Corporate Welfare Program by Jim Horn With the help of Gates, ALEC, Broad, Waltons, etc., the Federal government is now engaged in a systematic attempt to use public resources to privatize or corporatize public education. From Dora Taylor in Seattle: Posted on June 12, 2012 by seattleducation2011 In 2009, Teach for America, Inc. (TFA, Inc.) had over $300M in net assets. In 2010, Wendy Kopp received a $50M grant from the government to send unqualified... more »
hctiB G: Who’s Right to Return? | The G Bitch Spot
hctiB G: Who’s Right to Return? | The G Bitch Spot: hctiB G: Who’s Right to Return? by G Bitch originally posted Jun 16, 2006 —— My mother grew up in what was the Magnolia housing projects Uptown. Back then, as in many ways recently, it was a place for poor people with children and elderly people living on pensions. Poor people who worked, older women who planted flowers and tomatoes and scolded children no matter who they belonged to, cooperative communities. After promising that all have “the right to return,” the federal government through HUD is now saying that there will not b... more »
Call to action: No more public funding for Teach for America, Inc.! | Seattle Education
Call to action: No more public funding for Teach for America, Inc.! | Seattle Education: Call to action: No more public funding for Teach for America, Inc.! by seattleducation2011 In 2009, Teach for America, Inc. (TFA, Inc.) had over $300M in net assets. In 2010, Wendy Kopp received a $50M grant from the government to send unqualified college recruits into the inner city schools to teach our most vulnerable. This money is on top of the fee that she charges a school district for each recruit that is hired. Now Ms. Kopp is shilling for more by lobbying our legislators to cut back ... more »
How Students First Recruits New Members « Diane Ravitch's blog
How Students First Recruits New Members « Diane Ravitch's blog: How Students First Recruits New Members by dianerav A friend told me she signed an online petition on Change.org for some cause to make the world a better place, and promptly received an email from Michelle Rhee of Students First thanking her for joining. She was astonished to discover that she was a member of Students First, because she never signed anything that identified the group. This is apparently standard practice for Rhee’s group, as demonstrated by this blog by a teacher who also found herself to be a “memb... more »
Okaloosa County School Board Adopts Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings
Okaloosa County School Board Adopts Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings: Okaloosa County School Board Adopts Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing by Bob Sikes From Katie Tammen in the *Northwest Florida Daily News*: The two-page resolution highlights some of the issues the board has seen with standardized testing and requests officials not only reevaluate exams such as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test but also the national No Child Left Behind law, which places a lot of emphasis on standardized tests. “This problem is everyone’s fault,” board ... more »
Shelby County commissioner questions link between Herenton's charter schools, Texas group » The Commercial Appeal
Shelby County commissioner questions link between Herenton's charter schools, Texas group » The Commercial Appeal: [image: Memphis Commercial Appeal - Printer-friendly story] [image: Willie Herenton] Shelby County commissioner questions link between Herenton's charter schools, Texas group By Clay Bailey, Jane Roberts Tuesday, June 12, 2012 County Commissioner Terry Roland wants answers about whether a charter school group headed by former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton is linked to Harmony Public Schools -- a Texas-based group with a controversial past and questionable affiliation. ... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago prepares for possible strike
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago prepares for possible strike: Chicago prepares for possible strike by Mike Klonsky Chicago teachers on strike in 1967Chicago hasn't had a teachers strike since 1987. But strikes were once a common occurrence here. The CTU led nine strikes from 1969 to 1987. In those days, parent and community anger was often directed at the striking teachers. As I remember it, back in '69 even lots of teachers wouldn't show up for for picket duty because they thought such actions were beneath their dignity. Times have changed. Yesterday's 90% strike authorizat... more »
Academic Fraud: Does Anyone Care? - Bridging Differences - Education Week
Academic Fraud: Does Anyone Care? - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Academic Fraud: Does Anyone Care? by Diane Ravitch Dear Deborah, Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state funds are now being spent to build so-called data warehouses to track students from their earliest years through postsecondary education. Standardized test scores are a key feature of the tracking systems, especially when they are attributed to individual teachers. In time, enthusiasts of the data-is-great school of thought believe we will have the information we need to identify "effective... more »
Parents protest surge in standardized testing | Reuters
Parents protest surge in standardized testing | Reuters Parents protest surge in standardized testing6:16am EDT By Stephanie Simon *Go to Parents Across America.* (Reuters) - A backlash against high-stakes standardized testing is sweeping through U.S. school districts as parents, teachers, and administrators protest that the exams are unfair, unreliable and unnecessarily punitive - and even some longtime advocates of testing call for changes. The objections come even as federal and state authorities pour hundreds of millions of dollars into developing new tests, including some for chi... more »
Recapturing Manhood for Young Men of Color [Stopping Stop-And-Frisk] | The Jose Vilson
Recapturing Manhood for Young Men of Color [Stopping Stop-And-Frisk] | The Jose Vilson: Recapturing Manhood for Young Men of Color [Stopping Stop-And-Frisk] by Jose Popout On Saturday, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous spoke to the Netroots Nation crowd around one of the organization’s pivotal efforts: ending New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy [and preventing said policy from spreading to other major cities]. His impassioned speech made me tap my feet, blanking out to the sounds of an aggression unaddressed by the larger progressive communities. While he spoke, I noticed two halv... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: Twinkle Teachers Demand Personal Happiness as Nuclear Power Goal in Classroom. Welcome to Whole Brain Teaching.
Missouri Education Watchdog: Twinkle Teachers Demand Personal Happiness as Nuclear Power Goal in Classroom. Welcome to Whole Brain Teaching.: Twinkle Teachers Demand Personal Happiness as Nuclear Power Goal in Classroom. Welcome to Whole Brain Teaching. by stlgretchen Hand gestures and the "ten-fingered whoohoo" imperative in Whole Brain Teaching.* * *Is the goal of education to make your "dear teacher happy"?* This is a "nuclear" goal if your school district using "Whole Brain Teaching". Several Missouri districts are using this method focusing on making students more engaged in... more »
Daily Kos: On this day in 1967
Daily Kos: On this day in 1967: On this day in 1967 by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) a unanimous Supreme Court issued its opinion in Loving v Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967). The case was argued April 10, with the Court quickly reaching its decision. Mildred Jeter was Black, Robert Loving was White. They met in Virginia, married in the District of Columbia because interracial marriage was illegal in Virginia, then returned to Virginia to live. They were charged by a grand jury with having violated Virginia's law, entered a guilty plea and and were sentenced to one year in jail; howe... more »
Will Congress compound its error on ‘highly qualified’ teachers? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
Will Congress compound its error on ‘highly qualified’ teachers? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] UVA board: Tell us why you pushed out president Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 54 minutes ago The University of Virginia’s governing board sesems to have gone out of its way to avoid explaining directly to the public why it pushed out the popular President Teresa Sullivan after only two years. It’s time it says exactly what happened. Now. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to St... more »
CHICAGO TEACHERS NOT EASILY FOOLED « Teachers Fight Back
CHICAGO TEACHERS NOT EASILY FOOLED « Teachers Fight Back: CHICAGO TEACHERS NOT EASILY FOOLED by alkleen It’s certainly no surprise that the Chicago Teachers’ Union voted to authorize a strike by an overwhelming 90% vote. Most of the Chicago teachers that I know have never bought into the whole “teacher and school reform” nonsense. They know poor student achievement isn’t their fault just as they know their union doesn’t hinder anyone from achieving in school. They have refused to be bullied by the big moneyed interests that saw an opportunity to break teacher unions by portraying ... more »
solidaridad: Schools Matter: Evaluate This! Shows the way forward for authentic education reform
solidaridad: Schools Matter: Evaluate This! Shows the way forward for authentic education reform: Schools Matter: Evaluate This! Shows the way forward for authentic education reform by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *"I am heading for a four-year college. The classes that most helped me prepare for this were NOT test prep classes. They were the ones where I got to explore stuff and do projects." — Tiffany Tuggle (CEJ Member and Senior at UCLA Community School)* [image: Esperanza Elementary School first grade garden project at Evaluate This!]I finally got around to my write up on an i... more »
Whitney Tilson Makes a Fool Of Himself Yet Again http://www.southbronxschool.com
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Whitney Tilson Makes a Fool Of Himself Yet Again by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) I'm late to the game and didn't catch all of what Alexander Russo wrote about Violet Nichols, but I sure read what Whitney Tilson had written in response. As usual Whitney, the Harvard grad has no idea how to write or think critically. I feel like I am chasing a windmill every time I write about this asinine hedge fund manager that is Whitney. He is just so in love with his voice and his perturbed thoughts through his mangles thought process that I don;t know wh... more »
Schools Matter: Fight Club Fantasies of the Corporate Education Deformers
Schools Matter: Fight Club Fantasies of the Corporate Education Deformers: Fight Club Fantasies of the Corporate Education Deformers by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene [image: Dr. John Thompson was an award-winning historian, lobbyist, and guerilla-gardener who became an award-winning inner city teacher after crack and gangs hit his neighborhood.]By John Thompson Political scientist Patrick McGuinn wrote a sympathetic account of education reform advocacy organizations (ERAOs) that gather in Washington, D.C. The ERAOs, "compare notes and plot strategy in what is (half in jest) referred ... more »
Explaining the Failed Recall to My Preteen | One Teacher's Perspective
Explaining the Failed Recall to My Preteen | One Teacher's Perspective: Explaining the Failed Recall to My Preteen by Imagine Wisconsin Paid for by millionaires and billionaires My perceptive and compassionate preteen daughter asked me in the wake of the failed recall of Governor Walker, “Why can’t it be like in the movies where the good guys always win?” This was essentially my reply to her poignant question. “Well, dear, unlike in the feel-good movies you watch—where the grassroots efforts of the hard working, less powerful always triumph for a happy ending—in real-life Wiscons... more »
Last Stand for Children First: CPS Mommy Urges Teachers Not to Strike
Last Stand for Children First: CPS Mommy Urges Teachers Not to Strike: CPS Mommy Urges Teachers Not to Strike by Last Stand for Children Today, the Chicago Teachers Union announced that in their strike authorization vote, 98% of the teachers voting and 2% voted against. This number is out of about 91% of the teachers voting. You know who else used to get vote results like this? Sadam Hussein. I'm just saying, it wasn't until he was overthrown that we learned that the people in Iraq weren't really 100% behind Hussein either. This strike vote is clearly against the spirit of SB... more »
LAUSD, UTLA - Perdaily.com
LAUSD, UTLA - Perdaily.com: UTLA/LAUSD Tentative Agreement: WHY WE'RE VOTING NO By Area Chairs Aaron Bruhnke, Jose Lara, Dan Barnhart, and Gillian Russom by Leonard Isenberg [image: UTLA IMAGE.jpeg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)* *(Perdaily salutes the intelligence of the teachers who wrote this - take heed or continue to suffer the consequences)* *We cannot support this Tentative Agreement, because doing so would mean endorsing a process that accepts huge concessions without an organized fight, and fee... more »
THE INSPIRATION OF GREAT TEACHERS « City School Stories
THE INSPIRATION OF GREAT TEACHERS « City School Stories: THE INSPIRATION OF GREAT TEACHERS by fmurphy Notes from the Field Submitted on June 11, 2012 by Frank Murphy Almost everyday, some bad news story concerning the School District of Philadelphia seems to be in the newspaper. Budget shortfalls, school closures and employee layoffs are commonplace events. The education of our city’s children has become a political football. It seems that nearly every person with some kind of power or title in our city and state wants to give a good kick to Philadelphia’s schools. Everyone thes...more »
Hired Guns on Astroturf: How to Buy and Sell School Reform
Dissent Magazine - Spring 2012 Issue - Hired Guns on Astrotur...: Hired Guns on Astroturf: How to Buy and Sell School Reform By Joanne Barkan *For Barkan’s other writing on the self-proclaimed “education reform movement,” clickhere, here, and here.* If you want to change government policy, change the politicians who make it. The implications of this truism have now taken hold in the market-modeled “education reform movement.” As a result, the private funders and nonprofit groups that run the movement have overhauled their strategy. They’ve gone political as never before—like the Na... more »
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