On Diane and Mission Hill - Bridging Differences - Education Week

On Diane and Mission Hill - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

On Diane and Mission Hill

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,

I shall miss writing to you—but count on me to respond often to your blogs. And thanks for giving me the idea to do something similar—but not at your rate. That's another amazing thing about you. Of many.

But Mary-Ellen, our editor, is looking around for a possible ornery correspondent who might disagree with me on enough stuff to be interesting to all of you and both of us. We might take it month by month ... or, we'll see.

Meanwhile, I finally went back to see Mission Hill last week. Fearfully. First and foremost, the students and staff (and even the parents I met)think the new space is "awesome," "wonderful," like a private school." (Eek!) It will take me a little longer to agree with them. I am, first of all, a creature of habit. I wasn't an innovator, but stubbornly just trying to put into practice what I liked best about my own upbringing and schooling. My idea of "traditional" was the independent school one I went to 70 years ago, and at that time it was probably a half-

School Tech Connect: The Road To Ruin

School Tech Connect: The Road To Ruin:

The Road To Ruin

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Just reprinting one of my favorite things, the Track E Assessment Calendar for Chicago Public Schools. What this is is a visual representation of the road to ruin. It's the color-coded key to a culture of compliance. And this ain't nothin'. Wait 'til every student has to have high-stakes testing in every subject so that every teacher can be fired with bureaucratic efficiency.  Here's what you should do today if you're in Rahm's Tea Party political base. Call up the school where the mayor sends his kid and ask them to see their version of this.

Chicago School Strike is Against Obama “Race To The Top” Agenda of School Privatization and Corporate Education Reform | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

Chicago School Strike is Against Obama “Race To The Top” Agenda of School Privatization and Corporate Education Reform | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:

Chicago School Strike is Against Obama “Race To The Top” Agenda of School Privatization and Corporate Education Reform

by admin

by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon - BlackAgendaReport.com
Polls say that most Chicagoans support the striking teachers. Mitt Romney says he supports Rahm Emanuel. But why do so many who say they oppose charters, educational privatization, the drive to demonize teachers and make them temps fail to connect these policies with the Democratic president who has been their most outspoken champion the past four years?
Chicago School Strike is Against Obama “Race To The Top” Agenda of School Privatization and 

How things look to a returning Chicago teacher - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

How things look to a returning Chicago teacher - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

How things look to a returning Chicago teacher

By Valerie Strauss

With the Chicago teachers strike continuing for a fourth day, it makes sense to hear how things look in the Windy City to an actual Chicago teacher. So here’s a piece by Gregory Michie, a new public school teacher in Chicago and senior research sssociate at the Center for Policy Studies and Social Justice at Concordia University Chicago. His new book, “We Don’t Need Another Hero: Struggle, Hope, and Possibilty in the Age of High-Stakes Schooling,” will be published in November by Teachers College Press.

By Gregory Michie

So Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the Chicago Teachers Union is engaging in a “strike of choice.” I’d say it’s more like a strike of choices.

After all, it’s rare that anything is chosen in a vacuum. Choices are made within a context, a climate, and often in response to other choices made at an earlier time.

(Sitthixay Ditthavong/AP)To call what’s happening in Chicago a “strike of choice” is to deny how we got to this point, to conveniently ignore the prelude of choices that came before.

Last year, when E

Is technology sapping children’s creativity?

by Valerie Strauss

The technology revolution has sparked a new debate about just how much parents should allow their young children to play with iPads, iPhones and other devices. Here’s a smart look at the issue by early childhood development expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a professor emerita of education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Ma., when she won the Embracing the Legacy Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps for work over several decades on behalf of children and families. Carlsson-Paige is author of “ Taking Back Childhood” and the mother of two artist sons, Matt and Kyle Damon.
Read full article >>

Modern School: Chicago Teachers Strike Update

Modern School: Chicago Teachers Strike Update:

Chicago Teachers Strike Update

by Michael Dunn

• Support by parents is still fairly strong. A Chicago Sun Times opinion poll on Monday found that nearly half of parents support the teachers, while only 39% oppose the strike. This could change, of course, particularly if the strike drags on and parents are forced to hire babysitters or stay home from work to care for children.
• Custodians plan on joining the strike this week, KOAM TV reported. The more classified (non-credentialed staff) that join the strike, the greater the pressure on the board and CPS and the more likely they are to cave.
• CPS is planning on extending the length of time the 147 scab “Drop off” centers will be open from 4 hours to six starting on Thursday. These schools are being kept open 

Last Stand for Children First: Chicago Teachers Strike Day 3: Principals and Practice

Last Stand for Children First: Chicago Teachers Strike Day 3: Principals and Practice:

Chicago Teachers Strike Day 3: Principals and Practice

by Last Stand for Children

The strike has now entered day 3 and it looks like a tough one.  Among CTU's outrageous proposals was giving teachers with good evaluations who lost their jobs because their school was turned around or the enrollment dropped first crack at jobs ahead of hiring new teachers.

While it may make sense at first glance that in a field where half the people quit in the first 3-5 years to give a nod to proven successful teachers, it ignores some key facts.  As Rahm Emanuel put it, "I don't think downtown should be in the business of selecting teachers that the local school principal should select if you're going to hold them accountable,

Emanuel spoke yesterday at Tarkington School of Exodus where several principals including former principal Mahalia "Mommon" Hines who said, "If I'm a principal and you're going to hold me accountable, you're going to fire me. I want to pick my people."

She makes an exceptional point.   Who in their right might would sit still for an evaluation that was based on the people you manage when you didn't even pick those people?  It would be pretty stupid to hold somebody 

Democracy (Not) at Work in Chicago: The Teacher Strike Is Missing Some Important Voices - Education - GOOD

Democracy (Not) at Work in Chicago: The Teacher Strike Is Missing Some Important Voices - Education - GOOD:

Democracy (Not) at Work in Chicago: The Teacher Strike Is Missing Some Important Voices

by Venus Evans-Winters

This week Americans have been watching images and listening intently to reports of the Chicago Public Schools teacher strike. Being the home to President Barack Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel—once regarded as the President’s right hand man—the Windy City's strike has political, economic, education, and teachers union officials watching closely to see what unfolds. As a parent—full disclosure: I have family members attending school and former students working in CPS— educator, and public school advocate, I've notice two

How Long Will It Take a Robot to Ace Japan's Hardest College Entrance Exam?

by Liz Dwyer

It's well-known around the world that it's pretty tough to get into Japan's prestigious Tokyo University. Preparing for the school’s entrance exam requires years of cramming, and every year the dreams of thousands of high school seniors deflate when they don't pass the uber-difficult tests. Now Japan's artificial intelligence researchers are on a mission to create a robot that can ace the exam.
Japan’s Fujitsu Laboratories and National Institute of Informatics are teaming up for the "Can a Robot Pass the 

Who Can Democrats Trust About The Chicago Teachers Strike? | OurFuture.org

Who Can Democrats Trust About The Chicago Teachers Strike? | OurFuture.org:

Who Can Democrats Trust About The Chicago Teachers Strike?

by Jeff Bryant

"So much for Democratic harmony," is the way Herold Meyerson chose to start his op-ed in The Washington Post analyzing the ramifications of the current Chicago teachers strike on the well being of the Democratic party.
His conclusion is that there must be some kind of "win-win solution," but a meaningful compromise has been thwarted because Chicago mayor Rham Emanuel "from the start… had no interest in working with the teachers, and the teachers reacted as angry and aggrieved partisans."
Viewing the Chicago teachers strike from another point of view, "life-long Democrat" Eva Moskowitz, founder and chief executive of New York City charter school chain Success Academy Charter Schools, concluded 

Jersey Jazzman: Burden of Reformy Proof

Jersey Jazzman: Burden of Reformy Proof:

Burden of Reformy Proof

by Duke

Once again, leave it to Matt DiCarlo to cut through the rhetoric and clearly state the issue:

One final note: The truly important point about the “year and a half of learning” argument, just like the ubiquitous “three great teachers in a row can close the achievement gap” talking point, is what they mean for policy (especially since they’re usually used to make policy arguments). They are both stylized ways of saying the same thing, about which there is really very little disagreement – teachers are important. But, even if you take these points at face value, they do little to help answer the critical question that comes next, which is how the distribution of teacher quality can be improved. This is inarguably one of the most urgent issues facing education policy today, from which arguments about these talking points may just serve as a distraction. [emphasis mine]

In other words: yes, having good teachers is important. But that doesn't mean doing just anything will give you 

UTLA: LAUSD's JUDAS GOAT - Perdaily.com

UTLA: LAUSD's JUDAS GOAT - Perdaily.com:

UTLA: LAUSD's JUDAS GOAT

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
Cattle can be very dangerous if they realize their own power and use it in a concerted effort to be free. This is why slaughterhouses use Judas goats to calm the sheep or other cattle, so that they can be calmly lead to their demise. Much the same technique is used by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and its in-house union United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), which employes 7 out-of-classroom union officers to pacify union rank-and-file into believing that their union will protect them as more and more 

CHICAGO TEACHERS STRIKE UPDATE 9-12: Diane in the Evening Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Dana Goldstein on the First Teachers’ Union

by dianerav

Dana Goldstein has written an interesting commentary on the history of teacher unionism.
Chicago was the home of the very first teachers’ union, and it was founded by a tough female teacher named Margaret Haley.
Haley hated the factory-style schools of the day, objected to rigid standardization, and wanted dignity for the teaching profession. I will quote some of her words on another post.
For now, read Dana’s overview of the origins of the teachers’ union in Chicago. I told Dana, by the way, that I 

To Chicago Teachers: Millions Say Thank You

by dianerav

A reader writes to his colleagues in Chicago:
Stay strong, and trust your colleagues. I remember being on strike in Seattle. It was my first year with the big school district – 29 years ago. I remember the ambivalent feelings like they were yesterday. I barely understood it all. I was so grateful for having a job – and there I was, marching shoulder to shoulder with veterans who were willing to lose their jobs for the cause.
I remember being told that others in outlying districts were watching, rooting us on. Looking back, that was 

Here Is How to Support Chicago Teachers

by dianerav

The Chicago Teachers Union does not have a strike fund. Teachers are forfeiting their pay every day they strike. They need help, moral and financial.
Deborah Meier wrote a comment and asked, how can we help?
Here is the answer from a Chicago teacher:
Hi Deb! As a member of the CTU and one who has spent every day this week fighting the good fight on the picket lines, it is absolutely amazing after months of being disparaged in the media, we are getting such overwhelming support. For every 30 people who honk their horns and give us a thumbs up, there is one person who is mean. The community really is on our side. As far as I know the CTU doesn’t have a message board, but you can email them here: leadership@ctulocal1.com
and donate to the solidarity fund here: https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4013/c/468/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=7204
Hope that helps! And again, thanks for the support! We truly appreciate it!

Was She the Worst Teacher in Chicago?

by dianerav

Investigative journalist Greg Palast digs into the story of the Chicago strike. He begins with the story of a teacher who was fired: Was she the worst teacher in Chicago? What happened to her? You would be surprised.

Chicago Teacher: I Need Your Help

by dianerav

A reader writes and asks for our support:

Chicago has the Broad virus http://goo.gl/GKM2m I am a Chicago Teacher and not a fighter by nature at all. I am completely out of my comfort zone with this strike. I look with longing at my classroom window each day on the picket line.
However, I am angry that my students and dedicated colleagues are being used (and abused) as pawns in political and corporate games. When I read articles like the one I posted and read the information from these blogs, I shake my head in disbelief. If I don’t stay strong and help my union stand up to this really awful attack–

Why Is the State Commissioner in Tennessee Interfering in Local Decision?

by dianerav

Kevin Huffman–the Tennessee Commissioner of Education–really, really wants the Metro Nashville school board to approve the Great Hearts Charter School. He ordered them to do it. He monitored their meeting through an aide.
Against his wishes, they turned it down–for a third time.
It will come back for a fourth consideration, and no doubt arms will be twisted.
Why is the State Commissioner of Education–a TFA alum–injecting his personal wishes into a local decision?
Maybe we will learn in future news stories.

Debating the Teachers Strike

by dianerav

I was on an NPR show called “To the Point” today, where a panel debated the teachers’ strike. The discussion of the strike begins 24 minutes into the show.
Other panelists included Juan Jose Gonzalez, the Chicago director of Stand for Children, who opposed the union; Timothy Knowles of the University of Chicago, who advised Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Rick Perlstein, author; and me.
It was a spirited discussion, to say the least.

The Chicago Teachers’ Strike: Two Visions

by dianerav

This is my analysis of the strike, posted on the website of the New York Review of Books.

What Does Equal Educational Opportunity Mean in Chicago?

by dianerav

An article that appeared in “In These Times” describes the school where Mayor Rahm Emanuel sends his children. It is the University of Chicago Lab School. President Obama chose it for his girls when he lived in Chicago. Arne Duncan is a graduate.
It is a wonderful progressive school, originally founded by John Dewey. It has small classes, a broad and rich curriculum, wonderful facilities, a beautiful library, seven full-time arts teachers for a student body of 1,700

This Mainstream Writer Respects Teachers

by dianerav

This is a column written for U.S. News and World Report by an experienced journalist.
Yes, she understands what teachers are dealing with.
Thank you, Susan Milligan!
We can’t improve education if we don’t improve the conditions of teaching and learning.
It is hard to read the comments that follow this post or any other.
There are many people who seem to think that teachers are vastly overpaid, greedy, lazy, selfish, and

Two Visions for Chicago’s Schools

Diane Ravitch

M. Spencer Green/AP Images

Rahm Emanuel at a temporary day care during the Chicago teachers strike, September 10, 2012

According to most news reports, the teachers in Chicago are striking because they are lazy and greedy. Or they are striking because of a personality clash between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and union president Karen Lewis. Or because this is the last gasp of a dying union movement. Or because Emanuel wants a longer school day, and the teachers oppose it.

None of this is true. All reports agree that the two sides are close to agreement on compensation issues—it is not money that drove them apart. Last spring the union and the school board agreed to a longer school day, so that is not the issue either. The strike is a clash of two very different visions about what is needed to transform the schools of Chicago—and the nation.

Chicago schools have been a petri dish for school reform for nearly two decades. Beginning in 1995, they came under tight mayor control, and Mayor Richard Daley appointed his budget director, Paul Vallas, to run the schools; Vallas set out to 

“Sacramento City Teachers Association declines to participate in Race to the Top “ | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

“Sacramento City Teachers Association declines to participate in Race to the Top “ | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

“Sacramento City Teachers Association declines to participate in Race to the Top “

by Larry Ferlazzo

Our teachers’ union local has just decided to not support our Superintendent’s plan to apply for District Race To The Top funds. A diverse committee, including Alice Mercer, Lori Jablonski and myself (I’m just including our three names and links because of our social media activity) met to develop a report and recommendations to our Executive Board, which has issued this statement:
Sacramento City Teachers Association declines to participate in Race to the Top
SCTA appreciates Superintendent’s desire to raise more funds and agree that having sufficient resources is critical to our students’ education. And, as we have done in the past, will continue to also offer our own ideas on how to funnel more monies directly to the classroom.
However, we feel that putting time and effort into crafting a proposal for the District Race to the Top program 

Report Card: Duncan meets with mayors and school superintendents

Report Card: Duncan meets with mayors and school superintendents:

Duncan meets with mayors and school superintendents

While in Sacramento during a national bus tour, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the biggest challenge facing public education is complacency and he challenged parents and students to demand more of those in charge.

Duncan spoke Wednesday to a group of more than 40 mayors and school superintendents from across the state, who met in Sacramento for a panel discussion on education issues, such as California's No Child Left Behind waiver and the hot button topic of tying test scores to teacher evaluations.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson hosted the education panel, which also included his wife Michelle 

2012 Sacto mayor summit with Duncan

SaveSacSchools

You Can’t Bubble Literacy … A College Freshman Calls Out Standardized Testing for What It Is. « Continuing Change

You Can’t Bubble Literacy … A College Freshman Calls Out Standardized Testing for What It Is. « Continuing Change:

You Can’t Bubble Literacy … A College Freshman Calls Out Standardized Testing for What It Is.

by gatorbonbc

I blog alot. This blog,  entitled  ”You Can’t Bubble Literacy”  was written by a college freshman. No doubt it will be the blog that makes me the most proud. Why? Simple.
.
This blog was written by my daughter: 

“Christina Haas and Linda Flower’s Reading Strategies and Construction of Meaning tackles the question: What makes a ‘good’ reader? Their results show that experienced, graduate-level readers tend to be more rhetorical in their reading approach, going beyond “knowledge-getting” (136) reading and more into the territory of in-depth analysis.
However, the question always remains: Who’s fault is it? Why, as college freshmen, are 

Obama’s Education Secretary Far From Neutral When It Comes to Chicago Teachers Strike | The Dissenter

Obama’s Education Secretary Far From Neutral When It Comes to Chicago Teachers Strike | The Dissenter:

Obama’s Education Secretary Far From Neutral When It Comes to Chicago Teachers Strike

by Kevin Gosztola

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at Education Commission States Event (Photo by US Department of Education)

The Chicago Teachers Union went on strike on September 10. At least twenty-six thousand educators have been taking a stand in the streets, for a fair contract and for reductions in class sizes, the provision of social services for children, a halt to the expansion of charter schools and an end to “turnarounds” and school closings.
The Associated Press reports President Barack Obama’s education secretary, Arne Duncan, “isn’t taking sides in the Chicago teachers’ strike that is keeping more than 350,000 students out of the classroom.” The AP notes Duncan’s statement,“I’m confident that both sides have the best interests of the students at heart, and that they 

School Tech Connect: Bad Ideas Abound

School Tech Connect: Bad Ideas Abound:

Bad Ideas Abound

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Wtf is the board out in Lake Forest thinking?

The teachers are standing firm in opposition to the school board’s demands for a two-tier salary schedule that would require new teachers to teach for 45 years in order to reach top pay.

Um, two-tier salary schedules are worth walking out over, and this one in particular just stupid. It's nonsense. Did the Tea Party take over out there? I'm sorry, I meant to ask if the Tea Party underwent a lobotomy and then took 

People Get What's Happening

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Omfg this is good. Not a false word in it. I'm just gonna steal it and post it here. Awesome. 

Follow them. 

A Little Love For The CTU

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I work in the 'burbs. Today our staff did a little shout out to our great, great colleagues fighting the good fight in the city.

Popout

I am one jacked-up photographer, aren't I? There are like20 people off-camera to the left. I can never find my glasses, either. I was just pressing buttons hoping for video.