Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Why Chicago Matters

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Why Chicago Matters:

Why Chicago Matters

by arotherham

There’s some buzz about how what happened in Chicago with the strike really doesn’t matter that much. ‘Nothing to see here, please move along’ say some folks in management and in labor.  Union watcher Mike Antonucci is right that Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis isn’t poised to seize the reins of the American Federation of Teachers. But no matter what different people may hope (for different reasons), what happened this month will have implications for the education labor-management conversation we’ve seen over the past six years.
Let’s start with the big picture: If you asked education analysts who could put an end to the teachers unions political losing streak it’s a safe bet no one would have said Karen Lewis, who was better known nationally for mocking how Secretary of Education Arne Duncan talks than as an effective leader outside of her union’s 

Missouri Education Watchdog: In Common Core Math, the Answer isn't that Important. The Collaboration and Communication and Argument is Paramount.

Missouri Education Watchdog: In Common Core Math, the Answer isn't that Important. The Collaboration and Communication and Argument is Paramount.:

In Common Core Math, the Answer isn't that Important. The Collaboration and Communication and Argument is Paramount.

by stlgretchen

It's all about process.  The student must explain the method in solving the problem.   Now the student will talk about the problem with the other students.  It's the standards requirement.

SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia) weekly update #65 includes information on Illustrative Mathematics Project, which is developing resources to support implementation: 

Chaired by Bill McCallum, professor of mathematics and another contributing author of the 

Pulling the 'Parent Trigger' on School Reform - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Pulling the 'Parent Trigger' on School Reform - High School Notes (usnews.com):

Pulling the 'Parent Trigger' on School Reform

By KELSEY SHEEHY

September 24, 2012 RSS Feed Print

"Parent trigger" laws in seven states allow parents to take control of failing public schools.

School reform is getting the Hollywood treatment this week with the premiere of Won't Back Down, which tells the story of a parent and teacher who join forces to take over a failing public school.

While the scenario in the movie is fictitious, the premise is rooted in reality. Parents in Adelanto, Calif., petitioned for control of Desert Trails Elementary School under California's "parent trigger" law, with the aim of 

Brown signs bill spelling out evaluations (for principals) | EdSource Today

Brown signs bill spelling out evaluations (for principals) | EdSource Today:

Brown signs bill spelling out evaluations (for principals) - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

Sen. Carol Liu, author of SB 1292 (click to enlarge).

Without the acrimony and fanfare that doomed a teacher evaluation bill last month, the Legislature with near unanimity passed and Gov. Brown has now signed a milestone principal and teacher evaluation bill. Key differences between SB 1292 for administrators and the ill-fated AB 5 for teachers helped smooth the way for passage. Chief among them: SB 1292 is voluntary, not mandatory: Districts...

Life expectancy plummets for whites without a high school diploma - by Louis Freedberg

by Louis Freedberg

New research dramatically shows the value of an education: The more you have, the longer you are likely to live. Research has shown that people without a high school diploma have higher mortality rates than those who graduate from high school. That was particularly the case for African Americans, whose life expectancy has lagged far behind both whites and Hispanics. But a compelling new study...

Undiscussed in Chicago: Recruiting the best to teach the poorest - by Benjamin Riley

by Benjamin Riley

“Our most glaring problem is still recruitment/preparation of good teachers & principals and that’s no closer to being solved.” So tweeted Seth Lavin (@SethLavin), a teacher in Chicago, in reaction to the recent settlement of the high-profile teachers strike in that same city (a strike he supported). Not only do I wholeheartedly agree with Seth, but I believe the entire...

Daily Kos: A modest proposal for Obama

Daily Kos: A modest proposal for Obama:

A modest proposal for Obama

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

from Matt Miller of the Center for American Progress in this Washington Post op ed>:
Take all of the undecided voters that matter, 4% each in the six states that Paul Begala say are still in conflict, VA, FL, IA, NM & Co (Begala says it is 916,643 people..
Miller says to simplify the arithmetic  assume it is an even million voters.
Pay them each $100 for <2 br="br" hours="hours" of="of" their="their" time.="time.">

The Obama campaign should pay (yes, pay) undecided voters to watch two videos in full — the Romney 47 percent debacle in Boca Raton; and Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.

As Miller puts it,

Here’s my thinking. For starters, does anyone doubt that if an undecided (and thus presumably open-minded) voter watched these two videos, he or she would break the president’s way? I’m 

Superintendents fight Ohio’s ‘Third Grade Guarantee’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Superintendents fight Ohio’s ‘Third Grade Guarantee’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Superintendents fight Ohio’s ‘Third Grade Guarantee’

By Valerie Strauss

The Chicago teachers strike was the biggest action that we’ve seen against aspects of modern school reform, but people in other places are fighting too. Here’s a report from Ohio, by George Wood, superintendent and secondary school principal at the Federal Hocking Local School District in Stewart, Ohio. He is also the executive director of the Forum for Education and Democracy — on whose blog this appeared — and chair of the board for the Coalition of Essential Schools.

Wood writes in part about superintendents who have decided to fight 

Animal School — video

by Valerie Strauss

Here’s a video that takes an unusual look at how we educate (or, rather, attempt to educate) children in the United States today.
Read full article >>

How schools (even great ones) fail kids with ADHD

by Valerie Strauss

There’s a group of students struggling through school rd to navigate that gets little attention in the media or in the debate about how to fix schools: Children with ADHD.
ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a brain condition that makes it especially hard for children to focus and concentrate in school and has a number of other symptoms. It is too often misunderstood by teachers, parents and even the students themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 9.5% or 5.4 million children 4-17 years of age, had been diagnosed with ADHD, as of 2007. Many others who have the disorder haven’t had the benefit of a diagnosis.
Read full article >>

Oct 6 Anti-Colonial, Anti-Captalist March « occupy california

Oct 6 Anti-Colonial, Anti-Captalist March « occupy california:

Oct 6 Anti-Colonial, Anti-Captalist March

by *

from Indybay:
Columbus Day 2012 marks the 520 year anniversary of the genocidal and ecocidal project of Empire building and colonial expansion that began with the conquistador invasion of this continent and continues to this day through the daily violence and exploitation of global capitalism.
It also marks the 20 year anniversary of the first American Black Bloc which disrupted the 1992 Columbus Day Parade in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.
This year during Columbus Day weekend, a West Coast Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist convergence is being 

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Parent Protest outside of Won’t Back Down...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Parent Protest outside of Won’t Back Down...:

Parent Protest outside of Won’t Back Down Premiere!

Parent Protest outside of Won’t Back Down Premiere! http://changethestakes.wordpress.com/

Standardized test scores are worst way to evaluate teachers

As a university professor and educational researcher, I sometimes feel like I’m in that old ’50s horror movie, “The Blob.” Remember that one, where an invader from outer space grows with everything it eats, until it is a giant monster that threatens the entire town? Testing has done the same to education, harming students and schools — and is now poised to bring down the whole enterprise by taking over teacher and principal evaluation.

I am part of a group called CReATE, or Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education, which is trying to unite the voices of academics in opposition to these changes and to the corporate takeover of public education. We are trying to spread the message that what is happening in our schools today is not supported by the research.

Continue reading this  COMMENTARY BY ISABEL NUNEZ

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra. « Fred Klonsky

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra. « Fred Klonsky:

Ten minute drawing. Bruce Rauner.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Click on drawing to enlarge.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

by Fred Klonsky

A couple of years into my teaching I was approached by one of the two music teachers in my building about a field trip she wanted to take the sixth graders on.
That was back before they had moved the sixth grade to the middle school.
A move I still think was a mistake.
Anyway, her idea was to take the students to the Art Institute in the morning and then go across Michigan 

NYC Educator: Yes, I'm Happy to Help. Until They Dump Me in Two Weeks.

NYC Educator: Yes, I'm Happy to Help. Until They Dump Me in Two Weeks.:

Yes, I'm Happy to Help. Until They Dump Me in Two Weeks.

by NYC Educator

 by special guest blogger Suddenly ATR

The usual routine of office duties came to a brief halt today. See, the school I work at tries to recruit the best and the brightest of NYC. The best and brightest students usually have very concerned, involved parents. The problem is not all of these concerned, involved parents speak English. So today I was asked to call one interested parent in his native language (which I happen to speak) to tell him how to apply for the school, the benefits of going to such a school, how this school compared with other competitive high 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Rauner's revolution

In any case, Rauner sees the strike as the start of "a multi-year revolution." His reactionary "revolution" imposed from above, however, now faces a revolution from below. -- David Moberg, In These Times

Poverty's death sentence

“We’re used to looking at groups and complaining that their mortality rates haven’t improved fast enough, but to actually go backward is deeply troubling,” said John G. Haaga, head of the Population and Social Processes Branch of the National Institute on Aging. -- N.Y. Times

Apartheid schooling in U.S.

 "Simply sitting next to a white student does not guarantee better educational outcomes for students of color," the report reads. "Instead, the resources that are consistently linked to 

Thoughts on the late MMSD budget recommendations | AMPS

Thoughts on the late MMSD budget recommendations | AMPS:

Thoughts on the late MMSD budget recommendations

by Thomas J. Mertz

The Dolly Mixture — “Spend Your Wishes” (click to listen or download).

With all the appropriate attention given this weekend to the opportunity to re-engage in collective bargaining  (if you haven’t weighed in the Board, there is still time:  board@madison.k12.wi.us) another and very important items on the Madison Metropolitan Board of Education’s agendas for Monday, September 24 2012 has slipped somewhat under the radar.  I’m talking about the Administrative Recommendations related to the unanticipated state aid, involving $8.1 M in taxing/spending.    Matt DeFour has a story up at the State Journal, but I haven’t 

Liberator Call to Action: Time to Canvas the Neighborhoods | United Opt Out National

Liberator Call to Action: Time to Canvas the Neighborhoods | United Opt Out National:

Liberator Call to Action: Time to Canvas the Neighborhoods

by admin

It is time to educate and push harder. I would ask that each of you place the following message below on your Facebook page and something similar in the signature of your email (adapt or create a new message to fit your situation). We have many handouts that can be left on doorsteps and we can also help you create your own.

Teachers in Colorado, if you are silenced and unable to spread the word of opt out but would like assistance in doing so, email me at writepeg@juno.com. I am going to begin to 

UTLA: WHAT KIND OF A TEACHER DO YOU THINK I AM? - Perdaily.com

UTLA: WHAT KIND OF A TEACHER DO YOU THINK I AM? - Perdaily.com:

UTLA: WHAT KIND OF A TEACHER DO YOU THINK I AM?

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
A guy goes out with a girl and at some point toward the end of the evening he asks her, "Would you go to bed with me for a million dollar?" Without hesitation the girl says, "Sure." So the guy, reflecting on her response and his limited financial assets says, "How 

Last Stand for Children First: Parents Protest Against Chicago Teachers Union

Last Stand for Children First: Parents Protest Against Chicago Teachers Union:

Parents Protest Against Chicago Teachers Union

by Last Stand for Children

Some people would say that 5 days after the end of a teacher strike is a lousy time to hold a protest against striking teachers, but with the kick off of education nation, we just could resist.   While it is hard to have an exact number of participants in events like this, it's safe to say that several half dozens were in attendance for our First Annual Parents Against Teachers Protest and Box Lunch.

Will Dehring of Chicago reported than many of the complaints he heard teachers make were "complete balderdash" saying that when he attended school in Chicago there was no air conditioning and that was fine with 

Albert Einstein, Lewis Hyde, and The Gifts of Teaching « Cooperative Catalyst

Albert Einstein, Lewis Hyde, and The Gifts of Teaching « Cooperative Catalyst:

Albert Einstein, Lewis Hyde, and The Gifts of Teaching

by garreth12

“Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as hard duty. Never regard study as duty but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.” –Albert Einstein

On the second day of teacher preparation this August, my building held a discussion regarding our use of grades and what we grade and what we don’t.  Eventually, the discussion turned to the issue of failure on a test or 

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week Three 2012

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week Three 2012:

Week Three 2012

by alicemercer

Beware the shoals was this week’s theme. It was the third week, but the first week of our grade-level mathematics swap. It was like starting the school-year all over again. It’s in the middle of the school day, after recess, but before lunch — a conspicuous time in the schedule of the day, which had some repercussions in both the end of the morning period before recess (preparing for the swap), and after lunch with the kids coming in buzzed with the change in routine. In addition, I have to put desks into groups to fit the math class in, and my class was not quite ready for that full time. I’m now having them move out of groups for direct instruction and 

Diane in the Evening 9-23-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Karen Lewis and Randi Weingarten Write an Article about the Strike in the Wall Street Journal

by dianerav

This is a good article. Unspoken, or only hinted at, in this very conservative newspaper, is that strikes are effective.
When employers treat workers shabbily, a strike is justified.
When working conditions are intolerable, a strike is justified.
When management engages in harmful practices–like closing schools and handing the kids over to private

A Tale of Two Farmers

by dianerav

I received this from a parent in Indiana. She said it is being circulated from person to person as a way of explaining why the reform policies of State Superintendent Tony Bennett don’t work and never will:
The Tale of Two Farmers
Once upon a time, the great and powerful Lord Idoe, in an uncharacteristic (some say scary!) burst of generosity, gave two of his serfs 1,000 acres of land. He told them, Farmer Oofy and Farmer Laden, that they were to plant them with the seeds he provided. Furthermore, the farmer who produced the best crop at the end of the growing season would obtain additional riches, while the other farmer would lose everything. Lord Idoe made it clear that 

Jersey Jazzman Takes One for the Team

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman is watching Education Nation so the rest of us don’t have to.
He says that teachers are more outspoken this year than in the past. He thinks they are emboldened by the Chicago strike. They are mad as hell and they won’t sit still while non-educators bash them.
He reports that one fellow got up and made a brash statement abou

Daily Kos: Krugman's Monday column: "The Optimism Cure"

Daily Kos: Krugman's Monday column: "The Optimism Cure":

Krugman's Monday column: "The Optimism Cure"

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

begins with these words:

Mitt Romney is optimistic about optimism. In fact, it’s pretty much all he’s got. And that fact should make you very pessimistic about his chances of leading an economic recovery.

Krugman, in this column, says that in what Romney said in the video with his donors in Boca Raton, makes it clear that his economic plan relies on "magic" -

“My own view is,” he declared, “if we win on November 6, there will be a great deal of optimism about the future of this country. We’ll see capital come back, and we’ll see — without actually doing anything — we’ll actually get a boost in the economy.”Are you feeling reassured?

The answer to that question, from anyone who is not blinded by the Republican theology on economics, is clearly not.Please keep reading.

SI&A Cabinet Report – Brown vetoes bill aimed at TK teaching standards

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Brown vetoes bill aimed at TK teaching standards
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, September 24, 2012

 

Despite the concerns that teachers have not been properly prepared to handle the new transitional kindergarten program, Gov. Jerry Brown late last week rejected a bill that would have taken the first steps in creating new teaching standards in early education.

Brown, who earlier this year cast doubt over the transitional kindergarten program by failing to provide any funding for it as part of his January budget, said in a veto message that AB 1853 wasn’t needed.

“This bill would require the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to create a committee to do the preliminary work that would be required to create yet another teaching credential – something we don’t need,” the governor said.

The bill, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla of Martinez, would have convened a work group comprised of transitional kindergarten experts to develop program standards and to work with the state department of

 Non-profit’s STEM strategy catching on across the state

By Kimberly Beltran
Monday, September 24, 2012

When a small, non-profit group in a remote Southern California town won a prestigious national award for innovations in STEM education, Marcella Klein Williams knew her organization’s work was paying off.

As chief educational officer for the California STEM Learning Network, Williams and her colleagues strive to create partnerships between schools, colleges and business to expand access to science, technology, engineering and math programs, both for teachers 

Hoping taxes will pass, preparing school boards if they don’t
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, September 24, 2012

Solidly supporting the two tax measures on the November ballot but bracing for the fallout if both fail – the California School Boards Association has initiated a campaign to prepare local officials for what might be an unprecedented collision with fiscal insolvency.

Using webinars and policy briefs as well as direct outreach, the CSBA is pushing school board members to take a critical look at spending right now with an eye not only on next year but also 

School Tech Connect: The CTU Strike in Context

School Tech Connect: The CTU Strike in Context:

The CTU Strike in Context

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I'm just going to go ahead and post my home recording of Mike Klonsky at the Heartland Cafe before I forget to. If Heartland Media posts a video, I'll switch over.

Mike appeared at Heartland yesterday to talk about the whole context of the recent triumphant CTU strike. It was a free-ranging conversation---- and well worth a listen.

Apologies for the noise from my kitchen. It's weird: this is a radio show taped in a restaurant, being recorded by a guy in his own kitchen, making an omelet and feeding two dogs. When I shut my microwave, it sounds like