Teacher in China slaps girl, 5, repeatedly for getting math wrong:

Teacher in China slaps girl, 5, repeatedly for getting math wrong

Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 27, 2012 at 9:34 am

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In the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff category, a kindergarten teacher in China slaps a 5-year-old girl over and over when the child gets a math problem wrong, according to a Chinese news program. Here’s part of the video that was on the Chinese station showing the girl get slapped several times, from the Web site chinaSMACK. The story goes on to say that a surveillance video caught the teacher, and the kindergarten has been closed.

Charter schools named Race to Top finalists as districts'

by Valerie Strauss

The U.S. Education Department just named 61 finalists in its Race to the Top-District competition that will divide nearly $400 million among those deemed to have the "best" school reform plans. The finalists in the contest -- which, to be clear, is intended for school districts, as the name of the competition suggests -- include charter schools, charter school networks, district consortiums, and boards of education. Districts from states that have already won Race to the Top money are also on the list.
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Pass / Fail : Steve Barr leaves Green Dot board of directors, organization he founded | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : Steve Barr leaves Green Dot board of directors, organization he founded | 89.3 KPCC:

Steve Barr leaves Green Dot board of directors, organization he founded

by By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

It’s the end of an era. Steve Barr, the founder of the 10,000 student Green Dot charter schools organization, resigned last week from the group’s board of directors, the company announced Monday.
Barr, who stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2009, said other school improvement projects are eating up his time.
“I’m the chair of a board for our school in New York," said Barr. "I’m the chair of the turnaround effort for the school we’re turning around in New Orleans and Green Dot’s board is generally run by an executive committee which I’m not a member of just because I don’t have the time for it."
Green Dot spokesman Gabriel Sanchez said the board of directors didn’t expect Barr’s departure. Barr told the board in an email sent to board chair Marlene Canter. It read, "Please accept my resignation from the board," 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: BBB's School-Closing Chicanery

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: BBB's School-Closing Chicanery:

BBB's School-Closing Chicanery

by Mike Klonsky

So this is why Byrd-Bennett was brought in to replace the bumbling Brizzard. Where he played the Rahm's fool, she's the sleight-of-hand magician -- now you see it now you don't. She tells Rahm: You want 200 school closed without a community rebellion? Keeping the aldermen in line?  Watch this!

Let us close 100-200 schools in the next year, she tells the City Club:, and then we'll give them a five-year moratorium on closing schools. That's the "deal" she's now offering to Illinois legislators. If CPS is to close schools in the next year it must, by law, deliver a list of proposed closings to the Legislature by Saturday. Byrd-Bennett has asked for an extension of that deadline to March 31, which would mean beginning to close schools 

Moving Beyond the Polarized Debate - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Moving Beyond the Polarized Debate - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Moving Beyond the Polarized Debate

by Pedro Noguera

Dear Deborah,
While the debate over the direction of education policy continues at national and local levels and the new administration begins to consider what, if any, new initiatives it might take to promote school reform, we know there are educators across the country who are thinking about what schools can do right now to meet the needs of the students they serve. I think it is important for us to weigh in on these matters for the sake of the educators who are on the front lines of school reform and their students.
This is clearly an area where your leadership in developing new ways of thinking about how schools might be organized and about how teaching and learning might be carried out has been so helpful to so many. The schools you have been instrumental in creating and leading—Central Park East in New York City and Mission Hill in Boston—have served as models of possibility for educators who have sought to create learning environments that are thoughtful, creative, and most importantly, humane. Education activist Sam Chaltain is using the experiences of Mission Hill to create a series of videos that will be aired nationally to encourage educators and the public in general to think about how we might educate children differently. This kind of work is 

Missouri Education Watchdog: On Data Driven Pronouncements: "They Were Wrong, it was Possible".

Missouri Education Watchdog: On Data Driven Pronouncements: "They Were Wrong, it was Possible".:

On Data Driven Pronouncements: "They Were Wrong, it was Possible".

by stlgretchen

Data is King...or is it?

Watch the video below about a physically challenged Vietnam vet and his quest to remake his life despite doctors' findings based on his medical data.  Frame the video in terms of educational data driven sets determining a student's place in society.  Imagine a student struggling educationally in the place of the vet as you watch what he goes through to improve his situation.  The doctors told him he would never walk again without braces.  Expand the scenario.  A teacher looks at a data set and determines this student is not really doing well in class: 

• Maybe this student has a different learning style than how the teacher mus

Schools Matter: Jim McIntyre Tries Pushing Knoxville Onto Dollar Guzzling Charter Reform School Bus

Schools Matter: Jim McIntyre Tries Pushing Knoxville Onto Dollar Guzzling Charter Reform School Bus:

Jim McIntyre Tries Pushing Knoxville Onto Dollar Guzzling Charter Reform School Bus

by Jim Horn

Oh What to Buy? It's Black Friday in Education!

If there is another thing that Knoxville does not need and can't afford (besides Lane Kiffin) is a string of corporate welfare charter reform schools that will benefit Wall Street hedge fund investors and philanthrocapitalists like Eli Broad, while draining millions from public schools.  

This was issued this morning:

KCS issues charter school request for proposals

           

The Knox County Schools is accepting charter school proposals for the 2014-2015 school year to cultivate strong school capacity to provide high quality academic instruction.  Proposals will be entertained both for new charter schools as well as potential conversions of existing schools to 

Louisiana Educator: SPS Scoring Bias

Louisiana Educator: SPS Scoring Bias:

SPS Scoring Bias

by Michael Deshotels

Dear Readers:

I am very pleased to publish a guest post this week by Dr Mercedes Schneider, a Louisiana educator who has a doctoral degree in statistics. It is an excellent analysis of a major flaw in our Louisiana school grading system. 

The grades that our schools in Louisiana have been assigned by our LDOE have almost no relation to the actual quality of education offered by each school. By far the dominant factor measured by the SPS scores and the resultant grade of “A” through “F” is the level of poverty of the students attending the school. In addition, Dr Schneider's analysis explains how the present school grading system favors high schools and combination schools over middle and elementary schools. 

Next year the letter grading system will be based on 150 points instead of 200 points but the letter grades are not exactly proportionally adjusted. In addition, schools will receive bonus points for achievement gains by more 

UPDATE: PSAT for 11-27-12: Push back on closing extension this morning! Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 11-27-12: Push back on closing extension this morning!:

PSAT for 11-27-12: Push back on closing extension this morning!

by admin

Pressure is mounting on the Illinois General Assembly not to go along with Mayor Emanuel’s ill-conceived request to push back the school closing announcement until March 31 and allow CPS to close up to 120 schools with little time for families, communities, and school staff to prepare for the massive upheaval this will cause.
Right now, this morning, you need to contact your state senator and state rep and ask them to vote NO on any extension of the closing announcement deadline. We support a school closing  moratorium NOW, not next year

Apocalypse? Now? Trib agrees with PURE

by admin

I had to double check my calendar this morning. Thought it might be the apocalypse predicted by the end of the Mayan calendar but that’s still a few weeks away. But something’s up when the Tribune editorial board agrees with PURE on the Mayor’s wrong-headed school closing combo deal. Wow. I will say it’s better than a kick in the teeth.
The Mayor wants a school closing announcement extension until March 31 and thinks he sweetens that proposal with a completely untrustworthy promise for a five-year school closing moratorium AFTER massive closings this year.
The Trib says no. From the Trib editorial:

The immediate response to this offer wasn’t heartening. The Chicago Teachers Union and Parents 

Jeb Bush, with cash and clout, pushes contentious school reforms | Reuters

Jeb Bush, with cash and clout, pushes contentious school reforms | Reuters:

Jeb Bush, with cash and clout, pushes contentious school reforms

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush soared to rock star status in the education world on the strength of a chart.

A simple graph, it tracked fourth-grade reading scores. In 1998, when Bush was elected governor, Florida kids scored far below the national average. By the end of his second term, in 2007, they were far ahead, with especially impressive gains for low-income and minority students.

Those results earned Bush bipartisan acclaim. As he convenes a star-studded policy summit this week in Washington, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential education reformers in the U.S. Elements of his agenda have been adopted in 36 states, from Maine to Mississippi, North Carolina to New Mexico.

Many of his admirers cite Bush's success in Florida as reason enough to get behind him.

But a close examination raises questions about the depth and durability of the gains in Florida. After the dramatic jump of the Bush years, Florida test scores edged up in 2009 and then dropped, with low-income students falling further behind. State data shows huge numbers of high school graduates still needing remedial help in math and reading.

And some of the policies Bush now pushes, such as vouchers and 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-27-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Ms. Katie Looks into the Heart of the Elites

by dianerav

Katie Osgood reviews Chris Hayes’ new book “Twilight of the Elites” and ponders how the elites–the so-called best and the brightest–are now running education policy. Their ideas fail and fail but they boldly push ahead, utterly unfixed by the damage they inflict on others. They enjoy money, power, prestige, unlike those poor teachers and children whose lives they mess up with their hapless schemes.

The New Yorker Profile

by dianerav

In its issue of November 19, The New Yorker published a lengthy profile of my efforts to change national education policy: to halt the galloping privatization, the demonization of teachers and the misuse of testing to advance the two previously mentioned topics.
Let me begin by saying that I was immensely grateful that this distinguished and influential magazine gave attention to these important issues. As everyone who follows this blog knows, it is very rare to see a critique of the ruinous bipartisan policies in print or on television.
I was also thrilled that David Denby wrote the article. He is not a player in the debates and was able to approach 

Jersey Jazzman on Nick Kristof

by dianerav

Are you confused when you read Nick Kristof?
You are not alone.
Jersey Jazzman is puzzled too.
Kristof makes sense when he writes about almost anything about education..
But when he talks about American education, he becomes incoherent.
For example, he is ga-ga about charters yet seems to know nothing about them.
He must have gone on a tour of the Potemkin Village Academy.

More Evidence That VAM Is Junk Science

by dianerav

New York is very proud of its new Educator Effectiveness Evaluation model, which claims to measure which teachers and principals are effective, relying in part on the increase (or not) of test scores of students.
Bruce Baker of Rutgers demonstrates that the model is biased and inaccurate. It favors classes and schools that start off with higher-performing students.
He concludes with a brief sermon about the importance of ethics:
“I have pointed out that the originators of the SGP approach have stated in numerous technical documents and 

Right-Wing School Reform Conference

by dianerav

In case you have time on November 28, you might want to listen in to the summit convened by Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education. It will be live streamed at www.ExcelinEd.org/Everywhere.
Jeb Bush is now a key figure in the reform movement. He is a strong supporter of charters and vouchers. He wants all teachers and all schools to get a grade based on the test scores of students. His foundation is supported by many foundations; see the list below (including Gates), and by technology companies and charter chains. Bush is a cheerleader for the digitization of classrooms. He foresees the day when there are fewer teachers and more online learning.
What a cool summit this will be!
So many superstars of reform in one place!
You will get to hear David Coleman, president of the College Board and architect of the Common Core standards.

Diane in the Evening 11-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Students Organize to Support Public Education by dianerav Attention!! A group of college students has organized a new organization to support public schools, teachers and unions, to oppose privatization and to demand elimination of high stakes testing. They will work together to strengthen free,open, democratic and equitable public schools. I have signed as a supporter. Please join them. Show your support. Sad News from Louisiana by dianerav On Thanksgiving Day, I posted a tribute to the teachers of the year in Acadia Parish in Louisiana. With Governor Bobby... more »

Boston Tea Party Was Act Of Terrorism? | toteachornototeach

Boston Tea Party Was Act Of Terrorism? | toteachornototeach:

Boston Tea Party Was Act Of Terrorism?

by aristotlethewise

Boston Tea Party Was Act Of Terrorism? 
Texas Public Schools Teaching New History Lesson 

Some Texas parents are upset over a history lesson
that depicts the Boston Tea Party as an act of terrorism.
The historical protest against taxation without representation will mark its 239th anniversary next month. But a report by The Blaze, a right-wing site started by Glenn Beck, reveals that as recently as this January, the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative included a lesson plan that portrays the Boston Tea Party as a non-patriotic act, instructing teachers to read a story to their students as a recent news report:
News report: New Act of Terrorism A local militia, believed to be a terrorist organization, attacked the property of private citizens today at our nation’s busiest port. Although no one was injured in the attack, a large quantity of merchandise, considered to be valuable to its owners and loathsome to the perpetrators, was 

School Tech Connect: Fake Offer In A Zero-Trust Climate

School Tech Connect: Fake Offer In A Zero-Trust Climate:

Fake Offer In A Zero-Trust Climate

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I suppose I should chime in on BBB's faux-ratorium proposal, which sounds to me like something an abusive spouse might say to a cop who's been called to a domestic.  However, Julie Woestehoff has already said what needs to be said.

For my part I'll just add that BBB very likely won't be around in five years; certainly the fresh-to-town folks compiling the hit lists won't be, and that any five-year ceasefires need to start today and include the expansion of charters.

The building-in of excess capacity is one of the big drivers of instability. The other is a reckless disrespect for the the requirements of an education fit for humans.

It's just a weird proposal. Evidently, if they get this this four month extension, they're going to be able to figure 

The Innovative Educator: The Plight of the Parent Education Advocate

The Innovative Educator: The Plight of the Parent Education Advocate:

The Plight of the Parent Education Advocate

by noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)

Guest post by David Bernstein

I’m relatively new to the battle for wholesale educational change, but have fast learned that fighting for a different school model while parenting kids who go to fairly traditional schools requires a tortuous mental balancing act. On the one hand, I’m agitating for change to a badly broken education system, and on the other, I’ve  got to make sure that my own alternative-learning-style kids come out of the school system in one piece.

I love the movie The Matrix, not because it’s such a fabulous piece of art, but because of its powerful message of fighting back against a dehumanizing system that few fully understand.  The film depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a computer simulation meant to subdue the human population, while their bodies are used as an energy source (a little like factory schools producing kids to fuel an industrial economy that no longer exists). Once the main character, Neo, becomes aware of this manufactured reality, he joins a rebellion against the computers. Neo is constantly forced to move in and out of The Matrix in order to challenge it.

Scene from The Matrix

  Popout

Such is the plight of the parent education advocate, fighting the education matrix from without one moment and engaging it from within the next; making sure our children get their work done one moment, and fighting to make 

NYC Educator: Suddenly ATR Drops ATRhood and Supports Economy

NYC Educator: Suddenly ATR Drops ATRhood and Supports Economy:

Suddenly ATR Drops ATRhood and Supports Economy

by NYC Educator

 by Formerly Suddenly ATR

I haven't blogged in two weeks, and I wanted to give all the readers of this great blog an update as to why. About two weeks ago I was contacted by a school out of my district for an interview. I went to the interview and was explained the situation -- the "regular" teacher had suddenly retired in September. The school went through a series of day-to-day subs, but the situation was spiraling as it was nearly December, and the students of five classes still didn't have a regular, licensed teacher. They are all high-needs students -- repeaters who had failed the Regents last year. Two days later, it was like, "Can you start ... today?"

The first day of classes was miserable. The students 

Four CA districts make Race to the Top finals | EdSource Today

Four CA districts make Race to the Top finals | EdSource Today:

Four CA districts make Race to the Top finals

November 27th, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By Kathryn Baron and John Fensterwald

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The U.S. Department of Education passed over California’s largest school districts in selecting finalists for the Race to the Top district competition. Out of 17 districts that applied for a share of the nearly $400 million in federal grant money, only four made the cut to the finals: Galt Joint Union Elementary, Lindsay Unified and New Haven Unified school districts, along with Ánimo Charter Schools, a division of Green Dot Public Schools. Districts that didn’t make the cut include Los Angeles, Fresno and San Diego, which, combined, educate 15 percent of California’s students.

California’s finalists will still be competing against huge urban districts, however. Included among the 61 finalists from around the country are New York City (the nation’s largest school district),Philadelphia, Dallas and Miami-Dade.

Under this latest incarnation of the popular Race to the Top program, winning districts will receive between $5 million and $40 million over four years to implement model programs designed to close achievement gaps, improve teaching and boost student learning and achievement by 

SI&A Cabinet Report – SBE waivers provide LEAs relief from class size restrictions

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

SBE waivers provide LEAs relief from class size restrictions
By Kimberly Beltran
Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Requests to exceed class size limits continue to dominate the State Board of Education’s waiver calendar, with 10 districts this month seeking relief from various provisions of the laws aimed at maintaining low student-teacher ratios.

In all, SBE members approved 35 of 39 waiver requests, including those on class size but also others ranging from community day school locations to removal of a school from the open enrollment list for being ‘low achieving.’

The waivers denied by the board came from the Madera County Office of Education on behalf of four schools seeking relief from a requirement that interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing students meet certain minimum qualifications.

Despite concerns of critics, California’s State Board of Education, keenly aware of the financial stress schools are under, has since 2009 almost routinely approved class size waivers for scores of districts facing fiscal penalties under existing law generally aimed at keeping no more than 30 students in a classroom.

Even waiver requests from districts receiving special state funding to hire additional staff to reduce class sizes have been regularly granted. This month, SBE approved waivers from seven districts needing relief from class size 

Mother Crusader: Smarick Says It Simply; Chartering Can Replace The District. But Can It?

Mother Crusader: Smarick Says It Simply; Chartering Can Replace The District. But Can It?:

Smarick Says It Simply; Chartering Can Replace The District. But Can It?

by darciecima

My blogging buddy Jersey Jazzman has already done a fantastic job skewering Andy Smarick's Ouija Board fantasy of a chartery future for Newark.

Said simply, chartering can replace the district. And it can happen in Newark.

Well, can't get much more blunt than that.  Kudos to Smarick for just coming right on out and saying what it seems like the NJDOE really wants.  Urban districts overrun with charters, with districts obsolete.  

Game plan duly noted. 

But before we hand the keys to the Newark Public Schools to charter operators, let's take a look at the picture that accompanied Smarick's piece.

Now where have I seen this picture before??