UPDATE: Why is Obama calling for a ‘rigorous curriculum’ for 3-year-olds? + How many ineffective teachers are actually out there?

How many ineffective teachers are actually out there?:

Why is Obama calling for a ‘rigorous curriculum’ for 3-year-olds?

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 19, 2013 at 10:22 am

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(by David Tulis/EPA)

Given that research clearly shows big benefits of quality early childhood education, President Obama’s new proposal to greatly expand these programs seems like a no-brainer. In fact, the first question to ask might be this: Why didn’t he do this sooner?

As it turns out, his administration did promote an early education initiative in his first term, and that is what raises a big concern about the ultimate fate of the new proposal.

Back in 2011, the administration’s Race to the Top sweepstakes — in which states and even districts can  compete for federal funds based on promises to implement specific school reforms — had a round that focused on early childhood education. The first priority states were asked to consider as they wrote their proposals was this:

“Priority 1: Absolutely Priority — Using Early Learning and Development Standards and 

How many ineffective teachers are actually out there?

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 19, 2013 at 4:00 am

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Getting rid of ineffective teachers is pretty much the focus of school reform these days but pinpointing who really should go isn’t as easy as it seems. Aaron Pallas, professor of sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, looks at the issue here. He writes the Sociological Eye on Education blog — where this postfirst appeared — for The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, non-partisan education-news outlet affiliated with theHechinger Institute on Education and the Media.

By Aaron Pallas

How many New York City public schoolteachers are so incompetent that they should be fired? That’s the 250-million-dollar question that must be addressed by both sides wrangling over what kind of teacher-evaluation system the city is going to build.

For months now, despite a state mandate to build such a system, Mayor Michael 

WHO CAN POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND A TEACHER’S FRUSTRATION ? « Teachers Fight Back

WHO CAN POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND A TEACHER’S FRUSTRATION ? « Teachers Fight Back:

WHO CAN POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND A TEACHER’S FRUSTRATION ?

by alkleen

I’ve been thinking of people who could possibly sympathize with teachers and understand why teachers are extremely frustrated in their jobs. The following are people who I’m sure understand the plight of teachers. They probably understand the frustration of teachers who are expected to achieve certain results with their students despite dozens of obstacles that make that impossible.
A heart surgeon who is directed by their superior to perform every surgery with one hand tied behind their back.
A salesman who is under tremendous pressure to achieve a certain quota of sales despite being asked to sell an incredibly inferior product.
An auto mechanic who is expected to repair a car despite being unable to obtain the necessary parts to perform 

Phil Hartman Alive and Well at PS 154 in the Bronx.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Phil Hartman Alive and Well at PS 154 in the Bronx

Yeah, life imitates art. Though PS 154 is not a cooking school, this video succinctly characterizes the shit we go through day in and day out, hour upon hour, seconds forever taking their time turning into minutes. While mayhem is going about, having those tape dispenser cozies are invaluable.

As Stu Schmelz once said, "You won't believe the shit that I have seen."

Cooking is an allegory for education.

Jersey Jazzman: Gulen Charters Expand in New Jersey

Jersey Jazzman: Gulen Charters Expand in New Jersey:

Gulen Charters Expand in New Jersey

by Duke

In New Jersey's latest round of charter school approvals, two new charters were approved for Paterson: Paterson Arts and Sciences and Paterson Collegiate Charter School. Darcie Cimarusti over at Mother Crusader has been letting us know about the man behind PCCS, Steve Wilson, and his rather checkered past. But what about Paterson A&S?

According to the state's records, Paterson A&S's contact is Mr. Nihat Guvercin; he is currently the CEO of anetwork of three charters in Garfield, Hackensack, and Passaic. A little more than a year ago I took a look at Bergen Arts & Sciences in Garfield:

I went to the Common Core of Data at NCES to get the demographic data for all of the schools in the zip code of Bergen A&S. Using Bruce Baker's method, I made another another quick graph:

Many of the schools have a larger population of "free lunch" kids than Bergen, but 

Leonard Cooper’s Genius And What He Represents [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson

Leonard Cooper’s Genius And What He Represents [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson:

Leonard Cooper’s Genius And What He Represents [Future of Teaching]

by Jose Vilson

This is an excerpt from my latest offering at the Future of Teaching blog:

Is it because so many either sympathize or empathize with a story about a kid who, already perceived as unintelligent due to his mannerisms, actually beats the competition? Is it because some of us have a very limited understanding of “knowledge” or what an educated person looks like? Do we still perceive intelligent as natural to some and exceptional in others?
Leonard Cooper represents the potential of all children to transcend the perceptions already laid upon them. How people see his early follies and his manner of speech mattered little at the end when, after working twice as hard for those remaining minutes, felt like he had nothing to lose. He 

The Educated Reporter: Students, Teachers Push Back Against High-Stakes Testing

The Educated Reporter: Students, Teachers Push Back Against High-Stakes Testing:

Students, Teachers Push Back Against High-Stakes Testing

by Emily Richmond

While it's become a common refrain for students, teachers and parents to complain that too much time is spent preparing for – and administering – standardized tests in public schools, the level of dissatisfaction is arguably reaching previously unheard decibels.

In what’s believed to be the first such example of a campus-wide testing boycott, teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle are refused to administer a state-mandated exam to their students. The teachers contend that the Measures of Academic Progress test doesn’t match what students are supposed to be learning, and therefore amounts to little more than an expensive waste – of both instructional time and district dollars.

One of the organizers of the student protests of the test is Caitlin Chambers, a senior at Garfield High School, who shared her views in an opinion piece with Cross Cuts, a local news site:

“Students have no incentive to take the test seriously. There’s no state-wide graduation 

Daily Kos: apropos of nothing of importance

Daily Kos: apropos of nothing of importance:

apropos of nothing of importance

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I have in the past 24 hours had a myriad of thoughts running through my mind.
They do not on the surface seem to fit together, but in my warped way of thinking they do.
So bear with me while I explore some seemingly unrelated topics,  beginning at home.
This afternoon Leaves on the Current begins chemo and resumes radiation.  She has in the past few days had a positive mindset, as we allowed friends to come and visit - several who came were themselves survivors of medical situations which required chemo, and were able to give her support.  Yesterday we drove around the countryside and then had a pleasant dinner in a country inn we love that has basically all-natural food, and she - normally a strict vegetarian - even ate a (humanely raised and antibiotic free) chicken.  Except, perhaps by anticipation, she has been unable to sleep, because she is keyed up about today.
And then there is the political world.

CPS school closings and the homeless. « Fred Klonsky

CPS school closings and the homeless. « Fred Klonsky:

CPS school closings and the homeless.

by Fred Klonsky

 

WHY THE PLAS EXPERIMENT MUST END AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, Part II: THE NEW EAST LA CLASSIC: ROOSEVELT (PLAS) vs. GARFIELD (NON PLAS) by John Fernandez - Perdaily.com

WHY THE PLAS EXPERIMENT MUST END AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, Part II: THE NEW EAST LA CLASSIC: ROOSEVELT (PLAS) vs. GARFIELD (NON PLAS) by John Fernandez - Perdaily.com:

WHY THE PLAS EXPERIMENT MUST END AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, Part II: THE NEW EAST LA CLASSIC: ROOSEVELT (PLAS) vs. GARFIELD (NON PLAS) by John Fernandez

by Leonard Isenberg

Mensaje se repite en Español)

The Rivals

The NEW EAST LA CLASSIC is about academics--not about football. 

It pits Roosevelt High School against Garfield High School. Roosevelt High School is under the Mayor's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools (PLAS). Roosevelt became a PLAS school on December 7, 2007, when teachers and parents voted 152-62 to become a PLAS school. Roosevelt High School currently has 2,900 students, of which 99% are Mexican/Latino. Roosevelt has a large immigrant student population, with a substantial number of English language learners (ELLs). Roosevelt has a faculty of 170. The Roosevelt faculty is represented by United Teachers-Los Angeles (UTLA). Roosevelt is made up of seven independent small schools with their own principal. An eighth principal oversees the seven schools. Roosevelt has no assistant principals or lead teachers. Roosevelt's six independent small schools, not counting the magnet school have an API for 2012 from 544 to 672. Roosevelt is located in Bole 

CAN LAUSD UTLA REPRESENTED TEACHERS LEARN FROM GERMAN TEACHERS???

by Leonard Isenberg

Mensaje se repite en Español)

German teachers begin nationwide strike

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 201319:29:26

EPA/MAURIZIO GAMBARINI / POOL
German teachers begin nationwide strike

http://www.neurope.eu/article/german-teachers-begin-nationwide-strike
FEBRUARY 18, 2013 - 4:06PM | BY STANISLAVA GAYDAZHIEVA



Teachers and child care workers began their nationwide public sector strike on Monday when staff from nearly 100 schools in Berlin went out on the street.

The warning action is part of a wage dispute in which the teachers insist, among others, for a 6.5% salary rise.

The strike in Berlin will last the whole day on Monday, while it is expected to move 

Ed Notes Online: Susan Ohanian Update

Ed Notes Online: Susan Ohanian Update:

Susan Ohanian Update

by ed notes online

Confiscated Plan Books Languish in Death Valley Repository

NOTE: The product below is gluten-free; contains no peanuts, pesticides, or growth-enhancing hormones. However, exposure to sensitive content may cause rapid heartbeat, dizziness, blurred vision, rash, seizure, or temper tantrum.

by Susan Ohanian

Death Valley--At 282 feet (86 m) below sea level in the Mohave Desert, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation maintains the Substation for Confiscated Lesson Plans. It is a secure site that bears all the marks of a prison: high stone walls topped with concertina wire, uniformed guards shouting into walkie-talkies, forsaken teachers pacing the compound's edge, waiting for a sign of hope.

Jennie Worthsome, 15-year-veteran kindergarten teacher, waited as Foundation officials reviewed the seizure of her lesson plans twenty-three months ago. Ms. Worthsome's planbook indicated time for fingerpainting.

http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_news.php?id=892

http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=855

George posted this Eggplant--with funny illustration--and better headline:
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=4002&section=Article

Forgive me, I've read it half a dozen times and still think it's funny. Hey, if you don't enjoy your own Ed Notes Online: Susan Ohanian Update:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Van Jones to Obama: "This is it!"

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Van Jones to Obama: "This is it!":

Van Jones to Obama: "This is it.!"

by Mike Klonsky

(Reuters pic)

Van Jones, President Obama’s former Green Jobs Advisor, spoke directly to tens of thousands of people who rallied on the National Mall Sunday to protest the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. It is being called the largest climate protest ever. Jones aimed his remarks directly at the president:

Well, this is it. This is the last minute in the last quarter of the biggest most important game humanity has ever played. This is it. One thing I know having worked in this town, the simple maxim, if you don’t fight for what you want, you deserve what you get. If you don’t fight for what you want, you deserve what you get. 

I had the honor of working for this president, and I want to direct my message to him. President Obama, all the good that you have done, all the good you can imagine doing will be wiped out, 

SI&A Cabinet Report – Senate plan would give schools more time to prepare for common core testing

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Senate plan would give schools more time to prepare for common core testing

A leading member of the state Senate has proposed legislation that could give schools significantly more time to prepare students and teachers for assessments based on the new common core curriculum standards.

As proposed, SB 247 by Sen. Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, would delay the suspension of California’s existing Standardized Testing and Reporting system until July, 2016 – two years later than existing law.

The bill is silent as to when exactly statewide testing on the common core would resume but it could be as far away as the spring of 2017, legislative sources said.

The Liu bill comes in contrast to a sweeping proposal by state schools chief Tom Torlakson to revise statewide assessments that includes a call to follow through with a commitment to begin computer-assisted testing now in development by a national consortium.

Torlakson’s plan is to suspend the STAR system beginning in the 2013-14 school year. He would also begin the new 

The Rising Cost of Teachers’ Health Care | toteachornototeach

The Rising Cost of Teachers’ Health Care | toteachornototeach:

The Rising Cost of Teachers’ Health Care

by aristotlethewise

The Rising Cost of Teachers’ Health Care
Private-sector employers pay much less

By Robert M. Costrell and Jeffery Dean
The high-profile battle in Wisconsin over collective bargaining on public-sector benefits, as well as lower-profile battles in Ohio and Massachusetts, was to a great extent about health insurance costs for teachers. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker anticipated health care savings of $68 million for schools from his legislative proposal; actual savings turned out to be even greater, according to recent estimates. Nationally, school budgets have been hit hard by health-care costs for many years, and the recent fiscal strain has brought this into even greater focus.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that school district costs for teachers’ health insurance rose at an average annual rate of 4 percent above inflation from 2004 to 2012. In 2004, health insurance costs tacked 11.4 percent onto teacher earnings; in 2012, they added 15.5 percent. At roughly $560 per pupil per year, 

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter:

This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

by Larry Ferlazzo

Guest post by Joe Mazza

This week on #PTchat (Wed., 2/20 9PM EDT) we’ll be working on our school websites and mobile app offerings.

Today, most schools have a website. Whether the website is useful to the specific family needs at the school is the real question. Does the site serve as simply an information storage bank or does it offer two-way communication and an opportunity to build a relationship with the school? How do you know? Have parents been part of the team creating the website? Has your school considered a mobile app for parents? For us, once we collected data identifying that 63% of our families were using a mobile device to access school communications, we ventured down the road to a mobile app. 

knappwiki.wikispaces.com

Referring back to the 6 Types of Involvement (Epstein 2011), does your school website/mobile app offer online support for every “type” detailed below?

TYPE 1–PARENTING: Assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions that support children as students at each age and grade level. Assist schools in understanding families.

TYPE 2–COMMUNICATING: Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications.

TYPE 3–VOLUNTEERING: Improve recruitment, training, work, and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at the school or in other locations to support students and school programs.

TYPE 4–LEARNING AT HOME: Involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-linked activities and decisions.

TYPE 5–DECISION MAKING: Include families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy through PTA/PTO, school councils, committees, and other parent organizations.

TYPE 6–COLLABORATING WITH THE COMMUNITY: Coordinate resources and services for families, students, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other groups, and provide services to the community.

Join us this Wednesday, February 20^th at 9PM EDT/6PST as together we’ll work to make our websites and mobile apps as comprehensive and two-way as possible. 

Children of the Core

Children of the Core on Striking.ly:

Children of the Core: A Shameless Plug

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 BY KRIS NIELSEN LEAVE A COMMENT

In about two weeks, I will self-publish the product of my obsession.   I will release a roughly 200-page book, geared toward informing parents and teachers about how the education policies built by reformers and their politician puppets are effectively damaging two important things:

1. The economic and geopolitical security of our country, and (way more importantly)
2. The future of our children

That is followed by the resources, groups, and ideas that are being used to fight back, and what parents can do to join the movement.

For more information, updates, education news, and ongoing discussion, please “Like” this page:

http://www.facebook.com/ChildrenOfTheCore

Then, share with your friends, coworkers, and any parents of public school children that you know.

Just in time for Michelle Rhee’s recent release of doo-doo, I will answer back with what parents should really know.

And thank you, my friends in the fight, for your help and insights.

http://www.childrenofthecore.com

One Teacher's Perspective: School Choice, A Free Market Fantasy

One Teacher's Perspective: School Choice, A Free Market Fantasy:

School Choice, A Free Market Fantasy

by Imagine Wisconsin

I worry Act 10 and the subsequent recall attempts have muddied the Wisconsin waters to a point many cannot see clearly what is best for our kids and schools. Clearly, the expansion of Wisconsin’s voucher program is a bad choice for Wisconsin public schools.

Certainly, some anecdotal success stories exist among voucher-using students, but (as Diane Ravitch explains) two decades of comprehensive educational research distinctly shows that, overall, voucher schools perform no better than traditional public schools.

Do not be blinded by the well-funded, school choice marketing of the the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity (AFP). AFP is not out to improve Wisconsin’s public schools. Traditional public