7-8-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Guest entry from @tedcohen1 on turnaround schools in NJ. FYI

Turnaround Children Inc.’s transparency claim transparentThe top school official in a major American city as part of an education-reform initiative is bringing in yet another private foundation, yet as little is known about Turnaround for Children Inc. as is known about how it fits into Supt. Cami Anderson’s plan to modernize Newark, New Jersey’s schools. […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 2min mark as read  //  save

This is what we’ve been talking about re: the @aftunion “survey” on #commoncore @rweingarten

We covered this. Diane Ravitch covered this. Mercedes Schneider dealt with this. We had Mercedes on our show to talk about the dubious AFT common core survey. But this, this is what we’ve all been talking about, and knew this would happen. From a teacher’s Facebook posting: In case you still can’t read it: Teachers, […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 14min

With or without #edtech, same goals are possible

Fantastic image. Great point. Seems like #edtech is being sold as the end and not a means to an end, with or without technology. The problem with the push for edtech in some regard is the gobs of money to be made of selling these tools, which is exclusive from their pedagogical value.

by Chalk Face, PhD / 3h 

To Close the “Opportunity Gap,” We Must Return to Roads Once Attempted

America has always had a love-hate relationship with community values.  We have always exhibited a tension between American individualism and the more cooperative side of our culture.  At the same time, our pragmatism has often trumped both.  When faced with a problem, such as improving our schools, Americans frequently find a way to readjust our […]

by John Thompson / 28min 

Listen to our most recent episode with Katie Osgood on #TFA

Here’s the link. What improved the discussion was an opposing view from a caller named Josh, an admitted TFA alum. He should be applauded for participating in debate, and for sticking it out in the profession for six years, perhaps twice the normal lifespan of his peers. I will say, however, that I have come […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 1min 

@dianeravitch posts the Declaration by @unitedoptout

A brief share here. Read, share, and read aloud for your friends.

by Chalk Face, PhD / 2min 

Bill Moyers: Journalist as Teacher

It’s a good thing Bill Moyers decided to come out of retirement. Anyone interested in understanding who, what, when, where and why public education and the 99% are intricately connected, should take the time to watch this episode Surviving the New American Economy.  http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-surviving-the-new-american-economy/

by freetoteach / 12min 

Arne Duncan in Philadelphia “Fascinated” about His Mentor Vallas in CT

Arne Duncan had a great chance to do something for Philadelphia in 2010 when their application for $100 million in RTTT money was turned down.  Instead, Philly got $6 million over four years, which was designated by Arne to develop a teacher eval scheme based on VAM test scores. Meanwhile, Duncan was shoveling tax money […]

by Jim Horn / 17min mark a

7-7-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: Clarifying Common Core Compromise (part 2) | the becoming radicalClarifying Common Core Compromise (part 2) | the becoming radical.by plthomasedd / 1hAll Week 7-6-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: TODAYNC Tea Party Taliban Requires Health Teachers to Lie to 7th Graders on Later Effects of AbortionThat’s right.  The bill

by mike simpson / 9h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: HOLIDAY WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: HOLIDAY WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

HOLIDAY WEEKEND QUOTABLES

A teenage boy grieves next to a makeshift memorial on July 6, at the site where Ashley Hardmon was shot and killed on July 2nd, in Chicago. The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.

Chicago's Killing Field

This year’s Independence Day celebration, for many Chicagoans a four-day respite in the land of the free, was for others an ordeal in a killing field. -- Sun-Times

Arne Duncan 

Honestly, I am getting tired of good news-bad news stories in education. And I am getting impatient with talking about “islands of educational excellence...” 

solidaridad: Darn it! #LAUSD Superintendent @DrDeasyLAUSD threatens to resign if Vladovic becomes Board Prez, then welches

solidaridad: Darn it! #LAUSD Superintendent @DrDeasyLAUSD threatens to resign if Vladovic becomes Board Prez, then welches:

Darn it! #LAUSD Superintendent @DrDeasyLAUSD threatens to resign if Vladovic becomes Board Prez, then welches

The above tweet is from a good friend who is an author, educator, and dedicated activist.
It would be best for everyone if Deasy, Aquino, Hill, and all the other graduates of Eli Broad's various "academies" resigned and left the district to those that would put pupils before profits.
From Supt. John Deasy faces rocky relationship with new LAUSD president

"A coalition of civic leaders and philanthropists consider Deasy, a national figure, crucial to rapid, continued progress in L.A. Unified."

What this really means is that NPIC millionaires like United Way Greater Los Angeles' Elise Buik's gravy train depends highly on Eli Broad and and his fellow plutocrats's money to support their organizations, so they 

Common Core State Standards: A lesson in shrewd marketing | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Common Core State Standards: A lesson in shrewd marketing | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Common Core State Standards: A lesson in shrewd marketing 

Related

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University of Georgia professor Peter Smagorinsky

Previous Posts

• As the world turns: Drama on Cherokee school board turns to tragicomedy
  July 7, 2013
• DeKalb Schools: Still on probation but showing progress
  July 5, 2013
• Designing students: Cherokee teens could win top prize for duct tape prom
  July 5, 2013

By Maureen Downey

University of Georgia professor Peter Smagorinsky is a frequent contributor to the Get Schooled blog. This is a long and provocative piece on Common Core State Standards, which Smagorinsky argues is a manufactured solution to a manufactured crisis.

 By Peter Smagorinsky

In “The Languages of Edison’s Light,” rhetorician Charles Bazerman studies how iconic American inventor Thomas Edison represented himself to the public as a uniquely talented technician in the post-Civil War world. He did so in spite of skepticism from the scientific community and a lengthy and problematic process in developing a viable prototype for his major achievement, the electric light bulb. To understand Edison’s place in the late 19th century world, think of Steve Jobs and the ways in which he rode the currents of technology, commerce, self-promotion, and rhetoric to project himself into the pantheon of America’s historical entrepreneurial 

solidaridad: Villaraigosa: The Myth of The Progressive Mayor (teaser)

solidaridad: Villaraigosa: The Myth of The Progressive Mayor (teaser):

Villaraigosa: The Myth of The Progressive Mayor (teaser)

"The alliance, formed between the mayor, the school board, and Los Angeles' corporate elite to design the idea of 'public school choice,' is another example of how neoliberal economic policies have influenced educational policies." — Professor Theresa Montaño

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaking at a school privatization event. Photo by Robert D. Skeels

I finally finished an essay I actually started writing in the Spring of 2011 on the flight to Korea with my wife. With about a third written, it sat forever until the urgency of Villaraigosa leaving office, and his contemplating another motivated me to finish it. Weighing in at around 5,500 words with footnotes, there's no need to reproduce the whole thing here — especially in that it isn't only about his education policies. However, the bulk of the piece does focus on his AEI approved neoliberal dismantling of public education in Los Angeles. The last section is a somewhat thorough examination of his direct involvement in school privatization and teachers union busting. So here's the first two paragraphs and an outline of the essay's contents. Please read and 

▶ #AaronSwartz [feat. L*A*W | prod. by Steel Tipped Dove | pres. by Grassroots Suicide Prevention] by AWKWORD (@AWKWORDrap)

▶ #AaronSwartz [feat. L*A*W | prod. by Steel Tipped Dove | pres. by Grassroots Suicide Prevention] by AWKWORD (@AWKWORDrap):

 As World Premiered by The Source!...

thesource.com/2013/07/01/exclusi…sa-on-aaronswartz/

Grassroots Suicide Prevention presents: AWKWORD - "#AaronSwartz" [feat. L*A*W | prod. by Steel Tipped Dove]

*** A SUICIDE PSA RAP SONG IN HONOR OF AARON SWARTZ ***

As we have seen with the passing of Capital Steez and Freddy E this past year alone, we have a mental health and suicide issue in Hip Hop. HipHopDX, AllHipHop, Rap Rehab and others have written on it in 2013. And this is representative of a larger trend in America, with a suicide occurring every 15 minutes. Then consider all the young (and older) people still alive and suffering.

Aaron Swartz, the founder of Reddit, was systematically targeted, arrested, prosecuted and harassed by the federal government, essentially for being down with the likes of Wikileaks and seeking freedom of information. He was 26 when he was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment, having hanged himself. The young man who invented RSS at 14…

I can relate, as I do quite personally in “#AaronSwartz”, produced by Steel Tipped Dove and featuring the guitar and singing talents of seven-time Grammy nominee 

BREAKING NEWS!!! Principal DR Alison Coviello of PS 154 Bronx Caught in Lie!!! southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

BREAKING NEWS!!! Principal DR Alison Coviello of PS 154 Bronx Caught in Lie!!!

No one never lies. Whenever I hear that I always think of the myth from Star Trek that Vulcans never lie. So bear with me for an example of lying from Star Trek and let's see how that compares to DR Alison Coviello

In "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" while holed up inside the Genesis Cave, Captain Kirk had this communication with Mr Spock while Khan was orbiting Genesis searching for the Enterprise. 



Kirk: Kirk to Enterprise.
Spock: Spock here.
Kirk: Captain Spock, damage report.
Spock: Admiral, if we go "by the book". like Lieutenant Saavik, hours could seem like days.
Kirk: I read you captain. Let's have it.
Spock: The situation is grave, Admiral. We won't have main power for six "days". Auxiliary power has 

Costs to implement new student testing system starting to pile up SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Costs to implement new student testing system starting to pile up
By 
Sunday, July 07, 2013

Buying and installing a new system of K-12 student assessments aligned to the common core state standards will likely cost California $67 million, according to a report before the board of education this week.

For that price, the state would receive test developer Smarter Balanced’s “complete system,” which includes several types of assessments as well as a digital library – all of which is proposed in key legislation that would authorize the transition to the new assessments.

The new assessment system is just one piece of the complex puzzle state education officials face as California transitions its K-12 school system to new standards. With the governor’s signature last week on legislation restructuring school finance, an array of policy questions now confront the California State Board of Education – charged with implementing new accountability requirements, new student performance measurements and a new assessment system.

“We’re still manning the ship that we currently have while at the same time trying to build a new ship as we go toward the new assessments,” said Deb Sigman, deputy superintendent at the CDE’s District, School & Innovation Branch. 

Ed Notes Online: Monday July 8th Noon Picket demanding an immediate, rapid and unbiased investigation by the Chancellor's office

Ed Notes Online: Monday July 8th Noon Picket demanding an immediate, rapid and unbiased investigation by the Chancellor's office:

Monday July 8th Noon Picket demanding an immediate, rapid and unbiased investigation by the Chancellor's office

Minerva Zanca

This is the school where our own Peter Lamphere is chapter leader. Thus we have an impeccable source. Some comments on various blogs have defended the principal, claiming she is a Latina and therefore couldn't be racist against African-Americans. I wonder what world they are living in.

I have a doctor's appointment at 10 but hope I can make it down there in time.

Check out this video from WPIX:

 

 

Action Alert:
Click here to RSVP by Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/kt3x2yp

WHAT? Picket demanding an immediate, rapid and unbiased investigation by the Chancellor's office into allegations that a Queens Principal called African American teachers she was firing "big lipped," "nappy haired," and "gorillas."

WHEN? 12 noon, Monday July 8th. 

WHERE? In front of Chancellor Walcott's offices at DOE Headquarters in Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers St., Manhattan (4/5/6/N to City Hall)

ENDORSEMENTS: Teachers and staff from PAIHS Elmhurst and around the city, Councilwoman Jullissa Ferreras, Assemblyman Francisco Moya, Kevin Powell and BK Nation, United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), Independent Community of Educators. [List of endorsements in formation]. 

CONTACT: 
Peter Lamphere, peter.lamphere@gmail.com, 917-969-5658
Kevin Powell, kevin@kevinpowell.net, 718-399-8149

WHY? Pan American International High School will be without any African American teachers next year, because two teachers have been fired after a Queens Principal, Minerva Zanca, made racist comments about them in closed-door meetings with her assistant principal. The third African American teacher is leaving the school because of severe budget cuts to her hugely successful Theater program which were racially motivated.

We demand that there is a full investigation into these allegations and, if they are substantiated, that the DOE hold the principal accountable to its zero-tolerance policy against discrimination. We also demand that the discontinuances of the personnel involved (Teachers John Flanagan and Heather Hightower and AP Anthony Riccardo) be reversed.

Local Councilmember Julissa Ferreras says "The allegations brought against Ms. Zanca are very serious and concern me deeply. As a representative of an extremely diverse district, I cannot and will not stand for this type of behavior."

Kevin Powell, president of BK Nation, adds "It is not only important to have high standards for our public school teachers but we must also support the good ones, like these teachers, who are completely dedicated to their young people. I find it unacceptable that a principal can engage in this kind of conduct without any repercussions. We are not going to stop until due justice and process is served here."

http://youtu.be/UeQMKlvE5Jk

http://tinyurl.com/kt3x2yp

tinyurl.com

http://tinyurl.com/kt3x2yp

See media coverage on WNYC and PIX11 News for more details. 

¿DÓNDE? En frente de la oficina del Rector de Educación, Dennis Walcott. 52 Chambers St., Manhattan, la sede del Departamento de Educación  (Trenes 4/5/6/N a City Hall).

 
PATROCINIOS: Los maestros de varios lugares alrededor de la ciudad y facultad del colegio Pan American International High School, Concejal Julissa Ferreras, Kevin Powell y BK Nation.[Lista de endosos en formación]

CONTACTA: 
Peter Lamphere, peter.lamphere@gmail.com, 917-969-5658
Kevin Powell, kevin@kevinpowell.net, 718-399-8149

 
 ¿POR QUÉ? El año escolar entrante, Pan American International High School quedará sin maestros afro-americanos porque dos maestros fueron despedidos después de que la directora, Minerva Zanca, hizo algunos comentarios racistas tras las puertas privadas de su oficina con Anthony Riccardo, su vicedirector. Una tercera afro-americana también se aparta de su posición como directora de teatro porque ha sufrido demasiadas cortas a su presupuesto a mano de Zanca, que fueron motivadas por razones raciales.

Estamos exigiendo que haya una investigación a fondo en cuanto a estas alegaciones y, en caso de que salgan verdaderas, que el Departamento de Educación ejerza su política de no tolerancia contra discriminación. También exigimos que las descontinuaciones de los dos maestros, John Flanagan y Heather Hightower, y el vicedirector, Anthony Riccardo se inviertan.

La Consejal local Julissa Ferreras dice "Las acusaciones presentadas contra la Sra. Zanca son muy graves y me preocupan profundamente. Como representante de un distrito muy diverso, no puedo y no voy a permitir este tipo de comportamiento." 

Kevin Powell, el presidente de BK Nation, asegura que, "No solo es importante tener estándares altos para nuestros maestros de escuelas públicas, sino también hay que apoyar a los buenos maestros, como estos, que son completamente dedicados a sus estudiantes. Lo considero inaceptable que una directora pueda participar en este tipo de conducta sin consecuencias. No vamos a dejar de luchar hasta que la justicia apropiada y el proceso adecuado se hayan realizado. 

Vean la cobertura de los medios de comunicación en WNYC y Noticias PIX11 para más detalles. 

CT Post’s Hugh Bailey writes “The miracle turnaround specialist is a myth” - Wait, What?

CT Post’s Hugh Bailey writes “The miracle turnaround specialist is a myth” - Wait, What?:

CT Post’s Hugh Bailey writes 

“The miracle turnaround specialist is a myth”

When it comes to revealing the truth about the education reform industry’s efforts here in Connecticut, the Connecticut Post’s Hugh Bailey has become the “shining light” of editorial writing.  His commentary pieces are accurate, perceptive and go a long way toward ensuring greater public understanding of this controversy.

In a piece on Friday, Bailey took on the concept of the “miracle turnaround specialist,” rightfully calling it a myth.  He understands that improving educational achievement requires a long-term, comprehensive approach to dealing with issues such as poverty, language barriers and the need for special education services, as well as organizational and funding issues related to our schools.

Bailey starts out by recalling that,

“In the late 1990s, Houston public schools experienced a miracle. Test scores shot up 

Bridgeport lessons (From The Day Newspaper of New London)

Categories: Bridgeport New London Paul Vallas Stefan Pryor Steven AdamowskiTags: BridgeportNew LondonPaul VallasStefan PryorSteven AdawmoskiLast week, in an editorial entitled, Bridgeport lessons, The Day newspaper added their voice to the discussion about the debacle surrounding Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor and Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s illegal superintendent of schools. The

by jonpelto / 11min

The Educated Reporter: For Many Students, Colleges Means Back to Middle School

The Educated Reporter: For Many Students, Colleges Means Back to Middle School:

For Many Students, Colleges Means Back to Middle School

Today's guest post comes from Kenneth Terrell, the higher education public editor for the Education Writers Association. Email him at kterrell@ewa.org. Follow him on Twitter: @KennethEWA.

“A large fraction of students are leaving the 12th grade with a high-school diploma, and they’re about to begin a course of studies at the 8th grade level,” said Marc Tucker, president of a Washington, D.C. think-tank, of its recently released a report on college readiness. 

“What Does It Really Mean to Be College and Work Ready?,”offers a stark assessment of the disparities among what high schools think students should know to succeed in college, what colleges expect students to be able to do, and what 

solidaridad: The 99 Cents Store School... brought to you by the lucrative charter school industry

solidaridad: The 99 Cents Store School... brought to you by the lucrative charter school industry:

The 99 Cents Store School... brought to you by the lucrative charter school industry

Lalo Alcaraz's La Cucaracha strip often features pro-public education items, which are also typically sensitive to ongoing attacks on the teaching profession and the difficulties of teaching. This particular stripis a favorite of mine, highlighting both the institutional racism and profit motive behind the neoliberal school privatization project.
In Los Angeles, the 99 Cents Store School model is reserved for 

Adultism In Democratic Education | Cooperative Catalyst

Adultism In Democratic Education | Cooperative Catalyst:

LEARNING AT ITS BEST

Adultism In Democratic Education

POSTED BY ADAM FLETCHER SASSE ⋅ JULY 8, 2013 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

Goals, teaching styles, rules, curriculum, budgeting, building design, behavior expectations… All of these things are determined by adults, for students, throughout schools and nonprofits. Even in well-meaning democratic learning environments, adultism often runs rampant and unchecked. Like the wildly fast undercurrent of a river that looks slow and smooth on the surface, adultism is deep throughout work done by adults for children and youth.

When they read this, some people will automatically dismiss it as an attempt to cast aspersions on their work. I don’t mean to demonize anyone. Instead, I want us to simply acknowledge the basis from which so much of this work operates, including democratic education in all its myriad forms.

As the natural world around us routinely reflects, young people are not born with the capability to operate in the world around them. However, every child and youth has the capacity to live by their own terms. The dilemma is that well-meaning adults throughout our field seem to mix up these two words, capability and capacity. They assume young people are capable of leading themselves whenever, wherever, and however they want to, without working to intentionally increase the capacity of young people to do this. This is a deep expression of adultism, whereupon adults assume that young people have the same capability as them simply because adults have the capacity to do it. This is an unjust assumption at best.

Where Adultism Surfaces in Democratic Education

Learning environments that isolate young people from “real world” interactions by creating isolated experiences where young people have the capability to do whatever they want in the name of learning are actually expressing the will of adults. In our society today, we are 

‘State-Led’ Common Core Pushed by Federally Funded Nonprofit | Heartlander Magazine

‘State-Led’ Common Core Pushed by Federally Funded Nonprofit | Heartlander Magazine:

‘State-Led’ Common Core Pushed by Federally Funded Nonprofit

 A central defense of the new national education standards, now generating spirited public debates, is that the federal government did not mandate or create them.

“The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics,” the official Common Core website states. In 2009, two nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations called the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), convened government officials and dozens of consultants to write, rewrite, and, in June 2010, finally publish Common Core.

Five months later, 44 states had agreed to trade their K-12 math and English targets and tests for Common Core’s. Those standards are now moving into 87 percent of public school classrooms, and reshaping textbooks and tests for even states and schools that did not elect Common Core. National Common Core tests, funded exclusively by the federal government, come out in 2014-2015.

Taxpayer Dollars DominatePrevious School Reform News reports have revealed state and federal tax money provide 

Effort to shorten process of firing teachers faltering again | EdSource Today

Effort to shorten process of firing teachers faltering again | EdSource Today:

Effort to shorten process of firing teachers faltering again

July 7th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald

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For the second straight year, legislation to quicken and simplify dismissal procedures for teachers is in danger of running aground.

Buchanan discusses AB 375 during a hearing
 July 3 before the Senate Education Committee.

Last year, the state’s teachers unions thwarted a sweeping rewrite of the dismissal law that they argued was excessive. This year, teachers groups have signed on, but groups representing districts and administrators are objecting that the legislation would be ineffective, even counterproductive. Los Angeles Unified supports several amendments but is supportive overall, Edgar Zazueta, the district’s chief lobbyist, said.

The sponsor of Assembly Bill 375, Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, a former school board member who spent a year searching for a workable solution, defends her proposal as a vast improvement. A failure to reach a compromise, she said, would preserve a process uniformly criticized as flawed.On Wednesday, Buchanan came up one vote short of passage in the Senate Education Committee, with several legislators, including Chair Carol Liu, D- La Cañada Flintridge, declining to vote. Liu has granted a 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: 4 Simple Ways to Increase Engagement in the Classroom!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: 4 Simple Ways to Increase Engagement in the Classroom!:

4 Simple Ways to Increase Engagement in the Classroom!

This is a guest post on Edudemic:

Do you look out at your class and it seems as if only two or three students are listening to you? The rest are thinking about lunch, how to beat the next level on the video game, or when is your class going to end? Here are some ideas that might help you stimulate your classroom. Will it end all daydreaming? Of course not! But it will create a classroom environment where a higher percentage of your students are engaged.READ MORE

What Resources Have Helped You Implement and Sustain School Climate Improvement? — Whole Child Education

What Resources Have Helped You Implement and Sustain School Climate Improvement? — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

What Resources Have Helped You Implement and Sustain School Climate Improvement?

July 7, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

To improve and create more effective resources, whole child partner National School Climate Center, in partnership with whole child partner Character Education Partnership and the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, is invested in assessing and understanding educators' professional learning resources and needs in two ways:

1. What policy resources, practice guidelines, best practices, tools, and leadership training have educators found most helpful to support effective implementation efforts or to sustain school climate improvement efforts?
2. What kinds of policy resources, practice guidelines, best practices, tools, and leadership training do educators believe will be most helpful for them to advance a policy agenda?

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey on school climate improvement. The results will be published on the National School Climate Center's website.

The National School Climate Center believes that a school climate in which students feel safe and supported is one that is best suited to promote social, emotional, and academic growth. Through integration of social-emotional learning into the existing academic curriculum and collaboration with students, teachers, families, and mental health professionals, the center has developed and implemented important programs that guide schools to provide the best possible learning environment.

Short Notes: With Tears and Cheers (Featuring Mona Eltahawy)

Short Notes: With Tears and Cheers (Featuring Mona Eltahawy):

Short Notes: With Tears and Cheers

Posted by Jose Vilson

Mona Eltahawy

A few notes:

• Edutopia highlights five, count em, FIVE books I think you should read. Just go. Read em if you haven’t already. [Edutopia]
• When discussing the path of citizenship, this is what really matters. Five fifths human. [Los Angeles Times]
• The New York Times editorial board thinks there should be changes made to the way we treat schools in New York City, but don’t propose anything that takes it too far from where Bloomberg took it. [New York Times]
• NYC Educator reluctantly endorses Bill Thompson. The jury is still out for me, but my vote could swing the mayoral race like 20 percentage points. I better get on this. [NYC Educator]

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/short-notes-with-tears-and-cheers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheJoseVilson+%28The+Jose+Vilson%29#sthash.N4BfPryu.dpuf