7-31-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Humility: A Lesson Most Needed and Least Often Acknowledged | the becoming radical

The list of what public schools need in the US is long and complex, but a great starting point would be lessons in humility for those who have decided they know best when all the evidence suggests otherwise. READ FULL POST HERE: Humility: A Lesson Most Needed and Least Often Acknowledged | the becoming radical.

by plthomasedd / 2min

Kindergarten CCSS madness? Buckle up Robin!

My recent post of first grade vocabulary from the New York State Education Department’s EngageNY website created a tremendous discussion.  Is Common Core curriculum produced by Core Knowledge© age appropriate?  Is this a symptom of the Common Core in general?  Does the Common Core address the cognitive development of primary aged students? Once again the […]

by Chris Cerrone / 9min 

Hear that folks? A wonk at AEI says we can draw any conclusions we want about data

Fantastic. Phew. .@kevincarey1 Not defending or disparaging. You can come to whatever conclusion you like based on the data. point was, look it up. — Andrew P. Kelly (@AndrewPKelly) July 31, 2013

by Chalk Face, PhD / 21min 

The “New Paternalism” versus the Fordham Institute’s Assault on Teachers

I have fond childhood memories of my Hog Nosed snake, and how he would alternately strike out like a rattlesnake and then flop on his back, playing possum.  I loved that critter and it is in the same spirit that I address the theorizing of Mike “the New Paternalist” Petrilli.  Petrilli will alternately exhibit the […]

by John Thompson / 3min 

Bennett and Flo Rida, match made in heaven #NCSC13

What happened in IN, you know, with former state supe Bennett and fixing the grades of a big donor’s charter school? Didn’t I just wax philosophical about my previous reverence for those in “Central Office?” I did. But these are the ones that fudge data and school grades. Where do they get these people, anyway? In […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 32min mark as read  //  save

My appearance on Baltimore’s @marcsteiner show. Thanks, brother.

Check it out here or listen below. There was a time that I revered those that made it into “Central Office.” The pay is good, often in the six figures. You wear suits. People ask your opinion. But then I grew up. How do people get these jobs? Hard work, sure enough. But these aren’t, […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 1h 

Barbara Madeloni running for MTA President

Friend and stalwart sister in arms Barbara Madeloni is running for President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. If you’re in the state, or know someone who is, consider throwing your support behind this campaign. 

by Chalk Face, PhD / 7min 

7-30-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: To follow up on Chris Cerrone’s great post on #ECEChris Cerrone has a great post up including some examples of first-grade vocabulary from CCSS. Can it be argued as a good thing that first graders are now going to be taught the meaning of Ziggurat? I thought the CCSS was not supposed to be a checklist of things. Check out our most recent interview […]by Chalk Face,

by mike simpson / 2h 

Ron Ewart -- Common Core, State Standards: You’re Letting Globalists Brainwash Your Kids

Ron Ewart -- Common Core, State Standards: You’re Letting Globalists Brainwash Your Kids:

COMMON CORE, STATE STANDARDS: YOU'RE LETTING GLOBALISTS BRAINWASH YOUR KIDS

By Ron Ewart
July 31, 2013
NewsWithViews.com

"Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: 'You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by people who have been able to accommodate themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors. It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself — educating your own judgments. Those that stay must remember, always, and all the time, that they are being molded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society." Doris Lessing, from 'The Golden Notebook'

Unfortunately, the current self-perpetuating system in America and even in most Westernized countries, is liberalism, which is just another form of 

Straight Up Conversation: Fla. Supe Tony Bennett on the Indiana School Grading Furor - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week

Straight Up Conversation: Fla. Supe Tony Bennett on the Indiana School Grading Furor - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week:

Straight Up Conversation: Fla. Supe Tony Bennett on the Indiana School Grading Furor

By Rick Hess on July 31, 2013 7:08 AM

Since Monday afternoon, a furor regarding Indiana's school accountability system has engulfed Florida state chief Tony Bennett (who was formerly the state chief in Indiana). The brouhaha centers on e-mails that Bennett and his staff penned regarding an Indiana charter school. The school, Christel House, initially received a "C" grade under the Indiana grading system in 2012. That occasioned a flurry of e-mails, and ended with Christel House receiving an "A". Added fuel to the fire is the fact that Christel House's founder Christel DeHaan had been a contributor to Bennett's campaign and to that of other Indiana Republicans. A typical headline from Monday and yesterday was that over the Huffington Poststory. It read, "Tony Bennett... Changed Top GOP Donor's School's Grade." Having long been a friend and admirer of Bennett's, I was interested in hearing his take on the situation. We spoke yesterday afternoon, and here's what he had to say.

Rick Hess: So, Tony. You know that the story here is disconcerting at first look. Can you offer any more context or backstory that we should know?
Tony Bennett: The backstory is simple here, Rick. In our first run of the new school calculations in Indiana, we turned up an anomaly in the results. As we were looking at the gr

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-31-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Bennett’s A-F Grading System Essential to Privatization Movement

Columnist Dan Carpenter of the Indianapolis Star understands what Tony Bennett was doing with the A-F grading system imported from Jeb Bush in Florida. It was never about improving but about labeling so that here would always be a fresh crop set up for closure and privatization. He writes: “Educators, from those with traditional public schools to those operating charters to those teaching teacher

by dianerav / 28min 

Arthur Camins: Question TFA Ideas, Not the Kids

Arthur Camins explains what is wrong with the TFA approach but cautions that the recruits should not be blamed or criticized. I agree. The recruits are idealistic and well-intentioned. They are akin to Peace Corps volunteers. No one suggests that Peace Corps volunteers are qualified to be Foreign Service officers or diplomats or ambassadors. Blame the organization for its hubris, not the kids. It

by dianerav / 48min mark as read  //  save

If CPS Has a Billion Dollar Deficit, Why Is It Funding These Programs?

Chicago school officials and the mayor have a mantra: CPS is broke. CPS has a deficit of $1 billion dollars. With that rationale, CPS lays off thousands of teachers and closes dozens of schools. But at the same time that officials plead poverty, they still find the money to do what they want to do. Here is this Chicago blogger’s top ten. It includes the bizarre expenditure of $1.6 million for Teac

by dianerav / 52min 

Maddow Show on Tony Bennett Scandal

Melissa Harris-Perry did this review of the Tony Bennett grade-fixing scandal in Indiana. This is the kind of mainstream media attention that is helping to unravel the corporate reform narrative.

by dianerav / 2min 

Arne Gets Angry at Georgia

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jul/30/state-school-chief-responds-us-doe-plans-withhold-/ A few days ago, Georgia announced that it was dropping out of PARCC, the Common Core testing consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Education. State officials said the state could not afford the technology or the cost. The U.S. Department of Education was swift to respond. It wrote Georgia

by dianerav / 0min 

Bruce Baker: Why He Won’t Use the Term “Corporate Reform”

Bruce Baker brilliantly explains here why he won’t use the term “corporate reform.” The strategies now being imposed on the schools have failed when applied in corporate settings, he writes. He looks at the use of two now-popular “reform” ideas in education: the portfolio model and evaluation by results. The portfolio model is based on the belief that schools should compete, and that those in char

by dianerav / 18min 

How Is This Charter School Like Franco’s Spain?

EduShyster has found a dissident hedge fund manager who writes pseudonymous posts for her blog. He or she writes here about the eerie similarity between schooling in Franco’s Spain and a high-scoring charter school chain called Democracy Prep. What do they have in common? Read the link.

by dianerav / 24min

Tony Bennett’s Grade-Rigging Lifted All Charter Schools

The emails unearthed by Tom LoBianco of the Associated Press show that Tony Bennett was desperately trying to rig the system to raise the grade of one charter school from a C to an A. That charter happened to be the charter held by a major donor to GOP campaigns, including Bennett’s, which received $130,000 from her. As a side benefit of the new formula, the grades of all charters were raised. As

by dianerav / 50min

Poverty in America: Why It Matters

For the past decade, corporate reformers have repeatedly said that poverty is an excuse used by and for bad teachers. If all teachers were “great” teachers, all children would have high test scores, there would be no achievement gap, and our problems would be solved. Forgive me if the logic doesn’t work, but I don’t entirely understand the train of thought. The bottom line is the reformy belief th

by dianerav / 1h

  Is Tony Bennett in Trouble in Florida?

After the release of emails showing that Indiana State Superintendent Tony Bennett manipulated the grading system to favor a charter school belonging to a big GOP donor, a furor erupted about his ethics. He is now State Superintendent in Florida following his election loss in Indiana last fall, a transition arranged by Bennett’s mentor Jeb Bush. Bennett was head of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change. Fl

by dianerav / 9h 

Diane in the Evening 7-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NC Teacher: These “Reforms” Are InsaneA reader from North Carolina explains how the legislatures so-called reforms will affect her: “I have been teaching in NC for 13 years now. To be honest, having to sign a new contract each year or not getting a raise yet again doesn’t concern me as much as having 25+ 7 year olds with no assista

by mike simpson / 2h 

Why High School Kids Are Financially Illiterate | toteachornototeach

Why High School Kids Are Financially Illiterate | toteachornototeach:

Why High School Kids Are Financially Illiterate

By DAVID KOEPPEL

If the U.S. education system can’t teach Johnny how to read, it’s not surprising it can’t teach him how to balance his checkbook or calculate compound interest.

A report out this month from the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy (CFL) in Vermont finds that the vast majority of states are doing a poor or mediocre job of educating high school students in key financial skills. The report card, which awarded each state a letter grade, gave 60 percent of the states a C or less; 44 percent of those received D or F grades.

John Pelletier, director of the CFL and author of the 2013 National Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools,  argues that to make programs successful at the high school level, “financial literacy topics must be taught in a course that students are required to take as a graduation requirement.”

The other essential ingredients for success are increased teacher training, funding to ensure that classes are offered to all high school students, and standardized 

On Almost Meeting Jonah Edelman - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

On Almost Meeting Jonah Edelman - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson:

On Almost Meeting Jonah Edelman

by JOSE VILSON on JULY 30, 2013

Screenshot of Jonah Edelman’s talk at the Aspen Institute

For some reason, I always get myself into situations where I see someone whose policies may completely destroy public education for all. It’s like Mario where some of the evildoers are worth stomping on and others will ruin your whole set up. So I keep my game face on, because they’re probably used to protesters 500-people deep at their faces like, “Did you have to do my kids’ school like that?!” They’re often the first to retort with moral responsibility arguments, then turn around and ask the valet to park their Diablo right in front of you. So I catch them unawares and hope to keep my eye-rolls and snickers to a minimum.

Because I’m a good guy. And I have the good fortune of

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/on-almost-meeting-jonah-edelman/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheJoseVilson+%28The+Jose+Vilson%29#sthash.BDXZsMaO.dpuf

The Educated Reporter: A New School of Thought on Back-To-Class Coverage

The Educated Reporter: A New School of Thought on Back-To-Class Coverage:

A New School of Thought on Back-To-Class Coverage

My inbox is filling up with back-to-school pitches, for everything from the latest vocabulary-building phone app to a microwave bag that will allow college students to cook ears of corn and whole potatoes. (The latter sounds like a potential starchy straight line to the Freshman 15.)

Every new school year has a familiar cycle to it, with the latest classroom technologymaking a debut (iPads, everyone?), school board members pledging that whatever went wrong last year has since been fixed, and educators gearing up for a host of new accountability measures. For education reporters, particularly those who are veterans of the beat, it can be tough to find new terrain on such well-trod turf.

Education blogger Alexander Russo had some fun with this challenge earlier in the week, pulling together a list of the common tropes of education coverage at this time of year, including “There are new teachers in the classroom, excited and nervous about being new teachers!” Also on the list were features predictably tied to current events news hooks – more campus security in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy and how schools are handling the arrival of the Common Core State Standards

Walton foundation donates $2 million to Newark Teach For America | NJ.com

Walton foundation donates $2 million to Newark Teach For America | NJ.com:

Walton foundation donates $2 million to Newark Teach For America

NEWARK — Newark's Teach for America is getting a boost from the Walton Family Foundation, which has pledged $2 million to the program that brings young teachers into under-served classrooms.

Newark was one of several cities that will share the $20 million donation from the foundation.

“With this critical investment, Teach For America will be able to bring effective teachers into some of the most under-resourced classrooms in the country while simultaneously working to develop more of our talented corps members as long-term champions of educational equity and excellence,” said Matt Kramer, co-chief executive officer of Teach For America.

Louisiana Educator: New VAM Rules Result in Favoritism

Louisiana Educator: New VAM Rules Result in Favoritism:

New VAM Rules Result in Favoritism

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

John White continues to try to muddy up the narrative relative to the highly erratic VAM component of teacher evaluation. But he can't fool Herb Bassett.

Mr Bassett is a band and music teacher who also has a minor in math. In my opinion Herb is a major math expert. He also knows how to use higher level thinking skills to question some of the screwy politically motivated decisions coming out of our DOE. Herb has noticed that one of the most recent changes in VAM rules ends up giving preferential treatment to some teachers while unfairly punishing other teachers. The rule change recently issued by Superintendent White may actually reward some teachers with the lowest VAM scores while punishing some teachers of the same type of students who have higher VAM scores. (This is really just the latest chapter in the DOE soap opera called the Seabaugh Solution)

This is part of the email Mr Bassett sent to Superintendent White on July 15:

Superintendent White,

This email regards the Compass Process FAQ July 8 update addressing a 

UPDATE: Tony Bennett and the Folly Of A-F School Grades Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf Knows How To Pick 'Em!

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf Knows How To Pick 'Em!:

Tony Bennett's Own Staff Contradicts His Denials

Rick Hess (who else?) gives Tony Bennett a platform to make the case that he only changed the grade for a charter school - whose founder gave him $90,000 in campaign contributions - to correct a small statistical anomaly: Rick Hess: So, Tony. You know that the story here is disconcerting at first look. Can you offer any more context or backstory that we should know? Tony Bennett: The backstory i

by Duke / 1h 

Tony Bennett and the Folly Of A-F School Grades

It feels like the day after anti-reformy Christmas: we're all basking in the glow of the implosion of Tony Bennett's career. The former Indiana state education superintendent, current Florida education commissioner, and star of Jeb! Bush's Chiefs For Change is desperately scrambling to explain himself after getting caught red-handed changing the "school grade" of a charter run by a big-time Republ

by Duke / 1h 

NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf Knows How To Pick 'Em!Chris Cerf, New Jersey's Commissioner of Education, promoted Barbara Morgan to NJDOE's Director of the Office of Public Information back in 2012. Morgan - who apparently never moved to New Jersey, unlike the many public workers forced to move even under the most onerous conditions - only lasted in the job six months: you see, something big came up...

MAY 23, 2013

Veteran official departs after 34 years; public info officer moves on after one year to join Weiner’s campaign in NYC

Two of the state Department of Education’s top staffers are leaving this week, one a longtime official who has played a prominent role behind the scenes and another a newer, public voice of the agency.

[...]

Barbara Morgan, the public information officer and state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf’s press secretary, also left the department this week after a year on the job. She is going on to be the communications 

From the writers: What would Jose Vilson say upon meeting Jonah Edelman? | Fred Klonsky

From the writers: What would Jose Vilson say upon meeting Jonah Edelman? | Fred Klonsky:

From the writers: What would Jose Vilson say upon meeting Jonah Edelman?

JULY 30, 2013

By Jose Vilson.

For some reason, I always get myself into situations where I see someone whose policies may completely destroy public education for all. It’s like Mario where some of the evildoers are worth stomping on and others will ruin your whole set up. So I keep my game face on, because they’re probably used to protesters 500-people deep at their faces like, “Did you have to do my kids’ school like that?!” They’re often the first to retort with moral responsibility arguments, then turn around and ask the valet to park their Diablo right in front of you. So I catch them unawares and hope to keep my eye-rolls and snickers to a minimum.

Because I’m a good guy. And I have the good

Local Control Funding Formula: Is there a new rulebook? | EdSource Today

Local Control Funding Formula: Is there a new rulebook? | EdSource Today:

Local Control Funding Formula: Is there a new rulebook?

July 30th, 2013 | Add a Comment |
By Samantha Tran / commentary

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Samantha Tran

Now that the state’s new system of funding schools has been signed into law, educators and community groups are trying to get their bearings. At an event recently a colleague from a county office of education said that she was being inundated by calls from the field “wanting to know what the new rulebook is” for transitioning to the new system and ensuring successful implementation.

The old rulebook that governed how schools spent their money, which was both stifling and (let’s be honest) comforting at times, has been replaced by the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which now offers an opportunity for communities to take the reins to implement locally tailored approaches, while being held accountable for student outcomes.

Our economy and global society now requires its workers to effectively discern, communicate, create and have the ability to solve challenging problems. To foster these habits of mind among students, the environments in which they learn must embody these same traits.

Yes, the State Board of Education, the California Department of Education, the Department of Finance and even the State Controller’s Office will be developing and disseminating rules and guidelines on the implementation of the new funding system. In fact, that process is beginning now. And the state and county offices of education will retain an important role around oversight, but each community will have the liberty and responsibility to map their own course of action.

Thus schools and districts will be held accountable for meeting the state’s priorities, such as access to credentialed teachers, implementation of the new Common Core standards, and

Strong bipartisan support for public preschool, new poll suggests - by Lillian Mongeau

A new poll released Wednesday suggests broad bipartisan support exists for federally funded public preschool. The poll, commissioned by the early education advocacy group First Five Years Fund, found that 50 percent of the 800 registered voters polled nationwide said they “strongly” support President Barack Obama’s $75 billion proposal to expand public preschool offerings by raising the federal...

by Lillian Mongeau / 3min

Reformer Love for the Opinion Pages | deutsch29

Reformer Love for the Opinion Pages | deutsch29:

Reformer Love for the Opinion Pages

July 30, 2013

For reformers advancing their cause in the ubiquitous education reform battle, no medium is too insignificant for promoting privatization.  As such, an important yet unassuming battlefield involves the opinion pages in community newspapers.

My first experience with this opinion-page battle involves reading then-Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) President Penny Dastugue’s October 9, 2012, defense of Louisiana’s own former Teach-for-America, Broad-Superintendent-Academy-trained John White in the Baton Rouge Advocate. In her letter, Dastugue praises White for his effective communications, a statement that is absolute nonsense to anyone who has asked White for a clear answer on any complex or controversial issue. Here is how Dastugue concludes her letter:

The Department of Education has an obligation to inform the public about changes that impact education. As president of BESE, I am grateful Superintendent White takes this responsibility seriously.

Penny Dastugue, president

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Mandeville

Dastugue’s propaganda is aimed at the unassuming reader who will not see this 

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt! | Reclaim Reform

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt! | Reclaim Reform:

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt!

Posted on July 30, 2013by Ken Previti

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt!

Illinois is so politically insane that “phtt” makes sense to legislators. But, do not – I repeat – DO NOT PHTT THEM. “Phtt you, but do not phtt us,” is their motto.

Quinn Vetoes Legislators’ Pay; Madigan, Cullerton Sue over Constitutionality

What happens when a miffed governor, a miffed speaker of the house and a miffed senate president agree to betray their oaths of office? The oaths they swear to defend the constitution of the United States of America and the constitution of the State of Illinois. They all want to make draconian cuts and then let the lawyers and the courts fight it out on a state and local level as retirees suffer deprivations and active state employees, especially teachers, watch additional pillage and abuse grow. (It’s all part of the dismantlement of