9-9-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

Infographic: “International Literacy Data”

I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For World Literacy Day: by ElkanoData. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 54min mark as read  //  save

Google+ Joins Facebook In Letting You Embed Posts

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Facebook making all posts there embeddable elsewhere and how that was a nice feature for those of us with blogs. , Google+ has followed them, now making all Google+ posts embeddable. I’ve embedded an example below, and you can read more about it at TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb. I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About.

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

Infographic: “English Learners In The United States”

Here’s a nice infographic from Sarah Sparks at Education Week: English-learners in the United States | Infographics

8 by Larry Ferlazzo / 49min 

Video: “Syria: What’s Behind the Conflict”

Here’s a short video from The Associated Press. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Syria:

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 10min 

“The Best Resources For Talking To Parents About The Common Core Standards”

I’m no big fan of the Common Core Standards, but they are a reality for most of us. If teachers are ever in situations where they have to explain them to parents, or if there are parents who want to understand more about them. So, if you’re interested, I’ve just posted The Best Resources For Talking To Parents About The Common Core Standards over at my other blog, Engaging Parents in School.

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 0min 

A Collection Of Recent Infographics & Interactives

Here’s a mix of various recent infographics and interactives: This Interactive Map Compares the New York City of 1836 to Today is from Smithsonian Magazine. The Pew Center has a ton of infographics on a wide range of topics, including Internet usage and American reading habits. And you can see all of them here. Here’s an interactive map showing how the Yosemite Fire spread. I’m adding it to The Be

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 0min 

My NY Times Post On Teaching 9/11

My latest New York Times post includes 9/11 teaching ideas and a student interactive quiz for English Language Learners. You can also see all my past Times’ posts here.

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h mark as read  //  save

YESTERDAY

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL

I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: States May Move Closer to Uniform Way of Identifying ELLs is by Lesli Maxwell at Education Week. Common Assessment Group Launches Spanish Webpage is by Lesli Maxwell at Ed Week. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Le

7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h 

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:  I'm Larry Ferlazzo and here you will catch me talking about websites that will help you teach ELL, ESL and EFL!“Teachers Need To Behave Like Johnny Appleseeds”: An Interview With Daniel Coyle“Teachers Need To Behave Like Johnny Appleseeds”: An Interview With Daniel Coyle is my new post over at Education Week Teacher. I’m a

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-9-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Breaking: NYPD String Safety Nets Around 52 Broadway in Case Thompson Doesn't Make Runoff

With so much at stake for the gang running the UFT and AFT (Randi) -- but not so much for NY city teachers -- who one would think are their main constituency -- there is fear that bodies will come crashing down from the roof of the UFT headquarters if Bill Thompson doesn't make it into the runoff, though I agree with Reality Based Educator that he probably will (2013 Election: Predictions And Endo

3 by ed notes online / 16min 

MORE Weekly Update Sept. 9, 2013

Lots of info packed in here. The highlight is that I picked up the first edition of our newletter: MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox.This is the one committee in MORE that I have tried to be fairly active on. How nice to have all these young whippersnappers doing all the work while old folk like me rest.Let me know if you will distribute the newsletter in your school. The only way to beat the Unity machi

1 by ed notes online / 18min 

Why MORE?

Speaking with you the day before meeting with my principal was very helpful. It allowed me to better register what really is, as Julie has stated, "clear as mud." The UFT selected part of our committee was the only prepared party at the the table. The principal and her supervisors were unprepared and relied on our take and interpretation of the choices to be made. We advised that our school trigge

1 by ed notes online / 4h 

9-8-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: UFT Misleads Membership in Latest Thompson Mailer Claiming Offer of Retro PayWith Thompson still unable to move into second place, and DiBlasio in striking distance of avoiding a runoff entirely, this UFT leadership has reached a new desperate low... Peter LamphereWill Thompson offer teachers a chicken in every pot just as Herbert Hoover did in the 1928 election? (How did that wor

by mike simpson / 9h 

All Things Education: Virginia's School Grading Plan Gets an N/A

All Things Education: Virginia's School Grading Plan Gets an N/A:

Virginia's School Grading Plan Gets an N/A

In my most recent posts, I talked about the Tony Bennett (Indiana) school grading fiasco. I talked about how unbridled "disruption" in education reform can cause more harm than good. I posted a letter asking for more Virginia education stakeholder participation and input into our state government's education reform process. Finally, I wrote about how TFA was not right for Virginia (speaking of stakeholder input, you'll notice that stakeholder groups opposed placing TFA corps members in teaching positions in our schools.)

This post is going to bring together all of those prior posts. What do all the posts above have in common: the school grading bill.


The Virginia General assembly passed a school grading bill this past legislative session. As with the TFA legislation, this legislation was not supported by any education stakeholder groups that I know of. The VEA, VSBA, VASS and the VA PTA are all opposed to it. But, um, Jeb Bush is in favor of it. I am increasingly concerned  by the level of influence people from out-of-state are having on our education legislation. Does Jeb Bush pay taxes here? Is he registered to vote in Virginia? Does he represent any Virginia education stakeholders? No. School grading, like TFA and elimination of 

9-9-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Bill Thompson Hit The Brooklyn Streets Yesterday With Al D'amato Trolling For Votes

Bill Thompson left his UFT friends behind on this trip he took to Brooklyn to meet his neo-con friend, Al D'amato:At 4 p.m. yesterday, he gathered with a former Republican senator and conservative Jewish leaders in a roped-off avenue in Crown Heights. An hour later and just a mile away, he was standing in a Bed-Stuy shopping plaza, rallying with liberal African-American congressmen and members of

by reality-based edu... / 3min 

Bill Gates - No Tech Genius, Just A Ruthless Operator

Barry Ritholtz looks at why Microsoft is in such trouble and decides that it's because their monopoly status no longer holds.He then looks at how they got their monopoly status in the first place:Gates’s true genius was not as a tech visionary. It was his business acumen in leveraging a monopoly position in operating systems to become the dominant U.S. tech company. IBM gave the world its first PC

by reality-based edu... / 6min 

Bloomberg Wasted Millions On 911 System

He tried to hide the waste, mocked an audit that was to look at his vaunted 911 system upgrades - and now we see why:Less than a year after Mayor Bloomberg derided an audit of the 911 system as “stupid,” his own review revealed poor bookkeeping that resulted in up to $24 million in unnecessary payouts.The KPMG review, commissioned by the Mayor’s Office of Citywide Emergency Communications, conclud

by reality-based edu... / 19min 

Christine Quinn No Longer Leads With Any LV Demographic - Not Even Manhattan Voters

Azi Paybarah pointed this out on Twitter in the WSJ article about the Marist poll:Ms. Quinn no longer leads among any group of likely Democratic voters. Strikingly, in her home base of Manhattan, Mr. de Blasio is beating her 40% to 30%.Not much to say except "How the Mighty Quinn has fallen."

by reality-based edu... / 9min 

Final Quinnipiac Poll: De Blasio 39%, Thompson 25%, Quinn 18%

From Bloomberg News:Bill de Blasio has support from 39 percent of likely Democratic voters, just shy of the 40 percent he needs in tomorrow’s election to avoid a runoff with his closest competitor, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.De Blasio, 52, elected four years ago to the citywide watchdog office of public advocate, retains the lead among seven candidates. Former city Comptroller Willi

by reality-based edu... / 0min mark as read  //  save

NY Post: Andrew Cuomo Has Most To Fear If Spitzer Is Elected

A Post analysis of what happens if Spitzer is elected:Spitzer will take office owing nobody of consequence anything — which is another way of saying he’ll be free to settle old scores by the boatload.And that he will do, with gusto, predict a half-dozen veteran Spitzer watchers — not one of them willing to publicly cross a man on the cusp of regaining real power, a man who long ago raised vendetta

by reality-based edu... / 40min 

2013 Election: Predictions And Endorsements

Well, we're one day away from the Democratic primary.It has been one long, long, long primary battle.We have gone from Christine Quinn as the presumptive favorite to Anthony Weiner's toying with entering the race to the Anybody But Quinn folks launching anti-Quinn ads in April to Weiner jumping in the race in May to Weiner going ahead in the race in late June to beginning to look like a Quinn/Wein

by reality-based edu... / 2h 

9-8-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: NY Post Publishes Devastating Article About NYC Economy - Never Once Mentions Bloomberg As The CulpritHere's a taste of the Post article:New York City is stuck in the economic misery lane of middle-class jobs flight and an unemployed and underemployed class faced with long-term joblessness and rising hunger, according to the latest economic research. The city is emerging fro

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-9-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

News Flash: Mystery solved: Pryor’s appointment of Adamowski as state employee will push up Special Master’s pension!

Governor Malloy and his Commissioner of Education have figured out a way to circumvent the Connecticut General Assembly and push up Special Master Steven Adamowski’s pension. As a result of a 2006 change in the Connecticut State Statutes, Steven Adamowski was able to serve for five years as the uncertified superintendent of schools in Hartford, […]The post News Flash: Mystery solved: Pryor’s appoi

5 by jonpelto / 14min 

Achievement First Inc. pushing Finch/Vallas slate in Bridgeport Democratic Primary

Bridgeport’s Democratic Primary to select Board of Education candidates will be held tomorrow and campaign finance reports filed last week reveal that Achievement First Inc., the charter school management company co-founded by Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, continues to play a dominate role in the effort to control Bridgeport’s public education system. The latest effort […]The post Achie

4 by jonpelto / 33min 

9-8-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:  Commissioner’s Network Turnaround Plan: Strategy #1: “Increase fidelity”…As if calling Steven Adamowski a “Special Master” wasn’t odd and disturbing enough, a recent document coming out of Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor’s office highlighted the bizarre, and quite frankly demeaning, approach taken by the corporate education reform industry when it comes to public education and

by mike simpson / 4h 

Forever young: the new teaching career:

Forever young: the new teaching career

By Valerie Strauss, Published: September 9 at 5:00 amE-mail the writer

0

Comments

More

www.liveluvcreate.com

“Given that the focus of so much school reform is rightly on poor kids in underserved schools, and some charter organizations and Teach For America are particularly concerned about making a difference with such children …advocacy of brief teaching careers gets perilously close to moral quicksand.” So writes Mike Rose in the following post about how the teaching profession is being redefined by reformers who don’t think much of experience. Rose is a professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and author of several books. His latest book is “Public Education Under Siege,” which he co-edited with Michael B. Katz.

By Mike Rose

Imagine that you are about to move to a community where every service is provided by people who have four years or less of experience doing their work, and in many cases, the only training they received was on the job—so their training is included in that four years.  Your physician has a bachelors degree in biology—let’s even say a masters—and has been seeing patients for three years, learning by doing, in a clinic staffed by equally-experienced peers.  Your lawyer read the law for a summer and is in her second year of 

IDEAS THAT CAN GET YOU LABELED A RACIST AT LAUSD - Perdaily.com

IDEAS THAT CAN GET YOU LABELED A RACIST AT LAUSD - Perdaily.com:

IDEAS THAT CAN GET YOU LABELED A RACIST AT LAUSD

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

If knowledge is power, then understanding what is going on at LAUSD and in our public schools throughout the U.S. is the first step to real empowerment of those who seek to do something more than saying "Ya Basta".

To start out with, folks need to understand some of the basic and regrettable principles upon which the public education system is still based in 2013:

1. Those running public education in predominantly poor, inner-city communities of color throughout the U.S. have exactly the glorified daycare- not rigorous- public education system they want, which is necessary to keeping them in power.

2. If you educate the Latino in the manner that other immigrants coming to this country were educated over the previous two centuries, you will lose your cheap labor source and white people will have to take care of their own children and mow their own lawns.

3. If you want to sabotage the innate intelligence of Latinos whose ancestors built a civilization that lasted four times longer than the Roman Empire, understood astronomy, and had the zero for use in advanced math you must, at a very early age, make sure that students of color are inoculated with self-doubt from the moment they enter school.  This assures they will never reach their potential. 

4. The glue that keeps purposefully-failed public education together to ensure children of color and the poor do not reach their potential is the use of social promotion to move students through grade after grade without ever dealing with their deficits or providing mastery of the foundational skills they will need to be successful later on in

What I Will Say to My Son at the Beginning of this Strange New School Year | Parents United for Public Education

What I Will Say to My Son at the Beginning of this Strange New School Year | Parents United for Public Education:

What I Will Say to My Son at the Beginning of this Strange New School Year

Posted on September 9, 2013 by SHAI GLUSKIN1 Comment

Author Shai Gluskin with son Gabriel

I’ve been thinking of what to say to my son at the beginning of this strange new school year. Of course he and I have been talking a lot already, most of it in mutually outraged tones about the injustice of the situation.

But I feel there is another conversation needed in advance of my son walking into Central High School tomorrow.

I want to tell him about the horribly contradictory feelings I’m having. On the one hand, I desire disaster and chaos. Wouldn’t that prove to all the leaders who have let us down that you can’t starve schools and expect there to be anything like school! On the other hand, I want my son’s life to go forward in the most normal way it can; I don’t want him to get hurt or suffer because of the folly of state and local politicians.

There is no answer to that sense of internal conflict I have. And my son certainly doesn’t need to do anything to fix my turmoil. But I want him to know what I’m feeling.

And I want to learn from my son how he is feeling in advance of school. What are his fears? What are his hopes?

I want to warn him that the low staffing will put a lot of pressure on the adults, which means it is more likely that, out of their overwhelm, teachers/non-teaching assistants and administrators are more likely to make mistakes, like getting on his case for no legitimate reason. I’ll encourage him to give his teachers and all the adults as 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan pleads ignorance on Justice Dept. civil rights suit against La. school vouchers

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan pleads ignorance on Justice Dept. civil rights suit against La. school vouchers:

Duncan pleads ignorance on Justice Dept. civil rights suit against La. school vouchers

Louisiana school deseg suit? He claims he never heard of it. 

Arne Duncan came close to channeling the old-line southern segregationists last week, by publicly opposing so-called, "forced racial integration."  That was bad enough. But it also brought back horrifying memories of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, when Duncan called the devastating storm that killed thousands and displaced thousands more, “the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans.” 

What had enamored him with the storm was that by laying to waste the city's public education system, Katrina opened the door for Duncan's mentor Paul Vallas to crush the teachers union, fire every teacher in the district, and implant a system of privately-run charter schools. Post-Katrina New Orleans under Bush, would soon become the model for "reforming" school districts like Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Duncan would later apologize for the transparency of his Katrina outburst. I know that there are some in his camp who are counseling him to "clarify" his forced integration statement,