10-16-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

"Building a Community of Self-Motivated Learners: Strategies for Teaching Resilience, Respect, and Responsibility" is the tentative title of my next book. It will be the third in my student motivation "trilogy.

Resources From All My Blogs

In addition to this blog, I regularly post at several other sites: Engaging Parents In School: Weekly Posts At Classroom Q & A With Larry Ferlazzo: Weekly Posts At The New York Times Learning Network on Teaching English Language Learners: Periodic Posts at Edutopia: All My Class Blogs: Class Blog: Beginner & Intermediate ELD Class Blog: ESL/EFL Student Showcase Class Blog: Intermediate EL

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 9min 

“How Can We Help Students Develop A Desire To Read At Home?”

How Can We Help Students Develop A Desire To Read At Home? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave your responses there or here in the comments….

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1min 

Infographic: “Halloween Pop-Costume Index”

I’m adding this infographic to The Best Websites For Learning About Halloween: by lglynn. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 26min mark as read  //  save

Excellent Infographic On The UN Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

I’ve previously posted about how I use the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and other resources, in a lesson on the Bill of Rights. Zen Pencils has just created this excellent infographic of the Declaration — with simplified language — which is a great resources for that kind of lesson. I’ve embedded it below, but don’t think it will come through on an RSS Reader: I’m adding it to The

7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 57min 

10-15-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Interview With David Deubelbeiss From EFL Classroom 2.0Last month, I posted The Best Three Sites On The Web For ESL/EFL/ELL/ELT Teachers. I’ve since interviewed the people behind each of those sites, and will be publishing them over the next few weeks. I’m beginning with David Deubelbeiss, the founder of EFL Classroom 2.0:

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-16-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

The in box. Retired teacher, retired mayor, retired police commissioner: “I object. I object. I object.”

Dear Governor Quinn, Senator Cunningham, Representative Burke, I hear that your response to those union leaders who have objected to the deplorable treatment retirees are receiving at your hands has been that you, “…have not heard from any of them.” Really? Really? It should come as no surprise to any of you elected “leaders” not to have heard from us as you have given us no information about wha

1 by Fred Klonsky / 38min 

Ten minute drawing. Empowerment.

2 by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Join us at Dan Biss’ district office on Friday. No pension reform that isn’t a revenue solution.

by Fred Klonsky / 0min 

Who wants to get rid of the University of Illinois Labor School and why?

  U of I Labor Professor Bob Bruno. Seventy years ago the Illinois legislature created the Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations. The school includes the Labor Education Program that trains union people and a Center for Human Resources Management.  The school offers masters and doctoral degrees and joint degrees with the College of Law and the College of Business. Somebody is not happ

by Fred Klonsky / 0min 

I’m not worried about the government shutdown or default. I’m worried about poverty. I may not be a Nobel Prize winner in economics. But he is.

Robert Shiller won the Nobel Prize for economics this year. Just how will I suffer in the U.S. goes into default tomorrow? Or in a couple of months? Brian Williams keeps telling me how serious this is. In the mean while I get emails from retired teachers around the state trying to figure out how they will pay for their medical bills if the current plan to hand over their non-Medicare covered supp

2 by Fred Klonsky / 1min 

The in box. Dylan Garity. Rigged Game.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 41min 

  

10-15-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Why doesn’t this feel empowering?CPS had to readjust its numbers. They had to explain why only 60% of students from the 50 schools they closed showed up at the so-called Welcoming Schools. They had predicted 80%. Catalyst reports: Also, the new numbers show that the district still doesn’t know where a

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-16-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Cory Booker Beats Tea Party Candidate In Special Election

Yeah, he won by 12 percentage points (at least as of 10:10 PM.)You know what?He should have won by 30+.Booker's opponent, Steve Lonegan, was a Tea Party favorite who trotted around with Sarah Palin during the campaign.Booker faced a Tea Party opponent during the Washington default crisis brought on by Tea Party Republicans, something that hasn't been lost on Americans who now say they like the Tea

by reality-based edu... / 6min 

NYSED Now Says They'll Try And Do New Common Core Town Hall Meetings

From Capital Confidential:The state Education Department is working on developing a new format for Commissioner John King’s town hall-style discussions of the Common Core standards — one it believes will be far less likely to descend into the sort of shoutfest that prevailed at Thursday’s session in Poughkeepsie. “We are working to finalize venues where constructive dialogue is possible so that to

by reality-based edu... / 1min 

Assemblyman Threatens To Have Legislature Go Over Commissioner King's Head If Problems With Common Core Are Not Fixed

Buried in this YNN story about Commissioner King saying he's thinking about rescheduling parent town halls so long as the new meetings are "civil" is this: "If it got out of hand, of course, that's not the right manner that we want those things to happen, but I do believe the parents have the right to be heard," said Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-Lewiston."Parents and teache

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Joe Lhota Says New Yorkers Will Die If Bill De Blasio Is Elected Mayor

No, seriously - that's what he says in a new ad: So vote for Joe Lhota so we all can be safe - like back in the day.This day, for example:: There, don't you feel safer already?I  know I do.Lhota sounds a little like Benito, doesn't he?He certainly puts out the propaganda like Il Duce, that's for sure.

by reality-based edu... / 30min mark as read  //  save

Charter School Sycophants

De Blasio talking pt that he's focused on 95% of non-charter students is flawed. Will be closer to 88% by 2017, his 3rd yr in office— Geoff Decker (@GDeckernews) October 16, 2013Decker fails to mention the increase is partly due to Bloomberg opening as many charters as he can right before he exits office. But the next mayor, if he so chooses, can decide not to replace closed charters with new ones

by reality-based edu... / 34min 

Superintendent Study Shows State Teacher Evaluation System Is A Mess

As Commissioner King tries to defend his increasingly indefensible education reform agenda from parents, a new superintendents study says the evaluation system has been a disaster:New York’s first attempt to grade teachers on their students’ progress was flawed in several key ways, a new study commissioned by the region’s superintendents says.The state’s formula gave less credit to teachers servin

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

King, Tisch Bombarded With Common Core Complaints At Invitation-Only Meeting On L.I.

Even the "invitation-only" meetings have become unsafe havens for NYSED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch:Frustrated superintendents and parents urged New York's education commissioner at a meeting in Oyster Bay on Tuesday to slow implementation of the controversial Common Core curriculum."My daughter is not a '1,' " John Castronova of Oyster Bay told Commissioner

by reality-based edu... / 47min 

State Senator Jack Martin: John King Must Reschedule Parent Hearings Or Immediately Resign

Another politician jumps in on the side of parents against NYSED Commissioner John King:Common Core But No Common Sense Make no bones about it. I have been consumed with nonstop questions and concerns regarding the state education department’s rollout of the Common Core curriculum. I’m approached by constituents with questions at almost every event I attend in our district. But more than answer qu

by reality-based edu... / 56min 

Commissioner King Says No To Evaluation Moratorium

Not a surprise - he wants to go forward with the high stakes teacher evaluation system:ALBANY—State education commissioner John King said Tuesday that a call from teachers' unions for a three-year moratorium on using state exam results for “high-stakes” decisions is a “distraction” from the goal of improving New York graduates' outcomes in college and careers.The state's new system for evaluating

by reality-based edu... / 3h 

10-15-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: How Do You Let John King And SED Officials Know They're Wrong Without Showing Anger And Disrespect?Peter DeWitt has a blog post up this morning at Education Week on the John King/Poughkeepsie fiasco.DeWitt, who has been on the other end of SED anger himself (he got a pushback from an SED flack when he wrote a blog post pointing out that NYSED Commissioner John King sends his

by mike simpson / 10h 

More John White lies about salaries, layoffs and raises | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

More John White lies about salaries, layoffs and raises | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:

More John White lies about salaries, layoffs and raises

Posted on October 16, 2013

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I tried to speak to John White’s credibility, or lack thereof, at the BESE meeting, (now yesterday) as I write this. I presented handouts that call into question White’s honesty on numerous issues. I gave handouts about the various inBloom memos and correspondence to each BESE member as well as a little bit of bonus material I picked up today on a rumor I heard and thought to verify.

I was told that White and his executive “unclassified” staff are slated to get 6% raises this budget year coming up. I’m still waiting to see if any specific documentation is forthcoming on that (I’m sure it is being buried in the darkest hole he find after he burns the paperwork) However while looking for info on this I came across some other info that seems to call into question White’s credibility on numerous things he’s done recently, including legal documents he’s filed with Civil Service. To recap, John White laid off as many as 70 Louisiana Department of Education classified personnel because he claimed he did not have the money pay their salaries. He filed as many as 20 individualized layoff plans to do this citing financial reasons. John White also claimed after the 

Florida State Board of Education Rejects Common Core Appendices | Truth in American Education

Florida State Board of Education Rejects Common Core Appendices | Truth in American Education:

Florida State Board of Education Rejects Common Core Appendices

Filed in Common Core State Standards, Education at State Level by Shane Vander Hart on October 16, 2013• 0 Comments

The Florida State Board of Education voted yesterday to reject part of the Common Core State Standards.

Via Tampa Bay Times:

Hoping to quell some opposition to the controversial Common Core State Standards, the state Board of Education on Tuesday opted not to adopt the reading samples associated with the new national benchmarks.

The board also decided against adopting the student writing samples and suggestions on how to structure math classes.

State Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said local school systems would still have the option to use the documents, known collectively as the Common Core appendices.

But, she said, “these are not becoming a required list of ancillary materials for districts to have 

With money available for Common Core, California districts study their options | The Center for Investigative Reporting

With money available for Common Core, California districts study their options | The Center for Investigative Reporting:

With money available for Common Core, California districts study their options

Click for larger image

English teacher Lisa Rothbard leads a discussion about how to write a strong thesis statement in her classroom at Skyline High in Oakland.

Credit: Pat Wingert/The Hechinger Report

Making the new national Common Core standards a reality in classrooms is a complicated and expensive business. Unusually for California, the money is there. But the tricky part is how to spend it.

“The thing about this work is that no one here has done it before, so we don’t know exactly what we’ll need” to spend for Common Core, said David Christiansen, Fresno’s associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “Frankly, every district is trying to figure it out. We want to make the right investment around our goals.”

Making good choices is complicated by the sheer volume of new products that claim to be aligned to the Common Core, the ambitious national goals adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia that aim to encourage critical thinking and deeper learning. A multibillion-dollar industry of competing vendors is promoting a dizzying array of new products – textbooks, curriculum, teacher-training workshops, software, laptops, iPads, nonfiction kids’ magazines, 

Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’:

Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’

• BY VALERIE STRAUSS

• October 16 at 4:00 am

The fields of psychology and education were revolutionized 30 years ago when the now world-renowned psychologist Howard Gardner published his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences,” which detailed a new model of human intelligence that went beyond the traditional view that there was a single kind that could be measured by standardized tests. (You can read his account of how he came up with the theory here.)

Gardner’s theory initially listed seven intelligences which  work together: linguistic, logical-mathematical,  musical,  bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal and intrapersonal; he later added an eighth, naturalist intelligence and says there may be a few more.  The theory became highly popular with K-12 educators around the world seeking ways to reach students who did not respond to traditional approaches, but over time, “multiple intelligences” somehow became synonymous with 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Thousands vow to 'Take Back Chicago'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Thousands vow to 'Take Back Chicago':

Thousands vow to 'Take Back Chicago'

The headline in this morning Tribune summed things up pretty well -- Emanuel talks politics while activists rally to 'take back Chicago'. (M. Klonsky pic)

All that was missing last night, was a mayoral candidate to rally around as thousands filled the UIC Forum, vowing to Take Back Chicago. The activist base, mobilized by the Grassroots Coalition of unions and community groups, was there and the issues were clear. The crowd was loud and militant, cheering favored elected officials like those from the City Council's Progressive Caucus, while others, like Gov. Quinn didn't fare as well. He showed up late and was met with chants of "pensions, pensions" while hundreds were on their way out of the Forum. Earlier, organization leaders had shared the stage with elected officials, each put on the spot as roll was called on the issues of that mattered.

Kristel Kolmeder, "Corporations should pay their fair share" (ENLACE)

According to the Trib, Mayor 1%was across town talking to a