Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, November 8, 2013

11-8-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:






Tea Party School Bus Hijack, Muncie, Indiana
by Doug Martin While Douglas Storm and I were exposing the corporate assault on our schools on WFHB radio on Eugene V. Debs’ birthday during the Zinn Read-In at Purdue, Tea Party front men were spreading misinformation in Muncie, Indiana, which stopped a property tax referendum vote from passing, leaving public school children after this year without bus transportation to schools.  One Tea Party
Educational Innovation, Bill Gates and Rocketship, Inc. Style
That was then,this is now, designed by Gates Foundation & Rocketship Education, Inc. (is that a Sputnik that I hear beeping??):Up close and depersonalized:From WaPo: As the quality of software improves, Danner thinks “Rocketeers” could spend as much as 50 percent of the school day with computers.


Part 2: Has Corporate Education "Reform" Earned Another 25 Years to Complete the Resegregation and Privatization Agendas?
As noted in Part 1 of our consideration of the 2013 NAEP results, the twenty years of NAEP testing prior to 1990 are not presented by this year by Duncan's Little Shop of Horrors. To do so would serve as a reminder of how the dramatic narrowing of the achievement gaps between white and minority children came to a halt, essentially, in 1988, the same year that the resegregation of American schools

11-7-13 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of HandNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is nearly stereotypical as a bully, so much so that if he weren't in a position of power, he would be a walking satire of himself.When he yelled at a female teacher recently, reasonable people across the U.S. responded with disgust, as Jersey Jazzman did:Some think this misogyny is part of Christie's "

11-8-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:






De Blasio's Inner Circle
Very useful graphic at the Times showing de Blasio closest advisers and counselors.There are some neo-liberal Clintonistas like Harold Ickes on the list (as you would expect given de Blasio's work in the Clinton administration and for Hillary), but no real DFER- or ed deform-red flags that catch my eye.Take a look at the list and let us know what you think - anything that worries you on this list

Suffolk Superintendents To "Embattled" Commissioner King: Slow Down
Newsday front cover story today:School superintendents throughout Suffolk County are uniting to send embattled state Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. a strong message: Stop over-testing, slow down the Common Core curriculum and rethink teacher and principal evaluations. One letter -- a detailed, four-page missive supported by all 18 superintendents in the Western Suffolk BOCES district -- w

Sometimes It's Cool To Do Nothing
NAEP scores out - small gains on math and reading.WE MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!!WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS!!!SOMEBODY MUST BE FIRED, WE MUST CHANGE EVERYTHING AND MAKE SURE THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN!!!WE CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER!!!!CHANGE COMES NOW!!!!


7-11-13 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: Another Bloomberg Education FailureFrom NY1:It's half school, half extracurricular, all hands on. For two years, the city's Summer Quest program has provided extra learning for thousands of struggling students in the South Bronx, nine hours a day, five days a week for five weeks.For the students, the goal is to prevent summer learning loss, a big problem for low-income kids.

11-8-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:





From Spellings to Duncan: Using NAEP as Policy Propaganda
From Spellings to Duncan: Using NAEP as Policy Propaganda. via From Spellings to Duncan: Using NAEP as Policy Propaganda.

NYSED Commissioner John King Hears It From The Crowd Once Again
It's old hat now - parents and teachers tell NYSED Commissioner John King his education reform agenda sucks and King says "Oh, we're listening..." and then goes back to implementing that agenda anyway.It happened again last night:Syracuse, NY -- New York Education Commissioner faced 20 questioners during a 90-minute forum at WCNY-TV headquarters during a live broadcast and webcast tonigh
On Name Calling In The Education Debate
My response to the Stephanie Simon article in Politico in which the reformers cry to the press about how their feelings have been hurt by that mean Diane Ravitch and those nasty education bloggers:For years now, the education reformers have branded themselves with names like "Children First" or "Students First" for their groups, they've called teachers "special interests&q


Learning and Teaching in Scarcity: How High-Stakes ‘Accountability’ Cultivates Failure | Alternet
Learning and Teaching in Scarcity: How High-Stakes \’Accountability\’ Cultivates Failure | Alternet. via Learning and Teaching in Scarcity: How High-Stakes \’Accountability\’ Cultivates Failure | Alternet. via Learning and Teaching in Scarcity: How High-Stakes ‘Accountability’ Cultivates Failure | Alternet.
Why I Teach, Where I Teach
Education reforms has truly damaged our ability to understand how chronic poverty affects a student’s ability to learn. Although I can agree with the underlying premise of Rhee’s rhetoric – poverty isn’t an excuse to setting high expectations for students – I can’t help but feel frustrated with how the “no excuses” slogan has hijacked any […]

11-7-13 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of HandSchools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand. via Schools Matter: Union Leadership as Political Sleight of Hand.2 by plthomasedd / 1h   11-6-13 @ The Chalk Face@ THE CHALK FACE: The Two Sides of Education Reform in Washington, D.C.Education reform is failing traditional D.C. public middle schools locate

Send Tom Corbett Packing! | WeArePCAPS

Send Tom Corbett Packing! | WeArePCAPS:




Send Tom Corbett Packing!

Yesterday protestors outnumbered supporters as Tom Corbett opened his campaign in Southeast PA in Fox Chase.   The Governor was definitely not kissing babies and pressing flesh as he was whisked into his SUV as angry demonstrators surrounded him.   The “Send Corbett Packing” U-haul van that appeared in Pittsbugh filled with boxes symbolizng the Governor’s legacy of budget austerity and privatization made it to Philadelphia as well.
Pictures from yesterday’s action are here:

After 5 hours of testimony, State Board sends funding law regs back for revisions | EdSource Today

After 5 hours of testimony, State Board sends funding law regs back for revisions | EdSource Today:

Staff and members of the State Board of Education promised to revise proposed spending rules for the new school funding system after hearing speed testimonies Thursday from Californians from all corners of the state. The speakers disagreed on what they wanted but largely agreed they didn’t like some of what they saw.
Sue Burr, a State Board member active in planning the funding regulations, promised speakers the board would consider their criticisms and comments.
Sue Burr, a State Board member active in planning the funding regulations, promised speakers the board would consider their criticisms and comments.
Promising that the revision the State Board will vote on in January “will look differently,” board member Sue Burr, who has worked closely on the proposed regulations, said, “This was a first shot, a draft. We are open to what you had to say today.”
There was no consensus on what the 188 speakers – school superintendents, executives of advocacy organizations, parents needing interpreters, high school students and teachers – had to say during the orderly but often impassioned one-minute testimonies that went on nearly five straight hours. But that was predictable.
The Local Control Funding Formula unknots the state-imposed rules that had restricted the use of K-12 dollars, directs more money to disadvantaged children and shifts control over spending to school districts. The tension between advocates for equity and defenders of flexibility was reflected in comments on proposed options for meeting the funding law’s key requirement – that districts provide additional programs and 

UPDATE: With A Brooklyn Accent: While Diane Ravitch Recovers, the BATS will Carry on Her Work

With A Brooklyn Accent: While Diane Ravitch Recovers, the BATS will Carry on Her Work:

While Diane Ravitch Recovers, the BATS will Carry on Her Work





As we all hope and pray for Diane Ravitch's full recovery, let us take a moment to contemplate what with her full and enthusiastic support, this group has accomplished. In five short months, we have built an organization that has as much, or more public presence, as any Astro-Turf school reform organization funded by billionaires, and a lot more grassroots support. And the best is yet to come. Our July 28 Teachers March on Washington will send a powerful message to elected officials around the country that using teachers as punching bags and selling off our public schools to the highest bidder carries a steep political price. 

So lets take a deep breath, make sure we take care of ourselves- because none of us are Superwoman or Superman-and get back to work.

Diane. We love you! BATS will carry on your legacy, and bring life to your ideas. Count on it!!!
Powerful Speech to Her Local Rotary Club by a North Carolina Teacher
...Cristi Lackey Julsrud Hi BATs! As my school's teacher of the year, I was invited to speak at our local Rotary Club for their monthly luncheon. The people there were representatives from the business community. I was supposed to talk about my school, and myself , and my teaching, and how everything is all hunky-dory, but when it came right down to it I just couldn't lead those people to believe

Tennessee BAT Tales- Installment Two
I changed schools last year to be closer to home and to work in the community in which I live. Previously, I was driving an hour each way to a job I loved, but the distance got to me. I teach middle grades math, which I have taught for 15 years. My current school is a rural, preK-12 school with relatively high free-and-reduced numbers. The teachers before me, who have been let go or reassigned, le

Not Everything That Ails Public Education is Common Core | Truth in American Education

Not Everything That Ails Public Education is Common Core | Truth in American Education:

Not Everything That Ails Public Education is Common Core

Filed in Common Core State Standards by  on November 8, 2013 • 0 Comments
politicized-lessons
Awareness about the Common Core is up and that is good.  I’ve been thrilled by the interest and activism that is taking place on a national and state level.  In our zeal to stop something we see as harmful to American education it is easy to find the bogeyman, so to speak, hiding behind every bush and lurking around every corner.
Because of this I want to provide a gentle reminder.  Not every bad homework assignment, quiz or test can be blamed on Common Core.
Fox News fell victim to this tendency.  Bret Baier yesterday wrote:
That is the question being asked about a fifth grade worksheet that has come to light.
The worksheet entitled Hold the Flag High is part of the Common Core — a national education standard backed by the Obama administration.
The controversial grammar lesson instructs the students to correct sentences about the 



18-Year-Old Wins School Board Election Campaigning Against Common Core
18-year-old Nick Hladick just graduated from Montgomery High School in May.  This fall he is a freshman at George Washington University in Washington, DC.  He is now a new member of the Montgomery County School Board.Gateway Pundit points out that Hladick was the top vote getter.  He beat incumbents Shalini Bhargava (1427 votes) and Sandra Donnay (1594 votes) as well as newcomers Ramesh Durvasula