12-5-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

Setting Free the Books: On Stepping Aside as Teaching

While film critics have offered mostly negative reviews of This Is 40, I have watched all and then parts of the film multiple times during its run on cable TV because I am drawn to the scenes that include the children (who in real life are writer/director Judd Apatow’s children with lead actress Leslie Mann). In one scene, the older daughter, Sadie (Maude Apatow), charges into the kitchen and unle

by plthomasedd / 14min 

GUEST POST: Let’s Nurture Inner-Directed Students and Ignore the “No Excuses” Crowd, John Thompson

Let’s Nurture Inner-Directed Students and Ignore the “No Excuses” Crowd John Thompson Early in my career, Latifa taught me an important lesson about the teaching of noncognitve skills.  Latifa’s dress-for-success style and leadership made it easy to forget her unhappy childhood in foster homes.  When she got up, shut both doors, and walked to the front of the classroom, it was my time to take a se

by plthomasedd / 4min 

12-4-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): More on Failing Writing, and StudentsThroughout the 1980s and 1990s, I taught English in the rural South Carolina high school I attended as a student. Many of those years, I taught Advanced Placement courses as part of my load (I taught all levels of English and usually

by mike simpson / 6h 

12-5-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Mandela

The Guardian puts his death in perspective:The death of Mandela will send South Africa deep into mourning and self-reflection nearly 20 years after he led the country from racial apartheid to inclusive democracy.But his passing will also be keenly felt by people around the world who revered Mandela as one of history's last great statesmen, and a moral paragon comparable with Mohandas Gandhi and Ma

by reality-based edu... / 12min 

Anthony Cody on The Standardization Of Schooling

Why turn school into drudge work for the overwhelming majority of children in this country via the Common Core and the Common Core testing?Here's why:In practice what this is likely to yield is an intensification of factory-style education for these low-scoring populations. Students who perform well may be somewhat relieved of this, but those in the low-scoring schools and social classes will get

by reality-based edu... / 9min hide  //  save

Andrew Cuomo Needs A Corruption Commission Of His Own

Fred Dicker outdoes himself with this:ALBANY – To many observers, the contrast between the new Moreland Commission’s findings on public corruption and Gov. Cuomo’s actions is nothing short of breathtaking. Monday night, Cuomo’s commission released a much-anticipated report that found the state’s “pay to play political culture” of big campaign contributions and special interest access had so badly

by reality-based edu... / 6h 

12-4-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Did De Blasio Interview Kaya Henderson To Be The Next NYCDOE Chancellor?On the heels of Bill de Blasio's flip flop over wanting an open process for the picking of the chancellor comes this doozy from the NY Times:In recent weeks, Mr. de Blasio and his team have reached out to Dr. Starr, the superintendent of the Montgomery County school district, and Kaya Henderson, chancell

by mike simpson / 8h

In 'The Spirit of Liberty' - Bridging Differences - Education Week

In 'The Spirit of Liberty' - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

In 'The Spirit of Liberty'

By Deborah Meier on December 5, 2013 9:58 AM

 "The spirit of liberty, which is not too sure it is right ... which seeks to understand the minds of others... which weighs their interests alongside its own ... that remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded." -  Judge Learned Hand in a 1944 speech to new citizens.  

Dear Robert,

Sometimes friends ask me why I blog with people who fundamentally disagree with me.  The answer: It fascinates me—and some readers, I hope.  In short, you've raised issues that could keep me happily busy for many decades. 

But, believe me, after 50 years, one thing I know for sure—many schools are not places that respect either students, teachers, or their families. Respect is hardly the norm—ask parents who send their kids to under-funded schools where no one knows them well and where they receive a prescribed and uninspired standardized curriculum—sort of like the citizenship tests you write about. Chicago's public schools were the first institution I encountered that treated me with a range of disrespect that I had never before encountered.

Does the U.S. Citizenship civics test offer a good basic definition of the knowledge we all should possess, you ask?  Some of the 100 questions are halfway reasonable; some are absurd. An example:  Who wrote the National Anthem?  Most pass because, like the paper-and-pencil part of state drivers' tests, one is provided with a manual to prep for the test.  Do you still remember how many feet from a fireplug you can park?  Is there evidence of a correlation between good driving records and scores on the written driver's test? 

No, it is not "fair"—or sensible—to hang citizenship (or a driver's license) on this kind of knowledge.  Nor do I imagine any legislator who voted for them (did such a vote happen?) ever try passing the test. Would you take citizenship or voting rights away from those who fail the test?  (We did 

12*5*13 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:

Bill Introduced: H.R. 3612: Know Before You Owe Private Student Loan Act of 2013

To amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require certain creditors to obtain certifications from institutions of higher education, and for other purposes.

6h hide  //  save

Bill Introduced: H.Res. 406: Expressing support for designation of the week beginning on November 11, 2013, as National School Psychology Week.

Expressing support for designation of the week beginning on November 11, 2013, as National School Psychology Week.

6h 

Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: H.R. 3583: Malala Yousafzai Scholarship ActTo expand the number of scholarships available to Pakistani women under the Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program.6h hide  //  saveBill Introduced: H.R. 3477: Veterans Legal Support Act of 2013To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide support to university law school programs t

by mike simpson / 8h 

Louisiana Educator: Education Amateurs Harm Public Schools

Louisiana Educator: Education Amateurs Harm Public Schools:

Education Amateurs Harm Public Schools

BESE this week adopted major changes in student, teacher, and school accountability as the Common Core State Standards implementation is being adjusted to a 10 year implementation schedule. Once again, educators and students will have to adjust to major changes in the ground rules.

Superintendent White, in response to concerns of parents and teachers, has proposed to gradually raise performance expectations related to the CCSS. Performance expectations as measured by the PARCC testing will begin in the Spring testing of 2015 and gradually increase to 2025. Acceptable performance on ELA and math will begin with achievement of a 3 out of a 5 point scale on test measures in 2015 and will go up to 4 out of 5 by 2025. New York state began this year by expecting achievement at a level of 4. This resulted in over 70% of tested students rated as unsatisfactory. I guess their leaders thought it was OK to use their entire student population as guinea pigs. White “believes” Louisiana can avoid the severe drop in student performance by using a more gradual approach. This gradual approach is supposed to give a reasonable time for students and teachers to adapt to the new learning standards.

Because of the change to the new testing system, no VAM ratings of teachers will be produced for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years. The student performance part of all teacher ratings will be based on student learning targets (SLTs) for those two years.

Local school officials will be given authority to wave minimum state test score requirements for students to be promoted from 4th to 5th grade and will be allowed to move 8th grade students to the high school level even if they do not pass the 8th grade state 

K-12 News Network | A Teacher’s Letter to President Obama: Play Is Being Pushed Out By Drill and Kill

K-12 News Network | A Teacher’s Letter to President Obama: Play Is Being Pushed Out By Drill and Kill:

A Teacher’s Letter to President Obama: Play Is Being Pushed Out By Drill and Kill

This is part of a series of letters written by practicing teaching professionals in classrooms around America. These teachers have daily direct contact with schoolchildren. K12NN is proud to present Letters to President Obama. Letters were delivered to President Obama as part of an overall conviction by many teachers that federal education policies, as currently implemented, are not benefiting public school students.

About the writer: La Pluma Poderosa is an early childhood educator based in San Francisco fighting the corporate push into public education.

November 30th, 2013

Dear President Obama,

I am an early childhood educator with many years of experience in the profession. It is extremely distressing to me to see corporate interests taking over our early childhood classrooms. Play is being pushed out and replaced with drill and kill. Instead of our children exploring their world and asking questions, they are being prepped for high-stakes testing. Instead of discovering scientific principles on their own or with the guidance of an expert teacher, they are being prepped to take computer adaptive tests. Instead of building autonomy and social skills, they are being prepped for a future in which there is one right answer and no variants will be allowed. Instead of learning how to work in a team and collaborate they are being prepped for tests that pit them against their peers.

Society is strengthened when all children are able to tap into what makes them unique; when their interests are fostered; and when they are valued as vital members of society. Secretary Arne Duncan can only see what data will let him and he is unable to see our children as the creative individuals we know they are. Arne Duncan lacks basic empathy and chooses not to see the damage foisted on our public school children by way of standards written by business people, high-stakes tests that only serve the stockholders, and tying teacher evaluations to test scores. No one wins this ‘race to the top’ except 

Presumed Averageness: The Mis-Application of Classical Hypothesis Testing in Education | Brookings Institution

Presumed Averageness: The Mis-Application of Classical Hypothesis Testing in Education | Brookings Institution:

Presumed Averageness: The Mis-Application of Classical Hypothesis Testing in Education

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Imagine yourself having had a heart attack.  An ambulance arrives to transport you to a hospital emergency room.  Your ambulance driver asks you to choose between two hospitals, Hospital A or Hospital B.  At Hospital A, the mortality rate for heart attack patients is 75 percent.  At Hospital B, the mortality rate is just 20 percent.  But mortality rates are imperfect measures, based on a finite number of admissions.  If neither rate were “statistically significantly” different from average, would you be indifferent about which hospital you were delivered to?

Don’t ask your social scientist friends to help you with your dilemma.  When asked for expert advice, they apply the rules of classical hypothesis testing, which require that a difference be large enough to have no more than a 5% chance of being a fluke to be accepted as statistically significant.  (For examples, see Schochet and Chiang (2010), Hill (2009), Baker et. al. (2010).)  In many areas of science, it makes sense to assume that a medical procedure does not work, or that a vaccine is ineffective, or that the existing theory is correct, until the evidence is very strong that the original presumption (the null hypothesis) is wrong. That is why the classical hypothesis test places the burden of proof so heavily on the alternative hypothesis, and preserves the null hypothesis until the evidence is overwhelmingly to the contrary.  But that’s not the right standard to use in choosing between two hospitals.

In 1945, Herbert Simon published a classic article in the Journal of the American Statistical Association pointing out that the hypothesis testing framework is not suited to many common decisions.  He argued that in cases where decision-makers face an immediate choice between two options, where the cost of falsely rejecting the best option is not qualitatively 

It’s Not Used, It’s Pre-Owned… – redqueeninla

It’s Not Used, It’s Pre-Owned… – redqueeninla:

It’s Not Used, It’s Pre-Owned…

Written by redqueeninla in LAUSD

For almost a year I’ve been struggling to articulate what it is about public schools that people — people-with-options, members of a once- though perhaps only now aspiring-middle class — what is it that compatriots of my own depreciated class reject as inconceivable for entrusting with their own children?

It’s a tricky question because not only is the answer difficult to articulate, but the existence of the question is slightly offensive:  there are plenty of folks who don’t, won’t and can’t shy away from public education.  Somehow focusing on that which characterizes people freighted with the opposite good fortune of “choice”, feels like, well, fiddling while Rome is burning – or worse, as if cake were being studied when the cupboards are barren of even crackers.

But the question matters, distaste aside.  First, we are all constituents of the city, and beneficiaries of public education, not to mention the democracy that supports it and is composed of and for it.

Second, it is another of these elephant-in-the-room matters, because nearly 75% of the students in LAUSD live in poverty, translating to a vanishing minority of middle class students who remain in attendance at district public schools.  Yet these students in addition to having all the rights of poor students to a good public education, are part of a demographic that is especially missed.  As a generalization, these are the relatively well-prepared children, with families well-poised to be members of the school community who are especially active.  This is not a judgment or a verdict, but an acknowledgement that socioeconomic standing has collateral effect in terms of disposable time, income and capacity for sharing within the education community.

So try as I might – delving deep within myself and studying friends, acquaintances and the abhorrent besides – still I fall shy of anything more 

LA schools' challenge for new funding: involving parents in how the money is spent | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

LA schools' challenge for new funding: involving parents in how the money is spent | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

LA schools' challenge for new funding: involving parents in how the money is spent

Annie Gilbertson | December 5th, 2013, 6:01am

Annie Gilbertson/KPCC

At a town hall in Hollywood, parents and school staff gave L.A. Unified a laundry list of spending priorities.

A survey out today shows parents 80 percent of parents would be more likely to engage with school districts about policy and spending if they just felt listened to.

The report released by EdSource and funded by the California Endowment, comes in the midst of big changes in California school budgets: the state is giving districts extra money for disadvantaged kids, but it's requiring them involve parents in the early stages of deciding how to spend it.

“Parents don’t want to feel that they are just doing this as window dressing," said Louis Freedberg is EdSource's executive director."School districts can say ‘oh we did this. We met the requirements of law,’ but that parents input didn’t really have impact."

Freedberg said the survey also showed most parents haven’t even heard of Local Control Funding, as Gov. Jerry Brown dubbed the plan.

The law gives extra money to schools with lots of students who are low-income, in foster care or still learning English. With all its disadvantaged students, L.A. Unified will gain an extra $188 million.

But engaging the parents of 650,000 students has proven easier said than done. There are more students in L.A. Unified than DC, Delaware, Vermont, Wyoming and both the Dakotas combined.

L.A. Unified started with four town halls, scattered across the  region, and open onlin

Parents know little about funding law but want to get involved, EdSource survey finds | EdSource Today

Parents know little about funding law but want to get involved, EdSource survey finds | EdSource Today:

Parents know little about funding law but want to get involved, EdSource survey finds

December 5th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By Susan Frey

Parents listen during a Tuesday night forum on the Local Control Funding Formula at the Berkeley Unified School District. A new EdSource survey found that most parents have not heard of the new spending law. Credit: Mark Coplan, Berkeley Unified School District

A new statewide survey by EdSource suggests that parents are eager to get involved in school district spending decisions, but underscores the need for districts to actively engage parents if they are to fulfill their new role under the state’s Local Control Funding Formula.

Across the board, parents are generally satisfied with their children’s schools, but the poll revealed differences between high- and low-income parents. The survey suggests that districts will need to make extra efforts to connect to low-income parents, who reported a higher degree of dissatisfaction with their child’s school than parents with higher incomes. Lower-income parents were also more likely to feel that only a small group of parents are engaged in decision-making opportunities at their child’s school.

The survey of 1,003 parents across California is the first to look at how connected and involved parents are with their children’s schools. It found that the majority of parents had heard “nothing at all” about the state’s new finance system, which requires districts to involve parents in spending decisions. Altogether, 57 percent said they had not heard of the formula, compared with 9 percent who said they knew a great deal about it.

But when they were given a short explanation of the Local Control Funding Formula, three-quarters of parents said they supported the idea and close to three-quarters were willing to commit from an hour to 10 hours per week helping guide school spending decisions. Only one in 10 opposed the reforms, which were signed into law in July by Gov. Jerry Brown. The new finance system gives 

A School Worth Fighting For: Eastside Memorial High School | Lily's Blackboard

A School Worth Fighting For: Eastside Memorial High School | Lily's Blackboard:

A School Worth Fighting For: Eastside Memorial High School

Dec 5th, 2013 

by Lily.

They wanted to shut down and privatize this struggling school in Austin, Texas. The students, the teachers and school staff, the parents, union members and the community came together and transformed their school into a great family of learning.  Here are some of the images and stories they shared with us.

We begin with a video the students made.  (Warning:tearjerker)

NYC Educator: How Do We Make the Best of What We Have?

NYC Educator: How Do We Make the Best of What We Have?:

How Do We Make the Best of What We Have?

Think all you want, about whatever you like, but face it, folks, the state evaluation law isn't gonna disappear within the week. Cuomo is all Hamlet over whether or not he has to take action on Common Core, and can't be bothered considering the stupid evaluation law. Unless it helps him in his quest to take Obama's job, the only important thing in his narrow universe, you can bet he won't spend one minute even considering it.

Doubtless he's hoping the statewide outrage will just blow over, or John and Silent Merryl will be able to skillfully persuade the public that corporate reform is a good thing. Meanwhile, we're stuck with this vindictive, baseless, piece of crap law.

As I wrote yesterday, I find it insane that so many observations are required. Perhaps we could agree to a lower minimum and make this a less grueling process. Maybe there could be alternates to written observations. Teachers could do peer observations. Teachers could share best practices at PD. Teachers could contribute to the school community in all sorts of ways. Why does it have to come down to the same thing over and over?

Is the Danielson Framework as odious as the junk science evaluation? Honestly, it isn't to me. Perverting it into a gotcha system is awful, and that's always been the goal of Bloomberg's Tweedies. But I'm not yet persuaded it's 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Just how much abuse will we accept?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Just how much abuse will we accept?:

Just how much abuse will we accept?

Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them. -- Frederick Douglass 

If the great Illinois pension robbery holds up in the courts, many career teachers and other public workers stand to lose upwards of $200,000 in retirement income over the next decade or so as their cost-of-living adjustments are capped. This is not money that was being "given" to them as a gift. It's money that we have contributed to our own retirement accounts and money that was contractually promised us and Constitutionally protected by the state. It is also, the only money teachers get when they retire. They are excluded from Social Security.

If Tuesday's vote wasn't bad enough, it was followed by this degrading cartoon in yesterday's Tribune, portraying us and the union as a castrated dog. Just how much more abuse will teachers and public employees receive? The exact amount they will accept, said Douglass.

Writes teacher Michelle Gunderson:

I don't think anything I've seen in this fight has horrified me more. The depiction of union workers who lost the pension fight as neutered dogs recalls propaganda of Goebbels and the lynching of black men in the south. Please decide to comment on the Tribune site, and share with others. Fred Klonsky's