Friday, January 31, 2014

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

What Does It Mean to Be an iCitizen?

January 31, 2014 by Klea Scharberg

What is the iCitizen Project? Whole Child Podcast guest Beth Sanders, a high school social studies teacher at Tarrant High School in Alabama who was named an Apple Distinguished Educator Class of 2013 and 2013 Teacher of the Year for Tarrant City Schools, explains:

As Sanders said, the project brought together Saint Joseph College freshmen in Connecticut and Tarrant High School juniors in Alabama to discuss and collaborate on this essential question: What does it mean to be an iCitizen—nationally, globally, and digitally? Both classes used Twitter and Skype to communicate with one another, bridging the physical gap between the two schools and creating an online iCitizen community. The project was created to promote consciousness and empathy in a digitizing world and students learned how to become agents of change and commit to being part of the solution.

So, what does it mean to be an iCitizen? Watch the video below to learn about the project and, in the section

1-30-14 The Whole Child Blog - How We Know Kids Living in Poverty Can Meet the Common Core Standards — Whole Child Education

How We Know Kids Living in Poverty Can Meet the Common Core Standards — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGHow We Know Kids Living in Poverty Can Meet the Common Core StandardsJanuary 30, 2014 by Kathleen M. BudgeThe Common Core State Standards underscore five key shifts in teaching and learning that place greater emphasis onCritical thinking, reasoning, and use of evidence to defend an ar

by mike simpson / 20h

1-31-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

The Battle for NYSUT: Ebbs and Flows

We have reports that a 100 locals have signed on to the Iannuzzi slate. You can track what is going on at their site - NYSUT - STRONGER TOGETHER - Home.While Phil Rumore's Buffalo may be leaning away from Iannuzzi, the article below show the other 3 cities -- Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers may be on the fence.The bigger issue is whether a true resistance to a Mulgrew dominated NYSUT will grow out

by ed notes online / 26min

NYSUT Rift Update: The Fat Lady Hasn't Sung as Hobart and Cortese Endorse Iannuzzi Slate

Rumore is making a gambit that Mulgrew would defend his local better than Iannuzzi? Who is he kidding? ... Comment on ed notesOur pals at Port Jefferson Station have posted this. For NYC people Hobart and Cortese may not mean much but they have been heavy hitters in NYSUT. I've never supported them but their support for Dick carries some weight. Below that is a comment on Ed Notes, followed by ema

by ed notes online / 2h hide // save

Calling All Stakeholders - Feb 1: More than a Score: Talking back to testing event

This is going to be a great event. Ed Notes readers should try to attend. A true gathering of parents and teachers. A key day for creating alliances.Join like minded-parents, teachers and administrators who know the time is NOW to bring education back onto the proper track to serve our children and our schools.More than a Score: Talking back to testingEdward A. Reynolds West Side High School140 We

by ed notes online / 2h

Is Iannuzzi Toast?

Iannuzzi’s only path to victory was to form a solid wall of EVERY non-NYC local larger than about 500 members (there are about 50 of them) and then use that momentum to start peeling off individual delegates elsewhere. Fuhgeddaboudit....It’s illustrative that few people even know, or particularly care, who Karen Magee is or what she plans to do as NYSUT president. It’s assumed by everyone involved

by ed notes online / 1h

1-30-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Don't Miss This Event on Saturday, Feb 1: More Than a Score - Talking Back to TestingAgain, with a new mayor, a new chancellor and a movement building, it's a great time to engage with others who envision an educational system that is centered on the needs of children, focused on real teaching and learning and what is possible beyond the corporate reforms of the day.Connect with o

by mike simpson / 41min

Cut my throat and ask me to donate my blood to the throat cutter. Today! Now! Or… the bad guys win. | Reclaim Reform

Cut my throat and ask me to donate my blood to the throat cutter. Today! Now! Or… the bad guys win. | Reclaim Reform:

Cut my throat and ask me to donate my blood to the throat cutter. Today! Now! Or… the bad guys win.

Posted on January 31, 2014by Ken Previti

Teachers and most other people receive emails such as this daily – or even more often. It seems that the majority of the financial crises (most are related to austerity and sequestration in the wealthiest nation in the world) are created for profit, including profit for politicos.

There is a bitter irony in having a branch of the same political party who is stealing the earned delayed benefits (pensions) of teachers by telling them to share-the-sacrifice to then ask them to donate to the political party’s “cause of the day.” That is hard illogic to follow, isn’t it?
OUR PARTY WILL SAVE YOU FROM THE OTHER PARTY – if you give us even more money than the other party is gouging from the other guys. But, we are still going to hurt you.

Cut my throat and ask me to donate my blood to the throat cutter. Today! Now! Or… the bad guys win.

Active and retired teachers across the nation are flooded with this insane email. Our pensions are cut because there is no money. The revenue is not there. Legislators have misappropriated the money for years – underfunding the contracted teacher to pay the political crony. At the same time, corporations have their taxes cut. Corporate tax incentives and grants are awarded to them by the hundreds of millions of dollars per state per month,

¿qué demonios? Chicago Public Schools CEO announces Latino Advisory Committee–with no Latino teachers « NewsTaco

Chicago Public Schools CEO announces Latino Advisory Committee–with no Latino teachers « NewsTaco:

Chicago Public Schools CEO announces Latino Advisory Committee–with no Latino teachers

By Ray Salazar, NewsTaco

In her January newsletter to teachers, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett announced a Latino Advisory Committee designed to “provide counsel in the following focus areas in particular: Early Childhood Education, Teacher Certification, Dual Language Programming, Seal of Bi-literacy, ELL Funding and Accountability, and Interdisciplinary Latino Curriculum.” Despite the fact that the decisions will completely affect the day-to-day instruction carried out by teachers–not one teacher is included on the committee.

A few of the Latino Advisory Council members were classroom teachers once–just a few. But that was once upon a time. Again, we see how devalued and disrespected teachers are on a regular basis. Educational expertise is determined by degrees and titles–not by proven success in our schools. Or, perhaps, expertise rests with what’s politically correct.

Furthermore, we see what we’ve seen in Latino leadership over the decades: the same people, the same voices rise to say what’s best for our community. Considering our educational challenges as a community, it’s time to bring in qualified teacher voices–not necessarily the loudest ones–to the this decision-making table.

Here’s what Byrd-Bennett did not include in the committee’s list of responsibilities:

1. Preparing more low-income Latinos for admission in the top selective enrollment high schools. In a December post, I wrote about the decreasing number of low-income students at selective-enrollment schools–enrollment that dropped as gentrification in our city grew (see the graph near the middle of the post).

2. Addressing the fact that not one selective-enrollment high school exists in a predominantly Latino neighborhood–look at the population in Jones College Prep‘s neighborhood, North

Sac City Unified Shares a Secret-the CORE Waiver Was Signed | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

Sac City Unified Shares a Secret-the CORE Waiver Was Signed | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:

Sac City Unified Shares a Secret-the CORE Waiver Was Signed

published by Kate_Lenox on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 1:36pm

We solved a mystery today, folks. Since there had been no public discussion of the CORE waiver at board meetings and no vote to adopt it by the board, we wondered if SCUSD had really joined the waiver after all. The Coalition made a public records request to the district and learned that J. Raymond signed the MOU back in August. Thanks for letting us know.

There had been speculation by the teacher's union that the district was in fact part of the waiver since items for it were in the district budget. According to documents in the waiver, there had even been required meetings with the teachers union, though no one from SCTA could recall having attended them. So even though the union never agreed to a new evaluation system based in part on test scores, which is a requirement for participation, the district is forging ahead with the waiver. Our new interim superintendent hasn't even read the waiver yet, but she better get started.

I guess that's why not one board member responded to our letters asking for a public discussion of the waiver and its implications for local control here in Sacramento. It was already a done deal. I guess if you don't inform the public about the provisions of the waiver, they won't notice that the district is being run by an unelected board--a board that will meet twice a year in a yet to be determined location somewhere in the state. Can you say "shadow government"? Even better, you don't have to tell parents that student data is being tracked and stored by "third party vendors". The only aspect of the waiver that has been discussed in the Bee is the end of the NCLB requirement that outside vendors provide tutoring to students in Program Improvement schools. Of course, the Bee was in favor of that. They said so in an editorial.

If you read the MOU you learn that the district can opt out through a letter. I wonder if any of the SCUSD board

Weingarten: Stop blaming teachers | News Blog | Rochester City Newspaper

Weingarten: Stop blaming teachers | News Blog | Rochester City Newspaper:

Weingarten: Stop blaming teachers

POSTED BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO ON FRI, JAN 31, 2014 AT 10:50 AM

Rochester’s teachers are not to blame for the city’s current economic problems, said Randi Weingarten this morning during a stop at the Children’s School of Rochester. Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers, which at 1.5 million members, is one of the largest organized labor groups in the country.

click to enlarge

Randi Weingarten (left) visited World of Inquiry school #58 to talk with teachers and parents, including parent Roberta Brunelle (right). - PHOTO BY MATT DETURCK

PHOTO BY MATT DETURCK
Randi Weingarten (left) visited World of Inquiry school #58 to talk with teachers and parents, including parent Roberta Brunelle (right).

Weingarten arrived in Rochester yesterday to give a talk to area teachers and community leaders. And she’s touring some city schools today.

“Teachers are being blamed for Rochester being the fifth poorest city in the country,” she said. “Instead of blaming and scapegoating teachers, we need to support them. I’m hoping the new mayor [Lovely Warren] and the school board recognize this and will be more supportive.”

Regarding immediate problems facing the area’s teachers, Weingarten said that New York lawmakers and state education officials should do a better job preparing teachers to implement the new Common Core curriculum.

Taking a broader view, Weingarten said that current education reform efforts are failing.

“Stop with the fixation on testing and fixate on the whole child,” she said.

Weingarten has spent considerable time visiting countries where students appear to be outperforming US students. The most important lessons from their success: improving teacher preparation, valuing education and learning, and focusing on equity, she said.

When the scores of urban schools are subtracted from some of the international tests used to evaluate student proficiency levels, students in the US have scored the same for the last decade. Weingarten said this shows that the problems in US education have more to do

The 20 Richest Americans Are Greedy Takers — Not Inspirational 'Makers' | Alternet

The 20 Richest Americans Are Greedy Takers — Not Inspirational 'Makers' | Alternet:

The 20 Richest Americans Are Greedy Takers — Not Inspirational 'Makers'

They have all taken from the public or from employees, or through taxes or untaxed inheritances.

Photo Credit: By Kees de Vos from The Hague, The Netherlands (Bill Gates delivering key note) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

January 26, 2014 |

The top individuals on the 2013 Forbes 400 list are generally believed to be makers of great companies or concepts. They are the role models of Paul Ryan, who laments, "We're going to a majority of takers versus makers in America." They are defended by Cato Institute CEO John A. Allison IV, who once protested: "Instead of an attack on the 1 percent, let's call it an attack on the very productive."

But many of the richest Americans are takers. The top twenty, with a total net worth of almost two-thirds of a trillion dollars, have all taken from the public or from employees, or through taxes or untaxed inheritances.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates may be a knowledgeable and hard-working man, but he was also lucky and opportunistic. He was a taker. In 1975, at the age of 20, he founded Microsoft with high school buddy Paul Allen. This was the era of the first desktop computers, and numerous small companies were trying to program them, most notably Digital Research, headed by brilliant software designer Gary Kildall. His CP/M operating system (OS) was the industry standard. Even Gates' company used it.

But Kildall was an innovator, not a businessman, and when IBM came calling for an OS for the new IBM PC, his delays drove the big mainframe company to Gates. Even though the newly established Microsoft company couldn't fill IBM's needs, Gates and Allen saw an opportunity, and so they hurriedly bought the rights to another local company's OS -- which was based on Kildall's CP/M system. Kildall wanted to sue, but intellectual property law for software had not yet been established. Kildall was a maker who got taken.

David Lefer, a collaborator for the book They Made America, summarized: "Gates didn't invent the PC operating system, and any history that says he did is wrong."

Warren Buffett

At first glance, Warren Buffett seems to be a different breed of multi-billionaire, advocating for

Can Governor Cuomo Do New York Students’ Common Core Homework? | Truth in American Education

Can Governor Cuomo Do New York Students’ Common Core Homework? | Truth in American Education:

Can Governor Cuomo Do New York Students’ Common Core Homework?

Filed in Common Core State Standards, Education at State Level by Shane Vander Hart on January 31, 2014• 0 Comments

Can New York Governor Andrew Cuomo do the homework that is being assigned to students across his state?

That’s exactly what Stop Common Core in New York State would like to find out. New Yorkers have been hit with changes in high-stakes assessments and their children are being inundated with inappropriate homework that has stumped students and parents alike. Mark Ferreris, with Stop Common Core in New York State, came up with the idea of starting a campaign to highlight the problem and bring pressure to bear on the person they see as being responsible.

Here is the summary of the campaign they are launching:

OK WARRIORS…..Time to TAKE ACTION……..Our children suffer each night with abusive, age inappropriate homework that destroys both their self-esteem and their freedom to truly learn. We want all of you to send your children’s homework via email or regular mail, every night to the man who continues to make this happen …CUOMO….
Title the email/mail " CAN YOU DO THIS because Our Children Can’t" and let him get a taste of the suffocating, mind-numbing curriculum that he’s helped shove down our children’s throats which will enslave their impressionable minds…..It’s Simple, It’s Quick and it’s for YOUR

Ed Roundup for 1-31-14 - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

Ed Roundup for 1-31-14 - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education):

Education Roundup for Week Ending January 31, 2014

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Education (CDE) today issued this week's Education Roundup of education-related announcements of public interest.

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Urges Public Input on Civic Learning

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced seven public meetings will be held across the state this spring to help shape civic education for California students.

"Today's students are the future of California, and if they grow up with strong civic learning, they grow up with an appreciation—and ability—for civic engagement," said Torlakson, who is encouraging the public to weigh in on the recommendations made by the Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning

on teaching civic education.

Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye and Torlakson have partnered to establish aTask Force designed to allow parents, teachers, school administrators, school boards, labor, and business leaders to offer recommendations to improvecivic learning in California. The Task Force's goal is to develop a blueprint to address five key areas of civic learning: (1) curriculum and instructional practices, (2) resources, (3) professional learning, (4) student assessment and school accountability, and (5) community and business partnerships.

At the seven meetings, members of the Task Force will present their draft recommendations and solicit feedback from the public. People may also view the Task Force's Draft Recommendations for Regional Hearings

online. The dates and locations of the meetings are listed below. People can go to the Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning

Web site to fill out an online application form to attend.

February 7, 2014 in Downey: Los Angeles County Office of Education, 9300 Imperial Highway, Room 281, Downey, CA 90242; 1:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
March 8, 2014 in Los Angeles: Sheraton Hotel LAX, 6101 Century Boulevard, Grand Ballroom A, Los Angeles CA 90045; 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
March 20, 2014 in Bakersfield: Larry E. Reider Education Center, 2000 K Street, Room 204, Bakersfield, CA 93301; 9–11 a.m.
March 24, 2014 in San Diego: San Diego Central Library Auditorium, 330 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101; 1–3 p.m.
March 25, 2014 in San Bernardino: Roy C. Hill Education Center, 601 North E Street, San Bernardino, CA 92410; 1–3 p.m.
March 28, 2014 in Sacramento: State Capitol, 1315 10th Street, Sacramento, 1st Floor, Room 126, Sacramento, CA 95814, 9–11 a.m.
April 1, 2014 in Oakland: Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Meeting Room 1, Oakland, CA 94612; 6:30–8:30 p.m.

The Task Force will create a link on its Web site following the first meeting in Downey where people can submit their comments electronically. Following the public meetings, the Task Force will finalize its blueprint and then present its recommendations to Cantil-Sakauye and Torlakson for their review and consideration.

California Career Pathways Trust Workshops

The CDE is holding a series of workshops around the state throughout the month of February to give potential applicants a thorough overview of the application process for California's Career Pathways Trust Grant. The program provides nearly $250 million in funding for competitive grants to create innovative programs and partnerships linking rigorous academic standards to career pathways in high-need and high-growth sectors of the economy.

There will be three Application Workshops and one Web conference to explain the application process. There will be an additional Web conference on how to apply online for the grant:

February 5, 2014: Fresno County Office of Education, 1111 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, CA.
February 6, 2014: Web conference.
February 7, 2014: Health and Human Services Auditorium, 1500 Capital Avenue, Sacramento, CA.
February 12, 2014: Los Angeles County Office of Education, Education Center Room 100, 9300 Imperial Highway, Downey, CA.
February 19, 2014: Online Application Web conference.

For more information, visit the CDE's Application Workshops Web page.

2014 Teachers of the Year Honored at Gala Event

The CDE will honor the 2014 California Teachers of the Year Monday at a gala event at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento.

Torlakson will welcome the five honorees, who represent the profession's contributions to quality education. The honorees are:

Timothy Smith, a ninth- through twelfth-grade Algebra I and AP Statistics teacher at Florin High School in Sacramento, Elk Grove Unified School District, Sacramento County. Torlakson also nominated Smith as California's representative for National Teacher of the Year recognition.
Angelo "Ang" Bracco, a sixth- through eighth-grade special education teacher at Solano Middle School in Vallejo, Vallejo City Unified School District, Solano County.
Michael Hayden, who teaches choral music and music appreciation to high school students at Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Los Angeles County.
Linda Horist, a second-grade teacher at Nohl Ranch Elementary School, Anaheim, Orange Unified School District, Orange County.
Jessica Pack, a sixth-grade language arts, social studies, and technology teacher at James Workman Middle School, Cathedral City, Palm Springs Unified School District, Riverside County.

The Teachers of the Year finalists and semifinalists also will be recognized during a reception preceding the gala. For more information, see the announcement on the 2014 California Teachers of the Year.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

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