2-3-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:

Haslam Takes from Some to Pay for Promise to Others

Governor Bill Haslam is desperate to appear as if he is doing something to improve educational opportunity in a state that has a long history of underfunding education and masking inequality with programs intended for political gain rather than substantive results.  The Governor's most recent plan to for free tuition for students going to community college sounds great until you notice that the pr

by Jim Horn / 50min 

Children should not be allowed to behave like children.

Sent to The Oregonian, Feb. 2, 2104It's wonderful to know how seriously Oregon takes kindergarten entry testing. The kind of publicity from The Oregonian, proclaiming that "Kindergarten test results a 'sobering snapshot'" (Feb. 1) will ensure that preschools will take firm steps to make sure that children are ready for the rigors of kindergarten, as well as encourage parents to follow st

by skrashen / 9h hide  //  save

Critics of education: Nostaglia for a time that never was

Sent to the Los Angeles TimesNicholas Meyer ("Better history through storytelling" (Feb. 2), thinks that "no one learns history (of civics ...) anymore" and blames the"dismanteld" school system.  The same complaint appeared in the New York Times, Sunday, April 4, 1943, in an article with the title "Ignorance of US History shown by college freshman." The arti

by skrashen / 12h  

2-2-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: Join the Battle to Stop Corporate Shutdown of Memphis SchoolsAction News 5 - Memphis, TennesseeMEMPHIS, TN -(WMC-TV) – Parents and students from Westhaven Elementary have been fighting for their school for months. Saturday they took to the streets to get signatures to try to keep their school open.They are asking the community to get behind their efforts and it's not every day you

by mike simpson / 8h 

The Average of Noise is not Signal, It’s Junk! More on NJ SGPs | School Finance 101

The Average of Noise is not Signal, It’s Junk! More on NJ SGPs | School Finance 101:

The Average of Noise is not Signal, It’s Junk! More on NJ SGPs

Posted on February 3, 2014

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I explained in my previous post that New Jersey’s school aggregate growth percentile measures are as correlated with things they shouldn’t be (average performance level and low income concentrations) as they are with themselves over time.  That is, while they seem relatively stable – correlation around .60 – it would appear that much of that correlation simply reflects the average composition and prior scores of the students in the schools.

In other words, New Jersey’s SGPs are stably baised – or consistently wrong!

But even the consistency of these measures is giving some school officials reason to pause and ask just how useful these measures are for evaluating their students’ progress or their school as a whole.

There are, for example, a good number of schools that would appear to jump a significant number of percentile points from year 1 to year 2. Here is a scatterplot of the schools moving from Over the 60th percentile to under the 40th percentile and from under the 40th to over the 60th percentile.That’s right West Cape May elementary… you rock … this year at least. Last year, well, you were less than mediocre. You are the new turnaround experts. Good thing we didn’t use last year’s SGP to shut you down!  Either that, or these data have some real issues – in addition to the fact that much of the correlation that does exist is simply a reflection of persistent conditions of these 

2-3-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

School Sets Dance For Straight-A Students – Some Others Can Come Later & Hundreds Not At All

A Maryland high school is planning a dance for students with high grades — students with lower grade get to come later, 300 students with the lowest grades don’t get to come at all. Read all about it in The Washington Post story, Straight A’s = dancing: Grade celebration questioned by some (see the excerpt from it below). I’m not an absolute strict believer in not having public recognition of acad

by Larry Ferlazzo / 21min hide  //  save

Cartoon: “Go Ahead. Nothing To Worry About”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h

Newsmart Looks Like A Great Site For High-Intermediate & Advanced ELLs

Newsmart uses articles from the Wall Street Journal to promote learning English as a second language. It’s a slick site, and it’s free. Users pick an article, and then there are color-coded portions in it for vocabulary and grammar. Click on it, and you are given a question about the in-context grammar or vocabulary issue. You then accumulate points and badges. I’m adding it to The Best Websites

by Larry Ferlazzo / 44min hide  //  save

Video: “Coke’s Wild Assertion That Other Languages Exist Stirs Controversy” Says Borowitz Report

Check out the tweet (and column) from the always funny Borowitz Report, along with a video of the ad: Coke's Wild Assertion That Other Languages Exist Stirs Controversy http://t.co/GrMYYhi6Qf — Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) February 3, 2014

by Larry Ferlazzo / 44min 

Video: “Sophie’s Choice”

I’m sure most IB Theory of Knowledge teachers use this famous and terrible scene from Sophie’s Choice when discussing ethics and moral dilemmas. However, I realized I never posted it on this blog, and thought it might be useful to others (and to me) to have it here:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 44min 

A Collection Of #EvaluateThat Tweets

The BATS have started a great campaign — #EvaluateThat. Check out a few of them below and tweet out your own! [View the story "A Collection Of #EvaluateThat Tweets" on Storify]

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h hide  //  save

My Latest NY Times Post For ELLs Is On The Olympics

My latest New York Times post for English Language Learners is on the Winter Olympics and using picture dictation in the classroom. It includes a student interactive and teaching ideas. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. You can see all my weekly NY Times posts here.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

YESTERDAY

Quote Of The Day: “The Dangers of Certainty”

The Dangers of Certainty: A Lesson From Auschwitz is an excellent (though somewhat meandering) column in today’s New York Times, written by Simon Critchley. I think it relates a lot to what I’ve written about teaching and “school reform” in a Washington Post piece titled The importance of being unprincipled. I’ll also be using in my IB Theory of Knowledge class — I always begin the course by shari

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 2-2-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: From The Archives: “Developing Teacher Leadership for the Long Haul”I’ve recently re-started an effort I’ve tried to do previously by regularly highlighting previous posts and articles I’ve shared in previous years that I think might be worth a second look. I gave a keynote to last year’s K-12 Online Conference on developin

by mike simpson / 8h 

2-3-14 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman:

State-Run Newark Schools Blow Snow Closings Again

Just received this via email from a teacher in the Newark Public Schools:We got texts from our dcs saying that school was closed at 7:39.This means that she [State Superintendent Cami Anderson] waited until 7 or later to make the call. Kids and teachers were already in schools when they got the message. This is either incompetence or payback for our resistance to her. Either way, it's disrespectfu

10 by Duke / 10min hide  //  save

David Wildstein: Before Bridgegate, Christie's Best Teacher Basher

It looks like a large portion of the pre-Super Bowl commentary this weekend has been reserved for political pundits proclaiming the death of Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign. Poor fellow: here he is, governor of the state hosting the biggest sports spectacle of the year, but forced to keep a low profile because of Friday afternoon’s bombshell:David Wildstein – Christie’s childhood fr

200+ by Duke / 10h

 

2-1-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekYes, Reformers, We SHOULD Talk About YOUR Kids' SchoolsLast night was a good night for public education in Newark; the same cannot be said for State Superintendent Cami Anderson:The state-appointed Newark school superintendent stormed out of an angry,  tumultuous School Advisory Board (SAB) meeting a few hours ago after a parent, infuriated by Cami And

by mike simpson / 5h 

2-3-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

NYS PTA: We want your two dollars (but not your input.) #PTA

Let me start this post out by saying that as an educator and parent the local PTA groups in the districts I am involved with are amazing.  The volunteers of the PTA do so much to enhance the experiences of our children. We cannot thank active local PTA members enough for all they do for […]

1 by Chris Cerrone / 34min 

Criticizing KIPP Critics

Criticizing KIPP Critics. via Criticizing KIPP Critics.

1 by plthomasedd / 56min 

My Endorsement for Governor of New Mexico

I know what you’re thinking: “Why are you endorsing a candidate?  You’re just an independent blogger who likes to rabblerouse!” And you would be right.  But, c’mon, give me some credit.  I’m also a community activist and organizer who likes to rabblerouse. I also pay attention–very close attention–to the goings on in my state of […]

39 by Kris Nielsen / 9h 

All Week 2-2-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE: SC’s Low Self-Esteem, Florida Addiction, and Education PolicyIn the 1980s and 1990s, the decades of my career as a public high school English teacher, South Carolina was early and all-in as an accountability/standards/testing education reform state. One interesting aspect of that commitment is that SC has had at least 4 generations of standards and tests (including the current ad

by mike simpson / 8h 

2-3-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:

The Badass Teachers Association "Evaluate That" Campaing Goes Viral

The Badass Teachers Association exploded last night on Facebook and Twitter with their #evaluatethat campaign. The idea came to the Facebook page via Georgia BAT Stephanie Lavender Weber who was staying the night with her students in school due to the snow storms that hit Atlanta last week. Stephanie proudly posted about staying with the students and taking care of them until their parents could c

18 by Mark Naison / 1h hide  //  save

Evaluate That!!!

I have students sleep over when they’re thrown out of the houseEvaluate That I give them money for carfare when they have no way to go homeEvaluate That I stand between them and a knife aimed at their chestEvaluate That I tell my students that I love them and remind them they’re the bestEvaluate ThatI tell them that they’re brilliant when their tears fall on the testEvaluate That#evaluatethat

1 by Mark Naison / 5h 

2-1-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All WeekA Common Core RapNotorious Phd's Common Core RapMy Core's not common,Neither's my brain,These tests they're givingDrive me insaneMy parents hate them,My teachers too,Someone was lookingFor students to screwTo make them helplessTo make them failTo get them readyFor Walmart or jailBut I'm not readyTo give up this soonMy parents taught meT

by mike simpson / 4h 

Stephen Krashen Blog 2-3-14 Children should not be allowed to behave like children.

SKrashen:

Children should not be allowed to behave like children.

Sent to The Oregonian, Feb. 2, 2104It's wonderful to know how seriously Oregon takes kindergarten entry testing. The kind of publicity from The Oregonian, proclaiming that "Kindergarten test results a 'sobering snapshot'" (Feb. 1) will ensure that preschools will take firm steps to make sure that children are ready for the rigors of kindergarten, as well as encourage parents to follow st

27 by skrashen / 9h hide  //  save

Critics of education: Nostalgia for a time that never was

Sent to the Los Angeles Time, Feb. 2Nicholas Meyer ("Better history through storytelling" (Feb. 2), thinks that "no one learns history (of civics ...) anymore" and blames the"dismantled" school system.  The same complaint appeared in the New York Times, Sunday, April 4, 1943, in an article with the title "Ignorance of US History shown by college freshman." T

1 by skrashen / 11h 

 

Stephen Krashen Blog 2-1-14

SKrashen:A better way to deal with summer loss in readingSent to the Seattle Times, Jan 31, 2014There is a much cheaper and much more effective way to deal with summer learning loss than adding 20 days of school to the school year ("How to solve summer learning loss and close the opportunity gap," January 30): Provide more access to interesting reading material.  Research tells us that t

by mike simpson / 4h