2-4-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Greater access to … profits.

Sent to the New York Times, Feb. 4, 2014Why are Microsoft, Verizon,  Sprint and Apple so eager to donate three quarters of a billion dollars to increase school access to the internet ("Obama Announces Pledges of $750 Million for Student Technology," Feb. 4)? Could it be related to the fact that the Common Core requires online testing, a move that will result in unprecedented profits for

by skrashen / 1h 

Camelot Education's Todd Bock Accuses Schools Matter of "Slander"

In two emails today to me from Mr. Todd Bock, President and CEO of Camelot Education, he alleges that I have slandered his company with a blog post from May 2009 (please do have a moment to read it).To substantiate his claim, Mr. Bock enclosed a letter from Chief of School Operations for Philadelphia Schools dated May 29, 2009.  The letter reports on an investigation based upon unspecified complai

2 by Jim Horn / 38min 

International Education Journal

Please visit and read the outstanding new issue of International Education Journal: Comparative PerspectivesVol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testingReaders of this blog will find the efforts to unmask high-stakes testing of value.

by P. L. Thomas / 3h

2-3-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: 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 fo

by mike simpson / 8h 

2-4-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

Common Core is promising “tests worth teaching to.

From John Thompson in the Huffington Post: Test-driven reform has largely failed but, until recently, it was as great of a public relations success as anything that the billionaires’ bounty could buy. They branded teacher-bashing and union-busting as the “21st century civil rights movement.” High-stakes bubble-in test prep was spun as “High Expectations!” Defenders of the principle of public educa

by Bob Sikes / 3h

2-3-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: '  State Education Chiefs Can’t Withdraw for Data Sharing – Even If They WantedWrites Dr. Karen Effrem, President of Education Liberty Watch and co-founder of the Florida Stop Common Core Coalition in Truth in American Education: On January 23rd, 2014, thirty-four chief

by mike simpson / 8h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 2-4-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

Lcff: California’S School Money Fight Heads To A New Venue

Posted by Dan Walters  to Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert | http://bit.ly/1fXilEh Monday, February 3, 2014  2:16 PM |  ::  The Office of Administrative Law is an obscure branch of the governor's office that was created more than three decades ago, during Jerry Brown's first governorship, to ensure that rules issued by state agencies comply with the law. That function makes it the next venue for

by smf / 15min hide  //  save

What parents know: THE ARTS MATTER

by Joe Landon and Colleen You, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/1lyup5C 1February 4th, 2014  ::  The new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) recognizes the critical role parents play in the education of their children – and embeds it into law by requiring parents’ input into local school district budgets and accountability plans. We are excited about the opportunities for parents,

by smf / 1h 

 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 2-3-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: "Berndt swept everybody up into this horror.” – ANOTHER MIRAMONTE CHILD ABUSE CASE EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWSObscured by the publicity surrounding teacher Mark Berndt is the case of Martin Springer, whose criminal trial is set to begin this week. By Alan Zarembo, LA Times |  http://lat.ms/1dmhIkt February 2, 2014, 8:32 p.m.   ::  The 2012 child abuse

by mike simpson / 7h 

2-4-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Teachers aren’t Cattle! (VAMs 101)

If you ever need a simple explanation for how VAMs are highly unreliable, then look no further! This is, by far, the best video I’ve seen on this issue. It’s definitely worth watching & sharing!   Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, we – teachers – are not cattle! We’re more than shady measurement “tools.” […]

2 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 24min 

Media Alert: On ASCD Media Alert

This is not satire, and if I had made this up, no one would have thought it was funny because, well, you just can’t make this stuff up. I got a MEDIA ALERT email from ASCD announcing “Common Core Experts Available for Interviews.” This seems pretty important because ASCD uses all caps, bold, and even […]

2 by plthomasedd / 1h 

Gates Scholar, Tom Kane, Wants Schools to Replicate His MET Experiment

I would have nothing but praise for the Gates Foundation Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project if it only claimed to be doing theoretical research. Neither would I have a real complaint with the work of the MET’s director, Tom Kane, if he saw it as basic research, not policy research. Kane seems to be […]

3 by John Thompson / 1h hide  //  save

Toni Morrison, the White Gaze, Race, and Writing

Toni Morrison, the White Gaze, Race, and Writing. via Toni Morrison, the White Gaze, Race, and Writing.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

1 by plthomasedd / 2h 

IEJ Vol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testing

IEJ Vol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testing. via IEJ Vol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testing.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

1 by plthomasedd / 2h 

YESTERDAY

School Choice: Do “The Rules Matter”?

The proposal from Senators Lamar Alexander and Tim Scott — offered during “National School Choice Week” — for turning nearly half of the federal K-12 spending into school vouchers was notable for its explicit embrace of assumptions that the GOP had often been hesitant to discuss.  When offering their plans at the American Enterprise Institute, […]

8 by clubred88 / 8h 

2-3-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: My Endorsement for Governor of New MexicoI 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 K

by mike simpson / 8h

2-4-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

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

The Words of My Mouth (1946)

The Words of My Mouth (1946).

1 by plthomasedd / 1h  

Media Alert: On ASCD Media Alert

Media Alert: On ASCD Media Alert.

1 by plthomasedd / 1h 

From Failing to Killing Writing: Computer-Based Grading

In Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Bill and Mike discuss Mike’s bankruptcy: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” Someday soon, two teachers of writing will be sitting and discussing the death of teaching writing, and the conversation will sound much the same. Teaching writing came into its own in the 1970s and 1980s with great promise

2 by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  save

Toni Morrison, the White Gaze, Race, and Writing

If Charlie Rose or Bill Moyers sat down with Tolstoy, do you imagine they’d ask him if he could write a book and not deal with race? I invite you to view several clips of Toni Morrison, and others, exploring the white gaze, race, and writing. Very illuminating (and reminds me of those people who shout “why is it always about race” when it is—as in the Richard Sherman case).

5 by plthomasedd / 2h 

IEJ Vol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testing

International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives Vol 12, No 2 (2013): The local vernaculars of high-stakes testing See Testing capitalism: Perpetuating privilege behind the masks of merit and objectivity PDF P. L. Thomas, EdD

8 by plthomasedd / 3h 

2-3-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Criticizing KIPP CriticsAn early and consistent proponent of Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools, Jay Matthews has joined a rising group of KIPP advocates directly criticizing KIPP critics, offering two arguments: KIPP charter schools are not abusive or exc

by mike simpson / 3h

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com:

 New! Must read Ani McHugh!

Ani McHugh from her must-read blog, TeacherBiz… “Written testimony to the NJ State Board of Education for Lobby Day–February 5th, 2014″ “I ask you to consider these questions: would you want your own children to be subjected to the reforms being implemented in New Jersey?  Do any parents wish for their children to go to a school that relies too much on standardized testing–and cuts programs and pe

by GPS / 2h 

A teacher exposes ‘value-added’ idiocy…

Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post… “VAMboozled is a blog about teacher evaluation, accountability and value-added models written by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, associate professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. The following post was on her blog, from a teacher in Arizona who is not identified. The teacher reveals the idiocy of the ‘value-added’ method of evalua

by GPS / 2h 

Miami – Police union publicizes crime in schools amid negotiations…

David Smiley in The Miami Herald… “The union representing schools police officers is reporting a marked increase in the number of guns seized from within Miami-Dade County Public Schools in the first half of the school year. But police brass say those numbers are inflated, even if confiscations are trending upward. The disconnect reflects a new and unusual union media campaign that is as much abou

by GPS / 2h hide  //  save

FCC to boost fund for broadband in schools…

Cecilia Kang in The Washington Post… “The plan to be announced Wednesday by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is to increase to $2 billion from $1 billion the portion of the E-Rate program for broadband grants. The FCC said the two-year increase in broadband grants will not come from an increase in rates charged to wireless and phone customers. Consumers’ monthly bills include a line-item charge for the fe

by GPS / 2h 

Stealing from teachers…

Adam Kirk Edgerton at The Huffington Post… “When teachers sit down to complete their federal taxes this year, they will see one big change: the $250 classroom supply deduction. The failure to extend this tax break for teachers has gone largely unnoticed. It should be a source of outrage…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post Stealing from teachers… appeared first on G

by GPS / 2h 

NC group urges teachers to reject contract offers…

Emery P. Dalesio in The Charlotte Observer… “A group representing North Carolina teachers said Monday it is expanding efforts to fight a state law that phases out job protections in place for more than 40 years in favor of employment contracts that supporters say will promote sharper classroom performance…” Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/03/4660967/nc-group-urges-teachers

by GPS / 2h 

Preschool push moving ahead in many states…

Richard Perez Pena and Motoko Rich in The New York Times… “Preschool is having its moment, as a favored cause for politicians and interest groups who ordinarily have trouble agreeing on the time of day. President Obama devoted part of his State of the Union address to it, while the deeply red states of Oklahoma and Georgia are being hailed as national models of preschool access and quality, with o

by GPS / 2h