2-10-14 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):

Workplace: Academia and the American Worker: Right to Work in an Era of Disaster Capitalism?

Academia and the American Worker: Right to Work in an Era of Disaster Capitalism? Abstract Why do educational degrees of any kind, especially advanced degrees, matter if there are only part-time service industry jobs waiting for graduates? In this article, the reduced labor market experienced by graduate students seeking tenure-track positions as professors is couched as one example within a much

1 by plthomasedd / 56min 

State Impact: Core Questions: How Does Common Core Address Poverty?

Core Questions: How Does Common Core Address Poverty? Speaking for the Education Trust, Sonja Brookins Santelises makes the following argument in support of Common Core: And before Baltimore, she worked in Massachusetts – the state whose standards are a model for Common Core. The Bay State is now one of the top-ranked education systems in the country. Common standards will allow districts across t

1 by plthomasedd / 30min 

Progressivism and Whole Language: A Reader

If you read a criticism of progressivism or whole language, I suspect you are reading one of two things: A misrepresentation of either so that the writer can attack the misrepresentation. Sometimes this is purposeful misrepresentation, but often the misrepresentation comes from carelessness or a lack of expertise. A confusion between the genuine principles of progressivism or whole language and h

by plthomasedd / 26min hide  //  save

Recalling 1947 in 2014

I had never felt more than a passing interest in 42: The Jackie Robinson Story because I expected a film biography of Robinson to pale too much against his life. As someone who admires the life and career of Muhammad Ali, I felt the same reservations about Ali. It seems likely that some people, some lives are simply too big, too grand on their own for recreation. But the universe can be a funny th

7 by plthomasedd / 1h

2-9-14 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): Worst Op-Ed of 2014, Already?Worst Op-Ed of 2014, Already?.1 by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  save2-8-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdDTHE BECOMING RADICALRadical ScholarshipEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical  A Place for a

by mike simpson / 1d

2-10-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Regents Say They're Feeling The Pressure

From Newsday: High school students across New York will not have to meet higher passage requirements on new, tougher state exams in order to graduate until 2022 under recommendations approved Monday by the Board of Regents. Those students currently were scheduled to start taking Regents exams based upon the Common Core academic standards this spring. The policy-making board's action means they wil

by reality-based edu... / 1h

Reaction To The Regents Recommendations On Common Core And APPR Teacher Evaluations

So the Regents reaffirmed the importance of Common Core but delayed the timeline of full implementation to 2022. You can read the Regents press release here.The Regents recommendations seemed to make nobody but some members of the legislature happy.Here was Cuomo's response:“Today’s recommendations are another in a series of missteps by the Board of Regents that suggests the time has come to serio

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

Chris Christie Helicopter Rides Probed In BridgeGate Scandal

Interesting story from the Post:The New Jersey legislative committee investigating the Bridgegate scandal will probe records of helicopter rides Gov. Chris Christie took to see if he flew near Fort Lee while lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge were closed, sources told The Post.Lawmakers also want to know if the New Jersey governor took a ride with then-Port Authority exec David Wildstei

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

Randy Credico To Challenge Andrew Cuomo In Democratic Primary

Not sure this is the best Cuomo challenger around, but nonetheless here is the story:Comedian and activist Randy Credico, a “Tonight Show” veteran and subject of the Laura Kightlinger documentary “Sixty Spins Around the Sun,’’ says he’s “definitely” going to challenge Cuomo in the Democratic primary this year. “I’ve got the financial backers to do it, and we’ll get the votes of the progressives in

by reality-based edu... / 49mi

Today's Board Of Regents Meeting

From the Daily Politics update this morning:From our Ken Lovett in Albany: * It’s not that often that a Board of Regents meeting can be called “much anticipated.” But give the controversy surrounding the implementation of the Common Core curriculum, today’s meeting could get interesting. Very interesting. State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for delays and changes or they vow to

by reality-based edu... / 1h hide  //  save

5 Year Old Student Leaves Charter School Unattended

The Daily News: In a case reminiscent of the tragic death of autistic teen Avonte Oquendo — who disappeared from school months before his body was found in Queens — a 5-year-old disabled boy managed to slip out of his Brooklyn charter school and walked more than a half mile home with a stranger, the Daily News has learned. Malachi Nelson, whose cerebral palsy causes him to drag his right foot, was

by reality-based edu... / 3h 

2-9-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: What A Surprise That A "Blended Learning" Course Is A DisasterMayor Bloomberg loved all things techie - especially when it came to replacing humans with computers or computerized programs.So of course we got all kinds of computerized nonsense in the NYDOE during his 12 years in power and one of the more infamous was the iZone, which was a highly-touted education pr

by mike simpson / 23h 

Huge North Carolina Rally Protests Roll Back of Voting, Labor, Health, Education, and Civil Rights | janresseger

Huge North Carolina Rally Protests Roll Back of Voting, Labor, Health, Education, and Civil Rights | janresseger:

Huge North Carolina Rally Protests Roll Back of Voting, Labor, Health, Education, and Civil Rights

Posted on February 10, 2014 by janresseger

Unless you live in North Carolina or follow Twitter, where pictures were posted all weekend, you may have missed that nearly 100,000 people rallied in Raleigh on Saturday to protest the policies and direction of North Carolina’s current one-party government and leadership by conservative Governor Pat McCrory, who even appointed far-right financier Art Pope as his budget director.  North Carolina is one of more than half the states that now lack checks and balances because the governor, and house and senate majorities are controlled by one party.

For much of the past year, the North Carolina NAACP, led by the prophetic Rev. William Barber, has been sponsoring Moral Monday protests at the statehouse to decry a rash of legislation that has wiped out what was thought to have been the progressive, “new south,” direction of North Carolina.

Ari Berman writing for The Nation summarizes North Carolina’s legislative record that has spurred the protests:  “Since taking over the legislature in 2010 and the governor’s mansion in 2012, controlling state government for the first time in over a century, North Carolina Republicans eliminated the earned-income tax credit for 900,000 North Carolinians; refused Medicaid coverage for 500,000; ended federal unemployment benefits for 170,000; cut pre-K for 30,000 kids while shifting $90 million from public education to voucher schools; slashed taxes for the top 5 percent while raising taxes on the bottom 95 percent; axed public financing of judicial races; prohibited death row inmates from challenging racially discriminatory verdicts; passed one of the country’s most draconian anti-choice laws; and enacted the 

2-10-14 GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com

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

Opt Out Orlando – 3 Super-moms making a difference!

Leslie Postal in the Orlando Sentinel… “Frustrated her children’s school went “just insane” with test preparation, Sandy Stenoff decided last spring that she’d had enough. The Orlando mother had her third-grader skip FCAT, Florida’s key standardized test. It was a difficult decision, she said, even for a parent who had recently joined with two other moms to be the founding force behind Opt Out Orl

by GPS / 10min 

New documentary takes on standardized testing, Common Core…

Jaime Franchi in The Long Island Press… “The documentary Standardized: Lies, Money, and Civil Rights: How Testing is Ruining Public Education, the brainchild of producer and former teacher Daniel Hornberger, is a powerful artistic translation of this both cerebral and passionate battle. It stars real-life parents, teachers and experts from across this country testifying as to how schools are bein

6 by GPS / 4h 

Common Core – Students getting sick as a result of anxiety over tests…

Rebecca Klein in The Huffington Post… “Standardized tests are really stressing New York students out. Like, really stressing them out. According to a recent survey conducted by The New York State Parent Teacher Association (PTA), a vast majority of parent and teacher respondents said that students have been more stressed out over test-related issues than in previous years. The survey shows that 7

6 by GPS / 4h 

“What I’m Learning as a Teacher in Finland…”

Tim Walker at The Teachers,net Gazette… “These days, people often ask if I’m experiencing culture shock. It’s a legitimate question. Just a few months ago, my family and I moved from Boston to Helsinki, Finland. To be honest, the culture shock isn’t so dramatic—especially since my wife is a Finn.But I’m definitely experiencing classroom shock—a shifting of my pedagogical mindset—as I settle into m

by GPS / 4h 

Asking for pay to go up, Fairfax teachers dress down…

T. Rees Shapiro in The Washington Post… “… Teachers say their frustration stems from the fact that Fairfax, regarded as one of the nation’s premier school systems, now lags in average salary behind other school divisions in the Washington region. The average Fairfax teacher could earn about $7,500 more per year working over the county line in Arlington and about $6,900 more over the Potomac in Mon

by GPS / 4h 

St. Paul teachers union considering strike vote

Mila Koumpilova in The Pioneer Press… “St. Paul public school teachers might soon be asked to vote on a strike, the union says.  Leaders of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers said they will decide Monday whether to put a strike to a membership vote after eight months of often contentious contract talks.  The union and school district reportedly made progress in nearly 12 hours of negotiations Thu

3 by GPS / 4h hide  //  save

Teachers’ jobs are getting harder, compensation is stagnant…

Lynn Bonner and Jane Stancill in The News & Observer… “North Carolina’s teacher pipeline is leaking at both ends. Public school teachers are leaving in bigger numbers, while fewer people are pursuing education degrees at the state’s universities. It may be too soon to predict a shortage, but the trends could spell trouble for public school classrooms…” Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.c

by GPS / 4h 

White students get better teachers in L.A., researcher testifies…

Howard Blume in The Los Angeles Times… “Black and Latino students are more likely to get ineffective teachers in Los Angeles schools than white and Asian students, according to a new study by a Harvard researcher. The findings were released this week during a trial challenging the way California handles the dismissal, lay off and tenure process for teachers. In the study, professor Thomas J. Kane

2 by GPS / 4h 

Tennessee teachers push back on evaluation process…

Lucas L. Johnson II in The Boston Globe… “When Tennessee was competing for a half-billion dollars in federal education money, teachers agreed to allow the state to ramp up its use of student test scores for evaluating educators. But since winning the $500 million Race to the Top competition in 2010, teachers say the state has gone too far in using student test scores to assess their performance…”

by GPS / 4h 

Lessons from Abroad: Singapore’s secrets to training world-class teachers | HechingerEd Blog

Lessons from Abroad: Singapore’s secrets to training world-class teachers | HechingerEd Blog:

Lessons from Abroad: Singapore’s secrets to training world-class teachers

Singapore has been a hot topic in education circles ever since it began to appear near the top of the pack of international assessments in math and science in the mid-90s. The country has been held up as an example of a place where education is being done right: Singapore’s standards were higher and better than ours. Its commitment to education stronger. Its teacher training more rigorous.

This month, I visited the tiny nation to see firsthand just what it’s doing and whether lessons from Singapore are really something the U.S. can replicate. During a week touring schools and talking to students and educators, I had a chance to spend several hours at the National Institute of Education (NIE), the school responsible for training all the country’s teachers. It’s a selective school regarded highly by many in the international education community. But I learned a few things that surprised me:

- The school averages 16,000 applicants for 2,000 slots annually, without bothering to do any outreach to high school students.

Teaching is a sought-after profession in Singapore, so the NIE doesn’t need to send brochures to top students or advertise in schools. It is guaranteed an abundance of good candidates because becoming a teacher is highly prestigious. Admissions staff only look seriously at those in the top third of their class, though, and a competitive interview process weeds out those who might just be interested in the salary the Ministry of Education pays students during their training to become a teacher.

Q & A with Jennifer Stollman: As Freedom Summer anniversary approaches, push is on for ‘cultural change’ in Mississippi

Jennifer Stollman, academic director of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation in Oxford, is spending hours planning ways to share lessons about Freedom Summer, the 1964 civil rights campaign to register blacks to vote in a climate rife with violent resistance. The William Winter Institute is a non-profit based at the University of Mississippi that works with communities in Mississ

by Kayleigh Skinner / 3h 

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: When Grit Hits the Fan

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: When Grit Hits the Fan:

When Grit Hits the Fan

I am increasingly hearing the term "grit" thrown around in relation to education.  In January 2014, Michelle Obama elaborated on the concept (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/01/16/first-lady-michelle-obama-hosts-discussion-education).  Discussing some of the obstacles she managed to overcome in life, she said, "It is not your circumstances that define your future--it's your attitude.  It's your commitment.  You decide how high you set your goals.  You decide how hard you're going to work for those goals.  You decide how you're going to respond when something doesn't go your way" (http://thegrio.com/2013/11/13/michelle-obama-the-ambassador-of-grit/). True Grits...to some extent. 

Foremost of the authors of "grit," Paul Tough penned  How Children Succeed:  Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. He associates "grit" with personal characteristics such as perseverance, determination, optimism, self-control or 

2014 Common Core Legislation Round-Up | Truth in American Education

2014 Common Core Legislation Round-Up | Truth in American Education:

Common Core Premises, Standards and Assessments Put Children at Risk

This is a guest post by Joan Landes.  She’s a Clinical Mental Health Counselor licensed to assess, diagnose and treat mental health and relational dysfunctions in individuals, couples and families. She has worked in various settings including residential treatment centers, private and community agencies. She has taught in private, charter and home schools and writes on many subjects including poli

by Shane Vander Hart / 3h hide  //  save

2014 Common Core Legislation Round-Up

Here’s the latest round of Common Core legislation that has been filed.  There’s too many to do individual articles so I wanted to get caught up and mention them in one article.  As a recap I’ll also mention bills I’ve already written about.  I’m sure I’m also missing legislation, my apologies if I miss your state.  Taking in Common Core news (and my inbox) is like drinking from a fire hose.  If I

by Shane Vander Hart / 7h 

Summit High School: The skinny on the Gates-backed charter school set for Seattle, Brad Bernatek (remember him?) and a host of others | Seattle Education

Summit High School: The skinny on the Gates-backed charter school set for Seattle, Brad Bernatek (remember him?) and a host of others | Seattle Education:

Summit High School: The skinny on the Gates-backed charter school set for Seattle, Brad Bernatek (remember him?) and a host of others

Bill Gates will be bringing yet another grand (failed) experiment onto public school children to Seattle soon.

Remember the small high school experiment that Gates subsidized? Fail.

The Common Core Standards? On the brink of a major fail.

Merit pay? Bad idea from the beginning.

Charter schools? Every time we hear the trumpets blow about a charter school that is successful, we find out that there was a lot of behind the scenes shenanigans going on…students being counseled out or expelled if they can’t make the grade, a demand of cash or an inordinate amount of volunteer time required of the parents (see below re: Summit), long application forms that weed out those parents who might not know English, ELL students need not apply, and other parents who don’t have the bandwidth, for whatever reason, to fill out the form.

So let’s look at Summit.

What caught my attention about Summit initially was an article in the Philanthropy News Digest that was sent to me. Here’s an excerpt:

The foundation also awarded $4 million to Summit Public Schools and $4.2 

NYC Educator Fire Them All, Says Daily News

NYC Educator:

Fire Them All, Says Daily News

The Daily News gets one thing almost right in its otherwise deplorable editorial:

It is insane for the New York City public school system to keep 1,200 unwanted teachers on the payroll, at a cost of more than $100 million annually.

It's insane that they spend all that money without putting the teachers to work, that's for sure. And it would be very easy to give them jobs with the full blessing of city principals. I'll get to that later.

That's the first line, actually. From there, it's all downhill. Let's not blame this all on the Daily News. I'm fairly certain I've read the same thing in NY Times editorials, which leads me to ponder one thing---where the hell is that liberal bias they're always complaining about on Fox News?

It's been clear to me for many years that newspapers hate unions, and hate having to follow the rules they've contractually agreed upon. Why 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

"Obamacare makes you lazy!" - Roy Blunt, US Senator, who will only work 126 days this year.

Lorna Brett Howard, N.Y. Democratic activist

...dismissed concerns that the tax increase [for Mayor deBlasio's proposed universal Pre-K] — a difference of $530 for every $100,000 in income over the threshold — was burdensome. “That is one trip on your private plane to St. Bart’s,” she said. -- NY Times

80,000 at N.C. protest 

Rev, William Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP

“You may have thought you were going to discourage us, but instead you have encouraged us. The more you push us back, the more we will fight to