James Baldwin said it best:
"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."
A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP
Mother Crusader: Education Reform Now Dumps $2.1M Into Newark Super PAC To Defeat Ras Baraka
Mother Crusader: Education Reform Now Dumps $2.1M Into Newark Super PAC To Defeat Ras Baraka: Education Reform Now Dumps $2.1M Into Newark Super PAC To Defeat Ras BarakaJust yesterday the Star Ledger reported on the intriguing campaign finance issues swirling around the Newark mayoral race.On the other side of the city, Baraka charged that Jeffries was hiding the identity of his donors through an
Is Teachers’ Union Right on H.R. 10 Charter Bill? #edreform | Cloaking Inequity
Is Teachers’ Union Right on H.R. 10 Charter Bill? #edreform | Cloaking Inequity: Is Teachers’ Union Right on H.R. 10 Charter Bill? #edreformThe U.S. House is currently debating H.R.10, a potentially important Charter school bill. Previously I wrote:I am not of the ilk that charters are all bad news (See all of Cloaking Inequity’s post on charter schools here). As I have mentioned previously, I am
Letter to U.S. Senators: oppose more money, less accountability for charter schools Parents Across America
Parents Across America: Free speech for teachers has been muzzledBy Danielle Arnold-Schwartz, leader of PAA-Suburban Philadelphia I am grateful to live in a country where we have had First Amendment rights since 1791. “This clause prohibits the government from banning speech because it does not agree with the message… James Madison pointed to freedom of speech as a vital aspect of a healthy rep
A Dialogue With the Gates Foundation About School Reform | John Thompson
A Dialogue With the Gates Foundation About School Reform | John Thompson: A Dialogue With the Gates Foundation About School ReformOnce again, I would like to thank the American Enterprise Institute's Rick Hess and the Gates Foundation's Steve Cantrell for a dialogue on school reform. Here are my first thoughts on the conversations with Dr. Cantrell, as presented in Hess'Aftermath: My Note to the G
Groups says Sacramento city school district tried to fast-track behind-the-scenes deal to sell public land - Sacramento News & Review -
Sacramento News & Review - Groups says Sacramento city school district tried to fast-track behind-the-scenes deal to sell public land - News - Local Stories - May 8, 2014: Groups says Sacramento city school district tried to fast-track behind-the-scenes deal to sell public landNow, three developers vying for suddenly popular Midtown real estateThis old schoolhouse is popular lately. Two develo
How Not to Get Arrested at a School Board Meeting While Speaking Out Against Common Core. | Missouri Education Watchdog
How Not to Get Arrested at a School Board Meeting While Speaking Out Against Common Core. | Missouri Education Watchdog: How Not to Get Arrested at a School Board Meeting While Speaking Out Against Common Core.inShareSikeston Missouri School Board MembersA story went viral this week about a dad being arrested at a school board meeting. Concerned citizens spoke out on what they considered pornogra
Problem with 'Grit,' KIPP, and Character-Based Education | New Republic
Problem with 'Grit,' KIPP, and Character-Based Education | New Republic: Teaching Kids 'Grit' is All the Rage. Here's What's Wrong With It.The problem with KIPP's character-education modelBY JEFFREY AARON SNYDERShareImagine attending a high school where your teachers grade you on how well you handle disappointments and failures; respond to the feelings of your peers; and adapt to different social
empathyeducates – Obama Administration Sends Mixed Messages on Teachers and Testing
empathyeducates – Obama Administration Sends Mixed Messages on Teachers and Testing: Obama Administration Sends Mixed Messages on Teachers and TestingPresident Obama and 2014 National Teacher of the Year finalists applaud Sean McComb, second from right, a high school English teacher from Maryland, as the 2014 National Teacher of the Year during an event at the White House. | Photograph Credit/Susa
5-8-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Sad news from Chiapas, Mexico.Sad news from Chiapas, Mexico. A teacher was murdered. We have traveled to Chiapas on several occasions. One Christmas in 1997 we arrived in San Critstobol de las Casas just hours after 45 innocents villages were murdered in the town of Acteal, just 50 miles to the north.
5-8-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): New report examines ‘far right’ efforts to destroy ‘Obamacore’Obamacore protesters You think you have problems with the implementation of Common Core? Have a look at a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a human rights organization that tracks groups engaging in hate and bigotry to fur
Chicago Teachers Union Breaks With Common Core - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Chicago Teachers Union Breaks With Common Core - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Chicago Teachers Union Breaks With Common CoreBy Anthony Cody on May 8, 2014 10:24 AMYesterday, in a vote that shows democracy is alive in the American Federation of Teachers, members of the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates voted -- reportedly unanimously -- to join the growing national resistanc
Morning Wink 5-8-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-8-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NEPC: Charter School “Wait Lists” Are Overstated, Possibly MeaninglessA new report from the National Education Policy Center reviews the “wait lists” that charter advocacy groups regularly public
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-8-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NEPC: Charter School “Wait Lists” Are Overstated, Possibly MeaninglessA new report from the National Education Policy Center reviews the “wait lists” that charter advocacy groups regularly publicize and finds them to be vastly inflated. Charter advocacy groups claim that nearly one million students are wait-listed for admission, bu
Secretary Duncan and Attorney General Holder Issue Guidance for School Districts to Ensure Equal Access for All Children to Public Schools, Regardless of Immigration Status | U.S. Department of Education
Secretary Duncan and Attorney General Holder Issue Guidance for School Districts to Ensure Equal Access for All Children to Public Schools, Regardless of Immigration Status | U.S. Department of Education: Secretary Duncan and Attorney General Holder Issue Guidance for School Districts to Ensure Equal Access for All Children to Public Schools, Regardless of Immigration StatusMAY 8, 2014Contact: P
5-8-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: One-Minute “Ask Smithsonian” Videos Are Good To Watch & Are Useful Models For Student CreationsThe Smithsonian has a series of one-minute “Ask Smithsonian” videos that answer questions on a variety of topics. Here’s an example: There short, sweet and interesting to watch. But I plan on using them for something else, too
Schools as Factories: Metaphors That Stick | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Schools as Factories: Metaphors That Stick | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Schools as Factories: Metaphors That StickYou have seen images like these time and again:The idea of the school as an efficient factory assembly line has a long but surprising history. A century ago, the notion of schools delivering finished products to a democratic society was both new and admired. H
5-8-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Madison School District opens schools to students’ parents as way to engage families”Madison School District opens schools to students’ parents as way to engage families is a nice article about what schools in Madison, Wisconsin are doing to promote family engagement. It’s a good size piece. Here’s an excerpt: Anne Henders
5-8-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Elfrank-Dana Slams Mulgrew on DADear President Mulgrew,I was surprised by your insinuation that I am against people's right to vote when I objected to retirees voting last night. Are you going to let me vote for my District Rep instead of appointing her/him? Are you going require high school VP to be elected only by high school members instead of having their votes disenfranchised
5-8-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: Once Again, NAEP? Nope: “states and schools have lied about the rigor of their courses”Once Again, NAEP? Nope: “states and schools have lied about the rigor of their courses”. via Once Again, NAEP? Nope: “states and schools have lied about the rigor of their courses”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical1 by plthomasedd / 1h hide // saveJohn Kuhn’s Eloquent Embrace of Publ
5-8-14 The Whole Child Blog — Join the Whole Child Symposium: Tune In Today at Noon for Live Stream Event — Whole Child Education
Join the Whole Child Symposium: Tune In Today at Noon for Live Stream Event — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGJoin the Whole Child Symposium: Tune In Today at Noon for Live Stream EventMay 8, 2014 by Whole Child SymposiumToday at 12 p.m., eastern time, ASCD presents the next event in its 2014 Whole Child Symposium, a live-streamed discussion about what we need from education and how we
5-8-14 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): Once Again, NAEP? Nope: “states and schools have lied about the rigor of their courses”Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. “Fire and Ice,” Robert Frost While it appears I was right about Teacher Appreciation Week 2014, I was a tad bit off about the sour
5-8-14 Curmudgucation
CURMUDGUCATION: Testing Does Not Improve InstructionIn an ongoing cultural debate, it is always interesting to watch the shift and change of talking points. The battle for public education is no different.Many talking points are retired voluntarily. Common Core supporters have shifted from "all CCSS opposition comes from the tin hat tea party wing" to "it's those damn teachers and t
5-8-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: Malloy and Legislature turn their back on Public Magnet School students and their parentsGovernor Dannel “Dan” Malloy and his administration managed to deliver another “kick to the head” to Connecticut’s public school students, parents and teachers as the 2014 session of the Connecticut General Assembly came to an end at midnight last night. While Connecticut’s privately owned charter
5-8-14 The Answer Sheet
The Answer Sheet: How students will be affected by federal revocation of Washington’s NCLB waiverI recently published an open letter by a school board member in Washington named David Iseminger to Education Secretary Arne Duncan about the Education Department’s revocation of the state’s waiver from onerous parts of No Child Left Behind. Congress was supposed to rewrite NCLB seven years ago but it
5-8-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Wilson-Pacific; FACMAC Weighs InIt might have gone unnoticed by some parents but the issues with Wilson-Pacific are near dire. This matters for two reasons. One, there is a ripple effect to nearly every single capital decision in this district. Two, next time, it could be your community. - The district will have a "community meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 6:30
5-8-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Where Do TN Schools Stand After Two Decades of the Sanders VAM Fertilizer Treatment?After two decades of value-added nonsense posing as a school improvement plan, 70 percent of Tennessee teachers are being evaluated based on test scores that belong to someone else, and the state's 12th graders are ranked one step from the basement in terms of proficiency in math and reading. With
5-8-14 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: Stagnant Grade 12 Scores Show “Failure of Test-Driven Public Education”From FairTest: Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for twelfth graders “underscore the failure of federal and state test-driven school policies,” according to the Natio
5-8-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: Student Suspended For Opting Out Of Assessment TestMore negative news for the testing regime: An Alabama teen says she was suspended from school after she refused to take a local assessment test, contrary to an earlier report from WAAY-TV that the test was aligned with the state's Common Core curriculum. Alyssa McKinney, an eighth-grade student at Whitesburg Middle School in
Reclaim the Promise of Brown on May 17th | WeArePCAPS
Reclaim the Promise of Brown on May 17th | WeArePCAPS: Reclaim the Promise of Brown on May 17th
solidaridad: SLASD Community rally for an authentic voice in the LAUSD LCFF/LCAP process!
solidaridad: SLASD Community rally for an authentic voice in the LAUSD LCFF/LCAP process!: SLASD Community rally for an authentic voice in the LAUSD LCFF/LCAP process! How do YOU want LAUSD to spend YOUR $$$?standardized tests? iPads? consultants?or full-time nurses, psychologists, counselors???psychiatric social workers?librarians, art , music, P.E teachers????adult education, pre-K??other servic
Louisiana Educator: Relentless Drive to Mislead Citizens About Common Core
Louisiana Educator: Relentless Drive to Mislead Citizens About Common Core: Relentless Drive to Mislead Citizens About Common CoreSuperintendent White, the Baton Rouge Advocate, LABI and CABL are pulling out all the stops to sell the Common Core to Louisiana, yet there is not one in the bunch that really knows what it is like to teach to those standards or to get kids ready to pass the PARCC test.
Pity the Poor, Underfunded Charters | Live Long and Prosper
Pity the Poor, Underfunded Charters | Live Long and Prosper: Pity the Poor, Underfunded ChartersWALTONS CLAIM CHARTERS UNDERFUNDEDLast month the University of Walmart Arkansas released a report — from theirDepartment of Education Reform — that showed charter schools are underfunded.Max Brantley at the Arkansas Blog, no friend of the Waltons, reported the following.Surprise: Walton-subsidized UA ha
Report Decries Unregulated Charters: Arne Duncan Should Crack Down | janresseger
Report Decries Unregulated Charters: Arne Duncan Should Crack Down | janresseger: Report Decries Unregulated Charters: Arne Duncan Should Crack DownPosted on May 8, 2014 by janressegerEarlier this week Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse was released jointly by the Center for Popular Democracy and Integrity in Education. In an age when charter schools are regulated in state
Whose Help Don't We Need? - Bridging Differences - Education Week
Whose Help Don't We Need? - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Whose Help Don't We Need?By Deborah Meier on May 8, 2014 9:42 AMDeborah Meier continues her conversation with Mike Klonsky today.Dear Mike,Count on me to continue to corrupt you. Or at least try.So, here's my dilemma. If we are to prevail (on almost any of the many equally dangerous roads we are traveling down), we'll need to win o
Repeating Policy Behaviors Over and Over Again Despite the Evidence |
Repeating Policy Behaviors Over and Over Again Despite the Evidence |: Repeating Policy Behaviors Over and Over Again Despite the Evidence According to Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is to repeat the same behaviors over and over again in the hope that different results will materialize “the next time,” perhaps after this is fiddled with or that is fine-tuned. In the case of VAMs, it s
‘Participatory budgeting’ goes to Washington - Bites - Sacramento News & Review -
Sacramento News & Review - ‘Participatory budgeting’ goes to Washington - Bites - Opinions - May 8, 2014: ‘Participatory budgeting’ goes to WashingtonWill a south Sacramento’s visit to D.C. mean more open government in Sacramento?By Cosmo Garvin cosmog@newsreview.comThis article was published on 05.08.14.AdvertisementLast December, the Obama administration issued its second Open Government Nat
Shanker Blog » Invisible Labor Redux
Shanker Blog » Invisible Labor Redux: Invisible Labor ReduxPosted by Randall Garton on May 8, 2014Recently, I learned that the Connecticut legislature is considering a bill that would mandate coverage of labor history in high school curricula. I was surprised. And interested. At a time when there are immense pressures to align curriculum – ever more narrowly – to standardized tests, these Connec
NYC Educator: Why Do We Have a Union?
NYC Educator: Why Do We Have a Union?: Why Do We Have a Union?A young UFT delegate asked me that question while she was watching UFT President Michael Mulgrew shut down Jamaica High School's James Eterno, for my money the most knowledgeable and resourceful chapter leader anywhere. Eterno, after listening for over an hour about the marvels and wonders of the new contract, attempted to give the othe
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: This is not a test...
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: This is not a test...: This is not a test...A SMALLTALK SALUTE goes out to teacher/author/activist Jose Vilson, whose book, This Is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education, was released yesterday. A definite must-read for educators in need of a little inspiration in these difficult times, Jose's memoir traces his experiences growing up in New York C
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THINK Community schools - Will having a dentist at school keep disadvantaged students on track? | Hechinger Report
Will having a dentist at school keep disadvantaged students on track? | Hechinger Report: Will having a dentist at school keep disadvantaged students on track?Community schools try offering dental, health care and other servicesBy Frank MirabalStruggling schools and students in disadvantaged communities are at ground zero as high school graduation and college completion rates become a growing nati
Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 5-7-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
Nite Cap UPDATEUPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATECORPORATE ED REFORMThe people buying Newark for Jeffries Charles Ledley as a young man working for the Clintons Want to know who is buying Newark for Shavar Jeffries? These are the people who run Education Reform Now, the organization that gave Newark First nearly a million dollars that, in turn, Newark First used to buy attack ads against Ras Baraka in
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Sun-Times tells Karen Lewis to "tone it down".
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Sun-Times tells Karen Lewis to "tone it down".: Sun-Times tells Karen Lewis to "tone it down".Sun-Times KMAIn the eyes of the Sun-Times editorial board, CTU Pres. Karen Lewis has gotten too uppity and disrespectful for Rahm's Chicagoland Plantation. In yesterday's editorial, the board told Lewis in no uncertain terms, as only a parent could scold
Weingarten Wants Common Core; Lewis Says We’re Done | deutsch29
Weingarten Wants Common Core; Lewis Says We’re Done | deutsch29: Weingarten Wants Common Core; Lewis Says We’re DoneMay 7, 2014In spring 1991, I completed my student teaching at Ascension High School in Gonzales, Louisiana. I taught Lord of the Flies, a creepy novel about the dangers of groupthink.So often when I think of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Unity Caucusmindset of unquestioned
The Opt-Out Update: The AFT finally pushes back, “Rigor” in Portland, WA State, Alabama and New York fight back | Seattle Education
The Opt-Out Update: The AFT finally pushes back, “Rigor” in Portland, WA State, Alabama and New York fight back | Seattle Education: The Opt-Out Update: The AFT finally pushes back, “Rigor” in Portland, WA State, Alabama and New York fight backIt looks like teachers and the teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), have FINALLY smelled the coffee and decided to push back.The Ameri
Oregon Save Our Schools: Where is the Time for Learning?
Oregon Save Our Schools: Where is the Time for Learning?: Where is the Time for Learning?Recently a teacher friend and I were asked about how much time is spent on testing in our classrooms. This discussion could have been prompted by an article that appeared in the Washington Post last summer. While we don’t have the kind of detail discussed in this article, between the two of us, we as teachers
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "I Salute Those Who Stay!" Appreciating Tenacious Teachers!
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "I Salute Those Who Stay!" Appreciating Tenacious Teachers!: "I Salute Those Who Stay!" Appreciating Tenacious Teachers!This is not to take away anything from those who quit.You have quit for only reasons you know, or have shared with thousands of viewers on Youtube, in articles, or on talk shows.I attended the 74th annual Eastern Regional Con
Education Buzz / AFT urges use of social media to protest kidnapping of Nigerian school girls #BringBackOurGirls,
Education Buzz / AFT urges use of social media to protest kidnapping of Nigerian school girls: AFT urges use of social media to protest kidnapping of Nigerian school girlsPublished: May 7, 2014, 2:01 pm, by Carol McGrawThe American Federation of Teachers is asking people to protest the kidnapping of Nigerian school girls.The AFT and Education International are urging people to take Instagram photo
NYC Public School Parents: My kids used to love school ...Now it's half a year consumed in drudgery of test prep.
NYC Public School Parents: My kids used to love school ...Now it's half a year consumed in drudgery of test prep.: My kids used to love school ...Now it's half a year consumed in drudgery of test prep.Last week, Louis CK tweeted about the low quality Common Core worksheets assigned to his daughters for test prep. A parent on Facebook identified them as iReady workbooks, produced by Curriculum Ass
empathyeducates – Charter Schools Fail: New Reports Call Their ‘Magic’ Into Question
empathyeducates – Charter Schools Fail: New Reports Call Their ‘Magic’ Into Question: Charter Schools Fail: New Reports Call Their ‘Magic’ Into QuestionKendra Herber teaches at New Choices Community School, which the state is suing to close.| Mark Lyons for The New York TimesBy Jeff Bryant | Originally Published at The Education Opportunity Network. May 7, 2014When members of the U.S. House of Rep
Nite Cap 5-7-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
James Baldwin said it best: "For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAPIs it time for the Money Fairy already? Capitol Alert: California races surpass $5.5 million in independent spendingCapitol Alert: California races surpass $5.5 million in independent spending: California races surpass $5.5 million in independent
