9-1-14 CURMUDGUCATION

CURMUDGUCATION:

The Only Road to Happiness

I'll warn you up front-- this is more about politics and culture than actual education, because apparently I'm having one of those days. But if you stick with me, I think we've got insights here about how a certain sort of reformster mind works.This all starts with a GOP poll report leaked to Politico. The poll reveals that a whole lot of women, particularly single, educated ones, see the GOP as a

6 by Peter Greene / 53min 

How To Spot Lies

It is easy to get caught up in the wrong conversation. If someone locks you in a room without food and tells you, "I'm doing this to make you a better person," it's easy to get caught up in a whole argument about how this will actually hurt you and why would going without food make you a better person, anyway?But let's not have that conversation. Instead, let's reverse engineer the premi

1 by Peter Greene / 13min 

A Great Labor Day Story

If you live in New England, or were paying attention to supermarket labor news this summer, you already know this story. Almost a hundred years ago, Greek immigrant Arthur Demoulas founded what would become the grocery chain Market Basket. For the last few decades, the company has been run by two grandsons-- Arthur T. Demoulas and Arthur S. Demoulas.The chain had grown to 71 stores with 25,000 emp

2 by Peter Greene / 3min 

Squeezing Labor For $$$

If your goal is to get rich in business, labor is a problem you must solve.I mean, there's that big stream of money. You can see it, right there, fat and full and flowing right toward you and then BAM-- it suddenly gets diverted because you have to pay workers their wages.Early in human history, rulers established the ideal base level for wages-- $0.00/lifetime. But most countries (even the US-- t

1 by Peter Greene / 4min 

8-31-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION: Why Aren't More Women in Tech? Here's One Thought...If you need a reminder just how bad misogynistic behavior can be in our current culture, there is news this week to remind you.Anita Sarkeesian is someone you should know. Her vlog series "Tropes vs. Women" has over the last few years dissected and explained the sexism of the video gaming world. Her videos are thoughtful

by mike simpson / 19min 

Lily Eskelsen García Takes the Helm of the NEA | NEA Today

Lily Eskelsen García Takes the Helm of the NEA | NEA Today:

Lily Eskelsen García Takes the Helm of the NEA

September 1, 2014 by twalker  
Filed under Featured News, Top Stories

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By Brenda Álvarez

As a child, Lily Eskelsen García was quiet, studious and introverted. The second eldest of six siblings, she often played alone with her dolls while her sisters played together. She kept her head in books, did well in school, but never talking about her future.

The Lily Eskelsen García of today is far from quiet. Speaking to delegates who gathered in Denver this summer for NEA’s Annual Meeting, she served notice on those who try to undermine public education with deceptive and unproven reform practices. “We know what is at stake and it is why we are who we are. It is why we are fearless and why we will not be silent,” García declared.

She heard the call to teach while serving salad in a preschool cafeteria in Colorado Springs, Colo. She was good with kids and the gift was noticed. A year later, she was promoted becoming the aide to a special education teacher who suggested she attend college and become a teacher.

First, she became a teacher’s aide and then put herself through college on student loans, scholarships, and as a starving folk singer. She graduated magna cum laude in elementary education, earned a masters degree in instructional technology, and started her teaching profession at Orchard Elementary School outside Salt Lake City.

“She does what she wants to do and when she wants to do it,” says García’s mother, Chillie Pace, who is originally from Panama and emigrated to the U.S. after marrying García’s father, Bobby Earl when he was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone with the U.S. Army.

García’s “she does what she wants to do” spirit helped her ascend as an educator and as an NEA leader. In 1989 she was recognized as Utah’s Teacher of the Year. And in 1990, she was elected president of the Utah Education Association (UEA) as a write-in candidate.

Along the way, she has understood that her work was about more than her students. It was about being engaged and getting involved in the full spectrum of education. And she worked to instill the same commitment in her students—some whom have reached out to her years later.

Former fifth-grade student Chetta Defa is an example. Decades after leaving Orchard, García received an email from Defa who wrote, “The lessons you taught me during that time have proven to be invaluable. I learned that whatever the problem, you can be a part of the solution. I learned just being aware of things isn’t enough. You have to get involved to make a difference . . . You taught us to all do our part.”

In and out of the classroom, García has been doing her part for more than 30 years.

Teacher of the Year

An arbitrary moment helped to catapult García into the powerhouse that she is today. Her Orchard teaching Lily Eskelsen García Takes the Helm of the NEA | NEA Today:

Rating Teachers Not As Easy As 1, 2, 3

The idea seems simple enough: Identify the best teachers and reward them. Pinpoint the worst and fire them. That’s been a linchpin of the Obama administration’s education agenda from the start. But now the administration’s initiative is in disarray, with states scaling back, slowing down and, in some cases, putting off tough decisions until Obama is out of office. Teachers union pressure, error-ri

by twalker / 10min hide  //  save

California Governor Appeals Court Ruling Overturning Protections for Teachers

Wading into an intense national battle that has pitted teacher unions against a movement to weaken tenure protections, Gov. Jerry Brown has appealed a California judge’s sweeping ruling that threw out teacher job protection laws on the ground that they deprived students of their constitutional rights. “Changes of this magnitude, as a matter of law and policy, require appellate review,” the one-pag

by twalker / 10min 

9-1-14 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 Starts Tomorrow!

The first day of our new school year is tomorrow! It should be a great year! I suspect that there might be fewer posts on this blog than usual over the next few days — I’m usually pretty exhausted at the end of the first two-or-three days of school until I get my “teacher legs” back. And any remaining energy will be devoted to evening basketball and memorizing student names, which will leave littl

7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h 

“‘The Teacher Wars’: An Interview With Dana Goldstein”

‘The Teacher Wars’: An Interview With Dana Goldstein is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. I interview journalist Dana Goldstein about her book, “The Teacher Wars.” Here are some excerpts:

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

More Theory Of Knowledge Changes From IB

© 2012 Nana B Agyei, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Over the past year, the International Baccalaureate program has been making lots of changes to the Theory of Knowledge course, and I’ve posted about them all. The changes continue… IB just sent out a document to all IB Coordinators sharing even more changes around the TOK oral presentation and the essay. In regards to the presentation, I’ve already p

9 by Larry Ferlazzo / 48min 

Two Valuable Labor Day Resources

© 2010 Karen Horton, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are two important additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day: US unions are shrinking. These 7 charts show what that means. is from Vox. The Power In Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States is from The Zinn Education Project.

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 43min 

Just Published! 42nd ELT Blog Carnival: Back To School!

David Deubelbeiss has just published the 42nd edition of the ELT Blog Carnival (formerly known as the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival) and it’s a great one on back-to-school activities. Teachers from all around the world have contributed their ideas! I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Planning The First Days Of School. You can see all the previous Blog Carnivals here. And you can express your inte

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 9min 

8-31-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: This Weekend Is The Ninth Anniversary Of Hurricane Katrina — Here Are Related Resources© 2005 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio This weekend is the ninth-anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. You might be interested in The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About New Orleans, wher

1 by mike simpson / 21h 

9-1-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 

You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.

Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

Gates Grant to “Further Hardwire the Common Core Curriculum” ??

One way to ensure permanence in the field of electronics is to “hardwire”– which means to “permanently connect.” In electronics, “hardwiring” refers to circuitry. For billionaire public education purchaser Bill Gates, circuitry and mass education, it’s all the same. Bill Gates has already likened the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to circuitry, with the moronic […]

4 by deutsch29 / 4h

A Tale of Two Students

This is a guest post from Loy Gross, upstate New York parent and advocate.   Proponents of Common Core State Standards and the New York tests associated with them try to convince us they are necessary. They say the standards make students college and career ready, and the New York tests provide an accurate measure […]

1 by Chris Cerrone / 2min 

The practice of lesson plan review

Beginning my second year back in the classroom, I am once again becoming aware of the obligatory lesson plan review by administration. I have no problem with this in theory, but I am curious as to the overall value of this practice. In many cases, schools are staffed by a lot of people who teach […]

2 by Shaun Johnson / 10min 

 Dear PTA,

Dear ___________________ (Insert District/School PTA President’s name), Please accept my donation of $_____  to our school Parent Teacher Association.  I/We truly appreciate the dedication and time that our local PTA devotes to enhancing the educational and social opportunities for our children and their school. I/We are choosing to donate money to our school’s PTA as […]

7 by Chris Cerrone / 35min 

8-31-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursd

1 by mike simpson / 21h 

The Classroom Reality of Common Core. Is This What You Want for Your Child? | Missouri Education Watchdog

The Classroom Reality of Common Core. Is This What You Want for Your Child? | Missouri Education Watchdog:

The Classroom Reality of Common Core. Is This What You Want for Your Child?

inShare

What does the Common Core State Standards Initiative look like in the classroom? (Diagram courtesy of ROPE)

A teacher from Idaho describes her experience with SBAC testing in the classroom and provides background on the purpose of the data mined from children.  This is what is happening in your Common Core states.  With the insertion of ‘Missouri’ where ‘Idaho’ appears, you have a good description of what Missouri teachers are experiencing.

We also have ratings (to address federal mandates) of attendance and accountability measures.  Missouri schools will be rated based on MSIP5.  The rating systems in Idaho and Missouri (and insert your state’s name here) are similar based on USDOEd mandates for school/student accountability.  Like Idaho, our standards have been renamed ‘(Insert your state’s name here) Learning Standards’ but they are still Common Core State Standards.

Missouri and other states have companies contracted out to capture and disseminate children’s data without your knowledge or approval.  We will be writing about this flow of information on MEW shortly, but this teacher’s information about Schoolnet is similar to how Missouri operates.

This teacher tells us what is happening in the classroom.  How much longer will you allow your children to be taught in this way and their data to be mined?

From Local Teacher Speaks Out About Common Core(http://www.gemstatepatriot.com/newsletter/vol_15.pdf):

*****************************************

To my friends and family,

I am an Idaho Teacher, and I am writing to you for help. For too long have many teachers sat quietly by and listened/let the Common Core and SBAC Testing debate go by with the hopes that things will be fine or change…..because truth and right always win, right? Although I do believe that truth and right will always win in the end, I know that there is often a lot of “yuck” to pass through before that happens. It is time that this teacher speaks up. I do want to make it clear that my opinions and research should not be reflected onto my school or any other school in Idaho. I work with an amazing group of people. The teachers at my school are highly trained and most The Classroom Reality of Common Core. Is This What You Want for Your Child? | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Russ on Reading: Talkin’ Teachers Union

Russ on Reading: Talkin’ Teachers Union:

Talkin’ Teachers Union

A Labor Day Message

Come you ranks of labor, come you union core
And see if you remember the struggles of before
When you were standing helpless on the outside of the door
And you started building links on the chain, on the chain
And you started building links on the chain.

                                                Phil Ochs, Links on a Chain

I have always felt that Phil Ochs metaphor of the union activism as “building links on the chain” to be very apt. In his song, Ochs reminds us of the reasons for the union movement (workers at the mercy of the employer, police strike busters hired by companies, horrible safety conditions in the workplace) and also admonishes the unions for their excesses (particularly as it concerned the treatment of minorities in the 50s and 60s).

With teachers’ unions under siege in 2014, it may be a good idea to look back on the conditions for teachers and students before teacher unions had significant power and also to look forward to what the purpose of the union can and should be in the future.

When I began my teaching career in Pennsylvania in1969, the teachers’ association I joined was a largely toothless organization that had no collective bargaining rights, no right to question pay or working conditions and no influence over educational policy. I was paid 6,300 dollars to teach 30 periods a week with two periods a week for lesson preparation, an average class size in the mid-30s in a dilapidated classroom where the temperature rose to 98 degrees on warm June days. I taught using outdated and worn textbooks that were totally inappropriate for my student population using a curriculum that Russ on Reading: Talkin’ Teachers Union: