Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Nite Cap 9-4-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT



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




Yo Sac Bee: You Hate Teachers, You Hate Public Education and Love the 1%, We get it!
Editorial: Teacher protections that hurt students are indefensible – unless you’re state’s top education official - Editorials - The Sacramento Bee: Yo Sac Bee: You Hate Teachers, You Hate Public Education and Love the 1%, We get it!Editorial: Teacher protections that hurt students are indefensible – unless you’re state’s top education officialBy the Editorial BoardPublished: Thursday, Sep. 4, 201
Marie Corfield: My Response to Tom Moran
Marie Corfield: My Response to Tom Moran: My Response to Tom MoranIn case you missed it, earlier this week fellow educators and bloggers, Ani McHugh (Teacherbiz), Mark Weber (Jersey Jazzman) and I wrote a joint open letter to Star Ledger editorial director, Tom Moran, regarding his continuous support of the racist policies of Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson's One Newark plan. In addition to po
9-4-14 Curmudgucation
CURMUDGUCATION: The Broad Foundation Makes a ChangeLast week the folks at the Broad Academy (motto: "You're a superintendent because you say you are") dropped some new on the education world. If you need a refresher (or just a fresher) on what the Broad Academy is, just click over to this tutorial. In the meantime, just remember that a dream is a wish your heart makes, and if your heart
“I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks | Cloaking Inequity
“I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks | Cloaking Inequity: “I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaksTeach For America recently announced that they were sending more teachers of color than ever before to teach for short term stints in America’s schools. They expect to be lauded for this.What is Teach For America? Read here.Have you ever experi
9-4-14 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): Tech startup innovates teacher evaluation systemTech startup innovates teacher evaluation system Via NY Times | by Farhad Manjoo Halfway through the last school year, Leila Campbell, a young humanities teacher at a charter high school in Oakland, Calif., received the results from a recent survey of her st
Education Research Report UPDATE 9-4-14
Education Research Report: Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2012–13 Teacher Follow-up SurveyOf the 3,377,900 public school teachers who were teaching during the 2011–12 school year, 84 percent remained at the same school (“stayers”), 8 percent moved to a different school (“movers”), and 8 percent left the profession (“leavers”) during the following year. About 30 percent of public
9-4-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Congrats to John Elfrank-Dana who has now successfully battled two abusive principalsIf this were Atlanta, Almonte would be leaving in handcuffs..... Ed NotesBergtraum HS principal leaves after caught pushing kids into substandard online courses & violating sped rights; sadly she will now likely go and ruin some adult ed program. Congrats to John ElFrank-Dana who has now succe
SBE News Release for September 3, 2014 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education)
SBE News Release for September 3, 2014 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education): State Board of Education Commends Higher Education’s Endorsement of Common Core and Comprehensive, Coordinated Approach for ImplementationIn an unprecedented action, the four systems of higher education announced their endorsement of Common Core standards and have engaged in a comprehensive, coordinated appro
9-4-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Why Charter School Leaders Are Behind Attacks on Teachers Unions and Public Schools
With A Brooklyn Accent: Why Charter School Leaders Are Behind Attacks on Teachers Unions and Public SchoolsIf you ever wonder why famous charter school leaders like Eva Moskowitz or Steve Perry don't just run their schools quietly and let the results speak for themselves and instead devote much of their time attacking teachers, teachers unions and public schools, consider this. When the hiring fre
Restoring The SUPER In Tendent – redqueeninla
Restoring The SUPER In Tendent – redqueeninla: Restoring The SUPER In TendentWritten by redqueeninla in LAUSD When my home town built a new school in the early ’70′s, a whole era vanished in concert with the disappearance of gilded letters proclaiming the “Superintendent’s Office” within. I never did figure out what a “Superintendent” was and I was always vaguely disappointed that wing, located ne
REPA III – The Wrong Direction | Live Long and Prosper
REPA III – The Wrong Direction | Live Long and Prosper: REPA III – The Wrong DirectionYesterday, by a vote of 7 Ayes to 3 Nays, the Indiana State Board of Education passed REPA III, rules which define the qualifications for public school educators. This version contains the Career Specialist Permit which gives non-educational professionals the right to teach in Indiana high schools.LOCAL CONTROLWh
California teacher unions appeal ruling on job protections - LA Times
California teacher unions appeal ruling on job protections - LA Times: California teacher unions appeal ruling on job protectionsRandi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, criticized a court ruling limiting job protections, but also wants teachers to consider common-sense changes. (John Hanna / AP)By HOWARD BLUMEcontact the reporterCalifornia's two largest teacher unions h
Gene V Glass: Education in Two Worlds: William Mathis on "Economics, Education and Sitting Bull"
Gene V Glass: Education in Two Worlds: William Mathis on "Economics, Education and Sitting Bull": William Mathis on "Economics, Education and Sitting Bull""William Mathis is Managing Director of the National Education Policy Center, a former school superintendent and member of the Vermont state board of education. In this essay, his opinions and analysis reflect something
Opening The Door To the Space In-Between by EDWARD BERGER
Opening The Door To the Space In-Between: Opening The Door To the Space In-Betweenby EDWARDBERGER on SEPTEMBER 4, 2014There are questions we don’t ask because…? Maybe we never thought about the possibilities and couldn’t form the question. Or, maybe we thought about the possibilities and decided that what we imagined couldn’t happen – even if the changes wrought would make a significant contributi
9-4-14 Schools Matter - 69 Hoops and No Appeal: Teacher Observation--Memphis Style
Schools Matter: 69 Hoops and No Appeal: Teacher Observation--Memphis StylePoint one that has to be remembered: half of Tennessee teacher evaluations are based on invalid, unreliable, and unfair test scores.  The other half is based on observations. Teachers who worked for months on a new observation process last year were eventually dismissed when they disagreed with the two most outrageous aspect
9/3/2014 – The Education Conversation ‘Reformers’ Want Versus The One They Get
9/3/2014 – The Education Conversation ‘Reformers’ Want Versus The One They Get: 9/3/2014 – The Education Conversation ‘Reformers’ Want Versus The One They GetSeptember 3, 2014 SubscribeTHIS WEEK: Hating Teachers … Grit Not So Good … Music Lessons Help Disadvantaged Kids … Never-Ending Testing … Fox News Lauds Arming TeachersTOP STORYThe Education Conversation ‘Reformers’ Want Versus The One They G
Morning Wink 9-4-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-4-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Politico Top 50Thank you to Politico magazine for naming me one of the Top 50 political figures whose ideas are making a difference. The bio says “For standing up for teachers, not tests.” I
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-4-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Politico Top 50Thank you to Politico magazine for naming me one of the Top 50 political figures whose ideas are making a difference. The bio says “For standing up for teachers, not tests.” I am honored to be in such illustrious company!2 by dianeravitch / 10min hide  //  saveMarc Tucker Calls for a New Accountability SystemMarc
9-4-14 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.: Fight for 15.1 by Fred Klonsky / 5min hide  //  saveRobin Potter. Karen Lewis at the National Lawyers Guild.- Chicago activist and attorney Robin Potter sends this: The National Lawyers Guild is holding its national convention starting Thursday in Chicago. The NLG is a pivotal progressive organization
9-4-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": Interesting Idea: “Digital Parent Volunteers”Here’s an interesting idea from George Couros: You might also be interested in The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h hide  //  save“A Checklist for Back to School Night”A Checklist for Back to School Night is a useful post for every te
9-4-14 Wait What? - For whom the bell tolls…
Wait What?: For whom the bell tolls…With Election Day less than nine weeks away, Connecticut teachers, parents and public school advocates continue to wait for an indication as to whether any of the candidates for governor will truly stand up against the tide of the corporate education reform industry, including their absurd, unfair and expensive Common Core testing scheme. Tens of […] The post Fo
9-4-14 Answer Sheet
Answer Sheet: No, helicopter parents aren’t ruining kids after allThere is no end to the articles and blog posts about overprotective helicopter parents who won’t let their children do anything for themselves and are raising children who can’t operate independently. There probably are some of these parents — but does the helicopter hysteria match the reality. No, says Alfie Kohn, in the following
9-4-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times Urges Mayor Murray to Take Control of the School BoardIn one of the most shameful and disrespectfully written editorials I've ever read in the Times, they urge the Mayor and the City Council to make taking over the majority of the Seattle School Board positions a top legislative priority.It's a funny thing because I JUST today wrote the Board about a couple o
9-4-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: All The Interviews I’ve Done With Authors Over The Past 3 Years — In One Place!My latest Ed Week Teacher post brings together all the interviews I’ve done with authors over the past three years. Here’s an excerpt from one:3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 9-3-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & E
9-4-14 Jersey Jazzman - A Reply To A Reply from @tomamoran
Jersey Jazzman: A Reply To A Reply from @tomamoranTom,Contrary to your beliefs, no one called you a racist. You know this: you put our other criticisms of you in quotes, but not the one where you allege we call you racist.What we said was that you support One Newark, a racist school reorganization policy. Which it is.You say:Maybe you folks should take a pill, and engage people who disagree with y
9-4-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Grade Retention ResearchGrade Retention Research Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., & Dauber, S.L. (1994). On the success of failure: A reassessment of the effects of retention in the primary grades. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Allensworth, E. M. (2004).
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-4-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LA Times: the story retold — SUPT. DEASY’S EARLY AND AVID SUPPORT OF iPADS UNDER INTENSE SCRUTINYCritics question Deasy video – and much more –  promoting iPads before bidding began By Howard Blume and James Rainey | http://lat.ms/1vS847t Supt. John Deasy appeared in a 2011 video for Apple promoting the iPad, saying it would "change the landscape o
9-4-14 Hemlock on the Rocks
Hemlock on the Rocks: Accountability - ChangeTheLAUSDhttp://www.changethelausd.com/accountability.html Accountability - ChangeTheLAUSD"It was controversial?"- John Deasy (1)At the beginning of this month, Superintendent Deasy was mocking opponents of his plan "to provide an iPad to every Los Angeles student, teacher and school administrator." (2) Yesterday he cancelled the proj
9-4-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: APPR Teacher Evaluation System Mess ThreadJames Eterno at ICEUFT blog describes how you can get the same score in the APPR teacher evaluation system and either be "developing" or "ineffective," depending upon, well, nobody's sure what it depends upon:We knew teachers at a phasing out school would be at a huge disadvantage in terms of the ratings in Advanc
Shanker Blog » Why Teachers And Researchers Should Work Together For Improvement
Shanker Blog » Why Teachers And Researchers Should Work Together For Improvement: Why Teachers And Researchers Should Work Together For ImprovementPosted by Bill Penuel on September 4, 2014Our guest author today is Bill Penuel, professor of educational psychology and learning sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. He leads the National Center for Research in Policy and Practice, which inv
Common Core's Five Big Half-Truths :: Frederick M. Hess
Common Core's Five Big Half-Truths :: Frederick M. Hess: Common Core's Five Big Half-Truthsby Frederick M. Hess  •  Sep 4, 2014 at 8:37 amCross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareSchool is back in session, and debate over the Common Core is boiling in key states. As governors and legislators debate the fate of the Common Core, they hear Core advocates repeatedly stress five impressive
9-4-14 empathyeducates - 6 Things White Parents Can Do to Raise Racially Conscious Children
empathyeducates – 6 Things White Parents Can Do to Raise Racially Conscious Children: 6 Things White Parents Can Do to Raise Racially Conscious ChildrenPhotograph; iStock Image | First Book.By Bree Ervin | Originally Published at Everyday Feminism and re-published at EmpathyEducates with their permission. August 30, 2014Talking about race is challenging for many parents, especially White parents.T
Sacramento News & Review - Did Kevin Johnson work behind the scenes to fire Sacramento labor leader Bill Camp? - News - Local Stories - September 4, 2014
Sacramento News & Review - Did Kevin Johnson work behind the scenes to fire Sacramento labor leader Bill Camp? - News - Local Stories - September 4, 2014: Did Kevin Johnson work behind the scenes to fire Sacramento labor leader Bill Camp?A look at the fight for strong mayor and Measure L and the SEIUBy Cosmo Garvin cosmog@newsreview.comOne thing you’d expect the Sacramento Central Labor Counci
CA goes it alone on special ed testing :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet
CA goes it alone on special ed testing :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: SEPTEMBER 04, 2014CA goes it alone on special ed testingby Kimberly Beltran(Calif.) California is moving forward with a plan to develop and administer its own assessment for cognitively disabled students after learning barely a month ago that it would not be allowed to t
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A color-coded visual of Chicago's reform failure
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A color-coded visual of Chicago's reform failure: A color-coded visual of Chicago's reform failureBlaine Principal Troy LaRaviereThanks to Blaine Principal Troy LaRaviere for sharing this excellent color-coded visual on Reading Growth in Chicago's Public & Charter Schools. @TroyLaraviere on Twitter calls it a "visual of Chicago's Charter Reform Failure."
NYC Educator: In Which I Am Booted Out of a Very Low Venue
NYC Educator: In Which I Am Booted Out of a Very Low Venue: In Which I Am Booted Out of a Very Low VenueYesterday, I went to the trailer to prepare. I went up to the second floor and found all my Stuff, which I then had someone help me bring down to the trailer. Afterward, we placed it all in the abandoned file cabinet and ran back to the building. I went to my AP to file the outside evidence abou
Op-Ed: In All-Charter School Districts, Ideology Trumps the Facts - NJ Spotlight
Op-Ed: In All-Charter School Districts, Ideology Trumps the Facts - NJ Spotlight: OP-ED: IN ALL-CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IDEOLOGY TRUMPS THE FACTSPAUL TRACTENBERG | SEPTEMBER 4, 2014Mounting evidence indicates that charter schools can’t live up to their hypePaul TractenbergOne of the latest and most ardently pursued urban education reform is the all-charter school district. New Orleans, Detroit,

YESTERDAY

On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now) | The Jose Vilson
On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now) | The Jose Vilson: On Honest and Civil Conversation (Simmer Down Now) SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 JOSE 1 COMMENTThe first audience reaction to my speech at the Network for Public Education came from a older, burly white man with big hands and a soft voice. Not that any of this scares me much since I’m from the hood, but context matters.“Jose, I’m glad you’r
Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast | Alan Singer
Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast | Alan Singer: Pearson: Inside the Belly of a Very Troubled Beast"And the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds." -Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, Book 1, chapter XIX, c. 14769Being trapped in the belly of the beast is scary. In the Old Testament, Jonah was trapped in the belly of a great f
The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting Back | Randi Weingarten
The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting Back | Randi Weingarten: The Wal-Mart-ization of Education: Wal-Mart Wants Classrooms to Run More Like a Business, Teachers Are Fighting BackAs part of Wal-Mart's back-to-school marketing efforts, the company recently launched a series of teacher appreciation videos, ads, hashtags and di
Reflections of a BadAss Teacher – Year Two - Badass Teachers Association
Badass Teachers Association: Reflections of a BadAss Teacher – Year TwoGetting ready for work this morning, I experienced something I had never felt before.I was not ready to go back to work.  I am sure that my working at the school for four weeks during the summer had something to do with it.  But it was more than that.  Trying to pinpoint exactly what it was at first was hard.  Last year I had f
Nite Cap 9-3-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT
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 CAP4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-3-144LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: DEASY: “Dear LAUSD Family, I would like to speak to you personally…” but instead here are two links to the same memo I sent to the Board of Ed yesterda




UPDATE: Yo Sac Bee: You Hate Teachers, You Hate Public Education and Love the 1%, We get it!

Editorial: Teacher protections that hurt students are indefensible – unless you’re state’s top education official - Editorials - The Sacramento Bee:



Yo Sac Bee: You Hate Teachers, You Hate Public Education and Love the 1%, 

We get it!

Editorial: Teacher protections that hurt students are indefensible – unless you’re state’s top education official

Published: Thursday, Sep. 4, 2014 - 12:00 am



The practice of protecting the benefits of public school teachers to the point where it actually harms the most vulnerable students in California is indefensible.
Unless, it turns out, that you are the state’s chief education official.
Defending teacher tenure and other hiring and firing rules is exactly what State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson called for last week when he said he was asking for an appeal of Vergara v. California. He said “this ruling lays the failings of our education system at their feet.”
It did no such thing.
In his June ruling, Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu took issue with rules that have been adopted over the decades by legislators and implemented by school boards. These protections, Treu said, have “direct, real, appreciable and negative” impact on students and violate their constitutional right to an equal education.
Teachers as a group were not harmed in the making of that ruling. In fact, many teachers probably agree. The younger ones, especially, because rules protect a terrible teacher over a wonderful one if the former happens to have been employed longer than the latter. That’s not laying blame at the feet of teachers. It’s throwing students under the school bus.
Torlakson, a former teacher, surely knows that. But Torlakson also knows that without support of well-funded teachers unions, he may lose his re-election campaign to Marshall Tuck, the reformer from L.A. As is their job, union leaders fight vociferously for protection for their members to the exclusion of all else. It’s up to elected officials to balance unions’ desires with students’ needs. Torlakson shows he’s incapable of that.
Tuck said that if he wins, on Day 1 he would drop his office’s support for an appeal of Vergara and urge the governor to do the same.
Gov. Jerry Brown gave his blessing to the appeal, though apparently not for the ideological reasons cited by Torlakson. According to the governor, the issue must be settled by an appellate court. The California Constitution doesn’t authorize school districts to throw out state statutes on their own,Editorial: Teacher protections that hurt students are indefensible – unless you’re state’s top education official - Editorials - The Sacramento Bee:

Sacramento has other Charters but they don't do anything


Sacramento Charter High leads the pack of most students taking the SAT
In a college-prep computer lab at Sacramento Charter High School, 17-year-old senior Tonkalya Rogers was online last week planning for college. She said she plans to apply to Howard University in Washington, D.C., in hopes of becoming a prosecutor. Tonkalya Rogers, 17, right, gets some help in her pre-calculus class from fellow student Dashay Richmond, 16, at Sacramento Charter High School on Mo


 Love the 1%

Marshall Tuck challenges California school board to lead on tenure revamp
Decrying state schools chief Tom Torlakson for a lack of action on the June court decision ruling California’s teacher hiring and dismissal practices unconstitutional, challenger Marshall Tuck delivered a letter to the State Board of Education Thursday asking its members to immediately begin developing solutions to the issues raised in the lawsuit.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/04/6676665/editorial-teacher-protections.html#storylink=cpy

Marie Corfield: My Response to Tom Moran

Marie Corfield: My Response to Tom Moran:



My Response to Tom Moran


In case you missed it, earlier this week fellow educators and bloggers, Ani McHugh (Teacherbiz), Mark Weber (Jersey Jazzman) and I wrote a joint open letter to Star Ledger editorial director, Tom Moran, regarding his continuous support of the racist policies of Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson's One Newark plan. In addition to posting on all three of our blogs, it also ran at Blue Jersey and on Diane Ravitch's site.

Tom was not happy, and posted a response on Blue Jersey. To which Jazzman responded here and here.

Here's my response:

Dear Tom,

You missed our point so I'll say it again in my best teacher voice: One Newark has been proven to be a racist policy toward students and education professionals. You refuse to research and report the facts surrounding it (Journalism 101), reporting instead on your opinions and pre-conceived notions, therefore you support a racist policy.

It's one thing to say you've talked to Diane Ravitch and Dr. Bruce Baker; it's quite another to listen to them. You cannot find two better experts on education policy: their credentials and reputations are sterling. Unlike the architects of One Newark, they are not afraid to submit their research to peer review. It obviously passes with flying colors because for many issues, their work is the gold standard. But you refuse to listen.

They are not alone. There are hundreds—if not thousands—of equally skilled education professionals around the country who have dedicated their careers to researching and reporting on what works and what doesn't in public education. They have written books, given lectures, and continue to research and report on the train wreck that is education 'reform' in the United States, and while you may talk to them or read their books, you refuse to listen.

In no other profession do we see such a complete disregard for expertise. In no other profession do we see veteran professionals with decades of experience tossed aside or called, in your words, "shrieking" or "shrill", or in it for "old school greed".

You also refuse to listen to the parents of Newark who know first hand the effects of this prejudicial policy. Their choices have been taken away, their demands ignored, their voices silenced, their children suffer.

I'm sorry if what we wrote ticked you off, but for years parents and educators (we three are both) have been more than a little ticked off at journalists like you, who refuse to investigate and report the facts about policies that are rapidly destroying public education in this country and promulgating racism. As I write this, many citizens of Newark are 
Marie Corfield: My Response to Tom Moran:

9-4-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:









The Broad Foundation Makes a Change
Last week the folks at the Broad Academy (motto: "You're a superintendent because you say you are") dropped some new on the education world. If you need a refresher (or just a fresher) on what the Broad Academy is, just click over to this tutorial. In the meantime, just remember that a dream is a wish your heart makes, and if your heart is wishing you were a school superintendent, you do
What Is The Broad Academy?
If you're going to truly appreciate the news from the Broad Academy of Made Up Superintendent Qualifications, you need to know a bit about the Academy. For those who need a refresher, here you go.Whence Came This Academy, Pray Tell You see one of the things that any ordinary teachers can learn from the Broad (rhymes with "toad") Academy is that you can do anything if you have enough mone
9-3-14 Curmudgucation
CURMUDGUCATION: Can We Renew "The Conversation"?  There has been a renewal of calls lately to refresh, renew, restart, and otherwise rehabilitate the conversation about Common Core.It has taken a variety of forms. In the Washington Times, Mike Petrilli and Neal McClusky put out a call to retire some of the standard talking points, admitting that the Core is after all kind of curriculummy


“I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks | Cloaking Inequity

“I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks | Cloaking Inequity:



“I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks

Screen Shot 2014-09-04 at 8.32.54 AM
Teach For America recently announced that they were sending more teachers of color than ever before to teach for short term stints in America’s schools. They expect to be lauded for this.
What is Teach For America? Read here.
Have you ever experienced a situation where you were knowingly or unknowingly unprepared? How did it make you feel? My first year at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor was a rough year. I had a introduction to psychology course in the Modern Language Building (MLB) building which was on the other side of campus from my East Quad dorm. Screen Shot 2014-09-04 at 8.03.40 AM
Now I realize that the google map above says its only an 11 minute walk, but Michigan weather is not the most hospitably in January and February. The first day of class, the professor (whose name I still remember), told us that we didn’t have to go to his weekly lectures, we could read the book (which he had authored) and do fine on the midterm and final exam— the only metrics important for the grade in the class. So, two weeks into the class the 300 person lecture hall was basically empty. By week three, it was only myself and about 20 other students who would actually attend lecture. By February I stopped going because it was just too cold. Well, the professor changed his mind in the middle of the semester and declared that he would now include questions on the tests that would only come from information given in lecture. I was in shock. The midterm was the following week and I hadn’t attended lecture in a month because the professor had told the class during the first meeting that it wasn’t necessary. What this some sort of psychology experiment? It wasn’t. I received a C on my midterm because I was not able to answer the questions from the newly required lectures. I felt guilty that hadn’t gone to lecture. I felt like a failure because it was the first C I had ever received in my life on an exam at any level of education. In essence, I was set up for failure.
This story brings me back to Teach For America, which sends well-meaning college graduates and other non-traditional “I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks | Cloaking Inequity:teachers into the the classrooms of poor students of color and whites for a two year teaching commitment. The Teach For America model has been to provide five weeks of training before these inexperienced teachers hit the classrooms in some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the United States. They call their approach and the “I felt Strange and Guilty”: Annie Tan @TeachForAmerica alum speaks | Cloaking Inequity:

9-4-14 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):





Teachers union submits initial contract demands to LA Unified
Teachers union submits initial contract demands to LA Unified After months of bargaining talks with LA Unified, the teachers union, UTLA, today submitted its first contract demand within the course of current negotiations. In a document submitted to the board this morning, the union called for discussions of various subjects, including salaries, teacher evaluations and discipline at its next barga


Tech startup innovates teacher evaluation system
Tech startup innovates teacher evaluation system Via NY Times | by Farhad Manjoo Halfway through the last school year, Leila Campbell, a young humanities teacher at a charter high school in Oakland, Calif., received the results from a recent survey of her students. On most measures, Ms. Campbell and her fellow teachers at the Aspire Lionel Wilson Preparatory Academy were scoring at or above the av
Morning Read: CA awarded common core test contract
Morning Read: CA awarded common core test contract State awards Common Core test contract With the State Board of Education’s approval, California became the ninth state Wednesday to award a contract to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for the standardized tests in the Common Core State Standards that students will take next spring. EdSource Truancy package marks half-step in reforms It
9-3-14 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): Deasy on his critics: Constant attacks are ‘politically motived’Deasy on his critics: Constant attacks are ‘politically motived’ Superintendent John Deasy Under withering criticism over the iPad program, a new student-tracking computer system and discordant relations with the teachers union, LA Unified Su