Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/9/16

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/9/16

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Trump school voucher plan would face huge obstacles in California | EdSource

Cory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.

by mike simpson / 6min

Cory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D. : Cory Booker Whiffs It. Let’s not mince words: Betsy DeVos, the designated nominee for Secretary of Education, is a potential wrecking ball aimed at public schools . The Michigan billionaire brings literally no qualifications to the post except a decades long zeal for privatizing public schools and an alliance with Christian Dominionists who see public

Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?” | gadflyonthewallblog

by mike simpson / 3h

Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?” | gadflyonthewallblog : Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?” Just about everyone admits the importance of eating lunch – especially for growing kids in school. But if you get that lunch for free, does it leave you with “a full stomach and an empty soul”? Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan thinks s

Universal Design for Learning by David H. Rose, Ed.D.

by mike simpson / 4h

Universal Design for Learning by David H. Rose, Ed.D. : Universal Design for Learning by David H. Rose, Ed.D. By David H. Rose, Ed.D. Thank you Nancy for inviting me to put some thoughts about UDL on your blog. I hope I can reduce some of the misconceptions about UDL that appeared here, and then perhaps engage in discussion where I can learn more from you and your readers. So, where did UDL come

NEWS FLASH - Malloy, State Employee Unions DROP KICK $13 billion plus onto the backs of our children - Wait What?

by mike simpson / 4h

NEWS FLASH - Malloy, State Employee Unions DROP KICK $13 billion plus onto the backs of our children - Wait What? : NEWS FLASH – Malloy, State Employee Unions DROP KICK $13 billion plus onto the backs of our children Governor Dannel Malloy, in concert with Connecticut’s State Employee Unions, have joined forces to shift a major portion of Connecticut’s massive unfunded pension liability onto the

Mother Crusader: Camden Voucher Advocate, Member Of Groups With Ties To Betsy DeVos, Nominated For NJ State Board Of Ed

by mike simpson / 4h

Mother Crusader: Camden Voucher Advocate, Member Of Groups With Ties To Betsy DeVos, Nominated For NJ State Board Of Ed : Camden Voucher Advocate, Member Of Groups With Ties To Betsy DeVos, Nominated For NJ State Board Of Ed You've got to hand it to Chris Christie. He'll always keep you on your toes. As reported in NJ Spotlight yesterday , the Governor announced nominees for long vacant seats on

ACLU sues charter claiming transgender student denied admission - The San Diego Union-Tribune

by mike simpson / 4h

ACLU sues charter claiming transgender student denied admission - The San Diego Union-Tribune : ACLU sues charter claiming transgender student denied admission The ACLU has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against e3 Civic High School amid allegations the charter school denied admission to a transgender student because of gender identity. This is the second time in about a year that the American

Here's how the L.A. school board races are taking shape - LA Times

by mike simpson / 7h

Here's how the L.A. school board races are taking shape - LA Times : Here's how the L.A. school board races are taking shape The winners of three L.A. school board races next March will have to help run a system facing a long-term financial crisis, lagging academic performance and declining enrollment. Still, 15 people want the jobs and this week turned in paperwork that they hope will get them o

Miami-Dade, Florida’s Recent “Symbolic” and “Artificial” Teacher Evaluation Moves | VAMboozled!

by mike simpson / 7h

Miami-Dade, Florida’s Recent “Symbolic” and “Artificial” Teacher Evaluation Moves | VAMboozled! : Miami-Dade, Florida’s Recent “Symbolic” and “Artificial” Teacher Evaluation Moves Last spring, Eduardo Porter – writer of the Economic Scene column for The New York Times – wrote an excellent article, from an economics perspective, about that which is happening with our current obsession in education

With a bigot like Bannon at Trump’s side, ‘never again’ is happening right now | The Lens

by mike simpson / 8h

With a bigot like Bannon at Trump’s side, ‘never again’ is happening right now | The Lens : With a bigot like Bannon at Trump’s side, ‘never again’ is happening right now “Never again.” These two words haunt the moral imaginations of many American Jews who grew up on the survival stories of our elders. In particular, Ashkenazi Jewish institutions have invested millions of dollars into Nazi Holoca

Education Department civil rights officials urged to work through ‘tough times ahead’ - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 8h

Education Department civil rights officials urged to work through ‘tough times ahead’ - The Washington Post : Education Department civil rights officials urged to work through ‘tough times ahead’ A celebration of the Education Department’s civil rights work morphed into a pep rally Thursday to bolster federal workers and advocates who are expecting difficult years ahead under president-elect Dona

A Nashville School Board Member Figures Out the Secret: How Charter SchoolsGet Rich Off Public Tax Dollars | BustED Pencils

by mike simpson / 8h

A Nashville School Board Member Figures Out the Secret: How Charter SchoolsGet Rich Off Public Tax Dollars | BustED Pencils : A Nashville School Board Member Figures Out the Secret: How Charter SchoolsGet Rich Off Public Tax Dollars An excellent article. Even though it’s out of Tennessee, it’s spot-on true for anywhere. Share it with the pro-charter legislator you love to hate. “I explained that

CURMUDGUCATION: Disrupting the Moral Center

by mike simpson / 8h

CURMUDGUCATION: Disrupting the Moral Center : Disrupting the Moral Center Sarah Jones at the New Republic yesterday posted a blistering take on technocracy entitled " The Year Silicone Valley Went Morally Bankrupt ." It doesn't address education, but it surely could. She takes us back to 1996, and “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace" by John Perry Barlo, a statement of Silicone Valle

Trump launches war on unions - POLITICO

by mike simpson / 9h

Trump launches war on unions - POLITICO : Trump launches war on unions Labor leaders said after the election they’d give him a chance to deliver on his pro-worker agenda. But the ceasefire appears over. The war between Donald Trump and the nation’s labor unions is on. Labor leaders, who spent almost $100 million campaigning against Trump, said after the election they’d give him a chance to delive

Trump school voucher plan would face huge obstacles in California | EdSource

by mike simpson / 9h

Trump school voucher plan would face huge obstacles in California | EdSource : Trump school voucher plan would face huge obstacles in California President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos to be his secretary of education virtually guarantees that his administration will try to promote a “school choice” agenda, which includes giving vouchers to low-income children that could be used t

Advocates: Schools Need More Training to Tackle Bias and Fear - SchoolBook - WNYC

by mike simpson / 9h

Advocates: Schools Need More Training to Tackle Bias and Fear - SchoolBook - WNYC : Advocates: Schools Need More Training to Tackle Bias and Fear Parent advocates with the Coalition for Educational Justice said on Thursday they wanted New York City to better train public school staff on addressing incidents of bias in the schools, and engaging students who may be scared about possible deportation

Special Education Case at Supreme Court Could Prove Costly for Schools

by mike simpson / 9h

Special Education Case at Supreme Court Could Prove Costly for Schools : Special Education Case at Supreme Court Could Prove Costly for Schools A fifth-grader with autism at an elementary school in Dubuque, Iowa. Advocates for disabled students say the absence of national standards means children in some states get a better education and more services. © The Associated Press The Supreme Court rev

Office for Civil Rights Releases Annual Report - Education Law Prof Blog

by mike simpson / 9h

Education Law Prof Blog : Office for Civil Rights Releases Annual Report and Reflections on Past Eight Years, Citing Accomplishments and Lingering Challenges This from the Department: Protecting our students’ civil rights is fundamental to ensuring they receive a high-quality education. Two reports released today spotlight the challenges and achievements of the U.S. Department of Education’s Offi

Jeff Bryant’s “Tar Heel Heist” Traces Disaster of Charter School Growth in North Carolina | janresseger

by mike simpson / 9h

Jeff Bryant’s “Tar Heel Heist” Traces Disaster of Charter School Growth in North Carolina | janresseger : Jeff Bryant’s “Tar Heel Heist” Traces Disaster of Charter School Growth in North Carolina Everyone should read Jeff Bryant’s report for Alternet from North Carolina on the impact of rapid charter school growth on the public schools in a state that spends less on education than it did prior to

Beyond the Classroom and School: District Technology Integration | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by mike simpson / 9h

Beyond the Classroom and School: District Technology Integration | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Beyond the Classroom and School: District Technology Integration Over the years, I have written about differences between complicated and complex (see here ). I pointed out the differences in those top-down, command-and-control organizations that launch rockets into space and k

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/8/16

by mike simpson / 22h

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/8/16 Featured Post Schools Missing Big Opportunities to Engage Parents | Gallup 2017 U.S. Senate Youth Program Delegates Announced - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education) by mike 

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Cory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.

Cory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.:

Cory Booker Whiffs It.

Let’s not mince words: Betsy DeVos, the designated nominee for Secretary of Education, is a potential wrecking ball aimed at public schools.  The Michigan billionaire brings literally no qualifications to the post except a decades long zeal for privatizing public schools and an alliance with Christian Dominionists who see public schools’ secular and pluralistic mission as a threat to their values.  Her advocacy in Michigan helped spawn one of the most shoddy and unaccountable charter school sectors in the nation with the city of Detroit especially suffering under a bizarre maze of over capacity and an environment that was dubbed “The Hunger Games” for public school.  Even the typical funders of school choice and charter school networks tend to steer clear of Detroit because they simply have no idea what they are getting themselves into.  None of this seems to matter to DeVos who gives the impression that simply removing regulation and getting public money out of fully public schools is the only real goal — advocacy groups funded by her even blocked an effort to prevent failing charter schools from expanding.

It is possible, of course, that the reality of governing and managing the federal education bureaucracy will stifle her.  After all, the work of being a Cabinet Secretary is vastly different than the work of privately bending politicians to her will via campaign donations.  Further, the federal government only provides a small portion of the nation’s annual P-12 school budget, putting an inherent limit on the reach of the Secretary of Education.  However, Republicans are alreadyCory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.: 

Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?” | gadflyonthewallblog

Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?” | gadflyonthewallblog:

Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?”

Just about everyone admits the importance of eating lunch – especially for growing kids in school.

But if you get that lunch for free, does it leave you with “a full stomach and an empty soul”?

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan thinks so.

He famously made these remarks at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference:

“Take Obamacare—not literally, but figuratively here OK? We now know that this law will discourage millions of people from working. The Left thinks this is a good thing. They say, ‘hey, this is a new freedom—the freedom not to work.’ But I don’t think the problem is too many people are working — I think the problem is not enough people can find work. And if people leave the workforce, our economy will shrink—there will be less opportunity, not more. So the Left is making a big mistake here. What they’re offering people is a full stomach—and an empty soul. The American people want more than that.”

So, for Ryan, having affordable healthcare somehow has discouraged people from Does Eating a Free School Lunch Give Kids “an Empty Soul?” | gadflyonthewallblog: