News: Academic Freedom Verdict - Inside Higher Ed

News: Academic Freedom Verdict - Inside Higher Ed

Academic Freedom Verdict

Faculty panel at Illinois finds that university may have legitimate reasons to dismiss adjunct who sent anti-gay e-mail, but that his offending students is not one of them.

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The Next Student Health Problem?

Ramapo College bans potent and inexpensive alcoholic energy drinks, illustrating increasingly widespread concern about the beverages' popularity among students.

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The Thinking LMS

U. of Phoenix plans to 'hyper-personalize' learning experience for all 400,000 of its students by building an online learning platform that thinks.

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More Legal Risk for Canada's Universities

In finding that U. of Calgary wrongly punished students for their Facebook comments, court says universities are government actors.

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• Revived Antioch Gets a President

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Test Prep - The Steroids of Student Achievement - Copy / Paste by Peter Pappas

Test Prep - The Steroids of Student Achievement - Copy / Paste by Peter Pappas

Test Prep - The Steroids of Student Achievement

As a life-long NYS educator, the NY Times article “Warning Signs Long Ignored on New York’s School Tests” came as no surprise. I’ve been posting on the impact of NCLB-driven standardized testing for years.

While business leaders and politicians lauded the success of the corporate-inspired standards movements, teachers knew that the impressive gains in student achievement were an illusion. As the NY TImes piece reports, for the last decade, a generation of NY students has been force-fed a steady diet of test prep designed to ready them for predictable tests.

“The fast rise... of New York’s passing rates resulted from the effect of policies, decisions and missed red flags that stretched back more that 10 years ... The process involved the direct warnings from experts that went unheeded by the state and [NY] city administration that trumpeted gains in student performance... It

Seven vie for East Side Union High School board seats - Inside Bay Area

Seven vie for East Side Union High School board seats - Inside Bay Area

Seven vie for East Side Union High School board seats Amid a seven-way contest for three East Side school board seats, last year's disputes have all but vanished like fireworks dissipating into the dark -- even though the focus of last year's uproar is one of the candidates. Former Superintendent Bob Nuñez is seeking to join the board that ousted him from his job. San Jose: Teen suspects in Trace School fire charged as adults, face life in prison Incumbent faces four challengers for two Hayward school board seats Oakland Tribune editorial: Oust the incumbents in Peralta Community College district Study finds low-income students perform better in affluent schools Alameda teacher named county teacher of the year Two teens arrested in Trace School fire; district hopes to install fire sprinklers in rebuilding Produce stands at Oakland schools offer families healthy choices

The Education Report In Oakland, school produce stands are becoming a weekly fixture Why do so many new Oakland teachers leave? Some have no choice. California’s child care cuts, explained VETOED: funding for child care, special education CA finally has a budget. What it will mean for public schools. » More from The Education Report

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: A DIFFERENT VISION FROM A DIFFERENT SUPERINTENDENT: “…we have to stop blaming teachers for problems that have multiple causes, ranging from poor administrative oversight and accountability to a lack of parent engagement.”

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: A DIFFERENT VISION FROM A DIFFERENT SUPERINTENDENT: “…we have to stop blaming teachers for problems that have multiple causes, ranging from poor administrative oversight and accountability to a lack of parent engagement.”

A DIFFERENT VISION FROM A DIFFERENT SUPERINTENDENT: “…we have to stop blaming teachers for problems that have multiple causes, ranging from poor administrative oversight and accountability to a lack of parent engagement.” An Open Letter to SACRAMENTO USD STAFF FROM SUPERINTENDENT Jonathan P. Raymond | http://bit.ly/cHY4Oe comment by Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post | http://wapo.st/95evMT: This open letter was written by Supt. Jonathan P. Raymond of the ...

W4S: GRADING SCHOOL CHOICE + Letters to the editor By ROSS DOUTHAT – New York Times Op-Ed Columnist | http://nyti.ms/b2brxn <>

KEEPER OF A GOLDEN GATE: A TEACHERS REACH - The teacher who nurtured a young Vietnamese immigrant with empathy and kindness opened the way to a new culture, new possibilities, a new life. By Andrew Lam | Op-Ed essay from the L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/9kz7aE October 17, 2010 - The man who stood at the entrance to my New World was my first English teacher, Ernie Kaeselau. He passed away recently, and though I hadn't seen him in decades, ...

TEACHING TEACHERS - As educators struggle with the issue of teacher improvement, a program in Tennessee shows that struggling teachers can gain a lot from watching great teachers in action. By Emily Hanford – Op-Ed/Essay from the L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/a1Bn2c October 17, 2010 -- Teachers are at the center of the great debate over how to fix American education. We're told the bad ones need to be fired; the good ones, rewarded. But what ...

LA charter group lays off sixth of staff | Thoughts on Public Education

LA charter group lays off sixth of staff | Thoughts on Public Education

LA charter group lays off sixth of staff

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Squeezed by state budget cuts and unwise borrowing

Posted on 10/18/10 • Categorized as Uncategorized

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

The Los Angeles charter school organization ICEF Public Schools laid off 100 staff members – about a sixth of its work force – last week as part of a reorganization to keep its doors open.

The financial troubles facing ICEF, a network of 15 charter schools serving 4,500 primarily low-income African-American children in South Los Angeles, offer a cautionary tale of a non-profit organization that tried to expand too fast – 11 schools in three years alone – and then failed to make tough choices when state budget cuts hit hard.

Last month, the trustees of ICEF (Inner City Education Foundation) came within days of declaring bankruptcy and closing schools immediately, leaving students to transfer to Los Angeles Unified schools and other charter schools. Instead it called in the cavalry: Caprice Young, the former LAUSD board president and former president of the California Charter Schools Association, and philanthropists Eli Broad and former Los Angeles mayor Richard

Schools Matter: Weekend Wrap-Up

Schools Matter: Weekend Wrap-Up

Weekend Wrap-Up

by Kenneth Libby

Here are some fun links to explore:

1. Education Reform Now (the 501c3 version of DFER) and the Education Equality Project teamed up to grade the 70-something gubernatorial candidates across the country. They gave the Republican candidate a higher grade in 15 states, the Democrat a higher grade in 4 states, and the independent candidate received the highest grade in one state (candidates tied in the rest of the races - and keep in mind that many candidates did not

The Answer Sheet - Why 'Superman' film should be 'Waiting for Batman'

The Answer Sheet - Why 'Superman' film should be 'Waiting for Batman'

Why 'Superman' film should be 'Waiting for Batman'

This was written by Susan Graham, a teacher of family and consumer science (formerly "home ec") for 25 years. She is a National Board-certified teacher, a former regional Virginia teacher of the year, and a fellow of the Teacher Leaders Network. This appeared on the Teacher magazine website. By Susan Graham I was "Waiting for Superman," but I was disappointed. A lot of other people who see this movie -- which paints a distorted view of urban education and unfairly portrays teachers -- are going to be disappointed too, because it should have been entitled "Waiting for Batman." Waiting for Superman director Davis Guggenheim is just too young to have met the Superman and Batman from my formative years. He should watch more TV because he’s got his superheroes mixed up. When I was a kid, I came home from school and watched the black and white 1950s Superman series

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Cornell Economist Robert Frank

There is no persuasive evidence that greater inequality bolsters economic growth or enhances anyone’s well-being. Yes, the rich can now buy bigger mansions and host more expensive parties. But this appears to have made them no happier. And in our winner-take-all economy, one effect of the growing inequality has been to lure our most talented graduates to the largely unproductive chase for financial bonanzas on Wall Street. (NY Times)

This guy is actually ahead in the Colorado senate race

DAVID GREGORY: Do you believe that being gay is a choice?

Notes from Baltimore: Don’t leave before the last out… � JD2718

Notes from Baltimore: Don’t leave before the last out… � JD2718

Notes from Baltimore: Don’t leave before the last out…

by jd2718

I made my first trip to Camden Yards a few weeks ago. Sunday day game, Pettite’s return. Yankees up 3-1, but the Orioles chip back with one in the bottom of the 8th and there are playoff implications and one of the guys I’m with is itchy to go back to New York. What? Man, was I annoyed, and you forgive it eventually, but… I mean I’m glad I saw the park, and it was as good as everyone had told me, best in baseball I’d warrant, but these are the Yankees and I hate leaving early, even when the game is out of reach. We were in the car when the Orioles tied it against Mariano in the bottom of the 9th. We were halfway to Jersey when the Orioles opened the 11th with a single and a double and the win…

Don’t leave before the last out.

We, teachers and students, have been taking a beating against the reform movement. On the defensive all over

If Schools Are Broken, What Is the Solution? Answer: Urban School Reform–WRONG! � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

If Schools Are Broken, What Is the Solution? Answer: Urban School Reform–WRONG! � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

If Schools Are Broken, What Is the Solution? Answer: Urban School Reform–WRONG!

by larrycuban

Here we go again. Another 24/7 media frenzy over the direction of school reform has erupted over David Guggenheim’s documentary “Waiting for Superman,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s gift of $100,000,000 to Newark public schools, and the resignation of Chancellor Michele Rhee’s from the Washington, D.C. schools. Oops! also the urban superintendents’ recent “manifesto.” But why “here we go again?”

Because:

1. Today, school reform is a 18-wheeler tractor-trailer bound for U.S. schools carrying a full load of charter

Queens Teacher: Education: Follow the Money

Queens Teacher: Education: Follow the Money

Education: Follow the Money

by Queens Teacher

Education: follow the money by Laura Clawson

The question of money is seeded through the debate over education, in several ways. This week I want to focus first on the way money most immediately factors in the current political debate; namely, where is the money behind the push for charter schools coming from?

Answer: To a significant extent, the money for charter schools is coming from Wall Street, and in particular from hedge fund managers.

Consider:

Mr. Petry, 38, and Mr. Greenblatt, 52, may spend their days poring over spreadsheets and overseeing trades,

How to fix our schools

How to fix our schools

How to fix our schools
Richard Rothstein
October 14, 2010

Read Issue Brief #286 in printer-friendly PDF format

Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City public school system, and Michelle Rhee, who resigned October 13 as Washington, D.C. chancellor, published a “manifesto” in the Washington Post claiming that the difficulty of removing incompetent teachers “has left our school districts impotent and, worse, has robbed millions of children of a real future.” The solution, they say, is to end the “glacial process for removing an incompetent teacher” and give superintendents like themselves the authority to pay higher salaries to teachers whose students do well academically. Otherwise, children will remain “stuck in failing schools” across the country.{i}

Klein, Rhee, and the 14 other school superintendents who co-signed their statement base this call on a claim that, “as President Obama has emphasized, the single most important factor determining whether students succeed in school is not the color of their skin or their ZIP code or even their parents’ income — it is the quality of their teacher.”

It is true that the president has sometimes said something like this. But in his more careful moments, he properly insists that teacher quality is not the most important factor determining student success; it is the most important in-school factor. Indeed, Mr. Obama has gone further, saying, “I always have to remind people that the biggest ingredient in

A Cup of Coffee and Old School 4 Fred Klonsky's blog

Fred Klonsky's blog

Top Posts of the Week � Student Activism

Top Posts of the Week � Student Activism

Top Posts of the Week

by Angus Johnston

The top ten most-read posts of the week just ended:

1. Sex Tourist Professor Scrubs His Site

My tour through the sex tourism website of CSU Northridge professor Kenneth Ng, as cited in my most recent Huffington Post piece.

2. 28-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Krystal Ball Fights Back

A young candidate refuses to apologize for photos that caused a scandal.

3. Reports: Rutgers Student Killed Himself After Roommate Videotaped Him In Gay Encounter

My first and most widely read post on the Tyler Clementi tragedy.

4. Yale Frat Apologizes For Rape Chant

Yale’s DKE fraternity was caught on