Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, November 26, 2010

Reaction to Cathleen Black, Discontent With Mayor at Heart of School Uproar - NYTimes.com

Reaction to Cathleen Black, School Chief Candidate - NYTimes.com

Discontent With Mayor at Heart of School Uproar

Like many other parents, Lisa B. Donlan was cautiously optimistic back in 2002 when Joel I. Klein, a former federal prosecutor andBertelsmann executive, was appointed chancellor of New York City’s public schools. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had just won control of the schools from Albany, and while Ms. Donlan was happy with her own children’s school, she knew that parts of the system were badly broken.

Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Mayor Bloomberg chooses Cathleen P. Black to run the city’s schools.

Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Cathleen Black’s background and persona may play into criticisms that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is elitist and autocratic.

“Back then, people were hopeful, people were open-minded,” Ms. Donlan recalled this week.

But when Mr. Bloomberg announced this month that his next pick for chancellor was Cathleen P. Black, the chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, Ms. Donlan was outraged.

She not only signed a petition asking the state education commissioner, David M. Steiner, to deny Ms. Black the waiver required for chancellor candidates who lack the necessary education credentials, but also joined other

New British Study “Parents’ Effort Key to Child’s Educational Performance” | Engaging Parents In School...

New British Study “Parents’ Effort Key to Child’s Educational Performance” | Engaging Parents In School...

Love Teachers? Love Students? How To Put Classrooms On Your Holiday List | Education | Change.org

Love Teachers? Love Students? How To Put Classrooms On Your Holiday List | Education | Change.org

Love Teachers? Love Students? How To Put Classrooms On Your Holiday List

By the time you've read this, zillions of shoppers have already been plowing through the aisles of their local Target, Walmart or Macy's, searching for unbelievable deals. That's right, it's Black Friday, when retailers pray for an influx of cash (and an absence of lawsuits), and gift-buyers show off their shopping stamina.

In the rush to cross off your list of gifts for your parents, siblings and in-laws, consider giving a gift this holiday season to teachers and classrooms. Every year, teachers reach down into their pockets and pay as much as $1,500 a year on classroom supplies -- sometimes for materials as vital as paper and pencils. Luckily, there are some ways to help. You'll get the benefits of helping out a hardworking teacher, making school a little brighter for students and the satisfaction of knowing you've made a tangible difference.

Here are some great ways to give back to education:

Harvard University: Where LGBT Students Lack Significant Resources

Many gay university students would do almost anything to go a school with a gay resource center. But simply having a space on campus isn't enough, if the resources to truly serve LGBT students are lacking.

That's why a group of LGBT students at Harvard University are organizing. Harvard University, as it turns out, is the only Ivy League school without a university-funded resource center and staff person. And though the school

Immigrant Students Starve for Their DREAMs on Thanksgiving

As you recover from your Thanksgiving meal, remember that dozens of undocumented students are literally and metaphorically starving for their DREAM to obtain a pathway to citizenship.

It's Day 17 of the hunger strike conducted by undocumented students in Texas, who are hoping to get Senator Kay Bailey-Hutchison (R-Texas) to support the DREAM Act. Thus far, the Senator from Texas has refused to support the measure. “We’re giving up our health and body for the DREAM Act,” says Him Ranjit, a 19-year-old sophomore studying biomedical engineering and government at the University of Texas at Austin, who was brought here at the age of 10 from Nepal.

Since its modern formation, this country has mostly resisted immigrants, only to realize their contributions over

Student protests: Met chief warns of new era of unrest | Education | The Guardian #demo2010

Student protests: Met chief warns of new era of unrest | Education | The Guardian

Student protests: Met chief warns of new era of unrest

Sir Paul Stephenson says 'game has changed' as tuition fees campaign gathers momentum


Police hold protesters back during a demonstration against tuition fee rises and funding cuts
Police hold protesters back during a mass demonstration in London against tuition fee rises and funding cuts. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Britain's most senior police officer warned today of a new era of civil unrest as the national campaign against university fee increases and education cuts gathered momentum.

Sir Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said the two large-scale student demonstrations of the past fortnight had been marred by a previously unseen level of violence, adding: "The game has changed."

His comments were seized on by critics, who said the hard-line rhetoric risked escalating tensions with students organising the nationwide grassroots campaign against education cuts.

Meanwhile, protesters today occupied 16 university campus buildings around the country. Six of the occupations – in Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Plymouth, Edinburgh and London – were expected to continue

This Week In Education: AM News: RTTT States Retaining Districts (Mostly)

This Week In Education: AM News: RTTT States Retaining Districts (Mostly)

AM News: RTTT States Retaining Districts (Mostly)

News2

Unique Bilingual Education Program Spreading Across New Jersey Hechinger Report: In the Garden State, Long Branch joins Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and Plainfield as one of the fewer than 400 dual-language programs nationwide, according to the Center for Applied Linguistics, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit... Va. Attorney General: Teachers Can Take Phones, Read Texts If Students Break Rules WTOP: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says in an advisory opinion if a teacher has reasonable suspicion that a student is breaking state law or school rules with his cellphone, the teacher can confiscate it and look at stored messages... States Submit Race to Top Plans, and Work to Keep Districts on Board EdWeek: When Florida turned in its plan this week, 62 of the original 65 districts are still on board, Tom Butler, a spokesman for the the state's department of education, said in an e-mail. In Ohio, 50 of the initial 538 participating districts and schools have dropped out.

Just pick one schools chief with education experience, says Chicago principals union boss

Just pick one schools chief with education experience, says Chicago principals union boss

Just pick one schools chief with education experience, says Chicago principals union boss

Friday, November 26th 2010, 4:00 AM

Mayor Bloomberg is trying to make Cathie Black the successor to Joel Klein.
Wenig/AP
Mayor Bloomberg is trying to make Cathie Black the successor to Joel Klein.

Chicago principals have a tip for New York: Pick one schools chancellor with education experience.

As state Education Commissioner David Steiner mulls whether to allow magazine executive Cathie Black to manage city schools with the help of a seasoned educator, Chicago principals who have a similar arrangement are advising against it.

"It's very difficult to have two people with such vastly different backgrounds and responsibilities [lead schools together]," Clarice Berry, president of Chicago's principals union, told the Daily News.

"We haven't had a superintendent in 10 years and we've found that it has been a mistake," Berry added.

"There's been no huge improvement in Chicago. It's not been the magic bullet people thought it would be," she said.

Chicago has an educator and manager share responsibility of the school system, a plan Steiner has suggested he favors for city schools. An advisory panel recommended this



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/11/26/2010-11-26_just_pick_one_schools_chief_with_education_experience_says_chicago_principals_un.html#ixzz16OsZKU00

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Latest on Huffington

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Latest on Huffington

Latest on Huffington

Mike Klonsky
Movement between the education sector (as they call it) and the giant corporations is another ownership society hallmark. If it sounds reminiscent of the military-industrial complex, you're on the right track.

Tale of two cities

In Baltimore, a "contract school" in the neighborhood around Johns Hopkins, slated for gentrification, $40M will be spent on a beautiful new building. Meanwhile other inner city schools are in desperate need of basic