Tuesday, August 16, 2011

An Urban Teacher's Education: Are You a Teacher Who Has Been "Converted" by Public Education?

Are You a Teacher Who Has Been "Converted" by Public Education?

by James Boutin

A few weeks ago at the SOS March in DC, I met Luciano D'Orazio. We talked about our experience in public education and how it changed our views. I wrote a little about it here. We thought it might be interesting to try and compile a series of stories about teachers like us who've had our views on public education changed drastically by our experience in it. Because I'm sitting in an airport and a little strapped for time, I'm going to simply copy and paste an appeal Luciano posted on his blog about a week ago rather than write my own.

But the basic message is this:

You should contact us if you've had something of a conversion experience with public education. We want to talk

Margaret Spellings: To Waive Or Not To Waive

Margaret Spellings

Former U.S. Secretary of Education and White House Domestic Policy Advisor

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To Waive Or Not To Waive

Posted: 8/16/11 10:17 AM ET

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Arne Duncan , Education Reform , Arne Duncan Education Secretary , Academic Standards , Nclb , Nclb Waivers , No Child Left Behind , No Child Left Behind Waivers ,Education News

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This is the first of a series of posts former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is writing for The Huffington Post over the next few weeks through back-to-school season on U.S. Education.

Hopelessness and lack of confidence, spending dominating policymaking conversations, angst at all levels of government, and a public disgusted, disconnected and disappointed -- descriptors of our current economic situation? No, (well yes), they're descriptors of the current state of American education.

As such, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is trying to promote policies that change this dynamic. But he's found himself between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he is trying to appease education special interests for whom President Obama promised during the campaign he would ease accountability standards. On the other, he knows that these standards are delivering real

Florida teacher's essay rallies educators for respect | Momania: A Blog for Busy Moms

Florida teacher’s essay rallies educators for respect

12:56 am August 16, 2011, by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso

A Florida teacher’s essay has gone viral on Facebook and become a rallying cry for respect. The National Education Association has picked her essay up on its Web site.

From the NEA’s site:

“(Jamee) Miller, a National Education Association and Florida Education Association member who has been teaching for seven years, wrote the essay a year ago largely for herself and then put it away. But when the controversial Senate Bill 6 was recently careening through the GOP-controlled legislature, she dusted it off and posted it on Facebook. Education experts said SB6, which Gov. Charlie Crist ultimately vetoed last week to support teachers, would have made Florida one of the most teacher-hostile states in the country. Even though it was vetoed, similar anti-teacher efforts are cropping up in other states from like-minded

Secretary Duncan to Hold #AskArne Twitter Town Hall | ED.gov Blog

Secretary Duncan to Hold #AskArne Twitter Town Hall

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Cameron Brenchley

The Department of Education announced today that Secretary Arne Duncan will participate in the first-ever #AskArne Twitter Town Hall on August 24, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Veteran education journalist John Merrow will moderate the town hall that will also be broadcast live on ED’s ustream channel.

Beginning today, Twitter users can submit questions to the Secretary using the hashtag #AskArne.

The Department of Education uses several Twitter accounts to share information and converse with the education community and the American people. For general news and information about ED, follow @usedgov. To keep up-to-date with Secretary Duncan, follow @ArneDuncan. Justin Hamilton, ED’s Press Secretary, can can be found at@EDPressSec, and Massie Ritsch, Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs and Outreach, shares information and converses with stakeholders, teachers and parents at@ED_Outreach.

Click here for a complete list of ED’s Twitter accounts.

Geaux Teacher!: A Real Life Case for . . . Tenure

A Real Life Case for . . . Tenure

Revelations continue to surface regarding Pelican Educational Foundation since its charter contract was revoked by the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE), and governance of Abramson Science & Technology Charter School in New Orleans was turned over to the Recovery School District (RSD). Kenilworth Charter in Baton Rouge also operates under a charter with Pelican.
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/08/bese_votes_to_rescind_charter.html

Turkish connections to Pelican and other charter consortiums associated with it throughout the United States, along with the employ of Turkish administrators and teachers, have led to numerous questions regarding the operations of these schools.

One such question posed by New Orleans parent Karran Harper-Royal particularly caught my attention. Karran has worked for over 10 years through the Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center for parents of students with disabilities. She is also a founding member of a rapidly growing

Haunting Words to Inspire Every Teacher - Charting My Own Course - Education Week Teacher

Haunting Words to Inspire Every Teacher

By Marilyn Rhames on August 2, 2011 10:48 AM | 77 Comments |

Back in the days when I had no idea of what was actually required to be a good teacher, back when I was in grad school studying education theory and making foolish assumptions about how to manage students, I walked in on a conversation in a teacher's lounge that would change my life.

I had recently fled—yes I said fled—an elementary school on the West Side of Chicago. My year of student teaching had begun with the principal telling her staff that she hired us because we were physically attractive and that she loved the "green stuff" (gesturing money with her fingertips) and thus would have no problem firing any of us to save her job. She frequently used the P.A. system to

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