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Monday, September 12, 2011

Big Education Ape: 9-12-11 PM So Why Am I Skeptical? EDition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:

Published by Coopmike48 – 5 news spotters today

Education Reform and U.S. Competitiveness

cfr.org - Craig R. Barrett, Former CEO and Chairman, Intel CorporationTo compete in the twenty-first century, individuals and countries will have to add value in the workplace to command a high standard of l...

DianeRavitch

Middle-Class Schools Fail to Make the Grade

online.wsj.com - Middle-class public schools educate the majority of U.S. students but pay lower teacher salaries, have larger class sizes and spend less per pupil than low-income and wealthy schools, according to ...

mikeklonsky

So Why Am I Skeptical?

huffingtonpost.com - Obama's speech last week to Congress has been described as a "wake up call" -- with its aggressive and ambitious proposals to boost spending on education -- including $30 billion to avoid further t...

DianeRavitch

International Test Scores, Irrelevant Policies

edweek.org - ByIris C. RotbergPerhaps no research finding has influenced education policy more, or been subject to greater misinterpretation, than our ranking on international mathematics and science tests.Prev...

DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Schools Excluding Difficult Children Illegally, Says Think Tankhttp://t.co/N96Zem8 #Edu24 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

The bait and switch of school "reform" - Education

salon.com - In recent weeks the debate over the future of public education in America has flared up again, this time with the publication of the new book "Class Warfare," by Steven Brill, the founder of Americ...

leoniehaimson

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - 9/12“We spent trillions on foreign wars and allowed our physical infrastructure to deteriorate and our technological infrastructure to fall behind that of the rest of the developed world. We ignore...

mikeklonsky

SocietySee all

No limiting queries at NY political trial

sfgate.com - (09-12) 09:05 PDT New York (AP) -- A judge has rejected a request to limit what New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg or top aides could be asked at a coming trial where a campaign consultant is charged...

leoniehaimson

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release September 12, 2011 MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SUBJECT: Revisions to the Unified Command Plan 2011 Pursuant to...

coopmike48

PoliticsSee all

Capital Gains Tax Cuts Massively Tranfer Wealth to the Top

news.firedoglake.com - The biggest reason why you would want to use higher taxes on the rich and the nation’s largest corporations if you’re going to pay for stimulative job-creation measures is not just because these wo...

coopmike48

StoriesSee all

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Ready, Set, Go…

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Ready, Set, Go…:Ready, Set, Go…by alicemercerI am through the first week of school, and just like the end of a really hard bike ride, or hike, I’m exhausted...

coopmike48

In Love With Death

nytimes.com - Outside, the desert sky had been darkened by a sandstorm. In the tent, an Army officer pulled up a chair. It was early in the invasion of Iraq, late March 2003. With the war postponed on account of...

leoniehaimson

Submissions: Doodle Your Learning Journey - Education

good.is - Someguy, a San Francisco-based artist who might be sort of into the idea of anonymity, started the 1000 Journals project eight years ago, when he...Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens, the longest-servin...

coopmike48

EnvironmentSee all

Blast at French Nuclear Site Is Said to Kill 1 Person

nytimes.com - PARIS — An explosion shook a French nuclear waste site near the southern city of Nimes on Monday, killing one person and injuring four, officials and news reports said. Authorities sa...

leoniehaimson

American Jobs Act - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - American Jobs Act - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):American Jobs Act Could Bring Nearly $6 Billionin Needed School Funds to CaliforniaTorlakson Estimates Plan Could Prevent Thousands of Teacher L...

coopmike48

Nuke plant (Fort Calhoun Omaha) fire gets closer look

democraticunderground.com - Source: Omaha World HeraldBy Nancy GaarderThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sending a special team of inspectors to Nebraska to learn more about a fire at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station not lo...

coopmike48

CrimeSee all

Mich. court stays on sideline in recall dispute

chron.com - GRAND BLANC, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court won't get involved in the effort to recall a state lawmaker from Genesee County.In a brief order released Saturday, the court refused to issue a...

fklonsky

#eduRead this paperSee all

#edreformRead this paperSee all

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    What Happened to My Grade Book?: Essential Questions for Standards-Based #Edreform

    What Happened to My Grade Book?: Essential Questions for Standards-Based #Edreform:

    Essential Questions for Standards-Based #Edreform

    by Della
    Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." Albert Einstein


    I have a few essential questions before going further any further in the name of standard-based reform.


    1) Are standards expectations?
    2) Are standards limitations?
    3) Should the practice of standardizing performance and quality in the business world be
    Posted by at

    THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Monitoring the enrollment of Gulen charter schools in California

    THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Monitoring the enrollment of Gulen charter schools in California:

    Monitoring the enrollment of Gulen charter schools in California

    by The Perimeter Primate
    In 2002, the first school was opened in California, enrolling 188 students. In 2010, 14 schools were operating, enrolling a total of 2804 students.* California is the state with the third highest number of Gulen charter schools (behind Texas with 40 and Ohio with 17). See a list of current, attempted, and pending schools @ http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/2011/06/gulen-charter-schools-in-california.html

    Important questions to be answered:

    1. How many parents of the nearly 3000 California students enrolled in these schools know anything about the Gulen Movement and/or the controversies which surround its undisclosed agenda and activities, including its steadily growing worldwide project of opening schools?

    2. How many of the board members who authorized these schools (Los Angeles USD, Oakland USD, San Diego Unified, Santa Clara County Office of Education, El Dorado County Office of Education, or the California State Board of Education) know anything about the Gulen Movement and/or the controversies which surround its
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    Schools Excluding Difficult Children Illegally, Says Think Tank

    Schools Excluding Difficult Children Illegally, Says Think Tank:

    Schools Excluding Difficult Children Illegally, Says Think Tank

    Students Illegally Excluded

    First Posted: 12/9/11 22:37 GMT Updated: 12/9/11 22:37 GMT

    Amazing
    Inspiring
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    Schools are encouraging parents to remove "difficult children" in order to avoid officially excluding them, a think tank has revealed.

    The report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) accuses schools of manipulating the current system to exclude what they describe as "society's most vulnerable children and young people".

    Figures from last year show around 5,740 pupils were permanently excluded and 331,380 were excluded on a fixed-term basis, numbers that the CSJ describe as a "significant majority".

    The report states: "Many pupils are being profoundly misunderstood within some mainstream schools. The underlying causes of their behaviour, and their needs, are not being addressed properly. As a result, there is a near-hidden group of children and young people in our education system which is being failed."

    The think tank blames a lack of transparency as well as insufficient monitoring by schools, local authorities and the Department for Education and calls for action to be taken immediately.

    CSJ Executive Director Gavin Poole said: "It is vital that unscrupulous and sometimes illegal practices indulged in are confronted head on. The money for these ‘ghost pupils’ is retained by the

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    American Jobs Act - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

    American Jobs Act - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):

    American Jobs Act Could Bring Nearly $6 Billion
    in Needed School Funds to California

    Torlakson Estimates Plan Could Prevent Thousands of Teacher Layoffs

    SACRAMENTO—California could receive $3.1 billion to prevent the layoffs of an estimated 30,000 education jobs under President Barack Obama's American Jobs Act proposal, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said today.

    "The place for our teachers is in the classroom—not the unemployment line," Torlakson said. "The American Jobs Act represents an opportunity to begin to address the financial emergency facing California's schools, and to put people to work rebuilding and modernizing our aging school buildings. That's a smart investment in the future of our state."

    Funds to prevent and reverse teacher layoffs would come from California's estimated $3.1 billion share of $35 billion President Obama has proposed to aid states and cities.

    Torlakson was pleased with the President's plan to set aside money to renovate K-12 public school facilities and build or update science and computer labs neglected because of deep cuts to education funding in recent years.

    California's share of the $25 billion in infrastructure repair, renovation, and modernization funding could be more than $2.8 billion and could support as many as 36,600 construction jobs.

    In the wake of more than $18 billion in state budget cuts over the last three years, Torlakson declared a state of financial emergency for California's schools just days after he took office in January.

    To see what the possible impact the American Jobs Act proposal could have in California, please go the White House Web site at: A State by State Look at the American Jobs Act | The White House (Outside Source).

    # # # #

    Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
    Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
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    Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Ready, Set, Go…

    Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Ready, Set, Go…:

    Ready, Set, Go…

    by alicemercer

    I am through the first week of school, and just like the end of a really hard bike ride, or hike, I’m exhausted, and sore all-over. But…there is a big smile on my face.

    This was the week where I would finally meet my students and all my plans and preparation would come to fruition. I was very curious about what my new students would be like. There like most of the kids I’ve taught in that they are energetic, easily distracted, curious, and chatty. What’s missing is not the ADD and ADHD kids, but the defiant ones. This is not surprising, as most of my defiant students were that way for a reason. In about every case it had to do with what adults were doing and not doing in their lives, and not what they had done. As

    Posted by at

    Q. and A. With Education Secretary Arne Duncan – SchoolBook

    Q. and A. With Education Secretary Arne Duncan – SchoolBook:
    Secretary of Education Arne Duncan greets a student in an automotive class at Carl Schurz High School in Chicago.


    Q. and A. With Education Secretary Arne Duncan

    by Alan Schwarz

    Arne Duncan, the United States secretary of education, conducted a three-day back-to-school tour last week that took him to schools in several states, from Pennsylvania to Illinois. I traveled with him and blogged about some of his school visits. SchoolBook also solicited questions for Mr. Duncan from readers on Facebook andTwitter, and put them to the secretary. Here are some of those questions and answers:

    Q.

    BONITA ROTHMAN: Why does our government — at all levels — listen so closely to those who have no particular expertise in education and think it is comparable to producing widgets?

    A.

    DUNCAN: It’s important to listen to everyone. We spend a tremendous amount of time listening to great teachers and great principals, parents and students themselves, and that’s where I do my best learning. I think

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    AB 114 Special Education Transition

    AB 114 Special Education Transition

    Background
    On June 30, 2011, Assembly Bill 114, Chapter 43, Statutes of 2011 (AB 114) (PDF; Outside Source) was signed into law. Under AB 114, several sections of Chapter 26.5 of the California Government Code (GC) were amended or rendered inoperative, thereby ending the state mandate on county mental health agencies to provide mental health services to students with disabilities. With the passage of AB 114, it is clear that school districts are now solely responsible for ensuring that students with disabilities receive special education and related services, including some services previously arranged for or provided by county mental health agencies.
    Recent Guidance from the California Department of Education
    AB 114 Transition Working Group
    As a part of the Budget Act of 2011–12 (PDF; Outside Source), the California Department of Education (CDE) was given funds to support the transition of services from county mental health agencies to local educational agencies in conjunction with a working group of parents, advocates, local educational agency staff, mental health experts, and legislative personnel.
    The CDE convened the AB 114 Transition Working Group on July 27, 2011, to address changes created by the passage of AB 114. The group’s goals are as follows:
    • To clarify requirements for the provision of services to students eligible for special education as established in federal and state law
    • To identify available funding sources, the means for accessing funds, and the parameters for use of funds
    • To develop appropriate procedures for: (a) identifying and assessing students; (b) creating and amending Individualized Education Programs; and (c) monitoring the progress of students, the provision of services, and the use of funds
    • To describe appropriate service delivery models and best practices for ensuring the provision of related services to students
    AB 114 Transition Working Group
    July 27, 2011
    August 17—18, 2011
    Funding Information
    2011—12 Funding Results Mental Health Services funding results for fiscal year 2011-12.
    Mental Health Services Apportionment Special Education - Mental Health Services apportionment letter(s) and schedule(s) detailing state funding information for fiscal year 2010-11.
    Posted by at

    This Week In Education: Thompson: Ending the Educational Civil War

    This Week In Education: Thompson: Ending the Educational Civil War:

    Thompson: Ending the Educational Civil War

    by john thompson

    Classwar Historian Larry Cuban explains that the “current dogfight between reformers vs. anti-reformers” is unfair to both groups. Cuban notes that earlier generations of reformers both inside and outside districts were just as upset over “the lousy schooling that poor and minority children and youth were receiving” as today’s data-driven crowd. These members of the “status quo” adopted many reforms that are advocated by today’s accountability hawks “well before many in the current generation of reformers could vote.” He asserts that some in the two reform camps “collaborate on the sly.” Cuban says the first step in figuring out ways of helping teachers and students is, “turning down the noise, ending the barking at one another." Cuban also mentions Steve Brill's accounts of divisions within the reform camp. I can not tell if Cuban agrees, but here is Brill's

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    Schools Matter: Teacher as Stranger; Teacher as Janitor

    Schools Matter: Teacher as Stranger; Teacher as Janitor:

    Teacher as Stranger; Teacher as Janitor

    by Judy Rabin
    Education philosopher Maxine Greene in her book titled, Teacher as Stranger, published in 1973, speaks about the teacher's role in "arousing individuals to wide-awakeness, to 'thinking' about their own commitments and actions wherever they work.

    So, what are teachers in Texas thinking when they are sweeping the floors and taking out the trash after a long hard day in the classroom? They are thinking about how happy they are to have a job.

    From the Texas Tribune:

    DRIPPING SPRINGS - Just as Judy Gardner answered the phone last Wednesday afternoon, a coach stuck his head into her empty classroom. He wanted to know if she had swept her floor yet, because he had students offering to do it as community service. Entering the new year, Gardner's district can say something that fewer and fewer schools in Texas can - that no teachers have been laid off as a result of state budget cust. But the Drippings Springs Independent School District has eliminated custodial positions, and that has left teachers there with new tasks once the school bell rings:
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