Jersey Jazzman: Testing "Experts"

Jersey Jazzman: Testing "Experts":

Testing "Experts"

by Duke

Leonie Haimson points us to this report on the New York Regents Exam:

The state is finally cracking down on the practice of teachers grading their own students’ standardized tests. The state Board of Regents, the supreme authority in education, will not permit this practice to continue beginning in the 2012-13 school year.

One can’t help wondering: What took them so long?

Audits by the state comptroller for the last two decades have shown, The New York Times points out, that schools give better grades to their own students on state Regents exams than do teams

Being No. 1 in the World | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Being No. 1 in the World | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Being No. 1 in the World

by larrycuban

U.S. leaders tell us that we got to be Number 1 in the world. The historic belief in American exceptionalism–we are different than other nations and should lead the world–fuels such sloganeering.

OK, Number 1 in what? Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? We are. On Americans having more guns than citizens in other nations? We are. On obesity? We are. Obviously, the goal of being no. 1 depends upon which race you compete in.

Columnist Fareed Zakaria recently summed up the U.S.’s rank in global races.

“According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), our 15-year-olds rank 17th in the world in science and 25th in math. We rank 12th among developed countries in college graduation (down from No. 1 for decades). We come in 79th in elementary-school enrollment. Our infrastructure is ranked 23rd in

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Beating the bushes for a speaker in Denver

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Beating the bushes for a speaker in Denver:

Beating the bushes for a speaker in Denver

Look who they've dredged up in Denver to speak on school reform. This even though Jr. had backed out of his previous commitment. His handlers wouldn't let him get within 10 miles of WikiLeaks' founder Assange.

******

Even though the president's jobs bill was DOA, Dems are pushing ahead with it piece-by-piece in order to force the hand of Limbaugh Party opposition-ists.

Grumpy Educators: ESEA legislation: Which way is the wind blowing?

Grumpy Educators: ESEA legislation: Which way is the wind blowing?:

ESEA legislation: Which way is the wind blowing?

by Sandra

Legislation regarding the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act hit the proverbial fan. Some of the key initiatives promoted by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other education reformers are being revisited, reduced, diminished, or disappearing. One thing is clear, there is bipartisan support for shifting authority over education away from Washington D.C. and back to

Always Power To The People [Exponentially Important] | The Jose Vilson

Always Power To The People [Exponentially Important] | The Jose Vilson:

Always Power To The People [Exponentially Important]

by Jose

Power To The People (c/o artbackwash.blogspot)

John T. Spencer is quickly becoming one of my favorite people to quote. Observe:

Whether it’s exponents or square roots, you can’t deny that it’s powers to the people. #andthathastocountforsomething

Classic stuff. He said this when I revealed my current unit, exponents, to Twitter. I’ve been more focused on pedagogy lately because that stuff matters. Further, I’m finding that, as I’m growing into this educator business, I see the benefits of sharing stuff more than keeping my practice to myself.

For instance, two weeks ago, I decided to give a reflection sheet to my students to end the unit on percents. I tried “journaling” and found myself with far too many papers and not enough feedback from students about their actual learning. Thus, I created a one-pager with questions from some of the discussions we’ve had in class. Then, I ended it with a metacognitive piece asking students what they thought they could do to improve the

A cautionary tale: San Diego, on brink of insolvency, looks at Oakland school takeover - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

A cautionary tale: San Diego, on brink of insolvency, looks at Oakland school takeover - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

A cautionary tale: San Diego, on brink of insolvency, looks at Oakland school takeover

By Katy Murphy
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 11:42 am in budget, local control.

Keegan Kyle, a reporter at Voice of San Diego, offers his readers a look at what’s happened in Oakland’s public schools since the 2003 state takeover. It’s interesting to note that Randy Ward, OUSD’s first state-appointed administrator (pictured above, in 2006), is the superintendent of the San Diego County Office of Education, which oversees the finances of local districts.

What would you add to this history of OUSD’s state takeover?

P.S. I posted the story on my Facebook page last night, so you’re welcome to

OCCUPY LAUSD MARCHES, BUT ‘DON’T HOLD US BACK’ TAKES THE BOARDROOM #ows

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: OCCUPY LAUSD MARCHES, BUT ‘DON’T HOLD US BACK’ TAKES THE BOARDROOM:

OCCUPY LAUSD MARCHES, BUT ‘DON’T HOLD US BACK’ TAKES THE BOARDROOM

smf: At today’s abbreviated school board meeting - while the 99% were marching, the co-opted representatives of the 1% – in matching “Don’t Hold Us Back” T shirts - took all but two or three of the speakers cards.

If you need a score card, see smf’s 2¢ here.

Occupy LAUSD Aligns With Local Occupy Movement, Will March Today BY LINDSAY WILLIAM-ROSS, LASIST.COM | HTTP://BIT.LY/NAAHOF

Bringing a Third Chair to the Bargaining Table BY CHARLES KERCHNER - RESEARCH PROFESSOR, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY IN THE HUFF POST |HTTP://HUFF.TO/QAWNMR

October 18, 2011 10:20 AM - A group of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers, parents, students, and other district employees will march with the Occupy L.A. protesters this afternoon. The groups will leave the Occupy L.A. site at City Hall at 4 p.m. and head to the LAUSD headquarters

10/18/11 06:02 PM ET - Sometimes the most interesting political commentary is found in the comics... or in the ads. Monday's editions of the Los Angeles Times, Daily News and La Opinion carried a full-page ad from a coalition of civic and community organizations aimed at influencing the negotiations between the Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers, represented by United Teachers Los Angeles. The ad itself is pretty bland. "Don't hold us back," is not exactly a searing catch phrase. But the underlying issues are explosive: teacher evaluation, employment security, and school-site determination of work rules. Essentially, the ad's sponsors are drawing up a third chair to the bargaining table. They are attempting to influence both labor and management, but clearly they are in line with the positions and issues articulated bySuperintendent John Deasy last summer. The increasingly bold and strident parent and community voice,

Our proposals on the Senate ESEA reauthorization bill « Parents Across America

Our proposals on the Senate ESEA reauthorization bill « Parents Across America:

Our proposals on the Senate ESEA reauthorization bill

by leoniehaimson

This letter is available as a pdf here.

October 18, 2011

Re: Reauthorization of ESEA

Dear Senator Harkin:

Your proposed revisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act show that you and the HELP Committee have listened to some of the concerns voiced by parents and others about the problems with No Child Left Behind. For example, we strongly support doing away with the adequate yearly progress measurement, and agree that requiring states to adopt unreliable test-based principal and teacher evaluation will only lead to an overemphasis on standardized tests and the further narrowing of the curriculum. Thank you from Parents Across America!

However, we believe that

“I Just Want to Teach!” A Teacher’s Plea « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

“I Just Want to Teach!” A Teacher’s Plea « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:

“I Just Want to Teach!” A Teacher’s Plea

by Oldschoolteach

The other day I posted a status on FB, “They are sucking the joy out of teaching!” You know who “they” are. I have taught for 27 years, and never have I felt this way. It’s not the new principal. It’s all the next “new” things that have been lobbed at me from one day to the next. After I duck one, or get hit, depending on what innovative thing they have come up with, something new is thrown at me.

I sat at our last meeting, completely overwhelmed, when our principal told us that she wanted us to use data to develop carousel workshops, every week, for reading and math. My first thought was, in order to gather this data to use every week, I would have to test the heck out of my kids. My second thought, when am I supposed to teach? Teach! Remember when we used to be able to do that? My

Corporate School Reform and 10 Hopeful Signs of Resistance « Rethinking Schools Blog

Corporate School Reform and 10 Hopeful Signs of Resistance « Rethinking Schools Blog:

Corporate School Reform and 10 Hopeful Signs of Resistance

October 18, 2011 by rethinkingschoolsblog

On Oct. 1, 650 people attended the 4^th annual Northwest Teachers for Social Justice conference in Seattle. Rethinking Schools editor Stan Karp gave a well-received talk on “Challenging Corporate Ed Reform.” He ended on an uplifting note with ”10 hopeful, tangible signs of organizing resistance and alternatives to the corporate reform agenda.” The following is an excerpt from that presentation.

You can read the entire speech here, or better yet, watch it:

Speech excerpt:

“Corporate education reform” refers to a specific set of policy proposals currently driving education policy at the state and federal level. These proposals include:

• increased test-based evaluation of students, teachers, and schools of

Mitchell 20: Teacher Quality is the Answer #edreform

Mitchell 20

The Mitchell 20 Trailer from Mitchell 20 on Vimeo.

Movie Trailer: mitchell20.com

Objective: The original objective was to follow a group of teachers in Arizona endeavoring to reach National Board Certification and spotlight the inspirational events of a journey toward quality teaching. However, through the course of production, the documentary turned into a testimonial about the state of education in America. The film captures the story of teachers as heroes in an urban school that serves primarily underprivileged minority students. This group of 20 elementary school teachers faced adversity every step of the way yet, they charged forward to meet the needs of their students. Mitchell 20: Teacher Quality is the Answer is a dramatic story that shows teachers are the key to improving education in America.

Timeline: April 2008, teachers begin certification process

September 2008, documentary begins taping

March 2009, teachers submit for certification

October 2011, documentary completed and screened

Quotes: “Too often educators can say, ‘they can’t reach this.’ ‘They won’t be this, this, this and this,’ and I think everyone here at Mitchell challenges that and says, ‘No they can.’” - Daniela Robles, Mitchell 20 Teacher

“We have about 95,000 schools in our country and if every single one of those schools followed Mitchell’s example, and entire cohorts of teachers were taking their next step in the journey, I think I could retire and go to the Bahamas. My job would be done. Education in this country would be transformed.” – Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education

“I think sometimes we define heroes by position or title. And I think heroes are defined by actions. I don’t know of another lace where a group of teachers just decided to lead the transformation in the school and bring everybody along. That’s exciting.” – Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association

“The Mitchell School story is an amazing example of how we can fundamentally confront and overcome inequality in this society.” – Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford University and Director of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future

“We have a huge problem with teacher quality in this country. But it’s not because of the fact that we don’t have enough smart people teaching. The fact is, we don’t treat them well enough, and we don’t support them well enough.” – Barnett Berry, President and CEO, Center for Teaching Quality

Production Team: Randy Murray Productions

Andrew James Benson, Producer and Director

Randy Murray, Producer and Director

Arizona K12 Center

Kathy Wiebke, Executive Producer

Cast: Marisa Barrio, Teacher

Nessia Boehmer, Teacher

Vanessa Bustamante, Teacher

Sylvia Carrizoza, Teacher

Tina Chiu, Teacher

Amy Coyle, Teacher

Linda Crawford, Former Principal

Zenaida Estrada, Teacher

Laura Galindo, Teacher

Kimberly Gammage, Teacher

Blanca Garcia, Teacher

Rueben Herta, Teacher

Benito Jimenez, Teacher

Araceli Montoya, Current Principal

Chhaya Patel, Teacher

Norma Rich, Teacher

Daniela Robles, Teacher

Shellie Sallas, Teacher

Jaime Soto, Teacher

Marcia (Suarez) Pena, Teacher

Hilda Torres, Teacher

Billie Williams, Teacher

LeeAnna Woodward-Frisbie, Teacher

Media Contact: Kristy Alward, Director of Public Relations

Rain Visual Strategy + Design

480.237.1555, extension 121

kristy@visualrain.com

Website: mitchell20.com

There is so much to know about teacher quality and education today.
We want to start you off with some resources that we think are important.

Books

• Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education
• The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future (Multicultural Education)
• The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, And The Attack On America’s Public Schools [Paperback]

Movies

• Stand and Deliver
• To Sir, With Love
• The Lottery
• To Be and To Have
• Waiting for Superman
• The Cartel
• Dangerous Minds

Hey, this page needs your love.

Please follow, like, share, post, tag, dream, encourage, inspire and demand with others like you.

Share This:

Building a Community of Learners « Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

Building a Community of Learners

October 18th, 2011 by Klea Scharberg

A successful learner is a child who enters school emotionally and physically healthy; feels safe and is ready to learn; is connected to the school and the community; and has access to challenging and engaging academic programs. A successful learner is prepared for further education, work, and civic life. When schools implement this whole child approach to education, they make healthy development, student learning, and academic achievement cornerstones of comprehensive, systematic, and collaborative school improvement.

So, we need to talk. The adults at the school need to talk about how students are learning and what and how teachers are teaching. Effective professional learning communities (PLCs) provide opportunities for adults to

“Freakonomics Radio” and Teachers Who Cheat « InterACT

“Freakonomics Radio” and Teachers Who Cheat « InterACT:

“Freakonomics Radio” and Teachers Who Cheat

by David B. Cohen

I was driving to my public library today to return some materials when I just happened to hear a few minutes of “Marketplace” on my local NPR affiliate. One of my favorite features, “Freakonomics Radio”, came on the air, and wouldn’t you know it, today they were dealing with education – specifically, teachers cheating on standardized tests. You can see the transcript or listen to the segment at the Marketplace website. Naturally, I took out my laptop and composed this blog post right away in the library.

There are some fine insights that can be applied to education when we listen to some of the more interesting voices in economics and business. I’m thinking not only of Freakonomics co-authors Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, but also Dan Ariely, Bob Sutton, Dan Pink, and Samuel Culbertson. However, on this occasion, I found Dubner and Levitt a bit off their game, along with host Kai Ryssdal.

What did they get wrong?

DUBNER: “…[T]he fact is if you’re a teacher and all of a sudden there’s a new incentive in place for you to not do poorly in your class, then teachers all of a sudden have the kind of incentive that students used to have. And so

School Tech Connect: Action Call... Maybe

School Tech Connect: Action Call... Maybe:

Action Call... Maybe

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Nice Op-Ed (submitted) from Cinda. Definitely more of a writer than a talker, that one. I wonder if the dishonest rag she submitted it to will run it. Seriously, how any Illinois public school teacher can use the Trib's education program is beyond me. The NY Time's education program is just as cheap and it's written at a more "rigorous" grade level. And it's not run by a criminal enterprise.

Have you thought about the future? Public school teachers in Illinois are ineligible to receive social security. If the pension system is killed off, what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of people who do now or will rely on that system for retirement stability? They have no social security to fall back upon.

Then what? Then what will the Trib and the Civic Committee do?

You act as if public employees are the enemy of this state. We are not. We are representatives of

The Maddow Blog - Katrina 'good' for New Orleans schools? U.S. Dept. of Education says so #edreform

The Maddow Blog - Katrina 'good' for New Orleans schools? U.S. Dept. of Education says so:

Katrina 'good' for New Orleans schools? U.S. Dept. of Education says so

By Jamil Smith

-

Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:46 PM EDT

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Much to the dismay of many (including both congressionalPauls) who openly wish for its demise, the Department of Education has managed to survive another year.Yesterday marked 32 yearssince President Jimmy Carter signed it into law.

Last year, when it was only 30 going on 31, the DoE's boss, Arne Duncan, said this about Hurricane Katrina's effects on New Orleans schools:

I spent a lot of time in New Orleans, and this is a tough thing to say, but let me be really honest. I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina. That education system was a disaster, and it took Hurricane Katrina to wake up the community to say that 'we have to do better.' And the progress that they've made in four years since the hurricane is unbelievable.

For the record, since the storm, the city's educational system has evolved into one that isthree-quarters charter schools, and has all but silenced the teachers' union. Last week, theNew York Times editorial board picked up the Education Secretary's rhetorical baton, quoting positive statistics and attributing them to the aftermath of Katrina:

Many of the structural changes occurred because the hurricane essentially destroyed the old system, allowing the city to begin fresh. Charter schools, while a foundation of the system now, did not by themselves improve achievement. And finally, New Orleans has done the hard work of changing the school culture while embracing new instructional methods.

Education professor and school reform activist Mike Klonsky sounds the alarm, telling a very different story in a post today:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog

Sharing some ideas about public education, school reform, and ed-politics in general.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Times slings the manure on New Orleans charters

Echoing Duncan's comments on Katrina

Not since Arne Duncan claimed that Hurricane Katrina was "the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans" have I heard more b.s. about charter schools in the Big Easy. The latest to sling the manure is the N.Y. Times editorial board.

An October 15th editorial, Lessons From New Orleans, takes Duncan's crude