New Orleans Liberation Academy: Humanizing Education

New Orleans Liberation Academy: Humanizing Education:

Humanizing Education

by New Orleans Liberation Academy

Paulo Friere wrote that central to authentic liberation is the process of humanization.

What then is a human education?

Currently few schools exist that are actually designed for human learning. Traditional school was designed to turn human children into adult factory workers. It succeeded, but what if we no-longer desire such a system? What if our desired outcomes for children and youth have changed since the industrial revolution?

Our desired outcomes for our children have changed. What are those desired outcomes today, and can the kinds of outcomes you would choose for your child’s life be effectively measured by a multiple choice test?

When parents are asked what outcomes they would like for their children, they often say “I want them to be

Tweeting with the guy from the Illinois Policy Institute. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Tweeting with the guy from the Illinois Policy Institute. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Tweeting with the guy from the Illinois Policy Institute.

by Fred Klonsky

The Illinois Policy Institute’s Jonathan Ingram.

In an earlier post I made reference to a report form the Illinois Policy Institute on teacher contributions to the Teacher Retirement System. The IPC is a right-wing think thank with Koch brothers affiliations and other ties to the one percenters. They made the claim that nearly half of Illinois teachers have their TRS contribution paid for by their boards of education.

I posted that this was a distortion of the data and and without providing context, was dishonest.

In response I got Tweet bombed today by Jonathan Ingram, the Health Policy Analyst on the staff of IPC.

Check out the staff, by the way. A more diverse group of folks you can find almost randomly on any Chicago

In Afterword, Ravitch Brings Things Up to Date – SchoolBook

In Afterword, Ravitch Brings Things Up to Date – SchoolBook:

In Afterword, Ravitch Brings Things Up to Date

by Claire Lambrecht

To say that the new Afterword in the paperback edition of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” picks up where Diane Ravitch left off would be misleading; since the book’s original publication in March 2010, she hasn’t stopped.

“I’ve spent the last year traveling the country,” she said, when she delivered the keynote address at the 2011 American Association of School Administrators National Conference on Education in February. “I’ve talked to easily 80,000 or more people.”

In the paperback version of her book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” which went on sale Tuesday, Ms. Ravitch continues her crusade

This Week In Education: Thompson: The Importance Of In-School Suspension

This Week In Education: Thompson: The Importance Of In-School Suspension:

Thompson: The Importance Of In-School Suspension

by john thompson

The Catalyst's Sarah Karp, in her ongoing account of the turnaround of Chicago's Marshall High School, explains how the school is seeking a balance between establishing order and not pushing out/counseling out more difficult students than is necessary. Karp describes successful in-house suspensions in some schools that allow schools to establish order while providing counseling. In one in-house program there was a ten-to-one student teacher ratio, and another had three adults assigned to the program so there was always a person available to counsel students. Marshall's in-

Are teachers paid too much? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Are teachers paid too much? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Are teachers paid too much?

by Valerie Strauss

I never thought I’d do this, but I’m going to call Michelle Rhee, superstar school reformer who can’t do enough to diminish the role of teachers unions, as an expert witness on the subject of teachers.

Yet another report has been published purporting to tell us something new about the world of education. This one, called “Assessing the Compensation of Public-School Teachers,” makes the argument that teachers are overpaid.

Read full article >>

What the new NAEP test results really tell us

by Valerie Strauss

Someone should be printing up a T-shirt about now that says: “My nation spent billions on testing and all I got was a 1-point gain.”

Here’s what the newly released scores for the 2011 administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress show for fourth and eighth graders in reading and math, on a 500-point scale:

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Beware of Bias in High School Progress Report Cards | Edwize

Beware of Bias in High School Progress Report Cards | Edwize:

Beware of Bias in High School Progress Report Cards

by Rhonda Rosenberg

The DOE would have us believe that the high school progress reports it released last week are a neutral evaluation tool where any school can do well irrespective of student demographics and characteristics. As proof it would point to its peer index metric which sorts schools into peer groups based on student characteristics and their eighth grade standardized test scores – the concept being that schools are compared to schools with similar students.

Unfortunately the system doesn’t work the way it was intended. The UFT’s Jackie Bennett first reported on this in early 2010. She found that high schools with high percentages of high need students (special education, ELL, overage for grade on entry) were consistently scored and graded lower than schools that didn’t have such students (here and here). That year the DOE announced it was changing its peer index calculation to better

WELCOME TO THE OAKLAND GENERAL STRIKE | Dailycensored.com #ows

WELCOME TO THE OAKLAND GENERAL STRIKE | Dailycensored.com:

WELCOME TO THE OAKLAND GENERAL STRIKE

Written by Danny WeilLifestyle, MediaNov 1, 2011

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http://www.bopsecrets.org/recent/oakland-general-strike.htm

Dear Bay Area Friends,

As most of you probably know, the police raid and destruction of the Occupy
Oakland encampments last Tuesday, followed by the notorious police violence
against protesters later the same day, provoked such an immense expression
of outrage from thousands of people in the Bay Area and around the world
that the Oakland city government was thrown completely on the defensive. The
next day police were scarcely to be seen. The fence surrounding Frank Ogawa
Plaza was still in place, but the occupiers calmly took it down and began
reoccupying the same spot. That evening, by a vote of 1484 to 46 (with 77

'Parent Power' screening, Young Friends of PCCY, other events in Nov. | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

'Parent Power' screening, Young Friends of PCCY, other events in Nov. | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

'Parent Power' screening, Young Friends of PCCY, other events in Nov.

by Erika Owens

The Notebook's calendar of events for November is now online. Events this month include:

Wednesday, Nov. 2: A free showing of the film, "Parent Power" that illustrates the potential and power ofgrassroots parent organizing in New York. The film is 35 minutes and will be followed by a discussion with parent leaders from New York City and Philly, as well as Norm Fruchter of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.

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School closing recommendations to be announced tomorrow

by Erika Owens

The District will announce its recommendations for what could be dozens of school closings, consolidations, and other "rightsizing" actions tomorrow in a special 5 p.m. meeting.

The facilities announcements will follow the regular School Reform Commission meeting at 3 p.m. Both will bebroadcast live on cable TV and streamed online.

State law requires a 90-day process before schools can be closed, and the District said the SRC is expected to vote on the recommendations in "late winter 2012."

The Notebook and PlanPhilly have been covering the facilities master planning process closely and will be reporting on the details of the plan – and reaction from on the ground.

We also want to hear from you about this process.

read more

Runoff! | The G Bitch Spot

Runoff! | The G Bitch Spot:

Runoff!

by G Bitch

Louella Givens v. Kira Orange Jones. The big money is behind Jones—actually, it’s to smear Givens which means either (even) low(er) voter turnout or more votes for Jones. She is one of the last pieces of the puzzle. And it’s not a choice of “for the children or NOT for the children” but about local control, engaging stakeholders in reform, proper supervision of entities that use state and federal tax dollars, having policies and procedures rather than favorites and “partners,” having more than one voice or opinion or option, having at least one person on BESE who tries to think about the implications, benefits and downsides of what we are told we are getting whether we want it or not. [Some have been bought off with a charter school they fiercely defend and protect

Grumpy Educators: Charter Schools 101: Buyer Beware

Grumpy Educators: Charter Schools 101: Buyer Beware:

Charter Schools 101: Buyer Beware

Although Florida parents have been testing the charter school waters over the years, I was unable to locate a comprehensive analysis that examined how many parents stayed, how long did they stay, and if they left, where did they take the children? Anecdotal evidence indicates that some parents have been satisfied with their charter school experiences; others not so much. The forces of power, access, and money fueling the spike in charter school expansion are certainly counting on more of the former and less of the latter.

To that end, it is not surprising to learn that the Walton Foundation is funding a new Florida lobbying organization with members, such as KIPP, a nationally

Schools Matter: The Nation's Report Card on Corporate Ed Reform Comes Home

Schools Matter: The Nation's Report Card on Corporate Ed Reform Comes Home:

The Nation's Report Card on Corporate Ed Reform Comes Home

by Jim Horn

The Milton Friedman disciples who came to Washington with the Gipper in 1980 were intent upon smashing the public school system, beginning with the newly-formed U. S. Department of Education. Reagan's boys fell short on both counts, but they set in motion for the next 30 years a system of educational auditing that would assure public education coming up short in measurements designed by greed merchants and tax evaders from the Business Roundtable who wanted then and want now to turn education into a primary corporate revenue stream. A major piece of that strategy for assured public education failure was to renorm the National Assessment of Education Progress so that almost all public schools would fall short of "proficiency."

Analyses over the years have shown, in fact, that the NAEP proficiency scales

Vander Ark getting cranky regarding negative NEPC report

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

The true path to higher test scores is reading. — Dr. Stephen Krashen

Look up the word charlatan in any lexicon and it would be of no surprise if it features a photograph of Tom Vander Ark as the accompanying illustration. The former Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation executive has been a major player in the corporate education reform onslaught against the public commons. He has been gorging himself at the tax trough for some time now. His antics and blather have garnered quite a bit of ink here at Schools Matter, partly since few people are as adept at technobabble and doublespeak as Vander Ark.

Earlier this evening Class Size Matters and Parents Across

Last Pension Call Tuesday before the end of the veto session. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Last Pension Call Tuesday before the end of the veto session. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Last Pension Call Tuesday before the end of the veto session.

by Fred Klonsky

Next Tuesday starts the final three days of the Illinois veto session.
You know the drill.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee. Pull out your cell phone.
Call 1 888 412 6570.
Follow the prompts.
“Don’t mess with my TRS.”
Every morning for the next ten days.

A teacher-made video on pensions.

by Fred Klonsky

Brandi Martin, a talented art teacher, sent me the video she made on teacher pensions.

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Why do wealthy suburban schools really score higher on tests?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Why do wealthy suburban schools really score higher on tests?:

Why do wealthy suburban schools really score higher on tests?

by Mike Klonsky

The longer school day propaganda continues

Stupid ed journalism doesn't get any stupider than this. The Chicago Sun-Times annual story about wealthy suburban elementary schools outscoring inner city schools carried this headline: "Top schools have longer days."

I mean kissing the mayor's

NAEP, the Long View, and the Crisis in Reading - Dana Goldstein

NAEP, the Long View, and the Crisis in Reading - Dana Goldstein:

NAEP, the Long View, and the Crisis in Reading

by Dana Goldstein

The latest scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress--the gold standard, no-stakes federal test--were released this morning. Only about one-third of American fourth-graders are proficient in reading, and 40 percent are proficient in math. Over the past two years, there has been no statistically significant improvement in the black-white achievement gap, and only a tiny closing of the Hispanic-white gap.
Let's look more closely at the reading scores. First, over the past two decades:


It's important to keep an even longer view in mind when looking at these numbers. Although the picture in math