Thursday, November 3, 2011

Police, Occupy protesters clash in Oakland #ows

News from The Associated Press:

Police, Occupy protesters clash in Oakland

By TERRY COLLINS
Associated Press

AP Photo/Terry Collins

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Timeline on World Cup Violence

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Police and protesters supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement have clashed downtown following a day of peaceful protests throughout Oakland.

The confrontation began after protesters started a large bonfire in the middle of a downtown street. Dozens of police in riot gear moved in on hundreds of protesters as the flames leapt more than 15 feet in the air from several large metal and plastic trash bins that had been pushed together.

Police warned protesters to clear out before firing several rounds of tear gas and "flash bang" grenades to clear the

Ravitch updates best-selling book on ed reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Ravitch updates best-selling book on ed reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Ravitch updates best-selling book on ed reform

by Valerie Strauss

Critics of Diane Ravitch like to say that the education historian talks a lot about what is wrong with the modern school reform movement but doesn’t offer solutions about how to fix anything. Historians, of course, by definition spend their time looking to the past, not making policy pronouncements about what should be. That said, Ravitch, the leading voice in the country speaking out against standardized-test based school reform, does what her critics say she doesn’t in an important new chapter at the end of the new paperback edition of the best-selling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.”

Read full article >>

How Zuckerberg’s money is being spent in Newark schools

by Valerie Strauss

Some of the $100 million that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated last year to help Newark Public Schools has now been spent, and you may be surprised to see where it is going.

The Zuckerberg cash, plus $48 million more donated by other philanthropists, went to a newly created nonprofit organization called the Foundation for Newark’s Future, which was created by Mayor Cory Booker to both find matching funds for the Facebook gift and make decisions about who gets the money in grants.

Read full article >>

Schools Matter: Heritage Foundation and AEI Issue Report Exposing Dumb, Fatcat Teachers

Schools Matter: Heritage Foundation and AEI Issue Report Exposing Dumb, Fatcat Teachers:

Heritage Foundation and AEI Issue Report Exposing Dumb, Fatcat Teachers

by Jim Horn

When I heard that the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation were about to release a report by two of their PhD staffers, I thought, here we go again. After all, it was just a few days ago that the Feds released data showing the income of the top 1 percent went up 275% from 1979 to 2007. Were AEI and HF about to pile on just when the 1%ers are coming under such increasing hostility and ridicule? How much can our job creators take, after all! We could lose them to Switzerland or Monaco if we're not careful.

I was relieved to realize yesterday that AEI and HF have tag-teamed to slam to the mat the real culprits in the

Illinois teacher salaries on a ten year slide. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Illinois teacher salaries on a ten year slide. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Illinois teacher salaries on a ten year slide.

by Fred Klonsky

Jim Broadway reports in his authoritative Springfield newsletter that Illinois teacher salaries have declined by 6% in constant 2010 dollars over the past ten years.

While teacher to student ratios have remained constant, administration to student ratios have gone from 253:1 in 1996 to 204:1 in 2010.

Commenting on the prospects of pension-killing SB51 Broadway says, “The three-option pension “reform” of SB512 seems likely to get a vote in the House next week, but the outcome is uncertain.”

To receive Broadway’s updates by subscription, go here.

Speaking to Teachers and Policymakers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Speaking to Teachers and Policymakers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Speaking to Teachers and Policymakers

by larrycuban

Larry Ferlazzo, a Sacramento (CA) high school English/social studies teacher and blogger, interviewed me recently. Here are a few of my answers to his questions. The advice I offer teachers here comes largely from my 14 years as a high school history teacher in urban schools and the 20 years of teaching I have done at Stanford University.

If you were going to offer teachers three key pieces of advice that you think might help them to stay in the profession longer and be more effective educators, what would they be?

1. Re-pot yourself every few years.

Teaching is energizing but also exhausting work. When teaching you spend the rich intellectual, physical, and emotional capital that you have accumulated over the years on students. Because of that draining of your

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

It Might Be Worth Checking-Out These English Language Development Standards | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

It Might Be Worth Checking-Out These English Language Development Standards | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

It Might Be Worth Checking-Out These English Language Development Standards

by Larry Ferlazzo

In September, WIDA released a draft version of the English Language Development Standards, 2012 Edition, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. Their comment period ends on November 11th.

I’ve never paid much attention to WIDA’s standards in the past since California has not worked with them. However, a month ago WIDA won the grant to develop a new national common English assessment for ELL’s

All Education Matters: Indebted, Educated Occupiers Unite: Students Denounce Sallie Mae and Student Loan Debt #ows

All Education Matters: Indebted, Educated Occupiers Unite: Students Denounce Sallie Mae and Student Loan Debt:

Indebted, Educated Occupiers Unite: Students Denounce Sallie Mae and Student Loan Debt

by Cryn Johannsen

Students in Washington, DC have joined forces to protest Sallie Mae and student loan debt. This is great news, because these young people have not yet graduated from college and are already aware of the student lending crisis.

I am currently in DC, and will be meeting with occupiers here. It is my hope that I'll be able to get in touch with

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: My Family And Moe, Larry, And Curly

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: My Family And Moe, Larry, And Curly:

My Family And Moe, Larry, And Curly

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

So, I would first like to thank all those who shared their well wishes. It is deeply appreciated. Also, my wife is home safe and sound and taking it easy.

Some good news. The blood test done Monday morning by the oncologist came back negative. Now apparently, well not actually, the attending physician (Who in retrospect went to the Wendy Kopp School of Medicine) in White Plains Hospital made the call that the CT scan showed lymphoma and that a biopsy was needed immediately. But more on this later.

So after consulting with her internist/GP whose specialty is oncology said that

Grumpy Educators: 2011 NAEP: The Nation's Report Card

Grumpy Educators: 2011 NAEP: The Nation's Report Card:

2011 NAEP: The Nation's Report Card

by Sandra

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing results were released for reading and math. Math scores show increase; however, there is little change in reading scores. Nationally, 4th graders scores in reading were "flat" or on the average unchanged since 2009. The scores for 8th graders in reading continued to rise. The results also indicated that scores for Hispanic and

School Tech Connect: Mr. Wrong

School Tech Connect: Mr. Wrong:

Mr. Wrong

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

This Rachel Maddow takedown of Paul Wolfowitz was just so funny, I have to post it here. I don't really care about Paul Wolfowitz, although I do agree with Rachel--- if I ever got something so completely wrong, I'd have the sense to bow out of public life.

Professional Learning Communities Roundup « Whole Child Education #edchat

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

Professional Learning Communities Roundup

November 2nd, 2011 by Klea Scharberg

Whether it be in a single school or online, in study groups, action research teams, communities of practice, or conversation circles, educators working together with a shared focus on learning and accountability help all students learn to high levels. In October we looked at professional learning communities (PLCs) and how they provide collaborative environments where staff members take an active part in improving teaching and learning.

Listen to the Whole Child Podcast with guests C. Robert Maxfield, associate professor and teacher leadership coordinator in the Department of Educational Leadership at Oakland University in Michigan; Steven Weber, director of secondary instruction for Orange County Schools in Hillsborough, N.C.; and Sunndip

Jersey Jazzman: Carpetbaggers

Jersey Jazzman: Carpetbaggers:

Carpetbaggers

by Duke

Have to love it when B4K, the hedge-fund moneyed group that just decided just this year to get involved in "reform," shows "cautious" optimism toward the NJEA's proposals:

Finally, our antennae are alerted by the NJEA’s reversion to its traditional defense of tenure as it has always been (before we all apparently agreed that reform was needed): asserting that, first and foremost, it’s a defense against politicization and patronage. Predictably, the NJEA then simply asserts that the governor’s tenure reform proposal will "undermine" tenure and enable

Rule of Law vs. the Forces of Order | OccupyWallSt.org #ows

Rule of Law vs. the Forces of Order | OccupyWallSt.org:

Rule of Law vs. the Forces of Order

by OccupyWallSt

Occupy Wall Street, with its defiant style of non-violent protest, has consistently clashed with the NYPD’s obsession with order maintenance, resulting in hundreds of mostly unnecessary arrests and a significant infringement on the basic rights of free speech and assembly.

we the people

Prior to the massive protests at the WTO in Seattle, protest policing in the U.S. was a largely casual affair punctuated with isolated outbursts of police misconduct. After Seattle, police departments embarked on a major rethinking of how to handle increasingly large and militant protests and, most importantly, how to handle the growing use of large coordinated direct actions. Without too much concern for First Amendment rights, police departments have tended to take one of two approaches and sometimes a bit of both.

The first is the strategic repression of direct action movements in particular. Beginning with the Miami police’s aggressive response to the FTAA protests in 2003, many departments resorted to using surveillance, agents provocateurs and negative publicity before an event, followed by massive deployments, “less lethal” weaponry

Modern School: Oakland Teachers Participate in General Strike #ows

Modern School: Oakland Teachers Participate in General Strike:

Oakland Teachers Participate in General Strike

by Michael Dunn

As of this morning, 268 teachers had called in for subs at Oakland Unified School District, according to Katy Murphy, of the Contra Costa Times? Last Wednesday, only 24 called in for subs. While this is nothing close to what is needed for a successful General Strike, it is a significant increase in absenteeism that is no doubt due to teachers’ participation in the strike.

In related news, thousands have participated in today’s day of actions, marching on banks, as well as the Port of Oakland. Students have skipped class to join the protests. Unions have provided food. Because so few long shore workers actually showed up for work today, the port was effectively shut down. And, as of 4 pm, the police have been relatively quiet, despite the fact that some protestors smashed bank windows.

It has been speculated that the police are engaging in their own strike against Mayor Jean

NYC Public School Parents: Eva Occupies #OWS

NYC Public School Parents: Eva Occupies OWS:

Eva Occupies OWS

by Gary Babad

November 2, 2011 (GBN News): NY City Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes he has found a sure-fire way of evicting those nettlesome Occupy Wall Street protesters, GBN News has learned. According to City Hall sources, the Mayor will employ the same methods he uses in the public schools, and will dislodge the protesters by siting a charter school in Zuccotti Park.

The Mayor is said to have had no trouble bringing the head of the Success Charter Network, Eva Moskowitz, on board with his plan. Ms. Moskowitz has already ordered desks, chairs, whiteboards, and other school equipment to be delivered to