Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Afternoon Posts #ows #edreform

Occupy Broadway | OccupyWallSt.org #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Occupy Broadway | OccupyWallSt.org:Occupy Broadwayby OccupyWallStThis Saturday, creative artists, performers occupy Broadway and commence an all-night performance in an undisclosed bonus plaza.EVENT: Occupy Broadway (theatre/shopping district) with a 24-hour performance.WHEN: From December 2nd starting at 6pm until December 3rd at 6pmWHERE: Times Square by the red stairs, between 46th and 47th streets, along 7th Ave, NY, NYSHHH!: location released at 6pm day of: @OccupyWallStNYC #OccupyBroadwayNEW YORK, NY (December, 2011) – On December 2, 2011 New York artists will introduce touris... more »

School Strategies that Support Physical Activity « Whole Child Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:School Strategies that Support Physical ActivityASCD Whole Child Bloggers at Whole Child Education » The Whole Child Blog - 16 hours agoSchools, through recess, physical education, and other programs provide opportunities for children to accrue their recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. What strategies does your school employ to keep students active?Ask Dr. Judy Webinar: How Can Students Remember Next Year What I Teach This Year?Klea Scharberg at Whole Child Education » ... more »

Bigger money wins in school board races | EdNewsColorado

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Bigger money wins in school board races | EdNewsColorado:Bigger money wins in school board racesby Nancy Mitchell and Charlie BrennanMoney apparently mattered in recent school board campaigns in the state’s largest school districts, with the top fundraisers winning in seven of eight elections in Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.Final campaign finance reports filed Thursday for school board candidates show Denver’s citywide at-large race may rank as the most expensive in the city’s history, with five candidates raising more than $267,111.But ... more »

Fewer schools keep librarians on staff | California Watch

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Fewer schools keep librarians on staff | California Watch:Fewer schools keep librarians on staffEleanor Yang Sukali9/istockphoto.comFewer than 1 out of 4 schools in California is staffed with a credentialed librarian, according to the state Department of Education. Recent figures compiled by the department show there are about 900 school librarians in the state – that’s down from more than 1,100 two years ago.From Los Angeles to San Mateo and Fullerton, school districts have cut librarian positions this year to cope ... more »

Stand for Children? Following Costly Misstep, Education Group Tries to Rebound - Chicago News Cooperative

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Following Costly Misstep, Education Group Tries to Rebound - Chicago News Cooperative:Following Costly Misstep, Education Group Tries to Reboundby KRISTEN McQUEARYAn Oregon-based education group, whose deep pockets and skillful maneuvering made it a surprising powerhouse player in Springfield earlier this year, is regrouping after an embarrassing outburst by its founder forced a leadership shuffle within the organization.The Illinois chapter of Stand for Children raised more money than any other major lobbying interest in the capital last fall. But it has ... more »

Viewpoints: Our struggling schools need a long-term fix - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Viewpoints: Our struggling schools need a long-term fix - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee:Viewpoints: Our struggling schools need a long-term fixShareBy Jonathan RaymondSpecial to The BeePublished: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 17AThe nonprofit group Advancement Project plans to gather signatures for a November 2012 ballot initiative that would raise money for schools, The Bee reported Wednesday. This is in addition to the 2012 Kids Education Plan, also aiming for the November ballot, which ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog:What is the Mayor of Wall Street smoking?Mike Klonsky at Schooling in the Ownership Society - 5 minutes ago*He looked like he was from another planet when he dressed as a hippie for a political show, but the mayor’s blueprint for fixing city schools have some asking “what was he smoking?”* -- CBS News In a speech at MIT, Bloomberg said Thursday he would accomplish more with less by slashing the teaching staff in half and doubling ... more »

Big choices for LA teachers | Thoughts on Public Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Big choices for LA teachers | Thoughts on Public Education:Big choices for LA teachers - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guessby John Fensterwald - Educated GuessTeachers and principals in the state’s largest school district will be able to free themselves from a range of district policies and restrictions of the union contract – if they choose to. In a break from their ongoing battle over teacher evaluations, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy and United Teachers Los Angeles President Warren ... more »

Engaging Parents In School… - Going Beyond Parent “Involvement”

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

Engaging Parents In School… - Going Beyond Parent “Involvement”:Just this week, two short pieces talking about community organizing and parent engagement were published. They might be worth a look: What Inspired Me to Study Parent and Community Engagement at Harvard Education Publishing. Education reform through community action at The Washington Post.“Building Trust With Parents”Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 day agoBuilding Trust With Parents is another excellent post by Chris Wejr. I’m adding it to The Best ... more »

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 24 minutes ago

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post:What matters most in college admissions — money or merit?Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 hours agoThis *was written by Esther Quintero, a research associate at the nonprofit Albert Shanker Institute. It first appeared on the institute’s blog. * By Esther Quintero A recent survey of college admission directors and enrollment managers conducted by Inside Higher Education sparked considerable media coverage about ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Uncommon Ground

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Uncommon Ground:Uncommon Groundby DukeSpeaking of B4K and Student First's "partnership":My blogging buddy Mike Lilley of B4K teamed up with Tim Shelton of Students First to write an op-ed that purports to show that corporate "reformers" and teachers unions are really all on the same page:From President Obama to Gov. Chris Christie to the New Jersey Education Association to Michelle Rhee, a national consensus is emerging that significant changes must come to public education.It would have been unthinkable as ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Scum bags. « Fred KlonskyBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-10 minutes agoScum bags. « Fred Klonsky:Scum bags.by Fred KlonskyI received some interesting reactions to my post on pension abuse.This week the Illinois legislature, facing billions of dollars in unpaid pension obligations, took a bold stand and made it illegal in the future for someone to collect from the Teacher Retirement Fund based on earnings they would have received if they left the clasroom to work for a teachers union.That ... more »

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Did Bronxdale High School's John Chase Jr Try To Relieve His Guilt?

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SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Did Bronxdale High School's John Chase Jr Try To Relieve His Guilt?:Did Bronxdale High School's John Chase Jr Try To Relieve His Guilt?by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)On November 18, the amazing powers that John Chase Jr, principal of Bronxdale High School were analyzed. Not only is he able to contort his wee wee into the strangest inanimate objects, how he prefers inanimate objects to human flesh, but amazingly whilst under investigation for sharing said information concerning his hoo ...more »

LEGAL WAIVER FORMS FOR TEACHERS « Teachers Fight Back

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

LEGAL WAIVER FORMS FOR TEACHERS « Teachers Fight Back:LEGAL WAIVER FORMS FOR TEACHERSby alkleenI recently underwent a minor medical procedure, and before it happened I actually read every word of the legal waiver form. The form explained the chances of complications and or death occurring during or after the procedure. The form gave me an idea for something similar that should be used by schools and teachers at the beginning of the school year.Teachers should hand out legal waiver forms ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Charter Churn

Jersey Jazzman: Charter Churn:

Charter Churn

by Duke

Darcie twitter-pointed to this interview with Chris Christie, where he made a truly amazing statement:

Watch live streaming video from townsquaremedianj at livestream.com

Caller: Governor, I'm from Cherry Hill, NJ, and we have high performing school districts. My question for you is, why would your administration have a charter school accepted in Cherry Hill? We have some of the best schools in the state, and now we have this charter school, which should not have been approved in the first place. You've got an organization that's running a ministry for ex-offenders, which is zoned to be on the same site as the charter school. And additionally, we had a gentleman who was living on the site, who robbed several houses in our neighborhood. Also, there's one letter of recommendation that was in the application which appears to be falsified. Why

Jonah Edelman. He’s baaaaack! Sort of. « Fred Klonsky

Jonah Edelman. He’s baaaaack! Sort of. « Fred Klonsky:

Jonah Edelman. He’s baaaaack! Sort of.

by Fred Klonsky

Stand for Children’s Jonah Edelman.

Like Jaws II, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…

This morning’s NY Times recounts the mess Jonah Edelman of the Oregon-based Stand for Children made of things for the reformers last year.

The mess followed my posting of a video presentation that Edelman made at an Aspen conference. He described

A Quick Overview of Recent Research on Charters | Edwize

A Quick Overview of Recent Research on Charters | Edwize:

A Quick Overview of Recent Research on Charters

by Christina Collins

Over at the Shanker Institute blog, Matt DiCarlo has done a great job sifting through the latest research on charter schools in a recent three-part series of blog posts. His first post looks at some of the latest data on charter schools’ impact on student achievement, and concludes that:

the endless back-and-forth about whether charter schools “work” — whether there is something about “charterness” that usually leads to fantastic results — has become a massive distraction in our education debates. The evidence makes it abundantly clear that that is not the case, and thegoal at this point should be to look at the schools of both types that do well, figure out why, and use that information to improve all schools.

Matt follows his own advice in the second post, which reviews research which looks at what educational policies are implemented at the charter schools which do seem to have positive effects on student achievement. Examining a variety of studies over the past few years, he finds that

An emphasis on discipline seems to have some support, both in direct tests of associations as

School Tech Connect: Truth and Lies From Jonah Edelmen

School Tech Connect: Truth and Lies From Jonah Edelmen:

Truth and Lies From Jonah Edelmen

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

The reason Jonah Edelman declined to be interviewed for this piece in the Times is that he's in the weird situation of having told the truth first and then lied about it-- claiming that the things he said at Aspen were wrong.

Apparently he's having success with that narrative, too.

For the record, the things he said at Aspen were true, at least regarding his successful strategy for buying a

TNTP soliciting city teachers’ views in national retention study | GothamSchools

TNTP soliciting city teachers’ views in national retention study | GothamSchools:

TNTP soliciting city teachers’ views in national retention study

by Geoff Decker

PopoutA new national teacher survey about compensation, class sizes, and school leadership is looking for insight from New York City.

The city Department of Education is one of five large urban districts that have opened up their email Rolodexes to The New Teacher Project for a study about teacher recruitment and retention. The nonprofit group, which runs

Contradictions: Madison Prep Board Members in Their Own Words | AMPS

Contradictions: Madison Prep Board Members in Their Own Words | AMPS:

Contradictions: Madison Prep Board Members in Their Own Words

by Thomas J. Mertz

Tyrone-Davis, “Can I Change My Mind” (click to listen or download)

Children should NOT be sitting, waiting in an auditorium, to find out if they won a lottery to get into a school. A right to a good education should be like the right to clean water. And, since when, did teachers become the demons?

Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings on “Waiting for Superman.”

Of course Madison Prep wants the media opportunity of children waiting in an auditorium, some advocates for the school have demonized teachers, the Madison Prep Board has decided that the only way to make the school happen is to employee non-union staff and not pay them for the extended day and year (that they are also seeking African American and Latino staff, makes this even worse). It should also be noted that school

"RFK Center, NYSUT and UFT debut anti-bullying curriculum." December 02, 2011. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org

"RFK Center, NYSUT and UFT debut anti-bullying curriculum." December 02, 2011. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org:

RFK Center, NYSUT and UFT debut anti-bullying curriculum

NYSUT Media Relations - December 2, 2011

Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, New York State United Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers launch Bullying Lesson to Speak Truth To Power Curriculum

Kerry Kennedy, Richard Iannuzzi and Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy will join anti-bullying activist, Jamie Nabozny and other human rights defenders from around the world to introduce new lesson

New York City, N.Y. December 2, 2011 - Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights; and Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) will visit a Manhattan school on Monday to introduce a new lesson on bullying that will be added to Speak Truth to Power (STTP) - a human rights curriculum for New York state.

Building on the Speak Truth To Power 2010 human rights education curriculum developed in partnership with NYSUT, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights will launch its anti-bullying lesson titled, "Bullying: Language, Literature and Life."

Kennedy and her mother, Ethel, will be joined by Jamie Nabozny, an anti-bullying

NYC Public School Parents: More Bloomberg idiocy about class size; with the sad truth behind his remarks

NYC Public School Parents: More Bloomberg idiocy about class size; with the sad truth behind his remarks:

More Bloomberg idiocy about class size; with the sad truth behind his remarks

by Leonie Haimson

So Mayor Bloomberg stepped in it again, when at a speech at MIT this week, he said that if he could redesign our public school system, he would fire half the teachers, double the class size, and pay teachers more. See the video below.

(During this same speech, he also bragged about having "my own army" which is the "seventh biggest largest in the world" in the form of the NY police department, and obviously didn't say he wanted to fire any of them.)

Here in NYC, while expanding the bureaucracy,

School Tech Connect: No Failed Policy Left Behind

School Tech Connect: No Failed Policy Left Behind:

No Failed Policy Left Behind

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Brizard and Rahm and the 1% Board of Ed need to be reminded of this every day of their lives:

When Secretary Duncan says, “We all have to work together and challenge the status quo” and “Just investing in the status quo isn’t going to get us where we need to go,” to which status quo is he referring? The differences between his “Race to the Top” and Mr. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind,” as the opening decade-by-decade list illustrates, often take the form of an escalation of the same basic approaches, not a directional shift. The nation’s current policy is to intensify ineffective and costly reform strategies of the past.

This trend cannot and must not last. At some point, hopefully before this school reform agenda becomes eligible to join AARP, we can expect that people will start noticing that the emperor’s

Marian Wright Edelman: Young People Standing Up for Themselves and for Our Nation

Marian Wright Edelman: Young People Standing Up for Themselves and for Our Nation:

Marian Wright Edelman

President, Children's Defense Fund

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Young People Standing Up for Themselves and for Our Nation

As a teenager, many of Barbara Johns’s wildest fantasies were about a surprising subject: a new school. “My imagination would run rampant—and I would dream that some mighty man of great wealth built us a new school building or that our parents got together and surprised us with this grand new building and we had a big celebration—and I even imagined that a great storm came through and blew down the main building and splattered the shacks to splinters—and out of this wreckage rose this magnificent building and all the students were joyous and even the teachers cried…”

Then a day came when 16-year-old Barbara decided to put her dreams into action. “It was time that Negroes were treated equally with whites, time that

Sproul Hall Steps, UC Berkeley, December 2, 1964. « Student Activism

Sproul Hall Steps, UC Berkeley, December 2, 1964. « Student Activism:

Sproul Hall Steps, UC Berkeley, December 2, 1964.

by Angus Johnston

“We were told the following: If President Kerr actually tried to get something more liberal out of the Regents in his telephone conversation, why didn’t he make some public statement to that effect? And the answer we received — from a well-meaning liberal — was the following: He said, ‘Would you ever imagine the manager of a firm making a statement publicly in opposition to his Board of Directors?’ That’s the answer.

“Well I ask you to consider — if this is a firm, and if the Board of Regents are the Board of Directors, and if President Kerr in fact is the manager, then I tell you something — the faculty are a bunch of employees and we’re the raw material! But we’re a bunch of raw materials that don’t mean to be — have any process upon us. Don’t mean to be made into any product! Don’t mean — Don’t mean to end up being bought by some clients of

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: New School Board

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: New School Board:

New School Board

by Melissa Westbrook

Here's a photo of the newly-constituted School Board - the men bookend the women.

It was a nice (and nearly full) swearing-in ceremony. All were sworn in by the person of their choice and then each gave a short speech. There were a few oddities, though.

One, if you took the names off the speeches and then handed them to me, I would have known who wrote what.

Two, as Dorothy Neville pointed out elsewhere, Harium asked Principal John Miner of Thorton Creek to swear him in. And, Principal Miner went out of his way to say what great public servant Harium is. Almost as if Harium's victory at the polls wasn't enough.

Three, a bit of a tone set. Michael DeBell, in his role as Board VP, was master of ceremonies and jokingly

Mother: Sacramento high school needs to punish bullies | news10.net

Mother: Sacramento high school needs to punish bullies | news10.net:

Mother: Sacramento high school needs to punish bullies

6:36 AM, Dec 2, 2011 | 1 comments

SACRAMENTO, CA - Heather Harris, the mother of a McClatchy High School student, said she moved to Sacramento to put her daughter in a good school, but instead of focusing on grades she's now worried about bullies.

"A lot of this happens at a lot of different schools and I don't feel that the school system takes responsibility for what's happening to our children while they're at school and they end up making the victim of this seem like the problem," Harris said.

Harris' daughter has not returned to school in four days.

"I want the school to take responsibility for what happened to my

Schooling in the Ownership Society: The Rise and Fall of Stand For Children

Schooling in the Ownership Society: The Rise and Fall of Stand For Children:

The Rise and Fall of Stand For Children

by Mike Klonsky

Popout

Edelman's unsolicited confession

A Chicago News Cooperative story in today's NY Times, "Education Group Tries to Rebound After Diatribe,"documents the crash-and-burn of the corporate reform group, Stand For Children and its national director, Jonah Edelman. The Portland-based group with pockets filled with cash supplied by the Gates Foundation and local one-percenters like the Crown and Pritzker families, along with the Citadel Group’s founder, Kenneth Griffin, made their move on Illinois laste year.

In a video, Edelman later admitted self-critically, how SFC poured millions into the campaign coffers of local politicians like State Sen. Kimberly Lightford in exchange for their backing of anti-union legislation which Arne