Looking at the Concept of Adultism | Lefty Parent

Looking at the Concept of Adultism | Lefty Parent:

Looking at the Concept of Adultism

by Cooper Zale

[FYI... for those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you may recognize this piece as the combining of three pieces I wrote previously on this subject.]

So you have probably already been “ism’d” within an inch of your life and may be ready to roll your eyes if I attempt to direct your attention to another one! Seems the 20th Century was full of positive movements and negative systems being coined as “isms”, including “feminism”, “progressivism” and “environmentalism” on the one side and “sexism”, “racism” and “militarism” on the other. Some might make a good argument that we should leave all those “isms” behind with the last century and turn our focus forward and reframe the way we look

Tales of a Retribalized Corporate Knowledge Worker in the Egalitarian Information Age

by Cooper Zale

Quite the long title, I know! But that is essentially who I am these days when I put on my “day job” hat as a “Business Process Consultant” for a major health insurance company. The work world that I plunge myself into is totally transformed from just a generation ago by the ubiquitous electronic media which (to use media philosopher Marshall McLuhan’s analogy), is the “water we swim in”.

In his extensive 1969 interview in Playboy Magazine, McLuhan said…

The electronically induced technological extensions of our central nervous systems… are immersing us in a world-pool of information movement and are thus enabling man to incorporate within himself the whole of mankind. The aloof and dissociated role of the literate man of the

15 Things Students Want the Nation to Know About Education

by Cooper Zale

I was pleased to see this piece in the Huffington Post a while back and finally gotten around to writing about it. As the author Lisa Nielsen says in her opening…

It’s rare for education reformers, policymakers, and funders to listen to those at the heart of education reform work: The students.

Seems to me that in most education policy statements and discussions in the media, the students are not seen so much as the clients or key stakeholders in the education process, but more like the product. I think it is important that we resist the conventional wisdom of looking at education as an institution manufacturing an educated citizenry as its “product”, whose stakeholders are not our young people, but only political and economic leaders and parents (as necessary votes to keep at least those political leaders in office).

L.A. schools chief vows suit to block cuts to bus-service funding - latimes.com

L.A. schools chief vows suit to block cuts to bus-service funding - latimes.com:

L.A. schools chief vows suit to block cuts to bus-service funding

December 13, 2011 | 2:53 pm

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L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy announced Tuesday that the state’s largest school system would file suit to block fresh budget cuts that would end state funding of home-to-school transportation for the rest of the school year.

The so-called trigger cuts are set to take effect automatically because the latest projections of state tax revenue are well below hoped-for levels.

The effect on the Los Angeles Unified School District would be a $38-million midyear reduction in transportation funding. That amount represents a 50% cut halfway through the year in that budget.

Tax Reform Victory! What’s next? « EdVox

Tax Reform Victory! What’s next? « EdVox:

Tax Reform Victory! What’s next?

by edvoxny

by Nikki Jones

Nikki Jones, Communications Director of AQE

This month’s tax reform agreement is a milestone in the fight to ensure that all students are given the opportunity to learn and are prepared for college and careers. Along with grassroots organizations, parents, students, educators, community members, and of course Occupiers, we affected a change to New York State’s tax structure.

Without the tax reform, we would have lost a total of $4.5 billion in revenue when the current Millionaires’ Tax expires on December 31. While the new plan doesn’t match the revenue of the Millionaires’ Tax, it will create an additional $2 billion by creating new income brackets and tax rates.

Personal income tax reform is a step in the right direction for fairness but students are still in schools with

Mid-Year Cuts Reaction - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

Mid-Year Cuts Reaction - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Comments on Mid-Year Cuts

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following statement regarding mid-year spending cuts announced today:

"It's a sad day for California. Taking hundreds of millions of dollars from our schools—on top of the $18 billion in cuts they have already suffered—will only make life harder for students in California's chronically underfunded schools.

"Mothballing school bus fleets across the state will mean many rural, disabled, and low-income students literally will have no safe way to get to school. Children will lose child care, students will lose the opportunity for a college education, and our overcrowded classrooms will continue to be jammed with 35 to 40 students.

"That's not the kind of education or state we want. This is not the California our children deserve."

Related Content

• Education Budget - Fiscal reports on the Budget Act and related legislation.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Teachbad Watches “Waiting For Superman”, Part I | Mr. Teachbad

Teachbad Watches “Waiting For Superman”, Part I | Mr. Teachbad:

Teachbad Watches “Waiting For Superman”, Part I

by teachbad

I know I’m a little late to this party. Remarkably, I have not seen the blockbuster film Waiting For Superman…until yesterday. I have, of course, been aware of this movie and heard what many people, especially teachers, have had to say about it. It will not surprise you that, generally, people in my circle have not liked this movie. (By the way, I borrowed it from the public library, so I didn’t pay for it. But, ironically, I suddenly think I might be in favor of more censorship in public Read more […]

From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment

December 13th, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post written by Douglas B. Reeves, founder of the Leadership and Learning Center in Salem, Mass., and author of ASCD books on educational leadership. Connect with Reeves by e-mail atDReeves@LeadAndLearn.com. This post was originally featured in ASCD Express.

For all the ink that has been spilled regarding the issue of differentiated instruction, little has been said about differentiated assessment. There is no doubt that students come to school with a variety of backgrounds and learning needs, and Carol Ann Tomlinson (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006) and others (e.g., Stefanakis & Meier, 2010; Fogarty & Pete, 2010) have documented the importance of the issue and the potential success of the

American Enterprise Institute’s Hess is intrigued by the NEA teacher effectiveness report. « Fred Klonsky

American Enterprise Institute’s Hess is intrigued by the NEA teacher effectiveness report. « Fred Klonsky:

American Enterprise Institute’s Hess is intrigued by the NEA teacher effectiveness report.

by Fred Klonsky

If Fred Hess is intrigued, you should be concerned with the NEA’s report.

The American Enterprise Institute pretty much defines right-wing think tank.

Fred Hess is an AEI “scholar.”

He is the definition of an anti-union corporate school reformer.

Amazingly, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel invited him to serve as a consultant to the NEA’s commission on

Support PURE! » PSAT for 12-13-11: Stop school closings!

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 12-13-11: Stop school closings!:

PSAT for 12-13-11: Stop school closings!

by admin

Tonight beginning at 6 pm, the CTU is sponsoring a vigil and camp out at CPS headquarters, 125 S. Clark Street, prior to the December 14th Chicago Board of Education meeting. Think about joining them, or at least stopping by for a while – after rush hour it gets pretty quiet downtown and you can usually drive by or even park near CPS offices without too much trouble.

Sadly, the school closings overnight camp out has become a regular ritual here in Chicago, beginning with the August 2004 activists’ sleep-in on the sidewalk at CPS when the first round of school closings under Mayor

Teacher Power: The One Percent Solution - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Teacher Power: The One Percent Solution - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Teacher Power: The One Percent Solution

by Anthony Cody

Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody

Numbering more than four million, teachers represent better than one percent of the population of the United States. Given the fact that only about half the people in our nation actually vote, teachers are potentially even more than one percent of the electorate. And national elections are sometimes decided by margins smaller than this. Beyond our votes, teachers are connectors, influential among friends, family and community members.

We have been bulwarks of the nation's middle class, but as with the rest of the 99 percent, things have been tough the past three decade. As the nation's sleeping middle class wakes up to the nightmare the American dream has been turned into, perhaps teachers have a chance to gain some allies as we seek to defend our schools.

What would happen if we used this strength - combined with that of parents, college students and the

Teach for America ‘research’ questioned - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Teach for America ‘research’ questioned - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Teach for America ‘research’ questioned

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Philip Kovacs, assistant professor of education at the University of Alabama, Huntsville assistant professor Philip Kovacs. A version of this was first published on Anthony Cody’s blog, Living in Dialogue, on the Education Week Teacher site.

He starts the post by referring to Teach for America’s training system, which involves taking newly minted college graduates and putting them through five weeks of intensive summer training before sending them into classrooms in some of the country’s most troubled schools.

Read full article >>

Schools Matter: TFA Invades Charleston SC

Schools Matter: TFA Invades Charleston SC:

TFA Invades Charleston SC

by P. L. Thomas

Email sent to the reporter:

Regarding your piece about hiring TFA teachers:

Struggling schools to get strong teachers

By Diette Courrégé

dcourrege@postandcourier.com

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

You should be aware of tremendous flaws in considering TFA recruits as qualified or effective teachers in high-

NJ Spotlight | Slow Down the School Reform Factory

NJ Spotlight | Slow Down the School Reform Factory:

Slow Down the School Reform Factory

Mechanistically linking test scores to teacher evaluations means trouble not accountability

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By Gordon MacInnes, December 12, 2011 in Opinion |2 Comments

Reformers look on education as something like an assembly line: the requisite machinery and bins of gleaming parts are all in place. If the products that come off the line don't sell, it must be the welders who are to blame.

Under this mechanistic view, no one stops to consider blindingly obvious design flaws. What if the factory is tooled up to turn out gleaming, new … Edsels?

There's more than a little of this sort of oversimplification evident when the talk turns to teacher evaluation: Kids arrive for the school year well prepared. Teachers have been taught by the university and certified by the state. Principals and supervisors are trained to oversee and evaluate teachers.

If the test scores don't go up, then it's because the welders -- I mean, teachers -- held back or didn't

A Message from Diane Ravitch | FairTest

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest:

December 13, 2011

Dear Friend,

Five years ago, I could not imagine that I would one day be writing an appeal on behalf of FairTest. But I have changed my views and now see the damage that test-based accountability and No Child Left Behind have done to our children, our teachers, and our schools. I wish I had realized sooner what I know now. But it's never too late to learn. FairTest got it right: high-stakes testing is distorting the very purposes of education, demeaning the role of teachers, and turning our schools into test-prep factories. If we truly want schools that respect professionalism and encourage creativity and innovation, our nation needs radically different policies for testing and accountability. Those who admire the high-stakes testing status-quo are well funded. With the support of major foundations and the Department of Education, they are pushing for even more misuse of high-stakes standardized exams. FairTest is one of the few outspoken opponents of this misguided course of action. Parents and teachers need a strong voice to advocate against the destructive misuse of test scores. FairTest provides that voice. FairTest has effectively stood up to the pro-testing onslaught: coordinating a network of 150+ national education reform, civil rights, disability and advocacy groups who have demonstrated the flaws of "No Child Left Behind" and continues to push for a law that will truly benefit children leading the movement for test-optional college admissions, which now lists more than 850 accredited bachelor-degree granting institutions that do not require either the SAT or ACT serving as a clear voice with major news media offering credible arguments for fairer and more educationally sound assessments Please help FairTest maintain the momentum into 2012 by making your most generous donation today either online at https://secure.entango.com/donate/MnrXjT8MQqk or by mailing a check to P.O. Box 300204, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

Sincerely, Diane Ravitch P.S. Donations to FairTest are completely tax-deductible.

On the Purposes of Schooling - Dana Goldstein

On the Purposes of Schooling - Dana Goldstein:

On the Purposes of Schooling

from Dana Goldstein by Dana Goldstein

Horace Mann: "Man is improvable. Some people think he is only a machine, and that the only difference between a man and a mill is that one is carried by blood and the other by water."

The New York Times' Stephanie Saul has a blockbuster investigative feature out on K12, the for-profit manager of virtual public charter schools. Saul finds that enrolling a child in a virtual school is, in fact, cheaper for the state than enrolling him in a brick-and-mortar school. But in the case of Pennsylvania's Agora Cyber Charter School, the modest cost savings are more than offset by a loss of quality: a learning "environment" of low standards (the lowest grade is not 0, but 50, and it is almost impossible to enforce attendance) and little or no real-time interaction with peers and teachers.

Many educators believe there is a place for full-time virtual learning for children whose pace is extremely accelerated or those with behavioral or other issues, like teenage mothers who need to stay home with their