Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Mother Crusader: Charter advocates LOVE to throw around the F word:Charter advocates LOVE to throw around the F wordby darciecimaJersey Jazzman's take on Cerf's interview with the Associated Press reminds me of a letter from the Cherry Hill Superintendent and School Board. They were responding to Pastor Amir Khan who wrote an editorial in which he reported that in Cherry Hill “the share of black children who failed the standardized eighth-grade language arts test was three times the corresponding share ... more »

Still Watching Colorado « InterACT

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Still Watching Colorado « InterACT:Still Watching Coloradoby David B. CohenRecently, I wrote a blog post about a court ruling in the case of Lobato v. Colorado, in which Judge Shelia Rappaport found that the state’s funding of public education was totally inadequate and irrational, and failed to meet the state’s constitutional requirement to provide a public education for Colorado children.Today, the Colorado State Board of Education voted 4-3 to appeal that ruling. One of the “no” votes came from Elaine ... more »

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Asking students: revolutionary? #ows

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OCCUPY EDUCATION - Asking students: revolutionary?:Asking students: revolutionary?OCCUPY EDUCATION - 6 minutes agoAsking students: revolutionary?Whether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that...OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks agoWhether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that station will be held by anyone else I cannot tell. All I can say is I am Devoted and Dedicated to my education. That is WHY I OCCUPY!I Occupy Education because they say we don’t CARE. ... more »

New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012 « Cooperative Catalyst

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New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012 « Cooperative Catalyst:New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012by Tinashe BlanchetIt has been a long time since I’ve posted on my own blog because lately, I have gone into survival mode–just getting grades done and hanging on to my sanity leading up to the holiday break. The fall semester was filled with triumphs and successes for my students and me, but I also must admit that in the end, I was ...more »

Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal | Scathing Purple Musings

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Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal | Scathing Purple Musings:Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repealby Bob SikesJames Madison Institute public policy director Robert Sanchez was a busy man two days before Christmas. His first order of business was in contributing to a Tallahassee Democrat piece which touted school choice as” the civil rights issue of this era.”Sanchez has obviously staked out a ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias

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Jersey Jazzman: Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias:Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Biasby DukeThere is no other way to read this latest pronouncement from ACTING NJ Education Commissioner Cerf:AP: What's the state of public education in New Jersey? How do we compare to other states?Cerf: We compare very well from an aggregate perspective if you take the NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. New Jersey typically ranks within the top two to four in each of the four major ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: 2011 in Review

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: 2011 in Review:2011 in Reviewby Charlie MasMy, but this was a year of change for Seattle Public Schools.Change at the top.The biggest news of the year was the sudden dismissal of the superintendent, Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. The Board, which had dragged their feet from June to March in response to the State Auditor's report, acted expeditiously between their receipt of a report from an internal investigation of the Regional Small Business Development Program and their decision ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Still Not Getting It On Charters

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Jersey Jazzman: Still Not Getting It On Charters:Still Not Getting It On Chartersby DukeOh, Star-Ledger: what do I have to do to get you to start understanding the charter school debate?As charter schools begin to spread beyond the urban districts where they first took root, they are provoking a political backlash in the suburbs that could weaken support for the overall movement. We've seen the brush fires in Cherry Hill, East Brunswick, Millburn, Montclair and Princeton.In our view, the opposition ... more »

Daily Kos: blame this one on Jotter

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Daily Kos: blame this one on Jotter:blame this one on Jotterby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)thanks to his retrospective lists of top ten diaries, I encountered one I posted two years ago on Christmas.Even as we are past that day now, I have just reread it, it still speaks to me, and I thought perhaps I would share it again. If you prefer the original for the thread, you can read it herePlease indulge me a bitecause this will be another diary where ... more »

Daily Kos: TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

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Daily Kos: TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE:TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACEby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)TFA = Teach for America. The title of this post is borrowed from this piece from my good friend David Greene, who has mentored Teach for America recruits for a number of years.I think it is one of the most important things for understanding the problems with Teach for America. Thus I asked Dave for permission to cross-post it here, which he ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Poverty Matters

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Jersey Jazzman: Poverty Matters:Poverty Mattersby DukeA conversation about poverty and international test score comparisons from the comments:Stuart Buck said..."But for a woman who is so worried about defining poverty, it seems like quite a stretch to claim so assuredly that this is a "more valid" comparison than Ravitch's."The reason it's more valid is that even if it's a flawed way to measure poverty, at least different

Occupy the Academy Awards | California Father #ows

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Occupy the Academy Awards | California Father:Occupy the Academy Awardsby California FatherAs we gear up for Occupy The Tournament of Roses Parade can thoughts of occupying the Oscars be very far off? Thinking about it put me in mind of two fellow CalArtists who crashed that glamorous event nearly 25 years ago, bringing down the Hollywood 1% before it was in style.

Chicago Teachers Battle Mayor 1% | Labor Notes #ows

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Chicago Teachers Battle Mayor 1% | Labor Notes:Chicago Teachers Battle Mayor 1%Howard Ryan| December 26, 2011Rahm Emanuel, whom Occupy Chicago has dubbed Mayor 1%, fired another shot at the city’s public schools this month. He's proposed to close schools, fire teachers and staff, and hand over space to private charter school operators. Photo: Chicago Teachers Union.Rahm Emanuel, whom Occupy Chicago has dubbed Mayor 1%, fired another shot at the city’s public schools December 1. He proposed seven school closings and ...more »

Blue Jersey:: Winning charter school strategy: protect wealthy towns?

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Blue Jersey:: Winning charter school strategy: protect wealthy towns?:Winning charter school strategy: protect wealthy towns?by the_promised_landHere is a curious turn of events in the ongoing debate over whether local school districts can be forced to spend taxpayer money on charter schools at the expense of public schools and without any local vote.It concerns the Hua Mei charter school proposal, a Mandarin-immersion school. Earlier this year, the proposal would have included - and thus drawn funds from - Christie hometown Livingston, ... more »

The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technology : NPR

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The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technology : NPR:The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technologyby NPR STAFFIn 1975, when then-composer and performer Bill Buxton started designing his own digital musical instruments, he had no way of knowing he was helping to spark the next technological revolution. But nine years — and a master's in computer science — later, that all changed."I wasn't trying to make a computer interface, I was just trying to make a drum," Buxton tells NPR's Robert Siegel. "Did I envision ... more »

A December of Deceptions, Misleads and Misteps by Florida Republicans on Education Policy | Scathing Purple Musings

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A December of Deceptions, Misleads and Misteps by Florida Republicans on Education Policy | Scathing Purple Musings:A December of Deceptions, Misleads and Misteps by Florida Republicans on Education Policyby Bob SikesEducation commissioner Gerard Robinson had a nice little spin on this month’s release of state graduation numbers.“I want to commend Florida’s teachers, students, parents and school leaders for their dedication to helping their students learn and earn their high school diplomas,” Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson stated in a release. ... more »

What to expect in January from the corporate privatizers in the state of Washington | Seattle Education

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What to expect in January from the corporate privatizers in the state of Washington | Seattle Education:What to expect in January from the corporate privatizers in the state of Washingtonby seattleducation2011Remember: There is nothing “public” about charter schools except the funding of these franchises by our tax dollars.This began as a memorandum to a group of political and education activists in the state of Washington but as I started writing this, I realized that everyone in the state of Washington ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CHRISTMAS QUOTABLES

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CHRISTMAS QUOTABLES:CHRISTMAS QUOTABLESby Mike KlonskyCommunity activist Martha Sanchez, right, shares an emotional moment with her children, Gonzalo Romero, 17, and Catherine Romero, 12, celebrating victory in an eight-year battle to shut down a metal-finishing plant across the street from 28th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times)Danny SchechterI did my Christmas penance back in a very cold and all too empty Zuccotti Park on Christmas day. There had been a 24 hour ... more »

He dresses up history and his students like the fit - latimes.com

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He dresses up history and his students like the fit - latimes.com:He dresses up history and his students like the fitRoosevelt High teacher Chuck Olynyk uses costumes and props to encourage his students to become engaged with distant times and connect their own lives to history. But beneath the period garb, says a school principal, is a good instructor who cares about his classes.Comments1Share25Sophomores Ricardo Plascencia, left, and Guillermo Bazan, right, help Roosevelt High School world history teacher Chuck Olynyk ... more »

Occupy the Dream #ows

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Occupy the Dream:Members of the African-American faith community have joined forces with Occupy Wall Street to launch a new campaign for economic justice inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Faithful to its philosophical origin, the "Occupy the Dream" coalition has called for a National Day of Action on Martin Luther King Day – Monday, January 16, 2012 – to focus attention on the gross injustice visited upon the 99% by the financial elite.Occupy the Federal Reserve ... more »

NYC Educator: No Excuses, Say Troglodytes at DOE

NYC Educator: No Excuses, Say Troglodytes at DOE:

No Excuses, Say Troglodytes at DOE

by NYC Educator

It's time to shut down Grace Dodge High School in the Bronx. So says the PEP, the rubber-stamp fake Board of Education that Mike Bloomberg set up to exercise the absolute power that is mayoral control in Fun City. Never mind that 25% of the school is either pregnant or a teen parent.

As usual, the DOE has sound reasons for its decision:

“The 2010-11 attendance rate was 77% compared to the Citywide high school average of 86%, putting Grace Dodge in the bottom 7% of all high schools Citywide in terms of attendance,” the documents read.

And, of course, being pregnant, or having a child at home is no good reason to be absent more often. There must

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: ATR's!!! Look Upon Little Evan Stone And Be Led!

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: ATR's!!! Look Upon Little Evan Stone And Be Led!:

ATR's!!! Look Upon Little Evan Stone And Be Led!

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

I read Chaz's latest blog posting this afternoon with a heavy heart. It seems that jolly old St Nick is not immune from the pratfalls of the long arms of the ATR (Absent Teacher Reserve) system. We here at SBSB feel for Santa on this last night of Hanukkah 5772 and pledge our support to the man in the red suit and hope he finds a permanent position.

We also feel for Chaz as well. I have spoken with Chaz many a time and have had him on as a guest on the radio show. Chaz should be in a school and classroom permanently. He is a wonderful person and a smart man. Perhaps if I had Chaz as a science teacher in high school I would have done better.

We also read, with a heavy heart a fairly new yet thought provoking blog, NYC ATR. In this blog the trials and tribulations of every day teachers who for no fault of their own are thrown to the

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

What Meat-Industry's Meatingplace Won't Tell You About LA School Lunches | MyFDL

What Meat-Industry's Meatingplace Won't Tell You About LA School Lunches | MyFDL:

What Meat-Industry’s Meatingplace Won’t Tell You About LA School Lunches

by Phoenix Woman

School Lunch (image: krikketgirl/flickr)

You could smell the schadenfreude — not that most of big-meat-industry organ Meatingplace’s readers or writers would know the word, much less be able to spell it — a mile away (full article viewable by free subscription only):

Participation in the [LA Unified School District's] lunch program, which serves 650,000 meals daily, dropped by the thousands, and principals reported uneaten meals thrown away en masse.

This was after the district switched to a healthier menu and ditched things like strawberry-flavored milk.

But here’s what Meatingplace — which cribbed its piece from a Los Angeles Times article — won’t tell you: The

Standardized Testing & Creative Thinking | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Standardized Testing & Creative Thinking | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Standardized Testing & Creative Thinking

by Larry Ferlazzo

An interesting piece in the Huffington Post titled The Education Reform Paradox and the Extinction of Higher Level Thinking Skills led me to another article in The Week, which included this section:

While IQ scores are indisputably on the rise, American creativity levels are bottoming out. Analysis of the results of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking suggests that the creative abilities of American children have been spiraling downward for almost 20 years. The Torrance tests analyze young children’s ability to come up with original ideas and put them into practice. Kyung Hee Kim, an assistant professor at the College of William & Mary School of Education, found that scores on Torrance tests taken by children up to 6th grade between 1968 and 2008 showed a steady decline after 1990.

That’s a serious issue at a time when creative thinking is among the most desperately needed skills in the

Does School Audit = School Accountability? I Don’t Think So! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

Does School Audit = School Accountability? I Don’t Think So! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:

Does School Audit = School Accountability? I Don’t Think So!

by Oldschoolteach

It began in September. We received news that our school was going to be audited. They called it CSR, the Comprehensive Success Review. We were told it would be for our own good. A group of people from the state would come in, observe us for one day, and then offer their wisdom on how to make us better. (I found out later that this was originally done for “under improvement” schools, but the district thought it was so great, all schools in the district should benefit. Hmm..I wonder how much this cost?)

So, from September to November, everything we discussed was related to CSR.

PREDICTIONS FOR 2012 « Teachers Fight Back

PREDICTIONS FOR 2012 « Teachers Fight Back:

PREDICTIONS FOR 2012

by alkleen

1. The hot topic for teacher workshops will be about overcoming the stereotype that girls are not as interested in, and adept at math and science as boys.

2. Several states will begin to legalize internet gambling and tax it as an additional source of revenue to fund schools.

3. There will be a shortage of teachers as many of the older ones take early retirement because of their disgust with the “teach to the test mentality”.

4. The notion that teacher salaries and pensions have contributed to the financial demise of the states will begin to disappear as the economy improves.

5. The old inner city school buildings that need replacing because of structural problems will be rebuilt as

Uncensored: A Lost Article about the Save Our Schools March | The Jose Vilson

Uncensored: A Lost Article about the Save Our Schools March | The Jose Vilson:

Uncensored: A Lost Article about the Save Our Schools March

by Jose

Jose Vilson and Pedro Noguera at SOS March

I don’t usually do this, but you’re my people. On August 2nd, GOOD Magazine published an article ostensiblywritten by yours truly … with almost half the article chopped off. I won’t get into reasons why things went missing because a) I still don’t agree with Michelle Rhee, b) the person who cut the piece in half isn’t the person I usually work with on these GOOD pieces, and c) I’m about to publish this joint for you all anyways. Enjoy the uncensored version of “A Bee You Cannot Eat: Education Reform After the SOS March.”

When five thousand educators, parents, students, and other denizens concerned with the state of education come to Washington, DC ready to respond to the call for change, you respond. When these people come together in a coalition for educational social justice and activist, you listen. When you’re prompted as a teacher to speak on behalf of these thousands and the many more who couldn’t show up, you stand up and represent

Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools - NYTimes.com

Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools - NYTimes.com:

Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools

by By ERIK ECKHOLM

JEFFERSON, S.C. — It has been nearly 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled that officially sponsored prayer in public schools violated the separation of church and state.

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Anne McQuary for The New York Times

"I definitely think that we should try to get our relationship with Christ back into the schools," said Christian Chapman, who describes himself as a "traveling evangelist" and often speaks at schools.

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A posting on YouTube showed the evangelist Christian Chapman speaking at a middle school prayer rally in Jefferson, S.C.

But in some corners of the country, especially in the rural South, open prayer and Christian symbols have never really disappeared from schools, with what legal advocates call brazen violations of the law coming to light many times each year.

At a school assembly here in South Carolina on Sept. 1, a preacher described how Christ saved him from drugs, telling his rapt audience that “a relationship with Jesus is

Susan Sawyers: FoundED

Susan Sawyers: FoundED:

Susan Sawyers

Reporter, former foundation director, curator, mother of two, wife of one

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FoundED

Posted: 12/27/11 07:30 PM ET

Today's favorable income tax rates make it attractive for the mega-rich to give their dollars away. But how much of this private funding for social good wields influence over public policy? If and when it does, especially given budget shortfalls in public education, is this bad? Add to that the idea of socially responsible investing, which partners social good with financial returns. The thing is, it's not easy to give away money well and it's harder not to be criticized for motives or mechanics.

With the season of giving upon us, I've got my eye on foundations funding education stories, the who, the what, the why and a bit of but.. Here's a roundup of

State says districts without evaluation deals to lose funds Jan. 1 | GothamSchools

State says districts without evaluation deals to lose funds Jan. 1 | GothamSchools:

State says districts without evaluation deals to lose funds Jan. 1

by Philissa Cramer

The State Education Department will cut districts off from one pot of federal funds within days unless they settle on new teacher evaluations for some struggling schools.

In a move that the state teachers union called “an arbitrary exercise of brinksmanship,” State Education Commissioner John King issued the threat today to New York City and nine other school districts that are receiving School Improvement Grants to overhaul their lowest-performing schools.

King said all but two had not met the requirements to continue receiving the funds — most notably, the requirement to hammer out agreements on new teacher evaluation systems. Those agreements are supposed to