Brown: Cull the herd of state tests | Thoughts on Public Education

Brown: Cull the herd of state tests | Thoughts on Public Education:

Brown: Cull the herd of state tests

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State of State outlines education themes

Posted on 1/16/12 • Categorized as Evaluations, Jerry Brown, Teacher Development

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Gov. Jerry Brown will call for fewer state standardized tests and attempt to redirect a potentially divisive debate over teacher evaluations in his State of the State address today to the Legislature. Without being specific, he will also call for locally driven school monitoring measures to complement his call for shifting authority over spending from Sacramento to school districts, according to State School Board Executive Director Sue Burr, who gave school finance officials a preview Tuesday of education themes Brown will touch on. She elaborated in an interview with me afterward.

After being sidetracked by the budget his first year in office, Brown is pursuing some of the ambitious plans on which he campaigned two years ago. This month he called for the most

NYC Public School Parents: A teacher's story: Why the DC Impact system Bloomberg wants NYC schools to emulate caused me to leave teaching

NYC Public School Parents: A teacher's story: Why the DC Impact system Bloomberg wants NYC schools to emulate caused me to leave teaching:

A teacher's story: Why the DC Impact system Bloomberg wants NYC schools to emulate caused me to leave teaching

by Leonie Haimson

There is huge pressure from all sides – the federal government, Governor Cuomo, and Mayor Bloomberg – on the UFT, the NYC teachers union, to agree to a test-based teacher evaluation and compensation system in NYC. Similar pressures are being exerted on teachers throughout the US, as a result of "Race to the Top" and the corporate reform agenda being promoted by the Gates Foundation and the other members of the Billionaire Boys Club. In his State of the City address, Bloomberg also proposed that teachers rated highly through such a system should get a salary increase of $20,000 a year.

Merit pay has been tried in many cities, including NYC, and has never worked to improve student outcomes. When challenged about the evidence for such a policy, Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson tweeted a link to a recent NY Times puff piece about DC’s Impact system, in which a couple of teachers who had received bonuses after being rated “highly effective” were interviewed as saying that this

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's retreat

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's retreat:

Rahm's retreat

by Mike Klonsky

Eric Ruder from the Coalition Against NATO/G8 Agenda of War and Poverty (CANGATE) speaks on Mayor Emanuel's new ordinances concerning protests in the City of Chicago. Tuesday, January 17, 2012 | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times

Classic Rahm. He pushes the envelope on First Amendment rights and then pulls back in the face of protest.

The Sun-Times reports, he canceled plans to dramatically increase fines for resisting arrest to appease aldermen and protesters concerned he was trampling First Amendment rights in the name of securing the NATO and G-8

An Urban Teacher's Education: Teach for America: Here We Go Again

An Urban Teacher's Education: Teach for America: Here We Go Again:

Teach for America: Here We Go Again

by James Boutin

It's been so long since I last complained about Teach For America, I apparently just couldn't go another day without. Now is a particularly conflicting time for me as some of the first students I taught are being accepted into Teach For America. In the last weeks, I've gotten more than a few Facebook messages from former students either telling me of their acceptance or asking my opinion.

I have no idea how to react. There's a part of me that wants to go on a tirade, wants to tell them everything I think about TFA. And there's another part of me that is so proud of their commitment to education, because I don't think I have any former students who are using TFA to get into law school or work in congress.

It's just so frustrating to listen to those new to the profession preach about their commitment to education equity

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SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: South Bronx School Gives Governor Cuomo Some Ultimatums

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: South Bronx School Gives Governor Cuomo Some Ultimatums:

South Bronx School Gives Governor Cuomo Some Ultimatums

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

Thank you paid Koch brother's spokesman and current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for doing the bidding of the evil twins, amongst others, and giving the UFT a 30 day ultimatumthat demands we kow tow to Uncle Mike and sign the agreement for the new evaluation system. That's real nice Andy. As a 6 year old does when he doesn't get his way, Governor Andy is taking his balls and not let anyone play with them until he gets what he wants. Worse, is threatening to withhold money shows that he is now akin to some Bond super-villain.

But we have come up with out own list o