UC campus police move in on student protesters #ucdavis #ows

UC campus police move in on student protesters:

UC campus police move in on student protesters Nanette Asimov,Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writers Thursday, November 10, 2011 Print E-mail Share Comments (428) Font | Size: 1291 Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle Young Occupy Cal protesters clash with UC Berkeley police officers and Alameda County sheriff's deputies on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in Berkeley, Calif. IMAGES View All Images (45) Berkeley -- Dozens of police in riot gear descended on UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza on Wednesday in two violent confrontations with student protesters that prevented them from building an Occupy encampment on the campus. Campus police arrested seven protesters during an afternoon altercation at the plaza after protesters set up three tents, which police promptly tore down. By evening, protesters had once again erected tents - this time there were seven. Students joined arms an

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/09/BA861LSR8G.DTL#ixzz1lRFUiCny

How Deep is ALEC’s Reach into Driving Florida Legislation? | Scathing Purple Musings

How Deep is ALEC’s Reach into Driving Florida Legislation? | Scathing Purple Musings:

How Deep is ALEC’s Reach into Driving Florida Legislation?

by Bob Sikes

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.1326407570.html

When Orlando Sentinel reporter Leslie Postal used a release from the Democrat Progressive Caucus to report that ALEC was sponsoring another education privatization indoctrination session for state legislators this weekend, a firestorm of coverage erupted. The Koch brothers-funded group doesn’t operate in the open as evidenced by this from Postal:

ALEC has been criticized for proposing “model” legislation — on lots of topics — and then pushing state lawmakers to file bills that closely follow the association’s blueprint.

And that’s what the Democratic caucus doesn’t like, calling ”this interference by outside interests” a “threat to our democracy” i

Jersey Jazzman: Jesus Wants Your Kid's Teacher To Be Broke

Jersey Jazzman: Jesus Wants Your Kid's Teacher To Be Broke:

Jesus Wants Your Kid's Teacher To Be Broke

by Duke

It was only a matter of time before one of them tried this:

A Republican State Senator from Alabama claimed this week that keeping teacher salaries low is actually an order from the Christian deity figure, imparted in ancient texts written by Jewish tribesmen thousands of years ago.

Speaking at a prayer breakfast recently, Alabama state Senator Shadrack McGill praised giving pay raises to politicians, saying that it helps to prevent bribery. Then he shifted gears and went in the opposite direction with regards to teachers, arguing against a bill

Blue Jersey:: The Battle For Local School Control

Blue Jersey:: The Battle For Local School Control:

The Battle For Local School Control

by Jersey Jazzman

The education debate in New Jersey is increasingly becoming a debate about local control of schools. Governor Christie and ACTING Education Commissioner Cerf's emphasis on standardized testing, charter schools, and tenure reform are top-down policy edicts that take more and more authority away from local districts and put it into the hands of Trenton.

What's emerged over the last year in response is a true grassroots resistance to the imposition of corporate "reform." Boards of education, parents, teachers, and concerned citizens are coming together in an effort to stop the destruction of New Jersey's outstanding public school system through state-wide fiat. Some examples:

- This week, Cami Anderson, Newark's Superintendent of Schools, was literally booed off the stage when she announced the closing of several "failing" schools.

Anderson attempted to bring her blueprint for school reform to parents and community leaders at

A letter to Seventh Generation about Teach for America, Inc. by a special education teacher | Seattle Education

A letter to Seventh Generation about Teach for America, Inc. by a special education teacher | Seattle Education:

A letter to Seventh Generation about Teach for America, Inc. by a special education teacher

by seattleducation2011

A special education teacher in an elementary school wrote a letter to Seventh Generation complaining abouttheir partnership with TFA, Inc.

This teacher has asked to remain anonymous but this is what they said about their role as a teacher:

The kids I serve range from twice exceptional (gifted and a disability) to cognitively low.

The disabilities my students have include autism, learning disabilities, TBI, mental health issues, behavior disorders, and more. Originally, I was the autism specialist, but the new district model is to throw all but the most disabled students into neighborhood schools, and declare all inclusion/resource teachers as generalist. It’s been a terrible idea, especially since my caseload has doubled and I have lost an IA. I literally use all but about 15 minutes (lunch) a day to serve kids. I’m an experienced teacher with a high level of expertise in autism and

Daring to Look Behind the Curtain: The Drop-Out Crisis Redux | Dailycensored.com

Daring to Look Behind the Curtain: The Drop-Out Crisis Redux | Dailycensored.com:

Daring to Look Behind the Curtain: The Drop-Out Crisis Redux

by Paul Thomas

“‘Only four out of ten U.S. children finish high school, only one out of five who finish high school goes to college’”—does this sound familiar? Possibly at least echoed in the 2012 State of the Union Address by President Obama, who made this charge regarding U.S. public education?:

“We also know that when students don’t walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. When students are not allowed to drop out, they do better. So tonight, I am proposing that every state — every state — requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.”

The opening quote is from a 1947 Time magazine article focusing on John

How real school reform should look (or explaining water to a fish) - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

How real school reform should look (or explaining water to a fish) - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

How real school reform should look (or explaining water to a fish)

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author. This first appeared on truth-out.org .

By Marion Brady

Imagine the present corporately promoted education reform effort as a truck, its tires nearly flat from the weight of the many unexamined assumptions it carries.

Read full article >>

Schools Fail Boys « Cooperative Catalyst

Schools Fail Boys « Cooperative Catalyst:

Schools Fail Boys

by Paula White

This post is a guest post (cross-posted from Stump The Teacher) by Josh Stumpenhorst, who is a “father, husband, 6th grade SS/LA teacher, tech enthusiast, current IL teacher of the year, ISTE emerging leader and aspiring Jedi.” according to his Twitter ID. I have been learning from Josh for a while and appreciate his honest examination of all we do in education. Please follow him on Twitter as@stumpteacher and join in the conversation about this post!

Schools Fail Boys

Before you read, understand that this might be offensive or considered sexist, but I feel a need

to share some thoughts I have had recently in regards to boys in our schools. We are failing them. I base my argument on the basis that yes, I am a boy myself, as well as the fact that I grew up with two brothers and have two sons of my own. With that in mind, I feel as though I have a fair amount of experience with boys in schools.

Schools Matter: Jacobs on Meier on KIPP

Schools Matter: Jacobs on Meier on KIPP:

Jacobs on Meier on KIPP

by Jim Horn

Joanne Jacobs' post on Meier's recent comments on KIPP. My brief response follows:

KIPP = Nazi Germany?

In musing about democracy on Bridging Differences, Deborah Meier equates KIPP and other “no excuses” schools with Nazi Germany‘s schools.

What troubles me most about the KIPPs of the world are not issues of pedagogy or the public/private issue, but their “no excuses” ideology implemented by a code that rests on humiliating those less powerful than oneself and reinforcing a moral code that suggests that there’s a one-to-one connection between being good and not getting caught. It tries to create certainties in a field where it does not belong. . . . Life is never so simple that we can award points for “badness” on a fixed numerical

Proposed legislation would require voter approval for new charter schools - phillyBurbs.com : Burlington County Times: education, schools, charter schools, burlington county, willingboro

Proposed legislation would require voter approval for new charter schools - phillyBurbs.com : Burlington County Times: education, schools, charter schools, burlington county, willingboro:

Proposed legislation would require voter approval for new charter schools

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Posted: Friday, February 3, 2012 3:09 pm | Updated: 6:35 pm, Fri Feb 3, 2012.

By David Levinsky Staff writer | 0 comments

TRENTON — Voters in Willingboro could have a say in whether two new charter schools open this fall under a reform bill moving through the state Legislature.

The bill would require a local referendum to pass in any school district from which a proposed charter school would open or draw students.

The Assembly Education Committee voted 6-2 on Thursday afternoon to advance the legislation, along with a second bill that would impose several mandates on new and existing charter schools.

Charter schools are public institutions that open to all students on a space-available basis. They are funded by taxpayers but operate independently from the school districts from which they draw.

Burlington County's approved charters are the Riverbank Charter School in Florence, the Renaissance Regional Charter School in Wrightstown, the Benjamin Banneker Preparatory School in Willingboro, and the Willingboro Academy Charter School.

The state Department of Education has the sole authority

'Lackluster' results of charter schools raises questions about conventional wisdom on school reform (Julie Mack column) | MLive.com

'Lackluster' results of charter schools raises questions about conventional wisdom on school reform (Julie Mack column) | MLive.com:

'Lackluster' results of charter schools raises questions about conventional wisdom on school reform (Julie Mack column)

Published: Saturday, February 04, 2012, 9:05 AM

KALAMAZOO — To critics of Michigan's public education system, the core problems are clear: Disengaged parents, unions that care more about the adults than children and a culture of mediocrity enabled by schools' geographic monopoly.

The common lament is that if only we could have public schools that are free of union rules and that face competitive pressure to stay in business, who could serve families that really want to be there.

Here's what's interesting: We already have that, in the form of charter schools.

No unions? Check. Must attract families to stay in business? Check. Engaged parents? The very act of enrolling in a charter school, especially one that lacks transportation as many do, is an indicator of a family taking a active role in a child's education.

Here's what is also interesting: In recent years, study after study after study indicates that

Schooling in the Ownership Society: K-12 ed market exploding, says Edweek

Schooling in the Ownership Society: K-12 ed market exploding, says Edweek:

K-12 ed market exploding, says Edweek

by Mike Klonsky

The flow of venture capital into the K-12 education market has exploded over the past year, reaching its highest transaction values in a decade in 2011, industry observers say. This according to Katie Ash, writing in the Jan. 31st online edition of EdWeek.

"[The common core] is breaking down some of those state-level barriers that made it challenging for folks [to achieve scale]," said Adam J. Newman, a founding and managing partner of