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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Big Education Ape: 3-1-12 AM A promise to education and other lies EDition #EDREFORM #SIGNON

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

North Dakota school superintendent Wayne Sanstead retiring

bismarcktribune.com - After more than 46 years in public office, the last 28 serving as superintendent of public instruction, Wayne Sanstead announced Friday that he would not be running for re-election. Sanstead, 76, s...

arneduncan

Duncan: Colo. a leader in education reform

denverpost.com - It's no surprise that Colorado was among the first states to receive a waiver from No Child Left Behind's rigid, one-size-fits-all mandates. If any one thing is true of the many challenges federal ...

arneduncan

A promise to education and other lies

tucsoncitizen.com - Katie Dabney, an administrator in the Vail School District has put herself out there as a proponent of “recruiting” teachers to stay or even come to Arizona through increased compensation.(1) While...

DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Fermin Vasquez: The Great Battle of 2012 In California - goo.gl/LIlHg2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 5 Ways to Help Borrowers (and All Students) from Dropping Out -goo.gl/nij4Rabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Kaiser Elementary School has its day - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools -goo.gl/pRrtZ5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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Teacher rated "Below Average" speaks out

insideschools.org - Vasilios Biniarls is a math teacher at a Queens middle school program for gifted students, The Academy at PS 122. He wrote to Insideschools after his name was published in the press as a "Below Ave...

DianeRavitch

SocietySee all

26 States Seek Relief From Education Law

huffingtonpost.com - WASHINGTON -- More than half of all states applied by this week's new deadline to be freed from the most strenuous requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, the Education Department sa...

mikeklonsky

Supreme Court voids takeover of schools

ctpost.com - HARTFORD -- The state Supreme Court Tuesday overturned the state takeover of the Bridgeport school system, ruling the state violated law when it failed to properly retrain the city's Board of Educa...

DianeRavitch

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Join SOS for Occupy the DOE in DC March 30-April 1

campaign.r20.constantcontact.com - FOLLOW US ON TWITTER TUESDAYS! @GetUpStandUp2@SOSFlashMob@SOSMarch@NancyFlanagan_____NEW!Weekly SOS Twitter Chatwith moderatorsSusan Du Fresne andNancy FlanaganTuesday Evenings 6 pm PDST9 pm ESTSee...

mikeklonsky

Angry Teachers: Watcha Gonna Do? | Mr. Teachbad

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Angry Teachers: Watcha Gonna Do? | Mr. Teachbad:Angry Teachers: Watcha Gonna Do?by teachbadTeach­ers are in a tough spot. I think it’s fair to say there is a grow­ing sense among teach­ers that the...

coopmike48

Celebrity Gossip, Part 2

saveseattleschools.blogspot.com - What school district seems to have been dragging their feet on releasing a long-awaited investigation report on a personnel issue at an elementary school? It has taken months for this thing (never...

coopmike48

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Dump Pritzker. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - Dear President Obama, On February 21st your campaign announced the naming of six national co-chairs from Illinois. The list included Bill Daley, Sen. Dick Durbin, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Penny Pritzker...

fklonsky

Unite Here on Penny Pritzker. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - Press Advisory for March 1, 2012Contact:Elliott Mallen, UNITE HERE(312) 656-5807, emallen@unitehere.org Parents, homeowners call on Pritzker family to pay their fair share of taxesTax appeals by Ch...

fklonsky

The in box: Unite Here on Penny Pritzker. « Fred Klonsky

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - The in box: Unite Here on Penny Pritzker. « Fred Klonsky:The in box: Unite Here on Penny Pritzker.FEBRUARY 29, 2012Press Advisory for March 1, 2012Contact:Elliott Mallen, UNITE HERE(312) 656-5807, ...

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SignOn.org Beta - Repeal an Ill

signon.org - Flag petition as inappropriateBy Joe Knapp (Contact)To be delivered to:The New York State House, The New York State Senate, Governor Andrew Cuomo, The United States House of Representatives, The Un...

leoniehaimson

Governor Quinn Do Not Cut Our Health Insurance!!!

signon.org - Flag petition as inappropriate This petition hasn't yet been reviewed by the SignOn Team. If you agree with it, please sign it! And if you see problems or something inappropriate, please flag it.By...

fklonsky

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What Florida is doing to its public schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

What Florida is doing to its public schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

What Florida is doing to its public schools

By

This was written by Jean Clements, president of Florida’s Hillsborough County Classroom Teachers Association, representing more than 9,000 teachers and school personnel.

By Jean Clements

Horace Mann called public education the “great equalizer.” Quite simply, he believed that without a strong system of public schools in this country, the elite would get an education while the middle class and poor would not.

This week, a vote by the Florida State Board of Education makes it nearly impossible for public schools to be “great equalizers” in the Sunshine State. This vote, along with education legislation pending in the state capitol, together threaten the future of Florida’s public schools. The state’s actions are “almost cataclysmic,” said Okaloosa County

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School Tech Connect: Demented Ed Reform Tweet of the Day

School Tech Connect: Demented Ed Reform Tweet of the Day:

Demented Ed Reform Tweet of the Day

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)


In reference to this. I'm not sure who the "we" is to whom the author refers, but this is quite an indictment. It's sort of the baseline hyperbole that you find on Twitter.

I love the reference to Gatto, the most overquoted arch-conservative in educational history. I didn't see him at CPAC this year-- I hope he's okay.

Here's another sample:

A new way of thinking about school
School is harming our children. We're going from bad to worse.
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Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Speech at Saint Nicholas Owen College

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Speech at Saint Nicholas Owen College:

Congressman Kimble's Speech at Saint Nicholas Owen College

by Representative Kimble
Thanks for inviting me to speak to your organization. I wish we had had a abstinence club at Notre Dame back when I was in college, but I guess we never really needed it. I graduated in 1985 and in the 1980s, nobody in college was having sex. A lot of people would tell stories, but I knew they were making it up. I'm hear to talk about birth control, which is something I've unfortunately learned a lot about even though my wife is barren due to an unfortunate childhood accident with a combine. I still love her very much and we adopted a beautiful girl this year, which is almost as good as having a child of your own.

We face a crisis in this country. Every year thousands of children are born before they are even conceived
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Trigger bill gets more guardrails | EdNewsColorado

Trigger bill gets more guardrails | EdNewsColorado:

Trigger bill gets more guardrails

by Todd Engdahl

A significantly amended version of House Bill 12-1149, this year’s milder “parent trigger” bill, got preliminary House approval Wednesday despite Democrats’ energetic efforts to amend or stop it.

Photo of literacy rally

Two familiar sports team mascots joined the governor and lieutenant governor Feb. 29, 2012, at a rally promoting early childhood literacy.

The vote was just one development in a busy day that also saw the proposed testing reduction bill die in committee, the defeat of a bill that would have set energy efficiency standards for new school buildings and an

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SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Teachers Need To Give Our Support To Pascale Mauclair

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Teachers Need To Give Our Support To Pascale Mauclair:

Teachers Need To Give Our Support To Pascale Mauclair

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)
The righteous rise/With burning eyes/Of hatred and ill-will/Madmen fed on fear and lies/To beat and burn and kill....Neil Peart 1981

Last night before the radio show I was reading Edwize to do catch up on what I wished to discuss with Leo Casey. But before I could I get the information I was seeking I came across an excellent blog post by Leo of the plight of Pascale Mauclair who through no fault of her own was rated the worst teacher in New York City. And of course the New York Post and "reporter" Georgett Roberts was there to not only kick her when Ms Mauclair was down, but to throw the proverbial salt into her wounds.

The New York Post and it's reporter
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MORE SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED ? « Teachers Fight Back

MORE SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED ? « Teachers Fight Back:

MORE SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED ?

by alkleen

The school shooting in Ohio and the reports about the shooters background has once again spurred calls for more social workers in our schools. People are asking how kids like that are able to go unnoticed and why students and teachers weren’t able to spot a potentially troubled student and refer them to a social worker. There is no way to tell if any of the recent school tragedies might have been averted by having more social workers in our schools.

For many years the school that I worked in had one social worker for a population of about 300 students. I have heard from many teachers in other schools that tell of a huge shortage of social workers and how overburdened the social workers are. Like most staffing situations, the amount of social workers in a school is subject to the school budget.

It’s not just schools that have a shortage of social workers. My daughter is a social worker and her workload at

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Schools Matter: If The Plan Is to Kill Us With Tests, Then We Will Kill the Tests

Schools Matter: If The Plan Is to Kill Us With Tests, Then We Will Kill the Tests:

If The Plan Is to Kill Us With Tests, Then We Will Kill the Tests

by Jim Horn
As Michael Winerip points out in his commentary below, the line has been drawn between those who believe that a 26 point margin or error is good enough to make high stakes education policy decisions, and those who now ask Cuomo, Bloomberg, Duncan, and Gates: "Have you no shame?"

Join us in Occupying the DOE March 30-April 2. Free sleeping space indoors for over 500 people. Thismadness will not hold. Info below from United Opt Out:

From the NYTimes. My bolds:
Feb. 28, 2012, 11:18 a.m.

I’m delighted that the New York City Education Department has released its teacher data reports.
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The Guerilla Teacher's Handbook Part 2 by Espiritu Makiguchi - Perdaily.com

The Guerilla Teacher's Handbook Part 2 by Espiritu Makiguchi - Perdaily.com:

The Guerilla Teachers Handbook Part 1 by Espiritu Makiguchi

by Leonard Isenberg

Emiliano Zapata.jpg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

The term "Guerrilla" is Spanish for "little war." It originated in the Napoleonic Wars. The French took over Spain. A "Guerrillero" was a soldier in the Spanish Rebel Army. However, during the Battle of Puebla, in Mexico, the French met a new soldier. This soldier did not fight in the conventional style of standing in straight lines and firing volleys of rifle fire at each other until one side dominated. This soldier hid in the bushes, behind rocks, inside buildings, up in trees and any other convenient hiding location. The attack would occur after careful planning, and the proper respect for time. The tactics employed by guerrillas date back to the ideas of Sun Tzu who wrote The Art of War. In this book he demonstrates how your small group could beat a larger army. He argued that you use your carefully planned and timed strength to exploit the weakness of the enemy. In our case, it is the small cadre of teachers versus the vast resources of LAUSD and school districts like it throughout the country. This is intended to give you a heads up regarding the disgusting tactics public school



The Guerilla Teacher's Handbook Part 2 by Espiritu Makiguchi

by Leonard Isenberg
The Art of War.jpg
(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

Tactics employed by Public School Administrators

One of the first tactics you will see (as a target of the administration) is the increase in correspondence with you principal. You will begin to see notes appearing frequently in your mailbox. They are like little psychological bombs meant to ruin your day. You will see notes saying things like: I have a concern about this.... I would like to speak with you about ......... I have some questions about something I saw you do, please come to my office...... etc. They usually want to meet with you in a couple of days so that you can allow this unpleasant feeling to sink in.

Another tactic is the use of the white envelope. A white envelope will appear in your mailbox. In it you will find a



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The Educated Reporter: Occupy Education, NCLB and Community Colleges

The Educated Reporter: Occupy Education, NCLB and Community Colleges:

Occupy Education, NCLB and Community Colleges

by Emily Richmond
The Occupy Education movement is calling for a national day of action today, aimed at "turning back the tide of austerity" through coordinated large-scale public action.

"We refuse to accept the dismantling of our schools and universities, while the banks and corporations make record profits," according to a statement on the organization's Web site. "We refuse to accept educational re-segregation, massive tuition increases, outrageous student debt, and increasing privatization and corporatization."

San Francisco students and educators are planning to mark the occasion with walkouts and teach-ins at the area's public colleges and universities.The walkout will be followed Friday by a rally at the state's Capitol in Sacramento.

"The 99% have already paid a high price as a result of the global financial crisis. Now we are demanding that
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Jersey Jazzman: Don't Hold Your Breath

Jersey Jazzman: Don't Hold Your Breath:

Don't Hold Your Breath

by Duke
ACTING Commissioner Cerf is on the case! Eventually...
State acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said Wednesday he would review the impact of the new superintendent salary caps to see whether districts had lost talent at the top.
Cerf’s comment came as he addressed about 500 superintendents at a meeting of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators at Jackson Liberty High School. During the question-and-answer period, two superintendents won long applause when they said the year-old caps caused a brain drain.
“The best I can tell you on the superintendent cap is you have been heard, you have been
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