Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-1 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

Making Learning Relevant for the Whole Child « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Making Learning Relevant for the Whole Child « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Making Learning Relevant for the Whole Childby ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost submitted by Tim Magner, executive director of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), the leading national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. Magner has had an extensive career in education, serving most recently as the vice president of Keystone for KC Distance Learning as well as the director of ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Did a TSA Note About Possible School Bus Terrorism Come Home in Your Child's Backpack?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Did a TSA Note About Possible School Bus Terrorism Come Home in Your Child's Backpack?:Did a TSA Note About Possible School Bus Terrorism Come Home in Your Child's Backpack?by stlgretchenEight school buses have disappeared within the last year in St. Louis and Jefferson counties (Missouri). Could school buses be used in terroristic attacks? The TSA is concerned about missing school buses and possible criminal use.From School Transportation News 02.29.12:The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reminded student transporters to ... more »

Hechinger Report | How New York City’s value-added model compares to what other districts, states are doing

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Hechinger Report | How New York City’s value-added model compares to what other districts, states are doing:How New York City’s value-added model compares to what other districts, states are doingby Sarah ButrymowiczNew York City schools erupted in controversy last week when the school district released its “value-added” teacher scores to the public after a yearlong battle with the local teachers union. The city cautioned that the scores had large margins of error, and many education leaders around the country believe ... more »

Schools Matter: Rahm's Corporate Pals Running CPS School Closings and CPS School Openings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Schools Matter: Rahm's Corporate Pals Running CPS School Closings and CPS School Openings:Rahm's Corporate Pals Running CPS School Closings and CPS School Openingsby Jim HornAfter years of malignant neglect by the Daley Machine in Chicago, Rahm Emanuel is now in charge of completing the school corporatization plan that has fully taken shape since 2000. Emanuel last year appointed the former head of the corporate welfare outfit, the Academy of Urban School Leadership (AUSL), to head his covey of appointed toadies ... more »

Anti charter school resolution passed by The Nova Project PTSA | Seattle Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Anti charter school resolution passed by The Nova Project PTSA | Seattle Education:Anti charter school resolution passed by The Nova Project PTSAby seattleducation2011Resolution from The Nova Project PTSA(also referred to as Nova High School)The Nova Project is an alternative public high school in Seattle that is committed to equitable education for all students. Our community believes that fully funded public education is fundamental to the survival of our democracy and collective well-being. We call upon all citizens to demand adequate ... more »

March 1st Day of Action for Education Transformation Blogger March #occupyeduM1 « Cooperative Catalyst

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

March 1st Day of Action for Education Transformation Blogger March #occupyeduM1 « Cooperative Catalyst:March 1st Day of Action for Education Transformation Blogger March #occupyeduM1by coopcatalystToday all over the country students, educators, parents and community members are taking part in Day of Action for Education Transformation. There are many ways to support this day of action. One way is to make your voice heard online. Today we will be collecting blog posts and twitter/facebook status message and pictures and posters in ... more »

Daily Kos: About Andrew Breitbart

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Daily Kos: About Andrew Breitbart:About Andrew Breitbartby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)"a special pile of human excrement,"“villain,” a “duplicitous bastard,” and a “prick.”he was a f@#$er. a big ass motherf@#$er. this aint a 24-hour zone, baby. he was a bad, bad dude. if mary jo were your kin youd be dancin'.I could go on.The words are all Breitbart's.They are those he chose to use on the occasion of the passing of Ted Kennedy in August 2009.He thought they were appropriate to use towards ... more »

Williamsburg Parents File Suit Against Success Charter Network « New York City Parents Union

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Williamsburg Parents File Suit Against Success Charter Network « New York City Parents Union:Williamsburg Parents File Suit Against Success Charter Networkby adminWilliamsburg parents and community fight back seeking an injunction to stop PEP’s rubber stamp co-location vote.Williamsburg Parents Lawsuit Against Success Charter Network Seeking An Injunction To Prevent Co-location

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Democracy Now!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Democracy Now!:Democracy Now!by Mike KlonskyOccupy Education: Teachers, Students Fight School Closings, Privatization, Layoffs, RankingsPopout

A Parent Says: Enough of the Blame Game With Teachers – SchoolBook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 42 minutes ago

A Parent Says: Enough of the Blame Game With Teachers – SchoolBook:A Parent Says: Enough of the Blame Game With TeachersFACEBOOKTWITTERPRINT0 Commentsr ResearchMarch 1, 2012, 11:56 a.m.By MARTHA FOOTE“TDRs are a four-letter word!” That was my son’s favorite slogan when the parents and teachers at his school, Public School 321 in Park Slope, held a rally in the fall of 2010 to protest the imminent release of the teacher data reports. We were not alone. Sister rallies were held the ... more »

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

What Florida is doing to its public schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:What Florida is doing to its public schoolsBy Valerie StraussThis 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 ClementsHorace 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 ... more »

School Tech Connect: Demented Ed Reform Tweet of the Day

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Demented Ed Reform Tweet of the Day:Demented Ed Reform Tweet of the Dayby 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 ... more »

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Speech at Saint Nicholas Owen College:Congressman Kimble's Speech at Saint Nicholas Owen Collegeby Representative KimbleThanks 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 ... more »

Trigger bill gets more guardrails | EdNewsColorado

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Trigger bill gets more guardrails | EdNewsColorado:Trigger bill gets more guardrailsby Todd EngdahlA 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.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, ... more »

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Teachers Need To Give Our Support To Pascale Mauclair:Teachers Need To Give Our Support To Pascale Mauclairby 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 1981Last 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 ... more »

MORE SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED ? « Teachers Fight Back

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

MORE SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED ? « Teachers Fight Back:MORE SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED ?by alkleenThe 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 ... more »

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

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 Testsby Jim HornAs 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 ... more »

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

The Guerilla Teacher's Handbook Part 2 by Espiritu Makiguchi - Perdaily.com:The Guerilla Teachers Handbook Part 1 by Espiritu Makiguchiby Leonard Isenberg(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 ... more »

The Educated Reporter: Occupy Education, NCLB and Community Colleges

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

The Educated Reporter: Occupy Education, NCLB and Community Colleges:Occupy Education, NCLB and Community Collegesby 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 ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-29 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education WeekBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-26 minutes agoCalif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week:Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB WaiverBy Michele McNeil on February 29, 2012 3:03 PMBy Sean CavanaghCalifornia is continuing to hold out on pursuing a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act, citing its objections to the Obama administration's requirements of ... more »

Teacher Cheating Scandals Spur Obama Administration Call To Address Growing Problem

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Teacher Cheating Scandals Spur Obama Administration Call To Address Growing Problem:Teacher Cheating Scandals Spur Obama Administration Call To Address Growing Problemby Joy ResmovitsThe first time Bob Wilson, a former DeKalb County, Georgia, district attorney, interviewed educators suspected of cheating on exams in 56 Atlanta schools, he got nothing. The second time, armed with information, lawyers and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, the teachers began to crack.By last summer, the investigation by Wilson and his colleagues gave Atlanta the notoriety of ... more »

American Principles in Action Issues Press Release on SC Vote | Truth in American Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

American Principles in Action Issues Press Release on SC Vote | Truth in American Education:American Principles in Action Issues Press Release on SC VotePosted on February 29, 2012 by James BellFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jameson CunninghamFebruary 29, 2012 Shirley Banister Public Affairs703-739-5920/800-536-5920 jcunningham@sbpublicaffairs.com Bipartisan Vote to Restore South Carolina’s Parental Authority over their Children’s EducationAmerican Principles Project Praises Sen. Fair’s Leadership toCombat Government MandatesWashington, DC – Today, American Principles in Action (API... more »

House-Senate committee on school finance named by Dewhurst, Straus | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

House-Senate committee on school finance named by Dewhurst, Straus | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com:House-Senate committee on school finance named by Dewhurst, Strausby Terrence Stutz/ReporterLegislative leaders on Wednesday appointed 11 senators and 11 House members to a special committee that will study the state's beleaguered school finance system and recommend changes to the 2013 Legislature. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (right) and House Speaker Joe Straus announced the appointments as the state gears up to fight four separate school funding ... more »

Modern School: Only Slavery Can Save a School When Funding Dries Up?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Modern School: Only Slavery Can Save a School When Funding Dries Up?:Only Slavery Can Save a School When Funding Dries Up?by Michael DunnTilden Middle School in Philadelphia lost a number of teachers to budget cuts this year, as well as a secretary, noontime aides, and money for their before- and after-school programs. Despite the cuts, they managed to add a grief-counseling program, which may have helped kids deal with the loss of favorite teachers axed as a result of the ...more »

TEACHER HEROES AND MERIT PAY « Teachers Fight Back

TEACHER HEROES AND MERIT PAY « Teachers Fight Back:

TEACHER HEROES AND MERIT PAY

by alkleen

I hope everyone saw the news conference concerning the school shooting in Ohio. The coach who chased the shooter away was given a few moments to speak. I hope everyone heard the emotion in the coach’s voice as he spoke about not being a hero and wishing he could have done more.

I wish people could understand that there are teacher heroes at work every day in almost every school in this country. These teachers might not be heroes on the scale of this coach, but they do smaller heroic things all the time. These teachers embrace their students as if they were their own children. They help them fight drugs, gang influences, abusive parents, emotional trauma, miserable home lives, poverty, social problems, and teach them how to cope with whatever problems they are having. These teachers have an emotional connection with their students. They are close to being the competent parent that these kids are missing. They are important role models and pass on many important values that these students will come to embrace.

The concept of merit pay for teachers is basically flawed because of the above mentioned teacher roles as well

Jersey Jazzman: Once Again, NBC Ignores Teachers

Jersey Jazzman: Once Again, NBC Ignores Teachers:

Once Again, NBC Ignores Teachers

by Duke

So there's another one of these big reformy lovefests on the "liberal" (ha!) MSNBC tomorrow. And, oh, huzzah -this one's in Jersey:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be at Fort Lee High School for a “special town hall meeting” Friday morning as one of many guests on the live broadcasts of MSNBC’s Morning Joeand Way Too Early, according to producers.

Gov. Jack Markell, D-Del., Gov. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn. and Students First founder Michelle Rhee, among others, will join Christie on the live broadcast from the high school gymnasium.

The discussion will focus on education reform.

No, the discussion will focus on how "bad" teachers are destroying America and the only solution is to eliminate their job protections on the basis of inaccurate and arbitrary testing. There will also be plenty of discussion about how we just don't have any more money to pay teachers decently (bull) or keep promises that politicians have

Amazing Graph Proves Poverty Doesn’t Matter!(?) « School Finance 101

Amazing Graph Proves Poverty Doesn’t Matter!(?) « School Finance 101:

Amazing Graph Proves Poverty Doesn’t Matter!(?)

by schoolfinance101

I just couldn’t pass this one up. This is a graph for the ages, and it comes from a presentation by the New Jersey Commissioner of Education given at the NJASA Commissioner’s Convocation in Jackson, NJ on Feb 29.State of NJ Schools presentation 2-29-2012

Please turn to Slide #24:

The title conveys the intended point of the graph – that if you look hard enough across New Jersey – you can find not only some, but MANY higher poverty schools that perform better than lower poverty schools.

This is a bizarre graph to say the least. It’s set up as a scatter plot of proficiency rates with respect to free/reduced lunch rates, but then it only includes those schools/dots that fall in these otherwise unlikely

Seattle Schools Community Forum: More Stellar Writing on Public Education

Seattle Schools Community Forum: More Stellar Writing on Public Education:

More Stellar Writing on Public Education

by Melissa Westbrook

For the second time in a week, I have been dazzled by some great writing on education. The Times has an op-ed by SPS high school teacher, Dan Magill, in response to the op-ed by Brad Smith (whose piece was about needed ed reform).

He very plainly sets out the challenge and the goal:

I would like to reframe the reality. There aren't two sides. There are four corners. And in the middle hangs the goal: a sober-minded, analytical, skilled population that seizes opportunities by the gray matter.


Waiting in corner one, the students — a word I'll define shortly. Warming up in corner two, the good teachers. The bad teachers don't get a corner, partly because there aren't very many of them. Corner three features the

Family Event Fundraiser at Jane Addams K-8 on Saturday

by Melissa Westbrook

Do you have kids in pre-school through 3^rd grade? Then don’t miss this rare Northwest appearance from the award-winning host of PBS KIDS' Music Time with SteveSongs!

SteveSongs Family Benefit Concert - Saturday, March 3rd at 3:00PM
Jane Addams K-8 School Theatre - 11051 34th Avenue NE, Seattle

Who is SteveSongs?
Steve Roslonek has performed his smart, catchy music from the White House to the West Coast. Entertaining kids and families for a dozen years - but as Zooglobble recommended: “If you just know him as Mr. Steve from PBS Kids, then you’re missing half the story. He’s got a whole bunch of fun, often funny, music for a slightly older crowd.” His music is intelligent, educational, and fun – and something that the adults in the family don’t mind hearing over and over.

Check it out for yourself. Here is a concert video of one of Steve’s great science oriented songs called

Modern School: Teachers: the New Satanic Serial Child Molesters?

Modern School: Teachers: the New Satanic Serial Child Molesters?:

Teachers: the New Satanic Serial Child Molesters?

by Michael Dunn

Teachers Just Wanna Have Fun (Image from Flickr, by SKPY)

Attacking teachers’ unions, collective bargaining and due process rights, pensions, salaries and privacy has not ended the achievement gap nor mollified the critics of public education. Now the witch hunt for teachers is taking a new and twisted turn for the worse, thanks to several recent and coincidental abuse allegations against Los Angeles Unified School District employees and an orgy of hysterical media reports portraying the problem as rampant and due in part to the teachers union.

While it is, of course, imperative that schools provide safe learning environments and that everyone, including teachers, be held accountable for criminal misconduct, a cluster of child abuse allegations does not an epidemic make. Despite the fact that six L.A. Unified employees

How, and How Not, to Improve the Schools by Diane Ravitch | #soschat #edreform #edchat

How, and How Not, to Improve the Schools by Diane Ravitch | The New York Review of Books:

How, and How Not, to Improve the Schools

MARCH 22, 2012

Diane Ravitch

Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?
by Pasi Sahlberg
Teachers College Press, 167 pp., $34.95 (paper)

A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t in Providing an Excellent Education for All
by Wendy Kopp with Steven Farr
PublicAffairs, 229 pp., $25.99

Matt Roth

David Donaldson, a high school teacher in the Teach for America program, with his students at the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Sciences, Baltimore, December 2009

In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama proposed that teachers should “stop teaching to the test” and that the nation should “reward the best ones” and “replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.” This all sounds sensible, but it is in fact a contradictory message. The president’s