Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts May Day #edreform #soschat


LAO: District oversight works | Thoughts on Public Education

LAO: District oversight works | Thoughts on Public Education: LAO: District oversight works - by John Fensterwald - Educated GuessbyJohn Fensterwald - Educated GuessDespite occasional interference by the Legislature, the system of fiscal oversight over districts by county offices of education has worked, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has concluded. “Given the substantial fiscal challenges that school districts have faced over the last two decades, the state’s fiscal oversight system has been effective in ensuring that school districts remain fiscally [...]Local ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What's going on down on Rahm's plantation?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What's going on down on Rahm's plantation?: What's going on down on Rahm's plantation?byMike KlonskyDonoso's toastIs anybody buying the story thanNoemi Donoso"resigned" from her $195,000 post as the mayor's hand-picked chief education officer, after less than a year, in order to"pursue national projects.."? Is that the new version of "spending more time with my family"? She is the third top CPS officer to bail in less than three months.And what timing -- right in the middle ... more »

Yes You - May Day! | OccupyWallSt.org

Yes You - May Day! | OccupyWallSt.org: May 1st General StrikeShut Down the 1% and Fight BackNo Work – No School – No Housework – No ShoppingTake The StreetsClick Here for NYC ScheduleandOther CitiesYes You - May Day!byOccupyWallStPopoutfrom the Internet:"May what now!" Francesca (and figurines made in China) will teach you all about the history of May Day and give you some advice on what to do to celebrate workers around the worldGeneral Strike Banner Drop in Union SquarebyOccupyWallStPopoutviaStrikeEverywhere!:A banner ... more »

It may be May Day, but I’ve got kids to teach. « Fred Klonsky

It may be May Day, but I’ve got kids to teach. « Fred Klonsky: It may be May Day, but I’ve got kids to teach.byFred Klonsky Millions of workers will take to the streets today.Shops and factories will be closed.I could have used a personal day. I think I have one left.The contract requires that I use a personal day only for business that I could not take care of during the normal working day.I think May Day qualifies.But I’ve ... more »

AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations | Get Schooled

AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations | Get Schooled: AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations1:56 pmApril 28, 2012,byMaureen DowneyThe AJC has published the second installment in its major series on test score disparities nationwide. Today’s stories look at the improbable score patterns in some of the nation’s most highly decorated schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools.AJC reporters included a winning school that even merited a ... more »

The Innovative Educator: Read this opt out of testing letter from parent - Get ready to be inspired!

The Innovative Educator: Read this opt out of testing letter from parent - Get ready to be inspired!: Read this opt out of testing letter from parent - Get ready to be inspired!Editor's note: This amazing opt out letter was shared in The Texas Opt Out of State Tests group (there's one for every state). I'm sharing it here because it so eloquently and passionately identifies so many of the ills of standardized testing from a parent who has her ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Last Straw

Jersey Jazzman: The Last Straw: The Last StrawbyDukeAll of you teachers reading me right now, get this straight, for once and for all:They do not respect you!Albany, NY (April 30, 2012)Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today established the New NY Education Reform Commission, bringing together nationally-recognized education, community, and business leaders to recommend reforms to the state's education system in order to improve performance in the classroom so that all of New York's students are fully prepared for their futures.The Commission ... more »

TRS Board meets and insists on the constitutionality of any pension changes. « Fred Klonsky

TRS Board meets and insists on the constitutionality of any pension changes. « Fred Klonsky: TRS Board meets and insists on the constitutionality of any pension changes.byFred KlonskyAs I reported, the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System met yesterday in Springfield.A number of people spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. Most expressed concern with the recent “new reality” comments of Executive Director Richard Ingram.The Board is composed of four active trustees, two annuitant trustees and ... more »

The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized testsbyValerie StraussThis piecewas written by a member of theTeaching Georgia Writing Collective, a group of educators, parents, and concerned citizens who engage in public writing and public teaching about education in Georgia. Members write anonymously because many fear there would be consequences to them or their children if their views were publicly known.Read full article ... more »

Lucas Frerichs: courage, commitment and collaboration | Davis Enterprise

Lucas Frerichs: courage, commitment and collaboration | Davis Enterprise: Lucas Frerichs: courage, commitment and collaborationbyTom Sakash *Editor’s note:Each of the five candidates for Davis City Council were asked to pick a place in Davis important to them as thesetting of their interviews for this series of profiles, which will publish alphabetically this week.For Lucas Frerichs, it’s the Davis Farmers Market.Nothing feels more like Davis to Frerichs than a Saturday morning spent with wife Stacie — and the third member of ... more »

NEA - Survey finds parent-teacher relationships strong--Teachers given grade of "A"

NEA - Survey finds parent-teacher relationships strong--Teachers given grade of "A": Survey finds parent-teacher relationships strong--Teachers given grade of "A"The National Education Association and Parenting magazine partner for ground-breaking reportWASHINGTON - April 30, 2012 -Parentingmagazine and the National Education Association today announced the results of a groundbreaking joint survey* of 1,000 public school parents and educators that explored the roadblocks to effective parent-teacher communication. When parents were asked to “grade” their relationship with their child... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Can You Get a Tomato Pie in LA?

Jersey Jazzman: Can You Get a Tomato Pie in LA?: Can You Get a Tomato Pie in LA?byDuke It looks like ACTING NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf has decided to relocate control of New Jersey's schools fromTrenton to Los Angeles:Broad Residency fellows such as Bing Howell and Rochelle Sinclair are chosen, trained, paid and placed by the Broad Foundation’s decade-old educational transformation initiative.Broad has placed them with the New Jersey Department of Education, which has three high-levelleaders, including acting Commissioner ... more »

Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s (fake) NYS Ed Reform Commission « New York City Parents Union

Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s (fake) NYS Ed Reform Commission « New York City Parents Union: Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s (fake) NYS Ed Reform CommissionbyadminApril 30, 2012Contact:Mona Davids, NYC Parents Union,(917) 340-8987New York City Parents Union Statement on Governor Cuomo’s newly formed New York State Education Reform CommissionGovernor Cuomo announced the formation of his New New York Education Reform Commission. We are appalled that Governor Cuomo has now formed a so-called “education commission” that fails to include even one parent, parent ... more »

The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do | Musings on Life and Love

The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do | Musings on Life and Love: The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can DoByDennis Hong, September 13, 2010 6:30 am119KShareImage by doug88888 via FlickrThis piece was inspired by a heated discussion I had with a man who believes that teachers have an easy job. Please feel free to share it with others if you agree with the message.I used to be a molecular biologist. I spent my days culturing viruses. Sometimes, my ... more »

Social media outrage brings down anti-union Kenneth Cole billboard. « Fred Klonsky

Social media outrage brings down anti-union Kenneth Cole billboard. « Fred Klonsky: Social media outrage brings down anti-union Kenneth Cole billboard.Fred KlonskyatFred Klonsky-17 minutes agoThe billboard, featuring a woman exposing a lot of cleavage combined with an attack on teacher unions may have baffled some. But it pissed off enough people that Kenneth Cole, the sponsor of the sign, is taking it down. The outrage on blogs, Twitter and Facebook proved too much for the shoe monger. This weekend [...]The ... more »

The Obama Record in Education | Secretary Duncan's Remarks to the Mom Congress

The Obama Record in Education | U.S. Department of Education: The Obama Record in EducationSecretary Duncan's Remarks to the Mom CongressAPRIL 30, 2012Contact:Press Office, (202) 401-1576,press@ed.govThank you, Mark.Good morning and welcome to Washington, delegates.This is the third Mom Congress, and I've been honored to be at all three of them. I'm even more honored to have partners like you working across America to support education.With the support of parents and community leaders like you, educators all across our country are ... more »

CMT Scores and Teacher Evaluations – But Wait – That’s Like Comparing Apples and Tomatoes - Wait, What?

CMT Scores and Teacher Evaluations – But Wait – That’s Like Comparing Apples and Tomatoes - Wait, What?: CMT Scores and Teacher Evaluations – But Wait – That’s Like Comparing Apples and TomatoesbyjonpeltoGovernor Malloy, Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor and the rest of the “education reformers” continue to claim that Connecticut needs a “one-size-fits-all” approach to teacher evaluations in which teachers are, at least in part, rewarded, promoted or let go based on how well their students do in Connecticut’s standardized ... more »

What’s Good About “Constructive Turbulence”? « Diane Ravitch's blog

What’s Good About “Constructive Turbulence”? « Diane Ravitch's blog: What’s Good About “Constructive Turbulence”?bydianeravI blog weekly for Education Week. I think it is a wonderful publication and a great newspaper of record for education.On my blog, I have been free to write whatever I want. No one has ever told me that I can’t say what I think. I respect Education Week for that editorial independence. I mention this because a friend wrote today to ask me if I started ...more »

Kenneth Cole gets schooled - Salon.com

Kenneth Cole gets schooled - Salon.com: Kenneth Cole gets schooledUpdated: The fashion mogul has backed off his assault on schoolteachers after a public outcryBYDAVID SIROTA[UPDATE BELOW]It was always bound to go there, but few likely expected it would be so blatant. I’m talking about the ongoing campaign against organized labor; for decades deeply rooted in American political culture, the crusade has been periodically amplified in popular culture as well, from 1954′s “On the Waterfront” all the way to the Sopranos’ ... more »

Response to transformation plan: 'End to public education' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Response to transformation plan: 'End to public education' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Response to transformation plan: 'End to public education'The Occupy Philly Labor Work Group, of which Iam a member, drafted the followingstatementon theproposed transformation plan for the School District of Philadelphia.The Knudsen Plan – The End of the Promise of Public Education“Grow up and deal with it.” Mayor Michael Nutter’s response to critics of the School Transformation Plan.The fate of public education in Philadelphia just got darker if ... more »

RheeFirst! » ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MO

RheeFirst! » ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MO: ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MObyadminOriginally posted on the IEA Region 28 blog. Read theentire post here.“Scott Dieckhaus, a republican from Washington and House Chairman of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee spoke to StudentsFirst leaders about coming to Missouri in the fall of 2012. Dieckhaus is quoted in the article:“StudentsFirst has a very pragmatic and ... more »

What Do Your Students Need? — Whole Child Education

What Do Your Students Need? — Whole Child Education: What Do Your Students Need?byKlea Scharberg Students as learners are also students as people, with hopes, fears, and needs. That's why it's so important to build adult-student relationships that support and encourage each student's academic and personal growth. Thefrequency and perceived worth of interaction(PDF) with faculty, staff, and other students is one of the strongest predictors not only of student persistence but also of student learning.The winner of the2012 Vision in ...more »

Schools Matter: Join the National Boycott Against Pearson

Schools Matter: Join the National Boycott Against Pearson: Join the National Boycott Against PearsonbyJim HornShare widely. FromUnited Opt Out:Pearson, ALEC, and the Brave New (Corporate) World: Stand Up to Pearson Now!Supporters of Public Education,The curtain has been pulled aside recently from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exposing the seedy underbelly of our democracy. Organizations like ALEC circumvent the democratic process in favor of corporations. Financial resources are used to influence public officials and provide model legislation meant to easily ... more »

LAUSD'S DEASY- ABOVE THE LAW? by Rene Diedrich - Perdaily.com

LAUSD'S DEASY- ABOVE THE LAW? by Rene Diedrich - Perdaily.com: LAUSD'S DEASY- ABOVE THE LAW? by Rene DiedrichbyLeonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Espaรฑol)(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)It is already clear from Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Superintendent John Deasy that he considers the law a mere formality that he can dispense with at will. In continuing to act in complete derogation of teachers' contractual and civil rights, Deasy has ... more »

Teacher Research Transforms a School in Oakland - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Teacher Research Transforms a School in Oakland - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:


Teacher Research Transforms a School in Oakland

Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
Teachers in what was once one of the lowest performing elementary schools in Oakland have transformed their school through a combination of teacher research and innovative instructional strategies.
Teacher action research has a long history in the Oakland schools. The Mills Teacher Scholars program, under the guidance of Mills College professor Anna Richert, has been supporting teacher researchers here for more than a decade. We visited the scholars at New Highland Academy last spring and saw how they were investigating strategies for teaching their students to think critically about what they are reading. I also posted aninterview with Anna Richert. Last week I saw another presentation from this team. This is not just good teacher inquiry. This is work that is transforming their school in remarkable ways.
The following information is drawn from a presentation by Aija Simmons and Channon Neal-de-Stanton, and a paper by Ms. Simmons, entitled Reading Spaces: The Student, the Author, the Text; An Inquiry into Reading Comprehension. Ms. Simmons and her New Highland Academy colleagues will be among the 40 teacher scholars sharing their Mills Teacher Scholars inquiry work on the evening of June 5th at Mills College.
New Highland Academy is a Title 1 school in a working class neighborhood in East Oakland. More than 90% of 

Schools Matter: Lisa Delpit on Teach for America

Schools Matter: Lisa Delpit on Teach for America:


Lisa Delpit on Teach for America

From Ed Week.  Really, that Ed Week:


Our next Teacher Book Club, featuring Lisa Delpit's "Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children, is just three weeks away. Get familiar with the issues Delpit raises.
MultiplicationIn discussing systemic problems in disadvantaged schools, Delpit comes down hard on alternative-certification programs such as Teach for America that recruit bright, young leaders for two-year stints teaching in low-income schools. In a Q&A on Education Week’s BookMarks blog, Delpit delves more deeply into her criticisms of TFA and other recent reform efforts. Here's an excerpt from that conversation:Bookmarks blogger, Catherine Cardno: In your opinion, where does the TFA failure lie and is there a way the program can be adjusted so that it better meets the needs of students at inner-city schools?

Geaux Teacher!: The Power of Grassroots!!

Geaux Teacher!: The Power of Grassroots!!:


The Power of Grassroots!!

I was recently invited to join the Steering Committee of the national grassroots organization called Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action. I have been a member of the group since its inception in 2010 and participated in their National March & Call To Action in Washington, D.C. last summer. The initial group has reorganized for the purpose of carrying on its mission of supporting and improving public education in America. The battle against privatization is an important one as corporate interests backed by private and federal funding undermine a very basic pillar of democracy - public education and the opportunity it offers for EVERY child to lead a productive life. You can offer your support by joining (free) at www.saveourschoolsmarch.org. My focus with Save Our Schools will be to gather all Louisiana public education support groups and individuals under this umbrella to grow the organization and give it the power and the voice that any one of us alone cannot muster. At the same time, developing a Louisiana coalition of public education supporters will allow us to reveal the truth about public education and the myths of the so-called reform movement that have been promulgated by the media and the money funding the reform movement. Unlike the "reform" movement pushed by Governor Jindal to 

Mother Crusader: Cerf Positioning Himself To Grab the Brass Ring

Mother Crusader: Cerf Positioning Himself To Grab the Brass Ring:


Cerf Positioning Himself To Grab the Brass Ring

This blog has been severely neglected lately.  Sometimes life just gets in the way, but I have really missed blogging, and some HUGE things have happened!! 


For instance, Tikun Olam founder Sharon Akman DID NOT reapply for a charter in April.  As Jersey Jazzman was so kind to point out, both on his blog and at Blue Jersey, this was a huge victory for parents against reforminess!  (And geez, what a backlash you got to that post, sorry Duke!)  


We're not done yet though parents, not by a long shot!  Not here in Highland Park, and certainly not in the state of New Jersey.  


Here in Highland Park, Tikun Olam still has that $600,000 grant.  The denial in the last round did not terminate 

The Haymarket Riot and the Origins of May Day | Dissident Voice

The Haymarket Riot and the Origins of May Day | Dissident Voice:


The Haymarket Riot and the Origins of May Day

May 1st is May Day, the international workers’ holiday honoring the labor movement. May Day is celebrated in at least 80 countries worldwide, from Argentina to Vietnam, but not in the United States. Here, our “Labor Day” was carefully put into September – by President Grover Cleveland in 1894 – specifically so that we would not observe May Day, with all of its radical roots in syndicalist labor history. This is deeply ironic, for the event that gave rise to May Day observances the world over occurred right here in the United States: the bombing at Haymarket Square, Chicago, on May 4, 1886, during a labor rally.
The context for the Haymarket riot in 1886 was the movement for the eight-hour work day. The movement had started at least as early as 1877, when the Workingmen’s Party in Chicago called a general strike beginning July 25 in support of the eight-hour movement. The next day, on July 26, 1877, thousands of strikers were attacked and beaten into submission by police and U.S. Army infantrymen with fixed bayonets. Thirty strikers, including a number of children, were murdered by the police and federal troops. During that strike, typesetter Albert Parsons, later one of the Haymarket martyrs, was fired from his job because of a speech he had given during the strike. The bloody suppression of the 1877 strike caused another of the Haymarket martyrs, upholsterer August Spies, to join an armed worker’s self-defense organization.
The national movement for the eight-hour day reached a crescendo in the mid-1880s. In 1885, there were 645 strikes nationwide at over 2,400 businesses in support of the eight-hour goal. In 1886, the year of the Haymark

One Big Idea: Universal Preschool - Dana Goldstein

One Big Idea: Universal Preschool - Dana Goldstein:


One Big Idea: Universal Preschool

For their series "The Campaign for Big Ideas," my friends at GOOD magazine asked me what one policy proposal ought to be part of the national political debate, but has been mostly left off the table. I suggesteduniversal preschool:
Guaranteeing universal access to preschool would benefit children, of course, but also their parents and the overall economy. First, extending the social contract to 3-and-4-year-olds would acknowledge that our public education system can no longer run on a pre-feminism model that assumes mothers of young children don’t need or want to work. Second, improving lifetime educational achievement by reaching all children as early in their brain development as possible would increase economic mobility. And third, universal preschool would create many new jobs for early education teachers and teachers' aides. Those jobs might be especially attractive to low-income, single women, who raise some of the most vulnerable 

Creaming? Study Finds Charters Service Fewer High-Needs Students Than Public Schools - NY1.com

Study Finds Charters Service Fewer High-Needs Students Than Public Schools - NY1.com:


Study Finds Charters Service Fewer High-Needs Students Than Public Schools

By: Lindsey Christ
There are now 136 charter schools in the city, and dozens more are opening every year, but now a report by the New York Charter School Center is trying to pinpoint what works with charters and what doesn't. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.
Publicly financed but privately run, charter schools are a lightning rod for controversy.
Supporters argue they often outperform local schools, giving parents better options. Critics say that is because they attract better students, leaving local schools overwhelmed with more needy kids than before.
Now a new report helps shed a bit more light on who charter schools are serving and how they compare to the schools down the street.
The report comes from the New York Charter School Center, a nonprofit that supports charter 

Duncan Talks Obama Education Record at Mom Congress | ED.gov Blog

Duncan Talks Obama Education Record at Mom Congress | ED.gov Blog:


Duncan Talks Obama Education Record at Mom Congress

Secretary Duncan speaks to Mom CongressSecretary Duncan speaks to the 2012 Mom Congress Delegates. Official Department of Education photo by Leslie Williams.
What is the proper role of the federal government in education? Secretary Arne Duncan answered this question Monday at Parenting‘s annual Mom Congress in Washington. “Under President Obama’s leadership, our role here in Washington is to support you,” Duncan said. There’s a transformation underway in public education at the state and local level, he said, that is raising expectations for students and educators.
At the Department of Education, our first three years were really about building a foundation for this transformation. We have challenged the status quo wherever it is needed and championed bold reform wherever it is happening along the educational pipeline from cradle to career.
Secretary Duncan explained how the Obama Administration’s as supported reforms by:
Strengthening K-12 Education
The Administration is investing in courageous leadership at the state and local level, taking to scale practices that close achievement gaps and raise the bar for all students. Investments include:
Investing in Early Learning
The Obama Administration has made an unprecedented investment in high-quality early childhood education with the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge.
Keeping Teachers on the Job
Under the Recovery Act and emergency jobs funding, more than 325,000 teachers were kept in classrooms during the height of the recession.
Investing in Higher Education
The Obama Administration has made the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill.
  • Three million more students are going to college with Pell Grants, thanks to an increase in Pell funding by $40 billion. Rather than adding to the deficit, the Administration paid for the increase by cutting overly generous federal subsidies to big banks that make student loans.
  • Invested $2.5 billion to support adults attending community colleges.
  • Simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has resulted in 50 percent more applications since President Obama took office.
“The bottom line today is: We can’t stop,” Secretary Duncan said. “The costs of educational stagnation and mediocrity are too high. President Obama has put us on a path to reach our goal of being the best-educated country in the world by 2020, and we have to keep going.”
Arne encouraged the education advocates in the audience—moms from all 50 states and D.C.—to continue working in their communities on behalf of their own children and all children. Parents need to be good partners with their children’s teachers, he told them, but “also need to be partners in bigger, systemic issues.”
Read the entire speech here.

What You Need To Know About ALEC - Bridging Differences - Education Week

What You Need To Know About ALEC - Bridging Differences - Education Week:


What You Need To Know About ALEC

Dear Deborah,
Since the 2010 elections, when Republicans took control of many states, there has been an explosion of legislation advancing privatization of public schools and stripping teachers of job protections and collective bargaining rights. Even some Democratic governors, seeing the strong rightward drift of our politics, have jumped on the right-wing bandwagon, seeking to remove any protection for academic freedom from public school teachers.
This outburst of anti-public school, anti-teacher legislation is no accident. It is the work of a shadowy group called the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Founded in 1973, ALEC is an organization of nearly 2,000 conservative state legislators. Its hallmark is promotion of privatization and corporate interests in every sphere, not only education, but healthcare, the environment, the economy, voting laws, public safety, etc. It drafts model legislation that conservative legislators take back to their states and introduce as their own "reform" ideas. ALEC is the guiding force behind state-level efforts to privatize public education and to turn teachers into 

May Day | Seattle Education

May Day | Seattle Education:


May Day

For nearly 150 years, May 1st has been an international day to celebrate and defend the rights of the working class. While the immigrant rights movement and the Occupy movement have helped bring it back to the United States in recent years, May Day originated in the American labor movement in the 19th century.
The first mass labor protest on May Day was held in 1867 to celebrate an Illinois law mandating an eight-hour workday. When employers refused to abide by the law, the celebration turned into a rebellion. Chicago police, “long used as if [they] were a private force in the service of the employers,” as one author would later declare, were called on to break the strike wave. The movement was crushed and the law went unenforced.
After nearly two decades, May Day was resurrected when the Federation of Organized 

Empty Nest: Life Beyond Parenting - Now What? | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network

Empty Nest: Life Beyond Parenting - Now What? | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network:


Empty Nest: Life Beyond Parenting - Now What?

Right now, in homes across the country, college acceptance letters are sitting on kitchen tables. Your own children may be deciding where to go to college. Excitement is high, but the reality is also bittersweet. Why? You know that there will be an empty chair at the table.
When your child leaves home for college, work, marriage, or service, the reality of a major change in your parenting role sits with you in your now silent home.
Whether you work, are single, married, or a stay at home parent, you will have moments of grieving. You will wonder, what do I want to do now with my free time?  At this major life transition, one that is both joyous and challenging, you are being invited to become curious about who you are beyond being a mother or father.
When I dropped my daughter off at her college dorm, three thousand miles from home, 

Daily Kos: Calling attention to possibly critical piece about Romney and financial shenanigans

Daily Kos: Calling attention to possibly critical piece about Romney and financial shenanigans:


Calling attention to possibly critical piece about Romney and financial shenanigans

now up at Think Progress.  It is titled Exclusive: Romney Family Investment Group Partnered With Alleged Perpetrators Of $8 Billion Ponzi Scheme.
You will find out that Mitt Romney, his son Tagg, and his brother Scott all have involvement.
Tagg has key involvement, and when challenged on the relationship with three key players from the Stanford Financial Group - which was responsible for the 2nd largest financial fraud, after that of Bernie Madoff - incorrectly claimed the three had been cleared in the investigation  (they are still defendants in a federal law suit to recover funds) and had made minimal amounts (whereas the reality is that rather than the $15,000 Tagg claims the three earned between 70,000 and 1.1 million).
Romney's principal fundraiser, Spencer Zwick, is also a managing partner for one of the firms involved, and the 

Schools Matter: Krash Course #8: Putting Together the Poverty/Education Puzzle

Schools Matter: Krash Course #8: Putting Together the Poverty/Education Puzzle:


Krash Course #8: Putting Together the Poverty/Education Puzzle

The "no excuses" reformers subscribe to the "never let evidence get in the way of your agenda" approach to theirbully pulpit of education reform. However, the evidence is powerful and growing in terms of what we know about inequity in U.S. society and in U.S. education. So what do we know?

• Race, class, and gender correlate strongly with inequitable starting points for children entering formal education in the U.S.—including the inequity of quality school access determined by a child's ZIP code (Schott, Brookings), the relative readiness for education among subgroups of children (Brookings), and the powerful impact of out-of-school factors on a child's ability to learn (Berliner). See the growing evidence: 

A Rotting Apple: Education Redlining in New York City, a report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education