Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-30-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A Big Education Ape Nite Cap



Robert Reich (Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 47 minutes ago
Robert Reich (Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age): Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2012 The election of 2012 raises two perplexing questions. The first is how the GOP could put up someone for president who so brazenly epitomizes the excesses of casino capitalism that have nearly destroyed the economy and overwhelmed our democracy. The second is why the Democrats have failed to point this out. The White House has criticized Mitt Romney for his years at the helm of Bain Capital, pointing to a deal that led to the bankruptcy of GS Technologies, a Bain investment... more »

PA Charter Schools: $4 Billion Taxpayer Dollars With No Real Oversight

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Keystone State Education Coalition: *Keystone State Education Coalition* PA Charter Schools: $4 Billion Taxpayer Dollars With No Real Oversight *About the Keystone State Education Coalition:* Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common... more »

Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers - Alec Exposed

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers - Alec Exposed: Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers Increasing Profits for School Companies, Undermining Teachers, and Promoting "Conservatives" on Campus [image: Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers] *This page reveals how ALEC bills would privatize public education, crush teacher's unions, and push American universities to the right.* Among other things, these bills make education a private commodity rather than a public good, and reverse America’s modern innovation of p... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Blog Business

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Blog Business: Blog Business by Melissa Westbrook We had a comment from a reader who had several complaints about the blog, largely around creation of threads and the belief we don't cover enough individual school items/topics. Our reader acknowledges that we create threads based on demand but apparently that isn't enough (even though readers then take control of the thread and the direction of the discussion). We also have Open Threads twice a week but that isn't enough either. Charlie and I regularly get guest posts sent to us and about 90% ... more »

Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups - Hispanically Speaking News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups - Hispanically Speaking News: Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties [image: Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties]Among the 50.7 million Hispanics in the United States, nearly two-thirds (65%), or 33 million, self-identify as being of Mexican origin, according to tabulations of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. No other Hispanic ... more »

Teachers Don't Suck !: And The Beat Goes On!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Teachers Don't Suck !: And The Beat Goes On!: And The Beat Goes On! by Walt S. *This letter was sent to me by one of our readers.* *I think it pertains not only to Social Security but also to the New Jersey State Pension Fund. * *Essentially, all governors and their cohorts in the Assembly and Senate from Whittman on, have raided the Fund so as to give the illusion of lower taxes and thereby effectively bought votes with our money.* *Like it or not, your money was inessence contributed to the political campaigns of all these politicians so as to help ensure their reelection.* *And t... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Getting Teacher Evaluation Basics Right - Or Not

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Getting Teacher Evaluation Basics Right - Or Not: Getting Teacher Evaluation Basics Right - Or Not by Duke Oh, Laura... Here's four challenges that face New Jersey's public school system as it implements new procedures under a harsh spotlight. None of these challenges are insurmountable, but all will require careful oversight and strong leadership. [...] *Refine Teacher Evaluation Rubric:* Last year, *the DOE rolled out a pilot program of value-added teacher evaluations* under the heading of Excellent Educators for New Jersey. Participation was limited to 11 distr... more »

THE MINDFUL SCHOOL LEADER « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
THE MINDFUL SCHOOL LEADER « Cooperative Catalyst: THE MINDFUL SCHOOL LEADER by Kirsten Olson ssoosay’s Simple iphone Lock Screen Mindfulness Reminder *(Hey Folks, A version of this post is currently running at Education Week, and is written by Kirsten Olson andValerie Brown.)* * * The work of skillful, mindful leadership in education has never been more challenging. Recently a visionary, Twitter-connected and forward-thinking superintendent wrote to one of us describing her sense that the pockets of innovation and exemplary teaching in her district, “aren’t even scalable to our ... more »

Jack Hassard: The National Science Teachers Association Takes on the NextGen Science Standards - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Jack Hassard: The National Science Teachers Association Takes on the NextGen Science Standards - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: [image: Living in Dialogue] Anthony Cody Anthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. With education at a crossroads, he invites you to join him in a dialogue on education reform and teaching for change and deep learning. For additional information on Cody's work, vi... more »

This Week's Answer Sheet 6-30 - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] Testing mandates flunk cost-benefit analysis Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 hour ago This *was written by Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at The University of Georgia.* By Peter Smagorinsky According to Wikipedia, cost–benefit analysis “is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project, decision or government policy (hereafter, ‘project’). CBA has two purposes: Read full article... more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » We need to be willing to commit ritualized suicide…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » We need to be willing to commit ritualized suicide…: We need to be willing to commit ritualized suicide… by alicemercer Now that I have your attention, I wanted to share something that I found more disturbing than the Promethean guys in orange spandex bodysuits. It was a quote that I heard not once, but on twiceat the ISTE conference: “We need to be willing to drink the koolaid” –presenter appearing on a video feed at ISTE You might have used this quote yourself in trying to extol others to join the bandwagon of ed tech (or some other inno... more »

School Tech Connect: In Case You Missed The Veteran

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
School Tech Connect: In Case You Missed The Veteran: In Case You Missed The Veteran by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I hate to be Mr. LazyBlogger just posting videos, but here's a veteran who I guess got an answer from Mitt Romney. Popout I'm so with the veteran on this one. Bittersweet Jubilation by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Really? I once added my name to United Opt Out's mailing list--- does that make me a member? I don't know. Am I a party to the eradication threat now? Will I have to do the bittersweet jubilation dance when it's all over? I see Fred's already cove... more »

Big Education Ape - YouTube

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Big Education Ape - YouTube: - 1. [image: Thumbnail] StudentsFirst.org - Michelle Rhee Answers Your Questions: Teaching to the Test, Value-Addedstudentsfirst 992 views Jersey Jazzman: Rhee Gets Drill & Kill Wrong Jersey Jazzman: Rhee Gets Drill & Kill Wrong: Rhee Gets Drill & Kill Wrongby DukeI wrote earlier this week about the drubbing Michelle Rhee got on the BBC from the British teachers union leader, Mary Bousted.One of the difficulties in debating Rhee is that when she opens her mouth and the spin co... posted on June 2... more »

Want to Teach Kids to Code? Send 'Em to a 'Hack Jam' - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Want to Teach Kids to Code? Send 'Em to a 'Hack Jam' - Education - GOOD: Want to Teach Kids to Code? Send 'Em to a 'Hack Jam' by Liz Dwyer Popout We know that if we want kids to be more than consumers of technology, we have to give them the tools they need to build things themselves—and that means teaching them coding. But if most schools aren't actually teaching coding to kids, how are they supposed to learn it? Enter the Hack Jam, a fun way to make digital literacy and hacking accessible, social, and fun. What's it like to be at a Hack Jam? Last Saturday, three members of GOOD's p...more »

Jersey Jazzman: $100 MIllion Just Don't Buy What It Used To

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: $100 MIllion Just Don't Buy What It Used To: $100 MIllion Just Don't Buy What It Used To by Duke Remember when Zuck's bucks were going to completely change everything in Newark? How's that going? When Anderson unveiled the plan last February, however, she was heckled at public meetings by residents who accused her of trying to rob them of their neighborhood schools. “Cami Anderson, I have not seen such trickery since the devil took over the Garden of Eden,” one of her detractors told her at a budget hearing [*ed note: Man, that's funny!*]. Naturally, the teachers’ ... more »

Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-30-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #soschat #p2 #1u

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
*Big Education Ape 2nd Banana * * * *Recap of Last Week's Best Post * Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU by Mike Klonsky Obama, Emanuel & AxelrodWell, mercy me! Look who's behind those ads blasting the CTU. Why, it's ASGK Public Strategies and AKPD, David Axelrod's old firms. ... more »

An Urgent Message Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers: Philadelphia Federation of Teachers June 30, 2012 Dear Legislator: On behalf of the 15,000 professional and paraprofessional members represented by our organization and employed by the Philadelphia Public Schools...dedicated, trained and experienced individuals into whose nurturing, development and care are entrusted daily throughout the academic year to nearly 205,00 children...I would like to clearly state our position on various legislative proposals and amendments coming up for a vote today. We oppose any charter schools and/or cyber ch... more »

Why Resolution on High-Stakes Tests Was Necessary in Florida: “No Evidence Legislative Pipeline Will Bring Relief” | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Why Resolution on High-Stakes Tests Was Necessary in Florida: “No Evidence Legislative Pipeline Will Bring Relief” | Scathing Purple Musings: Why Resolution on High-Stakes Tests Was Necessary in Florida: “No Evidence Legislative Pipeline Will Bring Relief” by Bob Sikes The *Bradenton Times *has a comprehensive story this morning titled, “*High-Stakes Testing Resistance Spreads Across Florida.” *Highlighting Manatee county’s decision, the *Times* has this: In Florida, more than a dozen countywide school committees serving three-quarters of a million students endorsed the National ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Do They REALLY Care About Parents?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Do They REALLY Care About Parents?: Do They REALLY Care About Parents? by Duke Regular readers will recall that Chris Christie's favorite local superintendent these days is a young fellow by the name of Steve Engravalle, INTERIM Superintendent in Fort Lee. The fresh-faced Engravalle was happy to accept the accolades of the governor; in exchange, he trashed the teachers union on national TV. Engravalle has been further rewarded with a position on a state school aid task force, despite his relative lack of experience in these matters. Keep all that in mind as we c... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 6-30-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Education Research Report: Education Research Report: This Week's Education Research Report Teacher Satisfaction Linked to Supportive Work Environments Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 22 hours ago In recent years, much attention has been paid to developing meaningful teacher evaluation systems as a strategy to improve public education, and rightly so. But while states and districts implement better ways to identify their strongest educators, too many are giving short shrift to the culture and work environments in schools, particularly in high-poverty and low-... more »

Student Loan Deal Pales Against Other Education Cuts : NPR

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Student Loan Deal Pales Against Other Education Cuts : NPR: Student Loan Deal Pales Against Other Education Cuts by CLAUDIO SANCHEZ [image: College students surrounded President Obama earlier this month when he called on Congress to stop student loan interest rates from doubling. Congress agreed on a deal to prevent the hike on Friday.] It came down to the wire, but finally, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on a deal that keeps the interest rate on government-backed student loans from doubling. It will save the average borrower about $1,000 a year, but the compromise is likel... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior?: Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior? by Anngie "In the U.S., where No Child Left Behind has made standardized testing a core article of faith in assessing student readiness, you have more and more parents worried about the lack of rigor in our curricula, and fearing the rise of China and other nations that excel in international math-science competitions." WSJ 6-26-2012 On the other side of the world what is China doing? Their high school seniors must take the Gaokao, a grueling three d... more »

WEEKLY ADDRESS: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires | The White House

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
WEEKLY ADDRESS: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires | The White House: WEEKLY ADDRESS: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires In this week’s address, President Obama spoke to the American people from Colorado, where he had just finished touring areas impacted by the devastating Waldo Canyon fire, meeting with first responders as well as families affected by the fires. The President thanked the brave firefighters and countless volunteers who are providing food, water, and shelter to those in need, and made clear that his admin... more »

Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: Top Content this Week Rank1[image: How We Teach Trumps What We Teach.]How We Teach Trumps What We Teach. Added by Thomas Whitby on May 11, 2012 2[image: Toxic Grading Practices]Toxic Grading Practices Added by Thomas Whitby on June 15, 2012 3[image: BYOD in the 21st Century]BYOD in the 21st Century Added by Marc-André Lalande on June 6, 2012 4[image: Just joined the site]Just joined the site Added by Jodi Pflaumer on June 27, 2012 5[image: Finland's Education Success]Finland's Education Success Added by Thomas Whitby on April 26, 2012 6[image... more »

Walmart at 50: Still Greedy After All These Years | California Progress Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Walmart at 50: Still Greedy After All These Years | California Progress Report: Walmart at 50: Still Greedy After All These Years Posted on 30 June 2012 [image: Printer-friendly version]Printer-friendly version[image: Send by email]Send by email *By Bobbi Murray* The Frying Pan Walmart soon turns 50. What better time for a makeover, a little freshening up –a rebranding, perhaps? Maybe a new look to go along with a move from the ‘burbs to the Big City. The Big W is hoping a fresh face will help as it moves to crack an urban market worth as much as $100 billion. Walmart has overbuil... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] Parent Involvement & Middle School Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 12 hours ago I’ve gotten a chance to read more carefully a report on parent involvement and middle school that I’ve previously posted about. You can read the study here, though I suspect you won’t learn anything new from it. It suggests that schools should focus on building relationships with parents through programs like home visits. Sounds ... more »

Two Must Read Commentary Pieces Education Reform in Connecticut. - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Two Must Read Commentary Pieces Education Reform in Connecticut. - Wait, What?: Two Must Read Commentary Pieces Education Reform in Connecticut. by jonpelto Sarah Darer Littman and Wendy Lecker have written two incredible news/commentary pieces that are essential reading for those who want to understand what Malloy, Pryor, Vallas and Adamowski are doing to Connecticut’s public education system…. I urge you to take the time to read them… *Once You Get Past the Tweets, School ‘Turnaround’ Shortcomings Abound* * http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/once_you_get_past_the_... more »

Ron Wyden says school food in Oregon comes from 'almost anywhere but Oregon': PolitiFact Oregon | OregonLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Ron Wyden says school food in Oregon comes from 'almost anywhere but Oregon': PolitiFact Oregon | OregonLive.com: Ron Wyden says school food in Oregon comes from 'almost anywhere but Oregon': PolitiFact Oregon by Charles Pope, The Oregonian [image: Farmers market in Pioneer Courthouse Square]View full sizeArkasha Stevenson/The Oregonian/2010No, thank you California; we'll take our own strawberries for school lunches. Never mind, Minnesota and Michigan; we have excellent cheese in Oregon. When the Senate was debating the farm bill recently, Sen. Ron Wydenhighlighted the haphazard ... more »

Radical Scholarship: My NEW book on poverty released and on sale

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Radical Scholarship: My NEW book on poverty released and on sale: *Ignoring Poverty in the U.S. The Corporate Takeover of Public Education* *By: P. L. Thomas, Furman University. * * * * Buy Online: http://infoagepub.com/products/Ignoring-Poverty-in-the-US * Paperback 978-1-61735-783-1 Web Price: $39.09 * Hardcover 978-1-61735-784-8 Web Price: $73.09 * eBookISBN: 978-1-61735-785-5 Ignoring Poverty in the U.S.: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education examines the divide between a commitment to public education and our cultural myths and more powerful commitment to consume... more »

Congress Votes To Stop Student Loan Interest Rates From Doubling « MomsRising Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Congress Votes To Stop Student Loan Interest Rates From Doubling « MomsRising Blog: Congress Votes To Stop Student Loan Interest Rates From Doubling by Aaron Smith You spoke up, and Congress listened. A strong bipartisan majority in Congress just passed a bill that prevents student loan interest rates from doubling for more than 7.4 million low- and middle-income students and their families on July 1. Without action, the increased interest rate for undergraduates receiving subsidized Stafford loans would have resulted in an extra $1,000 in debt for every year of school. Read mo... more »

Schools Matter: "ONLY" 59.1% Poor at School in Brooklyn

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Schools Matter: "ONLY" 59.1% Poor at School in Brooklyn: "ONLY" 59.1% Poor at School in Brooklyn by Judy Rabin From the *New York Times* June 27, 2012 At One Brooklyn School, a Lesson in the Danger of SuccessBy Louise Sloan If you believe the research, statistics and experts, it appears that my son’s elementary school, Public School 9 in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood, has been doing everything right. Middle-class, college-educated people are increasingly sending their children there because of its academic excellence, its emphasis on individualized instruction, its comm... more »

Testing. One. Two. Three. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Testing. One. Two. Three. « Fred Klonsky: Testing. One. Two. Three. by Fred Klonsky If you’re going to argue stuff around here, you have to be a little honest about what you say. And the organizers of the Challenge to Dennis Van Roekel and the NEA, a group called United Opt Out National, have not met even that minimum requirement. On the eve of leaving for the National Education Association’s national meeting, I received their unsolicited call. As a thirty year member of the NEA and a life-time union member, I was not pleased with their threats. The NEA’s eventual eradication as a... more »

Not Another "Why I Left the Classroom" Story - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Not Another "Why I Left the Classroom" Story - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Not Another "Why I Left the Classroom" Story by Nancy Flanagan There's no shortage of blogs on why teachers are leaving the classroom. They're leaving because they're sick of the test-driven instruction and learning. They're leaving because everyone underestimates the complexity and the workload of classroom teaching. They're leaving because they've been on the job for 15 years and still don't make enough to pay the bills. They're fearful of speaking up against practices they know ar... more »

The Reformers’ “Fight Club” « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The Reformers’ “Fight Club” « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Reformers’ “Fight Club” by dianerav Back when I was on the right side of the political fence, I was on the editorial board at *Education Next*. It is supported by the Hoover Institution and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, both conservative think tanks with which I was affiliated. The journal, which is based at Harvard and edited mainly by Paul Peterson, was created to counter what was seen as the liberal bias of the mainstream education media. *Education Next* is a well-e... more »

How much does Federal Title I Funding Affect Fairness in State School Finance Systems? « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
How much does Federal Title I Funding Affect Fairness in State School Finance Systems? « School Finance 101: How much does Federal Title I Funding Affect Fairness in State School Finance Systems? by schoolfinance101 About this much! These funding *profiles* are based on the methodology used in our reports on school funding fairness. The reports can be found here: http://schoolfundingfairness.org/ and the technical appendix can be found here: http://schoolfundingfairness.org/ This graph is based on an updated model which includes data from 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 (these are lin... more »
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-21-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-20-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-19-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-18-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-17-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-16-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-15-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-14-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-13-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-12-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-12-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-11-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-10-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-9-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-8-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-7-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-6-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-5-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-4-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-3-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-2-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-1-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2


Robert Reich (Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age)

Robert Reich (Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age):


Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age


SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2012

The election of 2012 raises two perplexing questions. The first is how the GOP could put up someone for president who so brazenly epitomizes the excesses of casino capitalism that have nearly destroyed the economy and overwhelmed our democracy. The second is why the Democrats have failed to point this out.
The White House has criticized Mitt Romney for his years at the helm of Bain Capital, pointing to a deal that led to the bankruptcy of GS Technologies, a Bain investment in Kansas City that went belly up in 2001 at the cost of 750 jobs. But the White House hasn’t connected Romney’s Bain to the larger scourge of casino capitalism. Not surprisingly, its criticism has quickly degenerated into a “he said, she said” feud over what proportion of the companies that Bain bought and loaded up with debt subsequently went broke (it’s about 20 percent), and how many people lost their jobs relative to how many jobs were added because of Bain’s financial maneuvers (that depends on 

PA Charter Schools: $4 Billion Taxpayer Dollars With No Real Oversight

Keystone State Education Coalition:




Keystone State
Education Coalition


PA Charter Schools:
$4 Billion Taxpayer Dollars
With No Real Oversight




About the Keystone State Education Coalition:
Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.  More information can be found by clicking  here.


                                  


About Lawrence Feinberg:Lawrence A. Feinberg is with the School District of Haverford Township as a school director since 1999.  He is the chairman of the Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council. Feinberg is the founder and co-chair of the Southeastern Pennsylvania School Districts’ Education Coalition/Keystone State Education Coalition.  He is also a member of the Board of Directors with the PA School Boards Association.  For more information contact him atlawrenceafeinberg@gmail.com.


BY THE NUMBERSMeasure the Performance of PA Charter and Cyber Charter Schools


2 of 12  Of 12 PA cyber charters only 2 made AYP for 2011, while 8 were in corrective action status under No Child Left Behind and 7 have never made AYP.
17%.  A June 2009 Stanford University/CREDO study done in partnership with the pro school choice Walton Family Foundation and Pearson Learning Systems looked at charter performance in 15 states and the District of Columbia covering more than 70 percent of the nation’s charter school students.  It found that only 17% of charters had academic gains better than traditional public schools; 37% were worse and 46% showed no significant difference.
18  Philadelphia charter schools are reportedly under federal investigation.  Several charters have involvement of legislators, family members and staffers. Representative Matzie introduced HB 1740 earlier this session which is modeled after House Rules that prohibit members and immediate family members from association with gambling interests.
25%  A 2011 Stanford/CREDO study reported that students at just 25 percent of the state's charter schools made significantly more learning gains in reading and math.  But they found that students at nearly half of the charter schools made significantly lower learning gains in both subjects than their traditional public school counterparts.
100%  The 2011 Stanford/CREDO study found that in 100 percent of Pennsylvania cyber charters, students performed “significantly worse” in math and reading than students at traditional public schools.
$1000  What it reportedly costs a home schooled student’s  parents for online curriculum.
$9000  What a representative school district is required to pay in tuition to a cyber charter for each regular education student.
$27,000  What a representative school district is required to pay in tuition to a cyber charter for each and every special education student (unlike traditional public schools whose special education funding by the state is capped at 16% of students, there is no special ed cap for charter schools).
30,000  In testimony before the House Democratic Policy Committee in Philadelphia last year, Archdiocese Superintendent Mary Rochford estimated that they had lost 30,000 students to free public charter schools.
$153,629  2010 reported salary of charter CEO with 1202 students.
$155,000  2010 reported salary of charter CEO with 896 students
$189,844  2010 reported salary of charter CEO with 155 students
$193,510  2010 reported salary of charter CEO with 929 students
$201,800  2010 reported salary of Lower Merion Supt. with 6943 students
$241,033  2010 reported salary of charter CEO with 588 students

$384,000
  which was the highest campaign contribution to Governor Corbett given by a charter school operator, whose management company runs the state’s largest brick and mortar charter school.
$1,320,653.69  Pennsylvania political contributions reported by an operator from 1/1/2007 through 5/31/11.  These operators have been a strong proponent of legislation making it easier for new charter schools to be authorized by the state without the involvement of local school districts, who would still have to pay the bills.
$5 Million  Taxpayer dollars that was spent last year’s for a bonus to K-12 Inc.’s CEO Ron Packard.  K-12’s Agora cyber charter has never made AYP.  Prior to his appointment as PA Budget Secretary, Charles Zogby was a K-12 executive.
$10 Million taxpayer dollars: The amount that Nick Trombetta, former CEO of PA Cyber Charter (the state’s largest cyber charter), reportedly took out of the school’s fund balance to finance construction of a performing arts center.
$28.9 Million; is what a charter school operator reportedly spent in 2011 for 2 beachfront lots in Palm Beach Florida. (we don’t know if these are in fact taxpayer dollars since a right-to-know request pending for several years now looks like it is headed to the state Supreme Court)
$86 Million  Taxpayer dollars.  The PA Auditor General’s Office reported that taxpayers and school districts could have saved approximately $86 million in 2009-2010 if cybers received funding based on what they spent per student.  Despite this and the fact that most cybers have never made AYP, the State’s response was to authorize 7 more new cyber schools for 2012-2013.
$4 Billion  Taxpayer dollars with no real oversight.  The Allentown Morning Call reported that there are few eyes on the $4 billion taxpayers have spent toward charter schools in the last decade. That total, according to Department of Education data, includes per pupil expenditures, salaries, building and rental costs, and grants.

Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers - Alec Exposed

Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers - Alec Exposed:


Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers


Increasing Profits for School Companies, Undermining Teachers, and Promoting "Conservatives" on Campus

Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers

This page reveals how ALEC bills would privatize public education, crush teacher's unions, and push American universities to the right. Among other things, these bills make education a private commodity rather than a public good, and reverse America’s modern innovation of promoting learning and civic virtue through public schools staffed with professional teachers for children from all backgrounds. Through ALEC, corporations have both a VOICE and a VOTE on specific state laws to change the American education system. Do you?


READ the "Model Bills" HERE


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Click here for a zip file of K-12 and higher education bills

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For a full list of individual bills from this section, click here

For descriptions of some of these bills, scroll down or click here.

Julie Underwood on ALEC & Education

Watch Julie Underwood, the eighth dean of the UW-Madison School of Education, discuss ALEC's school privatization agenda.
Watch other ALEC Exposed experts here.
Read Julie Underwood's article in The Nationhere.

How YOU Can Expose ALEC & Share What You Learn

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SPREAD THE WORD. Share information about ALEC through Facebook, e-mail and Twitter. Concerned groups and people in every state need this to investigate how ALEC corporations are rewriting laws for their own advantage. And, please join the conversation on Facebook!
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EXPOSE ALEC LEGISLATORS. Demand the truth about which politicians in your state are in ALEC. Uncover whether YOUR tax dollars are paying ALEC "dues." Expose politicians who accept “scholarships” from ALEC's corporate-funded coffers for fancy trips.
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EXPOSE ALEC'S ROLE IN YOUR STATE HOUSE. Read these corporate-backed "model bills" NOW and cross-check them with bills in your state legislature. Ask your local media to report on what you have found and write your local newspaper.
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SHARE YOUR DISCOVERIES. Tell us what you uncovered! Tweet what you learn with the hashtag #ALECexposed, join a discussion on this site or email us a confidential tip via editor AT ALECexposed.org.And, follow our tweets on Twitter!
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Blog Business

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Blog Business:


Blog Business

We had a comment from a reader who had several complaints about the blog, largely around creation of threads and the belief we don't cover enough individual school items/topics.

Our reader acknowledges that we create threads based on demand but apparently that isn't enough (even though readers then take control of the thread and the direction of the discussion).    We also have Open Threads twice a week but that isn't enough either. 

Charlie and I regularly get guest posts sent to us and about 90% of the time print them verbatim.  We have had this policy for years.  So if you have a topic you want to write about, please send it to us.

This is a down time for the district; summer is a time it goes very dead. 

Much of what we could discuss about various topics in the district is, at this point, speculation.  Superintendent Banda has to come in, get the lay of the land, hire the new people for senior positions that are either interim or open (like Special Ed) and then lay out the agenda of what he proposes to do.   I do not believe, for almost any 

News Roundup

From Education Week, coverage of the Int'l Society for Technology in Education convention in San Diego in late June.  Here's what Yong Zhao, the associate dean in the College of Education at the University of Oregon had to say about what our public education system is doing.

"Right now, we are lost in terms of what's the purpose of education," said Zhao, addressing a crowd of nearly 5,000 in the packed San Diego Convention Center. "We are in the U.S. pushing for the idea of Race to the Top. But race to the top of what?"

Zhao pointed to results from PISA, an international exam that measures students' skills and knowledge in a variety of countries as a widely recognized yardstick for determining the quality of a country's education. However, many of the countries that rank highest in PISA results—China, South Korea, and Singapore, to name a few—rank lowest on entrepreneurial skills, which correspond to stronger economies, Zhao argued.



"We have to abandon the idea of reducing people's talents into employable skills," and instead foster an education system that "enhances human capacity" and cultivates each students' talents, said Zhao.

Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups - Hispanically Speaking News

Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups - Hispanically Speaking News:


Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties

Pew Hispanic Center: The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top CountiesAmong the 50.7 million Hispanics in the United States, nearly two-thirds (65%), or 33 million, self-identify as being of Mexican origin, according to tabulations of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. No other Hispanic subgroup rivals the size of the Mexican-origin population. Puerto Ricans, the nation’s second largest Hispanic origin group, make up just 9% of the total Hispanic population in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Overall, the 10 largest Hispanic origin groups——Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Salvadorans, Dominicans, Guatemalans, Colombians, Hondurans, Ecuadorians and Peruvians——make up 92% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Six Hispanic origin groups have populations greater than 1 million.

Hispanic origin groups differ from each other in a number of ways. For instance, U.S. Hispanics of Mexican origin have the lowest median age, at 25 years, while Hispanics of Cuban origin have the highest median age, at 40 years. Colombians are the most likely to have a college degree (32%) while Salvadorans are the least likely (7%). Ecuadorians have the highest annual median household income ($50,000) while Dominicans have the lowest ($34,000). Half of Hondurans do not have health insurance——the highest share among Hispanic origin groups. By contrast, just 15% of Puerto Ricans do not have health insurance.

Hispanic origin groups also differ in their geographic concentration. The nation’s Cuban population is the most 

Teachers Don't Suck !: And The Beat Goes On!

Teachers Don't Suck !: And The Beat Goes On!:


And The Beat Goes On!


This letter was sent to me by one of our readers.
I think it pertains not only to Social Security but also to the New Jersey State Pension Fund. 
Essentially, all governors and their cohorts in the Assembly and Senate from Whittman on, have raided the Fund so as to give the illusion of lower taxes and thereby effectively bought votes with our money.
Like it or not, your money was inessence contributed to the political campaigns of all these politicians so as to help ensure their reelection.
And the sadist part, the beat go on with Christie and his minions in New Jersey government.
P.S.
Thanks Marguerite for the letter!

This Montana woman stated it quite clearly.
Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of Obama's
deficit commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation, as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats.

Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS in Montana ...
 I think she is a little ticked off! She also tells it like it is!

 "Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight!

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole  for FIFTY YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 


Check out 

Teachers Don't Suck ! Website 



Jersey Jazzman: Getting Teacher Evaluation Basics Right - Or Not

Jersey Jazzman: Getting Teacher Evaluation Basics Right - Or Not:


Getting Teacher Evaluation Basics Right - Or Not

Oh, Laura...
Here's four challenges that face New Jersey's public school system as it implements new procedures under a harsh spotlight. None of these challenges are insurmountable, but all will require careful oversight and strong leadership.
[...]
Refine Teacher Evaluation Rubric: Last year, the DOE rolled out a pilot program of value-added teacher evaluations under the heading of Excellent Educators for New Jersey. Participation was limited to 11 districts (including Newark), plus 20 low-performing schools that received federal grants. Original plans called for statewide roll-out in 2012-2013; that's been pushed back a year until the kinks are worked out, although all districts will tiptoe towards the new system in September. Districts are also allowed to use their own templates, as long as they conform to 

THE MINDFUL SCHOOL LEADER « Cooperative Catalyst

THE MINDFUL SCHOOL LEADER « Cooperative Catalyst:


THE MINDFUL SCHOOL LEADER



ssoosay’s Simple iphone Lock Screen Mindfulness Reminder
(Hey Folks, A version of this post is currently running at Education Week, and is written by Kirsten Olson andValerie Brown.)


The work of skillful, mindful leadership in education has never been more challenging.  Recently a visionary, Twitter-connected and forward-thinking superintendent wrote to one of us describing her sense that the pockets of innovation and exemplary teaching in her district,  “aren’t even scalable to our 726 square miles,”  although she has been leading the work for many years.  She is considered highly successful, yet she often feels overwhelmed and burned out.
A recent informal survey of school administrators conducted by Jerry Murphy, former dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (and our colleague in the exploration of self-compassion), showed that among his 

Jack Hassard: The National Science Teachers Association Takes on the NextGen Science Standards - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Jack Hassard: The National Science Teachers Association Takes on the NextGen Science Standards - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Living in Dialogue

Anthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. With education at a crossroads, he invites you to join him in a dialogue on education reform and teaching for change and deep learning. For additional information on Cody's work, visit his Web site, Teachers Lead. Or follow him on Twitter.
















Jack Hassard: The National Science Teachers Association Takes on the NextGen Science Standards

Guest post by Jack Hassard. 
Originally posted here.
Standards development, such as in science, is a big enterprise, and one that will result in huge profits for corporations, and will cost school districts billions to carry out over the next few years. For the past two years, Achieve and the Carnegie Corporation have teamed up to write a framework, and a set of science standards for K-12 schools. The science standards were recently flashed on the screens of our computers for about three weeks so that we could give Achieve feedback that they no doubt will embrace in their next draft which will be published in the fall.
In the meantime, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has provided feedback to Achieve on the first public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). You can read the full report here.
NSTA, the largest organization of science teachers in the U.S., issued their reaction this week, and has 

This Week's Answer Sheet 6-30 - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post

The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post:

Answer Sheet


Testing mandates flunk cost-benefit analysis

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 hour ago
This *was written by Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at The University of Georgia.* By Peter Smagorinsky According to Wikipedia, cost–benefit analysis “is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project, decision or government policy (hereafter, ‘project’). CBA has two purposes: Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

How GERM is infecting schools around the world

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago
This *was written by Pasi Sahlberg, author of “ Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland? and director general of Finland’s Center for International Mobility and Cooperation. He has served the Finnish government in various positions, worked for the World Bank in Washington D.C. and for the European Training Foundation in Italy as senior education specialist. Sahlberg has also advised governments internationally about education policies and reforms. He is also an adjunct professor of education at the University of Helsinki and University of Oulu... more »

Keeping students safe: a bill even this Congress should be able to pass

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
There are some things which even this polarized Congress should be able to come together to accomplish. One of those would be the Keeping All Students Safe Act, which would protect schoolchildren from abusive use of physical restraints and solitary confinement by mandating minimum safety standards in public schools. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Texas business leaders accuse educators of ‘scaring mom’ about standardized tests

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
The backlash in Texas against excessive high-stakes standardized testing seems to be rattling business leaders, who have now blamed educators for panicking parents about the exams. Laboring under the delusion that standardized tests are the key to “holding schools accountable” for student achievement, leaders of the Texas Coalition for a Competitive Workforce have warned that they will oppose future hikes in school spending if the testing regime in Texas is weakened, the Houston Chronicle reported in this story Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter]... more »

The Spruce Goose of education reform

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago
This *was written by David Gamberg, superintendent of schools in * * Southold Union Free School District * * in New York. * By David Gamberg As educators throughout New York scurry to finish completing the behemoth of grand plans to “reform” education for the children of this state, one is reminded of the debacle in design known as The Spruce Goose. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

The real U-Va. story: The 99 percent win

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago
In the end, it wasn't really so much about the ousted and then reinstatedUniversity of Virginia president, Teresa Sullivan, or about the governing board leader, Helen Dragas, who had led a secret campaign against her and then, drowning in a tsunami of opposition, agreed to bring her back. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Loch Ness Monster real in biology textbook

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago
This would be funny if it weren’t so, well, not funny. A biology textbook used by a Christian school in Louisiana that will be accepting students with publicly funded vouchers in the fall says that the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland is real. And it isn’t just any monster but a dinosaur — an effort to debunk evolution and bolster creationist theory. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

U-Va.: When the governing board got it right

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 days ago
This is a speech given by University of Virginia Assistant Professor Peter Norton on behalf of the Faculty Senate at a weekend rally in support of ousted President Teresa Sullivan. The university’s Board of Visitors is meeting this afternoon to consider giving Sullivan her job back after a huge backlash against her ouster. This speech is a critique of the board’s action and spells out a case for Sullivan’s reinstatement. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

U-Va.: What the showdown will — and won’t — resolve

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 days ago
There is much hope on the University of Virginia campus that the painful and unnecessary two-week drama over the surprise ouster of the popular president, Teresa Sullivan, will end Tuesday with her reinstatement. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

A chocolate math problem (and solution)

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 days ago
Have you ever gotten an e-mail with a list of math instructions that amazingly ends up telling you your age or some other vital statistic? I just got one that first had me select the number of times I wanted to eat chocolate in a week (within specific parameters) and then followed it with a list of math directions that accurately ended up with my age. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

3 new guidelines for ‘healthy homework’

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 days ago
Back in the early 1900s, homework was deemed by some to be dangerous to children’s health, and for years some school districts limited or outright banned homework. More than a century later, homework still drives students, their parents and sometimes their teachers crazy — and debate still swirls about whether homework is helpful or harmful. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Ravitch: Will school choice kill public education?

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 days ago
This *was written by education historian Diane Ravitch on her blog. Ravitch is a research professor at New York University and author of the best-selling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” She is the leading opponent of the school reform movement based on test-based accountability and the privatization of public education.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

What U-Va needs after the Sullivan mess

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 5 days ago
This *was written by David Shreve, former Professor of Economic History at the University of Virginia, and a specialist in tax policy, fiscal federalism, and U.S. political economy. He is the editor and co-editor of seven volumes in The Presidential Recordings series (Norton) and the author of the forthcoming book, American Promise: The Triumph and Eclipse of the Keynesian Revolution.* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

In election year, how to teach democracy

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 6 days ago
This was* written by Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education at San Francisco State University. A version of this was published on his Edutopia blog , and he also publishes a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal. * Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » We need to be willing to commit ritualized suicide…

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » We need to be willing to commit ritualized suicide…:


We need to be willing to commit ritualized suicide…

Now that I have your attention, I wanted to share something that I found more disturbing than the Promethean guys in orange spandex bodysuits. It was a quote that I heard not once, but on twiceat the ISTE conference:
“We need to be willing to drink the koolaid” –presenter appearing on a video feed at ISTE
You might have used this quote yourself in trying to extol others to join the bandwagon of ed tech (or some other innovation). There is a school in my area that that has used this phrase to exhort teachers to “get with the program” on the school reform being implemented. People seemed to have completely forgotten the original context of the phrase and have decided that drinking koolaid is a good thing.
I find this puzzling, but unsurprising in a culture that practices unintentional irony on a periodic basis, but it’s disturbing nonetheless as my husband grew up with folks  who were members of the Peoples Temple, and participated (willingly or not) in the ritualized suicide that coined this phrase. I like koolaid and have used it to 

School Tech Connect: In Case You Missed The Veteran

School Tech Connect: In Case You Missed The Veteran:


In Case You Missed The Veteran

I hate to be Mr. LazyBlogger just posting videos, but here's a veteran who I guess got an answer from Mitt Romney.

Popout

I'm so with the veteran on this one.


Bittersweet Jubilation

Really?

I once added my name to United Opt Out's mailing list--- does that make me a member? I don't know. Am I a party to the eradication threat now? Will I have to do the bittersweet jubilation dance when it's all over?

I see Fred's already covered this.

Sigh. My advice to UOO is to take a chill pill and focus on your objective rather than make an opera out of some hyperventilated position that could have been edited down into something smarter.

 Everyone writes an over-the-top piece once in a while. certainly have. But you don't have to stay married to