Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California - latimes.com

Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California - latimes.com:

Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California

Legislation and an ACLU lawsuit tackle the increasing use of fees at public schools, a trend that is unfair to low-income students and increases disparities.

 SACRAMENTO — Not every proposed law is historic or sweeping. Some merely are pretty good ideas — perhaps even important for a low-income kid.

One such bill is among the hundreds awaiting action as the Legislature heads into its final month. The measure's goal is to stop schools from socking students with illegal fees.

Fees for sports and field trips and textbooks and art, for example.

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They're being charged despite a guarantee in the California Constitution of a free K-12 education.

"Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all — not a commodity for sale," the California Supreme Court ruled in 1984. "Educational opportunities must be provided to all students without regard to their families' ability or 

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part II

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part II:

The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part II

by Duke

Here's Part I of this series.

More from Tom Moran's interview with Arne Duncan:

Q. Tell me about your experience in Chicago. As with Joel Klein in New York and Michelle Rhee in Washington, you see improvements, but it doesn’t seem dramatic overall.

A. There are schools and communities that are breaking through. We see lots of examples in Chicago and New York and D.C. The question is whether we can take 

The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part III

by Duke

I'm breaking down a revealing interview that the Star-Ledger's Tom Moran conducted with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

• Part I: Duncan's signature program, Race To The Top, has little evidence to back it up.
• Part II: The real legacy of Duncan, Rhee, and Klein

On to the next part, which I found to be a real groaner:

Q. How important are the structural reforms, like promoting charter schools, when compared to personnel issues, just finding the best teachers and 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-6-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Why Won’t Rahm Talk to Parents?

by dianerav

This parent activist in Chicago says that parents have good ideas about how to improve the schools but Mayor Rahm Emanuel won’t meet with them.
Parents in New York City say the same about Mayor Bloomberg.
Why won’t the mayor listen to the most informed and most committed stakeholders of all? Not the business community, not the entrepreneurs, but the parents of the children?

It would cost more than the city has which is a nearly 1 billion dollar deficit! Parent groups have proposed plans that would increase art and gym, support after school programs and allow more opportunity for hands-on

Who Will Reform the Schools? Entrepreneurs and/or Educators?

by dianerav

A number of eons ago, I had a Twitter debate with Justin Hamilton, who is Arne Duncan’s press secretary. I forget how it started, but the tenor of the exchange went something like this.
I question whether education would be reformed by educators or entrepreneurs, and Justin, unbidden, sprang to the defense of entrepreneurs. Or maybe he said that teachers and entrepreneurs would both transform education. I narrowed my target and said I was complaining specifically about for-profit entrepreneurs, not people with an entrepreneurial spirit. Justin’s response as something along the lines of, well, you are an entrepreneur, 

The New York Times Editorial Is Clueless

by dianerav

The New York Times published an editorial calling for “carrots and sticks” for teachers and principals.

What  the editorial means is that professionals should get bonuses for higher test scores, and this would recognize high performance and get educators to work harder and produce more high performance (higher test scores).

As I said in my speech in Detroit to the AFT convention, carrots and sticks are for donkeys, not professionals.

The schools in New York City have been subject to budget cuts for the past few years. The Times’ editorial 

Thanks to Teachers in Chicago for Saving Me

by dianerav

This reader writes about the teachers who changed his life:
I had four CPS public school teachers to thank for recognizing and nurturing my strengths in English, writing and creativity, in 7th through 10th grades: Miss Fox, Mrs. Langdon, Miss Schwartz and Mrs. Gordon.
Until middle school, I did not think I had any academic strengths. In part, this was because, in 4th grade, when my mom remarried, I gained a step-father who frequently referred to me as “dumb”. He often said that, in his estimation, I was just too stupid to be able to excel at school. He turned out to be an example of how wrong non-

Andrea Gabor on Merit Pay

by dianerav

Andrea Gabor has followed our discussion of merit pay and sent the following post.
Gabor is the Bloomberg Professor of Business Journalism at Baruch College of the City University of New York. She has extensive experience as a journalist who has written about business.
I learned about her work when I stumbled upon one of her books The Man Who Discovered Quality: How W. Edwards Deming Brought the Quality Revolution to America. Chapter 9 of the book explains why Deming, a guru of business and corporate culture, was adamantly opposed to merit pay. Gabor explains there how merit pay

The Perfect, Research-Based School

by dianerav

Bruce Baker of Rutgers has reviewed the research on effective schools and designed a “research-based” school that is guaranteed to produce higher test scores.
He calls his school the “Econometric Academy of Achievement Test Excellence.”
Every teacher will have exactly four years of experience, no more, no less, because research shows that is the point of maximum impact on test scores.
Students will be loaded with carbs on testing days.
Students will be renamed prior to entry into the school, because certain types of names are associated with low

Funniest Story of the Month

by dianerav

As I was doing some research about virtual charter schools, I came across an article that caused me to laugh out loud.
It appeared in the Star-Ledger, the main newspaper in New Jersey. It was titled “State Has Virtually No Reason to Not Give Online Charter Schools a Shot.”
It said the state should stop “dithering” and should promptly approve an online charter school. No delay, no moratorium, approve the online school now.
It was published on July 11, 2012, as the state’s Acting Commissioner of Education Chris Cerf and the state

Spoof on Offensive Rhee Olympics Ad

by dianerav

Tim Slekar and his merry band of public education advocates have just released a spoof of the offensive Michelle Rhee/StudentsFirst ad.
The Rhee ad ridicules the United States, students, teachers, public schools, obesity, and gays. The man in her ad is presented as flabby and effete, performing in an Olympic sport called rhythmic gymnastics that is for women only and falling on his back. He is supposedly a representation of American education.
Just as an aside, the international test score rankings are meaningless. They reflect the high rate of poverty among children in the U.S. When the international tests were first given, we came in 11th out of 12. That was in

A View from New Zealand

by dianerav

As I have noted before, the idea of introducing a “free market” into education has strong appeal to conservative governments in other nations. Pasi Sahlberg of Finland calls this idea the “Global Education Reform Movement,” or GERM, characterized by testing, accountability, competition, and choice. GERM is now infesting New Zealand, which has a very successful education system.
One of the leading anti-national testing sites is called the Treehorn Express, a blog written by NZ educator Phil Cullen. While the names and organizations will not be familiar to you, the issues will be. New Zealand officials want to introduce charter schools to New Zealand, and this post sees it as a huge step backward that will mean

Please Comment on CNN Interview with Michelle Rhee

by dianerav

Many readers have asked how they can contact CNN to respond to its interview with Michelle Rhee.
CNN has invited comments: http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/05/rhee-on-saving-americas-schools/comment-page-1/
Bear in mind that the international rankings, which she loves to tout to embarrass America, its students and its teachers, predict nothing.
When the first international assessment was given in 1964, our students came in 11th of 12 nations.
Since then, our students typically rank in the bottom quartile or no better than the international average.
Yet we have the largest economy in the world.
We are number one in child poverty, which explains the performance of our students. The more poverty in a school, the lower its test scores; the less poverty, the higher the scores.
Almost 25% of our children live in poverty. Did Rhee mention that?
Please help inform CNN. Maybe they will get it right next time.

“Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique | EdSource Today

“Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique | EdSource Today:

“Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique

August 5th, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By Seth Rosenblatt

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Seth Rosenblatt

There are many critiques of the public sector by those in the private sector; some have validity, while others ring hollow. I have written about examples of both, but a great illustration of the latter is the oft used criticism that governments – including our public schools – are guilty of “waste, fraud, and abuse.” It harks back to a quote allegedly by Otto von Bismarck that “laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” It does indeed seem that the work of our public schools is like sausage-making: slow, sloppy, and ugly at times.

Why is that? One of the biggest reason lies in a fundamental tenet of government: openness. We see the sausage-making because we’re allowed to! As someone who has worked for many companies and led many teams over the last 25 years, I encountered countless painful decision-making processes; however none of them were visible to the 

Newest Olympic sport: Teacher bashing? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Newest Olympic sport: Teacher bashing? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

10 most inaccurate school reform axioms

by Valerie Strauss

Below Dov Rosenberg lists what he considers the 10 most inaccurate and damaging statements that some school reformers toss around. Rosenberg, who loves to help teachers use technology, has been serving North Carolina public school students and teachers for 11 years as a teacher and instructional technology facilitator.
Read full article >>

Newest Olympic sport: Teacher bashing?

By Valerie Strauss

You all know about Michelle Rhee’s anti-teachers union organizationStudentsFirst. But do you know about Students Last? It’s a new blog with this as its operating principle: If you care about education, we would like to encourage you to stop.

Here is a satirical post from Students Last that is funny enough to make you laugh but sad enough to make you cry.

Dateline London

Even before the games have ended, officials are debating what events to include at the 2016 Olympics to be held in Brazil.

Olympic spokesman Javier Grendalino offered the short list of potential events to reporters yesterday during a press conference in London

NEA is still spinning Senate Bill 7 as “teacher led reform.” « Fred Klonsky

NEA is still spinning Senate Bill 7 as “teacher led reform.” « Fred Klonsky:

NEA is still spinning Senate Bill 7 as “teacher led reform.”

by Fred Klonsky

The National Council of State Legislators is meeting in Chicago this week. More than 12oo legislators and their staff will wine and dine on lobbyist’s money. Included among the lobbyists will be some from the National Education Association.
I am concerned with what my union lobbyists will be telling state legislators and their staff while taking a knife to a steak at Morton’s Steak House.
Will they be telling them how great Illinois’ Senate Bill 7 is?
Yes. That is exactly what they will be doing.
NEA Twee

Are Lazy Students the Real Problem in Public Education? - Education - GOOD

Are Lazy Students the Real Problem in Public Education? - Education - GOOD:

Are Lazy Students the Real Problem in Public Education?

by Liz Dwyer

Over the past few years teachers have borne the brunt of the blame for the challenges facing the nation's public schools. But in a scathing op-ed in Salt Lake City's Deseret News, Teresa Talbot, a veteran of Utah's public schools who's about to enter her 25th year in the classroom, claims "the main problem with our education system today is not what is taught, where it is taught, by whom it is taught or how it is taught." Instead, says Talbot, the issue is students who refuse to put in the work required to earn a good grade.
As evidence, Talbot cites several examples of teachers having to scale back assignments or needing to give students time in class to complete work they didn't finish at home. Talbot's own math students balked at doing multiple step problems. "I'm not doing that; it's too much work," her students complained. Talbot also says 

The Best Resources On Punctuation | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

The Best Resources On Punctuation | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

The Best Resources On Punctuation

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 hours ago

I just saw a clip of Victor Borge’s apparently famous “Phonetic Punctuation” performance, and it’s prompting me to pull together a short list of resources I’ve posted about punctuation in the past (along with Borge clip) Feel free to contribute … Continue reading →

Twitter Experiment With Our Book Begins Today!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 hours ago

As I’ve previously posted, our new book, “The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels,” (co-authored by Katie Hull Sypnieski), was published last week. Beginning today, Monday, we’re trying an … Continue reading →

Even MORE Videos Showing The Importance Of Asking Good Questions

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 hours ago

I’ve found a few more clips I’m adding to The Best Videos Showing The Importance Of Asking Good Questions, and am still looking for more: Was there anyone ever better at asking questions than Peter Falk as Detective Columbo? This … Continue reading →

New Mars Rover Curiosity Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 hours ago

Curiosity has successfully landed on Mars. Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Mars Rover Curiosity: Curiosity Rover Lands Safely on Mars is from The New York Times. All Mars photos will be shown … Continue reading →

Lots Of Resources On Advertising

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 hours ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites To Learn About Advertising: BAM! is from The Centers For Disease Control. Analyzing Persuasive Techniques in Advertising is from Class Zone. Recognizing Types of Propaganda in Advertising is from The High … Continue reading →

Write A Message On Virtual Placards Held Up By Virtual Fans In A Virtual Stadium At A Virtual Olympics

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

Yup, the tile of this blog post says it all — go to London 2012 and write a message on virtual placards held up by virtual signs in a virtual stadium at a virtual Olympics. You can do it without … Continue reading →

More On The Mars Rover Curiosity

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 15 hours ago

Here are a few new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Mars Rover Curiosity: Curiosity Lands on Mars: Know What You’re Watching When You’re Watching ’7 Minutes of Terror’ is from The Atlantic. Nasa’s ‘untried’ technology to … Continue reading →

More Videos Showing The Importance Of Asking Good Questions

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 15 hours ago

I’m still looking for videos showing the importance of asking good questions. In The Best Videos Showing The Importance Of Asking Good Questions, I began with several movie courtroom cross-examination scenes. I’m hoping readers will help me find clips of … Continue reading →

“Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 21 hours ago

NASA has created this video titled “Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds” and you can read more about it here (I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Climate Change):

Google Unveils Wild-Looking Interactive On Global Arms Trade

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 21 hours ago

Yesterday, Google unveiled a wild-looking visualization of the global arms trade. You can read an explanation of it at the Google Blog. I tend to think it’s a little too wild to easily understand, but it sure looks neat….

The Educated Reporter: A New Prelude to Student Debt: Food Stamps

The Educated Reporter: A New Prelude to Student Debt: Food Stamps:

A New Prelude to Student Debt: Food Stamps

by Emily Richmond

The Educated Reporter is taking a brief summer hiatus, and will return Wednesday, Aug. 8. For the next few days you'll have a chance to catch up on some past posts. 

Like most clichés that arise by virtue of their accuracy, there are most certainly cash-strapped college students who owe a debt of gratitude to the ever-affordable ramen noodle. However, as tuition costs continue to soar --  and part-time work remains hard to find --  more and more college students apparently are turning to an unexpected source for help: food stamps.

Danielle Ford, a junior at Georgia State University, told WXIA TV in Atlanta that “with the (state financial aid) 

SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing - Politics K-12 - Education Week

SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing

by Stephen Sawchuk

By guest blogger Liana Heitin
In sharp contrast to last summer's celebrity-attended rally and march to the White House, the Save Our Schools gathering this year proved a quiet, 150-person affair.
Held this weekend in the regal Wardman Park Marriott in downtown Washington, the convention featured presentations on an array of topics including advocacy, social justice, and elevating student voice, and a keynote by author and activist Jonathan Kozol. Attendees also attended workshops during which they crafted official policy stances to eventually present to policymakers (though these sessions were closed to the media).
Mike Klonsky, Chicago-based educator and activist who is a first-year member of the SOS steering committee, 

E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

A lot has been said in the last few days or so of CNN's Cambpell Brown, and wife of MichelleRheeFirst lackeyDan Senor, and her column in the Wall Street Journal claiming that teacher's unions, in particular the UFT, protects sexual predators. Nothing, we all know, could be further from the truth.

More disturbing is that a fellow teacher and UFT member (both terms used quite loosely) andEducators4Excllence bon vivant, Michael Loeb, without thinking, without any concern at the true nature of adult sexual predators decides to thoughtlessly and sycophantically speak out in support of, not onl

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated | The Jose Vilson

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated | The Jose Vilson:

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated

by Jose

This is the post where I almost started off with a “Dear White People.”
This is going to lean towards education, but applies pervasively.
I’m referring to the educators who still want to save the children, the ones who still think they’re teaching their subjects and not actual students, the ones who see teaching as a segue to administration or a central office job, the ones who use euphemisms for kids of color to advance their profile amongst their so-called liberal friends, or the ones who won’t acknowledge their privilege because it’s way easier to hide behind the first clause I just stated.
Unfortunately, for those of you who fall under this category, there are those of us who aren’t just your colleagues at work, but sat in similar seats that your students did, didn’t appreciate your attitudes then and really don’t appreciate them now. Your insistence, whether conscious or otherwise, perpetuate the legacy of seeing children of color as deserving less. You also paradoxically think that by lowering your expectations of those students, you’re helping them meet or exceed the requirements set forth post-you.
Then, when you move up or on, depending on your purview, you tell these tales of your few years of experience 

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three:

SOS Conference 2012, Day Three

by James Boutin

This morning, I began the day by attending a session led by Monty Neill and Bob George where attendees offered suggestions for how Save Our Schools might adapt its policy recommendation literature for policymakers and the public.

Rose Sanders speaks

Over and over again, in the session and throughout the conference, participants railed against high-stakes testing as the illusion on which corporate reform is standing. I felt this to be the area in which we had largest consensus. As Tim Slekar put it (to paraphrase), "This is a hill to die on. Don't accept test scores as valid indicators of student learning, teaching quality or school quality. Not even a little bit. There's not one shred of evidence they tell us anything except for what zip code they come from and who their parents are."

It was during this session I realized the term "high-stakes testing" is really an oxymoron in a way. If it's high-