10 great education tweets from debate:

10 great education tweets from debate

Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 23, 2012 at 12:30 am

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Highlights from Monday’s debate between President Obama and Governor Romney at Lynn University. (The Washington Post)

Monday night’s  debate between President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney was supposed to be exclusively about foreign policy, but education came up anyway (though not, it should be noted, in any illuminating way.) Here are some of the best tweets about the debate and education:

Pasi Sahlberg@pasi_sahlberg

Education debate in Finnish local election campaign right now: No to privatization, yes to smaller classes - everybody agrees.

22 Oct 12

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‘How Children Succeed’ — Q&A with Paul Tough

by Valerie Strauss

Here is a conversation I had by email with Paul Tough about his new book, “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity,  and the Hidden Power of Character.” Tough is an author and speaker who worked as an editor for both The New York Times Magazine and Harpers Magazine and as a reporter and producer for the public-radio program  “This American Life.” Tough’s also wrote “Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America.” Both books were well-received.
Read full article >>

Common Core will falter if global competitiveness is sole goal | EdSource Today

Common Core will falter if global competitiveness is sole goal | EdSource Today:

Common Core will falter if global competitiveness is sole goal

October 23rd, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By Merrill Vargo

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Merrill Vargo

Why have public schools anyway? We’ve all heard the answer: Public schools are the engine of our economy, the cornerstone of our democracy, and the avenue for individuals to achieve their dreams.

This list of goals sounds like mere rhetoric, but these three goals are worth thinking about. The first observation worth making about these three goals is that we don’t get to choose; we need to do all three. Second, though reformers like to emphasize the ways that these three purposes overlap, these three purposes also pull us in different directions. This means that when educators start to implement something, they are always doing a balancing act. That’s okay, and in fact puts education in the mainstream in this nation, which has found great strength in finding ways to balance opposing forces. But it’s never easy, and it might help if we admitted it.

It is important to keep both the three goals – economy, democracy, and individual dreams – and the balancing act in mind as we begin serious work on the Common Core standards. The primary impetus behind the Common Core is the first of the three goals: public 

Elk Grove sharply reduces suspensions of foster youth - by Susan Frey

by Susan Frey

Elk Grove Unified has dramatically reduced suspensions and expulsions of foster youth by applying the principles of the recently passed law, Assembly Bill 1909, long before the bill was written. The new law, which goes into effect in January, requires districts to notify social workers when a foster child enters one of their schools and to contact the child’s attorney if he or she faces a...

A Binder Full of Bad Ideas | toteachornototeach

A Binder Full of Bad Ideas | toteachornototeach:

A Binder Full of Bad Ideas

by aristotlethewise

A Binder Full of Bad Ideas

by Randi Weingarten

Earlier this year at a roundtable discussion in Colorado, Mitt Romney was talking about education — extolling the virtues of private schools and vouchers, and criticizing public schools and teachers unions. When a teacher participating in the discussion tried to offer her perspective, Romney shot back: “I didn’t ask you a question.”
But teachers, like many other Americans, have questions about Romney’s policies and proposals. They worry about their impact on the education that kids receive, because he advocates slashing education funding and privatizing public education.
They question his taking credit for educational success in Massachusetts that was spurred by reforms instituted a decade before he became governor, and wonder why as a presidential candidate he is proposing entirely different, discredited education policies.
They are incredulous that he says he would preserve the U.S. Department of Education only so he’d have a club 

Daily Kos: NY Times slams Romney for final debate

Daily Kos: NY Times slams Romney for final debate:

NY Times slams Romney for final debate

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

in an editorial titled simply The Final Debate
Here's the first paragraph:

Mitt Romney has nothing really coherent or substantive to say about domestic policy, but at least he can sound energetic and confident about it. On foreign policy, the subject of Monday night’s final presidential debate, he had little coherent to say and often sounded completely lost. That’s because he has no original ideas of substance on most world issues, including Syria, Iran and Afghanistan.

little coherent to say  because he keeps changing positions?he has no original ideas of substance on most world issues - which might be why he kept agreeing with

I will be discussing debate on internet radio

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

on my show at BeeVocal.  The show is called  Politics with teacherken and tonight at 7 EDT I will be talking about the debate, the response to it, and the state of the Presidential race.  If as a listener you want to bring up a related topic, say control of the House or a specific Senate race, we can go there as well.
Below the fold I have provided instructions of how to participate.
It will not surprise anyone that my response to what happened last night is somewhat different than what a lot of talking heads are saying.
I invite you to participate.
Please keep going below the fold.

on horses and bayonets

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

which btw was the highest spike on the dials in the Fox News focus group
let's start with bayonets.  Yes, we still have them.  As a former US Marine I can tell you every Marine is trained to use a bayonet.   But bayonets are an infantry weapon and a decreasing percentage of our smaller military is infantry.
As for horses?  We still have them.  But consider this -
One important use for horses in the United States Army is to draw the caissons on which are carried the bodies for those to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
I think that is one of the most memorable lines in the debate, that and what followed - about aircraft carriers and 

Legacies of the Civil Rights Era: Accountability and Attention to Poverty (John Spencer) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Legacies of the Civil Rights Era: Accountability and Attention to Poverty (John Spencer) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Legacies of the Civil Rights Era: Accountability and Attention to Poverty (John Spencer)

by larrycuban

John P. Spencer is a former high school social studies teacher and an associate professor in the Education department at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of In the Crossfire: Marcus Foster and the Troubled History of American School Reform.
 The past decade has brought a steady stream of commentary on how education is the “civil rights issue of our time,” most recently from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But education has been a civil rights issue for decades—and not just in Brown v. Board of Education or Little Rock, but in urban communities with low-performing schools.
Revisiting the 1960s shows us that the civil rightsera left a dual legacy in school reform, half of which echoes 

Students Last: Not Our Usual Fare

Students Last: Not Our Usual Fare:

Not Our Usual Fare

by Students Last

We know you come to this site for a laugh but some things are just NOT funny. Here's a non-satirical editorial from Students Last.
------------
How nice to be told by presidential candidates that they "love teachers." Too bad it's bullshit, like the flowers a woman gets the day after her abuser gives her a black eye. In fact America has, at least as of late, quite the abusive relationship with teachers. Claiming to love teachers but repeatedly disrespecting them in a myriad of ways. What teachers need is fewer meaningless words and a helluva a lot more deeds of respect.

When teachers tell you that standardized testing is robbing instructional time, narrowing curriculum and 

NYC Educator: Sick Days? ATRs Don't Need No Stinking Sick Days!

NYC Educator: Sick Days? ATRs Don't Need No Stinking Sick Days!:

Sick Days? ATRs Don't Need No Stinking Sick Days!

by NYC Educator

For the past couple of weeks I've been feeling sick. Not 'can't get out of bed' sick, but I have a runny nose and cough that never seems to go away, for a few days I had a nasty intestinal virus that made me weak and nauseous, and the constant changes of schedule have made me tired and sluggish.

Had I been in a normal teaching situation, I probably would have called in sick one of those days to recuperate. I often found that taking one day off just to sleep and relax often did a world of good for me, both physically and mentally.

But as an ATR, I can't do that. I'm told that wherever I go, I have to 

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 10-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Is It Something I Said?: What We Say...What They Hear!

by Lisa M

I received an email from a parent the other day. It wasn't a hostile email. It was written in a polite tone. It was just a parent trying to find out what was going on in my classroom regarding his daughter. If this happened with my kids, I probably would have written an email like it as well. I also really appreciated the fact that this parent sent the email to me, instead of going straight to my principal.

The email went something like this: "K" was very upset last night. She told her mother that you said to her "I 

A Note On The IVO-IPO Endorsements

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

At this moment I'm lying on the kitchen floor with a dog who is possibly at the end of her life, or possibly just sick. It's hard to tell with kidney disease.

It may be an all-nighter. I'm giving her drops of medicine and water from the tip of my finger.

I've been here before.

Anyway she has indicated that its's cool with her if I blog from my phone so that's what I'm going to do. 

Why Are Billionaires Funding School Board Races in Louisiana?

by dianerav

There are few investigative writers in education journalism these days. It is disturbingly rare to find writers who look behind the press releases, the hype and spin.
One place that cries out for investigative journalism is Louisiana, the locus for the most extreme privatization schemes. The governor is now imposing the New Orleans model on the entire state, and many hold up New 

Obama To Romney: Yes, We Have Fewer Ships Than 1916 – But Also Fewer Horses And Bayonets

Source: [b]Talking Points Memo[/b]

President Obama told Mitt Romney that he was out of touch on his criticism of the current military structure, at the foreign policy debate.

"But I think Gov. Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works," said Obama. "You me...

Romney, Obama Spar Over Education In Foreign Policy Debate

by Joy Resmovits

Much to the chagrin of moderator Bob Schieffer, Monday night's presidential debate took a decidedly domestic turn.

During a conversation about what America needs to do to remain internationally competitive, President Barack Obama took the opportunity to lace into Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney on teacher hiring.

"Governor Romney, when you were asked by teachers whether or not this would help the economy grow, you said this isn't going to help the economy grow," Obama said.

This dispute dates back to the last few months. The Republican presidential candidate mocked Obama in June 

Obama as Commander-in-Chief, Romney as Dithering Bully

I thought the third and last presidential debate was a clear win for the President. He displayed the...

Obama and Romney show stark differences on school funding

by Liz Houlton

President Obama has tried to steer education policy in New Jersey and nationwide by dangling competitive grants in front of states that promised a raft of changes, such as raising standards, tying teacher evaluations to student growth and expanding charters.

It Took Less Than 30 Minutes for 'Horses and Bayonets' to Become a Meme

by Adam Clark Estes

The final debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was bound to spawn a meme or two in in the hours after the debate. But actually, it only took a few minutes for the Internet to latch on to the zinger of all zingers. After Romney criticized the administration by claiming that the United States Navy has fewer ships today than it did in 1916, Obama seized the moment.
"You mention the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. "Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets," said the president. "We have these things called aircraft carriers and 

Petition site Change.org to accept corporate and conservative sponsors

by Eric W. Dolan

The petition website Change.org plans to implement new “open” advertising guidelines, eliminating their policy of only partnering with those who shared their progressive values. The site’s new ad policy will “now be a Google-

Obama rips Romney on military size: ‘The question is not a game of battleship’

by Jonathan Terbush

President Barack Obama laughed off Mitt Romney’s argument that he had weakened the military through downsizing by joking that it was only natural for advancements in technology to make obsolete older weapons—such as those from the Civil War. In a discussion about the size of the military,.

US leads world in downloading scientific articles: Evidence against the “STEM crisis”

by skrashen

US leads world in downloading scientific articles: Evidence against the “STEM crisis”
Stephen Krashen

Wang et al (2012) calculated the number of scientific articles downloaded over a 24 hour period (April 12, 2012) by individual country. Here are the top ten, with the number downloaded and the country’s share of the total, from Wang et. al. table 1.

United States: 61,361 (29.62%)
Germany 31,122 (15.02%)
China 19, 826 (9.57%)
UK 8066 (3.89%)
Japan 6915 (3.34%)
Canada 6752 (3.26%)
Australia 6020 (2.91%)
India 5552 (2.68%)
France 4880 (2.36%)
South Korea 4630 (2.23%)

The US was the clear winner. In terms of download

Does board delay in extending Davis’ contact in Atlanta signal a lasting estrangement?

by Maureen Downey

I am unsure about Erroll Davis’ future as leader of APS after tonight’s decision by the Atlanta school board to hold off on extending his contract. The board met behind closed doors for three hours to discuss Davis and his contract.
Davis is still dealing with the fallout from his decision to remove six administrators from North Atlanta High, including principal Mark MyGrant. I continue to hear from North Atlanta parents who insist that Davis misled the public on why he removed the school administrators.
Those parents contend that Davis was both callous and careless in failing to consider the impact of his actions