Tom Friedman is a friggin’ idiot. « Fred Klonsky

Tom Friedman is a friggin’ idiot. « Fred Klonsky:

Tom Friedman is a friggin’ idiot.

by Fred Klonsky

It only took a few seconds after I posted “Tom Friedman is a friggin’ idiot” on my Facebook page in response to today’s NY Times column, than my MacBook started pinging like crazy.
Likes and comments poured like Morton salt.
I once had an administrator offer me Friedman’s The World is Flat to read. I returned the favor by giving him Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School. 
I actually read the Friedman book. I don’t think he broke the spine of Ravitch’s. Too bad for me. Too bad for him.
Friedman, as The Gawker points out, writes basically the same stupid column over and over.
But the particulars of each column are what amazes and then numbs the mind.
Today he suggests that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be a

Education Week: Standardized Testing Costs States $1.7 Billion a Year, Study Says

Education Week: Standardized Testing Costs States $1.7 Billion a Year, Study Says:

Standardized Testing Costs States $1.7 Billion a Year, Study Says

By Andrew Ujifusa

Premium article access courtesy of Edweek.org.

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Standardized-testing regimens cost states some $1.7 billion a year overall, or a quarter of 1 percent of total K-12 spending in the United States, according to a new report on assessment finances.

The report released Nov. 29 by the Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy, at the Brookings Institution, calculates that the test spending by 44 states and the District of Columbia amounted to $65 per student on average in grades 3-9 based on the most recent test-cost data the researchers could gather. (The Brown Center report was not able to gather that data from Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming.)

It also says that the District of Columbia spends the most on its assessments per student—$114—of the 45 jurisdictions Brookings measured, followed by Hawaii, Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, and Massachusetts. New York, where test scoring is a local responsibility, spent the least—$7 per student—followed by Kansas, North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core 3rd Grade Benchmarks for Citizenship. And You Still Believe the Standards Don't Drive the Curriculum?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core 3rd Grade Benchmarks for Citizenship. And You Still Believe the Standards Don't Drive the Curriculum?:

Common Core 3rd Grade Benchmarks for Citizenship. And You Still Believe the Standards Don't Drive the Curriculum?

by stlgretchen

The new definition of being a "good citizen"? Common Core 3rd grade standards benchmarks to promote the "common good".

What is your definition of a good citizen?

Let's travel back in time and revisit the 1954 World Book Encyclopedia's definition of citizenship:

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's New Memoir Reads Like a Zealot's Manifesto, Details Time in D.C. - Loose Lips

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's New Memoir Reads Like a Zealot's Manifesto, Details Time in D.C. - Loose Lips:

Rhee-visionist History

Posted by Alan Suderman on Nov. 28, 2012 at 8:01 pm

Like most sequels, the current round of D.C. Public Schools closings is a lot less dramatic than the first wave presided over by former Schools ChancellorMichelle Rhee four years ago.

That soap opera included a protest outside the Wilson Building set to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” police removing a man who yelled expletives at Rhee during a D.C. Council hearing, and some very unhappy councilmembers who had been kept in the dark about Rhee’s plans. This time around, there are still councilmembers irked at some of the planned closures and plenty of parents upset that their kids will either have to change schools or welcome a large influx of students from other schools. But the rage the District saw under Rhee is absent.

Instead, several councilmembers have made it a point to note how much betterKaya Henderson, Rhee’s one-time deputy and successor, is handling the process.

“We didn’t have all this interaction and engagement before,” says Ward 7 

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-29-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

J. Crew Raising $$$ for Rich Kids

by dianerav

J. Crew is raising money to help Teach for America, which has $300 million in assets and many high-level employees with six-figure salaries.
Why don’t they use the proceeds to hire nurses and librarians for public schools in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Like, you know, poor kids?

What Does the NJ Charter Report Overlook?

by dianerav

Count on Jersey Jazzman to catch the flaw in the CREDO study of charters in his home state.
It purports to study schools but in fact it compares matched students, not taking into account the peer effects.
Like, if you go to a school that has weeded out or excluded the troublemakers, you learn more. Where do we go with that?

Live Debate about Michigan on Friday

by dianerav

Listen on Friday to a live debate about the future of education in Michigan, featuring State Board member John Austin and Richard McLellan of the right wing Oxford Foundation.

Parsing the Florida “Miracle”

by dianerav

Jeb Bush claims the mantle of King of Education Reform.
He touts the Florida Miracle.
His ingredients for success: testing, testing, testing, school report cards, privatization, charters, vouchers, and big investments in online learning.
Here is one careful review of the Florida “miracle.”
Here is yet anothergood analysis of the Florida Miracle.
Bush is pushing the digitization of schooling pretty hard. His Foundation is funded by technology companies. Tony Bennett of Indiana and Tom Luna of Idaho carried the Bush banner in the November elections, and both got

Online Schools Spend Millions of Tax Dollars to Advertise

by dianerav

USA Today has done it again. Last year, an investigative team of reporters broke open the cheating scandal during Michelle Rhee’s tenure.
Now, Greg Toppo reveals that the virtual charters are wasting millions of dollars on advertising to boost their enrollment and their coffers.
He has identified about $100 million of lost taxpayer dollars.
They recruit for two reasons: one, to add more dollars to their bank account. Two, because they have a high 

Kaya Henderson’s Plan to Close Public Schools, Open More Charters

by dianerav

Valerie Strauss here writes about DC Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plan to close more DC public schools and hand off more students to charter operators.
Ironic that one of the possible charters is K12, the online for-profit charter corporation that has a 22% graduation rate in its Colorado Virtual Academy and may lose its charter in Georgia for the poor services it provides to special education students.
It’s clear that Henderson, a protege of Michelle Rhee, is not competing with charters. She is throwing in the 

DC Parent: End Mayoral Control, Fire Kaya Henderson

by dianerav

In Washington, D.C., where charter schools now enroll over 43% of the public school population, DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson recently announced her plan to close 20 more public schools at the same time that charter school operators were seeking fast-track approval for up to 10 new campuses.
Peter MacPherson, the former president of the Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA (DC Public Schools), wrote the following letter to Mayor Gray, calling for Chancellor Henderson’s resignation. Like many public school parents who volunteer for school improvement committees, he lobbied Chancellors Rhee and Henderson and former DC Council chair, now mayor, Gray for school modernization and technology upgrades. This past spring, he

Funny Business in Massachusetts Charter Schools

by dianerav

EduShyster invites tips, and she got a big one.
An official at one charter school made a usurious loan to another charter school.
When stuff like this happens, it reminds you that charter schools are not public schools.
Public schools are regulated and supervised.
They could never get away with stuff like this.

How Walmart Could Do Good Work

by dianerav

The Walton family has made billions of dollars as owners of Walmart. Some family members use this vast wealth to promote privatization of public education and union-busting in US schools.
The Walton family could find better uses for its wealth
This came in my email:
If you already received this, sorry. As I’ve been reading about Walmart & the Waltons in your respective blogs, I’d been thinking about this–I saw it once on the news, & nothing in our newspapers. 100 years ago–Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire–146 dead.
This is why we have unions.
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Claiborne D., SumOfUs.org
Date: Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Subject: Walmart could have prevented this horror
To: C
112 workers died brutal deaths in a massive fire in a Bangladesh textile factory. The emergency exits were 

Diane in the Evening 11-28-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Judge Halts Voucher Program Temporarily by dianerav A Federal judge in Louisiana put a halt to the state voucher program and the new teacher hiring laws in one parish, saying they was likely to undercut the desegregation program. The State Department of Education will appeal. TFA Commissioner John White believes that choice and privatization matter more than desegregation. Podesta: how to help privatization movement by dianerav John Podesta, who heads the Center for American Progress and headed the 2008 Onama transition team, was a keynote speaker at Jeb ... more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH Gangnam Style 11-28-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] *Diane Ravitch Gangnam Style* Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab! What You Need to Know About Play by dianerav From a reader who is passionate about child’s play: Let’s talk to Arne about Play Science? We have schools in Asia setting up Play Science Institutes. They know that they need to innovate. The teacher is the one who can identify and scaffold upon the innate talents of the child. No computer program can see, feel, connect and mentor that deeply. Data is not knowledge. Metaphoric ... more »

NYC Educator: On Classroom Management: Who's Been Drinking the Bad Idea Kool Aid?

NYC Educator: On Classroom Management: Who's Been Drinking the Bad Idea Kool Aid?:

On Classroom Management: Who's Been Drinking the Bad Idea Kool Aid?

by NYC Educator

By Recovering ATR (formerly Suddenly ATR)

I've heard a lot of stupid ideas floated through the schools during my time at Tweed. And some of them are really, really stupid. But many of them are stupid but harmless. For example most professional development workshops are boring, pointless, but in the end, who really cares? Yawn. Blah. In one ear, out the other.

Some ideas are stupid but can actually harm teachers. And one of the stupidest ideas that is commonly believed by many teachers, administrators, students, and parents alike is one of the most harmful. It goes like this: you cannot teach classroom management to teachers. Teachers either have the authority to control a class or they don't. If they don't, they should go bye 

Four More Years of Arne Duncan? That's the Last Thing our Schools Need | Education on GOOD

Four More Years of Arne Duncan? That's the Last Thing our Schools Need | Education on GOOD:

Four More Years of Arne Duncan? That's the Last Thing our Schools Need

While it isn't official yet, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has hinted that he will return to President Obama's cabinet for a second term. This isn't good news. As a 17-year-old high school student, I'm both a No Child Left Behind and a Race to the Top baby. I've lived through two pieces of failed legislation—under former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and now Duncan—that have seriously derailed the status of education in this country.
At the Council of Chief State Officers conference earlier this month, Duncan outlined the basics of a second-term education agenda with plans to "replicate" the work the administration did in its first term. He hopes to 

4LAKids - GREAT UNCERTAINTY OVER DIRECTION OF STATE STANDARDIZED TESTS: “State policymakers are ready to deemphasize the role of standardized tests in the school accountability system”

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: GREAT UNCERTAINTY OVER DIRECTION OF STATE STANDARDIZED TESTS: “State policymakers are ready to deemphasize the role of standardized tests in the school accountability system”:

GREAT UNCERTAINTY OVER DIRECTION OF STATE STANDARDIZED TESTS: “State policymakers are ready to deemphasize the role of standardized tests in the school accountability system”

BY JOHN FENSTERWALD, EDSOURCE TODAY |  HTTP://BIT.LY/TUJWME

November 26th, 2012  ::  With the statute authorizing state standardized tests due to expire in June 2014, the incoming Legislature is facing some hard decisions on the future of the state testing system: What subjects should be tested, for whom, how often (not every year in every subject, perhaps), at what cost, and, perhaps the biggest question, for what purpose?

The state will likely end up with a hybrid system, a combination of state-created tests and tests designed in partnerships with other states. The principal partnership is Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, one of two multistate consortia with contracts with the U.S. Department of Education to develop an assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Smarter Balanced is designing tests for California and two dozen other states. Its new tests are expected to be more demanding and will require new approaches to teaching. But the tests, due to roll out in spring

Pushing K-12 off the Fiscal Cliff: CUT DEEP - HOW THE SEQUESTER WILL IMPACT OUR NATION'S SCHOOLS

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 7 hours ago

from the American Association of School Administrators |  http://bit.ly/X2BA9k The cuts of sequestration are estimated to between eight and nine percent, which would reduce funding for the US Education Department by an additional $4 billion and affect millions of students, classrooms and teachers by increasing class size, reducing programs and services and eliminating educator jobs. State/

DOE v. DEASY/TEACHER TALKS: What happens if they can’t agree?

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 8 hours ago

by Hillel Aron, L.A. School Report | http://bit.ly/YsEIMa November 28, 2012  ::  The deadline set by Judge Chalfant for LAUSD and UTLA to agree on a teacher evaluation system that satisfies the requirements of the Stull Act is December 4 — less than a week away. Neither side is saying how the negotiations are going – other than, well, “they’re going.” That sounds good, but the district and the

SCHOOL FUNDING CHANGES DEBATED AT EDUCATORS MEETING

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 8 hours ago

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail  | 89.3 KPCC |  http://bit.ly/Ww8J8B Rich Pedroncelli/AP November 28th, 2012, 6:00am  ::  Educators at a private meeting Tuesday sounded off on an expected proposal to increase state funding to disadvantaged school districts. Conversation focused on Governor Jerry Brown's proposal to redistribute education funding pots known as categoricals among districts

LAUSD PUTTING ON A SHOW – A TALENT SHOW …to showcase employee-entertainers and raise money for after-school programs

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 8 hours ago

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/Srp2Fg 11/28/2012 03:33:09 PM PST  ::  Sure, America and even Britain have talent. Turns out, Los Angeles Unified does, too. The nation's second-largest school district is organizing a variety show to spotlight the talents of its 60,000-plus employees while raising money to fund after-school programs. "I want to really show the

FOSTER YOUTH IN THE SEX TRADE: Most L.A. County youths held for prostitution come from foster care

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 9 hours ago

The Board of Supervisors launches a multiagency task force to address the issue. By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/Qrve0n November 27, 2012, 8:51 p.m.  ::  A majority of juveniles arrested on prostitution charges in Los Angeles County come from the county's foster care system, and, in some cases, pimps use underage sex workers to recruit fellow group home residents, county

U P D A T E D: TEACHER JAILS FILL AS THE GHOSTS OF MIRAMONTE + TELFAIR (+ PENN STATE) HAUNT LAUSD

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 10 hours ago

LAUSD 'jails' fill with teachers as misconduct complaints rise By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/V4dMf0 Students are escorted to a waiting bus as they leave Miramonte Elementary school after classes Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 in Los Angeles. Veteran Miramonte Elementary school teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday, Jan. 30, on charges of lewd conduct with 23

CHARTER SCHOOL PROPONENTS TO ANNOUNCE MAJOR FOCUS ON SHUTTING DOWN FAILING SCHOOLS

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 11 hours ago

“We didn't start this movement in order to create more failing schools, but that's what we have - hundreds of them. Greg Richmond, President & CEO,  National Association of Charter School Authorizers Joy Resmovits, Huffington Post | http://huff.to/QrfDOr 11/28/2012 12:28 am EST Updated: 11/28/2012 8:33 am EST ::

A ROAD MAP FOR L.A. UNIFIED …when maybe GPS is needed?

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 20 hours ago

A six-year study provides a wealth of information on how to recruit, assign, pay and, when necessary, lay off teachers in ways that help students most. LA Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/10WgUA9 November 28, 2012  ::  There are big differences in how well Los Angeles' teachers help their students learn, a new study shows — bigger variations than in other districts, where teaching quality

A challenge for HIV/Health Ed in our schools: CDC + KAISER FOUNDATION REPORTS TROUBLING RISE IN HIV INFECTIONS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 1 day ago

CDC acknowledges need for more and improved HIV prevention education for teens Kaiser Survey finds Black and Latino Youth “Very Concerned” about Impact of HIV on themselves and others their age by Sarah Childress | PBS FRONTLINE |  ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America | http://to.pbs.org/SbJKrB November 27, 2012, 4:42 pm ET   ::  Every month, 1,000 young Americans become infected with HIV.

An at-home college-readiness test for students with learning disabilities

An at-home college-readiness test for students with learning disabilities:

An at-home college-readiness test for students with learning disabilities

by Valerie Strauss

The college admissions process is hard enough for students who don't struggle with a learning disability but all the more difficult for students who do. Here is a test that parents can give to their children who have learning disabilities to see if they are ready to go to college. It was written by Rachel Masson, director of admissions atLandmark College, a Putney, Vt., institution that offers integrated approaches for learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Read full article >>

Colleges that don't require SAT or ACT: New survey

by Valerie Strauss

A new survey of accredited colleges and students shows that more than 800 admit all or many students without requiring SAT or ACT scores.
The survey was done by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, which has kept tabs on the number of test-optional schools for years. FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer said that in the past few years 80 schools have joined the list, which includes schools that rank high on the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Schools that have dropped SAT/ACT requirements say they do it because they don't think a high-stakes test

Finnish Lessons' author wins $100,000 education prize

by Valerie Strauss

Finland's Pasi Sahlberg, an international leader in education reform, has won a $100,000 education prize from the University of Louisville for his worldwide best-selling book that explains how Finnish schools were reformed to become among the best in the world.
Read full article >>

Best Education In The World | toteachornototeach

Best Education In The World | toteachornototeach:

Best Education In The World

by aristotlethewise

Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea
Top Country Rankings, U.S. Rated Average
The United States places 17th in the developed world for education, according to a global report by education firm Pearson.
Finland and South Korea, not surprisingly, top the list of 40 developed countries with the best education systems. Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore follow. The rankings are calculated based on various measures, including international test scores, graduation rates between 2006 and 2010, and the prevalence of higher education seekers. (See the list of top 20 countries in the slideshow below)
Pearson’s chief education adviser Sir Michael Barber tells BBC that the high ranking countries tend to offer 

Daily Kos: My teaching adventure continues

Daily Kos: My teaching adventure continues:

My teaching adventure continues

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I have now completed 6 days with my students, although realistically only 5 count, since the 1/2 day before Thanksgiving was really not focused on academics and a lot of students were out.  We did have some competitions of boys against girls that day where they were given information about a teacher and asked to guess which member of the team it was.  They were wrong more than they were right :-)
The school does a thorough job of orienting teachers -  at the start of the year.  I am having to catch up with things while I am teaching, with little lead time.  I am supposed to start each week with two weeks of planned lessons already submitted.  I actually was able to do that Monday, although it is clear that I will have to make changes to what I had intended as I learn more about the students.  I also need to be consistent with other members of my team in certain aspects of what goes on because many of our students need a consistent structure since there is so little regular organization in their lives outside of school.
What has surprised me is how exhausted I have been at the end of each school day.  I am used to 45 minute periods with time during the periods when I could let my high schoolers loose and just keep an eye on them while they did group work, or while students led a whole class discussion.  That is realistically not possible, and our periods are significantly longer - except for a slightly shorter (30 minutes) day on Wednesday, our periods run more than 75 minutes each.  Our students require pretty close to constant attention.
But there have been successes as well as struggles.