UPDATE: Madigan won’t divulge his + Bernie Madoff for financial advice? + New feature: Springfield’s Biggest Loser Legislator of the Week. + A retired teacher supports the faculty at Garfield High School in Seattle. Wearing red today. « Fred Klonsky

A retired teacher supports the faculty at Garfield High School in Seattle. Wearing red today. « Fred Klonsky:

Madigan won’t divulge his email. Tomorrow you must phone or fax.

by Fred Klonsky

Reminder that tomorrow is Call Madigan Friday.
The message: You must meat with the unions for real pension solutions.
But the speaker will not divulge his email address.
I even called his Springfield office:
“Speaker’s office.”
“Hi. Does the Speaker have an email address?”
“No.”
Click.
So you must call or fax.

Springfield Office: 300 Capitol Building Springfield, IL   62706 (217) 782-5350 (217) 524-1794 FAX District Office: 6500 South Pulaski Road Chicago, IL  60629 (773) 581-8000 (773) 581-9414 FAX

Standard and Poor’s and Illinois pensions. Would you go to Bernie Madoff for financial advice?

by Fred Klonsky

The big financial news yesterday was the release of documents by the Justice Department showing that the Standard and Poors fraudulently inflated credit ratings, “with dire consequences for the entire economy. In a series of e-mails, tensions appeared to be escalating inside the firm’s headquarters in Lower Manhattan as it publicly professed that its ratings were valid, even as the home loans bundled into mortgage-backed securities, or M.B.S., were failing at accelerating rates.”
Standard and Poor’s is not a government agency. They are a private company which is hired to assess deals, trades, the value of securities and bonds.
All they have to sell really is their reliability.
The Feds and 16 state attorneys general claim that they were

New feature: Springfield’s Biggest Loser Legislator of the Week.

by Fred Klonsky

Attending the pension forum in Wilmette on Monday night, listening to Senator Dan Biss and Representative Gabel claim that teacher pensions were at fault for “draining money from poor children,” I thought to myself, “Fred, you need a new feature for your blog: Springfield’s Biggest Loser legislator of the week.“
It will be a problem because there are so many who are competitive.
IEA Government Relations, the union lobbyists, won’t be happy with this because we are suppose to smile and be nice to all of these folks, no matter what they do, what they say or how they vote.
IPACE, our political action fund, has been throwing money at Republican House Leader Tom Cross for years. No 

A retired teacher supports the faculty at Garfield High School in Seattle. Wearing red today.

by Fred Klonsky

I now have quite a collection of red shirts to wear in support of public education.
I used to wear one every Tuesday.
But now I’m retired. And today we are being asked to wear read in support of the teachers at Garfield High School. They put the interests of their students first and have refused to waste precious instructional and class time on the MAP test.
I won’t be wearing red today to school. But I’ll be wearing red just the same.

West Chicago teachers still out. VIDEO

by Fred Klonsky

Popout

Daily Kos: Another sign of what is wrong in public education

Daily Kos: Another sign of what is wrong in public education:

Another sign of what is wrong in public education

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

is the desperate need for money as local and state governments either see tax revenues dropping (from depressed house prices and sales taxes or from deliberate attempts to starve revenues as Republicans slash tax rates on corporations and the wealthy).  We have seen schools and districts selling naming rights to football stadiums, we have seen charging of fees for participation in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
This week the system in which I taught for 17 years before retiring in June went a step further, as we learned in aWashington Post story titled Prince George’s considers copyright policy that takes ownership of students’ work
The article begins as follows:

A proposal by the Prince George’s County Board of Education to copyright work created by staff and students for school could mean that a picture drawn by a first-grader, a lesson plan developed by a teacher or an app created by a teen would belong to the school system, not the individual.

I will not quote extensively from the article.  I want to discuss separately the two issues

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 19 2013: Public Speaking

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 19 2013: Public Speaking:

Week 19 2013: Public Speaking

by alicemercer

For reasons I’m not going to go into, many of my plans for the classroom did not come to fruition. The one lesson I did manage to teach my students though, was just FABULOUS!
First, I must thank Andrew Dlugan at the Six Minutes site. This site is a great resource on public speaking and presentations for adults, but much of the material is accessible enough to use with older children (10+ years) with some modification. I wanted to prepare students to create and deliver persuasive speeches. To do this, I looked for resources on the three elements of persuasion; ethos, pathos, and logos. The article at Six Minutesseemed the best for my purposes. I asked some questions , and Mr. Dlugan contacted me via email when he heard about what I was planning to do. I found him to be quite helpful, and generous in his materials. I did end up re-writing a bit to make the language more accessible to my students, and to give them time for a response so I could check their understanding.
Here was what I came up with for a slide-deck:

Rhetoric and public speaking from Alice Mercer

Some other parts that I added were, between the Ethos and Pathos slides, I showed students video of former 

Independent Report: Teachers Remain Skeptical About New Evaluation System - NJ Spotlight

Independent Report: Teachers Remain Skeptical About New Evaluation System - NJ Spotlight:

Independent Report: Teachers Remain Skeptical About New Evaluation System

Study also raises concerns about deadlines and reliability, but lead author finds reasons to be optimistic

 print | email | share

By John Mooney, February 6, 2013 in Education |Post a Comment

With less than nine months and counting, New Jersey’s rollout of a statewide teacher evaluation system is moving ahead, but the deadlines are tight, reliability remains an issue -- and the system has yet to win the confidence of the teachers it's intended to evaluate.

Related Links

Rutgers: New Jersey Teacher Evaluation, Year 1 Report

Evaluation Pilot Advisory Committee Internal Report

That was the bottom line of a sweeping report by a team of Rutgers researchers that is following the early implementation of the system.

According to the state’s new tenure law, every district must have a revamped evaluation system in place by next school year.

The cautions and caveats of the report were tempered by the fact that the study was only looking at the first 10 pilot districts in their first year (2011-2012). Another 20 districts are in a second-year pilot that will be reported on this summer.

The report also did not delve into a central piece of the new process: the use of student

NJSpotlight (http://s.tt/1zr1E)

NYC Educator: The Making of a Supervisor

NYC Educator: The Making of a Supervisor:

The Making of a Supervisor

by NYC Educator

by Recovering ATR 

I have a friend who I've written about before on this blog. He is putting the finishing touches on getting his AP license. We've continued our oddball opposites attract friendship. Since I knew him ever since he was a first year teacher, it's interesting to see him "develop" into a supervisor-to-be.

In order to finish his internship he was sent to some large school in January to oversee Regents grading, with the new system and whatnot. He was supposed to be monitoring the teachers' grading to make sure that we weren't cheating or doing any other funky stuff.

During this time he sent me a series of text messages 

Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers

Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers:

Scrap the MAP! Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers

by Server

Support High Stakes Test Resistance

SCRAP THE MAP! WEBINAR WITH GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS
Originally Posted on February 5, 2013
Support High Stakes Test Resistance—Scrap the MAP!
Webinar with Garfield High School Teachers:
Why they did it, How they did it, Where the struggle is headed next.
Earlier this month, teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, voted unanimously to stop administering a widely used, yet highly unfair standardized test. They are now facing threats of 10-day suspension without pay if they continue their boycott. Students and parents are joining the struggle in defense of their teachers and their right to a quality education.
The outcome of this grassroots movement will have an enormous impact on the future of resistance to high stakes testing around the country. Their struggle is our struggle!
Join with other concerned teachers, parents, and activists around the country for a free webinar featuring Jesse Hagopian, Garfield teacher and alumnus, as he discusses the background and current state of the fight to Scrap The Map. This will be an interactive, online meeting, with an opportunity for participants to ask questions. This webinar will be moderated by Brian Jones, teacher, author, and educational justice activist from NYC.
Webinar
Sunday, Feb. 10
5pm PST, 6pm MST, 7pm CST, 8pm EST
You must register via email to receive an invitation to the webinar: Write to garfieldteacherswebinar@gmail.comYou will then receive a link to the webinar and easy technical directions for utilizing the free, online, web meeting service.
Learn more about the struggle of the Garfield Teachers at http://scrapthemap.wordpress.com
The courageous Boycott of the MAP test by Seattle teachers has inspired students, teachers, parents, and activists across the country. They have shown their solidarity through resolutions of support by teacher unions (by both the ATF & NEA), letters and emails to district officials, rallies, petition drives, and many other local actions. (See a full list of statements here http://scrapthemap.wordpress.com/solidarity-statements-2/)

“Without question or hesitation, I stand with the teachers, students, and parents at Garfield HS as they resist these unjust, soul-crushing standardized tests. This is not a Garfield issue. It’s a discussion in every public high school across the United States. We should all applaud and raise our fists for the people at Garfield and remember them forever as the first to stand up.” – 1968 Olympic medalist and protestor, Dr. John W. Carlos

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 2-5-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Standard & Poor's -- No standards but a lot of folks made poor

by Mike Klonsky

Forget for a brief moment that the current Illinois teacher-pension crisis is a manufactured one, caused primarily by the state's inability or unwillingness to raise enough revenue to make it's necessary contribution to the pension fund. Forget also for a brief moment, that the state legislature grabbed millions from that fund, into which retirees had been paying out of their take-home pay for decades and used that money to pay off other debts.

Let's look for a moment instead at how the threat by Gov. Quinn, and other Dems,of a reduced state credit rating by Standard & Poor's, was used to try and steamroll the legislature into passing SB1. That bill 

Week 19 2013: Public Speaking

by alicemercer

For reasons I’m not going to go into, many of my plans for the classroom did not come to fruition. The one lesson I did manage to teach my students though, was just FABULOUS!
First, I must thank Andrew Dlugan at the Six Minutes site. This site is a great resource on public speaking and presentations for adults, but much of the material is accessible enough to use with older children (10+ years) with some modification. I wanted to prepare students to create and deliver persuasive speeches. To do this, I looked for resources on the three elements of persuasion; ethos, pathos, and logos. The article at Six Minutesseemed the best for my purposes. I asked some questions , and Mr. Dlugan contacted me via email when he heard about what I was planning to do. I found him to be quite helpful, and generous in his materials. I did end up re-writing a bit to make the language more accessible to my students, and to give them time for a response so I 

MexicanAmericanDigitalHistory- Feb.13

by Duane Campbell

Video: “The Chinese New Year: From Fear to Festivity”

by Larry Ferlazzo

The Chinese New Year: From Fear to Festivity is the title of this video from English Central that I’m adding to The Best Resources For Chinese New Year.
More importantly, though, it’s the first English Central video that I’m embedding in my blog. It’s easy to do, and I just learned it was possible through David Deubelbeiss’ blog — check out his post with screenshots.

University of California must disclose venture capital returns, judge rules

Heart Matters When You Speak

by Jose Vilson

Excerpt from my latest at The Future of Teaching:

Instead, what the audience got that night was me speaking from the heart. Sure, I prepared, but I hoped to convey the passion and love I have for teaching as I do in conversations with you, or in my own writing. Sometimes, while striving for perfection, we forget the delicate balance between divinity and humanity. What makes any “talk” we give isn’t knocking out the “umms” and “errs” from our speech, standing up straight, or speaking in a slow ans steady tone. It’s the connection we make with people who listen to us. We have an opportunity every day to speak to people and make an impact one way or the other about them. These young people will have an idea they’d like heard, and you might be their first audience member.

To read more, click here. Read. Share. Comment. Thanks!
Jose, who wants you to listen more than speak this week, please …

Profiles in Courageousness The PDF

by Representative Kimble

I have been pushing the Amazon.com Kindle version of Profiles in Courageousness for awhile now and I think some people may have mistakenly believed they needed a Kindle to revel in my inspirational story.  I noticed this because when I compared my sales to J.K. Rowling, I am definitely trailing the Harry Potter books.  If you go tohttps://www.ebookit.com/books/0000002060/Profiles-In-Courageousness.html you can download the book in PDF format.

I'm starting to get a bit arrogant about the quality of this book because two great authors have recently read my eBook and gave it rave reviews.

@SrWHOfficial called the book "Profiles is pretty damn funny."   You can find out about his great book here

District to Hear Update on Possible School Closures Thursday
Patch.com
The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday will hear an update on the district's plans to close 11 under-enrolled elementary schools. James W. Marshall is one of the schools on that list, and a meeting was set to be held ...

Parents File Lawsuit Against Gov. Cuomo For Ed Funding

by admin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 5, 2013 Contact: Mona Davids, NYC Parents Union, (646) 481-5760 Sam Pirozzolo, Community Education Council 31, (917) 533-3437 New York City Public School Parents File Lawsuit Against Governor Cuomo and Education Commissioner King For Punishing Public School Students  Today, New York City parents, represented by attorney Michael Rebell, filed a lawsuit against Governor [...]

Gallup Poll: Americans See Higher Education as Essential, yet Often Unaffordable

by cmaadmin

WASHINGTON — In what was described as a major impetus to redesign higher education, a new Gallup poll released Tuesday found that most Americans — 71 percent — view higher education as important to a person’s financial security in the future, but that 74 percent also thought higher education was unaffordable for everyone

“Boston Leader Connects Parents to Learning”

by Larry Ferlazzo

Boston Leader Connects Parents to Learning is a pretty interesting article about the person in charge of the Boston school district’s parent involvement program.
Here’s an excerpt:
This laser focus on broader districtwide goals means Boston has avoided the pitfalls of similar family-related offices in many other districts, where schools become caught up in what experts call “random acts of family engagement,” says Karen L. Mapp, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the director of its education policy and management program. “In Boston public schools, we really see that family engagement is a strategy 

S.128: Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

S.128: Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:

Student Bill of Rights

Bill Introduced: S.128 Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act

Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 4 minutes ago

A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve education and prevention related to campus sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

Bill Introduced: H.R.379 Fiscal Fairness Act

Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 4 minutes ago

To amend section 1120A(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to assure comparability of opportunity for educationally disadvantaged students.

Bill Introduced: H.R.378 Student Bill of Rights

Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 4 minutes ago

To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for students in State public school systems, and for other purposes.

Yesterdays New Bills

S.88: 21st Century Charter School Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

S.88: 21st Century Charter School Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: *TONITE'S NEW LAWS ARE ENTHUSIASTICALLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY * Bill Introduced: S.88 21st Century Charter School Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 6 minutes ago A bill to amend the public charter school provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes. Bill Introduced: H.R.359 Center to Advance, Monitor, and Preserve University Security Safety Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 6 minutes ago To ... more »

Michigan Tea Partier: Charter Schools Are for Kids From "Ethnically Challenged Families" | Mother Jones

Michigan Tea Partier: Charter Schools Are for Kids From "Ethnically Challenged Families" | Mother Jones:

Michigan Tea Partier: Charter Schools Are for Kids From "Ethnically Challenged Families"

—By Andy Kroll

| Mon Feb. 4, 2013 9:03 AM PST

A few weeks ago, the Michigan chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-backed conservative advocacy group, held a "citizen watchdog training" in a suburb of Detroit. The training was billed as a workshop for regular folks to learn "the best tools and techniques in investigative journalism, social media, and opposition research." Featured speakers—including local activists, conservative state legislators, and Scott Hagerstrom, AFP-Michigan's director—would also speak about efforts to "reform" Michigan's schools.

Among the AFP set, reforming public schools usually means converting them into non-union, privately-run charter schools. Nationally, AFP is a vocal proponent of charters and "school choice." And at the Michigan citizens training, one of the featured speakers, Norm Hughes, a member of the North Oakland Tea Party Patriots, offered this take on charters:

Kids aren't going to charter schools if they're "A" students. They go to charter schools because they're failing students and, by and large, the charter schools have a higher percentage of poor families, ethnically challenged families…

Ethnically challenged? Hughes did

Parents Across America statement in support of Portland student test boycott | Parents Across America

Parents Across America statement in support of Portland student test boycott | Parents Across America:

Parents Across America statement in support of Portland student test boycott

by pureparents

Parents Across America (PAA) stands in support of the Portland Public Schools Student Union and the Portland Student Union in their opt-out campaign against the state-mandated OAKS test. 



Excessive reliance on standardized exams narrows the curriculum, promotes teaching to the test, and leads to unfair and unreliable evaluations of students, teachers, and schools. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act and the recent NCLB waivers harm our schools by promoting an overemphasis on testing and punitive mandates that are grossly underfunded, and especially harm schools with high-needs populations. None of this actually improves achievement.

We therefore support the efforts by the PPS Student Union and the Portland Student Union to oppose standardized tests, bringing the voice of students to the nationwide movement to replace high-stakes tests with sensible, meaningful evaluations.

If we want to improve student achievement, we should focus on small classes, quality pre-K programs, full-day kindergarten, stable and experienced teaching staffs, a well-rounded curriculum, attention to students’ lives outside the classroom and evaluations that are based on actual student work, rather than high-stakes tests We also need to promote diverse, inclusive schools where parents have a significant voice in policies at the school, district, state and national levels. Parents are not just “consumers” or “customers” but knowledgeable, necessary partners in any effective reform effort.



PAA is committed to bringing the voice of public school parents – and common sense – to local, state, and national education debates. Founded by a group of activist parents, we are a non-partisan, non-profit grassroots organization that connects parents and activists from across the U.S. to share ideas and work together to improve our nation’s public schools. We currently have 45 chapters in 24 states.

ParentsAcrossAmerica.org

Standardized tests: Love 'em or hate 'em? They're a hot topic in and around Portland: Chalk It Up

by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

View full sizeTualatin High students take the OAKS test on computers in spring 2010.Brent Wojahn / The Oregonian / 2010 

Nicole Dungca, who covers Portland Public Schools for The Oregonian, sure stirred up a lot of intense opinions with her article about Portland students trying to spur others to boycott state reading and math tests this spring.

Alexia Garcia, a senior at Lincoln High School, told Dungca the tests are an unfair way to judge students and teachers.

But state education leaders have made passing the tests mandatory for anyone who wants a high school diploma. They say it is incumbent on schools to instill basic reading and writing skills in every high schooler.

More than 135 comments have been posted on Dungca's article, most of them stridently for or against the exams.

Have you taken an Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test? What did you