Does the Common Core Demoralize Teachers? | toteachornototeach

Does the Common Core Demoralize Teachers? | toteachornototeach:

Does the Common Core Demoralize Teachers?

by aristotlethewise

Does the Common Core Demoralize Teachers?

It’s a serious question, with serious implications. It’s a question that arises for me all too often when I see tired faces, confused looks, or disheartened shoulders. It’s a question that I feel a responsibility to wrestle with; after all, I’ve spent the last few years working to make sense of the Core, to put it in language that resonates with others, to make it accessible in ways that teachers won’t feel like they’re losing the integrity of their classrooms.
Yet, there’s a commentary beneath the looks of educators who feel like this is just “one more thing” that “takes me away from my students.” And from what I can surmise, the commentary is this.
Teachers already have too many things to worry about and no one will take something away to make room for these standards.
The standards were written by people who aren’t in the classroom; they have no idea how difficult it is to get kids 

2013 Presidents’ Day quiz:

2013 Presidents’ Day quiz

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 18, 2013 at 1:05 am

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(www.mountvernon.org)

Presidents’ Day is something of an odd holiday, given that there is no universal agreement on which presidents are being honored, on the actual name of the holiday or whether there is an apostrophe in “presidents.”

To the U.S. government, Presidents’ Dayis still recognized as “Washington’s Birthday,” though in some states the day jointly honors the birthdays of Washington, born Feb. 22, and Abraham Lincoln, born Feb. 12. And in other states the day is meant to honor Washington and Thomas Jefferson but not Lincoln — or all of the presidents.

Whatever, here’s the annual Presidents’ Day quiz:

1) Which president was the first to be born as a United States citizen?
a) James Madison
b) Martin Van Buren
c) John Quincy Adams
d) Andrew Jackson

2) Which president had to borrow money to get to his own inauguration?
a) George Washington
b) John Adams
c) James Madison
d) Abraham Lincoln

3) Who was the youngest serving president?
a) Ulysses S. Grant
b) Bill Clinton
c) John F. Kennedy
d) Theodore Roosevelt

4) Which president also served as the chief justice of the United States?
a) William Howard Taft
b) Thomas Jefferson
c) James Madison
d) John Tyler

5) Name all six presidents with the first name of

A Presidents’ Day pop quiz on the presidents’ education | EdSource Today

A Presidents’ Day pop quiz on the presidents’ education | EdSource Today:

A Presidents’ Day pop quiz on the presidents’ education - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron

A Presidents’ Day pop quiz on the presidents’ education

February 18th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By Kathryn Baron

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With only six months of formal education, this president didn’t graduate from college but later became president of one.

Just because school is out for Presidents’ Day doesn’t mean it’s a holiday from learning something new. We’ve pulled together this short quiz on the education of the U.S. presidents. It’s based on more modern standards of education and therefore the answers don’t include presidents who “read” law or were tutored at home; Wikipedia has its limits. Enjoy and we’ll be back tomorrow with the news.

1.       Which college has the most U.S. presidents as alumni? Name the presidents.

2.       One president founded a college.  Name the president and the college.

3.       How many presidents attended law school?  How many graduated?

4.       Where did Jimmy Carter attend college?

5.       Which presidents never graduated from college?

6.       Who is the only president to earn a Ph.D.?

7.       Which presidents were schoolteachers?

8.       How many presidents were Rhodes Scholars? Name them.

9.       Six presidents were university presidents. Name them and their universities.

10.       Which president had only six months of formal education and married his teacher?

Answers:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Thousands rally in D.C. against Keystone XL pipeline (MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP)

Evangeline Lilly

“I’m ashamed of what my country is doing. I’m ashamed we’re knocking on your door with dirty oil. I want to stand up here as a Canadian and say I’m sorry to the workers in Canada and the workers in America who have to go home and look their kids in the eye and know that they are damaging their future." -- Raw Story: Thousands protest Keystone XL pipeline in D.C.

Paul Krugman

For today’s Republican leaders clearly feel disdain for low-wage workers...: “takers,” members of 

The Educated Reporter: Presidents Day: Would Lincoln or Washington Approve of Closing Schools?

The Educated Reporter: Presidents Day: Would Lincoln or Washington Approve of Closing Schools?:

Presidents Day: Would Lincoln or Washington Approve of Closing Schools?

by Emily Richmond

In honor of Presidents Day today, here's an updated version of my post from the previous holiday. 

The third Monday in February is better known for its association with good deals on sleeper sofas and sedans than for the presidential birthday supposedly being commemorated. For millions of American schoolchildren, it’s also a day off from class.

The official name of the federal holiday is Washington’s Birthday, although the nation’s first president was born on Feb. 22. However, the date is widely referred to as Presidents Day, and many states use it to recognize the 

UPDATE: Katie Osgood: The Lowest Expectation of Them All + Schools Matter: Will Chicago Public Schools Be Sued Duing Black History Month for Its White Curriculum?

Schools Matter: Will Chicago Public Schools Be Sued Duing Black History Month for Its White Curriculum?:

Katie Osgood: The Lowest Expectation of Them All

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

Corporate education reformers love to rave about how schools that “beat the odds” are full of teachers with “high expectations”. There are echoes of George W’s “soft bigotry of low expectations” in this mantra implying that in the past, teachers–stifled no doubt by those innovation-hating unions–all had “low expectations” for their students and somehow THAT is why students from low-income backgrounds struggled in school. Regardless of the obstacles of poverty, homelessness, underfunding/lack of resources, large class sizes, mental health problems, special needs, or not yet knowing English, the rationale is that a teacher who just BELIEVES a child can graduate and go to college can make it happen (with a little grit and maybe a longer school day to boot. Oh, and don’t forget to hang up college banners in the hallways and talk about “college and career readiness” all the time.) This refrain is a constant in charter franchises, Teach for America circles, and the EdReform movement as a whole... continues
[Read the entire essay @ THE CHALK FACE]

Will Chicago Public Schools Be Sued Duing Black History Month for Its White Curriculum?

by Jim Horn

From DNAinfo.com:

CHATHAM — State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) is urging a community group to file a lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools for not complying with a 22-year-old state law that requires all public elementary and high schools to include black history as part of its regular curriculum. 

"I encourage you to file a lawsuit against CPS to make them comply with the state law," Flowers said at a Saturday meeting with community group We Can Inc. at Josephine's Cooking restaurant, 436 E. 79th St. . . . 

In 1986, Flowers sponsored a state law, which took effect in 1991, mandating public schools make 

LAUSD: Follow The Money by Joseph Kaye - Perdaily.com

LAUSD: Follow The Money by Joseph Kaye - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD: Follow The Money by Joseph Kaye

by Leonard Isenberg

Mensaje se repite en Español)

I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just... follow the money.

-Deep Throat, "All the President's Men" (1976)

If you want to know the direction LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia and new candidate Kate Anderson want to take the Los Angeles School District after the upcoming election, then follow the money. In this case following the money isn't difficult because there is just so damn much of it. Start with an astounding quarter of a million dollars by Eli Broad, Superintendent Deasy's mentor and puppet master, and another quarter million by fellow billionaire, Latino media magnate A. Jerrold Perenchio, formerly of Univision. Together they

Rethink TFA | The Harvard Crimson

Rethink TFA | The Harvard Crimson:

Rethink TFA

By EMMA M. LIND

6 days ago

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Originally a 2009 Teach For America Mississippi Delta Corps Member, I am now a fourth-year teacher of low-income and minority students at a public charter high school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I would not be a teacher today without the support of TFA, and the majority of my incredible colleagues are Teach For America alumni. My principal—the most effective school leader I have ever witnessed as a teacher or a student—is a TFA alumnus.
But February 15 marks the final deadline to apply to be a 2013 TFA Corps Member, and you should not click “submit.”
Unfortunately, many TFA alumni (including myself) allow sentimentality to blind us to the harsh practicalities of TFA and its place in the education reform movement. The truth is, TFA teachers within their two-year corps commitment window do not, by and large, have tangible positive impacts on their classrooms. The natural extension is that if you join TFA, you will most likely 

Why I Will Occupy the DOE in April – @ the chalk face

Why I Will Occupy the DOE in April – @ the chalk face:

Why I Will Occupy the DOE in April

from @ the chalk face by Kris Nielsen

In the last month of 2007, I finished my first real semester of being a teacher.  It was an accomplishment that I chalked up to being my most difficult and most rewarding.  I couldn’t wait to start the next year, and I worked all summer to prepare for it–going over the things I didn’t like and beefing up the things I did like.  Most of all, I couldn’t wait to spend another year with preadolescents, a group of misunderstood people that needs our attention more than most.  The challenge of getting them to see the world the way they did when they were younger was the most important in my book as a science and math teacher, and I reveled in every victory.

I will occupy the DOE in April because that has all been stripped from us.  I’ve been through the most disheartening experience as I watched myself and my colleagues pressed under the new weight of heavier and more crushing mandates, which told us that we simply didn’t have time anymore to let our kids find joy and meaning in their learning.  If we chose to “go rogue,” and simply close our doors to the orders from above, sooner or later we would be caught and corrected.  Not only that, but now our kids were being forced to take more and 

Peg with Pen: Why Am I Going to D.C.?

Peg with Pen: Why Am I Going to D.C.?:

Why Am I Going to D.C.?

by Peggy

This is such an emotionally charged question. 

I am going because I feel as though I am on a mission that chose me and I am simply one of the vessels to help it reach its destination.

I am going because I watch my sons watch me. I see them examine the choices I make. I see them watching me refuse to back down and demand the truth out of all that life brings forth.  I cannot let them down.

I am going because I have been told all of my years of teaching to simply “shut my door.”  Simply shut my door and do what is right for children. This is not enough. I open my door wide. I scream to the world what I am doing for these children - I scream that I am giving them what they are rightfully owed – a whole and equitable education. I scream to the world that I am allowing them to make choices, give input, become a part of their learning experience and become empowered by their voice and their ability to make a difference in this world. I do so because it is the truth and because it is important to model for other women 

Parents, students want to rename Cortines campus - latimes.com

Parents, students want to rename Cortines campus - latimes.com:

Parents, students want to rename Cortines campus

from L.A. Now

Parents, students and staff have voted in favor of changing the name of the downtown Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, setting up an unprecedented conflict within the nation’s second-largest school system.
It’s been less than a year since the Los Angeles Board of Education voted to name its visually striking, $232-million arts high school after Ramon C. Cortines, who had just retired as L.A. schools superintendent. Cortines, 80, has been a leading national figure in education, an advocate for the arts and was involved in establishing the arts high school.
But the school board, following the wishes of school board President Monica Garcia, overrode its own process for naming the school, angering students and parents who had been involved. Then, the issue flamed up further when a district employee sued Cortines alleging sexual harassment.
Last week, the school system, which was defending Cortines, prevailed in court because the harassment claim 

Consider crowd funding occupy the doe 2.0, coming up this April @unitedoptout – @ the chalk face

Consider crowd funding occupy the doe 2.0, coming up this April @unitedoptout – @ the chalk face:

Consider crowd funding occupy the doe 2.0, coming up this April @unitedoptout

by Chalk Face, PhD

UOO is trying to fund trips for students to attend the event in Washington, DC this April. Click the picture to access the GoFundME page and think about making a contribution. Plus, you get some serious swag depending on how much you give.

solidaridad: The 99% School Board Candidate versus the 1%'s Mayor

solidaridad: The 99% School Board Candidate versus the 1%'s Mayor:

The 99% School Board Candidate versus the 1%'s Mayor

Robert D. Skeels @rdsathene

Supporter sent this perfect juxtaposition of the 1%'s Mayor with a 99% #LAUSD School Board Candidate!pic.twitter.com/D4UKD8Dt

2:01 AM - 18 Feb 13 from Los Angeles, CA, United States

Private school tax credit: A $170 million tax diversion that Georgia lawmakers cloak in secrecy. Why? | Get Schooled

Private school tax credit: A $170 million tax diversion that Georgia lawmakers cloak in secrecy. Why? | Get Schooled:

Private school tax credit: A $170 million tax diversion that Georgia lawmakers cloak in secrecy. Why?

by Maureen Downey

State Rep. Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, met with the AJC Friday for a general discussion on education issues in the state.

By design, it is impossible to know how the $170 million in private school tax credits have been spent or on whom. (AJC file photo)

Among his concerns: Whether the private school scholarship tax credit is working as it was presented to the General Assembly  — as a means to help low-income kids whose parents had no other way to afford private schools.
“I want us to make sure the money is going to the kids I have envisioned so they can have better choices,” he said. Lindsey said he disagrees with state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, who recently said the scholarship “was never sold” as a program to benefit only low-income students.
“Rep. Ehrhart and I don’t always agree,” said Lindsey.
The AJC has done several good stories on the tax credit and the challenges — deliberately injected into the law 

Slekar said what? – @ the chalk face

Slekar said what? – @ the chalk face:

Slekar said what?

FEBRUARY 17, 2013 BY TIMOTHY D. SLEKAR LEAVE A COMMENT

Last week I was invited to speak at a Rally for Public Schools in Pittsburgh, PA.  Organized by a grassroots organization calledYinzercation and lead by a passionate advocate named Jessie Ramey.  The event was amazing.

I was asked to explain the opt out movement and how fighting corporate education reform was the true Civil Rights fight of our generation.

Follow Timothy D. Slekar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/slekar

The text of the speech.

I have been a professional educator for over 20 years.  Elementary school, Middle School, college.  Three years ago

Oregon Save Our Schools: Thoughts on Oregon Education Funding Team Recommendations to the Governor

Oregon Save Our Schools: Thoughts on Oregon Education Funding Team Recommendations to the Governor:

Thoughts on Oregon Education Funding Team Recommendations to the Governor

by Oregon SOS

By Pat Muller

Oregon Save Our Schools

Students and teachers have recently faced many obstacles to success for English Language Learners (ELLs). Layoffs have increased workloads for remaining staff.  Class sizes have increased.  There is reduced support from the central office as a result of increased administrator workloads.  Assistant time has been reduced for classroom support and interventions.

These conditions are made worse by tighter timelines for exiting students, higher goals for progressing students through proficiency levels at a rate not supported by research, rising cut scores for the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) and the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS), and increased expectations for percentage of students passing the ELPA and the OAKS.

We have been doing more with less for some time now and we have reached the tipping point.  Yet, the 

203 Legislative Session Handouts

by Oregon SOS

Oregon SOS Guiding Principles

History of Education Reform by Tom Olson

Governor Kitzhaber's Education Reform Plan (aka Oregon Business Plan's Education Reform Playbook

2013 Priority Oregon State Education Legislative Bills 

Oregon SOS 2013 Legislative Bills Flyer

Learnworks Participants and Affiliations