Nite Cap 9-22-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change

James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP

TODAY

LAUSD- NO COMMON CORE WITHOUT COMMON SENSE - Perdaily.com

LAUSD- NO COMMON CORE WITHOUT COMMON SENSE - Perdaily.com: LAUSD- NO COMMON CORE WITHOUT COMMON SENSE(Mensaje se repite en Español)For a change, let me suspend my disbelief and assume that Superintendent John Deasy and those running the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and other underachieving school districts like it around the country are actually interested in turning things around i

by mike simpson / 1h 

An Indiana Parent Writes to NBC's Education Nation: Why Only Present One Side of a Public Debate? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

An Indiana Parent Writes to NBC's Education Nation: Why Only Present One Side of a Public Debate? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: An Indiana Parent Writes to NBC's Education Nation: Why Only Present One Side of a Public Debate?By Anthony Cody on September 22, 2013 4:23 PMSeveral weeks ago I wrote a post asking if NBC News would once again be relying on the Gates Foundation for the &

by mike simpson / 1h 

From By Any Means Becessary (BAMN): Join Me in Sponsoring a Student to March on the U.S. Supreme Court to Restore Affirmative Action on October 15, 2013 | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

From By Any Means Becessary (BAMN): Join Me in Sponsoring a Student to March on the U.S. Supreme Court to Restore Affirmative Action on October 15, 2013 | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News: From By Any Means Becessary (BAMN): Join Me in Sponsoring a Student to March on the U.S. Supreme Court to Restore Affirmative Action on October 15, 2013By Danny Weil o

by mike simpson / 1h 

Week in Class: Week Three 2013

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week in Class: Week Three 2013: Week in Class: Week Three 2013 A routine has settled with the class, but all is not perfect, which is as one would expect at this point. Still the signs are good. I feel like there is a good base to build on with this group. The class is both productive and both want to learn and please me (not a requirement on my part–but st

by mike simpson / 4h 

Shocking Video: Howard County Parent Arrested At Education Forum

Shocking Video: Howard County Parent Arrested At Education Forum « CBS Baltimore: Shocking Video: Howard County Parent Arrested At Education ForumTOWSON, Md. (WJZ) — A Howard County man faces criminal charges after refusing to keep quiet at a state education forum.Pat Warren reports—the confrontation was recorded and is raising questions.The forum was held Thursday night in Towson. The Department

by mike simpson / 5h 

9-22-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: OSPI Doesn't Spot-Check State TestsThe Seattle Times has quite the lengthy article about how Washington State could have a cheating scandal, but doesn't know it, because OSPI doesn't do spot-checks on student tests. I read this article waiting for some evidence to show itself but it didn't.  I'm not saying the theory is wrong but apparently, not that many districts

by mike simpson / 5h 

9-22-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Sunday reads.On the road to Three Oaks, Michigan for dinner last night. Rahm announces “rapid-fire” construction plans. If I were Rahm, I’d pick another term. Millions spent on “differentiated instruction” professional development and changes in teacher evaluations. And there’s nothing data driven abo

by mike simpson / 6h 

Wide racial gap persists in education testing | The Columbus Dispatch

Wide racial gap persists in education testing | The Columbus Dispatch: Wide racial gap persists in education testing By  Collin BinkleyThe Columbus Dispatch Sunday September 22, 2013 8:05 AMComments: 1 Enlarge ImageEven if they come from affluent families or attend highly rated schools, black students in Ohio continue to lag far behind their white peers in school, according to a Dispatchanalysis o

by mike simpson / 7h 

March, rally in Milwaukee seek support for public education

March, rally in Milwaukee seek support for public education: March, rally in Milwaukee seek support for public educationMichael McLoone / for the Journal SentinelStudents, parents, active and retired educators and school administrators, clergy, civil rights groups and community leaders particitpate in an education march and rally Saturday in Milwaukee.By Steve Schultze of the Journal SentinelSept.

by mike simpson / 7h 

Remarks by the President at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner | The White House

Remarks by the President at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner | The White House: Remarks by the President at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards DinnerWashington Convention CenterWashington, D.C.9:09 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT: Hello, CBC! (Applause.) Thank you so much, everybody. Please, have a seat, have a seat. Michelle and I are happy to be here wi

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Short Notes: The Learning Styles Nonsense - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

Short Notes: The Learning Styles Nonsense - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson: Short Notes: The Learning Styles Nonsenseby JOSE VILSON on SEPTEMBER 22, 2013in JOSEA few notes:Please do like my page on Facebook if you haven’t already. The conversations there are heating up. [Facebook]Dan Willingham called learning styles crap a long time ago, but this article explores the idea anyways. [Scientific

by mike simpson / 8h 

9-22-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kid falls through skylight at EcksteinAll I know about this is what I read in the paper. But I am curious. What were kids doing on the roof at Eckstein? How could one of them be so foolish as to fall through a skylight?by Charlie Mas / 17min  Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ravitch versus Rhee; a Solid Comparison of Books and ViewsSeattle Schools Community Forum:

by mike simpson / 8h 

Mother Crusader: My Unedited Review Of Diane Ravitch's Reign Of Error

Mother Crusader: My Unedited Review Of Diane Ravitch's Reign Of Error: My Unedited Review Of Diane Ravitch's Reign Of ErrorThe edited version of my review can be found at WHYY's NewsWorks New Jersey. Quotes from Diane Ravitch and Helen Gym were cut from my original for length.Diane Ravitch's Reign of Error May Awaken the Sleeping Giant in the Education Reform Debate -- Public School ParentsIt wasn

by mike simpson / 8h 

Morning Wink 9-22-13 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSTODAYLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-22-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why DC Scores IncreasedEmma Brown of the Washington Post explains that DC test scores in math reached a historic high point because of a decision by DC officials. But the math gains officia

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-22-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why DC Scores IncreasedEmma Brown of the Washington Post explains that DC test scores in math reached a historic high point because of a decision by DC officials. But the math gains officials reported were the result of a quiet decision to score the tests in a way that yielded higher scores even though D.C. students got far fewer m

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Judge Carmen Lopez explains the Lopez v. Vallas case…Former Connecticut Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez is not only a leading advocate for public education but she is a true champion when it comes to standing up and speaking out on the most important issues facing our communities, our state and our nation. Born in Puerto Rico, a life-long resident of Bridgeport, a lawyer, […]The post

by mike simpson / 9h 

solidaridad: EPSLP: College Ready? Alliance Charter Corporation's big scam

solidaridad: EPSLP: College Ready? Alliance Charter Corporation's big scam: EPSLP: College Ready? Alliance Charter Corporation's big scamFirst published on Echo Park Patch on September 20, 2013 "If the American public understood that reformers want to privatize their public schools and divert their taxes to pay profits to investors, it would be hard to sell the corporate idea of reform."

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Trinational protest at Mexican Consulate in solidarity with CNTEProtesting education neoliberalism across borders. En solidaridad con Los maestros de Mexico! #lausd pic.twitter.com/t8sunJeLP6— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) September 21, 2013 On Friday, September 20, 2013 the Trinational Coalition To Defend Public Education organized a demonstration in front of the Mexican Consulate

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: This Week In Web 2.0In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth sharing, I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” It’ll be a short compilation of new decent sites that are worth noting, but maybe not necessarily worth a separate post and generally — though not alway

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Thanks to General Diane Ravitch for the Shout Out on Preaching to the ChoirIs Diane Ravitch the George Washington of the educational revolutionary wars? Can we call it World War D (for Deform)? Can we get Max Brooks to write that story?As I would expect Diane Ravitch took the point I was trying to make in my column this week in The Wave about and extended it to a place I myself wa

by mike simpson / 9h 

Governments Lie! | Bill Ayers

Governments Lie! | Bill Ayers: Governments Lie!I know, it’s not big news.But Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning and Anonymous bring us fresh examples everyday—governments lie casually, gratuitously, aimlessly, and viciously.All governments lie some of the time; some governments lie all of the time. The role of any honest or self-respecting journalist (thank you Amy Goodman!) is to find out what th

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: EPSLP: College Ready? Alliance Charter Corporation’s big scamFirst published on Echo Park Patch on September 20, 2013 “If the American public understood that reformers want to privatize their public schools and divert their taxes to pay profits to investors, it would be hard to sell the corporate idea of reform.” — Professor Diane Ravitch “However, within this market, competition

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 With A Brooklyn Accent

With A Brooklyn Accent:  The Contradiction at the Heart of Corporate School Reform- That NBC's "Education Nation" IgnoreCorporate Education Reformers want teachers to be scripted, monitored, and continuously evaluated to assure their performance is up to standard. They also want to radically improve the quality of the nation's teaching force. Unfortunately, the first goal-- which they ar

by mike simpson / 9h 

“Word Magic,” Education, and Market Forces | the becoming radical

“Word Magic,” Education, and Market Forces | the becoming radical: “Word Magic,” Education, and Market ForcesPosted on September 22, 2013 by plthomaseddWriting about writing instruction, Lou LaBrant, in “The Individual and His Writing” (Elementary Education, 27.4, April 1950) sounded an alarm about “word magic”:There is other sematic knowledge with which our students should become familiar. They s

by mike simpson / 9h 

9-22-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Stephanie Simon Takes On Some Education Reform MythologyThe Stephanie Simon article at Politico on why public schools may not be failing is up now and it is a good one.She busts some cherished education reformer myths in it - including how the Chinese are kicking are asses in tests:A new video about the failures of public schools making the rounds on social media starts by i

by mike simpson / 9h 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Difficult students an "outcast group, thrown into an abyss" by New Orleans charters

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Difficult students an "outcast group, thrown into an abyss" by New Orleans charters: Difficult students an "outcast group, thrown into an abyss" by New Orleans chartersAt many N.O. charter schools, including Sci Academy, plenty of teachers last for less than two years.Here's the real deal on New Orleans charter schools as documented by Daily

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

H.R.2880: To require the Secretary of Education to use the excess revenue generated from the William D. Ford... OpenCongress

H.R.2880: To require the Secretary of Education to use the excess revenue generated from the William D. Ford... OpenCongress: H.R.2880 - To require the Secretary of Education to use the excess revenue generated from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program to carry out the Federal Pell Grant Program.view all titles (1)OverviewActions & VotesNews (0) & Blogs (0)Comments (0)Bill's Vie

by mike simpson / 18h 

Why Arne Duncan is threatening to withhold funds for poor kids

Why Arne Duncan is threatening to withhold funds for poor kids: Why Arne Duncan is threatening to withhold funds for poor kidsBy Valerie Strauss, Published: September 21 at 10:58 amIt’s hard to decide  which of the following aspects of the U.S. Education Department’s fight with the state of California over standardized testing is worse:* Education Secretary Arne Duncan is threatening to withhold s

1 by mike simpson / 20h 

A panel on Common Core. An irate parent. An arrest. Who went... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

A panel on Common Core. An irate parent. An arrest. Who went... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: A panel on Common Core. An irate parent. An arrest. Who went too far?Previous PostsSororities at University of Alabama offer bids to black womenSeptember 21, 2013All eyes on pre-k when Arne Duncan and U.S. business leaders converge here MondaySeptember 20, 2013Banning an American classic in a NC district:

by mike simpson / 20h 

Falling Down The Rabbit Hole Kafka Style With EngageNY southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com: Falling Down The Rabbit Hole Kafka Style With EngageNYI did it. I emailed EngageNY asking to to opt out my son of any and all data collected and/or to distributed. I had first called (518-474-5922) the office ofCurriculum and Instruction at NYSED. I asked whom can I speak to in regard to my request. After several minutes of being put on hold I was told that EngageN

by mike simpson / 22h 

Nite Cap 9-21-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change

James Baldwin said it best: "For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAPTODAYPaul Horton: The Chicago Tribune's School Voucher Campaign: The Road to Gatopia III" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week TeacherPaul Horton: The Chicago Tribune's School Voucher Campaign: The Road to Gatopia III" - Living in Dial

1 by mike simpson / 23h 

2nd Banana 9-14-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

Nite Cap 9-21-13

Nite Cap 9-19-13

Nite Cap 9-18-13 

LAUSD- NO COMMON CORE WITHOUT COMMON SENSE - Perdaily.com

LAUSD- NO COMMON CORE WITHOUT COMMON SENSE - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD- NO COMMON CORE WITHOUT COMMON SENSE

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

For a change, let me suspend my disbelief and assume that Superintendent John Deasy and those running the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and other underachieving school districts like it around the country are actually interested in turning things around in terms of academic achievement by the implementation of Common Core Standards. Of course, this requires the assumption that they are not just doing it to get their share of $4.35 billion of Race to the Top federal funds they stand to get if they adopt "college-and-career ready standards." In order to succeed with Common Core, they will have to be willing to implement some of these very same Common Core critical thinking standards, instead of blindly implementing Common Core form and not content as if the subjective reality of LAUSD's presently failed student population could be ignored to avoid the truly difficult work of making Common Core work.

The greatest challenge to Common Core implementation is that it will hold students, teachers, administrators, and parents to a higher standard of achievement than the one they are used to and already failing to attain. So how can Common Core possibly succeed? By finally taking cognizance of where LAUSD has been allowed to degrade to over the years in a system where only the rhetoric and blind obedience are rewarded, while the substance of all periodically changed reform projects never has the rigorous enforcement and pragmatism necessary for it to actually succeed. There is a certain irony to the fact that myself and other "enemies" of LAUSD have a greater belief in what positive change could be implemented across the board at LAUSD than those running the district.

In order to succeed, Common Core cannot be mandated into existence from one day to the next. Rather, it will have to be transitioned in grade by grade where there is an awareness that the longer students have been in LAUSD, the further they are away from 

An Indiana Parent Writes to NBC's Education Nation: Why Only Present One Side of a Public Debate? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

An Indiana Parent Writes to NBC's Education Nation: Why Only Present One Side of a Public Debate? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

An Indiana Parent Writes to NBC's Education Nation: Why Only Present One Side of a Public Debate?

By Anthony Cody on September 22, 2013 4:23 PM

Several weeks ago I wrote a post asking if NBC News would once again be relying on the Gates Foundation for the "facts" to guide their discussions at this year's Education Nation extravaganza. NBC has released the list of panelists who will be the featured guests at its event, and it appears my concerns were well-founded. The list includes Goldie Hawn, M. Night Shymalan, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal and Goldman Sachs president Lloyd Blankfein, but scarcely an actual working teacher to be found.

Particularly notable by her absence is professor Diane Ravitch, whose recent book, Reign of Error, has shot to the top of public policy best sellers in the past week. Dr. Ravitch was invited to sit in the audience, but not actually be a featured panelist, as she explains here. Ravitch posted an email address for someone named Isaac Norbe who is collecting RSVPs for the event. The email address is: EducationNationRSVP@nbcuni.com

A parent in Indiana, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, authored the letter below which she sent to that address. Messages can also be sent via the NBC News contact page here.

Dear Mr. Norbe,
I just read the line-up of participants for your Education Nation with absolute dismay. I am 

From By Any Means Becessary (BAMN): Join Me in Sponsoring a Student to March on the U.S. Supreme Court to Restore Affirmative Action on October 15, 2013 | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

From By Any Means Becessary (BAMN): Join Me in Sponsoring a Student to March on the U.S. Supreme Court to Restore Affirmative Action on October 15, 2013 | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News:

From By Any Means Becessary (BAMN): Join Me in Sponsoring a Student to March on the U.S. Supreme Court to Restore Affirmative Action on October 15, 2013

By Danny Weil on September 22, 2013 9:01 pm / no comments

 

I believe that everyone in the U.S. should have equal access to a quality education. So I am sponsoring a student to participate in the march on October 15, when the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the landmark case, Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (BAMN). Please help send young people to this important event and join me as a sponsor.

This hearing will take place following a pro-affirmative action decision last November 15, 2012 by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled that Michigan’s Proposal 2, the ballot initiative which banned the use of race conscious-admissions in 2006, is unconstitutional.

The ban on affirmative action assures that admissions are by privilege, not merit.  They allowevery group, except racial minorities, to win admissions programs for their young people. They are creating a new form of separate and unequal in a nation that will soon be majority minority.

Join the Project Censored Newsletter Here!

·        Minority enrollment at Michigan’s Public Medical Schools dropped dramatically between 2006 and 2011: from 10.1% to 5.7% at MSU; from  7.2%  to 3.6% at UM; from 13.4% to 4.6% at WSU

·         By 2012 the percentage of black graduates at the University of Michigan Law School 

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week in Class: Week Three 2013

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week in Class: Week Three 2013:


Week in Class: Week Three 2013

 

A routine has settled with the class, but all is not perfect, which is as one would expect at this point. Still the signs are good. I feel like there is a good base to build on with this group. The class is both productive and both want to learn and please me (not a requirement on my part–but still pleasant). Here is what happened:

Position and power

We read an account of the first successful Everest expedition (they got to the top, and no one died). Yeah, I haven’t name the climbers yet, there’s a reason for that. One of the things that is really easy to discuss with kids,even elementary school kids is social justice issues. They understand positions and people who have power, and those who don’t. When that power is arbitrary, or unfair they usually get it. During our discussions of the story I brought up some background about how the climbers, a sherpa guide and New Zealand climber, agreed to share credit and vowed not to reveal who had gotten up “first”. I talked about the sherpas, and how they are critical to these climbs, but are often regarded as “servants”, and when I was younger, I only heard about Hillary, the climber, and not so much about Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa climber. I pointed out that in the story, Hillary’s name is listed first. A funny thing happened on the assessments I gave at the end of the week. The students who wrote about them ALL listed Tenzing Norgay, before Edmund Hillary in their writing. They had absorbed that lessoon and applied it in their writing without me directing them to do so. It was their own choice. It’s a small thing, but interesting nonetheless.

Other issues have been coming up as we work our way through our class novel, Hatchet. Most of the students love it, but some of them are