Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

12-18-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:



Bullet revolution
     Nearly a decade ago, many people believed that led bullets were extreamly harmful to the eviornment. Today, lead bullets are bieng heavily regulated and even banned. Experts state that in a few years, lead bullets will be replace with green, enviornment friendly bullets.     Opposers of the idea argut that the changes will cost more and have a lil effect. However, switching from lead will pro
The Obama Administration Permits Eagle Deaths
         Wind Turbines, standing nearly 30 stories tall, spin up to 170 miles per hour. Creating a tornado like vortex they are the cause of approximately 600,000 avian and bat fatalities each year, 83,000 being raptors such as the federally protected bald eagle. Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act eagles are under the protection of the federal government “prohibiting the take, possessi


Handguns and 3D printers
http://www.longisland.com/news/12-17-13/for-the-first-time-a-fully-operational-plastic-handgun-was-legally-made-using-a-3d-printer.htmlJust published today this article  reports the opinions of  politicians on the the manufacturing of plastic weaponry via the use of home 3D printers and the  bill to make them illegal. For those that do not  know a 3D printers are able to print objects out of molde
Harvard student receives big punishment for bombing the university.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-student-made-bomb-threats-to-get-out-of-exam-cops-say/20 year old, Eldo Kim, was fined $250,000 and placed in confinement for 5 years for making bomb threats just to avoid taking an exam. Kim sent emails, anonymously, saying that the're bombs planted under Harvard. Even though Kim had a sneaky plan, investigators were still able to catch him. Click link for more
Dog Saves Man's Life.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blind-man-guide-dog-hit-by-subway-train-in-nyc/Orlando, a black Labrador, saved 61 year old blind man, Cecil Williams, by helping the man get up when he was struck by a train. The man loves the dog for saving his life and must give him up because the dog is too old and Williams' insurance only covers working dogs. Without the help of his insurance, Williams can not keep
12-17-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Syrian Refugees Flee to BulgariaSyrian refugees have fled to Bulgaria, Europe's poorest country. Thousands of refugees have come into these camps, meant for only 400. The camps do not have electricity or hot water. The camp commandant, Pepy Dzurenov claimed, "The camp was full to capacity, but when a family with five to ten children arrive at midnight, they don't h



12-18-13 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.:






Ten minute drawing. Bruce Almighty.




Nicole Walker and pension thief Ron Sandack.
Gee Ron, What a disappointment this smoke screen was of asking our opinions. You didn’t have time to read the volume of responses before you voted to back this bill. You intended to support it all along, so why lie to the people? The Naperville Sun quoted you as saying “Sandack said he voted in favor of the pension reform bill because he thought something needed to be done.” Did you rea


Me and Nekritz on Al Jazeera America.
I would like to think my media reach is constantly expanding. I have my blog, of course. It just got its 1.5 millionth site visit the other day. And my appearances on Chicago public access cable’s Ken Davis. His audience isn’t huge. But it’s always fun. Katy Hogan and Mike Jame have had me on their Saturday morning Live from the Heartland show. Again, not a huge audience. But I like to think it is
“We’re all in this together,” says pension thief Senator Dan Kotowski.
Illinois state representatives and senators have been furiously sending letters home to their constituents justifying their #pension theft. I’ll be posting all or parts of them. This from Park Ridge Senator Dan Kotowski: My job as a public servant is to do what is right and necessary, but not necessarily what is popular. I know that you are frustrated and upset and you have every right to
12-17-13 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.: Running for governor in Bizarro World.For several years I have been writing about Illinois party politics as Bizarro World. As a kid Bizarro World was one of my favorite comic books. It portrayed a world in which all assumptions were turned inside out and upside down. It has prepared me for life as an


12-18-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:





More on de Blasio Chicago-based Consulting
A follow-up to our piece yesterday: DeBlasio Shadow Transition Includes Advice from Rahm EmanuelRBE at Perdido: De Blasio Uses Ed Deformer-Tied Consulting Group For Transition Team That story that Dana Rubenstein broke at Capital NY about Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio using a Bloomberg-funded consultant group suggested by Rahm Emanuel to run his transition team in secret just gets worse and worse:Re
12-17-13 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Back to the Bataan Death MarchWell, it's time to get back to the fray. I take a week off and head to Delray Florida for some serious tanning and eating and fraternizing and shit happened while I was gone. Well, I hope you've all been reading the fabulous bloggers on my blog roll to keep up. I am way behind. (I find it real hard to do much blogging while at the beach.) And it was o

12-18-13 teacherken at Daily Kos Obama to Putin on Sochi - look at our delegation

teacherken at Daily Kos:




. and now it is ten years
If you go to my Daily Kos user page you will discover .. my user ID is 4334   (slinkerwink came immediately after me) .. I joined on Dec. 19, 2003 .. with this diary I have now posted 3233 diaries (I did delete two) .. I have, with the automatic tip jar posted 53334 comments I first glanced at Daily Kos on Saturday, November 29.  I had gone to New Hampshire to volunteer for Howard Dean, and in the

Breaking story - Va Gov McDonnell & wife facing criminal charges
In a just out Washington Post story, we learn In probe of Va. Gov. McDonnell, prosecutors agreed to delay decision on charges. First two paragraphs: Federal prosecutors told Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell last week that he and his wife would be charged in connection with a gift scandal, but senior Justice Department officials delayed the decision after the McDonnells’ attorneys made a face-to-f

Obama to Putin on Sochi - look at our delegation
No, the President did not exactly say "in your face" on the anti-gay law. But consider 1.  for the first time ever US delegations for opening and closing ceremonies will not include the President, First Lady, or Vice-President 2.  The head of the US delegation, Janet Napolitano, has never married and is widely considered in political circles in DC to be gay, although here I must note car

12-17-13 teacherken at Daily Kos It’s simple: Either we demand our privacy — loudly — or we kiss it goodbye.
Daily Kos: It’s simple: Either we demand our privacy — loudly — or we kiss it goodbye.: It’s simple: Either we demand our privacy — loudly — or we kiss it goodbye.That is the concluding line of Demand your privacy, Eugene Robinson's Tuesday Washington Post column, written in response to the ruling yesterday by Judge Richard J. Leon that the NSA's gathering of metadata data on our phone calls is li

12-18-13 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:






®hee-Form 2014: “BAD TEACHERS” THE TARGET OF TWO PROPOSED BALLOT INITIATIVES 2014
California measure would replace seniority with performance for teacher layoffs By Laurel Rosenhall The Sacramento Bee http://bit.ly/1jjde6Z Published: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 - 12:00 am Last Modified: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 - 9:05 am Hector Amezcua / hamezcua@sacbee.com A


State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Favors ‘Strong Accountability’ On School Funding
by Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report :: http://bit.ly/19StvGs December 18, 2013 (Calif.)  ::  As Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration continues to mull adding restrictions on how schools spend billions in new money, the state’s top educator, Superintendent Tom Torlakson,  said Tuesday the additional funding needs to increase services – not just maintain the status quo. Torlakson’s comments are


Ucsf Chancellor Resigns To Head Gates Foundation
Susan Desmond-Hellmann, chancellor of UC San Francisco since 2009, is leaving to become chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation By Larry Gordon, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1bQ01w0 UC San Francisco Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann in 2009. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) December 17, 2013, 4:07 p.m.  ::  Susan Desmond-Hellmann, chancellor of the medically oriented UC San
The 1st of 3-to-3-ties?: LAUSD BOARD DELAYS ACTION ON FILLING BOARD SEAT, iPAD NEXT PHASE
L.A. Unified board delays decision on replacing LaMotte Board members are unable to reach a consensus on postponing the discussion until after her funeral or taking action immediately. The board also delayed action on the iPad program's next phase. By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1i1dwxR Rep.

YESTERDAY

A SECOND LOOK AT THE iPADS IN LOS ANGELES
Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice  | http://bit.ly/18y2pt5 December 6, 2013 · 1:00 am  ::  The rollout of iPads in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is becoming a classic case study of what not-to-do when implementing any innovation whether it is high-tech or low-tech.  I wrote about the adoption of the innovation six months ago. What is clear now is that teachers

12-17-13 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: UPDATE: SUPERINTENDENT REJECTS APPLICANTS TO REPLACE AQUINO; LAUSD Re-posts Job Postingby smf December 17th, 2013  ::  After review of applications for the job of Deputy Superintendent of Instruction posted last September none of the applicants were acceptable to the superintendent -  so the job was reposted yesterday. UPDATE TO: LA UNIFIED BEGINS JOB S


12-18-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:




Today’s Tests vs. “Better” Tests
I sent this letter to the editor (below) in response to Alan J. Borsuk’s article in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinal.  In the article Professor Borsuk laments low standardized test scores and over testing and then simply (with the help of Marc Tucker, CEO and president of the National Center on Education and the Economy) offers […]


Parents Opting Out of Tests: What is Your Goal?
After doing a segment on the local Albuquerque news channel about refusing the state tests, I received a few responses. Most were questions or suggestions for the website, which were all very good.  Then, I received a letter that was full of stuff I’ve heard over and over again, and to which I’ve responded too […]

Two-Headed Dragon of Education Policy
Two-Headed Dragon of Education Policy. via Two-Headed Dragon of Education Policy.


2014 Educators’ Agenda
Begin a movement to create and fund Deliver for America, temporary driver pool to replace full-time drivers at FedEx. (See FedEx Celebrating Holidays with TFA Donations.) Call for a nation-wide evaluation of political leaders based on value added methods measuring their positive impact on the people they represent; standardized tests administered for every elected official should include […]



12-17-13 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: VAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SCVAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SC. via VAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SC.1 by plthomasedd / 25min  12-15-13 @ The Chalk Face@ THE CHALK FACE: Do you think charter schools “know how to do middle school really well?”According to DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson, charter schools “know how to do middle school really well.” When i

12-18-13 With A Brooklyn Accent

With A Brooklyn Accent:







What Veteran Teachers Should Do to Protect Themselves From Being Driven out of the Profession
The more I talk to teachers around the country, the more I am convinced that School Reformers and Government Officials are making a systematic effort to drive the best veteran teachers out of the profession, both to save money and destroy the historic memory of a time when teachers had real autonomy and input into decisions about pedagogy and curriculum. The harassment and micromanagement such tea
Video of Dr Mark Naison, Co-Founder of BATS, Calling for Resignation of NY State Regents Chair Merryl Tisch
Link to Video of Dr Mark Naison, Professor at Fordham University, and Co-Founder of Badass TEachers Association, Calling for the Resignation of Regents Chair Merryl Tisch at Common Core Forum in the Bronxhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z1Vyrfh6r0

12-17-13 With A Brooklyn Accent
With A Brooklyn Accent: The 2 Falso Principles on Which School Reform is BuiltIt never ceases to amaze me how many people who should know better buy the following dominant principles of the School Reform narrative 1. American schools as a whole are failing because American students are being pampered, both by their parents and teachers. We need to demand more of them to meet Global Competition 2.