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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Morning Wink 1-19-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS




1-18-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: A look at Steve Perry’s record of absenteeism and use of social media to bully othersOn Tuesday January 21, 2014 the Hartford Board of Education will hold a special executive session to discuss Capital Prep Principal Steve Perry.  The public has the opportunity to address the Hartford Board of Education starting at 5:30 pm.  The meeting is taking place that the Journalism and Media Mag
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: PRESS RELEASE: NPE NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: PRESS RELEASE: NPE NATIONAL CONFERENCE: PRESS RELEASE: NPE NATIONAL CONFERENCENetwork for Public Education 2014 National Conference Robin Hiller | Executive Director |robin@networkforpubliceducation.org | (520) 668-4634PRESS RELEASEJanuary 19, 2014The Network for Public Education has announced a national gathering of public education activists. The organization’s fir
1-19-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Bev Johns. We need you at the ISBE board meeting on January 22nd.- Bev Johns, Special Education advocate and activist. We need you at the ISBE Board meeting on January 22. Whether the ISBE Board eliminates special ed class size limits AND the 70/30 rule DEPENDS ON YOU. Will you offer testimony this We
Public Education is NOT an Industry | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates
Public Education is NOT an Industry | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates: Public Education is NOT an IndustryPosted on January 19, 2014by Teachers'LettersToBillGatesImage courtesy of EdVotes.orgDear Bill,I thought of you while reading Forbes’ 30 Under 30 2014 special report, which celebrates the professional achievements of 20-somethings in a variety of industries, includingeducation.  Do you see you
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Paul Horton: Why We Need to Tell Stories About Our LivesPaul Horton, who teaches history at the University of Chicago Lab School, here ponders a famous remark by David Coleman, architect of the Common Core standards. Coleman said, while giving a speech in New York that was taped, that students need to learn that no one gives a s— a
1-19-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Super Bowl ResourcesIt’s that time of year again — Super Bowl time! I’m writing this before the league championship games are played, but I certainly hope the 49ers will be in it. I’ve just updated, as I do every year, The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl. I’ll continue to make new additions over the ne
1-19-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Strange Bedfellows On Cuomo Team: Eva, DFER and MikeyGuess who is joining Cuomo's list of privateers? MEMORANDUMTO:        NYSUT Board of DirectorsFROM:  Andy Pallotta, Executive Vice PresidentDATE:   January 15, 2014RE:        NYSUT's Legislative ReceptionOn Monday evening, January 27, 2014, NYSUT will host a Legislative Reception and briefing in the Observation Deck of the Erast
1-19-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Common Core’s Florida “rebranding and messaging is largely political.”Miami Herald reporter Kathleen McGrory spoke with Common Core’s opponents and she found out that they aren’t buying the FLOE spin: TALLAHASSEE — The state education department tried to distance itself
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 1-19-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: HUNDREDS HONOR LAUSD’s LAMOTTE FOR DEDICATION TO EDUCATIONBy Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News |  http://bit.ly/1aB68lv < Los Angeles Unified school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, a lifelong educator who represented South Los Angeles since 2001, died Dec. 5, 2013, at age 80. 1/18/14, 5:18 PM PST | ::  A public memorial to honor LAUSD b
1-19-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: Don’t drown in the education reform Sea.Do you show up to your classroom, every single day, ready to influence the lives of your students? Do you arrive at your school building, every single day, ready to change the trajectory of your students’ lives? Do you wish to become a teacher that some student…someday…somewhere will always remember? If so, be careful not to […]1 by Angel C
1-19-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Intelligence Rating of High School Pupils and Their Achievement in College (1926)Intelligence Rating of High School Pupils and Their Achievement in College (1926).1 by plthomasedd / 16min hide  //  saveremnant 50: “I would prefer not to”remnant 50: “I would prefer not to
1-19-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: BridgeGate, Hoboken/Sandy Relief Funds Scandal May Cost Chris Christie His Chairmanship Of The GOP Governor's AssociationThe scandals are starting to mount for Chris Christie and they're taking their toll.He might have survived BridgeGate, especially after he proved to be so adept at his press conference explaining away the particulars of the scandal and how he had nothing t
NYC Educator: On Reviving NYSUT
NYC Educator: On Reviving NYSUT: On Reviving NYSUTThere's a new movement in our state union, and Norm Scott has written about it a little. Apparently there is a large rift between NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi and VP Andy Pallota. The movement seeks to dump Iannuzzi, so as to revive the statewide union. Of course Pallotta comes from the monolithic, top-down Unity-New Action machine that's successf
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Keys To Parent Engagement – Relationships, Climate, Communication”Keys To Parent Engagement – Relationships, Climate, Communication is the last in a four-part series I’ve published over at Education Week Teacher. Today’s post highlights responses from Darcy Hutchins and Mai Xi Lee, along with many readers’ comments. Here a
Should Principals Stop Visiting Classrooms? | Connected Principals
Should Principals Stop Visiting Classrooms? | Connected Principals: Should Principals Stop Visiting Classrooms?by Sam LeDeaux • January 18, 2014 • 1 CommentNO. This one word reflection could definitively be the end of this post, but I will elaborate…One of my teachers shared this article with me: Should Principals Stop Visiting Classrooms? I think the article got around to making some valid points
empathyeducates – How Close to Poverty Are You?
empathyeducates – How Close to Poverty Are You?: How Close to Poverty Are You?Photograph; New York Times | Mapping Poverty in AmericaBy John Light | Originally Published at Bill Moyers HQ. January 7, 2014Where can you find concentrated poverty in America? The New York Times put together an interactive map which reveals that almost all American cities have some neighborhoods with poverty rates over
Don’t drown in the education reform Sea. | Ward 8 DC Teacher
Don’t drown in the education reform Sea. | Ward 8 DC Teacher: Don’t drown in the education reform Sea.Leave a commentDo you show up to your classroom, every single day, ready to influence the lives of your students? Do you arrive at your school building, every single day, ready to change the trajectory of your students’ lives? Do you wish to become a teacher that some student…someday…somewhere wil

YESTERDAY

How Do You Make a Good Teacher? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
How Do You Make a Good Teacher? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: How Do You Make a Good Teacher?By Nancy Flanagan on January 18, 2014 9:41 PMCheck out this headline, from the Center for Michigan:One in Four Aspiring Teachers Pass New Teacher Test. What's your first thought?Good! This will eliminate the plague of academic dim bulbs inhabiting our classrooms!Clearly, Michigan wi
Inspecting a Student Loan Spigot - NYTimes.com
Inspecting a Student Loan Spigot - NYTimes.com: Inspecting a Student Loan Spigot A few days after Christmas, ITT Educational Services, one of the nation’s largest operators of for-profit technical schools, reported some unwelcome news. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had warned the company that it might seek penalties and remedies against it for possible student loanviolations.ITT maintai
Let’s Help NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel Forsake His Common Core “Guessing” | deutsch29
Let’s Help NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel Forsake His Common Core “Guessing” | deutsch29: Let’s Help NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel Forsake His Common Core “Guessing”January 18, 2014It seems that National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel is willing to ignore the “forest” of the spectrum of top-down, punitive, privatizer-friendly, anti-democratic, community-school-destroying reforms in fav
VAMboozled! a blog about the issues surrounding teacher evaluation
VAMboozled!  a blog about the issues surrounding teacher evaluation: VAMboozled! is a blog about the issues surrounding teacher evaluation, teacher accountability, and value-added models (VAMs) in America’s public schools. VAMboozled! is also about the related issues surrounding America’s educational reform and accountability initiatives, and the federal and state policies being advanced, incentiv
V.A.M.: Value Added Measure
V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: Mrs. Scantron's Common-Core Classroom is Made College and Career Ready!by Adam Bergstein / 40min hide  //  saveGraduation Day, Common-Core Style!by Adam Bergstein / 40min Testman (Based on George Harrison's "Taxman")Let me tell you how it will beThere's one for you, and none for me'Cause I'm the testmanYeah, I'm the testman Should seventy percent be too small
Choosing Democracy: Martin Luther King Jr. Economic Justice and Workers' Rights
Choosing Democracy: Martin Luther King Jr. Economic Justice and Workers' Rights: Martin Luther King Jr. Economic Justice and Workers' Rightsby Thomas F. JacksonIn 1968, a united black community in Memphis stepped forward to support 1,300 municipal sanitation workers as they demanded higher wages, union recognition, and respect for black personhood embodied in the slogan “I Am a Man!” Memphis’s bla
Nite Cap 1-18-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
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 CAPSeattle Schools Community Forum: The Internet and Free SpeechSeattle Schools Community Forum: The Internet and Free Speech: The Internet and Free SpeechGentle readers, The last couple of months have been something of a strain for me. I was busy f
Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Internet and Free Speech
Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Internet and Free Speech: The Internet and Free SpeechGentle readers, The last couple of months have been something of a strain for me. I was busy fighting a petition in court for an order of protection against me, claiming I had harassed someone via this blog and this person feared loss of their job because of the alleged harassment.I will go into some detail
Louisiana Educator: Charter Schools Can Vary Greatly
Louisiana Educator: Charter Schools Can Vary Greatly: Charter Schools Can Vary GreatlyThe readers of this blog know that I am very skeptical of many of the charter schools that have proliferated in this state in recent years. I want to make it clear however that I am not opposed to all charter schools, and I do not believe that all charter schools are bad. So let's look at some of the differences
Coop’s Childhood Part 2 – Play, Play School & Other Explorations | Lefty Parent
Coop’s Childhood Part 2 – Play, Play School & Other Explorations | Lefty Parent: Coop’s Childhood Part 2 – Play, Play School & Other ExplorationsJanuary 18th, 2014 at 13:19Me & Molly age 5Though I was born in the 1950s with all its conventionally stark division of gender roles, my mom and dad were a pretty unorthodox couple, with a much more egalitarian relationship than the norm. They
1-4-13 Saturday Now Showing "Witch Hunter" starring Campbell Brown - Corporate Reform News Breakout
Witch Hunter starring Campbell Brown  Corporate Reform News Breakout WSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union Smear | Blog | Media Matters for AmericaWSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union Smear | Blog | Media Matters for America: WSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union SmearBlog ››› January 17, 2014 2:
I Am Among Experts | Connected Principals
I Am Among Experts | Connected Principals: I Am Among Expertsby Dwight Carter • January 18, 2014 • 0 CommentsI attended the Ohio ASCD Conference on Tuesday, January 16th and heard former State Superintendent, Stan Heffner, deliver a compelling keynote presentation. He shared the three main correlates of successful schools: instructional leadership, a positive school climate and culture, and freque
Henry A. Giroux | Reclaiming the Radical Imagination: Challenging Casino Capitalism's Punishing Factories
Henry A. Giroux | Reclaiming the Radical Imagination: Challenging Casino Capitalism's Punishing Factories: Henry A. Giroux | Reclaiming the Radical Imagination: Challenging Casino Capitalism's Punishing FactoriesMonday, 13 January 2014 09:14By Henry A. Giroux, Truthout | Op-Ed227font size   Print Email(Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout)Also listen to the radio interview: Author and Columnist Henry
Newark Principals Speak Out, Get Suspended by Christie's Superintendent - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Newark Principals Speak Out, Get Suspended by Christie's Superintendent - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Newark Principals Speak Out, Get Suspended by Christie's SuperintendentBy Anthony Cody on January 18, 2014 12:10 PMNew Jersey is making headlines this month as the bullying tactics of Governor Christie have gone beyond shouting down individual school teachers, which many in the me
2nd Banana 1-18-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #RealEdTalk #p2 #1u
BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANARECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POSTinBloom, Clever, and Student Privacy: More “Big Data” Considerations | deutsch29inBloom, Clever, and Student Privacy: More “Big Data” Considerations | deutsch29: inBloom, Clever, and Student Privacy: More “Big Data” ConsiderationsJanuary 12, 2014My last few posts have focused on the issue of student data collection, storing, and potential d
WSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union Smear | Blog | Media Matters for America
WSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union Smear | Blog | Media Matters for America: WSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union SmearBlog ››› January 17, 2014 2:51 PM EST ››› MICHELLE LEUNGThe Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown that misleadingly accused teacher unions of "making it more difficult
Morning Wink 1-18-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSCommon Core Meeting Today 1/18/2014 in Lafayette | Crazy Crawfish's BlogCommon Core Meeting Today 1/18/2014 in Lafayette | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish's BlogZesty Louisiana Education PoliticsCommon Core Meeting Today 1/18/2014 in LafayettePosted on January 18, 20140There is a Common Core meeting being held in Lafayette today as 12:30 at the Park


1-19-14 Wait What?

Wait What?:



The unfinished task and using Martin Luther King Day to better understand our responsibilities…
We Americans have a very strange way of doing things when it comes to celebrating important historical events that appear on our calendars.  On days like Martin Luther King Day we “take the day off” rather than focus our energy on appreciating and rededicating ourselves to his clarion call for action. Meanwhile, on days when […]The post The unfinished task and using Martin Luther King Day to bette

A look at Steve Perry’s record of absenteeism and use of social media to bully others
On Tuesday January 21, 2014 the Hartford Board of Education will hold a special executive session to discuss Capital Prep Principal Steve Perry.  The public has the opportunity to address the Hartford Board of Education starting at 5:30 pm.  The meeting is taking place that the Journalism and Media Magnet Academy located at 150 Tower […]The post A look at Steve Perry’s record of absenteeism and us
1-18-14 Wait What? All Week
Wait What?:  Wait What? All WeekThose aren’t guinea pigs; those are our children!Alternatively known as we don’t need no stinkin learning… we need more standardized testing! As an increasing number of parents, teachers, school boards and citizens are learning, the message from Governor Malloy, Commissioner Stefan Pryor and their corporate education reform industry allies is clear and concise.  Con

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: PRESS RELEASE: NPE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: PRESS RELEASE: NPE NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

PRESS RELEASE: NPE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Network for Public Education 2014 National Conference 

Robin Hiller | Executive Director |robin@networkforpubliceducation.org | (520) 668-4634

PRESS RELEASE

January 19, 2014

The Network for Public Education has announced a national gathering of public education activists. The organization’s first National Conference will take place at The Thompson Conference Center at the University of Texas at Austin on March 1 & 2, 2014 - the Saturday and Sunday before SXSWedu. The conference will feature more than twenty panels and workshops, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities for education advocates from across the United States.

The NPE 2014 National Conference will feature a keynote address by education historian and best-selling author (and NPE President) Diane Ravitch. Chicago Teachers Union President, Karen Lewis and Texas school district Superintendent John Kuhn will deliver a joint conference address. A panel addressing the Common Core will feature American Federation of Teachers President, Randi Weingarten, blogger and education activist Anthony Cody, writer and researcher, Mercedes Schneider, teacher and blogger Jose Luis Vilson, Chicago teacher Paul Horton, and early-childhood education expert Geralyn Bywater McLaughlin.
The Network for Public Education was formed by Ravitch in 2013 and has become a prominent voice in the education reform debate. During the November 2013 elections, NPE rallied support for successful school board candidates in Bridgeport, CT, Seattle and Atlanta. The 2014 National Conference will be an opportunity for NPE to coordinate its network of education activists from across the United States in preparation for the 2014 elections.
“We are bringing together allies from around the country who really know what is happening on the ground in their own states and communities. One of our main goals in forming our network was to create a means to support candidates willing to defend public education,” said Anthony Cody, an NPE co-founder with Ravitch. “By gathering together, we hope to build real momentum, making 2014 the year we turn the tide in the fight for our schools.”
The NPE Conference will bring together leading activists in education from across the country and will feature some of the nation's most dynamic school administrators, such as Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua Starr, and New York's Principal of the YearCarol Burris. Parent activists will include Leonie Haimson of New York, Karran Harper Royal from New Orleans and Helen Gym of Philadelphia. Teachers will be well represented, with panels that include Michelle Gunderson and Xian Barrett of Chicago,Kipp Dawson of Pittsburgh, and Phyllis Bush of Indiana. A panel on "Framing Our Message" will include Jeff Bryant, Sabrina Stevens and Bertis Downs. Bob Schaefferof FairTest will be joined by the leader of the Seattle MAP test boycott, Jesse Hagopian in discussing the movement to push back high stakes tests. Student activists will be well represented as well, with leaders from the Providence Student Union, and Stephanie Rivera and Hannah Nguyen, founders of Students United for Public Education. This year the movement to opt out of high stakes tests is picking up steam and United Opt Outco-founder Peggy Robertson will share UOO’s latest plans. Professors Sonya Horsford, Paul Thomas, and Julian Vasquez Heilig will discuss the latest research that sheds light on which reforms are truly working to serve our students, and Tim Slekar will discuss the role and future of teacher education. Investigative journalists Jason StanfordJoanne Barkan and Mercedes Schneider will share ideas and tips from their work uncovering the truth about corporate education reform and destructive philanthropy. Veteran educatorsDeborah Meier and Mike Klonsky bring decades of experience as activists to panels on organizing resistance and building movements. University of Texas scholars Angela Valenzuela and Deb Palmer will discuss issues related to English Language Learners and high stakes testing. Recently elected school board candidate Sue Peters will be there to share lessons from her victory against well-financed corporate reformers in Seattle.
On her popular blog, NPE President, Diane Ravitch remarked on the importance of coming together for the purpose of strengthening our education system.
“Our movement demands a positive agenda for change based on love of learning, respect for educators, and dedication to the healthy development of children as good people,” Ravitch said. “We hope you will be there and join us as we review the status and condition of our movement to reclaim public education and decide what we should do to grow stronger in the future.” 

For more information about the Network for Public Education 2014 National Conference, go to http://networkforpubliceducation.org/conference. Registration is currently open and the website contains information about the speakers, panels, accommodations and travel.

1-19-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:




Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King.
. Randy Fritz writes: A missive from my frustrations this morning that I won’t be teaching until Wednesday (still on an 8-block schedule): As I sit here today, not teaching because of the celebration of Martin Luther King day, I think back on that tumultuous time in American history—the decade of my teens.  It was so long ago but it seems so recent. This is a holiday, that is, time off from our w


Bev Johns. We need you at the ISBE board meeting on January 22nd.
- Bev Johns, Special Education advocate and activist. We need you at the ISBE Board meeting on January 22. Whether the ISBE Board eliminates special ed class size limits AND the 70/30 rule DEPENDS ON YOU. Will you offer testimony this Wednesday? If you cannot go, try to get other people to go: retired teachers, parents, relatives, etc. that could give THEIR OWN testimony OR read YOUR testimony (ma
Sunday reads.
  Saturday dozen of Chicago teachers and parents walked the precincts for Will Guzzardi. More than 90% of the variation in student gain scores is due to the variation in student-level factors that are not under the control of the teacher.  Chris Christie and the firing of Newark principals. Colbert talks to Brooklyn KFC worker fighting for a $15 an hour minimum wage. 1963 March on Washington part

1-18-14 Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher Bruce Rahmer’s Adventures in Bizarro World.8 by Fred Klonsky / 18h How’s this for cynical? Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post writes about Illinois’ attempts to raise Special Education class size limits.Valerie Strauss’ blog,

Public Education is NOT an Industry | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

Public Education is NOT an Industry | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

Public Education is NOT an Industry

MAP_boycott_11-494x324
Image courtesy of EdVotes.org
Dear Bill,
I thought of you while reading Forbes’ 30 Under 30 2014 special report, which celebrates the professional achievements of 20-somethings in a variety of industries, includingeducation.  Do you see your young self in the profiles of the recent Ivy League grads whose ed tech startups support your misguided ed reform initiatives?
As we have repeatedly communicated to you through this blog, education is not an industry. Applying your business model to the management of public schools is not working.  Among other flaws, your reform ideas fail to address the social and emotional needs of our students.  I write about this here in my reaction to the 30 Under 30 education report.
My piece  – Forbes’ 30 Under 30: A Showcase of Corporate Ed Reformers, not Education Stars - also includes a description of what public school educators really want in order to address the diverse needs of our students.
- Katie Lapham, NYC public school teacher