2-12-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

The Best Resources On “One-To-One” Laptop/Tablet Programs — Please Suggest More!

I’ll soon be covering a question in my Education Week Teacher column about one-to-one laptop/tablet programs, and thought it would be useful to readers (and to me!) to create a “Best” lists on the topic. This list will be fairly limited at the beginning, but I’m confident readers, particularly teachers who are actually doing a one-to-one program, will contribute great stuff in the comments. I’ll

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h hide  //  save

Three Good Tweets On Grading & Assessment

Here are three good tweets I’m adding to The Best Resources On Grading Practices: Nice summary of grading shifts, lifted from Genessee's webinar playing now. #sblchat pic.twitter.com/Jalfu5Umjt — Craig Kesselheim (@ckesselheim) February 11, 2014 RT @TheJLV: Students at Hudson have a three part grading system. In thirds: self, teachers, peers. They were pretty accurate across. #educon — Larry Fer

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h 

“How Can We Develop Life-Long Readers?”

How Can We Develop Life-Long Readers? is the latest “question-of-the-week” at my Education Week Teacher column. Responses are welcome here or there…

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

More Valentine’s Day Resources

Here are some new additions to The Best Sites To Learn About Valentine’s Day: Valentine’s Day – Hitting The Sweet Spots is from the ASIDE blog. Last Minute Love Lessons is from Online TEFL Training. Valentine’s Day – Resources for class is from David’s ESOL Blog.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

“Why Do Teachers Leave High-Poverty Schools?” Is My Latest Nine-Minute Podcast

Why Do Teachers Leave High-Poverty Schools? is my latest nine-minute BAM! podcast, and it a pretty interesting one. I interview teachers Paul Bruno and Angel L. Cintron Jr. Note that, for some reason, BAM! placed it second-from-the-top instead of at the top just now. However, I just emailed them about the mistake so, by the time you read this they might have already moved it to the top of the pag

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

YESTERDAY

Tuesday’s Updated Sochi Resources

Here are the latest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: Teaching the Sochi Olympics | History, Geography and Social Studies is from The New York Times Learning Network. What it’s like to just miss an Olympic medal is a neat interactive from The New York Times. 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Part I is a photo gallery from The Atlantic. What Do the Olymp

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

From The Archives: “How to give classrooms a mission”

I’ve recently re-started an effort I’ve tried to do previously by regularly highlighting previous posts and articles I’ve shared in previous years that I think might be worth a second look. Today, I’d like to highlight a piece I wrote for The Washington Post a few years ago titled How to give classrooms a mission. Here’s an excerpt:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

I’m Not Sure You’ll Find A Better Video Illustrating The Importance Of Libraries Than “El Bibliotecario”

The Librarian / El Bibliotecario from Facebook Stories on Vimeo.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

Video: “Bill Nye – The Joy of Discovery”

This video came from Melody Sheep, and is excerpt from Bill Nye’s debate this past week with creationists:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

2-11-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: I Began This Blog Seven Years Ago: Here Are My All-Time Most Popular PostsWow! Seven years ago, I began writing this blog. Nearly fourteen thousand posts, twelve hundred “The Best…” lists, five million visitors, and six books later, I’m still at it….I hope I’ve got at least another seven years of writing in me…. It’s been q

by mike simpson / 

New York Students With Disabilities May Soon Take Easier Tests Than Their Peers:

New York Students With Disabilities May Soon Take Easier Tests Than Their Peers

State Education Commissioner John King Jr., second from right, speaks during a forum on Common Core learning reforms at the Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. The meeting Thursday was King's first since an earlier series of planned appearances was canceled after he was shouted down at a meeting in Poughkeepsie on Oct. 10. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

 A proposal to test some severely disabled students on lower educational standards advanced in New York on Tuesday, paving the way for a potential collision course between the state and the federal government.

The New York State Board of Regents voted to support a proposal that would ultimately enable the state to test up to 2 percent of students with "severe disabilities ineligible for the alternate assessment" at their instructional ability -- and not their chronological age level -- up to two grade levels down. It would mean that, for example, a sixth grader with autism could be tested on an assessment written for fourth graders.

The yes vote means that the state will include that adjustment in a bid to have the federal government extend New York's waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act.

The controversial proposal revives a concept known as out-of-level testing, and civil rights advocates argue that New York's adoption of the proposal could lead to it becoming standard nationwide. On the one hand, some civil rights and special education advocates oppose the proposal, saying it would shortchange vulnerable students, and that they should instead be tested alongside peers their own age so that they don't slip behind as their classes pass them by. On the other hand, proponents, which include some teachers and New York State Education Commissioner John King himself, argue that testing students with disabilities at levels out of their reach is detrimental to their academic progress.

These supporters also say the proposal would make it easier to roll out the Common 

2-12-14 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.:

The Wolf of Sesame Street. Public TV signs a deal with the devil on pension reporting.

By David Sirota. Read the entire article here. On December 18th, the Public Broadcasting Service’s flagship station WNET issued a press release announcing the launch of a new two-year news series entitled “Pension Peril.” The series, promoting cuts to public employee pensions, is airing on hundreds of PBS outlets all over the nation. It has been presented as objective news on  major PBS programs

5 by Fred Klonsky / 4h 

The weather is warming up for Tuesday’s Soup Kitchen at Pension Thief Robyn Gabel’s office.

The fight against pension theft is heating up again. Senate President John Cullerton is threatening Chicago teachers with massive layoffs if the CTU doesn’t agree to another Senate Bill 1 deal. CTU VP Jesse Sharkey isn’t impressed. “We’re not stupid,” he responded. Chicago teachers and other Chicago public employees will be heading for Springfield on Wednesday. And Thursday our IEA Retired chapte

3 by Fred Klonsky / 5h 

Don’t believe the hype. CPS suspensions got younger. 80% of elementary school suspensions were Black students.

  “Suspensions are down,” said Rahm and Byrd-Bennett. Don’t believe the hype. Many were suspicious when CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Mayor Emanuel released some data claiming CPS was suspending less students. But a study by Catalyst’s sharp-eyed Sara Karp showed the claim was as bogus as the value of an ISAT test. Karp found that: While high school suspensions are down by 10,000 students, en

6 by Fred Klonsky / 30min 

John Dillon. Tax relief? Here’s a “fair” explanation

By John Dillon who posted this on his blog, Pension Vocabulary. Tax Relief for Illinois and a Revenue Fix! Tax Relief?  Here’s a “Fair” Explanation… I just received my latest update from Republican Representative Dwight Kay.  Representative Dwight may look like Wally Cox of days long past, but don’t think for a minute he is the mild Mr. Peepers of film fame or anything quite like it.  I

by Fred Klonsky / 38min hide  //  save

Ten minute drawing. Lincoln’s Birthday.

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Cullerton threatens Chicago teachers. “We will lay off thousands and thousands of you.”

Democratic Party House Speaker Michael Madigan and Democratic Senate President John Cullerton are the good cop/bad cops of the Illinois General Assembly. In the pension theft of public employees Speaker Madigan led the charge while Cullerton played a conciliatory role. But pensions got robbed. Now, with Chicago teacher, firefighter and police pensions on the chopping block, it is Cullerton steppi

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

2-11-14 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.: I received a Christmas card from an NEA director.In December I received a Christmas card from a member of the National Education Association’s Board of Directors. It was nice. I didn’t even know the guy. How did he know my home address? He has access to every member’s home address and contact informat

by mike simpson / 

2-12-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":

What Has Gotten In To These Guys? Now Leader Of Britain’s Labor Party Appears To Call For A “Parent Trigger”

I just don’t understand how people who consider themselves progressive here in the United States and, now, in Great Britain can support such a fundamentally undemocratic tool as the parent trigger (where a small number of parents can upend a public institution — read more at The Best Resources For Learning Why The Parent Trigger Isn’t Good For Parents, Kids Or Schools). Last night, Ed Miliband, th

1 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

2-11-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Famed Harlem Children’s Program Will Get New Leader”Famed Harlem Children’s Program Will Get New Leader is the New York Times headline about Geoffrey Canada’s departure from being Director of the Harlem Children’s Zone (he will, however, stay on as President of its Board). It doesn’t quite fit, but I’ll still add this info

by mike simpson / 

Charter schools association continues push to weed out low-scoring schools | EdSource Today

Charter schools association continues push to weed out low-scoring schools | EdSource Today:

Charter schools association continues push to weed out low-scoring schools

February 11th, 2014 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald

Upping its campaign to root out what it views as its lowest performing schools, the California Charter Schools Association last week criticized a San Jose school district for allowing a charter school to open two more campuses next year.

“We cannot have an honest discussion about education reform and increasing accountability and then continue to allow chronically low-performing charters to replicate,” Jed Wallace, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), said in a statement. CCSA is a membership organization representing many of the state’s 1,300 charter schools.

CCSA singled out Latino College Prep Academy, a 12-year-old high school charter with low scores on state standardized tests. The school serves about 380 primarily low-income English learners in East San Jose and has ties to National Hispanic University. Last month, the East Side Union High School District gave Latino College Prep conditional approval to expand after no one, including CCSA, testified against it.

CCSA has taken the lead nationally in trying to cull its own ranks. It, like other charter advocates, has been stung by national studies concluding that charter schools on average perform no better than district schools they compete with. However, CCSA’s analyses found that California charters take the shape of a “U” on a graph, with disproportionate numbers of very high ranking and very low ranking schools – “the Achilles’ heel of the charter movement,” Wallace calls them –  when 

2-12-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online:

Peter Lamphere: New York takes on Common Core

UNFORTUNATELY, THE New York State United Teachers actually has a mixed record on Common Core. Led by its largest affiliate, New York City's United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union officially supports the Common Core, but disagrees with the implementation that has occurred, calling for a three-year moratorium on high-stakes consequences to teachers and students for the new tests, so that the

by ed notes online / 57min 

2-11-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: NYSUT and the NEA: Historical Background, Part 1People have been telling me they are confused about what is really going on in the NYSUT split. To better understand what is happening in NYSUT some of the history might help. Much of the info comes from WikiPedia, plus whatever memory I have left.This is a long one, so hang in there if you can. But I bet if you do things will be a l

by mike simpson / 

2-12-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

The Face of Education Reform

Every time I read a story about some education reformer saying something dumb, like “status quo” or “student achievement,” I shake my head and sort of giggle to myself.  Then, I read another story about a child who is really hurting under the system those reformers are pushing so fiercely into our public schools.  The […]

64 by Kris Nielsen / 1h hide  //  save

In discussing the Winter Olympics, I brought in a piece of it. #evaluatethat

For a portion of what was to be my 120 minute literacy block today, as mandated by my District, I brought in my ice hockey gear and put it all on, in honor of the winter Olympic Games.  Sorry if it had no objective other than to satisfy my students’ curiosity and perhaps expose them […]

1 by Shaun Johnson / 4h 

Why Precisely Do Teachers Leave High Poverty Schools?

Originally posted on EdCentrist:Why Precisely Do Teachers Leave High Poverty Schools?. Recently, I participated in a 9 minute podcast, via BAM Radio Network, with host Larry Ferlazzo, an inner-city High School teacher. Mr. Paul Bruno, a middle school teacher in Los Angeles, California, and I discussed the following topic: Why do teachers avoid, or…

1 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 23min 

Common Core for Airlines: (Thanks to Ben Cassel: teacher)

You are a pilot for American Airlines. You are good at your job, as evidenced by the fact that your number of landings equals your number of takeoffs.   American has just purchased a new fleet of jets – actually the government, who threatened their FAA certification if they didn’t buy them, told them to. […]

6 by davidgreene207003... / 1h 

“Treating People with Fundamentally Unequal Backgrounds as Superficially the Same”

“Treating People with Fundamentally Unequal Backgrounds as Superficially the Same”. via “Treating People with Fundamentally Unequal Backgrounds as Superficially the Same”.

by plthomasedd / 5min 

Does the Gates Foundation’s Evidence Argue For or Against Vergara?

The corporate reform group Students Matter wants to strike down the duly-enacted laws of California that protect the rights of teachers. Their case, Vergara vs. California claims that laws protecting teachers damage poor children of color. Vergara is known as the “bad teacher” lawsuit. I have joked, however, that it should be known as the […]

5 by John Thompson / 31min 

2-11-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: “What These Children Are Like”: Rejecting Deficit Views of Poverty and Language“What These Children Are Like”: Rejecting Deficit Views of Poverty and Language. via “What These Children Are Like”: Rejecting Deficit Views of Poverty and Language.1 by plthomasedd / 34min 2-10-14 @ The Chalk Face@ THE CHALK FACE: Progressivism and Whole Language: A ReaderProgressivism and Whole Langu

by mike simpson / 

7h 

2-12-14 V.A.M.: Value Added Measure

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure:

The Sounds of Failing (Based on Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence")

Governor Andrew Cuomo is tenaciously holding to his APPR schemes to evaluate teachers based largely on student test scores.  Last Spring, 70% of N.Y.S. students failed the Common-Core tests. If one believes in junk science, one might seek to fire 70% of the State's teachers.  In schools catering to the poorest and the neediest populations, one might fire every single teacher who ever set foot in t

by Adam Bergstein / 3h 

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Common-Core Vending Machine

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Common-Core Vending Machine: The Common-Core Vending MachineNo need to insert dollar bills or coins at this time.  You simply make your selection from the wide array of common cores.  Press the button and federal funding will spill from the machine straight to your hand.  Don't forget to take the apple, too!by Adam Bergstein / 3h hide  //  savePink Floyd's "A

by mike simpson / 

2-12-14 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):

“Treating People with Fundamentally Unequal Backgrounds as Superficially the Same”

“Work hard. Be nice.” is the tag-line of Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools, schools that serve primarily (and often exclusively) high-poverty minority students. These concepts for students are also central to enduring slogans in the U.S. aimed at workers. The Puritan work ethic is a pillar upon which capitalism is built, in fact. As a cultural myth, however, that implores students

by plthomasedd / 3min 

Standards as Political Footballs

Standards as Political Footballs

1 by plthomasedd / 3h

2-11-14 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): “What These Children Are Like”: Rejecting Deficit Views of Poverty and Language“I am an invisible man,” begins Ralph Ellison‘s enduring modern classic Invisible Man, which transforms a science fiction standard into a metaphor for the African American condition in the U.S

by mike simpson /