4-21-14 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.:

Yes. Dan Biss is an idiot. But the problem isn’t the typo. The problem is what they did on purpose.

Twelve hours before Representative Laura Fine voted for pension theft she told our SORE Retired chapter that she hadn’t seen the bill. The pension news this weekend was about the supposed typo in Senate Bill 1. It is anticipated that thousands of tenured professors at the University of Illinois and other state schools will leave en masse this summer because of a mistake in the language of the bil

by Fred Klonsky / 36min 

Ten minute drawing. Running schools like a business.

by Fred Klonsky / 7min 

These members of the $20 million a year club paid the same Illinois state income tax rate as you did.

Because Illinois is a regressive flat tax state we all pay the same tax rate no matter how much we got paid. Today Crain’s published their list of twenty CEO’s who made $20 million this year. They paid no more of a percentage of their income in Illinois than an associate at Wal-Mart. Or you. James McNerney Jr. — $23.3 million, Boeing Co. Sandeep Mathrani — $22.1 million, General Growth Properties

1 by Fred Klonsky / 1h

4-20-14 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.: Sunday book review section. This is Not a Test.  This is Not a Test. Jose Vilson. Haymarket Books Professor Bill Schubert, who is my professional mentor, advocated the very Deweyian idea of teacher lore as a basis for educational research. Schubert’s idea is to extend to teachers “a progressive faith

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-21-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

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

Good Letter To NY Times Editor On “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement

The New York Times published three letters to the editor today on the infamous “Broken Compass” parent involvement op-ed and book. The first one is good and the second one, by parenting researcher and professor Wendy Grolnick, is excellent. I’m adding this info to The Best Commentaries On The “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement Book.

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h hide  //  save

“The Middle Ground Between Opt Out And All In”

The Middle Ground Between Opt Out And All In is a very thoughtful post by Matthew Di Carlo at The Shanker Blog. Here’s an excerpt: when it comes to “opting out,” what’s important to me is the idea that you don’t have to agree with its proponents’ solution to acknowledge that they may be correct about the existence of a problem. There are good and bad policy applications happening right now, and it

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 

Free Webinar With Anne Henderson This Tuesday On Parent Engagement

Anne Henderson, one of the top — if not THE top — expert on parent engagement in the U.S., is leading a free Webinar this Tuesday. Here’s the information that I’m copying and pasting from the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education: Free Webinar, April 22: High-Impact Strategies to Engage Families & Enhance Student Achievement A free webinar on Tuesday, April 22, 2:00 PM — 3:30

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 

4-19-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":Kellogg Foundation Announces Nearly $4 Million In Grants For Parent Involvement ProgramsI’ve previously posted about the Kellogg Foundation’s initiative to fund parent involvement/engagement programs targeting families with children age eight and below. They just announced a new set of grants and I thought it would be useful

by mike simpson / 10h 

4-21-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Five Louisiana “Educators” Want Common Core

On April 21, 2014, the Baton Rouge Advocate ran an article by Will Sentell entitled, Educators Renew Support for Common Core and Its Tests. The first line of the article is comical: Five educators said Monday morning that they will urge state House and Senate members to support the Common Core academic standards and the controversial tests that go with […]

by deutsch29 / 22min 

A Panel Discussion You Don’t Want to Miss

  http://www.thefire.org/video-the-state-of-free-speech-in-america-with-lukianoff-fish-rauch-posner-rosen/   Or watch it now: http://youtu.be/DYs-1cGo28o    

by Michael Paul Gold... / 2min 

Legalizing Marijuana Offers Lesson for Changing Course in Education Reform

Legalizing Marijuana Offers Lesson for Changing Course in Education Reform. via Legalizing Marijuana Offers Lesson for Changing Course in Education Reform.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

1 by plthomasedd / 30min hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Common Core Prescription Will Not Heal Education

During my presentations, I make the case that the Common Core Standards are a prescriptive list of content standards, rather than a descriptive framework. The other night, in Santa Fe, one of my more well-known audience members disagreed, based on her opinion. What’s the difference? And why does it matter? First of all, let’s consider […]

64 by Kris Nielsen / 9h 

4-20-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: My progressive friends prefer demagoguery over truth on education reformMy progressive friends in the broader media have it frequently wrong on corporate education reform, touting views that are hardly socially just. Instead, they mine their neoliberal connections to peddle the same corporate canards. It is obvious to me that mainstream progressive media are so disinterested in e

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-21-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

Legalizing Marijuana Offers Lesson for Changing Course in Education Reform

The role of causality in educational research needs to be questioned on the basis that education is not the same as medicine. As Biesta says: “Being a student is not an illness, just as teaching is not a cure.” (2007, p8) We should never assume that education is a “push and pull” process of simply linear causal relationships. Tait Coles, Take no heroes; only inspiration. “Batman has officially b

7 by plthomasedd / 28min 

 

4-19-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

THE BECOMING RADICALRadical ScholarshipEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical  A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by Should Schools Introduce Dress Codes for Parents?Mama Sass, a Miami mother of two, blogs at MomsMiami.com. Introductory Essay By Betsy L. Angert | Originally Published at EmpathyEducates. April 15, 2014 Go to the grocery school. Dine out for dinner. Even at a cocktail party, conversat

by mike simpson / 10h 

4-21-14 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:

Dispatching the Al Lawson-Step Up For Students Smear of Paula Dockery

Former Florida senator turned education privatization super-lobbyist Al Lawson took his turn at mischaracterizing opponents of the Florida voucher expansion scheme that would enrich the executives who run it. To do so, he needed to misrepresent the words of a former senate colleague. Wrote Lawson of Paula Dockery’s recent opinion piece. My former Senate colleague in this fight, Republican Paula Do

by Bob Sikes / 38min 

The Seperartion of Republican Governors From Jeb Bush on Commom Core: A Conservative Awakening

From the New York Times: Its most outspoken Republican defender, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, is also the most talked-about potential presidential candidate among mainstream party leaders and donors. Mr. Bush has called out some Republicans who have switched positions, drawing what will be a dividing line in the campaign if he or other defenders of the Common Core choose to run. He is joined

by Bob Sikes / 2h  

4-20-14 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: Academica Charter Schools Under Federal InvestigationFrom Mary McGrory in the Miami Herald: TALLAHASSEE — The state’s largest charter school management company has come under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education for potential conflicts of interests in its busin

by mike simpson / 5h 

4-21-14 empathyeducates

empathyeducates:

Republicans See Political Wedge in Common Core

Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma participated in a discussion with School Leader Tracy McDaniel and students and at KIPP Academy in Oklahoma City in April. | Credit Associated Press By Jonathan Martin | Originally Published The New York. April 19, […]

by empathy / 7h 

4-21-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:

Why Should I Study This, Anyway?

Never once during a football game so athletes stop chasing the ball, lie down on their backs, and compete to bench press the most weight. And yet all those football players spend hour after hour in the weight room.You probably aren't going to marry that woman you're dating right now, so what's the point in trying to learn how to talk to her or how to work out the finer points of your relationship.

by Peter Greene / 15min 

CCSS Politics Make the Daily Beast Sad

Nobody can accuse the Daily Beast of being unclear about its position. "The Incredibly Stupid War on the Common Core" says the headline, followed by the subheading, "An unholy alliance between the Tea Party and the teachers' unions threatens to derail the most promising education reform in decades." So right off the bat, we know where Charles Upton Sahm is headed.The lead graph

by Peter Greene / 13min 

Why Are Teachers So Quiet?

Some recent comments on this blog took teachers to task. A parent activist noted her own work against the current reformy regime and then added "and teachers as a profession and individually refused/refuse to step up and do their share of push back - paychecks were/are more important than the principles at stake and our children's wellbeing."Recently, Susan Ohanian, a respected voice in

1 by Peter Greene / 22min  

4-20-13 Curmudgucation : How To Do Real Teacher Evaluation

CURMUDGUCATION: How To Do Real Teacher Evaluation: How To Do Real Teacher EvaluationThe fans of Reformy Stuff are not wrong about everything. For example, they are correct that the general state of teacher evaluation in this country was pretty useless. Their mistake was replacing Inertly Useless with Actively Destructive. The old system was a simple two step process (1- check for teacher pulse; 2-

by mike simpson / 3min 

4-21-14 Perdido Street Schoo

Perdido Street School:

Winning A Big Battle, Still Focused On The War

Great news that Gates Foundation-funded inBloom will shut down - here's the letter sent from the CEO:Friends and colleagues: In 2011, an alliance of educators and state leaders, non-profit foundations, and instructional content and tool providers formed the Shared Learning Collaborative (SLC). The vision of that group was simple: create a resource that allows teachers to get a more complete pictur

by reality-based edu... / 8min 

How To Fight The Testing Industrial Complex

Michael Fiorillo left this comment on NYC Educator's post about why NYSED and Pearson insist the NY State 3rd-8th grade tests must remain secret:The destruction of public education hinges on everyone's passive acceptance of high stakes exams encroaching more deeply into every classroom. They are the weapon used to close schools, deprive students of a well-rounded education, and beat teachers into

by reality-based edu... / 1min 

Fred Dicker: Cuomo Will Get No Support From Dems If He Runs For President

If it's Monday, it's time for a Fred Dicker column slamming Andrew M. Cuomo.Today's no different:Gov. Cuomo, long known for his presidential aspirations, won’t enjoy the support of his own Democratic Party if Hillary Rodham Clinton decides not to run for president in 2016, top state Democrats have told The Post. The Democrats said Cuomo’s worsening relations with his party have led many to look el

by reality-based edu... / 1h  

4-20-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Andrew Cuomo's Budget Causes SUNY Tuition IncreasesFrom Newsday: Students at Suffolk County Community College will face a tuition increase of $250 this fall, bringing the annual charges to $4,390 at the two-year school. The tuition hike is part of the $208.4 million 2014-15 operating budget that college trustees sent to county officials Friday. The increase comes even though

by mike simpson / 8h 

Marie Corfield: Thank you

Marie Corfield: Thank you:

Marie Corfield

Mother, artist, teacher, education activist, former candidate for NJ State Legislature, that teacher in that Chris Christie You Tube video, writing about education, poverty, politics, women's issues, social justice and living in a world gone strange.

Thank you

My blog hit a milestone this morning: it passed 10,000 hits, the last 1500 coming in the past 48 hours. And while Diane Ravitch can get that on an off day, I'm honored that that many people have stopped by my little corner of the universe in the month or so I've been doing this.

So, as long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing. My goals are to inform, to speak for those who can't afford to buy a seat at the table, to stand up for the little guy, to expose the lies, and to affect change.

To all my education readers: keep the faith. Diane Ravitch reminded me once when I was feeling particularly beaten down by all this insanity, "Remember, what they have in money, we have in numbers." That phrase and your struggles keep me moving forward.

I will leave you with this from one of my heros, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...

And as always, "the opinions expressed here are strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you like and leave the rest." ~ Anonymous

Namaste.