4-30-14 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:

Today’s Voucher Expansion Vote Will Forever Define Senate Republicans

A 2013 report from Charity Navigator gives Step Up for Students high marks as administrator of Florida’s voucher system, the misleading named the Florida Tax Credit Program. The report in PR Web quotes CEO Doug Tuthill: We’re doing important work and we’re obsessed with doing this work well,” said Tuthill. “Since we began more than a decade ago, we’ve distributed more than $1.4 billion in scholars

by Bob Sikes / 3h 

4-29-14 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: Bush Ally Condemns High-Stakes Testing to Justify Different Tests for Florida VouchersThe James Madison Institute, long a reliable parrot for any Jeb Bush education initiative, has trotted out one of its scholars to defend Florida’s voucher program. And resident fellow,

by mike simpson / 7h 

Income Inequality in Milwaukee Among Working Families Unacceptable | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Income Inequality in Milwaukee Among Working Families Unacceptable | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Income Inequality in Milwaukee Among Working Families Unacceptable

Filed under: Inequality,Wisconsin Class Warfare — millerlf @ 9:08 am 

Report on income inequality among employed families
The annual ETI analysis of state income tax data showed 12 to 1 differences in family income by Milwaukee County neighborhood in 2012. Working-age married and single families in inner city zip code 53206 had average incomes of $20,260 while families in the “North Shore” suburban zip code 53217 had income averaging $253,082.
Educational opportunity and achievement gaps between children of wealth and children of poverty are profoundly influenced by these extreme differences in family resources. The tax data also showed a $17 million reduction in state earned income tax credit support for “working poor” families in the county after the 2011 state legislation cut EIC supports for families with more than one child.

To see the full report go to:

Income inequality in MilwOther2014

Wisconsin leads U.S. in black male incarceration

America lives with the deep shame of slavery and Jim Crow apartheid. There should also be deep shame with the realization of what black men in America face today. This is a “new Jim Crow.” A detailed analysis of state corrections records by the UWM Employment and Training Institute shows incarceration rates at epidemic levels for African American males in Milwaukee County. Over half of black men i

by millerlf / 3min

4-30-13 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

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

Georgia School District Is Model On How Schools Should NOT Deal With Parents Who Want To “Opt-Out” Of Tests

Thanks to Bill Ferriter, I’ve learned about a Georgia school district who had a police officer tell parents who were opting out of state tests that they would and their children would be trespassing if they were on school grounds during the testing and then threatened to ban their kids from a field trip because of their actions. And there’s a lot more. Read Area couple battles elementary school ov

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 

4-29-13 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Parental Advice To Education Policy Makers”Parental Advice To Education Policy Makers is a good article by Jeff Bryant. Here’s an excerpt: Instead of empowering parents to feel they are part of their children’s education and engaging them in school governance, we are making parents feel that their input doesn’t matter and

by mike simpson / 4min 

4-30-14 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.:

Solidarity.

Members of the Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Department at Montclair State University stand in solidarity with teachers opting out!

by Fred Klonsky / 33min hide  //  save

Ten minute drawing. What’s the difference between the NBA and SCOTUS?

by Fred Klonsky / 37min 

Rosie is riveting

. Rosie Frascella is an English teacher at the International High School at Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. Nearly the entire staff signed on to boycott the NYC English Language Arts Performance Assessment Exam. 60% of the parents have opted out.

by Fred Klonsky / 0min 

Stand for Children’s poster boy.

by Fred Klonsky / 36min hide  //  save

Teachers at Brooklyn’s International High School at Prospect Heights boycott the NYC English Language Arts Performance Assessment Exam.

This just in: On Thursday, May 1, 2014, we, the teachers and school staff, at the International High School at Prospect Heights are refusing to give the NYC English Language Arts Performance Assessment Exam. We are standing in solidarity with the more than 50% of our parents who have opted their students out of taking the test. Please support the teachers and staff members who have joined togethe

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Les Perelman. PARCC, Pearson and robo-graders.

My old friend Les Perelman recently retired as director of undergraduate writing at MIT. He has contributed to this blog and is a major critic of the misuse of standardized testing and robo-graders. The following appears in the Boston Globe. “According to professor of theory of knowledge Leon Trotsky, privacy is the most fundamental report of humankind. Radiation on advocates to an orator transmi

by Fred Klonsky / 2min 

Illinois State Representative Keith Farnham is a child pornographer and molester.

“Keith Farnham? Didn’t he vote for pension theft?” I was asked yesterday. “Apparently that may be the best thing he did,” I responded. From the Chicago Tribune. When he resigned his seat on March 19, Farnham told the Tribune he was stepping down due to serious health concerns. A Navy veteran who ran a painting business in Elgin before running for office in 2009, Farnham said he is receiving treat

1 by Fred Klonsky / 1h hide  //  save

There are two ways the Illinois legislature can screw you: When they do something and when they don’t.

The Illinois General Assembly won’t be voting on a Fair Tax this session. 1,000 people filled the Capitol Rotunda yesterday demanding a progressive income tax. They were ignored. There weren’t enough votes for it in Michael Madigan’s House. Senate Democrats didn’t want to go on record voting for it if it was going to die in the House anyway. Key sponsor Don Harmon decided not to bring it to a vot

4 by Fred Klonsky / 2h

4-29-14 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.: Good luck students. Your professors are heading for the exits.Under provisions of the State University Retirement System’s money purchase option, 10,000 state university employees are eligible to retire by July 1. As a result of the Senate Bill 1 pension theft passed last December 3rd and signed immed

by mike simpson / 7h 

4-30-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

Mother’s Day Resources

Mother’s Day is celebrated in the United States and in many other countries on the second Sunday of May. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Mother’s Day.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9min hide  //  save

Long, But Good, Infographic: “Secrets of a Killer Blog Post: Images”

I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sources Of Advice For Teachers (And Others!) On How To Be Better Bloggers: Secrets of a Killer Blog Post: Images – Via Who Is Hosting This: The Blog” width=”100%” /> Source: WhoIsHostingThis.com

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9min 

Very Useful Infographic: “A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science”

I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research: Thanks to Compound Interest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9min 

My New BAM! Radio Show Is On “How Can We Help Students (And Ourselves) Stay Organized?”

My latest ten minuted BAM! Radio segment is on “How Can We Help Students (And Ourselves) Stay Organized?.” Check out the conversation I had with educator/authors Julia Thompson and Ariel Sacks. They both also have made a written contribution to an upcoming Ed Week column on the topic.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 18min 

Just Updated “Best” List Of Video Sites For Learning English

I’ve just updated The Best Online Video Sites For Learning English. Readers might find it useful…

by Larry Ferlazzo / 18min 

San Francisco Symphony Unveils Must-See Redesigned Website

The San Francisco Symphony has just unveiled a newly redesigned website that’s pretty extraordinary. There’s so much there, and it’s so accessible — music, instruments, and you can even compose your own, play it, and share your creation with the world. The text is probably at a high-Intermediate English level. About the only way they could have made it better is if they had provided a feature to

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h   

4-29-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: App Puts You In The Shoes Of A Person Suffering From DementiaA British non-profit has created a Facebook app that puts you in the shoes of a person suffering from dementia. Here’s how the BBC describes it: The FaceDementia app, by Alzheimer’s Research UK, “takes over” personal Facebook pages, and temporarily erases importan

by mike simpson / 7h 

4-30-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:

As NY's Math Tests Begin- Let Us Honor the Test Resistors

Today, another awful round of testing begins in NY State, this time for Math. Our third graders face three days of testing that are more time consuming than the tests applicants take for Medical School, Business School, Law School or admission to college. How our education policy makers and elected officials signed off on this is a mystery to me. Even if the tests were well designed, which they ar

3 by Mark Naison / 2h

4-29-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent: Ras Baraka, Newark and the Future of Public EducationFriends of public education. The most important election in the nation regarding the future of public education is happening right now in Newark New Jersey. On one side is Shevar Jeffries, a lawyer and a huge charter school supporter getting millions of dollars in contributions from Hedge Fund advocates of school privatiz

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-30-13 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:

Getting Stupical In NY

It seems that some state legislatures are competing to pass the worst education laws. Whether it's Kansas deciding to strengthen education by destroying teaching as a career or Florida beating up on disabled children and grieving mothers, there seems to be a race going on, and if it is to the top of something, that's a mountain I don't ever want to see.New York has most recently made its bid for t

by Peter Greene / 27min 

Computer Writer Vs. Computer Grader

Les Perelman is a hero of mine. The former director of undergraduate writing at MIT has been one of the smartest, sanest voices in the seemingly-endless debate about the use of computers to assess student writing. And now he has a new tool.Babel (the Basic Automatic B.S. Essay Language Generator) was created by Perelman with a team of students from MIT and Harvard, and it's pretty awesome as laid

1 by Peter Greene / 25min 

Is There No Common Ground? Well.....

I sympathize with Peter DeWitt, the former K-5 principal who has morphed into a pundit/trainer. In his blog at EdWeek he can often be found trying to chart a course between the Scylla of the CCSS-based Reformsters and the Charybdis of rabid opposition to any changey things in school while sailing under the Pigpen's Black Cloud of corporate deceitfulness with the Pebble of rhetorical purity tests i

by Peter Greene / 1h 

4-29-13 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION: The New Enemies ListThe Tea Party threat is over. Well, over-ish.I've been writing about this in the context of other topics, but I believe it deserves its own attention. Over the past ten days, the narrative about the Enemies of the Core has shifted.On April 21, The Daily Beast attributed attacks on the Core to "an unholy alliance between the Tea Party and the teachers' union

by mike simpson / 8h