6-1-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:

School Choice Is UnAmerican

When I was busy listing reasons that conservatives should be opposed to school choice, I missed a biggy.School choice is taxation without representation.When some cranky old fart (crankier and older than I am, anyway) wants to complain about having to pay taxes for schools when his kids aren't even IN school any more, I have a standard answer. Schools are not a service for parents. The people who

by Peter Greene / 6min 

School Choice Does Not Reduce the Cost of Education

Neal McClusky at the Cato Institute tweeted that I was wrong in my recent assertion that a school choice system costs more than a single public system. I asked him for an example of a place with a choice system that had lowered the cost of schooling, and he referred me to a couple of articles, the most thorough of which is a 2005 paper from Cato, "Saving Money and Improving Education: How Sch

1 by Peter Greene / 33min 

Democrats: "We Suck Less Than That Other Guy"

Every election and primary cycle brings the same question back around-- do we support the lesser of two evils, or throw support to a non-viable third party candidate? This used to qualify as not-really-a-question. In 2012, lots of Democrats were super-unhappy with Obama's first term. Teachers were already being pretty open about feeling that Obama had implemented education policies that George Bus

29 by Peter Greene / 9h 

5-31-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:Welcome to Common Core HospitalNurse Duncan: Welcome to Common Core Hospital. How may I assist you?Chris: My name's Chris Wobble. I was just in a car accident. My arms seems to be broken in about three places.Nurse Duncan: All righty, then. We just need to do some assessments here to see what shape you're in. As a major health care provider, your health data determines our success r

by mike simpson / 8h 

6-1-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Cuomo Already Begins To Renege On Working Families Party Deal

Well, that didn't take long - not even 24 hours before Cuomo started walking back the promises he made in the deal with the Working Families Party: A day after securing the nomination of the Working Families Party, Gov. Cuomo said his support for their liberal agenda only goes so far. ... Cuomo, who endorsed a higher minimum wage with an option for localities to hike it further based on cost of li

by reality-based edu... / 20min 

Working Families Party Rank-And-File Call "Bullshit!" On Governor Cuomo

As in literally:For four hours on Saturday, the W.F.P.’s convention was a collective group therapy session, where dozens of members of the left-wing of New York’s Democratic party aired their long-building displeasure with Cuomo....It was a bizarro version of the Democratic convention earlier in May, where Cuomo was the unquestioned star and lawmakers carefully avoided criticizing him. At the Desm

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Cuomo Gets 58% Of The Vote At Working Families Convention, But Booed And Jeered At Every Turn

First, there should be no surprise that the Working Families Party endorsed the "Charter School Lobbyist," one Andrew M. Cuomo, for governor.WFP receives an awful lot of funding from the unions and the union heads had made it perfectly clear in the past few weeks that Andrew M. Cuomo was going to get the WFP ballot line or they were going to stop giving money to the Working Families Part

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

5-31-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekThe UFT Sold You Out To CuomoThe next time you hear any jive out of the UFT or AFT leadership about holding Andrew Cuomo accountable for his policies, remember that the union leaderships helped to engineer the Working Families Party endorsement of Andrew Cuomo by threatening the party with financial "collapse" if Cuomo wasn't given the nod

by mike simpson / 9h 

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing technology

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing technology:

Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing technology

The above tweet was sent to me in response to my post explaining why innovative educators should look down on upon a new video called, "Look Up." But I disagreed with this balance-seeking Tweeter. "Balance is key" is a common refrain heard by innovative educators and their students. It is meant as a reminder that tech has a place... but only as long as it's balanced with non-tech.

We are a society that seems to embrace balance without question. It is easy to speak those words or nod in agreement when others convey the sentiment. I mean, what can be wrong with balance? It seems easy to agree to this condition. If this has been you - STOP.

We don't need to balance technology with non-technology.Technology is a tool and resource that we have at our disposal to use effectively and efficiently for our needs. For many people technology is the way they do business, pleasure, fitness, and more, and that's okay.

If you're wondering why...

Think about it.

When you talk about reading books, do you often hear, "balance is key?"

When you talk about fitness, do you often hear, balance is key?

How about writing? How about talking to friends? How about networking with experts? How about playing chess?  How about making documentaries? How about solving complex equations? How about social action?  How about doing research?

All those things can be accomplished with tech though it often is not obvious to the observer. What looks like screen-staring is often something even Luddites can value.

If we are lucky, being passionate about any of the things mentioned above allows us to enter a state of what is called flow. Flow is “characterized by complete absorption in what one does”. Sir Ken Robinson talks about the “element:” the intersection between what one loves and what one is good at. These terms describe what is felt and what it looks like to be simultaneously happy and productive.  It is a good thing.  

Those who have flow experiences are often deeply satisfied with their lives; the community and the world has seen and benefited from that level of dedication. If passionate dedication happens “behind the screens,” why diminish the accomplishment and call for “balance?”

We value and praise all that is mentioned above: Serious athletes, voracious readers, published writers, expert networkers, creators of amazing works in writing, audio, or video.

Technology is a tool that can help us be ALL of those things more effectively and in ways not possible without it. When conversations involving technology end with "balance is key" there's an assumption that those who use it somehow are defaulted to a state of imbalance. That's simply untrue. In fact, technology can be the very tool to enable us to achieve a healthy balance Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Stop saying "balance is key" when discussing technology:

Marie Corfield: My open letter to Gov. Christie

Marie Corfield: My open letter to Gov. Christie:

My open letter to Gov. Christie

In the spirit of fellow educator, and journalist, Melissa Harris Perry, I bring you my version of her open letters to leaders:

Dear Governor Christie,

It's me, Marie. I heard you recently gave your staff huge raises. That's fantastic! I'm sure they worked very hard to help get you re-elected, and are very deserving. And now that they are back on the public payroll, you can reward them on the taxpayers' dime. Just curious... who did their job when they were on hiatus, and how much were they paid?

Believe me, I completely agree with you that, "People who take on more responsibility deserve more pay." With the new evaluation system and standardized testing regime now in place, educators across the state are completely overwhelmed with all the additional work but, unlike your staff, our take home pay is shrinking. 

I even congratulate you for actually shrinking your overall payroll because after all, why should taxpayers pay exorbitant salaries of—as you call some of us—"greedy" and "selfish" public employees (even though what you said in this video is factually wrong in so many ways)? But here's my problem: you did an excellent job of laying off tens of thousands of tax payers—educators, police officers, firefighters, first responders, office workers and others—who help keep the state running, all in the name of 'shared sacrifice' that I'm having a wee bit of difficulty understanding why your staff got such huge raises. I mean, while tens of thousands of taxpayers are seeing their take home pay shrink and their workload dramatically increase, six of your staff got raises over 40%, one of whom got a 50% raise! How is that 'shared sacrifice'? How could you excoriate public employees for their alleged largess when your staff is getting the biggest raises of any state workers—by a huge margin? And at least for public educators, the average salary increase for contracts settled since January 2011 is less than 2.2%.


Are you starting to see how some people have a problem with this?

So, while you're busy giving huge tax breaks to big corporations to lure their business to New Jersey because it's such a great place to live and work, remember that part of the reason is that tax-paying public employees make it that way. 

Oh, and next time you point your finger at someone, remember there are always three pointing back at you.

Love,
Marie

What You Ignore, You Permit. | Connected Principals

What You Ignore, You Permit. | Connected Principals:

What You Ignore, You Permit.

by sblankenship • June 1, 2014 • 1 Comment

CC Image From www.teachhub.com

In a recent post titled, Nuggets of Wisdom from Mentors Around the World, many influential educators including Todd Whitaker, Eric Sheninger, Pernille Ripp, Scott McLeod and Lyn Hilt contributed valuable advice passed down from their mentors. One particular nugget of wisdom shared by Sue Dunlop caused an immediate lump in my throat followed by a heavy heart. The advice read:

“What you ignore, you permit.  What you permit, you condone.”

Problems don’t go away when you ignore them. Many times, they become bigger. Soon, they may become “the elephant in the room.” Ignoring an obvious problem or failing to address an issue can cause others to experience concern or uneasiness.

“What you ignore, you permit.  What you permit, you condone.” 

I think if you are honest with yourself, this phrase can cause a disheartened feeling to all but the most distinguished leaders. Issues and problems will arise, however, effective leaders proactively deal with situations while fostering and maintaining a positive culture.

As a new school year approaches, I encourage you to reflect and ask yourself these questions. What “elephants” am I What You Ignore, You Permit. | Connected Principals:

In The Know: Are Standardized Test Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Sh*t? | Video | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Sh*t? | Video | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Sh*t?   2:09

Panelists discuss the many ways in which our educational system caters to students who try, care, are awake

In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Sh*t?

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

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

Free Webinar On Monday: “Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children”

Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children is the title of a free Webinar on Monday. It’s sponsored by the Migrant Policy Institute. Here’s how they describe it: To better understand the experiences and challenges faced by early childhood programs and immigrant and refugee parents as they seek to connect with one another, the Migration Policy In

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 26min 

“Home-to-School Connections: Resource Roundup”

Home-to-School Connections: Resource Roundup is a useful collection of posts, articles and videos from Edutopia. It’s worth a visit.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 26min 

“Parents Form Partnership With LAUSD, Avoid Using Parent-Trigger Law”

Parents Form Partnership With LAUSD, Avoid Using Parent-Trigger Law is an interest post over at Education Week sharing an agreement that the District made with parents for increased services and resources. The suggestion is that the deal wouldn’t have been made if the District didn’t have a threat of parents using the parent trigger hanging over their head. Are any readers familiar with what happe

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 26min hide  //  save

Teachers, “Social Justice Unionism” & Parents

A New Teacher Union Movement is Rising is an article by Bob Peterson, head of the Milwaukee Teachers Union. Here’s how he concludes the piece: It is no longer sufficient to just critique and criticize those who are attempting to destroy public education. Teacher unions must unite with parents, students and the community to improve our schools—to demand social justice and democracy so that we have

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 26min 

“Analysis Offers Insights Into Tapping Parent Power to Increase Achievement”

Analysis Offers Insights Into Tapping Parent Power to Increase Achievement is the headline of an Ed Week article that appears to do a very good job of dissecting a major new research study on parent involvement whose results seem to be all over the place. I’m not going to even try to summarize it, but I did notice that one action researchers highlighted was the positive effect of providing interpr

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 26min 

MAY 26

“More non-profits teaching parents to read with children”

More non-profits teaching parents to read with children is a post at Ed Source describing programs helping parents to get their children reading early and the research behind the efforts. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap.”

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 5d hide  //  save

MAY 25

Associated Press Feature On “Promise Neighborhoods”

I’ve written a lot about Promise Zones & Neighborhoods (see My Best Posts On The Harlem Children’s Zone & Other “Promise Zones”) – both critical and supportive. The Associated Press just published a feature on them in three separate parts: What to know about Promised Neighborhoods AP Photos: A new approach to save a neighborhood Tackling poverty: DC community tries new approach Here’s an e

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d 

New Report: “The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8″

The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8 is a new report by a number of researchers, including Joyce Epstein. Here’s how they describe it: This report summarizes research conducted primarily over the past 10 years on how families’ involvement in children’s learning and development through activities at home and at school affects the literacy, mathematics, and socia

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d 

“State Lawmakers Throttle Back on ‘Parent Trigger’”

State Lawmakers Throttle Back on ‘Parent Trigger’ is an article at Education Week. Here’s how it begins: Interest in the controversial school choice option known as the parent trigger has declined sharply among state lawmakers this year… I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why The Parent Trigger Isn’t Good For Parents, Kids Or Schools.

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d 

solidaridad: Network for Public Education to our Friends and Allies in California: Support Sherlett Hendy Newbill for LAUSD School Board

solidaridad: Network for Public Education to our Friends and Allies in California: Support Sherlett Hendy Newbill for LAUSD School Board:

Network for Public Education to our Friends and Allies in California: Support Sherlett Hendy Newbill for LAUSD School Board

NPE to our Friends and Allies in California: Support Sherlett Hendy Newbill for LAUSD School Board As a friend of Network for Public Education, you understand the importance of supporting candidates for public office who will work to protect, preserve, promote, and strengthen public schools. In California, an important election will be settled on June 3rd. In the Los Angeles School Board race, Sherlett Hendy Newbill has earned NPE's endorsement.  Hendy Newbill is a teacher, a coach and a parent who grew up in District 1 as the daughter of immigrants who struggled to put food on the table for their five children. She attended elementary, middle and high school in District 1. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, Hendy Newbill received a scholarship to attend Xavier University in New Orleans. She later returned to Los Angeles to raise a family in the neighborhood in which she was raised and to teach in the school she attended. NPE endorsed Hendy Newbill because of her commitment to high quality neighborhood schools. She said, "I have worked with teachers, parents and community members for 16 years to improve schools, stop budget cuts, stop school closures and reconstitutions." As an educator and a mother, Hendy Newbill stands out among the field of candidates. She said, "Our public school system is under attack. I am the only candidate who is not a politician and not tied in with the corporate reform movement." In keeping with her commitment to community, Hendy Newbill will fight to protect and build up public schools. When elected, she will work to create a Family Center network, which will provide wraparound services for the community.       When asked about school closures, Hendy Newbill said, "When the school I teach at was threatened with being closed or reconstituted, I organized with teachers, parents, alumni and the community to stop this at my school and to put a moratorium on school closures in LA because closing schools is horrible for students and communities. Don't shut down schools. Give them what they need." On the topic of testing, she said, "Students are more than a test score. Testing should be one of many components used to evaluate students. As a teacher in the trenches of our schools, I know first hand that when teachers focus only on raising test scores, they narrow the curriculum, focus too much on test prep and the students suffer.  We need a school board member that gets this." The Network for Public Education only endorses candidates who have made a strong commitment to public education. We don't have the kind of money that allows us to compete financially with the billionaires. But with a strong network of parents, students, teachers, and public education advocates, we inspire our allies to take part in the democratic process and support the best candidates. It is projected that there will be a low turnout in this election and NPE encourages those who value public education to get out and vote for Sherlett Hendy Newbill on June 3rd. You may not live in Los Angeles, but we ask that you share this message with friends in L.A.. For more information about Sherlett Hendy Newbill, check outhendynewbill.com. For more information about the Network for Public Education, go to networkforpubliceducation.org. WE ARE MANY. THERE IS STRENGTH IN OUR NUMBERS. TOGETHER WE WILL SAVE OUR SCHOOLS.

Who will care for our children’s educations? Empty suits? Lesser of two evils? | Reclaim Reform

Who will care for our children’s educations? Empty suits? Lesser of two evils? | Reclaim Reform:

Who will care for our children’s educations? Empty suits? Lesser of two evils?

Posted on May 31, 2014by Ken Previti

When republican candidates for the presidency outline their education platform using identical positions as democratic candidates for governor, it is obvious that they are owned and operated by the same corporate interests.

The one with the red state label and the one with the blue state label are empty suitswith corporate pre-programmed messages spouting from their sound holes.

Sham elections for (R) and (D) puppets manipulated by the same billionaire oligarchs who have created the new industry ($800 billion annually from taxes intended for public education) of Corporate Education Reform abound.

Invalid choices for competing elected positions in public office destroy even the illusion of electoral legitimacy. As media coverage of the latest sham elections in Thailand, Egypt and elsewhere point to the obvious deception, media coverage of our home-grown sham elections is scant or ignored. Our sham elections are a mockery of the entire Pledge-of-Allegiance American process of government.

Jeb Bush (R) for President espousing Arne Duncan’s (D) Common Core corporate education reform policy?

Gov. Pat Quinn (D) of Illinois incumbent gubernatorial candidate who openly violated the state’s constitution by gleefully cutting public teacher (the same teachers who had endorsed him) pensions and claiming he was divinely “put on God’s earth” for that Who will care for our children’s educations? Empty suits? Lesser of two evils? | Reclaim Reform: