Public Schools—the Mortar that Holds the Community Together (Garrison Keillor) | janresseger

Public Schools—the Mortar that Holds the Community Together (Garrison Keillor) | janresseger:

Public Schools—the Mortar that Holds the Community Together (Garrison Keillor)

Posted on June 6, 2014 by janresseger

Jeff Bryant, who writes a weekly column for the Educational Opportunity Network, recently discussed the difference between conceptualizing education reform around inputs and outcomes.  Today our federal testing law, No Child Left Behind, and all the federal competitive grant programs like Race to the Top that prescribe punitive turnarounds for schools that can’t produce high test scores are designed to measure outcomes.  The very concept of achievement gaps is defined by test scores—outcomes.

Outcomes are important surely.  As parents we hope for successful outcomes for our children: a high school diploma—college graduation—a job.  Then there are the intangible outcomes we seek for our children: mental health, contentment, ethical character, the capacity to stick with whatever one undertakes. Parents quickly realize there are too many variables; their children are human and invariably complex.  We do the best we can, but we cannot guarantee outcomes.

Neither can the community guarantee positive outcomes for all of its children, though in 1889, John Dewey, our premier education philosopher challenged us to do our best:  “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children…. Only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself.”  Dewey’s idea is about inputs, however.  He challenges us to hold ourselves personally responsible for educating all children.  Today there is ample evidence that we are not even coming close to providing adequate educational inputs for our society’s poorest children.

Brand new census data demonstrate that, “Public elementary and secondary education revenue fell in fiscal year 2012 for the first time since 1977, when the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting public education finance data annually.  Public elementary and secondary Public Schools—the Mortar that Holds the Community Together (Garrison Keillor) | janresseger:

Rachel Maddow on Michigan Schools—An Extra This Morning

I regularly follow Michigan’s Eclectablog, because it is a place to learn about the very difficult and complex issues around Michigan’s public schools, now in many cases privatized. This morning Electablog referred me to a video clip from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC covering the story of the closing of a school she has been tracking for several years, Catherine Ferguson Academy, a school that will clos

by janresseger / 38min 

NYC Educator: Make Someone Happy! Blame a Teacher Today!

NYC Educator: Make Someone Happy! Blame a Teacher Today!:

Make Someone Happy! Blame a Teacher Today!

Blame the Teachers!  For many years, the thought never crossed my mind that teachers were the single most important factor complicit in the perpetuity of poverty in the United States.  But I guess it makes sense; poverty has been around since the beginning of time and so, too, have poor teachers.  I just never took the time to consider the connection until I listened to Michelle Rhee.  Since that fateful day when my whole world was turned upside down by this new logic, I began to wonder if teachers might not also be responsible for a whole host of other problems.  I have made a list of the top ten problems which I now believe are caused by teachers.

10.  Teachers are to blame for the long World-Series drought of the Cubs.  I know you heard the rumor that it was the Curse of the Billy Goat, but with new facts brought to bear (or cub), I respectfully beg to differ.  After all, what sense does it make to blame a goat?  Blame teachers!

9.  Have you ever had a nagging headache?  You might be tempted to blame dehydration, loud noise or stress.  Just Blame teachers!  It's that much easier!

8.  Have you ever failed to accomplish anything in your life?  Someone might try to convince you that you didn't work hard enough or that you just gave up.  I'm telling you, your teacher was and still is to blame. 

7.  Your computer's gone "kaflooey" and you're thinking it was the link you clicked on from someone overseas asking you for a few dollars to help free the long lost Aunt (you never knew you had) from a false arrest.  I'm telling you the person to blame is much closer to home.  It would be NYC Educator: Make Someone Happy! Blame a Teacher Today!:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's boat springs more leaks

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's boat springs more leaks:

Rahm's boat springs more leaks

As we head into the weekend, Little Emperor's gold-plated political ship continues to spring leaks. Even with his giant City Hall damage-control battalion working overtime, Rahm can't catch a media break.

‘I’m not an emperor. I do not look good in a toga.’ -- Rahm Emanuel

His latest proposed boondoggle, to spend millions to turn the Windy City into a f*#k-the-environment, Paris-like City of Lights with a parasitic, tourism-based economy, isn't playing well in resource-starved, school-shuttered neighborhoods.

Even the Illinois Coalition for Responsible Outdoor Lighting is ridiculing the mayor for suggesting that Chicago be turned into “North America’s city of lights” at the same time that Paris, the global “City of Light,” has toned it down.

His latest pension-robbing, property tax-gouging initiative isn't going down well, either with the governor or within his own usually compliant City Council. Moody's, who according to the S-T "has already dropped Chicago’s bond rating by four notches in eight months — to just three levels above junk status," has called Rahm's bluff, telling the mayor that there are lots of Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's boat springs more leaks:

We Played a Part in Getting a Lousy Contract southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

We Played a Part in Getting a Lousy Contract

We need to stop placing all the blame on Unity and the UFT for the contract that we now have to live

under. The UFT can't foist a contract such as it did upon us in a vacuum. It needs a partner in it's shenanigans.

That partner is us, the teachers of NYC. We are the enablers that allow the UFT/Unity to not only give us poor contract after poor contract, but we enable UFT/Unity to continue to time and time again to throw us under the bus, whether it is putting up a fight for our contractual rights, to the lack of being treated professionally by Tweed. UFT/Unity can't do what it is not doing without our acquiescence.

One of the BEST people I have have known in the DOE shared two stories on her Facebook timeline yesterday;

One who was provisionally out of the loop for two months thought the contract was wonderful because she said with a smile,"Once all of the retirees leave, there will be lots of open positions for ATRs"....and she needed the $1000 dollars to go on a trip this summer. 

What this person fails to understand is that a virus, like in Stephen King's "The Stand," can wipe out every non-ATR teacher in DOE and not one ATR will be hired permanently in a school. Anyway, after taxes your $1k bribe will be about $600.

The other statement shows the folly of allowing retired members of the union the right to vote in UFT/Unity elections;

The other was literally gloating to me, ecstatic to be retiring, couldn't care less about my feelings or that we had to remain and work under the new contract because he said thathe had, suffered and 'paid his dues'

Yes, you paid your dues. You are entitled to what you have earned and the right to enjoy and well http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Is Hespe lying? Afraid of Cami? Disrespectful of parents? All three? | Bob Braun's Ledger

Is Hespe lying? Afraid of Cami? Disrespectful of parents? All three? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Is Hespe lying? Afraid of Cami? Disrespectful of parents? All three?

David Hespe

Nearly a month ago, the parents of Newark’s Hawthorne Avenue School petitioned acting Education Commissioner David Hespe to ensure the school would not be closed without compliance with state administrative regulations that have the force of law. Hespe, a lawyer who is charged with a special obligation to uphold the law, has not only ignored the parents but he also has treated them with a contempt that raises the question whether he is fit to continue in his position.

The Hawthorne Avenue parents, like most parents of Newark school children, are black or brown and poor and accustomed to shabby treatment from the administration of Gov. Chris Christie. But this goes beyond shabby–this is treating New Jersey citizens with the sort of disrespect that might have been expected from Mississippi in 1962.

Like most of the problems plaguing the parents of Newark school children, this begins with the flawed and reckless plan by Cami Anderson to close a half-dozen schools and turn them into markets for privately-operated charter schools whose leaders have close personal and business ties both with Anderson and Hespe’s predecessor, Christoper Cerf.

One of those schools is Hawthorne Avenue, a school in the South Ward that has outpaced peer schools throughout the state in student achievement. But Anderson has promised the South Ward to TEAM Academy Charter Schools–headed by a Montclair resident named Is Hespe lying? Afraid of Cami? Disrespectful of parents? All three? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

6-5-14 Jersey Jazzman : : Reformy Billionaires and the Money They Waste

Jersey Jazzman: Reformy Billionaires and the Money They Waste:

Reformy Billionaires and the Money They Waste

Perhaps my favorite bad reformy argument -- one favored by Tom Moran, among others -- goes something like this:We should listen to billionaires when they opine about education because: 1) Well, they're billionaires, so they must know what they're talking about. 2) They don't have a direct stake in the outcome, so you can trust them.I often harp on the absurdity of Point #2: even though a plutocrat

by Duke / 6min hide  //  save  

6-1-14 Jersey Jazzman : One Newark is a Bad Plan. REALLY Bad.

Jersey Jazzman: One Newark is a Bad Plan. REALLY Bad.: One Newark is a Bad Plan. REALLY Bad.This past week, State Superintendent Cami Anderson went on the offensive, making the case for her plan to restructure Newark's schools, One Newark. For Anderson, the problem isn't that her plan is illogical, innumerate, secretive, and ill-conceived.No, the problem, apparently, is "politics":Anders

by mike simpson / 5h 

What Complicity Looks Like (Why I Support #YesAllWomen) - The Jose Vilson

What Complicity Looks Like (Why I Support #YesAllWomen) - The Jose Vilson:



What Complicity Looks Like (Why I Support #YesAllWomen)

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that my boys and I wanted to have fun at an Irish pub, jamming to every rhyme and curse Shawn Carter could muster for three verses. It’s already 11pm and we got a few drinks flowing in our system, flirting with a few women of different skin tones, cracking jokes with the a bunch of random guys from the local university. The service was a little slow to get us our drinks, and messed up our drinks more than once, and

All of a sudden, we’ve got DMX’s “Ruff Ryders Anthem” blaring out of the speakers. My boys and I do our usual bop, slurring the chorus when we turn around and see the rest of the bar singing along, too. The first verse drops and I’m just staring at everyone about to say “Niggas wanna try, niggas wanna lie! Then niggas wonder why, niggas wanna die!” A few of them relent after seeing my stare, but a few others keep jamming because one of my boys is riling them up.

I look at him like, “What are you doing?! This is MAD racist!” He’s like, “Well, it’s in the song, so there is that.”

Does it make it OK?

So fine. The DJ moves on to House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” One of my boys gets to flirting with a group of women near the bar’s exit. They’re talking it up. Laughs exchange. Everyone’s jumping. My friend gets bumped by a group of muscle-headed frat boys who were jumping and staring directly at him talking to his new acquaintance. My friend takes exception, but my friends and I notice that the situation might escalate, so we pull him away. We all leave together, so we didn’t think there’d be problems.

“EVERYONE, COME OUT HERE!” I feel a bump from behind. It’s one of the frat boys from inside, wanting to start something. He’s like, “You don’t think I’ll beat your brains out? I’ll Rodney King this whole shit right here!” His boys crack up as the rest of the bar had come out to see the sparks fly. “You got your niggas and I got my niggas, too!” A few shoves get exchanged but

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/complicity-looks-like-support-yesallwomen/#sthash.clsNOscI.dpuf

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » On Teaching “Other People’s Children”

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » On Teaching “Other People’s Children”:



On Teaching “Other People’s Children”

 A post from Jose Luis Vilson recently popped up on my Facebook feed, featuring this quote from  First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, in a commencement address at Dillard University:

So my mother volunteered at my school — helping out every day in the front office, making sure our teachers were doing their jobs, holding their feet to the fire if she thought they were falling short. I’d walk by the office and there she’d be. (Laughter.) I’d leave class to go to the bathroom, there she’d be again, roaming the halls, looking in the classrooms. And of course, as a kid, I have to say, that was a bit mortifying, having your mother at school all the time.

But looking back, I have no doubt that my classmates and I got a better education because she was looking over those teachers’ shoulders. (Applause.) You see, my mom was not a teacher or a principal or a school board member. But when it came to education, she had that hunger. So she believed that our education was very much her business.

…which Jose prefaces with the following, “Every time someone says something, anything, about teachers, without fail, a naysayer always nags how it’s a conspiracy against teachers as a whole.”

Context is everything, and I must say I do take issue with both the messenger, and the message being made. Let’s look at the context. We have the first lady of an administration that has been hostile to teachers and teacher professionalism both in macro-policy and in statements about individual schools, and made some pretty racists and Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » On Teaching “Other People’s Children”:

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "Remember That Time When...?" An End of Year Memory Book!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "Remember That Time When...?" An End of Year Memory Book!:

"Remember That Time When...?" An End of Year Memory Book!

I was on #5thchat Tuesday night chatting with my fellow tweechers about activities we do at the end of the school year. @patriciahewitt shared a wonderful idea.

I thought this was such a wonderful idea and let Patricia know I would be using it the next day.
I decided to use the students' writing to create Memory books for each student.

Front Cover: 2 group pictures. One from the beginning of the year and one from yesterday. The kids loved comparing the two pics. We laughed because one of my girls had on shorts in both pictures, and you could see how much longer her legs were in the most recent picture.

First page: A Tagxedo word cloud of all their names and mine.

The next couple of pages are filled with "Remember the Time When...?" stories. I had just taught sensory details and asked them to use it when they wrote, but that didn't work out too well, end of the year and all. However, one student did, and I have to share it!!!

End pages: My kids don't have Autograph books so I added Teacher and Student Autograph pages.

The kids were upset that  I didn't add a picture of myself. It wasn't deliberate. I didn't think of it at the time, but it's a good idea. What's a Memory book without a picture of the teacher?:)

Most of my students chose a different memory. The only ones that were shared more thanDIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "Remember That Time When...?" An End of Year Memory Book!: 

UPDATE: Looks Like Oklahoma IS First to Really Dump Common Core | deutsch29

UPDATE: Looks Like Oklahoma IS First to Really Dump Common Core | deutsch29:

UPDATE: Looks Like Oklahoma IS First to ReallyDump Common Core

June 5, 2014

UPDATE 06-05-14:

Today, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed legislation repealing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Fallin told Politico that the CCSS term had become so tainted that it was time for CCSS to go:

“The words ‘Common Core’ in Oklahoma are now so divisive that they have become a distraction that interferes with our mission of providing the best education possible for our children,” Fallin said.

Initially it seemed like Fallin might exercise a pocket veto in favor of “rebranding” CCSS as “Oklahoma standards” (see my original post below).

Initial reports noted that Fallin had until June 2 to sign Oklahoma’s CCSS-repeal bill into law. However, in her June 2 article, Susan Berry of Breitbart noted Fallin’s deadline was June 7.

Fallin did not wait for the deadline.

In an interesting twist, Jeb-Bush Chief for Change, Oklahoma State Education Superintendent Janet Baresi said she supports Fallin’s decision. As Politico reports:

Oklahoma state Superintendent Janet Barresi, also a onetime supporter of the Common Core, said that as the standards became tied to the federal government, she changed her mind.

“At one time, as it was emerging from Republican and conservative ideas from individual states, I did support Common Core,” Barresi said in a statement. “As it has become entangled with federal government, however, Common Core has become too difficult and inflexible.”

Jeb Bush, who continues to show outspoken support for CCSS, has foundations that have accepted millions to promote CCSS. He is even willing to sacrifice UPDATE: Looks Like Oklahoma IS First to Really Dump Common Core | deutsch29:

Brookings Institute Paper on VAMs and Their More Important Observational Counterparts |

Brookings Institute Paper on VAMs and Their More Important Observational Counterparts |:

Brookings Institute Paper on VAMs and Their More Important Observational Counterparts



 A paper recently released by the Brookings Institute (click here to read the paper in full) has “added” some “value” to our thinking about the use of observations in the teacher evaluation systems of topic here, and most all educational policy circles these days.

Researchers, as situated in the federal context surrounding these systems (including more than $4 billion now released to 19 states via Race to the Top and now 43 NCLB waivers also granted), examined the observational systems, rather than the VAMs themselves, as these observational systems typically accompany the VAM components in these (oft-high-stakes) systems.

Researchers found that the observational components of these systems certainly “add” more “value” than their VAM counterparts. This is true largely because, as researchers found in their analyses, only 22% of teachers were VAM-eligible (which is significantly lower than others’ estimates that usually hang around 30%). In this case, observational systems were the only real “hard data” available for the other 78% of teachers across school sites. In addition, researchers found (although we have known this prior) that “classroom observations have the potential of providing formative feedback to teachers that [theoretically] helps them improve their practice [more than VAMs]…[because] feedback from [VAMs]…is often too delayed and vague to produce improvement in teaching.”

Researchers do note, however, that “improvements are needed” if such observational systems are to carry the weight for which they are currently being tasked, again provided the above and their findings below:

1. Observational biases also exist, as per their research, whereas teachers who are non-randomly assigned students who enter their classrooms with higher levels of prior achievement tend to get higher observational scores than teachers non-Brookings Institute Paper on VAMs and Their More Important Observational Counterparts |:

John Thompson: Corporate Reformers' "Race to the Moon" Low on Fuel - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

John Thompson: Corporate Reformers' "Race to the Moon" Low on Fuel - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

John Thompson: Corporate Reformers' "Race to the Moon" Low on Fuel

By Anthony Cody on June 5, 2014 7:23 PM

 Guest post by John Thompson. 

Most states accepted the offer they couldn't refuse and adopted laws based of the Gates Foundation's untested "teacher quality" theory.  Two recent responses to that top-down mandate are illuminating. The more literary statement was issued by economist Tom Kane, the head of the Gates Measures for Effective Teaching (MET) project. A scholarly analysis, "Instructional Alignment as a Measure of Teaching Quality," was published by Morgan Polikoff and Andrew Porter.

In contrast to Kane's eccentric diagnosis of education's shortcomings, Polikoff's and Porter's peer reviewed study is one of many social science studies that are giving a fuller picture of the many problems with the Gates' and Kane's policy gamble.

As he often does, Kane begins will a clueless metaphor. He said that previous, incremental school reforms were like "shooting a bottle rocket to the moon." Because educators have never been empowered in ways that would produce transformational change, Kane believes that he and other corporate reformers should take over and design an educational Race to the Moon. 

A better metaphor for the Kane blueprint could be borrowed from the 1950s television show, "The Honeymooners," as when Ralph Kramden proclaims, "Alice, Straight to the Moon!"  Like Jackie Gleason, the corporate response to dissent is "BANG, ZOOM!," and a punch to the kisser. Because teachers, armed with bottle rockets, did not produce the education equivalent of a Moon landing in a decade, Kane demands that high-stakes testing be used as a club to get our attention and to propel our schools into outer space.

Kane ignores the obvious flaw in his logic. When NASA planned a flight to the moon, he argues, they realized that "incremental improvements in rocket design would not provide enough lift" to get John Thompson: Corporate Reformers' "Race to the Moon" Low on Fuel - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: