Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/7/17

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/7/17

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DeVos says school spending and student outcomes aren’t related, but recent research suggests otherwise | Chalkbeat

There’s More to Teaching Than Telling – Live Long and Prosper

Big Education Ape / by mike simpson / 17min

There’s More to Teaching Than Telling – Live Long and Prosper : There’s More to Teaching Than Telling It’s important for teachers to have content knowledge before they try to teach. Peter Greene – Curmudgucation – wrote, Expertise Yes, 

Republicans Reverse Tax Cuts in Kansas - The Atlantic

by mike simpson / 3h

Republicans Reverse Tax Cuts in Kansas - The Atlantic : The Death of Kansas's Conservative Experiment Republicans in the state legislature on Tuesday voted to reverse Governor Sam Brownback’s signature tax cuts, dealing a blow to the kind of fiscal policy the Trump administration wants to enact nationally. The nation’s most aggressive experiment in conservative economic policy is dead. Republican

Read James Comey's prepared testimony for Senate Intel

by mike simpson / 5h

Read James Comey's prepared testimony for Senate Intel : 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty' — read James Comey’s explosive statement about Donald Trump Former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday. His opening remarks were published on Wednesday. In his statement, Comey recounts a January 27 dinner with President Donald Tru

Buying Influence – Have You Heard

by mike simpson / 7h

Buying Influence – Have You Heard : Buying Influence Have You Heard Episode #19: Big Money and School Board Elections Today’s $17 million question: how did school boards become the must-have accessory for the donor who has everything? That’s the question that Jack Schneider and I put to researcher Rebecca Jacobsen, who has been studying the role of big donors in school board races across the coun

Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice

by mike simpson / 7h

Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice : Nancy Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice Video: http://on.freep.com/2rDuQ6V Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy, according to the ideology of charter school advocates, shouldn't exist. Twenty-four years ago, that was the promise of Michigan's charter school movement, helmed by Betsy DeVos, now U.S. Secretary of Education: The market can solve th

Day of the Spy Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

by mike simpson / 8h

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Day of the Spy Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all New York: NYSAPE Blasts State ESSA Plan 2 by dianeravitch / 35min New York State Allies for Public Education represents more than 50 parent and teacher organizations. It has led the Opt Out movement, in which 20% of the eligible children have refused t

Take Action to Save Afterschool: President Trump's budget eliminates funding for afterschool and summer programs

by mike simpson / 8h

Afterschool Alliance : Take Action to Save Afterschool President Trump's budget eliminates funding for afterschool and summer programs Afterschool Alliance :

Sacramento Schools Ready To Put Farm-To-Fork Into Student Lunches « CBS Sacramento

by mike simpson / 9h

Sacramento Schools Ready To Put Farm-To-Fork Into Student Lunches « CBS Sacramento : Sacramento Schools Ready To Put Farm-To-Fork Into Student Lunches SACRAMENTO — The farm-to-fork lifestyle is blooming in one Sacramento school district. Sacramento City Unified is launching its Central Kitchen Project, where food will be prepared locally and sent to schools. The project is being funded by Measure

DeVos says school spending and student outcomes aren’t related, but recent research suggests otherwise | Chalkbeat

by mike simpson / 9h

DeVos says school spending and student outcomes aren’t related, but recent research suggests otherwise | Chalkbeat : DeVos says school spending and student outcomes aren’t related, but recent research suggests otherwise M ore money is not the answer for schools, suggested U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in Senate testimony Tuesday — but a wave of new studies show that additional money for sc

Betsy DeVos is 'peripherally aware' that people don't like her - LA Times

by mike simpson / 9h

Betsy DeVos is 'peripherally aware' that people don't like her - LA Times : Betsy DeVos is 'peripherally aware' that people don't like her What exactly would a federal school voucher program look like, and would it fund schools that discriminate against students based on their gender, religion, race or sexual orientation? That question was a major flash point — once again — on Tuesday as senators

Russ on Reading: On Teaching Well: Five Lessons from Long Experience

by mike simpson / 10h

Russ on Reading: On Teaching Well: Five Lessons from Long Experience : On Teaching Well: Five Lessons from Long Experience Today I turned 70 years old. I have no idea how this happened. I was going along, struggling to do the best I could and then suddenly I woke up and this old guy was staring back at me from the mirror. Turning 70, though, has its advantages. One of those advantages comes from

After Acrimonious Standoff, One State Legislature Rejects DeVos-ALEC School Privatization Scheme | janresseger

by mike simpson / 10h

After Acrimonious Standoff, One State Legislature Rejects DeVos-ALEC School Privatization Scheme | janresseger : After Acrimonious Standoff, One State Legislature Rejects DeVos-ALEC School Privatization Scheme Unless you are a parent or a taxpayer in Nevada, you will probably conclude that this blog post doesn’t relate to you. But the defeat of Nevada’s ALEC -driven plan for Education Savings Acc

Stability and Change in a Four Decade Career in Teaching (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by mike simpson / 10h

Stability and Change in a Four Decade Career in Teaching (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Stability and Change in a Four Decade Career in Teaching (Part 2) In 1963, I and my family moved to Washington, D.C. where I taught history at Cardozo High School and also trained returned Peace Corps volunteers to teach in urban settings. Called a “master teacher,” I taught t

Belittling Parents and Ignoring Evidence Won't Work | Truth in American Education

by mike simpson / 10h

Belittling Parents and Ignoring Evidence Won't Work | Truth in American Education : Belittling Parents and Ignoring Evidence Won't Work The Collaborative for Student Success (CSS) recently posted a particularly snarky piece blasting the moms who have been fighting back against the miseducation to which their children are being subjected under Common Core (CC). CSS is a propaganda outfit created b

Indiana Ed Reform Ghostwriter Al Hubbard Will Not Join DeVos as US Deputy Ed Sec | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 10h

Indiana Ed Reform Ghostwriter Al Hubbard Will Not Join DeVos as US Deputy Ed Sec | deutsch29 : Indiana Ed Reform Ghostwriter Al Hubbard Will Not Join DeVos as US Deputy Ed Sec US Ed sec Betsy DeVos had been vetting Indiana businessman Al Hubbard for the position of US deputy secretary of education. However, even though Hubbard avidly supports DeVos and her voucher-centric ed agenda, he has decide

NPE issues a position statement on charter schools - Network For Public Education

by mike simpson / 10h

NPE issues a position statement on charter schools - Network For Public Education : NPE issues a position statement on charter schools Diane Ravitch did far more than criticize the Democrats in her recently published article entitled Don’t Like Betsy DeVos? Blame the Democrats . She reminded us that privatization did not begin with vouchers and Betsy DeVos. Charter schools, supported by both part

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/6/17

by mike simpson / 1d

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/6/17 Featured Post Betsy DeVos Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee About Education Department's Budget |TIME - YouTube Schooling and Immigration; Education Budget: on the next 

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  Change and Stability in A Four Decade Career in Teaching (Part 1) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

There’s More to Teaching Than Telling – Live Long and Prosper

There’s More to Teaching Than Telling – Live Long and Prosper:

There’s More to Teaching Than Telling

It’s important for teachers to have content knowledge before they try to teach. Peter Greene – Curmudgucation – wrote,

Expertise

Yes, teaching is both a skill and an art and to do a good job, you have to know the skill and the art of teaching. But just as you can’t have waves without water or air, you cannot have “teaching skills” without content knowledge– and all the teaching skills in the world will not make up for lacking knowledge. You cannot make an awesome lesson about adding two plus two if you do not know that the result is four. You cannot lead your students through an illuminating and inspiring study of Hamlet if you have never read the play yourself.

This is true, absolutely.

It’s also true for teachers of young children. Early childhood educators and elementary teachers need to understand the reading, math, social studies, and There’s More to Teaching Than Telling – Live Long and Prosper:

Republicans Reverse Tax Cuts in Kansas - The Atlantic

Republicans Reverse Tax Cuts in Kansas - The Atlantic:

The Death of Kansas's Conservative Experiment

Republicans in the state legislature on Tuesday voted to reverse Governor Sam Brownback’s signature tax cuts, dealing a blow to the kind of fiscal policy the Trump administration wants to enact nationally.

The nation’s most aggressive experiment in conservative economic policy is dead.

Republican majorities in the Kansas legislature on Tuesday night voted to reverse the deep tax cuts engineered by Governor Sam Brownback five years ago, blaming them for blowing a hole in the state’s budget that threatened the viability of its schools and infrastructure. Brownback, a conservative first elected in 2010 on a platform of phasing out Kansas’s income tax entirely, stood by his vision even in spite of an electoral backlash last year. But a coalition of Democrats and newly-elected Republicans overrode his veto of legislation to raise $1.2 billion in revenue by hiking personal income taxes and repealing a widely-criticized exemption for small-business owners. Tax rates will now go up to levels near where they were before Brownback took office.

The stark shift in policy was months, if not years, in the making. Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled House and Senate came within a few votes of undoing the tax cuts in February as lawmakers searched for revenue to plug a nearly $900 million two-year budget gap and meet a court order demanding more funding for education.

RELATED STORY

Kansas Republicans Sour on Their Tax-Cut Experiment

For Brownback, a former senator and one-time presidential hopeful, the vote was nothing less than a humiliation. He had hailed his tax cuts as “a real live experiment” in conservative governance and offered them up as a model for other states and the Trump administration. Instead, they left him as the most unpopular governor in the country, who was reportedly casting about for a federal posting that would allow him to escape Topeka before the legislature could eviscerate his legacy. “The Brownback experiment didn’t work. We saw that loud and clear,” said Heidi Holliday, executive director of the Kansas Center for Economic Growth.

The move will reverberate in Washington, where the Trump administration is Republicans Reverse Tax Cuts in Kansas - The Atlantic:

Read James Comey's prepared testimony for Senate Intel

Read James Comey's prepared testimony for Senate Intel:

'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty' — read James Comey’s explosive statement about Donald Trump

Former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday.

His opening remarks were published on Wednesday.

In his statement, Comey recounts a January 27 dinner with President Donald Trump, who said "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty."

Comey said, "I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence."

While the conversation moved on, Comey said that Trump returned to the topic later in the evening. The FBI director said he tried to explain the importance of the Department of Justice's independence from the White House.

"Throughout history, some Presidents have decided that because 'problems' come from Justice, they should try to hold the Department close. But blurring those boundaries ultimately makes the problems worse by undermining public trust in the institutions and their work," Comey said in his prepared remarks.

Last month, Trump terminated Comey. The president said in a letter addressed to the fired FBI director, "It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission."

Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that he had picked Christopher A. Wray to succeed Comey as FBI director.

Read Comey's full statement below:

James Comey's testimony as prepared for delivery by CNBC.com on Scribd

This is breaking news. Please check back for updatesRead James Comey's prepared testimony for Senate Intel:

Buying Influence – Have You Heard

Buying Influence – Have You Heard:

Buying Influence

Have You Heard Episode #19: Big Money and School Board Elections

Today’s $17 million question: how did school boards become the must-have accessory for the donor who has everything? That’s the question that Jack Schneider and I put to researcher Rebecca Jacobsen, who has been studying the role of big donors in school board races across the country. Jacobsen walks us through the emergence of a certifiable trend: big money influencers *nationalizing* school board elections in an effort to force through a familiar bundle of education reforms, often crowding out local priorities and candidates. You’ll recognize plenty of familiar names on the donor list—and they certainly recognize one another. As Jacobsen and her colleagues demonstrate in this handy image of their findings, these big spenders are a tight knit club. It’s Have You Heard #19! Full transcript below. 

Jennifer:	Welcome to another edition of Have You Heard. I’m Jennifer Berkshire.
Jack:	And I’m Jack Schneider.
Jennifer:	And Jack, I’m going to assume that when listeners hear the topic of today’s episode, school boards …
Jack:	They’re going to fall asleep.
Jennifer:	They are, people thinkBuying Influence – Have You Heard:

Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice

Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice:

Nancy Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice

Video: http://on.freep.com/2rDuQ6V

Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy, according to the ideology of charter school advocates, shouldn't exist.

Twenty-four years ago, that was the promise of Michigan's charter school movement, helmed by Betsy DeVos, now U.S. Secretary of Education: The market can solve the deficiencies of the public school system; the competition provided by charter schools will force struggling or failing traditional public schools to improve or shut down. 

So perhaps DeVos, whose plans to expand school choice even further, can explain Paul Robeson Malcolm X. Academy. 

The Detroit elementary school, subject of a Chalkbeat Detroit article published Tuesday, recounts significant troubles: Because Detroit is experiencing a 100-plus teacher shortage, with another 260 vacancies filled permanently by substitute teachers, a staff absence means no subs are available. So classes double up — on the day in question, teacher Rynell Sturkey's class comprised 37 first-graders crammed so tightly into a classroom that Sturkey could barely move around the room. It happens, Sturkey told Chalkbeat, three or four times a month. 

More from Nancy Kaffer: 

New Detroit ed chief puts schools first

How Michigan is failing our teachers

At storytime, Sturkey had to lean against the wall, warning the kids they wouldn't all be able to see the pictures. Kids don't get time in the school's computer lab, necessary to learn how to use the machines they'll take standardized tests on — the high-stakes assessments that determine whether their school will remain open — and the math Kaffer: The broken promises of school choice: