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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Going Down the Rabbit Hole: The Mad World of Bill Gates and Pearson Publishing « Living Behind the Gates

Going Down the Rabbit Hole: The Mad World of Bill Gates and Pearson Publishing « Living Behind the Gates:


Going Down the Rabbit Hole: The Mad World of Bill Gates and Pearson Publishing

Mad World… getting madder every day…
“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Career + Technical Education in SPS

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Career + Technical Education in SPS:


Career + Technical Education in SPS

This is a long overdue thread but one that deserves two threads.  This first one is about what SPS is doing and their great director, Shep Siegel.  The other one will be about national CTE and new efforts to revive.

Vocational ed?  Do we all remember this from high school?  The shop teacher with the missing fingers?  The guys who took auto shop to learn to rev up their cars?  We have come a long way and luckily Mr. Siegel is creating the SPS program to have more current programing AND appeal to a wider number of students.

And why?

We all know that students should graduate ready for college or career (as well as ready to be citizens of this country).  What is the reality?  A high drop-out rate, kids who either don't want to go to college or may not be able to afford it and fewer job options for students with just a high school diploma.

Career and Technical Education gives kids options.  Gives them a reason to stay in school.  Gives them the hands-on training that many kids crave, not only in academic subjects but in training that they can see as a 

How To Fund Education In Washington State

Gregoire - new state income tax only for education
McKenna - more effective spending and slower growth on other state government spending
Inslee - improve the economy with a jobs plan and more efficient management/changes to state health-care system to save money to use for education.

Both Inslee and McKenna spoke to the WSPTA convention.  From the Times' article:

I guess McKenna got his daily talking points fax because it's the same words we've all heard hundreds of times:

"Charter schools are not a panacea, they are not a silver bullet," he said. "I just think they should be one tool in 

Got a Musical Kid who Loves Films or Video Games

Interesting story in the Times about the Seattle Film Institute's film-scoring program - something of interest to those with musically inclined students

Educator Musing: Parent Revolution's Two Petition Strategy - Confusing or Misleading?

Educator Musing: Parent Revolution's Two Petition Strategy - Confusing or Misleading?:


Parent Revolution's Two Petition Strategy - Confusing or Misleading?

     For our first strategy, and this was and remains our first choice, we knew we could achieve our goals within the district, but the district would have to formally make changes and just as important the teacher's union would have to make changes to their operations.  This model became petition #1.  And it calls for the district to give certain powers to Desert Trails Kids First and for the union to enter into an agreement with the district that waives certain provisions of the teachers' union contract like the ones that would control who taught at Desert Trails and allow time for things like professional development.  The problem was that even with the Parent Trigger Law we knew that 

 Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER


Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's
 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 


Other Astroturf lobbying groups


Just Like Michelle Rhee's
 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Big Education Ape: 5-6-12 PM Are Test Scores the Point? « Diane Ravitch EDition

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 5 news spotters today

Are Test Scores the Point? « Diane Ravitch's blog

dianeravitch.net - We have reached a point in our public life where the only way to demonstrate the success of a school is to say it has higher test scores than some other school. But we all know–or should know–that ...
DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 tomhayden.com - Peace Exchange Bulletin - The Port Huron Statement: A manifesto reconsidered: t...bit.ly/LpAOxg #edu48 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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mikeklonsky Portoluz presents a creative response to the NATO Summit/ a May Festival of Arts and Culture bit.ly/J3uBUxabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

PENCILS DOWN - End High Stake Testing

us2.campaign-archive1.com - Hello all,   Testing Season is at hand.  We’re fighting back. Our slogan for the campaign is "Pencils Down! End High Stakes Testing."  We have events on Tuesday and Friday this week. Please join us...
leoniehaimson

Slogans That Didn't Quite Make the Cut :: Frederick M. Hess

frederickhess.org - by Frederick M. Hess  •  May 4, 2012 at 8:23 amCross-posted from Education Weekhttp://www.frederickhess.org/2012/05/slogans-that-didnt-quite-make-the-cutI was tasked with emcee'ing an open mike nig...
leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - Cairo, Egypt. May 4th. John Dillon’s Pension Vocabulary Word of the Week: Misinformation. “Working as a hand puppet for the Illinois Policy Institute, ABC’s Chuck Goudie, the crack investigative re...
fklonsky

The Powers of New York

nytimes.com - By CLYDE HABERMAN Tony Cenicola/The New York Times Clockwise from top left: the officials Patricia E. Harris, Raymond W. Kelly and Merryl H. Tisch; and the newer faces Masamichi Udagawa, Sigi Moesl...
leoniehaimson

600 US Troops Occupying Honduras, Two Years After Coup

tomhayden.com - Six hundred US army troops have invaded Honduras in an escalation of the 2009 intervention, in which the State Department stood by during a military coup against Honduras’ elected president, Manuel...
coopmike48

StoriesSee all

Learning That Works - TIME

time.com - Mark Peterman / Getty Images for TIME Clyde McBride is one of those everyday saints who, without much fanfare, go about the work of changing, and sometimes saving, the lives of children. He teaches...
leoniehaimson

Children First…..Always? | Protect Portelos

protectportelos.wordpress.com - The NYC Department of Education is my employer and I do not consider that entity an enemy as many others do. I truly believe that it is a flawed entity, but feel that there is some glimmer of hope ...
leoniehaimson

PoliticsSee all

German center-right coalition poised to lose state

sfgate.com - (05-06) 09:15 PDT BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Exit polls in Germany show that voters in the country's northernmost state have likely ousted a governing center-right government made up of the same parti...
coopmike48

LeisureSee all

our MAY FESTIVAL OF PROTEST !

campaign.r20.constantcontact.com - Saturday May 19th @ the Metro   THIS LAND IS OUR LAND   a  Centennial Concert tribute to Woody Guthrie featuring:   Tom Morello; the Nightwatchman The Klezmatics Holly Near Toshi Reagon   Jon Langf...
mikeklonsky

Around the World with the Supermoon - Global

theatlanticwire.com - On Friday we reported that there's no reason to be afraid of the supermoon. It wouldn't make you crazy. It wasn't going to sink any ships. It wasn't going to signal the end of the world. If any of ...
coopmike48

CrimeSee all

Miramonte: L.A. UNIFIED IS NAMED IN NEGLIGENCE LAWSUIT

4lakidsnews.blogspot.com - Twenty former Miramonte Elementary students say they were victims of abuse and that the district did not do enough to protect students who lodged complaints. By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Time...
coopmike48

DeKalb must take an unflinching look at cronyism

blogs.ajc.com - A DeKalb grand jury reindicted former school Superintendent Crawford Lewis last week. There are new developments in the criminal case against former DeKalb school chief Crawford Lewis and construct...
coopmike48

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Louisiana Educator: More on the 10% factor

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Louisiana Educator: More on the 10% factor: More on the 10% factorby Michael DeshotelsMany of my readers are still struggling to understand exactly which teachers are expected to be rated ineffecti...
coopmike48

Dear Charlie. « Fred Klonsky

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Dear Charlie. « Fred Klonsky: Dear Charlie.by Fred KlonskySixty IEA members travel from the north suburbs of Chicago to Springfield to fight for pensions, but nobody from the IEA Communications off...
coopmike48

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