Activist Zack Kopplin is making life hell for Louisiana’s creationists | toteachornototeach

Activist Zack Kopplin is making life hell for Louisiana’s creationists | toteachornototeach:

Activist Zack Kopplin is making life hell for Louisiana’s creationists

by aristotlethewise

How 19-year-old activist Zack Kopplin
is making life hell for Louisiana’s creationists

by George Dvorsky
For Zack Kopplin, it all started back in 2008 with the passing of the Louisiana Science Education Act. The bill made it considerably easier for teachers to introduce creationist textbooks into the classroom. Outraged, he wrote a research paper about it for a high school English class. Nearly five years later, the 19-year-old Kopplin has become one of the fiercest — and most feared — advocates for education reform in Louisiana. We recently spoke to him to learn more about how he’s making a difference.
Kopplin, who is studying history at Rice University, had good reason to be upset after the passing of the LSEA — an insidious piece of legislation that allows teachers to bring in their own supplemental materials when discussing politically controversial topics like evolution or climate change. Soon after the act was passed, some 

Judges Require Kansas to Provide Adequate School Funding « InterACT

Judges Require Kansas to Provide Adequate School Funding « InterACT:

Judges Require Kansas to Provide Adequate School Funding

by David B. Cohen

I know, we’re not in Kansas (most of us), but since I’ve written in the past about legal battles over adequate school funding, I just wanted to add this latest chapter in the larger story.  On January 11, Brad Cooper of theKansas City Star reported:

A panel of state judges ruled Friday that funding of Kansas schools doesn’t pass constitutional muster, suggesting a price tag that could approach $500 million more for the state.

Three judges found that since 2009, the Legislature — in concert with Kansas Govs. Mark Parkinson and Sam Brownback — cut school spending in violation of the constitution.

In their 250-page opinion, the Shawnee County District Court judges called the education cuts “an obvious and continuing pattern of disregard of constitutional funding.”

Parents and school districts had argued the state hasn’t lived up to its promises to increase school funding under a 2005 order by the Kansas Supreme Court. The result, they argued, damaged student achievement.

Chad Sansing comes clean about positive test scores « Cooperative Catalyst

Chad Sansing comes clean about positive test scores « Cooperative Catalyst:

Chad Sansing comes clean about positive test scores

by Chad Sansing

All sizes by giulia.forsythe

Interviewer: Did you ever use worksheets to enhance your students’ test performance?
Chad Sansing: Yes.
I: Was one of those worksheets a word search?
CS: Yes.
I: Did you ever teach to the test or use released items to enhance your students’ test performance?

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 16 and 17: Heaven, and the start of Spring…

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 16 and 17: Heaven, and the start of Spring…:

Week 16 and 17: Heaven, and the start of Spring…

by alicemercer

That first week back from vacation I, and my class, were on fire. They seem to look forward to the topics we’re covering (a language arts unit on taking a stand for what’s right, ecosystems in science, and Ancient Africa and India in social studies). They were chatty, but much of it was on topic. It was one of the most productive weeks of learning we’ve had.
This week was not bad, but it wasn’t as good, and the kids are clearly getting ready for Spring. For those who have not taught or seen sixth graders in elementary school, Spring is a special time in the classroom. It’s full of wisdom and insights that you just can’t get with the younger kids. It’s also full of the impulsivity, noise, smell, and general drama that are typical of children turning 12 years old. In addition, as at many schools, we have a week-long (actually 4 days in February) class field trip, and the promotion ceremony to look forward to. I’m seeing new grey hairs emerge daily. In addition, my experiences at home with my 14 year old starting high 

An Urban Teacher's Education: Life Lessons: 2012 (Whoops, I Forgot Some Things!)

An Urban Teacher's Education: Life Lessons: 2012 (Whoops, I Forgot Some Things!):

Life Lessons: 2012 (Whoops, I Forgot Some Things!)

by James Boutin

I was reflecting on my last post, I realized there were a few more things that really changed my thinking last year.

4) You want to teach somebody something? Better be sure you've got the cred to do it. 

I was watching The Interrupters sometime last spring, a documentary about people interrupting violence in Chicago. And there's this part about three quarters of the way through when Ameena (one of the interrupters - you have to see it) connects with this young woman who you can tell hates herself on the inside. She's angry and confused and frustrated and doesn't know how to move forward in life. But she's still listening to Ameena. She's connecting. Ammena's been through what she's going through. Ameena reminds her of herself.

And I thought back to one of my first years teaching - about a student I had in class just like the one Ameena worked with in the documentary. This girl was also angry and hurt by the world, but she didn't listen to me the 

Fostering A Gap Between What We Know and What We Do | Connected Principals

Fostering A Gap Between What We Know and What We Do | Connected Principals:

Fostering A Gap Between What We Know and What We Do

by sblankenship

As we already know, a gap exists between what we know and what we do.  Successful educators work to narrow this gap between new ideas and implementation.  However, I believe the size of this gap does not necessarily indicate one’s success.  Some educators are terrific at executing what all they know how.   The problem is, their pedagogy is out-of-date, irrelevant, and this gap has been stagnant for many years.  On the other hand, there are educators who engage in twitter, who subscribe to RSS readers such as Google Reader and Bloglines, who create personalized online magazines through tools such as Zite and Flipborad, and who curate content through platforms such as Scoop.it and Paper.li.  These educators have an enormous amount of growing knowledge.
As leaders, which educator do you desire for your building?  The answer is easy but fostering such a gap takes intentional purpose on the part of the leader.
Fostering Knowledge

• Recognize what your teacher wants to learn, as well as, what they need to learn.  Then, spark their 

Charter Schools: When you don’t succeed, change the rules - Wait, What?

Charter Schools: When you don’t succeed, change the rules - Wait, What?:

Charter Schools: When you don’t succeed, change the rules

by jonpelto

Last September, former Governor Jeb Bush, chairman of the education reform group, Foundation for Excellence in Education, came to General Electric’s corporate headquarters in Fairfield to “share the Florida education reform story and give support to education reformers in the Constitution State.”

Other speakers included Tom Foley, former and future gubernatorial candidate and founder of the Connecticut Policy Institute and Patrick Riccards, the now former CEO of ConnCAN.

Pushing his education reform agenda, Bush called for ending teacher tenure, implementing teacher evaluations and compensation based on standardized test scores 

Sacramento CA - Broadsided?

Sacramento CA - Broadsided?

SACRAMENTO BROADSIDE CHECKLIST 

A reader offered this comment in response to the post about school closings in Sacramento:

A “Broad” superintendent who follows its “play-list” to “capture” the school board and privatize the district as much as possible:

– Convinced the board of education to turn all the power over to the superintendent.

– Keeps secret all the contracts and consultants hired by the superintendent. In fact, it’s been said that the latest consultant working with the superintendent was the principal of Kevin Johnson’s St. Hope H.S. None of this information can be found on the district’s web site. Even the organization chart with unfilled positions is dated July 2012.

– Consistently and knowingly breaches the contract to keep the union busy with grievances and court procedures.

– Whittles away at teacher tenure by creating a class of teachers in the district’s “priority schools” whose jobs are protected from last hired, first fired. (Yes, the union is
grieving this.)

– Increases class size to 30+ in all grades except those in “priority” schools.

– In “failing” schools the district insists on split grades rather than keeping class sizes
low.

– Forces remedial programs (more test prep on top of test prep) onto “failing” schools
without any input from the teachers and wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars on
consultants and test prep companies.

- Closes the neighborhood schools under the pretext that there are too few students in
the school. But in fact, it’s because they are “failing” (read: poverty and neglect.)

– “Allows” a private charter school to locate in the former “neighborhood ” school.

– Parents who want and need a neighborhood school drop out of the public school and send their kids to the charter.

– Pink slips for union teachers.

Diane in the Evening 1-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

FILE UNDER “YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP”

IS THIS THE BROAD ACADEMY PLAYLIST?

 

by dianerav

A reader offered this comment in response to the post about school closings in Sacramento:
A “Broad” superintendent who follows its “play-list” to “capture” the school board and privatize the district as much as possible:
– Convinced the board of education to turn all the power over to the superintendent.
– Keeps secret all the contracts and consultants hired by the superintendent. In fact, it’s been said that the 

Mike Rose on Cognition! « Deborah Meier on Education

Mike Rose on Cognition! « Deborah Meier on Education:

Mike Rose on Cognition!

by debmeier

Before I forget. Once again Mike Rose opens my eyes and clears my mind of the nonsense that accumulates when I’m not looking!
“Giving Cognition a Bad Name”, Education Week, January 16, 2013–back cover!
he false distinction between “affect” and “cognitive”–”character” vs “academics” and on and on is more than foolish. It’s dangerous. Above all to those we’ve too long cheated in our schools under the name of “care” and “love” and “the whole child.” Strong character–feistiness, grit, or whatever the latest fad word may be–is not mindless. And if it is, mindless grit is not a virtue.
Children come out of the womb with minds – and they are working hard every day filling that mind with thoughts, 

Daily Kos: Hate Comes to Arlington

Daily Kos: Hate Comes to Arlington:

Hate Comes to Arlington

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I live in the Waycroft-Woodlawn neighborhood of Arlington VA.  My house is on N. 16th St, 2 blocks west of Glebe Road.  On the Southeast corner of the intersection of Glebe and N. 16th St. is the Mount Olivet United Methodist Church.  The Church has been on that site since before the Civil War, as you can read in its history.  It sponsors AA meetings, provides food for the needy, its Boy Scout troop sells Christmas trees.  I have served on the Board of our local community center, and in general they have been cooperative, with no more than the normal rough edges between a church many of whose members are from outside our community and the immediate neighborhood.
We cannot blame them for what happened this morning.
Today hate came to Arlington.
Today the Church was picketed - by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka KS.
Yes those people.
The ones whose website reads http://www.godhatesfags.com/
Please keep reading.

Diane in the Evening 1-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

File Under “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”

What is Behind the Cost of School Busing in NYC?

by dianerav

Juan Gonzalez says that Mayor Bloomberg wants to drive down the cost of bus drivers’ salaries, but they are not the reason that the city spends more than $1 billion on school buses. Bus drivers are paid about $40,000 a year.
Read his analysis here.

How Do You Answer This Teacher’s Question?

by dianerav

I am a strong supporter of the public schools and opposed to the “reform” movement attempting to privatize education. I didn’t find your article divisive. But, I do have a question that keeps coming up for me about some of the reasons why charters gain traction.
Charters benefit from the real and perceived impact of heterogeneous grouping upon the achievement of more prepared students. Similarly, they score points because public schools are less able to address and remove disruptive children. For these reasons, a diverse district with students from all socio-economic backgrounds is at risk for charter take over.
We complain that charters are skimming the top, we have to take all comers and we can’t cherrypick; we can’t 

Is This the Broad Academy Playlist?

by dianerav

A reader offered this comment in response to the post about school closings in Sacramento:
A “Broad” superintendent who follows its “play-list” to “capture” the school board and privatize the district as much as possible:
– Convinced the board of education to turn all the power over to the superintendent.
– Keeps secret all the contracts and consultants hired by the superintendent. In fact, it’s been said that the 

File Under “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”

by dianerav

A security guard at a charter school in Michigan left his gun in a student bathroom.
He forgot it.
Fortunately, the weapon was unloaded.
What kind of security does he provide with an unloaded weapon?
What would he do if an intruder had an assault weapon?
A new thought experiment among teachers and principals: Which staff member do you NOT want to see armed?

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] NYC: Better Than Buffalo? by dianerav Jersey Jazzman continues his series of posts in which he closely examines the record of Joel Klein’s tenure as chancellor. One of the claims of that era was: “Look at our scores. We are better than the upstate cities.” Oregon Accuses Online Charter Founders of $20 million Scam by dianerav The state of Oregon accuses two en of scamming the taxpayers by inflating enrollment figures in their online charter schools. The schools–at least ten of them–were opened in conjunc... more »

Grumpy Educators: National Movement Hits a Nerve in the Reformer Camp

Grumpy Educators: National Movement Hits a Nerve in the Reformer Camp:

National Movement Hits a Nerve in the Reformer Camp

by Sandra

Certainly a sign that media mogul, owner of the NY Post, and education reform entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch and cronies are noticing the national movement by parents, community members and taxpayers against excessive, experimental, and expensive standardized testing. Groups all over the nation are organized, state legislatures are revisiting decisions on standards, testing, and database development. Washington State teachers are refusing to implement the tests.

What is the sign? Yellow journalism or presenting manufactured sensationalized new reporting and a personal attacks - classic and consistent with the NY Post reputation. Why else would yellow journalists Susan Edelman and Candice Giove fail to report on standardized testing itself and the national opposition rather than choose to launch a personal attack on ONE long time critic of excessive national testing? The national opposition is large, but then real 

Teaching is a Dead-End Job: Part II | Mr. Teachbad

Teaching is a Dead-End Job: Part II | Mr. Teachbad:

Teaching is a Dead-End Job: Part II

by teachbad

If you are com­mit­ted to leav­ing teach­ing, there are ways out. There are other leaky boats wait­ing for you at the dock. You can try to get a dif­fer­ent job, in or out of edu­ca­tion. It stands to rea­son that some­thing within the broader field of edu­ca­tion would offer bet­ter prospects for the aspir­ing ex-teacher.

But being a teacher doesn’t auto­mat­i­cally make you an attrac­tive can­di­date for any ol’ job in edu­ca­tion. It is impor­tant to remem­ber that remain­ing in edu­ca­tion as a prin­ci­pal, cur­ricu­lum writer, trainer, non-profit pro­gram man­ager, or dis­trict bureau­crat is a change of career. It is not a lat­eral move and it won’t nec­es­sar­ily be a move up. You will be exit­ing one career in order to enter another that hap­pens to be in the same field. Work­ing at a gas sta­tion does not qual­ify you to work on an oil rig. You may well have to go back to school, take a pay cut or start at a lower level than you had expected. And that’s if you are lucky. After all, how many ESL Pro­gram Coor­di­na­tors and Assis­tant Direc­tors for Social Stud­ies Cur­ricu­lum Devel­op­ment do you think they need 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Schmitz Park Joins the Chorus of Teacher Voices

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Schmitz Park Joins the Chorus of Teacher Voices:

Schmitz Park Joins the Chorus of Teacher Voices

by Melissa Westbrook

From the West Seattle Blog:

Dear Superintendent Banda,
The staff of Schmitz Park, by a unanimous vote, joins in its support of Garfield High and all other schools and individuals around the district that boycott the MAP test. We agree with Garfield’s position about the harmful, ineffective, and wasteful nature of the MAP test and its deleterious impact on instructional time and consequently student achievement. We join SEA in asking you to not discipline our colleagues for standing up and speaking the truth.

We also agree with the Sanislo Elementary letter of support, which points out a deep concern around MAP. Apparently, district officials told Garfield staff the test was “not valid” because the margin of error can exceed the expected growth score. Given this information, it seems 

Jersey Jazzman: Joel Klein: As Excellent As He Says He Is? Part V

Jersey Jazzman: Joel Klein: As Excellent As He Says He Is? Part V:

Joel Klein: As Excellent As He Says He Is? Part V

by Duke

Joel Klein is one of America's foremost proponents of corporate education "reform." He asserts that public education is in such a crisis that it constitutes a national security threat - a threat that can be dealt with by buying technology from the firm he runs for Rupert Murdoch, Amplify. He also believes that the "reforms" he and Mayor Michael Bloomberg instituted in New York City - including mayoral control, school closings, charter expansion, and test-based teacher evaluations - should be replicated across the country, based on what he terms the "compelling" improvements made under his tenure.

But does the record support his claims? What is the legacy of Joel Klein in New York City? I'm looking at the evidence to see if the facts support Klein's boasts. Here's the series so far:

Part I: Joel Klein has no problem twisting the facts to suit his ends. Has he done the same thing when crowing about his "success" in New York?

Part II: When you break down national test scores by student subgroups, Klein's "success" in New York isn't very impressive; in fact, it's downright disappointing.

Part III: A look at national test scores as a whole, comparing New York to other cities during Klein's reign. The results? Meh.

Part IV: Klein compares test score gains in NYC to the other cities in New York State. But he forgets to mention that child poverty has soared in Upstate while remaining relatively flat in NYC.

Once again, here is Joel Klein's claim about the "success" of his tenure running New York City's schools, as 

UPDATE: Schmitz Park Elementary School in Seattle joins + Garfield High School teacher Heather Snookal and Sue Peters with Parents Across America on Chalk Talk Radio today | Seattle Education

Garfield High School teacher Heather Snookal and Sue Peters with Parents Across America on Chalk Talk Radio today | Seattle Education:

Schmitz Park Elementary School in Seattle joins in support of Garfield High School teachers.

by seattleducation2011

This is the third school to join in support of Garfield High School teachers.

To follow is the letter from the teachers at Schmitz Elementary School:

Dear Superintendent Banda,

The staff of Schmitz Park, by a unanimous vote, joins in its support of Garfield High and all other schools and individuals around the district that boycott the MAP test. We agree with Garfield’s position about the harmful, ineffective, and wasteful nature of the MAP test and its deleterious impact on instructional time and consequently student achievement. We join SEA in asking you to not 

Garfield High School teacher Heather Snookal and Sue Peters with Parents Across America on Chalk Talk Radio today

by seattleducation2011

Sue Peters, Founding Member of Parents Across America and co-editor of this blog will be speaking with Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson on Chalk Talk Radio today at 3:00 PM PST, 6:00 PM EST,  about the Garfield MAP opt out.

Garfield High School teacher Heather Snookal will join Shaun and Tim for the second half of the show to get a teacher’s perspective of the testing boycott.

You can tune in at Chalk Talk Radio.

Dora

Martin Luther King: ‘Intelligence is not enough’:

Martin Luther King: ‘Intelligence is not enough’

Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 20, 2013 at 12:15 pm

•   Text Size
• Print
• Reprints

President Obama and family at the 2011 dedication of King Memorial on the National Mall in October 2011. (Getty Images)

Martin Luther King Jr., was prescient on a lot of things, including education. Here are some things he wrote decades ago that sound contemporary.

–
Here’s an excerpt from “The Purpose of Education,” a piece he wrote in the February 1947 edition of the Morehouse College student newspaper, the Maroon Tiger:

…As I engage in the so-called “bull sessions” around and about the school, I too often find that most college men have a misconception of the purpose of education. Most of the “brethren” think that education should equip them with the proper instruments of exploitation so that they can forever trample over the masses. Still others think that education should furnish them with noble ends rather than means to an end.

It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and the other is culture. Education must enable a man to