College-Ready? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

College-Ready? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

College-Ready?

By Nancy Flanagan on April 28, 2014 4:39 PM

What does it mean to be "ready" for college? 

What is the package of skills and core knowledge that makes your average 18-year old equipped to handle higher education? How many of those are talents, abilities and information that teenagers typically acquire--via practice and application--in their high school classes? Does maturity play a part in making someone ready for college? 

Recently there's been a spate of articles on how unsuspecting students are wasting their money by a) going to the wrong college and b) pursuing the wrong major. Why are these colleges and disciplines "wrong?" Because the return on investment, based on reported annual income of graduates of these programs, is less (sometimes a lot less) than the earnings of graduates of other, presumably better, institutions and fields of study.

Debunking these so-called studies is akin to plugging a King salmon in a tiny barrel. Cedar Reiner has done so, deftly and comprehensively, here and here.  Besides, anyone who ever pursued a degree in, say, theology or philosophy, out of a deep-seated desire to experience rich, personally meaningful learning could easily explain why ROI isn't always (or even usually) measured in annual salary. 

There are plenty of important, life-changing career directions-- teaching --where the big bucks are neither expected nor an issue, over the long term. And thank goodness for that. Thank goodness for all those in social-helper careers who got post-secondary degrees or vocational training, then took up the important work of making life comfortable, safe and rewarding for others, rather than playing College-Ready? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

solidaridad: A helpful meme for supporting bilingualism and SB 1174

solidaridad: A helpful meme for supporting bilingualism and SB 1174:

Schools Matter: I met reactionary Fernando Espuelas' challenge, now will he demand the same of Gates, Zuckerberg, and Dell?

First published April 26, 2014 on Schools Matter "Another issue involves concerns that charter schools may be screening students by requiring parents to provide information related to special education eligibility and services on the lottery application. Over the past two years, a review of applications has found a considerable number of schools requiring such information despite efforts by

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 32min hide  //  save

@ THE CHALK FACE: Humanities and LSAT reflect Critical Thinking versus Core Knowledge debate

First published April 28, 2014 on @ THE CHALK FACE "In short, the real literacy crisis occurs whenever we deploy a pedagogy that asks our students only to consume texts and not to produce them as well." — Richard E. Miller The ABA Journal recently posted a piece entitled "Students with these college majors had the highest LSAT scores" that discusses the findings of Pepperdine

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 38min 

A helpful meme for supporting bilingualism and SB 1174

The Bilingual Brain http://t.co/7ojIUrvWEp … #LAUSD h/t @ThePsych2go pic.twitter.com/l3PZBdk8vE— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) April 28, 2014

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 1h 

Professional Loss and Grief in Teachers (a survey)

I [Jacqueline Owen] am working on a doctoral research project inspired by Diane Ravitch’s book, Death and Life of the Great American School System (2011). If the public school system–as many of us knew it, at least–is dead or near death, it would stand to reason that public school teachers who remember the system as it was prior to No Child Left Behind (2002) have experienced loss and grief. If yo

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 1h 

Teachers: Who, today, is buying the power to starve you? | Reclaim Reform

Teachers: Who, today, is buying the power to starve you? | Reclaim Reform:

Teachers: Who, today, is buying the power to starve you?

Posted on April 28, 2014by Ken Previti

As you read this, money and power are meeting with judges in Charleston, SC to shape written judicial decisions to cut constitutionally and contractually protected teacher pensions. Active and retired public employees across America are having their fates decided by the judges attending this “expenses paid” symposium. The same billionaires who created ALEC forty years ago to write America’s state and federal legislation are creating a judicial influence group we might call AJEC, the American Judicial Exchange Council.

Does the term “buy” seem too harsh to use when saying that the billionaires who fund AJEC buy judges? Well, the term “buy” seemed too harsh for all of these years when ALEC bought legislation and legislators (via campaign donations, PACs, Super PACs, etc.) – or “political influence” as it was more politely called.

It will not take forty years for AJEC to enrich billionaires by redistributing middle class wages and savings to these same billionaires and their families; ALEC taught them all they need to know. (The Koch Brothers alone profited by $18 billion dollars last year alone thanks to low/no tax legislation, the advance of the Keystone Pipeline, fracking deregulation laws, etc.)

This is not a conspiracy or plot; conspiracies and plots are secret behaviors. This is raw power doing its damage openly while the media empires they own give the meeting token coverage. Read the Huffington Post HERE.

Where is the Judicial Symposium on the Economics and Law of Public Pension Reform being held? In the luxurious Colonial Ballroom of the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. April 27-29, 2014.

Read the actual agenda from the symposium organizers HERE.Teachers: Who, today, is buying the power to starve you? | Reclaim Reform:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: LIFE IN THE 'POST-RACIAL' ERA

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: LIFE IN THE 'POST-RACIAL' ERA:

LIFE IN THE 'POST-RACIAL' ERA

A SMALLTALK SALUTE goes out to NBA Players Assoc. Pres. Chris Paul and the rest of the L.A. Clippers players who hung together in protest against the racism spewed by club ownerDonald Sterling. Even though they were beaten by Golden State last night, they acted with dignity and grace. Though their protest was silent, nobody could mistake the clarity and forcefulness of their message.

STERLING -- "Don't bring them to my games."  EMANUEL -- "Don't bring them to my selective enrollment schools."  WHAT'S THE DIFF? Somebody tell me please.

From the Sun-Times:

The increase in the number of white students fulfills the predictions of education observers that minority students would be edged out of slots at the city’s top schools as a result of a 2009 ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras lifting a 1980 consent decree that had required Chicago’s schools to be desegregated, with no school being more than 35 percent white. -- "White students getting more spots at top CPS high schools"

Kocoras' 2009 decision came only a long, intense campaign to have the consent decree vacated, led by Arne Duncan, his successor Ron Huberman and Mayor Daley, who saw the deseg struggle as futile and as a drain on district funds.

I'll say one thing about Duncan. He's consistent. He's against "forced integration." Although he Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: LIFE IN THE 'POST-RACIAL' ERA:

National Week of Action May 13-17 | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

National Week of Action May 13-17 | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

National Week of Action May 13-17

Posted on: Monday April 28th, 2014

Fulfilling the Promise of Brown v. Board:Organizing for Educational Justice for All – May 13-17, 2014

To mark the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, parents, students, educators, and community members are organizing actions across the country to continue the struggle for racial and educational justice and win the public schools all our children deserve.

Join the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools for a National Week of Action May 13-17. Help us reclaim the promise of public education as our nation's gateway to a strong democracy and racial and economic justice for all.

The future of public education stands at a critical crossroads. Now, more than ever, access to good public schools is a critical civil and human right. The answer to delivering on the promise of equal opportunity lies in strengthening, not dismantling or privatizing, public education. The Alliance unites parents, students, educators, community organizations, and labor unions fighting for educational justice and equity in access to school resources and opportunities.

Read and sign on to the Alliance platform, "The Schools All Our Children Deserve: The Principles That Unite Us," and view our demands.

Download (and share!) the event flyers and information here. Andclick here to find May 17th events in your community.

If your organization would like to endorse the Week of Action, please let us know!

National Week of Action May 13-17 | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

APR 25

"Gag Order" Bars Educators From Talking About Standardized Tests

A "gag order" in New York's contract with test-making giant Pearson bars teachers from talking publicly about mistakes they find on state tests. The American Federation of Teachers has launched a petition asking Pearson to remove the gag order from current and future contracts. Sign on! Teachers in New York recently administered new Common Core-aligned standardized tests, bu

by jocelyn / 2d 

APR 23

Newark Clergy Call for Moratorium on Education "Reforms"

Dozens of Newark clergy members submitted a powerful letter to NJ Gov. Chris Christie calling for a moratorium on the proposed reforms and for meaningful community input moving forward. Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters read more

1 by jocelyn / 5d 

Partnerships, NOT Pushouts: New Policy Guide for School Boards

A new policy guide released today details how school board members can lead the way in securing a high quality education for each and every student in their district. Partnerships, NOT Pushouts New "Whole-Child" Policy Guide for School Board Members read more

63 by jocelyn / 5d 

Revival From the Roots: A Tour of Philly's Neighborhood Schools

Publication Date:  Thu, 2014-04-17 The first video in a three-part series, "Revival From the Roots: A Tour of Philly's Neighborhood Schools" follows Jerry Jordan, President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and Hellen Gym, parent and education advocate, as they hear firsthand from students, parents and teachers fighting to turn around public education from the bottom

by jocelyn / 5d 

Huge Drop in Suspensions and Expulsions in Colorado

After years of organizing work, advocates in Colorado won statewide school discipline reform in 2012. Padres & Jovenes Unidos, the leading voice behind the new law, has released a report card detailing the law's success during its first year.  The parents of Padres & Jovenes Unidos have been a leading force in the school discipline reform movement in Colorado. read more

by jocelyn / 5d 

600 Philly Students "Missing" After Mass School Closures

Philadelphia student group Youth United for Change has launched a campaign to identify some 600 students who "went missing" in the wake of the city's mass school closures last year. Photo via Philly.com read more

by jocelyn / 5d 

What Are Community Schools?

At the Community Schools National Forum in Cincinnati last week, top educators from the US and abroad learned about a powerful new model for supporting all students and improving our nation's schools. Check out pictures and video from the event! The key to ensuring access to educational opportunity for each and every child is to build a strong public school at the heart of every commu

by jocelyn / 5d 

Webinar Series: So You Want Fair School Funding...

How do we fund schools fairly and equitably for all children? And how can advocates and organizers lead the way? Join us for two upcoming webinars on April 22 and May 7! Webinar Series: So You Want Fair School Funding... But Where Does the Money Come From? How YOU can lead the fight to invest more in our public schools read more

78 by jocelyn / 5d 

A Snapshot of the Nation's Education Inequities

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights released data from all of the nation's 97,000 public schools, offering the most complete snapshot of educational opportunity in America and shining a light on the deep inequities in access to resources like pre-k, college counselors, advanced courses and experienced teachers.  That disparities exist in access to educational res

by jocelyn / 5d 

NY State Budget Is a Mix of Victories and Setbacks

This year's budget battle in New York State produced a mix of victories and setbacks for public education advocates. The Alliance for Quality Education published a fact sheet to explain how the funding increases, pre-k expansion and charter school supports will impact the fight for high quality education in the state. The following press release was written by the Alliance for Quality

by jocelyn / 5d 

New Jersey Organizers Demand a Voice in Education Debate

On March 27, advocates in NJ rallied to protest the market-based reform policies that are hurting their public schools and to demand a new approach to supporting and improving the state's education system. The fight over public schools is heating up in New Jersey. On March 27, advocates from across the state rallied at the NJ State House to protest the market-based reform policies tha

by jocelyn / 5d 

What Kind of Superintendent Do Boston Students Want?

Students from the Boston Student Advisory Council, Youth and Board, and Boston-area Youth Organizing Project are playing an active role in helping the city select its next superintendent. Hear what they have to say in this great new video! Boston students are playing an active role in helping the city select its new superintendent. Though not officially a part of the search committee,

by jocelyn / 5d hide  //  save