Latest News and Comment from Education
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THE MIDDLE-CLASS DEBT SENTENCE: THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM ARE NOW CHAINS - *THE MIDDLE-CLASS DEBT SENTENCE* *THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM ARE NOW CHAINS* *Or: How Your Diploma Became a Ball and Chain, and Your Basement Became You...2 hours ago
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High Expectations and High Standards: The Chatter is Nothing New! - For Americans who care about their public schools and have watched them poked at over the years like an abused dog in a cage, Idrees Kahloon’s piece in T...3 hours ago
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The REAL Elephant in the Room - Or: What happened when a Skunk Showed up at A School Board Garden Party ICYMI On Novemebr 19th,...3 hours ago
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Success Doesn’t Define You. What You Do Next Does. - Every now and then, a moment arrives that shows you exactly why culture matters. Last night in Detroit, Western Michigan won the MAC Football Championship ...3 hours ago
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ICYMI: Chorus Edition (12/7) - The CMO of the Institute (that’s Chief Marital Officer) sings in a community chorus because, among other reasons, she objectively has a voice much like tha...5 hours ago
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ICYMI: Chorus Edition (12/7) - The CMO of the Institute (that's Chief Marital Officer) sings in a community chorus because, among other reasons, she objectively has a voice much like tha...7 hours ago
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In winter weather whoopsie, ODOT caught off guard - [image: ODOT]ere you late for work last Monday morning? Of course you were, because the roads were in rough shape, particularly the highways with their o...12 hours ago
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The Company You Keep - Even though the filing period for the 2026 elections isn't until April, let's all pay close attention. The candidates lining up to run will tell you more a...16 hours ago
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Power Targeting the Vulnerable - When cruelty becomes a strategy, the vulnerable suffer. I wrote about how disabled students and hungry families were used as leverage during the shutdown...22 hours ago
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Why I read obits. - This one tells a tale of guns, drugs, and CIA intrigues in Latin America.23 hours ago
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Chicago Torture Justice Memorial–HELP!!! - As a member of Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Foundation’s Social Justice Pollinator Hive (our community of recurring donors), we’ve been busy working to...1 day ago
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Poem: someone died today - [Header Photo by Ron Szalata on Unsplash] someone died todayand made my partner cry i am afraid of dyingbut more afraid of not living not living like today...1 day ago
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Ten News Items from The Contrarian - These Top 10 lists will be refreshed weekly and will have their own tab on the Contrarian homepage. Here’s our first one, followed as usual by my rund...1 day ago
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A Crucial Lesson I Learned as a Young Teacher - By the fifth year of teaching at Cleveland’s Glenville High School in the early 1960s, however, I had learned one of the most important lessons a teacher c...1 day ago
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Best Waterproof Eyebrow Pencil for Swimming – 2025 Reviews - Let’s be real—trying to keep your eyebrows looking good while swimming is like fighting a losing battle...1 day ago
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Best STEM Materials for Classrooms – 2025 Reviews - As a classroom teacher with over a decade of experience, I’ve watched STEM materials evolve from simple blocks to sophisticated learning... The post Best...1 day ago
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This and That, December 5, 2025 - *Update:* The Seattle Times has a good profile of *Board President Gina Topp.* One key item noted in the article is that, coming up at next week's regular ...1 day ago
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RFK Jr. Endangers the Lives of Children with His Extremist, Anti-Vax Views - Before he was named Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was best known for his extremist views about vaccines. He has said repeat...2 days ago
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Parental attitudes linked to college binge drinking - College students who binge drink may be acting on influences they brought from home, a new Washington State University-led study suggests. A recent su...2 days ago
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Critical Studies of Education & Technology: The ‘Always Listening’ AI Classroom – Minding What We Say and the Ways in Which We Say It - Critical Studies of Education & Technology: The ‘Always Listening’ AI Classroom – Minding What We Say and the Ways in Which We Say It There are many reaso...2 days ago
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Gossiping - What other people say about me is none of my business. It's a rationale that pops up for me when I feel judged by others, when I suspect or know that so...2 days ago
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2025 KIT & Retention & Recruitment Grant RFA - 2025 Kitchen Infrastructure and Training and Retention and Recruitment Grant Request for Application is now available.2 days ago
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How the NYPD violates sanctuary city laws. - Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means for New York to call itself a sanctuary city — and whether those words still carry th...3 days ago
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First Focus on Children’s Bruce Lesley Decries Trump’s Abandonment of Our Society’s Vulnerable Children - In a profound and important Thanksgiving reflection, the President of First Focus on Children, Bruce Lesley considers our society’s abandonment, in this Tr...3 days ago
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Part II: Charter School Reckoning: Disillusionment - In Decline, the first part of The National Center for Charter School Accountability’s three-part report, Charter School Reckoning: Decline, Disillusionme...3 days ago
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Youth. For Christ? At School? - I should probably preface what I’m about to say by noting that I self-identify as a liberal Christian. Without getting too far into the theological weeds—o...4 days ago
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From Victims to Offenders: How the Justice System Fails Traumatized Children - A new report exposes the devastating truth: America is prosecuting the most abused and neglected children in adult courts and locking them up instead of he...4 days ago
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Florida Loses Track of 30,000 Students - Sunshine State's school voucher schemes take a heavy toll5 days ago
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Financing a High-Quality System of Free Public Schools for Florida’s Children - Press Release Full Report Slide Deck Executive Summary The report that follows draws on a) literature on how and why money matters for improving school qua...5 days ago
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Class size applications due, AI forum, and how how 3 Gates-funded organizations are on the wrong side of equity - December 1, 2025 Reminder: Wed. Dec. 3 is the deadline for NYC schools to fill out the survey/application for class size funding for next year. If you have...5 days ago
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How Mandami and Democratic Socialists Win - - Article, published today, explaining recent victories of democratic socialists and progressives (in NY, Seattle, Buffalo, and elsewhere) and putting t...6 days ago
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‘An Education’ by Diane Ravitch — My Review - Fifty years after the publication of her first book, ‘The Great School Wars’, author and historian Diane Ravtich has released her long awaited memoirs. In...6 days ago
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November’s “Best” Lists – There Are Now 2,554 Of Them! - Here’s my regular round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 2,540 of them categorized here – you might also want to check ou...1 week ago
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The Acting Jobs in Public Education Pay Better Than the Teaching - “One of the reasons The Avengers is among the highest-grossing films of all time is that it’s filled with people who act for a living. They don’t care whet...1 week ago
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Just Finished Diane Ravitch’s New Book - By Thomas Ultican 11/25/2025 An Education; How I Changed My Mind About Schools and Almost Everything Else, is highly recommended especially for the thousan...1 week ago
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It Is Up to Us to Defend Democracy - Do we have the courage to defeat an authoritarian regime? I believe we do, if we organize strategically and effectively. There is no time to waste. Do we...1 week ago
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Forum on AI Risks in NYC Public Schools on Sat. Dec.6 at 10 AM - Sat. December 6, 10 AM – 12 noon Childcare provided if you register beforehand City As School, 16 Clarkson St, Manhattan. location here. *(Near #1...1 week ago
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November’s Parent Engagement Resources - Be A Learning Hero has lots of research parent engagement with schools. No Simple Answers for Kids and Screens* (Sara Konrath) After 10 years of studying f...2 weeks ago
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State Spending on Public School Students Lowest since 1997 - That's when voucher program started, in case you're curious.2 weeks ago
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RIP Department of Education - Why it matters that K-12 education will now be housed within the 'Department of the Boss'2 weeks ago
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Beyond the Monroe Doctrine: Cuba could be the real target - The logic is that regime change in Caracas would sever Havana’s lifeline.2 weeks ago
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Fix the Past or Invent the Future? - Introduction Order the book from ASCD or Amazon. For years, the pervasive story of American education was one of decline. In 1995, educational psychologist...2 weeks ago
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Baristas on Strike on the Front Page. Starbucks’ “Here’s to Baristas” Holiday Ad on the Back — Anything to Avoid a Union Contract. - The struggle baristas are brewing is part of a larger fight for worker's power.3 weeks ago
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Until We Get It Done (On My Meeting with Zohran Mamdani) - A couple of Saturdays ago, I had an existential question that I couldn’t grapple over. “Do you think I should go canvass?” My wife, knowing ... Read More...3 weeks ago
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Until We Get It Done (On My Meeting with Zohran Mamdani) - A couple of Saturdays ago, I had an existential question that I couldn’t grapple over. “Do you think I should go canvass?” My wife, knowing ... Read More...3 weeks ago
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Donald Trump, The Epstein Files, and “60 Minutes” - Fans of ‘Sesame Street” will remember this song: “One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you say which th...3 weeks ago
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Tuesday’s Close Election: Proposal One - Zohran won six days ago. That was the election that everyone remembers. But there was more on the ballot. Proposals 2 – 6 were about New York City (2 – 5 p...3 weeks ago
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This Is What Democracy Looks Like - The polls for Prop 50, CA’s ballot initiative that counters MAGA’s illegal gerry-mandering in Texas, opened Tuesday, November 4, 2025,… The post This Is ...4 weeks ago
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A SNAP Decision: Eat the Rich - Don’t feign surprise when the famished plan their own feast.4 weeks ago
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Dear NJ Teachers and Their Families: You MUST Not Vote For Jack Ciattarelli - To all NJ public school staff and their families: *You must not vote for Jack Ciattarelli. He will do serious, lasting damage to you personally, and the ...5 weeks ago
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An Open Letter to Retirees: Why We Should Support Zohran for Mayor - Published on Work Bites5 weeks ago
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The East Wing: Furnishings, “Asbestos, Lead Paint, and All That Fun Stuff.” - Donald Trump has razed the East Wing of the White House. On October 21, 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (“National Trust”), sent this le...5 weeks ago
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John Kowalko Passed Away. The Champion Of Opt-Out. A Delaware Hero. - Former Delaware State Representative John Kowalko died yesterday, He was 80 years old. He was my friend and he was the most Progressive legislator I have e...1 month ago
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The Attention Comeback - Rediscovering focus in a world of reels, memes, and digital noise.1 month ago
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Trying to get video cameras for my school - through Donors Choose. Here’s the project: www.donorschoose.org/… Putting this up because today only there is a 50% match for whatever you contribute s...1 month ago
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Keep ICE’s Big Tech partners out of our kids’ counseling services! - Mental health is a prerequisite for learning, and all kids deserve access to mental healthcare. As the Trump administration ramps up its mass deportation c...1 month ago
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Don’t Follow Advice from Billionaires - This is by Julian Vasquez Lustig. —————- When billionaires step onto a stage, release a book, or tweet some glossy piece of wisdom, the world pays attentio...2 months ago
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Blogoversary #19 — Time to Move on - Times have changed. I had a nice long run here, but let’s face it, it ended a while ago. So I’ve moved. I’m not writing much any more, but when I do it wil...2 months ago
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What Will Todd Blanche Discuss with Ghislaine Maxwell? One Guess. - Todd Blanche was Donald Trump's personal lawyer in his criminal trial in New York City.4 months ago
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McGrath and Kaminsky: Key Names in the School Policy Debate - The landscape of American school policy is no longer shaped only behind closed doors. It’s debated in town halls, on social media, and through public prote...6 months ago
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"Didn't do *that*," part 1: new Schofield case developments reveal crucial 10th Circuit/Ledger lie - The record is clear. Jeremy Scott confessed at least 40 times in a 2017 hearing. He never recanted. The Ledger must retract its lie to force Judge Kevin Ab...6 months ago
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Achieve 3000 Answers Key (Updated 2023) - Are you on the hunt for the most recent Achieve 3000 answers for the year 2023? Your search is over! ... Read more7 months ago
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Il Papa è Morto - Francis brought a distinct pastoral outlook to his papacy. A simple man, he lived in a small apartment in the guesthouse. He sought to make the church acce...7 months ago
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Kemenangan Member Birutoto Main PG Soft Speed Winner - Kemenangan Member Birutoto Main PG Soft Speed Winner Birutoto – Situs Slot Gacor Terpercaya The post Kemenangan Member Birutoto Main PG Soft Speed Winner...7 months ago
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Trump plays Putin’s Playbook - Recently Aleksander Dugin was interviewed on CNN, last week, and he stated that he believes Trump is closer ideologically to President Putin than to Washin...7 months ago
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Mike Shulman the ARISE UFT Judenrat - I was surprised to learn that Mike Shulman has aligned himself with ARISE. I previously supported him, advocating that the Castle Doctrine could have bee...8 months ago
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How Do We Fight Trump? - Dear Friends, I don’t know when and why it hit me. But I suddenly realized how serious Trump is about changing the country into something that horrifies. I...8 months ago
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Can Students Expect a Relevant Education to be Delivered by Irrelevant Educators? - As a veteran teacher of forty years in the classroom, let me be clear, teachers are not completely at fault for becoming irrelevant in their profession. It...8 months ago
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The US Department of Education Should not be Eliminated. Still, it must be reformed. - If you don’t have an attention span that lasts long enough to learn what I’m teaching in this post, start with the conclusion first. Then if you want to re...9 months ago
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Malcolm & John David Washington Talk NFL, Christopher Nolan & ‘The Piano Lesson’ - 'The Washington brothers built their careers apart—until an irresistible project drew them together. In The *Piano Lesson*, they tackle a father’s thorny...1 year ago
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AIN’T IT AWFUL - As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught of those ...1 year ago
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Did Darryl Willie lie or interfere in the whistleblower investgation? Why not both? - Willie said below to Action News Jax [image: image.png] It's troubling for quite a few reasons. First he is saying the board knew about the complaint an...1 year ago
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Could This Be Gadfly’s End? Top 12 Articles From 2023 Read By Fewer Than Ever - After 9 years of pounding my head against the wall - well, it seems like the wall is winning.1 year ago
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Redesigning School Governance: Beyond Mayoral Control - From time to time the legislature passes a bill with a sunset provision, unless the law is reauthorized by a specific date the law reverts to the law it re...2 years ago
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POSTPONED: Florida’s Impact on Social Studies - POSTPONED: discussion with Florida and DC educators and advocates on the impact of Florida's new laws Continue reading2 years ago
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Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why: - The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we wer...2 years ago
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Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force - I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation. The meetin...3 years ago
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Tennis Memories from a Time When Racism and Anti-Semitism Still Prevailed - I learned tennis at a public park in Brooklyn- Lincoln Terrace- where the teaching pro was a mailman named Phil Rubell. Almost all the kids who took lesson...3 years ago
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There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not. - THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough teachers cer...3 years ago
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Want to know the condition of a Philly school building? New map to help. - [image: Two students walk by a Philadelphia school building.] Aging infrastructure has been an issue for Philadelphia schools for years. A new interactive...3 years ago
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STREET LIFE - My mom told me, “You should treat all people equally, but don’t bring a “colored” into the house.” I believed … Continue reading →3 years ago
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Schools Matter: Reflecting on Green Dot’s Disastrous Locke Takeover - *“Green Dot came and made it into more of a jail.” — Chris* My history of opposing the Green Dot Charter School Corporation back when I was an activist i...3 years ago
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Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane - Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun with...3 years ago
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Have You Heard Has a New Website - TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire archive. And be sure to check out...4 years ago
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Follow me at Substack - I've moved. Follow me at Substack I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com ...4 years ago
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Milwaukee Bradley Foundation at Center of Attacks on U.S. Voting Rights - The Big Money Behind the Big Lie Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy are being promoted by rich and powerful conservative groups that are determined to win...4 years ago
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Milwaukee Bradley Foundation at Center of Attacks on U.S. Voting Rights - The Big Money Behind the Big Lie Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy are being promoted by rich and powerful conservative groups that are determined to win...4 years ago
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Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College - [image: colorful classroom pattern] *; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images* Cory Turner | NPR New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...4 years ago
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Major victory over a corporate charter school chain and their trade association - Original post at Robert’s page on Medium. On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, I got my second big win in court against a charter school corporation. It was also a ...4 years ago
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Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala - Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca artikel ini a...4 years ago
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The Threat of Integration - I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction with th...5 years ago
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New Teacher Evaluation Report Released by the Network for Public Education - A new report on current teacher evaluation systems throughout the US was just released by the Network for Public Education. The report is titled, “Teachers...5 years ago
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www.job-applications.com - https://www.job-applications.com/bed-bath-and-beyond-job-application/5 years ago
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Teacher Creates National Database Tracking COVID-19 Outbreaks in Schools - Kansas educator Alisha Morris's online coronavirus news-tracker goes viral, now hosted on a new NEA website.5 years ago
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Correction for July 10th Post on School District Audit - On July 10, 2020 we published a post “School District Caught Manipulating Attendance Records to Get More Money” which incorrectly cited Valley Park School ...5 years ago
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We fight for a democracy worthy of us all! - The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and it’s up...5 years ago
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Giving Private Schools Federal Emergency Funds Slated for Low-income Students Will Shortchange At-risk Kids - Low-income Seattle students began to pick up bagged lunches in March after their school closed. Karen Ducey/Getty Images Derek W. Black, University of Sout...5 years ago
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The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69 - I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved ones. We ar...5 years ago
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Let The Next Round Of Anti-Semitic Ads Begin - All four pro-public education candidates came in first in their LAUSD school board elections, but two will face run-offs in November.5 years ago
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The Fight For Our Children - *The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by 56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing the ...5 years ago
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Love Grow Your Own (but not without the actual growth part) - The Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, recently announced a grow-your-own type of program for teachers. According to this piece: On Monday, Governor Ral...5 years ago
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Another attempted cash grab by the corporate ed crowd in Washington State: House Bill 2788 - The League of Women Voters has opposed charter schools because they don’t have boards elected by the voters but instead the corporation running the schools...5 years ago
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Some of Our Graduates Don't Even Know How to Tighten a Nut - Are schools neglecting practical knowledge and skills? Many of our students are graduating from high school with extremely limited practical knowledge essen...5 years ago
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Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book. - Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for Christmas an...5 years ago
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Reminiscences - I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them an...5 years ago
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Just Asking for some Teachers I know. - Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators who t...6 years ago
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Charging a terrified 10-year-old girl as a criminal is a very bad look for state attorney Dennis Ward - What the hell is going on? As a parent, I feel very comfortable using this exact wording to ask this … Continue reading →6 years ago
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Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online - Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah perta...6 years ago
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Blaming Schools for Student Absences is Like Denouncing Doctors for Disease by Steven Singer - Originally posted at: https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2019/08/25/blaming-schools-for-student-absences-is-like-denouncing-doctors-for-disease/?fbclid=IwAR1LV...6 years ago
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Jersey journalist roughed up at session sponsored by charter school groups - The sponsors of an event that doesn’t like journalists An independent New Jersey journalist was roughed up, his video camera was seized, and he was ejected...6 years ago
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K12 Inc. Data Breach Puts thousands of students at risk - It's hard to believe school districts are still contracting with this horrible company. K12 Inc. is the largest for-profit online alternative to actual pub...6 years ago
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A Critique of Standards-Based Grading - It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were si...6 years ago
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My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards - Figuring I did not need to invite any more darkness and vulgarity into my head than that provided on a daily basis from Trump’s White House, and after read...6 years ago
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Reduced time for testing? Not so fast. - NYSED and Commish Elia continue to say that the NYS Assessments are of reasonable length, I completely disagree. Here is what NYSED states are average expe...6 years ago
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A Response to NorthJersey.com's Explosive "Cashing in on Charter Schools" Series - From NorthJersey.com's Cashing in on Charter Schools series Please note: THIS is what journalism looks like. For the better part of a *DECADE* I have wa...6 years ago
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This Week in Education Organizing - February 15, 2019 - Coalition for Education Justice to Release Report on CRE Eighty-five percent of public school students in New York City are Black, Latinx, or Asian and y...6 years ago
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The World According to Michelle Rhee - The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The New T...7 years ago
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Libraries, books and overcoming the effect of poverty - *Published in the New York Times, September 20, 2018* *To the Editor:* *Re “Why libraries still matter.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/opinion/sund...7 years ago
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TSJ's 17th Annual Curriculum Fair - *TSJ's 17th Annual Curriculum Fair* *** REGISTER HERE *** *From Puerto Rico to Chicago:* *Reclaiming and Reimagining Our Communities* Saturday, November 1...7 years ago
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Whose Opinions Matter in Education World? - It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.7 years ago
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Blockchain: Life on the Ledger - Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears: I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...7 years ago
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Book Review: The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools (2018, Garn Press) by Susan DuFresne - I recently had the privilege of reading Dufresne’s powerful illustrated history of educational and institutional racism in the United States. Dufresne blen...7 years ago
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Corruption on Top of Corruption: How Rahm’s Response to Sexual Abuse of Students Reveals His Core Function - Rahm Emanuel’s response to the Chicago Tribune investigation that found CPS failed to protect hundreds of students from sexual abuse is cowardly. It is co...7 years ago
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New Local Businesses in Sacramento - Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn the loc...7 years ago
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Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry - I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it harde...7 years ago
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The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos - Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President Mike P...7 years ago
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A Teacher’s Tale in the Midst of the Terror in our Schools - Students’ active-shooter plan for teacher in wheelchair: ‘We will carry you’ Reprinted from Allison Slater Tate Feb. 21, 2018 at 4:58 PM Like teachers all ...7 years ago
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Social Emotional Data. The new Cash Cow in the Corporate Assessment Industry - Recently I was asked to allow my son to participate in a survey at school. The "opt in" survey form specifically stated, "the questions on the survey rela...8 years ago
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Education Is a Civic Question - In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and hard w...8 years ago
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Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary - Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over at The Gra...8 years ago
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Should We Be Grateful? - In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to the Dep...8 years ago
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Parents Deserve to Know Who Is Being Appointed to State Board of Ed - I spent a rather surreal day at NJ Senate's Judiciary Committee meeting yesterday. This Committee, headed by Democrat Nick Scaturi, is responsible for a...8 years ago
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An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers - An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am addressing you all ...8 years ago
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller) - The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The film p...8 years ago
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CPS Targets Special Education Teacher Sarah Chambers - Here are the remarks from an action we did today at River Point Plaza, a new development that used over $30 million in TIF funds. CPS claims we are broke...8 years ago
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Farewell, Sleep - Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41 AM. Tom...8 years ago
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March is nearly over and I didn't do anything for WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH - I was inspired when I saw this meme I guess it can be called of WOMEN IN STEM and "IT'S OKAY TO BE SMART" And I began thinking about how the only subjec...8 years ago
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REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools - States With the Best (and Worst)Schools By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich* January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com ...8 years ago
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Test Refusal = People Power - In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence, and ev...8 years ago
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Attitude Determines Altitude* (*conditions apply)… and the Importance of Humane District Themes - It has been a tumultuous few years in the South Brunswick community, specifically the South Brunswick School District. All you have to do is google the dis...8 years ago
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What Is To Be Done? Trump, the Election, and the Student Loan Crises - President-elect Donald Trump delivering acceptance speech in New York, NY on November 9 (Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Ever since now Presi...9 years ago
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Prison Gerrymandering: Incarceration Weakens Vulnerable Voting Communities - One person equals one vote: seems simple enough. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked out for many Americans throughout history, specifically women and peop...9 years ago
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Random Musings and Observations. . . . - I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for that. Sinc...9 years ago
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WTU Headquarters On The Auction Block: Union Prez Liz Davis Doesn't Pay Property Tax! - *June 30th is the last official day of WTU Prez Davis' constitutional term. Malcolm Barnes explores this unfortunate scandal in the article below. What r...9 years ago
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AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA? - By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email 05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a Califor...9 years ago
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To simply say you have a growth mindset does not mean you actually have one - By definition, you cannot have a growth mindset when learning is anchored to standardized tests. Standardized tests are a one … Continue reading →9 years ago
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MY NEW BLOG - My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has simila...9 years ago
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Thank you - Dear Readers, Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...9 years ago
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A brief appearance in the Black Panther documentary - 1969 press conference: From left: Fred Hampton and Bobby Rush (Black Panthers); Cha Cha Jiminez (Young Lords Organization); Mike Klonsky (SDS) I have a s...10 years ago
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Sunday, January 3, 2010
Palm Beach County School District's profitable rental policy put to the test
Palm Beach County School District's profitable rental policy put to the test:
"There's life after the last bell: On a recent Sunday, Oklahoma-based LifeChurch.tv's 9:30 a.m. service drew enough parishioners to fill the west side of Palm Beach Central High School's parking lot. Space rented from the high school may run five figures, but the school's state-of-the-art auditorium is a good fit with LifeChurch's JumboTron-like broadcast sermons and live music.
And when LifeChurch is shutting down its Sunday services and pulling its 26-foot trailer out of the Wellington school's parking lot, the Tabernacle Pentecost congregation's truck is pulling in.
'It can get interesting,' LifeChurch campus pastor Larry Mayer said of the back-to-back ministries.
That's not the half of it.
Soul line dancing. A poetry slam. Pre-kindergarten graduation. A Sweet Sixteen party, wedding reception, family reunion: Organizations ranging from tutoring franchises to the How Ya Livin ministry are leasing portables, fields and auditoriums, pouring millions of dollars into school district coffers — $3.6 million in the 2008-09 school year alone."
And when LifeChurch is shutting down its Sunday services and pulling its 26-foot trailer out of the Wellington school's parking lot, the Tabernacle Pentecost congregation's truck is pulling in.
'It can get interesting,' LifeChurch campus pastor Larry Mayer said of the back-to-back ministries.
That's not the half of it.
Soul line dancing. A poetry slam. Pre-kindergarten graduation. A Sweet Sixteen party, wedding reception, family reunion: Organizations ranging from tutoring franchises to the How Ya Livin ministry are leasing portables, fields and auditoriums, pouring millions of dollars into school district coffers — $3.6 million in the 2008-09 school year alone."
Kevin Huffman - The keys to a successful education system
Kevin Huffman - The keys to a successful education system
Ten years ago, deep in the Rio Grande Valley, two 23-year-old Teach for America teachers opened an after-school tutoring program. Through sheer force of will, the program became a public charter school, housed on the second floor of a local church. Eventually, that school became a cluster of 12 schools, serving kids from Colonias -- communities so impoverished that some lack potable water.
IDEA College Prep graduated its first high school class in 2007 with 100 percent of the seniors headed to college. Last month, U.S. News and World Report ranked it No. 13 among America's public high schools.
"It's not magical resources," IDEA Principal Jeremy Beard told me. "It's the thinking around the problem. I have no control over what goes in on in the kids' Colonia. But we can create a culture. Kids here feel part of a family, part of a team, part of something special."
I have worked in education for most of the past 17 years, as a first-grade teacher, as an education lawyer and, currently, for Teach for America. I used to be married to the D.C. schools chancellor. And the views expressed here are mine alone. I tell the IDEA story because too often when we look at the sorry state of public education (on the most recent international benchmark exam conducted by the Program for International Student Assessment, U.S. high schoolers ranked 25th out of 30 industrialized nations in math and 24th in science) we believe the results are driven by factors beyond our control, such as funding and families. This leads to lethargy, which leads to inaction, which perpetuates a broken system that contributes to our economic decline.
Last year, McKinsey & Co. monetized the cost of our international achievement gap. Our education system's poor results cost the country $1.3 trillion to $2.3 trillion a year, it found -- as much as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the stimulus package combined. America cannot afford this kind of failure. We must make this the decade of education
Ten years ago, deep in the Rio Grande Valley, two 23-year-old Teach for America teachers opened an after-school tutoring program. Through sheer force of will, the program became a public charter school, housed on the second floor of a local church. Eventually, that school became a cluster of 12 schools, serving kids from Colonias -- communities so impoverished that some lack potable water.
IDEA College Prep graduated its first high school class in 2007 with 100 percent of the seniors headed to college. Last month, U.S. News and World Report ranked it No. 13 among America's public high schools.
"It's not magical resources," IDEA Principal Jeremy Beard told me. "It's the thinking around the problem. I have no control over what goes in on in the kids' Colonia. But we can create a culture. Kids here feel part of a family, part of a team, part of something special."
I have worked in education for most of the past 17 years, as a first-grade teacher, as an education lawyer and, currently, for Teach for America. I used to be married to the D.C. schools chancellor. And the views expressed here are mine alone. I tell the IDEA story because too often when we look at the sorry state of public education (on the most recent international benchmark exam conducted by the Program for International Student Assessment, U.S. high schoolers ranked 25th out of 30 industrialized nations in math and 24th in science) we believe the results are driven by factors beyond our control, such as funding and families. This leads to lethargy, which leads to inaction, which perpetuates a broken system that contributes to our economic decline.
Last year, McKinsey & Co. monetized the cost of our international achievement gap. Our education system's poor results cost the country $1.3 trillion to $2.3 trillion a year, it found -- as much as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the stimulus package combined. America cannot afford this kind of failure. We must make this the decade of education
Op-Ed Contributor - The Replacements - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Contributor - The Replacements - NYTimes.com:
"TWO years ago, during lunch with a second-grade teacher in the Chicago area, I mentioned that I was going to substitute teach. The teacher — I’ll call him Dan — started into a story about his own experience with a substitute, which is easily summarized: Dan left a lesson plan; the sub didn’t follow it. So, he ended by asking, how hard can substitute teaching be?
I smiled, said nothing and bit into my Reuben.
Over the next two years, I would learn — as I subbed once a week for a variety of classes, including kindergarten, sixth grade, middle-school social studies, high-school chemistry, phys ed, art, Spanish, and English as a second language — that Dan’s story is standard teacher fare. Last time I heard it, though, I didn’t bite my sandwich or my tongue.
“Maggie,” a teacher in a Milwaukee public school, was talking about the difficulty of her job, which is something the teachers I know do quite a lot. Then she complained that her sub hadn’t completed the lesson plan she’d been given."
I smiled, said nothing and bit into my Reuben.
Over the next two years, I would learn — as I subbed once a week for a variety of classes, including kindergarten, sixth grade, middle-school social studies, high-school chemistry, phys ed, art, Spanish, and English as a second language — that Dan’s story is standard teacher fare. Last time I heard it, though, I didn’t bite my sandwich or my tongue.
“Maggie,” a teacher in a Milwaukee public school, was talking about the difficulty of her job, which is something the teachers I know do quite a lot. Then she complained that her sub hadn’t completed the lesson plan she’d been given."
Julia Steiny: We give kids the message: ‘We don’t want you.’ | Julia Steiny | projo.com | The Providence Journal
Julia Steiny: We give kids the message: ‘We don’t want you.’ | Julia Steiny | projo.com | The Providence Journal:
"Carson McCullers’ 1946 novel “The Member of the Wedding” is a haunting description of childhood loneliness. I knew the story first as a play and then as a heartbreaking movie with Julie Harris playing Frankie, a motherless 12-year-old, and Ethel Waters as Bernice, Frankie’s African-American caretaker.
Frankie is desperate to find “a we of me.”
Like many modern kids, Frankie’s loneliness is endemic to her life. The older neighborhood girls have not invited her into their new club, but Frankie’s loneliness is not just a bout of friendlessness such as happens to any of us, when we’re the new kid in town or the one who’s outgrown the old gang."
"Carson McCullers’ 1946 novel “The Member of the Wedding” is a haunting description of childhood loneliness. I knew the story first as a play and then as a heartbreaking movie with Julie Harris playing Frankie, a motherless 12-year-old, and Ethel Waters as Bernice, Frankie’s African-American caretaker.Frankie is desperate to find “a we of me.”
Like many modern kids, Frankie’s loneliness is endemic to her life. The older neighborhood girls have not invited her into their new club, but Frankie’s loneliness is not just a bout of friendlessness such as happens to any of us, when we’re the new kid in town or the one who’s outgrown the old gang."
Support education that makes a difference
Support education that makes a difference:
"In his powerful and eloquent Nobel Prize lecture, President Obama, exploring the chasm between our hopes for peace and the reality of war, exhorted his audience to continue striving for a just and peaceful world."
"We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The nonviolence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached - their fundamental faith in human progress - that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey ...
"Let us reach for the world that ought to be," the president said.
Obama's speech was inspiring but short on details for those of us who don't control the levers of state. How do we "reach for the world that ought to be" in an era of airplane bombers with explosives in their underwear or shoes? What can the average citizen do to help bring about peace on earth and goodwill to all men (and women)?
Dr. Helene Gayle, who heads CARE USA, believes her Atlanta agency has one answer: build schools in the world's troubled regions, including Afghanistan. Educating children, including girls, helps to lift people from poverty, which, in turn, contributes to stability and peace.
Education is no peacemaking panacea, of course. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian suspected of attempting to blow up an American passenger jet on Christmas Day, is well educated, having grown up in a prosperous family. Similarly, Osama bin Laden grew up affluent and was given an education. Still, many experts on the developing world believe that only an educated citizenry can build the civil institutions that contribute to stability and respect for the rule of law.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/03/INKD1BATML.DTL&type=education#ixzz0bZJ3bxNg
"In his powerful and eloquent Nobel Prize lecture, President Obama, exploring the chasm between our hopes for peace and the reality of war, exhorted his audience to continue striving for a just and peaceful world.""We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The nonviolence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached - their fundamental faith in human progress - that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey ...
"Let us reach for the world that ought to be," the president said.
Obama's speech was inspiring but short on details for those of us who don't control the levers of state. How do we "reach for the world that ought to be" in an era of airplane bombers with explosives in their underwear or shoes? What can the average citizen do to help bring about peace on earth and goodwill to all men (and women)?
Dr. Helene Gayle, who heads CARE USA, believes her Atlanta agency has one answer: build schools in the world's troubled regions, including Afghanistan. Educating children, including girls, helps to lift people from poverty, which, in turn, contributes to stability and peace.
Education is no peacemaking panacea, of course. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian suspected of attempting to blow up an American passenger jet on Christmas Day, is well educated, having grown up in a prosperous family. Similarly, Osama bin Laden grew up affluent and was given an education. Still, many experts on the developing world believe that only an educated citizenry can build the civil institutions that contribute to stability and respect for the rule of law.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/03/INKD1BATML.DTL&type=education#ixzz0bZJ3bxNg
O.C. Islamic Educational Center a target of anti-Muslim acts - latimes.com
O.C. Islamic Educational Center a target of anti-Muslim acts - latimes.com:
Costa Mesa police step up patrols after incidents at the center, including the burning of two copies of the Koran. The Muslim part of an interfaith display in Mission Viejo was defaced, a group says."
"O.C. Islamic Educational Center a target of anti-Muslim acts
Costa Mesa police step up patrols after incidents at the center, including the burning of two copies of the Koran. The Muslim part of an interfaith display in Mission Viejo was defaced, a group says."
Costa Mesa police have stepped up patrols near the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, the target of recent anti-Islamic acts including vandalism, hate mail and the burning of two copies of the Koran.
Vandals also recently defaced part of an outdoor interfaith holiday display in Mission Viejo, according to the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which denounced both acts as "incidents of anti-Islam hate targeting the local Muslim community."
The two incidents are thought to be unrelated but appear to be part of a recent uptick in anti-Muslim acts nationally, especially since the attempted terrorist bombing of a jetliner headed to Detroit on Christmas, council spokeswoman Munira Syeda said Saturday.
A burned and torn copy of the Koran was found in the parking lot at the educational center, on Airport Loop Drive, during Friday prayers. It was the second time in a month that a desecrated Koran had been found there, according to a statement on the Costa Mesa mosque's website.
"This deplorable incident is a form of anti-Islamic assault, hate crime and terror campaign against American Muslims," it read. "Even more, it is a great offense against 1.2 billion Muslim followers worldwide because it defiles their holiest and most sacred divine book."
Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Ed Everett said that his department has increased patrols in the area but that no arrests have been made.
Vandals also recently defaced part of an outdoor interfaith holiday display in Mission Viejo, according to the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which denounced both acts as "incidents of anti-Islam hate targeting the local Muslim community."
The two incidents are thought to be unrelated but appear to be part of a recent uptick in anti-Muslim acts nationally, especially since the attempted terrorist bombing of a jetliner headed to Detroit on Christmas, council spokeswoman Munira Syeda said Saturday.
A burned and torn copy of the Koran was found in the parking lot at the educational center, on Airport Loop Drive, during Friday prayers. It was the second time in a month that a desecrated Koran had been found there, according to a statement on the Costa Mesa mosque's website.
"This deplorable incident is a form of anti-Islamic assault, hate crime and terror campaign against American Muslims," it read. "Even more, it is a great offense against 1.2 billion Muslim followers worldwide because it defiles their holiest and most sacred divine book."
Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Ed Everett said that his department has increased patrols in the area but that no arrests have been made.
2010 Kentucky Legislative Preview | Education: Bill would clear way for charter schools | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
2010 Kentucky Legislative Preview | Education: Bill would clear way for charter schools | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal:
"Allowing charter schools to operate in Kentucky and stronger consequences for the state's lowest-performing elementary, middle and high schools are two of the top education issues lawmakers are expected to grapple with this session.
Supporters of charter schools say they believe the momentum for the independent public schools is building because without legislation allowing them, Kentucky could lose out on up to $200million in federal stimulus money aimed at education reform and innovation.
Rep. Brad Montell, R-Shelbyville, and Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, have already pre-filed bills that would authorize charter schools in the state, but Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, the chairman of the House Education Committee, said he isn't convinced charter schools are what is best for Kentucky."
State regulations can require some changes at charter schools. If, for instance, St. Anthony's School in Indianapolis decides to move ahead with a proposal to become a charter school, religious symbols could no longer be displayed. (Indianapolis Star photo) .
Supporters of charter schools say they believe the momentum for the independent public schools is building because without legislation allowing them, Kentucky could lose out on up to $200million in federal stimulus money aimed at education reform and innovation.
Rep. Brad Montell, R-Shelbyville, and Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, have already pre-filed bills that would authorize charter schools in the state, but Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, the chairman of the House Education Committee, said he isn't convinced charter schools are what is best for Kentucky."
State regulations can require some changes at charter schools. If, for instance, St. Anthony's School in Indianapolis decides to move ahead with a proposal to become a charter school, religious symbols could no longer be displayed. (Indianapolis Star photo) .
Latino numbers surge at public universities | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register
Latino numbers surge at public universities | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register:
"Ames, Ia. - Erika Bahamon, born to Colombian immigrants in southern Texas, had never seen so many white faces as when she showed up for classes at Iowa State University.
'So many blond people - I didn't know it was so common,' recalled a laughing Bahamon, now a 21-year-old senior majoring in pre-med.
It probably won't always be that way. Latinos are the fastest growing minority group on the campuses of ISU, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, as they are in Iowa and the nation.
At this rate, there could be more Latinos on Iowa's college campuses than African-Americans or Asians within a few years."
'So many blond people - I didn't know it was so common,' recalled a laughing Bahamon, now a 21-year-old senior majoring in pre-med.
It probably won't always be that way. Latinos are the fastest growing minority group on the campuses of ISU, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, as they are in Iowa and the nation.
At this rate, there could be more Latinos on Iowa's college campuses than African-Americans or Asians within a few years."
Ruben Navarrette: Brat-pack parents strike back - Pasadena Star-News
Ruben Navarrette: Brat-pack parents strike back - Pasadena Star-News:
"After recently criticizing bratty students at the University of California for protesting a fee hike because they'd rather have taxpayers subsidize their educations, I should have expected to be attacked by a squadron of helicopter parents.
Those people get their name because they're so eager to protect their offspring against even the mildest insult or inconvenience that they constantly hover over them. They confuse love with smothering and tend to fight their children's battles. They push self-esteem, instead of self-sacrifice. They do all this because they figured out that it's easier to coddle your kids than to actually go to the trouble of rolling up your sleeves and raising them by teaching some values.
Many of them get carried away. Lik"
Those people get their name because they're so eager to protect their offspring against even the mildest insult or inconvenience that they constantly hover over them. They confuse love with smothering and tend to fight their children's battles. They push self-esteem, instead of self-sacrifice. They do all this because they figured out that it's easier to coddle your kids than to actually go to the trouble of rolling up your sleeves and raising them by teaching some values.
Many of them get carried away. Lik"
Seven Tepees helps build higher education foundation for youth
Seven Tepees helps build higher education foundation for youth:
"San Francisco Unified School District’s high school curricular program has been an amalgamation of bits and pieces and was defined by the individual schools themselves. This left a gap between what was taught in high school and what was needed to enter a four-year university.
The requirements to enter college are known as A-G. According to Coleman Advocates, “70 percent of Black, Latino and Pacific Islander students who graduate from SFUSD are denied the opportunity to even apply to a CSU or UC school because they lacked the required ‘A-G’ courses.”
Over the last year, Coleman joined forces with hundreds of parent and youth members to work with SFSUD personnel to pass a policy requiring all high schools provide the A-G courses needed. Collectively, they mobilized 3,000 postcards from parents, youth and community members demonstrating the broad support for the passage of the policy. San Francisco School Board passed the policy on May 26 and starting with the class of 2014, all high school students will take A-G coursework."
The requirements to enter college are known as A-G. According to Coleman Advocates, “70 percent of Black, Latino and Pacific Islander students who graduate from SFUSD are denied the opportunity to even apply to a CSU or UC school because they lacked the required ‘A-G’ courses.”
Over the last year, Coleman joined forces with hundreds of parent and youth members to work with SFSUD personnel to pass a policy requiring all high schools provide the A-G courses needed. Collectively, they mobilized 3,000 postcards from parents, youth and community members demonstrating the broad support for the passage of the policy. San Francisco School Board passed the policy on May 26 and starting with the class of 2014, all high school students will take A-G coursework."
How California produces bad news - Press-Telegram
How California produces bad news - Press-Telegram
When it comes to describing the true source of California's current troubles, one of the late, great cartoonist Walt Kelly's swamp-dwelling characters may have said it best: "We have met the enemy and he is us," declared Pogo in 1971.
He could have been lamenting the irresponsible way we Californians have spent this state into a deep hole over the last 30 years.
Each depredation seemed laudable enough in its time - from passing mandatory prison sentencing laws by large margins to okaying virtually all bond issues proposed on statewide ballots.
Here's some of the bleak picture:
California - once the paragon of smooth roads - now has the second worst pavement conditions in America, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Road Information Program. Its latest report says this state spends $11 billion a year less than what's needed to maintain good roads.
State prisons are so overcrowded courts repeatedly find they violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. As many as 40,000 prisoners may have to be released in the next year.
California's public university systems have unprecedented numbers of qualified applicants for admission at the same time they're reducing student slots. They'll turn away about 150,000 qualified people this year. This amounts to all but abandoning the state's 50-year-old master plan for higher education.
California now has about $89 billion in long-term bond
When it comes to describing the true source of California's current troubles, one of the late, great cartoonist Walt Kelly's swamp-dwelling characters may have said it best: "We have met the enemy and he is us," declared Pogo in 1971.
He could have been lamenting the irresponsible way we Californians have spent this state into a deep hole over the last 30 years.
Each depredation seemed laudable enough in its time - from passing mandatory prison sentencing laws by large margins to okaying virtually all bond issues proposed on statewide ballots.
Here's some of the bleak picture:
California - once the paragon of smooth roads - now has the second worst pavement conditions in America, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Road Information Program. Its latest report says this state spends $11 billion a year less than what's needed to maintain good roads.
State prisons are so overcrowded courts repeatedly find they violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. As many as 40,000 prisoners may have to be released in the next year.
California's public university systems have unprecedented numbers of qualified applicants for admission at the same time they're reducing student slots. They'll turn away about 150,000 qualified people this year. This amounts to all but abandoning the state's 50-year-old master plan for higher education.
California now has about $89 billion in long-term bond
How to help California / Removing conditions attached to federal funds an excellent idea - SignOnSanDiego.com
How to help California / Removing conditions attached to federal funds an excellent idea - SignOnSanDiego.com:
"We’ve confirmed that there’s going to be an intriguing wrinkle in the 2010-11 budget proposal that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will unveil later this month: a request to the federal government that it reduce the strings it attaches to billions of dollars in stimulus aid it has already committed to provide to struggling states.
As first reported by Josh Barro on the RealClearMarkets.com Web site, the governor wants President Barack Obama and Congress to eliminate the requirement that stimulus dollars be used to maintain existing service levels in programs getting federal support. This prevents California from changing its Medicaid eligibility rules, which are generous, and from reducing Medicaid services to core medical care, omitting such relative luxuries as acupuncture and chiropractic. There is no good reason why California should spend twice as much per-capita on Medicaid as Nevada."
As first reported by Josh Barro on the RealClearMarkets.com Web site, the governor wants President Barack Obama and Congress to eliminate the requirement that stimulus dollars be used to maintain existing service levels in programs getting federal support. This prevents California from changing its Medicaid eligibility rules, which are generous, and from reducing Medicaid services to core medical care, omitting such relative luxuries as acupuncture and chiropractic. There is no good reason why California should spend twice as much per-capita on Medicaid as Nevada."
The Seminal � What happened to education politics?
The Seminal � What happened to education politics?:
"Introduction: Autonomous political organizations and educational politics
Of recent I’ve put forth a number of diaries discussing the need for autonomous political organizations. An autonomous political organization would be able to be able to create a class coalition, to unite the poor to demand a fair share of the economic pie. An autonomous political organization would not care much about whether President Obama were an accomplished leader or a corporate shill, preferring instead to make up its own mind about policy regardless of what Obama thinks about any particular issue. An autonomous political organization, then, would be independent of the 'Veal Pen' by which political organizations are constrained to avoid controversy.
Here I’m going to recommend that, if we are to have an autonomous political organization, it would best be advised to take a position on educational politics, in opposition to the corporate use of the public schools as a cash cow."
Of recent I’ve put forth a number of diaries discussing the need for autonomous political organizations. An autonomous political organization would be able to be able to create a class coalition, to unite the poor to demand a fair share of the economic pie. An autonomous political organization would not care much about whether President Obama were an accomplished leader or a corporate shill, preferring instead to make up its own mind about policy regardless of what Obama thinks about any particular issue. An autonomous political organization, then, would be independent of the 'Veal Pen' by which political organizations are constrained to avoid controversy.
Here I’m going to recommend that, if we are to have an autonomous political organization, it would best be advised to take a position on educational politics, in opposition to the corporate use of the public schools as a cash cow."
Higher education in California should better reflect the times - latimes.com
Higher education in California should better reflect the times - latimes.com
Higher education in California should better reflect the times
As the crisis persists, it's time for a new master plan that would streamline curriculum, bring funding in line with students' ability to pay and put UC, Cal State and community colleges in sync.
California's Master Plan for Higher Education is history. State officials and politicians don't want to admit it, but it's true. Blame it on a severe recession, a dysfunctional state government or tax-phobic voters, the result is the same. Contrary to the plan's vaunted goal, every high school graduate does not have the option of receiving an affordable, high-quality education.
This year's budget cuts were the deepest in the higher education system's history, and projections of continuing deficits promise even more. But California still needs a public option for education. The University of California, the Cal State system and community colleges are major creators of economic wealth, and their graduates are the future drivers of growth.
What to do? We need a new Master Plan for Higher Education that acknowledges a withering state role even as the demand for an educated workforce grows.
When the state adopted the original plan in 1960, higher education was commonly thought to occur on leafy campuses that trained individuals in distinctive curricula and academic specialties. Classes were offered at fixed times and places, and learning proceeded at the same pace for one and all.
The plan's four basic assumptions reflected this reality:
* High school education was separate from the higher education
This year's budget cuts were the deepest in the higher education system's history, and projections of continuing deficits promise even more. But California still needs a public option for education. The University of California, the Cal State system and community colleges are major creators of economic wealth, and their graduates are the future drivers of growth.
What to do? We need a new Master Plan for Higher Education that acknowledges a withering state role even as the demand for an educated workforce grows.
When the state adopted the original plan in 1960, higher education was commonly thought to occur on leafy campuses that trained individuals in distinctive curricula and academic specialties. Classes were offered at fixed times and places, and learning proceeded at the same pace for one and all.
The plan's four basic assumptions reflected this reality:
* High school education was separate from the higher education
What’s your college major? No more philosophy or classics | Get Schooled
What’s your college major? No more philosophy or classics | Get Schooled
What’s your college major? No more philosophy or classics
9:09 am January 3, 2010, by Maureen Downey
As a parent of two college students pursing liberal arts degrees, I wonder about their job prospects and whether their areas of study will have any relevance to what they end up doing.
There seems to a change under way in the perceived role of colleges. While it used to be that we saw higher ed as providing an education for life, we now seem to want it to provide an education for careers.It was enough that college taught students how to think; now students want to learn how to do something.
A New York Times story says a lot of parents and students are concerned about the relevance question in this bleak job market. But even before the economy tanked, students were becoming more interested in majors that would help them secure jobs.
In response, colleges are dropping long-standing majors that no longer appeal to goal-oriented students, including philosophy and classical studies
According to the Times
2010: More Budget Pain For California
2010: More Budget Pain For California:
"During last summer's fiscal crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger borrowed the title of a film classic to describe California's budget, saying it contained 'the good, the bad and the ugly.'
He was referring to welfare reforms and the streamlining of state boards that he was able to broker, along with deep spending cuts for schools, health care programs for the poor and AIDS-prevention efforts.
All that's left in 2010 is the ugly.
The nation's most populous state faces a nearly $21 billion shortfall over the next 18 months, a deficit that comes after years of making deep cuts in core state programs."
He was referring to welfare reforms and the streamlining of state boards that he was able to broker, along with deep spending cuts for schools, health care programs for the poor and AIDS-prevention efforts.
All that's left in 2010 is the ugly.
The nation's most populous state faces a nearly $21 billion shortfall over the next 18 months, a deficit that comes after years of making deep cuts in core state programs."
Shutdowns in region leave parents scrambling to find alternatives - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
Shutdowns in region leave parents scrambling to find alternatives - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:
"After the economy caused her daughter's preschool to contract and close, Amy Peterson-Mar was faced with several tough questions.
Would she be able to find affordable care? Should she look for a center near her home or near her job? And how would she break the news to Elspeth, known to everyone but the folks who printed her birth certificate as 'Beanie'?
In the end, Peterson-Mar said, she found a family care home that would work for a while and 'we told (Beanie) she was going to camp.'"
Would she be able to find affordable care? Should she look for a center near her home or near her job? And how would she break the news to Elspeth, known to everyone but the folks who printed her birth certificate as 'Beanie'?
In the end, Peterson-Mar said, she found a family care home that would work for a while and 'we told (Beanie) she was going to camp.'"
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