Thursday, November 10, 2011

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform


IL House adjourns Wednesday without voting on SB512. « Fred Klonsky

IL House adjourns Wednesday without voting on SB512. « Fred Klonsky:IL House adjourns Wednesday without voting on SB512.by Fred KlonskyA House committee voted SB512 to the House floor Tuesday by a 5 to 4 vote. But Wednesday came and went with no House vote on the Cross-Fahner pension killer.The last chance to vote on it is Thursday when the veto session is scheduled to end.There is talk of another session in two weeks.But the contacts being made by thousands of ... more »

American Horror Story: Student Debt, Suicide and Occupations | HyperVocal #ows

American Horror Story: Student Debt, Suicide and Occupations | HyperVocal:American Horror Story: Student Loan Debt and Suicide Over Wilted PancakesPOSTED NOVEMBER 8TH 9:51AM BY CRYN JOHANNSENSeveral weeks ago I visited Austin, Texas to report on the #Occupy movement there. The mood was festive, friendly, uplifting. Occupy Wall Street had already turned ugly on several occasions, especially the pepper-spraying incident involving an NYPD white shirt and several young women, but protesters elsewhere had yet to see such instances of violence (the ... more »

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE ? « Teachers Fight Back

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE ? « Teachers Fight Back:WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE ?by alkleenThe Personnel and Pension Committee in the Illinois Legislature voted 5-4 to send a “Pension Reform” bill to the full House. Under this bill, state employees could keep their retirement benefit in place but pay more; take smaller benefits but pay no more; or set up a 401(k)style plan.Let’s see if I understand this situation correctly. For many years the Illinois Legislature violated the Illinois Constitution and ... more »

Moving the chair, at Penn State and in education | Taking Note

Moving the chair, at Penn State and in education | Taking Note:Moving the chair, at Penn State and in educationby John MerrowJohn’s book, The Influence of Teachers, is currently available on Amazon.The latest example of failed leadership — what I call ‘moving the chair,’ an analogy I’ll explain in one second — comes from Pennsylvania State University. This is a tragic story of sex abuse that apparently went unchecked for years, despite the fact that a fair number of university ... more »

Relief from No Child Left Behind too expensive, state officials say - latimes.com

Relief from No Child Left Behind too expensive, state officials say - latimes.com:Relief from No Child Left Behind too expensive, state officials sayNovember 9, 2011 | 5:18 pm 62It would cost cash-strapped California at least $2 billion to meet the requirements for relief from the federal No Child Left Behind law, state officials reported Wednesday to the California Board of Education.Although no decision was made, the clear implication was that California should spurn an opportunity to seek a waiver from ... more »

Bloomberg disputes Tisch’s assessment of struggling schools | GothamSchools

Bloomberg disputes Tisch’s assessment of struggling schools | GothamSchools:Bloomberg disputes Tisch’s assessment of struggling schoolsby Philissa Cramer, at 8:49 pmOn the same day that she spent time denying weeks-old rumors about being the future mayor, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch was rebuked by the current one.Speaking with reporters in the Bronx today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg took aim at Tisch’s characterization that the Department of Education had “warehoused thousands of kids” in failing schools. Tisch made the comments to the ... more »

One Test, One Story…Is This All About The Children ? « City School Stories

One Test, One Story…Is This All About The Children ? « City School Stories:One Test, One Storyby fmurphyTeacher StoriesSubmitted by Joy of Teaching, on November 10, 2011As a reading specialist, one of my duties is to identify students who are in need of reading intervention during the school year. In the primary grades (K-2) this is done through teacher observation, review of student work, the student’s ability to work independently and a DIBELS benchmark assessment. However, in the upper grades ... more »

OPD, ACLU Disagree About Releasing Documents from Occupy Oakland Raid and Protest - The Bay Citizen #ows

OPD, ACLU Disagree About Releasing Documents from Occupy Oakland Raid and Protest - The Bay Citizen:OPD, ACLU Disagree About Releasing Documents from Occupy Oakland Raid and ProtestOPD says documents pertain to an open investigationTEXT SIZE A A ABy BYRHONDA LYONS, OAKLAND NORTH on November 9, 2011 - 4:24 p.m. PSTstart discussionShoshana WalterOccupy Oakland on Tuesday, October 25, after a early morning raid, which was led by the Oakland Police Department.The Oakland Police Department may have an ongoing legal battle with ... more »

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: How to Get to the Top of the Charter Lottery

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: How to Get to the Top of the Charter Lottery:How to Get to the Top of the Charter Lotteryby Melissa WestbrookWhile doing some research on charter law, I saw this article from the LA Weekly, entitled "Charter Schools: Getting Your Child on the List - How to cut in line and pervert the concept of public education" by Gene Maddaus that I thought worth passing along.Apparently, at least a couple of tony LA charters had ... more »

Modern School: Korean Education Model Worsens Unemployment—And Your Point Is?

Modern School: Korean Education Model Worsens Unemployment—And Your Point Is?:Korean Education Model Worsens Unemployment—And Your Point Is?by Michael DunnHordes of Job Seeking Undergrads (Flickr, Lee J Haywood)The South Korean education system is often held up by Ed Deformers as an example of an education system that works. They have high test scores and graduation rates and a whopping

The return of Velderman. This time dressed as Kyle Olson. « Fred Klonsky

The return of Velderman. This time dressed as Kyle Olson. « Fred Klonsky:The return of Velderman. This time dressed as Kyle Olson.by Fred Klonskyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLzIrnNoccIt was about 9 months ago that I first heard of the Education Action Group, a small right-wing cult out of western Michigan.Their political program consists of hating teacher unions.That’s it.Ben Velderman.Ben Velderman, the gofer for the outfit, filed a Freedom of Information request for all of my work emails. As the law required, my school district ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

OccupyWallSt.org User Survey | OccupyWallSt.org #OWSBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 hour agoOccupyWallSt.org User Survey | OccupyWallSt.org:OccupyWallSt.org User Surveyby OccupyWallStIf you are over 18 years old, please take the time to tell us a little more about yourself and your opinions by completing this voluntary anonymous survey being administered by a researcher at the City University of New York. The purpose of the survey is to better understand the characteristics and opinions of users of the website. The survey ... more »

A Chicago cop writes about public service pensions. « Fred Klonsky

A Chicago cop writes about public service pensions. « Fred Klonsky:A Chicago cop writes about public service pensions.by Fred Klonsky Fred, As a retired Chicago Police Officer I am already taking a big hit on my pension. When Illinois passed the earlier legislation regarding new hires they also changed the way the cost of living was figured into the pensions of retired Officers born after Jan 1st, 1955. I have been retired for over 3 years and have not received ... more »

Sec. Arne Duncan: Teacher Pay Study Asks the Wrong Question, Ignores Facts, Insults Teachers

Sec. Arne Duncan: Teacher Pay Study Asks the Wrong Question, Ignores Facts, Insults Teachers:Sec. Arne DuncanU.S. Secretary of EducationGET UPDATES FROM SEC. ARNE DUNCAN Like27Teacher Pay Study Asks the Wrong Question, Ignores Facts, Insults TeachersPosted: 11/9/11 05:17 PM ETAs millions of Americans search for work, and millions more scrape by to make ends meet, researchers from two conservative Washington think tanks have recently announced a "finding" that defies common-sense: America's teachers are overpaid by more than 50 percent.The new paper ... more »

Protesters block Westwood intersection, snarl traffic - latimes.com

Protesters block Westwood intersection, snarl traffic - latimes.com:Protesters block Westwood intersection, snarl trafficNovember 9, 2011 | 3:12 pm 20Traffic in Westwood was badly snarled Wednesday afternoon because of a student protest and street sit-in against the cost of higher education and the banking industry’s purported role in it.After a march by about 200 protesters from the UCLA campus, about a dozen of them sat down in the busy intersection of Westwood and Wilshire boulevards and refused to move for about ... more »

Victory in Wake Co. school board elections & defeat for Tea Party! « Parents Across America

Victory in Wake Co. school board elections defeat for Tea Party! « Parents Across America:Victory in Wake Co. school board elections defeat for Tea Party!by leoniehaimsonBelow see the account of last night’s victory by Patty Williams of Great Schools in Wake Co. NC, an affiliate of Parents Across America. Conservative forces had taken control of the school board with the help of a group called Americans for Prosperity, which is funded in part by the Koch brothers; the conservative majority ... more »

Former Miami-Dade Superintendent to Run Failing Imagine Charter Schools in Missouri | Scathing Purple Musings

Former Miami-Dade Superintendent to Run Failing Imagine Charter Schools in Missouri | Scathing Purple Musings:Former Miami-Dade Superintendent to Run Failing Imagine Charter Schools in Missouriby Bob SikesEarlier this week Missouri’s education commissioner asked Imagine to close its schools at the end of the year. Imagine CEO Dennis Bakke has been in St. Louis this week and has named a new director. From Elisa Crouch writing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:Charter school operator Imagine Schools Inc. on Tuesday named a top ... more »

Our Children Can’t Wait: New Regulations Increase Accountability and Boost Quality in Head Start | ED.gov Blog

Our Children Can’t Wait: New Regulations Increase Accountability and Boost Quality in Head Start | ED.gov Blog:Our Children Can’t Wait: New Regulations Increase Accountability and Boost Quality in Head StartPosted on November 9, 2011 by Guest BloggerPresident Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, right, talk with students while visiting a classroom at the Yeadon Regional Head Start Center in Yeadon, Pa., Nov. 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)Cross-posted from the White House blog.We ... more »

We Are All Ohio - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard

We Are All Ohio - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard:We Are All OhioNov 9th, 2011 by Lily.I am Ohio today. Ok, I’m in Ohio, but I didn’t forget the preposition. I am Ohio today. All across the country good people who work for American public schools, colleges and universities are celebrating. Firefighters are celebrating. Police officers are celebrating. This is an historic victory.It’s historic in many ways – in voter turnout; in the number of volunteers who walked neighborhoods and ... more »

OccupyWallSt.org User Survey | OccupyWallSt.org #OWS

OccupyWallSt.org User Survey | OccupyWallSt.org:OccupyWallSt.org User Surveyby OccupyWallStIf you are over 18 years old, please take the time to tell us a little more about yourself and your opinions by completing this voluntary anonymous survey being administered by a researcher at the City University of New York. The purpose of the survey is to better understand the characteristics and opinions of users of the website. The survey will take approximately twenty minutes to complete.click here to begin . . .

This Week In Education: Thompson: What The CMO Report Means For The Rest Of Us

This Week In Education: Thompson: What The CMO Report Means For The Rest Of Us:Thompson: What The CMO Report Means For The Rest Of UsIt is to the credit of the Center on Reinventing Public Education that they and Mathematica published another study that provides evidence that the standard data-driven "reforms" are not working and that many of the solutions proposed by teachers and our unions are producing success. "Charter-School Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts" concludes that, ... more »

Reports on charter schools expose new problems - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Reports on charter schools expose new problems - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Reports on charter schools expose new problemsBy Valerie StraussTwo new reports about public charter schools expose serious issues about the way they are run and their effectiveness.The first was a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about Imagine Schools Inc., the nation’s largest for-profit charter school network, which is based in Arlington, Virginia and which operates more than 71 schools in more than a dozen states ... more »

Providing Meaningful Family-School Relationships | ED.gov Blog

Providing Meaningful Family-School Relationships | ED.gov Blog:Providing Meaningful Family-School RelationshipsPosted on November 9, 2011 by Guest BloggerDuring ED’s back-to-school bus tour, Secretary Duncan stated that, “parents have to be part of the solution. Parental engagement must help increase student achievement.” To accomplish this goal, the department is spanning the country to host parent forums in partnership with states, districts, schools, organizations, associations, colleges, universities and businesses.Parents Arrive at the Garland Parent ForumIn late October, ED jo... more »

Modern School: Longer Chicago School Day: Truce or Surrender?

Modern School: Longer Chicago School Day: Truce or Surrender?:Longer Chicago School Day: Truce or Surrender?by Michael DunnChicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have been trying to unilaterally impose a 90 minute longer school day on teachers in violation of their contract. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) sued to halt the contract violation and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board ruled that CPS was using unfair labor practices in their attempt to get the longer school day ... more »

Keeping an eye on Springfield today. Democrats should look at Ohio and think twice. « Fred Klonsky

Keeping an eye on Springfield today. Democrats should look at Ohio and think twice. « Fred Klonsky:Keeping an eye on Springfield today. Democrats should look at Ohio and think twice.by Fred KlonskyYou have heard the bad news that the pension killing bill was passed out of committee last night on a 5 to 4 vote.The bill is only slightly different (I didn’t say improved) from the Cross/Fahner bill last Spring.Will it get a vote on the floor of the House? ... more »