Wednesday, December 28, 2011

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


Mother Crusader: Charter advocates LOVE to throw around the F word

Mother Crusader: Charter advocates LOVE to throw around the F word:Charter advocates LOVE to throw around the F wordby darciecimaJersey Jazzman's take on Cerf's interview with the Associated Press reminds me of a letter from the Cherry Hill Superintendent and School Board. They were responding to Pastor Amir Khan who wrote an editorial in which he reported that in Cherry Hill “the share of black children who failed the standardized eighth-grade language arts test was three times the corresponding share ... more »

Still Watching Colorado « InterACT

Still Watching Colorado « InterACT:Still Watching Coloradoby David B. CohenRecently, I wrote a blog post about a court ruling in the case of Lobato v. Colorado, in which Judge Shelia Rappaport found that the state’s funding of public education was totally inadequate and irrational, and failed to meet the state’s constitutional requirement to provide a public education for Colorado children.Today, the Colorado State Board of Education voted 4-3 to appeal that ruling. One of the “no” votes came from Elaine ... more »

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Asking students: revolutionary? #ows

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Asking students: revolutionary?:Asking students: revolutionary?OCCUPY EDUCATION - 6 minutes agoAsking students: revolutionary?Whether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that...OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks agoWhether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that station will be held by anyone else I cannot tell. All I can say is I am Devoted and Dedicated to my education. That is WHY I OCCUPY!I Occupy Education because they say we don’t CARE. ... more »

New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012 « Cooperative Catalyst

New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012 « Cooperative Catalyst:New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012by Tinashe BlanchetIt has been a long time since I’ve posted on my own blog because lately, I have gone into survival mode–just getting grades done and hanging on to my sanity leading up to the holiday break. The fall semester was filled with triumphs and successes for my students and me, but I also must admit that in the end, I was ...more »

Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal | Scathing Purple Musings

Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal | Scathing Purple Musings:Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repealby Bob SikesJames Madison Institute public policy director Robert Sanchez was a busy man two days before Christmas. His first order of business was in contributing to a Tallahassee Democrat piece which touted school choice as” the civil rights issue of this era.”Sanchez has obviously staked out a ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias

Jersey Jazzman: Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias:Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Biasby DukeThere is no other way to read this latest pronouncement from ACTING NJ Education Commissioner Cerf:AP: What's the state of public education in New Jersey? How do we compare to other states?Cerf: We compare very well from an aggregate perspective if you take the NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. New Jersey typically ranks within the top two to four in each of the four major ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: 2011 in Review

Seattle Schools Community Forum: 2011 in Review:2011 in Reviewby Charlie MasMy, but this was a year of change for Seattle Public Schools.Change at the top.The biggest news of the year was the sudden dismissal of the superintendent, Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. The Board, which had dragged their feet from June to March in response to the State Auditor's report, acted expeditiously between their receipt of a report from an internal investigation of the Regional Small Business Development Program and their decision ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Still Not Getting It On Charters

Jersey Jazzman: Still Not Getting It On Charters:Still Not Getting It On Chartersby DukeOh, Star-Ledger: what do I have to do to get you to start understanding the charter school debate?As charter schools begin to spread beyond the urban districts where they first took root, they are provoking a political backlash in the suburbs that could weaken support for the overall movement. We've seen the brush fires in Cherry Hill, East Brunswick, Millburn, Montclair and Princeton.In our view, the opposition ... more »

Daily Kos: blame this one on Jotter

Daily Kos: blame this one on Jotter:blame this one on Jotterby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)thanks to his retrospective lists of top ten diaries, I encountered one I posted two years ago on Christmas.Even as we are past that day now, I have just reread it, it still speaks to me, and I thought perhaps I would share it again. If you prefer the original for the thread, you can read it herePlease indulge me a bitecause this will be another diary where ... more »

Daily Kos: TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Daily Kos: TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE:TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACEby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)TFA = Teach for America. The title of this post is borrowed from this piece from my good friend David Greene, who has mentored Teach for America recruits for a number of years.I think it is one of the most important things for understanding the problems with Teach for America. Thus I asked Dave for permission to cross-post it here, which he ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Poverty Matters

Jersey Jazzman: Poverty Matters:Poverty Mattersby DukeA conversation about poverty and international test score comparisons from the comments:Stuart Buck said..."But for a woman who is so worried about defining poverty, it seems like quite a stretch to claim so assuredly that this is a "more valid" comparison than Ravitch's."The reason it's more valid is that even if it's a flawed way to measure poverty, at least different

Occupy the Academy Awards | California Father #ows

Occupy the Academy Awards | California Father:Occupy the Academy Awardsby California FatherAs we gear up for Occupy The Tournament of Roses Parade can thoughts of occupying the Oscars be very far off? Thinking about it put me in mind of two fellow CalArtists who crashed that glamorous event nearly 25 years ago, bringing down the Hollywood 1% before it was in style.

Chicago Teachers Battle Mayor 1% | Labor Notes #ows

Chicago Teachers Battle Mayor 1% | Labor Notes:Chicago Teachers Battle Mayor 1%Howard Ryan| December 26, 2011Rahm Emanuel, whom Occupy Chicago has dubbed Mayor 1%, fired another shot at the city’s public schools this month. He's proposed to close schools, fire teachers and staff, and hand over space to private charter school operators. Photo: Chicago Teachers Union.Rahm Emanuel, whom Occupy Chicago has dubbed Mayor 1%, fired another shot at the city’s public schools December 1. He proposed seven school closings and ...more »

Blue Jersey:: Winning charter school strategy: protect wealthy towns?

Blue Jersey:: Winning charter school strategy: protect wealthy towns?:Winning charter school strategy: protect wealthy towns?by the_promised_landHere is a curious turn of events in the ongoing debate over whether local school districts can be forced to spend taxpayer money on charter schools at the expense of public schools and without any local vote.It concerns the Hua Mei charter school proposal, a Mandarin-immersion school. Earlier this year, the proposal would have included - and thus drawn funds from - Christie hometown Livingston, ... more »

The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technology : NPR

The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technology : NPR:The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technologyby NPR STAFFIn 1975, when then-composer and performer Bill Buxton started designing his own digital musical instruments, he had no way of knowing he was helping to spark the next technological revolution. But nine years — and a master's in computer science — later, that all changed."I wasn't trying to make a computer interface, I was just trying to make a drum," Buxton tells NPR's Robert Siegel. "Did I envision ... more »

A December of Deceptions, Misleads and Misteps by Florida Republicans on Education Policy | Scathing Purple Musings

A December of Deceptions, Misleads and Misteps by Florida Republicans on Education Policy | Scathing Purple Musings:A December of Deceptions, Misleads and Misteps by Florida Republicans on Education Policyby Bob SikesEducation commissioner Gerard Robinson had a nice little spin on this month’s release of state graduation numbers.“I want to commend Florida’s teachers, students, parents and school leaders for their dedication to helping their students learn and earn their high school diplomas,” Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson stated in a release. ... more »

What to expect in January from the corporate privatizers in the state of Washington | Seattle Education

What to expect in January from the corporate privatizers in the state of Washington | Seattle Education:What to expect in January from the corporate privatizers in the state of Washingtonby seattleducation2011Remember: There is nothing “public” about charter schools except the funding of these franchises by our tax dollars.This began as a memorandum to a group of political and education activists in the state of Washington but as I started writing this, I realized that everyone in the state of Washington ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CHRISTMAS QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CHRISTMAS QUOTABLES:CHRISTMAS QUOTABLESby Mike KlonskyCommunity activist Martha Sanchez, right, shares an emotional moment with her children, Gonzalo Romero, 17, and Catherine Romero, 12, celebrating victory in an eight-year battle to shut down a metal-finishing plant across the street from 28th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times)Danny SchechterI did my Christmas penance back in a very cold and all too empty Zuccotti Park on Christmas day. There had been a 24 hour ... more »

He dresses up history and his students like the fit - latimes.com

He dresses up history and his students like the fit - latimes.com:He dresses up history and his students like the fitRoosevelt High teacher Chuck Olynyk uses costumes and props to encourage his students to become engaged with distant times and connect their own lives to history. But beneath the period garb, says a school principal, is a good instructor who cares about his classes.Comments1Share25Sophomores Ricardo Plascencia, left, and Guillermo Bazan, right, help Roosevelt High School world history teacher Chuck Olynyk ... more »

Occupy the Dream #ows

Occupy the Dream:Members of the African-American faith community have joined forces with Occupy Wall Street to launch a new campaign for economic justice inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Faithful to its philosophical origin, the "Occupy the Dream" coalition has called for a National Day of Action on Martin Luther King Day – Monday, January 16, 2012 – to focus attention on the gross injustice visited upon the 99% by the financial elite.Occupy the Federal Reserve ... more »