Tuesday, December 6, 2011

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


NYC Educator: Let's Ask the KIds How They Feel about Class Size

NYC Educator: Let's Ask the KIds How They Feel about Class Size:Let's Ask the KIds How They Feel about Class Sizeby Miss EyreAfter reading Mayor Bloomberg's fascinating views on class size(for everyone else's kids, of course, not his own), I realized whose voices weren't being heard in the discussion: Those of the children. I thought about some recurring comments made under the collective breath of my class of 30+ tenth graders who are crammed into middle-school-sized desks in a room ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Innovation Schools, Er, "Creative Approach Schools"

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Innovation Schools, Er, "Creative Approach Schools":Innovation Schools, Er, "Creative Approach Schools"by Melissa WestbrookThe initial draft of the MOU between the district and the SEA about innovation schools (now renamed "Creative Approach Schools") is clearly a work in progress. But it is promising.It's interesting because I think some fear this as an intro into charters; I see it as a way to strong-arm off charters. Why do you need charters if districts and unions are willing to ... more »

What ‘multiple measures’ really means in evaluation - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

What ‘multiple measures’ really means in evaluation - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:What ‘multiple measures’ really means in evaluationby Valerie StraussThis was written by Lisa Guisbond and Monty Neill of FairTest, the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing, which is dedicated to eliminating the misuse of standardized testing. Guisbond is a policy analyst and Neill is the executive director.By Lisa Guisbond and Monty NeillLike the same old laundry detergent with a “new and improved” sticker, sometimes ... more »

Put The FOIL In The Recycle Bin, Please | The Jose Vilson

Put The FOIL In The Recycle Bin, Please | The Jose Vilson:Put The FOIL In The Recycle Bin, Pleaseby JoseThat’s it. I’m done with FOIL. Now and possibly forever, unless someone like Alfie Kohn or JD tells me otherwise.At first I didn’t have a horse in the race. I mean, who cares so long as kids can multiply binomials right? If they get it one way or another way, then they’ll get it and that’s great. So what prompted me ... more »

Daily Kos: How to Rescue Education Reform

Daily Kos: How to Rescue Education Reform:How to Rescue Education Reformby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)is the title of this interesting New York Times op ed. It is interesting, and unusual, in the pair of authors, because they are normally not seen as allies on matters educational, disagreeing strongly on things like merit pay for teachers, to cite only one example.Linda Darling-Hammond is one of the most notable figure in education, having been a professor at Teachers College Columbia and now at Stanford, ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: It's A Wonderfully Stupid Life

Jersey Jazzman: It's A Wonderfully Stupid Life:It's A Wonderfully Stupid Lifeby DukeLess than a month before the deadline, we have a sure winner in the "Stoopidest Conversation On Cable News TeeVee" category:Damn you, Muppets, with your anti-capitalism propaganda and indoctrination! Why can't we return to the good old days of Hollywood celebrating the wealthy? Like when they would destroy small towns?Every time a wacko says something stoopid on Fox, and

LAUSD's Employee Relations Director Ira Berman - The Banality of Evil Part 1 - Perdaily.com

LAUSD's Employee Relations Director Ira Berman - The Banality of Evil Part 1 - Perdaily.com:LAUSD's Employee Relations Director Ira Berman - The Banality of Evil Part 1by Leonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español)(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)During the last several weeks I have been inundated with phone calls from Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) rubber room teachers and others who the new regime of Superintendent John Deasy is moving ... more »

How to Rescue Education Reform - NYTimes.com

How to Rescue Education Reform - NYTimes.com:How to Rescue Education ReformGracía LamBy FREDERICK M. HESS and LINDA DARLING-HAMMONDPublished: December 5, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHARETHE debate over renewing No Child Left Behind, the education reform act that will be 10 years old in January, has fallen along partisan lines even though school improvement is one of the few examples of bipartisan cooperation over the last decade.Related in OpinionMore on Education »Though the law was initiated and signed by a Republican president, presidential candidates like ...more »

A Multi Year Evaluation of the Philadelphia School Turn Around Model is Necessary Before Considering any Further Expansion « City School Stories

A Multi Year Evaluation of the Philadelphia School Turn Around Model is Necessary Before Considering any Further Expansion « City School Stories:A Multi Year Evaluation of the Philadelphia School Turn Around Model is Necessary Before Considering any Further Expansionby fmurphyNotes from the FieldSubmitted by Frank Murphy on December 6, 2011In the last two years, several Philadelphia District schools have either been converted to charter schools operated by outside providers, or have been converted to Promise Academies, the District’s internally-managed school ... more »

All Things Education: School "Reform" in DC: Is the Problem Choice or What Compels Families to Choose?

All Things Education: School "Reform" in DC: Is the Problem Choice or What Compels Families to Choose?:School "Reform" in DC: Is the Problem Choice or What Compels Families to Choose?by Rachel LevyAfter reading the New York times op-ed on school choice in DC, I asked some folks close to what's happening in education there for their thoughts. Mary Levy sent me what is written below and (with her permission), I decided to use it as a guest post. Mary Levy ... more »

Health centers and “full-service community schools” - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Health centers and “full-service community schools” - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:Health centers and “full-service community schools”By Katy MurphyMonday, December 5th, 2011 at 8:38 am in health, high schools, initiatives, OUSD central office, students.photos by Roy Manzanares, courtesy of Oakland UnifiedOakland Superintendent Tony Smith’s vision of full-service community schools is taking shape on some campuses, thanks to a school-based health center initiative that has picked up steam (and millions of dollars in funding) since 2008.Oakland ... more »

some asian american college applicants are leaving the 'asian' check box blank | angry asian man

some asian american college applicants are leaving the 'asian' check box blank | angry asian man:some asian american college applicants are leaving the 'asian' check box blankGot bombarded over the weekend with this Associated Press article about college-bound mixed-race Asian American students who are choosing not to identify themselves as 'Asian' on their applications: Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian.'The idea is to get an edge at elite schools, where Asian Americans are perceptibly held to higher admissions standards ... more »

ALEC Education Task Force Approves Anti-Common Core Model Legislation | Truth in American Education

ALEC Education Task Force Approves Anti-Common Core Model Legislation | Truth in American Education:ALEC Education Task Force Approves Anti-Common Core Model Legislationby Shane Vander HartThe American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) met last week in Scottsdale, AZ. They are an organization whose mission is “to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.” They h... more »

Schools Matter: Gingrich and Trump Team Up to Create "Junior Janitor Apprentice"

Schools Matter: Gingrich and Trump Team Up to Create "Junior Janitor Apprentice":Gingrich and Trump Team Up to Create "Junior Janitor Apprentice"by Jim HornLast week Newt Grincherly proved to be the latest threat to the GOP's only brand of ReaganLite, Mitt Romney. In showing why he is the intellectual voice of conservative politcs, Grinchoski offered his view on helping poor children while saving the schools some money. Let's go to the video:PopoutToday the new GOP frontrunner zoomed up Trump Towers for ... more »

Current Events and a Recent Interview « Bill Ayers #ows

Current Events and a Recent Interview « Bill Ayers:Current Events and a Recent Interviewby billayersBill Ayers interviewWith the Arab Spring and the Occupy movements there seems to be a distinct parallel between what is happening now and what was happening in the 60’s: the summer of ’68, world uprisings, the Civil Rights movement, the general malaise with the establishment. What is your take on Occupy? 1). It’s tempting to make comparisons, but I resist. Humanity plunges forward, circumstances shift, unpredictable ... more »

Cornel West: ‘I intend to fight’ for Harlem school that could close | GothamSchools

Cornel West: ‘I intend to fight’ for Harlem school that could close | GothamSchools:Cornel West: ‘I intend to fight’ for Harlem school that could closeby Geoff DeckerPopoutStudents at a Harlem school that could be closed got an unlikely ally today: famed philosopher Cornel West.West spoked to students this morning at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing Arts as part of librarian Paul McIntosh’s long-running speaker series meant to inspire students to stay on the right track.Wadleigh and another school in ... more »

School Choice? A Question of Time and Money – SchoolBook

School Choice? A Question of Time and Money – SchoolBook:School Choice? A Question of Time and MoneyErin E. Evans for SchoolBookFACEBOOKTWITTERQUESTIONWhat do you think of the school choice process?RespondDec. 5, 2011, 6:21 p.m.By AMY STUART WELLSIn a New York Times op-ed article on Monday, Natalie Hopkinson writes that school choice in her neighborhood in Washington hasdestroyed community-based education for working-class families. With New York ranked No. 1 in the nation in giving parents and students choices, according to one study ... more »

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

Great Schools for Amerca — Great Teachers ##edreformBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-52 minutes agoGreat Schools for Amerca — Great Teachers:EdwatchEducation Watch is an evolving database constructed to illuminate the connections between wealthy individuals, the proliferation of newly formed tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, and the policy that diverts public money to these private ventures. Nearly all of these organizations were formed or co-opted within the past decade. If you know of an organization to add to Education Watch, please e-mail ... more »

Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists - NYTimes.com

Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists - NYTimes.com:Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School JournalistsBy HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVOCourtesy of Blue Devil HUBVideo taken by Anna Sturla, a high school journalist, of the U.C. Davis chancellor’s “silent walk” amid student protesters in the aftermath of the pepper spray incident.Readers learned of the pepper-spraying incident at the University of California-Davis by reading coverage on The Lede, The Times’s breaking news blog, in a post by Brian Stelter. The next day, ... more »