Some Christmas Tunery
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Here at the Institute (where the Board of Directors still firmly believe in
Santa Claus), we like our seasonal music, both as consumers and as
producers,...
Greg Olear: Reading Charles Dickens Today
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Greg Olear writes a blog that is always rewarding to read–full of insight,
experience, knowledge, wisdom. His post below connects the world of Dickens
to t...
Finding Light in Winter by Mary Pipher
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The mornings are dark, the late afternoons are dusky, and before we finish
making dinner, the daylight is gone. As we approach the darkest days of the
ye...
Last Minute Gift Ideas!
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We've been bombarded with "last minute" gift idea promotions since at least
mid-November, but now, finally, the last minute is truly upon us. As a
publi...
Cartoons about the Holiday Season
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Here are some cartoons that got me to smile about this time of year. I hope
they will do the same for you. Happy holidays to all of my readers. Enjoy!
HAIRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAIRY HANUKKAH TOO!
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*HAIRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAIRY HANUKKAH TOO!*
* The Big Hairy Education Ape Spreads Holiday Cheer! Ah, December! The time
of year when the air tur...
About the Social Security Fairness Act
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On December 21, 2024, the US Senate passed the Social Security Fairness
Act, otherwise known as HR 82, a bill that restores full Social Security
benefits t...
Apologies to Dan Alicea
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I want to truly apologize to Daniel Alicea. On November 30, Dan wrote a
blog post about how, despite millions of dollars being available, Mulgrew
refused...
The 2024 NPE “Coal in the Stocking” Awards
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At NPE, we know who is naughty and nice when it comes to supporting our
public schools and their students.
The post The 2024 NPE “Coal in the Stocking” A...
Big Lies of Education: Grade Retention
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The Big Lie of grade retention in the US is that it is often hidden within
larger reading legislation and policy, notably since the 2010s: Westall and
Cumm...
Juntos lo haremos
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En el año que viene, tendremos que tomar decisiones difíciles sobre quienes
queremos ser en cada comunidad y como nación. Ha sido un año muy intenso.
Desde...
WTF, Democratic Caucus?
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Why is the failure of this current budget bill being blamed on Republicans
when almost every single Democrat voted against it? If only half of the
Dems had...
Peace through Beauty
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I am and always have been more musical than I have been verbal. I have
always found beauty in sound. Often it can be purely instrumental, such as
playing...
San Diego School Board Election Outcomes
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By Thomas Ultican 12/17/2024 Before the recent election, I wrote
recommendations for several school board seats in San Diego County. The San
Diego County R...
SPI Supports SB 48 to Keep ICE Off School Campuses
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State Superintendent Tony Thurmond sponsors Senate Bill 48 to keep
Immigration and Customs Enforcement off of school campuses, protecting
school attendance...
Schrödinger’s Cat
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Schrödinger’s cat is a famous thought experiment in which the renowned
scientist pondered how a cat in a closed box could be thought of as
simultaneously a...
In Memoriam: Nikki Giovanni
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The literary and cultural world has lost an irreplaceable voice with the
passing of Nikki Giovanni. As one of the most celebrated poets and
activists of ou...
Education Has Failed and What Can We Do Next?
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Education has failed to prepare children for the world today. Despite the
increased investment, impactful reforms, hardworking teachers and school
leaders,...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
November Parent Engagement Resources
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Greeting a family in their preferred language is a small gesture that
demonstrates respect and eagerness to connect with parents. Creating a
Welcoming Envi...
Try Substack?
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Seems like the popular new thing. Here’s my first try – it’s about
yesterday’s UFT Retired Teachers Chapter meeting – first ever not run by
Unity. (Spoiler...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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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 ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
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Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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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...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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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...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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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...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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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...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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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...
Follow me at Substack
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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
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
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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...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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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...
The Fight For Our Children
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*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 ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
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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...
Keeping Progressive Schools Alive
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Dear Friends and Colleagues, Happy New Year and a special thanks to those
who respond to past blogs about choice, et al. I always mean to respond to
each c...
Reminiscences
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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...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
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Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
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Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
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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...
My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards
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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...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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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...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
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It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
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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...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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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...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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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...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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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...
Education Is a Civic Question
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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...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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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...
Should We Be Grateful?
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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...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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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 ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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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...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
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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
...
Test Refusal = People Power
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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...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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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...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
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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...
MY NEW BLOG
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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...
Thank you
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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...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
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Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
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*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
Mayor Mike Bloomberg of NYC with Mayor Boris Johnson of London
This afternoon, I posted the following joke on my Facebook:
If school was in session, Bloomberg wouldn’t close schools. Around lunchtime, he’d say, “Let them have shakes.”
I jest. Well, for the most part. Surprisingly, there was no announcement from our mayor on anything. NYC Educator might quip here that he’s probably having lunch somewhere in Bermuda, to which I’d laugh with my mouth agape. Then again, this earthquake business struck me in more ways than one. While I’m able to find a little levity in earth-shaking situations where no one really gets hurt, the earthquake came right after another jarring moment for me. After cleaning every crevice of my bathroom, I looked in my fiancee’s eyes and said, “I
SB 547 improves on California's current yardstick for measuring improvement in schools in important ways.
SB 547, which has passed the Senate, would use test scores as one of the major yardsticks for improving California schools, but it would also add other important factors including graduation rates. Shown here: Berkeley High School in Berkeley, Calif. (Robert Durell/ For The Times)
California's system for measuring improvement in schools was always better than the federal government's, and a bill by state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) would enhance it in some long-overdue ways, perhaps providing a national model for school accountability.
SB 547, which has passed the Senate and deserves to become law, would still use test scores as one of the major yardsticks for improving schools, but it would add other important factors: graduation rates and the readying of students for college or careers.If implemented correctly, the bill also couldencourage schools to shift away from what has become an overemphasis on test-oriented "drill and kill" in basic subjects.
The lack of emphasis on dropout rates has been the shame of school accountability systems. The single-minded focus on testing actually gives schools an incentive to encourage their
I'm far too old and crabby to go on blogging late every evening. If I'm not in bed by nine, there's hell to pay at five in the morning. Three things:
1. @TFTeacher is going to be talking to Stephen Krashen Wednesday at 3:30 (Eastern? I forget) on BTR. Follow the link and listen on your computer thingy. Krashen is one of the smartest, funniest guys in academia, and he's also been out of the tower and in the trenches, fighting the good fight for over 100 years. Ok, I exaggerated the time frame. I'm going to steal the interview and embed it here for those of you can't make it in the middle of the day. That way I can basically claim the glory of the interview for myself.
The thing I like about Krashen is that he's articulate on the impact of poverty, the importance of libraries, and real take-aways from PISA and TIMSS, which everyone is always tut-tutting over. Arne Duncan has never once,
Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at his weekly press conference that the Third Grade Reading Campaign to bring up Sacramento’s standard reading level will kick off Wednesday with a community resource fair and a press conference.
Sacramento County third grade reading proficiency rates are well below California standards, according to Stand Up, a nonprofit education program that is a featured initiative of Johnson. Statewide, 44 percent of third graders are reading at grade level, while Sacramento County is at 37 percent, based on the 2011 education statistics.
“When we think about Sacramento, our literacy rates are not what they need to be. We have far too many of our
I’m with you on this one, Fred. What if you pick a legislator to call each Tuesday? Provide the phone number, while you’re at it. I think we should also call the Editor in Chief at the Tribune, whose education coverage lately is an extension of the mayor’s pr dept.
Representative Kevin A. McCarthy (D) – Previous General Assembly (96th)
37th District
Springfield Office:
271-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-3316
(217) 789-6250 FAX
District Office:
8951 W. 151st St.
Orland Park, IL 60462
(708) 226-1999
(708) 226-9068 FAX
Cook County
Struggling to hang on to its businesses, sports teams and even the lives of its young children, Oakland is now set to lose the daily newspaper that bears its name. In November, the Oakland Tribune, founded 137 years ago, will become the East Bay Tribune, the Bay Area News Group announced Tuesday. The group described the name change as a "rebranding." The Fremont Argus, the Alameda Times-Star, the Hayward Daily Review and the West County Times — which are also owned by BANG — will also be called the East Bay Tribune. As part of the rebranding, the Contra Costa Times, the Valley Times, the San Ramon Valley Times, the Tri-Valley Herald, the San Joaquin Herald and the East County Times will simply be called The Times. The San Mateo Times "will be branded under the San Jose Mercury News[...]
(This is part one of a four-part series on the ethics and political theory of Ayn Rand, written exclusively for The Daily Censored, by Dr. Robert Abele, professor of philosophy at Diablo Valley College in the San Francisco Bay Area.)
Ayn Rand has become the darling of both neoliberals and, unfortunately, many young people today. The latter phenomenon has been due in large part to the intense promotion of her writings by the well-organized and well-funded Ayn Rand Institute.
Re: "Warning as children shun books in favour of Facebook," August 22
Since 1840, newspapers have been reporting on the decline of literacy among young people. It wasn't true 170 years ago, and there is no reason to believe it is true now.
The Telegraph notes that pleasure reading declines as children get older. This has been reported in every study of this kind ever done and there is widespread agreement among scholars that increasing demands of school play a large role.
The Telegraph reports that that technology-based reading is more popular. This is not a cause for alarm. My
The plaintiffs in the Lobato v. State school funding lawsuit ended presentation of their case with another story of a struggling school district, just hours before lawyers for the state will begin presenting their case with testimony from Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia.
Mapleton Superintendent Charlotte Ciancio was the final witness presented by the plaintiff-intervenors in the case, a group of parents from four districts, including Greeley, Mapleton, Rocky Ford and Sheridan. The districts aren’t plaintiffs.
The larger original group of plaintiffs in the case includes parents and several school districts, including Aurora and Jefferson County. Both sets of plaintiffs share the central claim that the state’s school funding system
Did you know it was illegal for teachers to negotiate with school boards over the new “hand books” districts are replacing union contracts with?
In the big picture, those on the front lines in classrooms around our state apparently don’t know enough about teaching to help guide dictatorial school boards to do the right thing and improve education.
If parents weren’t concerned about the ins and outs of collective bargaining, then maybe they should be real concerned about our schools being taken over by politicians and special interests who’ll soon be stuffing their
Two years after IEA Executive Director Aurdrey Soglin led the team that proposed legislation that made linking teacher performance reviews and evaluation to student performance (legislation that was passed by the General Assembly) a mandatory part of local bargaining, the leadership is getting around to explaining it to the membership.
And they’re working to consolidate local leaders around Senate Bill 7, the bill that took away seniority and tenure rights from teachers in Illinois.
Part of the problem is that local leaders are heading into collective bargaining with no clue about how this sellout by the state leadership is going to impact their negotiations.
The other part of the problem is that many members are just now realizing what our leadership has done, and
nytimes.com - New York State education officials released a new set of graduation statistics on Monday that show fewer than half of students in the state are leaving high school prepared for college and well-pay...
mvgazette.com - By MIKE SECCOMBEProf. Henry Louis Gates: “What happened to our people?” Since 1968, the black middle class in America has quadrupled, Henry Louis (Skip) Gates told a packed house at the Edgartown W...
nydailynews.com - Martin Shields/Getty As the Bloomberg Administration increases the stakes on standardized tests, reports that teachers and administrators are cheating on exams has tripled, according to city data. ...
blogs.edweek.org - It is a truism that when an attorney does not have the evidence, he or she argues the law. When lawyers do not have the facts or the law on their side, they tell a good story. Steve Brill's new boo...
icehousegang.com - As Hubert Humphrey might have said, the Ice House Gang is just pleased as punch to give a shout-out to a couple members whose writing dazzled in The New York Times this past Sunday. That is, our ow...
miller-mccune.com - Opinion: The widening circle of cheating scandals on standardized tests should fuel the movement to reduce the stakes these exams have on public education in the U.S.As the list of states and citie...
garyrubinstein.teachforus.org - A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I did my own analysis of the 1997 study which is always quoted by Rhee about how 3 effective teachers in a row vs. 3 ineffective teachers in a row is life changin...
educationgadfly.net - It’s silly season again, and I’m not referring to the Republican primaries. No, I’m thinking about the all-out battle for proponents and opponents of “reform” to stick a nasty label on the other si...
nytimes.com - Annual allegations of test-tampering and grade-changing by educators have more than tripled since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took control of New York City’s school system, outpacing a broader incre...
tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com - Attorney General Eric Holder is sending poll watchers into a Mississippi county where white voters were previously found to have been intimidated by a Democratic official who is African-American.Th...
blog.angryasianman.com - Remember that story out of Baltimore about the Filipina nurses who were fired for speaking Tagalog? Corina Capunitan-Yap, Anna Rowena Rosales, Jazziel Granada and Hachelle Natano said they were fir...
preaprez.wordpress.com - Speaker Michael Madigan, Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party and teacher pension killer. Two weeks before Labor Day and I’m back at work. Friday was an in-service Institute Day. Yesterday the...
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 4:45 pm, August 23, 2011 Photo Credits: Uribe and the Wiretapping Scandal The Washington Post published over the weekend a very comprehensive article providing significant information ...
democraticunderground.com - Source: ReutersLabor power AFL-CIO to form super PAC to engage beyond unions By Molly O'Toole Molly O'toole – 21 mins agoWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Powerful labor group AFL-CIO is forming a super PAC t...
dnainfo.com - MANHATTAN— Actor Ryan Gosling played the role of real-life superhero while helping break up a street fight in Astor Place.The Academy Award-nominated star is purportedly seen in a video intervening...
theatlanticwire.com - J.K. Rowling will be making money off of the Harry Potter books until the 23rd-century thanks to the twisted history of intellectual property law in the United States. Unfamiliar with how and why c...
blog.angryasianman.com - Yahoo! Movies just dropped the new teaser trailer for The Lady, the upcoming movie biopic based on the life of Burmese democracy leader, political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu...
nytimes.com - Even before Libyan rebels could take full control of Tripoli, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy said on state television Monday that the Italian oil company Eni “will have a No. 1 role in t...
nypost.com - Department of Education officials are attempting to whitewash missteps that allowed students to stew inside a toxic Bronx school for months, parents charged yesterday.Despite finding levels of the ...
mediaite.com - video Since news of the Virginia earthquake felt along the Eastern Seaboard broke earlier today, one thing that’s the media has watched rather closely is the safety and integrity of the North Anna ...
nytimes.com - ALBANY — The Cuomo administration is continuing to pursue a two-year-old disciplinary case against Jeffrey Monsour, a state employee at the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities who has...
washingtonpost.com - RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Bob McDonnell has appointed Laura W. Fornash as Virginia’s new secretary of education. McDonnell’s office announced Fornash’s appointment Tuesday. Fornash had been interim secr...
northjersey.com - TRENTON -- Governor Christie signed legislation Monday that will make it a crime to posses, manufacture or sell "bath salts," a designer drug that was being sold in convenience stores, gas stations...
dailymail.co.uk - By Daniel BatesLast updated at 11:15 PM on 11th April 2011It was supposed to be a generous gift to finally sort out some of the nation’s worst performing schools.But six months after Mark Zuckerber...
nypost.com - Department of Education officials are attempting to whitewash missteps that allowed students to stew inside a toxic Bronx school for months, parents charged yesterday.Despite finding levels of the ...
Ayn Rand has become the darling of both neoliberals and, unfortunately, many young people today. The latter phenomenon has been due in large part to the intense promotion of her writings by the well-organized and well-funded Ayn Rand Institute. 
DianeRavitch
mikeklonsky
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