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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 2-16 AM Posts #edreform #soschat


FUBU for Teaching Standards [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson

FUBU for Teaching Standards [Future of Teaching] | The Jose Vilson:FUBU for Teaching Standards [Future of Teaching]by JoseExcerpt:I know there are a billion frameworks, most notably from Charlotte Danielson and Robert Marzano. I also don’t have faith in people who sell their products to districts who muck up any effort to improve the teaching profession with real research. Akin to what we do with students, Campbell’s Law comes into effect when we continually hammer in the idea that teachers should ... more »

Education Petition: Do not publish the unreliable teacher data reports! | Change.org

Education Petition: Do not publish the unreliable teacher data reports! | Change.org:Do not publish the unreliable teacher data reports!Signatures30 out of 1,000PetitioningPublic editor of NY Times (+ 6 others)Created ByClass Size MattersAbout this PetitionPetition LetterPetition UpdatesWhy This Is ImportantThese reports, which rated 12,700 NYC teachers based solely on the 2010 test scores of their students, filtered through a complicated value-added formula, are seen by most experts as highly unreliable, based on false or incomplete data and include huge margins of ... more »

WTF Probe: NYC teacher had students write to inmate - Boston.com

Probe: NYC teacher had students write to inmate - Boston.com:Probe: NYC teacher had students write to inmateFebruary 15, 2012E-mail|Print|Comments (0)Text size – +0 0 ShareThisNewNEW YORK—Investigators say a New York City teacher had her students make Christmas cards for an incarcerated felon.The special commissioner of investigation for city schools says Queens public school teacher Melissa Dean asked her fifth-graders to make holiday cards for someone who was lonely.The commissioner's report was issued Wednesday. It says Dean mailed the cards to ... more »

Interesting Interview With Charlotte Danielson | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Interesting Interview With Charlotte Danielson | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:Interesting Interview With Charlotte Danielsonby Larry FerlazzoI have to admit that I’m not well-versed in Charlotte Danielson’s work and her teacher evaluation framework, but it’s sure becoming very popular, very quickly.The New York Times “School Book” has just published an interesting interview with her: An Evaluation Architect Says Teaching Is Hard, but Assessing It Shouldn’t Be.I was particularly struck by this part:Q. When states design evaluation systems, like New ... more »

Videos for the Classroom: Interview about “Slavery by Another Name” | Mr. D's Neighborhood

Videos for the Classroom: Interview about “Slavery by Another Name” | Mr. D's Neighborhood:Videos for the Classroom: Interview about “Slavery by Another Name”by ldorazio1A few nights ago, PBS showed a documentary that chilled me to the bone.Slavery by Another Name is a documentary based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon. It details an often-overlooked chapter in African American history: the ... more »

Hear from Parents Across America members on how to fight back against corporate reform | Seattle Education

Hear from Parents Across America members on how to fight back against corporate reform | Seattle Education:Hear from Parents Across America members on how to fight back against corporate reformby seattleducation2011Feeling overwhelmed by all the negative legislation and education policies being imposed by corporate reformers on your school or district?On Monday night, February 20th at 8 PM EST, Parents Across America will be sponsoring a conference call, open to all parents and concerned citizens, to brief you on strategies you ... more »

Federal Regulations are Not Making College More Expensive

Federal Regulations are Not Making College More Expensive:Federal Regulations are Not Making College More Expensiveby KEVIN CAREY on FEBRUARY 15, 2012in UNCATEGORIZEDShareA couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to testify at a U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing on innovations in higher education affordability. You can watch the video here. It was an interesting morning marred by a long discussion of an essentially bogus idea: that college keeps getting more expensive because of onerous federal ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-12 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Education - Day of Action. March 5 -SacramentoBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-4 minutes agoSACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramento:Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramentoby Duane CampbellJoin Us on March 5 Day of ActionTo Demand that the California Government:Fully fund public education, which is a public good and is the cornerstone of a democratic society, a vibrant economy, and the social and intellectual development of every individual.Fully fund social ... more »

No cussing in class for teachers, lawmaker says - NorthJersey.com

No cussing in class for teachers, lawmaker says - NorthJersey.com:No cussing in class for teachers, lawmaker saysWEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2012, 6:59 PMASSOCIATED PRESSTHE RECORDPAGES: 1 2 3 4 DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE | PRINT | E-MAILPHOENIX — A teacher's role may be to expand a student's vocabulary, but one Arizona lawmaker wants to make sure that doesn't include four-letter words.ASSOCIATED PRESSFloyd Brown and his daughter Olivia Brown pose for a photo Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, in Anthem, Ariz. Borwn, pulled ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is Going on with this MOU?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is Going on with this MOU?:What is Going on with this MOU?by Melissa WestbrookI keep trying to get up from this computer but something new pops up.So the Action Report on the Creative Approach Schools has changed (but not the MOU). Here are the changes (the red is new):I move that the Seattle School Board approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Seattle Education Association and the Seattle School District No. 1 regarding the Collective ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Can You Trust? Part 2

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Can You Trust? Part 2:Who Can You Trust? Part 2by Melissa WestbrookI guess no one.So from what I was following on the superintendent search (both in person and reading minutes), I thought I understood how the superintendent search would be working. Of course, we are still waiting on the webpage for this information (tick tock). I had understood the search committee to be made up of the following:7 Board members1 SEA rep1 PASS rep1 SCPTSA ... more »

This Week In Education: Thompson: Collective Effort Vs. Teacher Scapegoating

This Week In Education: Thompson: Collective Effort Vs. Teacher Scapegoating:Thompson: Collective Effort Vs. Teacher Scapegoatingby john thompsonDavid Cantors’ EdWeek commentary (Who Is Responsible for Student Achievement?) starts as if it was another exercise in the blame game. Cantor’s focus groups with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders could never answer the question "who should be responsible for making things better." But Cantor listens and realizes that educators "were shouting to policymakers: You can't put anything else on our plate" and that ... more »

To Catch a Plagiarist | Edwize

To Catch a Plagiarist | Edwize:To Catch a Plagiaristby Senorita in the CityPirillo Fitz[Editor's note: Señorita in the City is the pseudonym of a fifth-year teacher in a high school in Manhattan. She blogs at senoritainthecity.com where a version of this post first appeared.]Recently I found myself identifying with these words spoken by Liam Neeson’s character in the movie “Taken”: “What I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills that I have acquired over a very long ... more »

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramento

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramento:Education - Day of Action. March 5 -Sacramentoby Duane CampbellJoin Us on March 5 Day of ActionTo Demand that the California Government:Fully fund public education, which is a public good and is the cornerstone of a democratic society, a vibrant economy, and the social and intellectual development of every individual.Fully fund social services, which to a large part provide a crucial safety net for the most vulnerable members of society ... more »

Hear from PAA members how to fight back against corporate reform! « Parents Across America

Hear from PAA members how to fight back against corporate reform! « Parents Across America:Hear from PAA members how to fight back against corporate reform!by leoniehaimsonDear Friends:·Feeling overwhelmed by all the negative legislation and education policies being imposed by corporate reformers on your school or district? Want to get advice from other parents fighting the same battles in their communities?Next Monday night, Feb. 20 at 8 PM, Parents Across America will be sponsoring a conference call, open to all parents ...more »

National Education Organizations Respond to the President’s FY2013 Budget Proposal | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

National Education Organizations Respond to the President’s FY2013 Budget Proposal | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:National Education Organizations Respond to the President’s FY2013 Budget ProposalBy Anne O'Brien on February 15, 2012On February 13, 2012, President Obama released hisFY2013 budget proposal. While many analysts believe the budget is dead on arrival in Congress, those in the education community are praising the president for recognizing the important role that education plays in our economy and our society.In his budget, ... more »

Rally to support IL House Bill 4487: Moratorium on School Closings, Turnarounds and Phase-Outs

Chicago Teachers Union | Rally to support IL House Bill 4487: Moratorium on School Closings, Turnarounds and Phase-Outs:Rally to support IL House Bill 4487: Moratorium on School Closings, Turnarounds and Phase-Outs02/15/2012Click here to download the flyer.

Shanker Blog » Guessing About NAEP Results

Shanker Blog » Guessing About NAEP Results:Guessing About NAEP Resultsby Matthew Di CarloEvery two years, the release of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) generates a wave of research and commentary trying to explain short- and long-term trends. For instance, there have been a bunch of recent attempts to “explain” an increase in aggregate NAEP scores during the late 1990s and 2000s. Some analyses postulate that the accountability provisions of NCLB were responsible, while more recentarguments have ... more »

IEA: Put the active in activism. « Fred Klonsky

IEA: Put the active in activism. « Fred Klonsky:IEA: Put the active in activism.by Fred KlonskyThere will be no Lobby Day this year.Some folks have pulled me aside and said, “Let’s just go down there.”But that’s not really the point, is it?We can go down to Springfield with a bus of 50. But then what?What’s our state Association for?A few days ago, IEA President Cinda Klickna responded to one our our local Association members, Jerry Mulvihill, with a long explanation ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Can You Trust?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Who Can You Trust?:Who Can You Trust?by Melissa WestbrookAnyone who has lived a couple of decades on this planet knows that life is full of nuance (even if we don't want to admit it). We know that life isn't always fair.But in my years in advocacy, I have always puzzled over why some don't want to be entirely truthful when it comes to certain issues. They may have privately looked at an issue from all sides ... more »