Friday, February 24, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts 2-24 #edreform #soschat


Danza: School cuts signal to kids ‘they really don’t matter’ - Philly.com

Danza: School cuts signal to kids ‘they really don’t matter’ - Philly.com:Danza: School cuts signal to kids ‘they really don’t matter’February 23, 2012|By Kristen A. Graham, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERThe speakers came from different backgrounds - an actor-turned-teacher, two union officials and a state senator - but their message was the same: budget cuts have hit the Philadelphia School District too hard and must stop.Speaking at a news conference on the steps of the district's North Broad Street headquarters Thursday, Danza ... more »

Outside evaluator must tell us how well prepared are we for Common Core | Thoughts on Public Education

Outside evaluator must tell us how well prepared are we for Common Core | Thoughts on Public Education:Outside evaluator must tell us how well prepared are we for Common Core - by John Affeldtby John AffeldtCalifornia, like many states, is embarking on an ambitious rewiring of its public school system. By the 2014-15 school year, it plans to implement new Common Core academic standards in English and math for all grades. The new standards were adopted by the State Board ... more »

Duncan’s equity commission and the ‘rising tide’ of avarice, hostility, testing - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Duncan’s equity commission and the ‘rising tide’ of avarice, hostility, testing - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Duncan’s equity commission and the ‘rising tide’ of avarice, hostility, testingby Valerie StraussThis was written by John Merrow, veteran education reporter for PBS, NPR, and dozens of national publications. He is the president of the nonprofit media production company Learning Matters. Merrow’s latest book is “The Influence of Teachers.” This post first appeared on Merrow’s blog, Taking Note.Read full article A test ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Crane Deal's A Crock

School Tech Connect: The Crane Deal's A Crock:The Crane Deal's A Crockby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)I started to regret saying anything positive about the Crane “deal” the instant I heard that Rahm had praised it. In the very same nanosecond, I started to worry that the deal won't be what it seems, that it would be steeped in patronage, and that it would somehow turn out to be a disaster for the neighborhood Crane serves and the teachers who work there. That's ... more »

Rahm Emanuel: Protests over school closings ‘noise associated with change’ - Chicago Sun-Times

Rahm Emanuel: Protests over school closings ‘noise associated with change’ - Chicago Sun-Times:Rahm Emanuel: Protests over school closings ‘noise associated with change’BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com February 23, 2012 2:34PMReprints11Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited with preschoolers at Metropolitan Family Services at 3249 N. Central Ave. L-r: Yeasbeth Ortiz, Serena Reyes and Izabella Lagunas-Hernandez. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-TimesRELATED STORIESBoard of Education OKs shake-ups for 17 schoolsUpdated: February 24, 2012 2:24AM Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday... more »

Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted out | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted out | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com:Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted outby Tawnell Hobbs/ReporterSome Occupy Dallas members were removed from a Dallas ISD board meeting on Thursday after breaking out in loud chant. The group was escorted out of the auditorium by DISD police. They were protesting various issues, including the board's recent decision to close 11 schools and its approval to extend teacher workdays by 45 minutes without more pay. ... more »

Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myself | The Jose Vilson

Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myself | The Jose Vilson:Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myselfby JoseNot sure if you’ve heard, but, against their own wishes -ahem-, the NYC Department of Education is releasing their infamous Teacher Data Reports, a set of papers ostensibly compiling a teacher’s student scores on English and Math scores from 3rd to 8th grade to determine their effectiveness, normalizing scores for effects like poverty and growth. ... more »

NYC Educator: Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gun

NYC Educator: Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gun:Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gunby NYC EducatorSo says Mike Klonsky, on whether VAM, or value-added, should be part of any evaluation system. This notwithstanding, there are various ways of looking at New York's new evaluation system, and UFT High School VP Leo Casey may not see eye to eye with Klonsky.I'd like nothing more than to agree with Casey. This would mean that all my colleagues ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disorders

Missouri Education Watchdog: In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disorders:In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disordersby stlgretchenThe government obsession of obesity and controlling student food choices may result in unintended consequences.Producing fit workers for the society might just boomerang into producing a generation of children with increasing emotional problems. While the food police is obsessing about ... more »

AFT - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools:Research Begins to Detail Successin Community SchoolsTeachers know firsthand that wraparound services like healthcare and family counseling really help when it comes to getting students ready to learn. But education experts are only beginning to gather actual data that show us how."Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools" begins to fill that gap. The report, produced by the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-23 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

Buyer Beware - Bridging Differences - Education WeekBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-46 minutes agoBuyer Beware - Bridging Differences - Education Week:Buyer Bewareby Deborah MeierDear Diane,Three days with the North Dakota Study Group restores my spirits every year. Some great speeches, small "works in progress" workshops, presentations by students, and just food and talk, talk, talk.I read your blog this week while I was at the NDSG and passed it around. It's superb, and we should all tweet it ... more »

Why we won’t publish individual teachers’ value-added scores | GothamSchools

Why we won’t publish individual teachers’ value-added scores | GothamSchools:Why we won’t publish individual teachers’ value-added scoresby Elizabeth Green and Philissa Cramer, at 6:24 pmTomorrow’s planned release of 12,000 New York City teacher ratings raises questions for the courts, parents, principals, bureaucrats, teachers — and one other party: news organizations. The journalists who requested the release of the data in the first place now must decide what to do with it all.At GothamSchools, we joined other reporters in requesting to ... more »

Thirty minutes with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. « Fred Klonsky

Thirty minutes with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. « Fred Klonsky:Thirty minutes with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.by Fred KlonskyToday on my favorite local news show.The in box: Will Guzzardi challenges Toni Berrio’s lies.by Fred KlonskyRepresentative Berrios,I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to ask a quick question about a mailer you sent out recently, discussing a law firm you claim is “allied with” me.This struck me as curious, given that I’m not allied with any ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cracks in the pavement

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cracks in the pavement:Cracks in the pavementby Mike Klonsky"This is Little Rock, 1957," Jackson told the board. "This is apartheid."The mayor had no trouble getting his hand-picked gaggle of billionaires and their toadies on the school board to unanimously vote for more school closings and turnarounds. But it's become clear that mounting protests have begun to create some space for dissent among the minions. Media coverage of the protests seems to have moved somewhat out of ... more »

Video: Mr. Raymond Goes to Sacramento - Rosemont, CA Patch

Video: Mr. Raymond Goes to Sacramento - Rosemont, CA Patch:Video: Mr. Raymond Goes to SacramentoThe Sacramento City Unified School District's superintendent testified before the California senate last week.By Cody KitauraEmail the author2:00 pm Email Print Comment1 of 1 Upload Photos and VideosThe school district that includes Rosemont made some tough budget decisions earlier this month, cutting $28 million from next year's budget.Last week, Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond went to the source of the district's funding to ...more »

United Opt Out National

United Opt Out National:OCCUPY THE DOE IN DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – PLEASE READ ENTIRE POSTEvent:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postStart:March 30, 2012End:April 2, 2012Organizer:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postUpdated:December 9, 2011Venue:U.S. Department of EducationAddress:Google Map400 Maryland Ave, SW ,Washington, DC, 20202,United StatesUnited Opt Out National endorses Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Together by creating ACTION in solidarity. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST ... more »

INSANE or NUMB? (please report) | Mr. Teachbad

INSANE or NUMB? (please report) | Mr. Teachbad:INSANE or NUMB? (please report)by teachbadA couple of weeks ago someone posted a comment I think you should read. Jessica Knapp wrote about what teaching can do to people. Her words struck an arrow through my heart. I would very much like for you to add your thoughts and stories. Here’s what she said: I taught KG for 6 years in an inner city school where 94% of the stu­dent body qual­i­fied for ... more »

Arne Duncan on a legislative proposal in South Carolina to block implementation of the Common Core

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan | U.S. Department of Education:Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne DuncanOn a Legislative Proposal in South Carolina to Block Implementation of the Common Core Academic StandardsFEBRUARY 23, 2012Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Following is a statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on a legislative proposal in South Carolina to block implementation of the Common Core academic standards:“The idea that the Common Core standards are nationally-imposed is a conspiracy ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Christie to Teachers: "Tough S#!&"

Jersey Jazzman: Christie to Teachers: "Tough S#!":Christie to Teachers: "Tough S#!"by DukeWe now live in a world where politicians that give huge tax breaks to the wealthy and break promises to middle-class workers are considered "courageous":Dellossa, a teacher at Palisades Park High School, where the town hall was held, asked Christie why he had gone back on a campaign promise not to cut teacher benefits.She spoke specifically of one provision of his public employee benefits overhaul that hit close to ... more »