Friday, February 17, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-17 #soschat #ReclaimingReform


Jersey Jazzman: The War on Teachers Unions Hits a New Low

Jersey Jazzman: The War on Teachers Unions Hits a New Low:The War on Teachers Unions Hits a New Lowby DukeJust so classy:In its escalating war with the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s Republican Party recently turned to a new tactic: ambushing the head of the union with a video camera in the hope of capturing an embarrassing YouTube moment.The association said Thursday that having videographers lurking outside their offices in hooded sweatshirts and knit caps showed the lengths to ... more »

Are You Feeling RESPECT? « InterACT

Are You Feeling RESPECT? « InterACT:Are You Feeling RESPECT?by David B. CohenDear California Teachers,While you were in the classroom or eating lunch, or supervising lunch, or sponsoring a club, or helping students or attending an IEP meeting this past Wednesday afternoon, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was talking about transforming our profession, launching Project RESPECT – which stands for Recognizing Education Success, Professional Excellence, Collaborative Teaching. It took from 2009 to 2012 for the administration to come around to the ... more »

Letter to Arne Duncan - Two Teachers and a Microphone

Letter to Arne Duncan Listen for a minute to what I sayWe don't teach kids for the merit pay I wipe away tears and break up fights in the hallsWhile Arne Duncan plays basketballPublic school you never taught in your lifeBut you studied Harvard so it gives you the right To bully the states who don't in your run raceWho oppose the policies that you embraceBased on the test you and your crewCrucify teachers and close our schoolsPimping out Pearson ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Afternoon Posts 2-1 #soschat #edreform

When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on usBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-2 minutes agoWhen it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on us:When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on usby SamThe good news is that Republican lawmakers in Arizona are now retreating from their recent proposal to require teachers to limit their speech to words that comply with FCC regulations on what ... more »

RheeFirst! » Kansas City Federation of Teachers Local 691 thwart Rhee’s e-lobby day

RheeFirst! » Kansas City Federation of Teachers Local 691 thwart Rhee’s e-lobby day:Kansas City Federation of Teachers Local 691 thwart Rhee’s e-lobby dayby adminWritten by Kansas City Federation of Teachers. Read the entire post here.“Not only did we pack the house (with less than 24 hours notice), but our members spoke eloquently and passionately about our students and the negative impact that the charter school and the anti-due process legislation would have on our district and our children.Although the district ...more »

Borrowing wise words from those truly market-based, Private Independent schools… « School Finance 101

Borrowing wise words from those truly market-based, Private Independent schools… « School Finance 101:Borrowing wise words from those truly market-based, Private Independent schools…by schoolfinance101Lately it seems that public policy and the reformy rhetoric that drives it are hardly influenced by the vast body ofempirical work and insights from leading academic scholars which suggests that such practices as using value-added metrics to rate teacher quality, or dramatically increasing test-based accountability and pushing for common core standards and tests to go with ... more »

Mother Crusader: Regis Academy Hires Closed Charter VP, NJDOE Opens Enrollment Beyond Four Districts

Mother Crusader: Regis Academy Hires Closed Charter VP, NJDOE Opens Enrollment Beyond Four Districts:Regis Academy Hires Closed Charter VP, NJDOE Opens Enrollment Beyond Four DistrictsLast night the Regis Academy held an information session that was attended by approximately 32 prospective parents. Some Cherry Hill residents that have been vocal opponents of the charter school also attended the meeting. One that is known to Amir Khan was pulled aside before the meeting and told that if she caused any trouble the ... more »

Brookings Institution Hits Common Core, Denounces Education Alarmism | Truth in American Education

Brookings Institution Hits Common Core, Denounces Education Alarmism | Truth in American Education:Brookings Institution Hits Common Core, Denounces Education Alarmismby James BellThe left-of-center Brookings Institution has a new report that indicates that the United States is not falling behind the rest of the world in education.It turns out that the “education reformers” who insist that the US public education system needs to be made accountable to Washington bureaucrat are hyperventilating. Brookings declares that at worst the US is “statistically indistinguishable” ... more »

Grumpy Educators: Colorado: Parents Oppose Excessive Testing

Grumpy Educators: Colorado: Parents Oppose Excessive Testing:Colorado: Parents Oppose Excessive TestingIn their own voices, parents speak out against excessive testing and test-centric instructional environments, one by one.Posted by Sandra at 2:10 PM

When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on us

When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on us:When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on usby SamThe good news is that Republican lawmakers in Arizona are now retreating from their recent proposal to require teachers to limit their speech to words that comply with FCC regulations on what can be said on TV or radio — a half-baked idea rightly characterized by one critic as the “most hilariously unconstitutional ... more »

Teachers statewide will wear black in protest of legislation Gov. keeps pushing for educational reform - wtvr

Gov. keeps pushing for educational reform - wtvr:Gov. keeps pushing for educational reformTeachers statewide will wear black in protest of legislationComments0Share0TopicsRegional AuthorityGovernmentExecutive BranchSee more topics »Lorenzo Halladded by Alix Bryan/Online Producer11:26 p.m. EST, February 16, 2012RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) --—Kathy Boultt and thousands of other teachers across the state on Friday will take part in a silent protest opposing lawmakers who want to do away with tenure-like contracts for teachers.“What the governor is proposing lends no stability whatsoever to te... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Carol Burris, principal, on the new NY State teacher evaluation plan announced yesterday

NYC Public School Parents: Carol Burris, principal, on the new NY State teacher evaluation plan announced yesterday:Carol Burris, principal, on the new NY State teacher evaluation plan announced yesterdayby Leonie HaimsonCarol is the courageous Long Island principal who co-authored the letter, signed onto by one third of all NY State principals, protesting the NYS teacher evaluation system. Her follow-up article for the Washington Post Answer Sheet was called, “Forging ahead with a nutty teacher evaluation plan.”Below is the email she ...more »

Schools Matter: Cuomo and Mulgrew Get New York in LIne with Other Lemmings

Schools Matter: Cuomo and Mulgrew Get New York in LIne with Other Lemmings:Cuomo and Mulgrew Get New York in LIne with Other Lemmingsby Jim HornLast night the king of hackneyed superlatives, Arne Duncan, was on Jon Stewart's show demonstrating once again that there is an Orwellian platitude for every serious question, a punishing lie inside every gilded compliment, a cynical calculation for every saccharine formula.And in the wee hours of this morning, New York teachers joined the death march of ... more »

Don't Like Value-Added? Cool. So Pick Your Poison :: Frederick M. Hess

Don't Like Value-Added? Cool. So Pick Your Poison :: Frederick M. Hess:Don't Like Value-Added? Cool. So Pick Your Poisonby Frederick M. Hess • Feb 17, 2012 at 8:03 amCross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareAs regular readers know, much of my writing on value-added dings would-be reformers for getting waaaay ahead of themselves. They're busy trying to build whole systems around tools that are crude, limited, and relevant for only a portion of what teachers and schools do. That's ... more »

Opportunism and cowardice. « Fred Klonsky

Opportunism and cowardice. « Fred Klonsky:Opportunism and cowardice.by Fred KlonskyThis morning my comrades in the schools of New York are writing rants about the foul deal that was worked out between their unions and the governor on teacher evaluation.The deal is a hoax, of course.Just like Illinois’ Senate Bill 7 is a hoax.Like all top-down reform plans. These scams will do nothing to address or fix the real or imagined ills claimed by their sponsors.Their sponsors know that. It is ... more »

The Common Core Math Standards–A Step Backward | Truth in American Education

The Common Core Math Standards–A Step Backward | Truth in American Education:The Common Core Math Standards–A Step Backwardby Shane Vander HartEducation Next interviewed Ze’ev Wurman and W. Stephen Wilson about the Common Core Math Standards which 40 states have signed on to. They ask are they a step forward or backward? They are pretty clear that it is a step backward. Some money quotes…Wurman in answering whether the CCSS for Math is higher than most state standards said:They may be ... more »

Beware Common Core and “dubious causality” | Thoughts on Public Education

Beware Common Core and “dubious causality” | Thoughts on Public Education:Beware Common Core and “dubious causality” - by Kathryn Baronby Kathryn BaronThe horse race of international rankings in education is based on misconceptions that can lead countries such as the United States to consider sweeping reforms that probably won’t improve academic achievement, according to a new report. The 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education released yesterday by the Brookings Institution makes a case against Common [...]Senators: Don’t jam us ... more »

Lost Article: How Snoop Dogg Can Help You Out Of The Edu-Dogghouse | The Jose Vilson

Lost Article: How Snoop Dogg Can Help You Out Of The Edu-Dogghouse | The Jose Vilson:Lost Article: How Snoop Dogg Can Help You Out Of The Edu-Dogghouseby JoseSnoop Doggy Dogg SmokingA few months ago, I wrote this article in response to some of the comments I read about my EdWeek / Jay-Z article. It was approved, but due to the backlash I received, they took it down. Never mind. I decided to publish it here. Also, look for some of ... more »

Protesters Flood SCUSD Meeting to Contest Cuts - Rosemont, CA Patch

Protesters Flood SCUSD Meeting to Contest Cuts - Rosemont, CA Patch:Protesters Flood SCUSD Meeting to Contest CutsBudget cuts and potential school closures are contested.By Cody KitauraEmail the author6:45 pm Email Print Comment PHOTOS (5) Upload Photos and VideosThursday's Sacramento City Unified School District board meeting hadn't even started yet, and it was already clear what the mood of the evening would be.Hundreds of protestors circled the district's headquarters in Sacramento prior to the meeting to protest proposed cuts to extra-curricular ... more »

Peer Review (and some words I never thought I’d write) | Outside the Cave

Peer Review (and some words I never thought I’d write) | Outside the Cave:Peer Review (and some words I never thought I’d write)by Stephen LazarEric Nadelstern is right (I really can’t believe I just admitted that publicly):However, you can’t empower kids until you’ve empowered their teachers to exercise leadership in classrooms, and extend their leadership to matters of curriculum, instruction and assessment.The entire column is worth reading, and is the best concise argument for instituting peer review that I’ve seen. ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-16 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

RheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from RheeBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-19 minutes agoRheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rhee:A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rheeby adminWritten by Joshua Bujes. Read the entire post here.“Here’s what I took away from the lecture that might be useful going forward:…5. Her overt message is framed in such a way that it is impossible not to applaud (unless one looks under the covers): who would deny that education ... more »

Sacramento City Unified school board meeting: Tweets from Melody Gutierrez | Sacramento Bee #soschat

Sacramento City Unified school board meeting: Tweets from Melody Gutierrez - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:Sacramento City Unified school board meeting: Tweets from Melody GutierrezSharePublished: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 - 5:06 pmMelody Gutierrez is at the Sacramento City Unified school board meeting, where trustees will vote on whether to close A.M. Winn, Freeport and C.P. Huntington elementary schools.Melody GutierrezMELODYGUTIERREZMelodyGutierrez Sacramento City Unified board members will vote tonight on whether to close three elementary sc... more »

Schools Matter: Microsoft Among Corporate Whales Paying for Right-Wing Anti-Science in Schools #soschat

Schools Matter: Microsoft Among Corporate Whales Paying for Right-Wing Anti-Science in Schools:Microsoft Among Corporate Whales Paying for Right-Wing Anti-Science in Schoolsby Jim HornThe NYTimes has a story today about confidential documents obtained from the ultra right wing Heartland Institute, which has a new program to bring propaganda to schools to counter the climate science that children are learning that might, just might, help save human civilization and most other species from extinction.Below is the listing of the $10,000+ club, all ... more »

Modern School: The Sky is Not Falling After All: US Schools Rank High Internationally

Modern School: The Sky is Not Falling After All: US Schools Rank High Internationally:Virginia House Approves Abolition of Teacher Tenureby Michael DunnBound and Gagged (Image from Flickr by Kouk)The Virginia House of Delegates voted to end tenure-related job protections for public school teachers on Monday, the Washington Post reported, a measure that was pushed by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell in order to “improve” public education. The Senate, however, rejected the measure on Tuesday. The Senate could still vote on the ... more »

Support PURE! » CTU vision for a quality education for all children

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CTU vision for a quality education for all children:CTU vision for a quality education for all childrenby adminThis morning the Chicago Teachers’ Union presented a comprehensive set of research-based proposals to strengthen the Chicago Public Schools, called “The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve.”I was pleased to be asked to say a few words on behalf of PURE. This is what I said:I’m very glad to be here. First of all, as a ... more »

RheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rhee

RheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rhee:A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rheeby adminWritten by Joshua Bujes. Read the entire post here.“Here’s what I took away from the lecture that might be useful going forward:…5. Her overt message is framed in such a way that it is impossible not to applaud (unless one looks under the covers): who would deny that education is important? who would deny that children need good teachers? who would deny that we live ... more »