Friday, June 8, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 6-8 AM Posts #soschat #edreform


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS


NEA @ Netroots Nation - Lily's Blackboard | Lily's Blackboard

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
NEA @ Netroots Nation - Lily's Blackboard | Lily's Blackboard: [image: Lily's Blackboard Rotating Header Image] NEA @ Netroots Nation Jun 8th, 2012 by LilysBlackboard.

From Time to Time A Hero Steps Forward: Bill Cibes is one of those Heroes - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
From Time to Time A Hero Steps Forward: Bill Cibes is one of those Heroes - Wait, What?: From Time to Time A Hero Steps Forward: Bill Cibes is one of those Heroes by jonpelto Earlier this week Bill Cibes, a former state legislator, gubernatorial candidate, Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and Chancellor of the Connecticut State University System, wrote a letter to ConnCAN resigning from ConnCAN’s Advisory Board and instructing them to remove his name from their website. (For background take a look at Tuesday’s Wait, What post) Mr. Riccards, ConnCAN’s CEO, must ha... more »

Opting out, push back, a red, white and blue charter school and Matt Farmer breaks it down | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago
Opting out, push back, a red, white and blue charter school and Matt Farmer breaks it down | Seattle Education: Opting out, push back, a red, white and blue charter school and Matt Farmer breaks it down by seattleducation2011 “Opting out of standardized testing” is the phrase of the week and it’s happening around the country. In New York: Parents and Students Say ‘Enough’ to More Testing It resembled a street carnival. Excited children in bright colors, holding up scarecrows and blowing bubbles, were being serenaded by the raucous sounds of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra. But the sc... more »

Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago
Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama YearsTrends in American Values: 1987-2012OVERVIEW As Americans head to the polls this November, their values and basic beliefs are more polarized along partisan lines than at any point in the past 25 years. Unlike in 1987, when this series of surveys began, the values gap between Republicans and Democrats is now greater than gender, age, race or class divides. Overall, there has been much more stability than change across the 48 politica... more »

Why Rick Scott Can’t Heed the Gaineville Sun’s Call to Seek Plan B on Education | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago
Why Rick Scott Can’t Heed the Gaineville Sun’s Call to Seek Plan B on Education | Scathing Purple Musings: Why Rick Scott Can’t Heed the Gaineville Sun’s Call to Seek Plan B on Education by Bob Sikes In the aftermath of the Alachua school board adopting a resolution against high-stakes tests, the editors of the*Gainesville Sun *say its time for Rick Scott to lead the state away from its current hyper testing mandates. What should be Tallahassee’s response? Ignore the school districts and continue to require ever-tougher and ever more frequent testing? Give in and back away from u... more »

Geaux Teacher!: LFT LAWSUIT CHALLENGES CONSTITUTIONALITY OF LEGISLATION

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago
Geaux Teacher!: LFT LAWSUIT CHALLENGES CONSTITUTIONALITY OF LEGISLATION: LFT LAWSUIT CHALLENGES CONSTITUTIONALITY OF LEGISLATION by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) Louisiana Federation of Teachers LFT lawsuits challenge Jindal’s education package (Baton Rouge - June 7, 2012) Challenging the legality of Governor Bobby Jindal’s signature education initiatives, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers today filed two lawsuits in Baton Rouge’s 19th Judicial District Court asking to have Acts 1 and 2 of the 2012 legislative session set aside. “In the haste to steamroll thes... more »

What is HJRCA 49? It is not what you may think. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago
What is HJRCA 49? It is not what you may think. « Fred Klonsky: What is HJRCA 49? It is not what you may think. by Fred Klonsky *Springfield skunk.* November 6th is election day. Most people’s attention will be on the Presidential race. But the Springfield skunks have voted to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot: HJRCA49, House Joint Resolution Constiutional Amendment. And if folks aren’t paying attention, which many won’t be, it will pass. It will do great harm to senior pensioners across Illinois. What the amendment would do is require a 60% vote of the Illinois House and Se... more »

This Week In Education: Morning Video: Duncan, Walcott, King Discuss Philanthropy

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 50 minutes ago
This Week In Education: Morning Video: Duncan, Walcott, King Discuss Philanthropy: Morning Video: Duncan, Walcott, King Discuss Philanthropy Here's the video from Monday's Philanthropy NY event on education and nonprofit foundations. Twitterhere. Schoolbook here. AM News: Testing, Tenure, Student Tyranny by Victoria Pang New York Standardized Testing Protest Brings Parents, Students to Pearson's Steps HuffPostEdu: Dozens of elementary and middle school kids swarmed the steps of 1330 Sixth Ave. to protest the growth of high-stakes standardized testing. [image: AMNews] Stand for C... more »

Schools Matter: Chicago Teachers Voting Now to Authorize Strike If Negotiations Fail

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Schools Matter: Chicago Teachers Voting Now to Authorize Strike If Negotiations Fail: Chicago Teachers Voting Now to Authorize Strike If Negotiations Fail by Jim Horn What is going on in Chicago among teachers should be a lesson for the country, especially the cowardly and appeasing pack of lawyers and PR men who are running the NEA and AFT. CTU has a group of leaders who have not forgotten the democratic and social justice missions that unionism is built upon, and their goals are much deeper than preserving the half-million dollar salaries of the Weingartens and Van Roekels of th... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Horse head in Quinn's bed??

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Horse head in Quinn's bed??: Horse head in Quinn's bed?? by Mike Klonsky I always chuckle a little when the party hacks get their signals crossed and vote the wrong way. Then there's hell to pay.According to Sneed, *Gov. Quinn *was *"Rahmed"* yesterday by Chicago's foul-mouthed, *Little Napoleon* mayor. It seems the slow-witted guv got confused during the legislative session after Rahm and Boss *Madigan* threw in the towel on "pension reform." Quinn thought the great pension heist was still on and ended up siding with Republican boss, *Tom Cross* who ... more »

New Jersey Charter Data Roundup: A look at the 2010-11 Report Cards « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
New Jersey Charter Data Roundup: A look at the 2010-11 Report Cards « School Finance 101: New Jersey Charter Data Roundup: A look at the 2010-11 Report Cards by schoolfinance101 Here’s a quick run-down on the 2010-11 New Jersey School Report Card data on charter schools. No-one else is putting out decent summaries of this stuff, so I feel obligated to revisit these data periodically. They don’t change much over time. But those older blog posts get buried over time. So, here we go. Let’s take a specific look at Newark because that’s where most of our attention has been paid regardin... more »

Charter school performances get a free pass - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Charter school performances get a free pass - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com: Charter school performances get a free pass [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] *Clive McFarlane* cmcfarlane@telegram.com *2 comments* | Add a comment In 2010, when the state identified Union Hill and Chandler Street Elementary Community as being among the state’s lowest performing schools, residents and city officials launched an acrimonious public debate on how to cure the academic ills the schools were facing. There was a change in leadership at the two schools —bo... more »

Is Melinda Gates Right? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Is Melinda Gates Right? « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Is Melinda Gates Right? by dianerav When Melinda Gates was interviewed on the PBS Newshour on June 4, she said something that surprised me. I will give you the full quote, which I copied from the Newshour website. I was surprised because I never heard that claim, I don’t know whose research she was citing or if it even exists. I checked with Linda Darling-Hammond, who seems to have read every study of teacher effectiveness, and asked her if she knew the source; she said she had neve... more »

NYC Public School Parents: video of Pearson protest today!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: video of Pearson protest today!: video of Pearson protest today! by Leonie Haimson *Go to Parents Across America.* *Lindsey Christ of NY1 did a great story on today's protest at Pearson, the largest education conglomerate in the world and the author of our sadly flawed state tests. Please also see my post in NYT/Schoolbook on theLessons of Pineapplegate. -- Leonie Haimson* Popout

Business warns state is millions of degrees short | Thoughts on Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Business warns state is millions of degrees short | Thoughts on Public Education: Business warns state is millions of degrees short - by Kathryn Baron by Kathryn Baron [image: (Source: California Competes and U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey). Click to enlarge.] Business and civic leaders weighed in on the condition of California’s university and college systems with an urgent warning that without a significant increase in graduation rates, the state will lose its prominence as an economic contender. A new report released Thursday by the California Competes Cou... more »

The most useless standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
The most useless standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] Commencement speaker blasts students Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 hour ago Here’s a new one in the annals of commencement speakers: A teacher at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts gave his address to the Class of 2012 and blasted the students, telling them over and over, “You’re not special.” Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon] ‘Turning and turning in the widening gyre’ Valerie Strauss... more »

Schools Matter: Legal Recourse for Parents Who Have Been Threatened For Opting Out

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Schools Matter: Legal Recourse for Parents Who Have Been Threatened For Opting Out: Legal Recourse for Parents Who Have Been Threatened For Opting Out by Jim Horn Thanks, Pana: Yvonne Siu-Runyan ‎******ACLU Multi Family Complaint****** Please send your letter of parental rights violations regarding high stakes standardized testing to: Nina Bishop 3065 Windward Way Colorado Springs, CO 80917 719-233-1508 Mountain Standard Time Please send copies of threatening school/district mail, denials to school activities, grade advancement or diploma, your contact information and your request ... more »

NYC Educator: If It Quacks Like a Charter School

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
NYC Educator: If It Quacks Like a Charter School: If It Quacks Like a Charter School by NYC Educator NY charter school supporters are getting just a little antsy over the prospect that Mayor4Life may decide not to purchase a fourth term. It's even possible, though not highly likely, that someone not insane could become mayor, thus scuttling the drive to privatize all schools in the city. Thus, the charters are busing the parents all over the city and buying ad time to try to persuade people that charter schools are public schools. *The argument that they are, in fact, public schoo... more »

District board members urge investigation of Oakland school | California Watch

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
District board members urge investigation of Oakland school | California Watch: District board members urge investigation of Oakland school Michael Short/California Watch St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church in West Oakland Will Evans Oakland school board members are calling for the district to investigate whether a private school accused of abuse is inflating enrollment numbers to get more than its share of taxpayer funding. The board members were responding to a California Watch investigation into a West Oakland K-12 school run by St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church, which send... more »

Is Education a Girl Thing? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Is Education a Girl Thing? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Is Education a Girl Thing? by Nancy Flanagan [image: It's a girl thing! Decal | Vinyl Stencil-decal, sticker, it's a girl thing, stencil, one time use vinyl stencil] I'm chatting with a well-known, prolific (male) education blogger, whose work I greatly admire--and whose name I'm not going to reveal. I love what he writes, because it's deep--reaching past media flip-offs and who's winning the policy wars and whether they're Gates-funded. He writes about things like how children think, deconstructing... more »

LAUSD'S IMPERIAL NOTION OF LAW- WHOSE RIGHTS ARE THEY ANYWAY? - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
LAUSD'S IMPERIAL NOTION OF LAW- WHOSE RIGHTS ARE THEY ANYWAY? - Perdaily.com: LAUSD'S IMPERIAL NOTION OF LAW- WHOSE RIGHTS ARE THEY ANYWAY? by Leonard Isenberg [image: Divine right of kings.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)* *As I have tried to point out in recent perdaily posts, the major way in which the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has successfully gotten rid of thousand of teachers is by getting them to buy into allowing LAUSD to define what is going on and who has what rights. I ca... more »



PARENT TO PEARSON: LET MY CHILD LEARN

I received the following comment from a parent. There are all too few opportunities for parent voices to be heard.
One such space is the website www.parentvoicesny.org
I am glad to provide the opportunity for this parent to express frustration at the way that standardized testing and data-driven instruction have overtaken teaching and learning.
“As both a parent and an educator, I am keenly attuned to the issue of standardized testing and am absolutely appalled at how it seems to have become the epicenter of instructional decision making. Last week, I learned that a Pearson field test for ELA would be given in my son’s third grade classroom so I contacted the principal to inquire about the protocol for boycotting this test. I was advised to keep my son home from school as the directive from the state was that if the child was present, it was required that he be given the test. The principal advised me that the test would be given first thing in the morning on Wednesday, June 6 and that I could safely assume that it would be done by 10:30 AM at which time I could bring him to school. As per these suggestions, 

PARENTS ACROSS AMERICA IN THE NEWS

PAA Action News
This is from the Parents Across America Newsletter that is issued every week. If you would like to receive this, e-mail PAAnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and request a subscription.
Issue # 12
June 7, 2012
Information and action for parents coming together to strengthen our public schools.
More at www.parentsacrossamerica.org.
PAA Action Alert
Help save class size reduction funds!
The US Senate may vote as early as Tuesday next week on  the Obama administration’s proposal to cut more than $600M in Title II funds now used for class size reduction, and to re-allocated this money to competitive grants for “teacher quality” that could be given to organizations like Teach for America, which puts inexperienced 

PEARSON AND SOCIAL MEDIA: TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK

It is our job to disrupt the discourse, change the narrative and tell the world what is really happening to public education and the teaching profession.  We don’t negotiate. Please join our campaign and boycott those who profit off the … MORE

“DID YOU EVER GROW ANYTHING IN THE GARDEN OF YOUR MIND?” — GREAT PBS REMIX OF MISTER ROGERS

PBS just released this wonderful remix of Mister Rogers:

ED WEEK PUBLISHES MAJOR REPORT ON LATINO STUDENTS

Education Week has just published a “must-read” series of articles on Latinos’ School Success: A Work in Progress.
Here’s how Lesli A. Maxwell at the Learning The Language blog describes it:
There’s a piece that takes a close look at how the immigration law in Alabama has affected the Mexican immigrant community in and around the small community of Foley, especially the students and the educators at