Friday, July 13, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 7-13 AM Posts #soschat #edreform



BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

Hechinger Report | For-profit colleges pumping campaign money to foes of regulation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 minutes ago
Hechinger Report | For-profit colleges pumping campaign money to foes of regulation: For-profit colleges pumping campaign money to foes of regulation by Jon Marcus For-profit colleges and universities and their industry association gave at least $694,829 to political candidates through May 31, much of it to members of Congress who oppose greater regulation of the industry, including proposed curbs on aggressive recruiting of veterans with G.I. Bill benefits. The Association of Private Sector Colleges and University, or APSCU, and its members gave to Senate and House members who h... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Christie Lives To Screw NJ's Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: Christie Lives To Screw NJ's Teachers: Christie Lives To Screw NJ's Teachers by Duke We all love doing what we do best. What does Chris Christie do best? Screw over New Jersey's teachers: TRENTON – The governor cut numerous elements of the FY2013 budget today, including some of the extra items Democrats included: [...] **An appropriation of $631 million for the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund is reduced to $612 million* *Already*, he's cutting back on payments into the teacher's pension fund. I'm sure he justifies this by claiming it's more than he needs to put ... more »

NEA: Politics is more than voting. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 minutes ago
NEA: Politics is more than voting. « Fred Klonsky: NEA: Politics is more than voting. by Fred Klonsky Ed Week’s Stephen Sawchuk has written a lengthy review of some of the big issues confronting the NEA in the face of the assault by Republicans and many Democrats on public sector unions. It comes in the form of a report on last weeks Representative Assembly in Washington, DC. Go all the way down to the last four paragraphs of the article to a discussion of a debate and vote on New Business Item 4. It concerns the role of the Uniserv staff. These are the paid folks that work with el... more »

U.S. top education official: N.O. doing 'fantastic' with improvements | wwltv.com New Orleans

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 39 minutes ago
U.S. top education official: N.O. doing 'fantastic' with improvements | wwltv.com New Orleans: U.S. top education official: N.O. doing 'fantastic' with improvements wwltv.com Posted on July 12, 2012 at 10:25 PM Updated yesterday at 10:42 PM *Karen Swensen / Eyewitness News Email: kswensen@wwltv.com | Twitter: @karenswensen* WASHINGTON -- It was just last year when U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called New Orleans the "most improved school district in the country.” We met him in the White House earlier this week and asked him if he still feels that way, and what ... more »

When a Teacher Loves Teaching « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 50 minutes ago
When a Teacher Loves Teaching « Diane Ravitch's blog: When a Teacher Loves Teaching by dianerav In response to a post asking why politicians are scapegoating teachers, I received this inspiring comment from a teacher in Louisiana: *Teacher bashing is an integral part of the reform movement. It’s almost as if these republican governors were coached or told that this was the plan. Here in Louisiana it was as if the teacher bashing began almost as soon as Jindal was elected and made education reform his focus. Teachers are the only people in the school beurocracies that have a direct... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Regis Replies

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 51 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: Regis Replies: Regis Replies by Duke For those of you who have been following the story of the rise and fall of Regis Academy Charter School, here'sthe latest: Earlier this week, Khan said he and the diocese had reached a “friendly agreement” and said he was vacating the property on July 18. He said his church had been leasing the building and could leave at any point, since he was only paying month-to-month. Khan said he had no comment yet on where the church was relocating to or if he would be appealing or reapplying for the charter application in the future. B... more »

Daily Kos: No Excuses?: Giving Power a Pass

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 56 minutes ago
Daily Kos: No Excuses?: Giving Power a Pass: No Excuses?: Giving Power a Pass byplthomasEdDFollow ShareNew PERMALINK2 COMMENTS "After several decades of rigorous effort, it is fair to say that the majority of our attention in political science has been given to interstate war and civil war," explains Christian Davenport, adding: "I would say that it would be interesting to count the number of articles over the last five years on terrorism and compare it to the number of articles on repression but regardless, I stand by the claim that most of our attention has been focused on tho... more »

Did Two Florida Republicans Use the Same Talking Points in Education Policy Op-Eds This Week | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 58 minutes ago
Did Two Florida Republicans Use the Same Talking Points in Education Policy Op-Eds This Week | Scathing Purple Musings: Did Two Florida Republicans Use the Same Talking Points in Education Policy Op-Eds This Week by Bob Sikes The well-documented PR campaign to save Florida’s test-based education system continues this week in a way that further discredits the effort. Former House Speaker Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) and chair of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Marlene O’Toole (R-Lady Lake) wrote two astonishingly similar pieces which revealed that talking points c... more »

Should Program to Reward Teachers Include More Hours and Students? | Outside the Cave

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Should Program to Reward Teachers Include More Hours and Students? | Outside the Cave: Should Program to Reward Teachers Include More Hours and Students? by Stephen Lazar The Times finally published the second part of my response to the US Department of Education’s Project Respect proposal: Effective teaching requires time and intimate knowledge of individual students’ minds and capabilities. These are things that a computer cannot do, and teachers cannot do well if they are responsible for too many students….While I can still be an effective teacher in a large class (and I actua... more »

Time out from Testing « City School Stories

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Time out from Testing « City School Stories: Time out from Testing by fmurphy [image: Click to ENDORSE National Resolution on High Stakes Testing] Submitted by fairtest on July 3, 2012 – 3:27pm School’s out for summer, to the relief of millions of test-weary students, teachers and parents. Our children are spending less time learning, more time prepping for, taking and worrying about standardized tests. Are you are concerned about the increasing influence of standardized testing on your children? Do feel your child is getting test prep while other kids are still learning a broad and... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What they're saying in ChiTown

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What they're saying in ChiTown: What they're saying in ChiTown by Mike Klonsky West tells tourists not to worry. Says, shootings only happen in black and Latino neighborhoods. Not where you go. "*The shootings we have seen have been almost 100 percent isolated to neighborhoods outside the downtown core of Chicago where tourists and visitors from around the world frequent.*" -- Don Welsh, president of Choose Chicago, the city's tourism organization. *“Despite cutting more than a half-billion dollars over the last year alone, it’s not enough to undo y... more »

UAW President Bob King, Diane Ravitch to speak at American Federation of Teachers convention in Detroit | MLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
UAW President Bob King, Diane Ravitch to speak at American Federation of Teachers convention in Detroit | MLive.com: UAW President Bob King, Diane Ravitch to speak at American Federation of Teachers convention in DetroitPublished: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 5:59 PM Updated: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 6:00 PM [image: Dave Murray | dmurray@mlive.com] By Dave Murray | dmurray@mlive.com [image: Ravitch] GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- UAW President Bob King and historian-advocate Diane Ravitch are slated to be among the speakers at the American Federation of Teachers 2012 convention set for...more »

Asher Huey: Public Education Is for the Common Good

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Asher Huey: Public Education Is for the Common Good: Public Education Is for the Common Good Public education advocates welcomed the news that Change.org recently decided to drop Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst and Jonah Edelman's Stand for Children as paid clients. Change.org is a powerful platform for individuals trying to correct the injustices they see in the world. Whether it's a young woman angry at her bank over new fees, a bullied high school student taking on an industry association over censorship issues or grieving parents trying to find some sort of redress or justice fo... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Pitches Payola - NationalJournal.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
What Next - Anu Bhagwati, Karina L. Edmonds, Michelle Rhee and Gail R. Wilensky - NationalJournal.com: The Right Incentives *Pay for performance is standard in the private sector. Why not in schools?* By Michelle Rhee When we think about innovation in our schools, what may come to mind are smart boards, tablets, and other high-tech devices. Something more fundamental, however, can play an even greater role in bringing progress into our classrooms: reforming teacher compensation. The most critical factor that affects student achievement is teacher quality. It matters more than gadget... more »

How Bill Gates’ Ideas Taint Other Nations Too « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
How Bill Gates’ Ideas Taint Other Nations Too « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] How Bill Gates’ Ideas Taint Other Nations Too by dianerav Under the influence of wrong-headed economists, Bill Gates has publicly stated that teachers should not be paid more for experience or education because such things do not raise test scores. This is really a terrible set of ideas. I have never met a teacher who said that experience doesn’t matter. Every teacher I know says that he or she tried to improve every year, and that they didn’t reach their str... more »

Daily Kos: Don't let the press smear Darcy Burner

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Daily Kos: Don't let the press smear Darcy Burner: Don't let the press smear Darcy Burner by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) In this blog from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Darcy is attacked because her campaign has released its donor figure: she raised 178,000 from 8,100, of which 3,100 are, according to Kenneth Quinnell, her communications director, are from within Washington State, whose 1st Congressional district is seeing a 5-way primary for the Democratic nomination. The blog post goes on to offer comparisons with her four opponents: Other Democrats have been more at-hom... more »

Louisiana voucher scheme fails to attract many students - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Louisiana voucher scheme fails to attract many students - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Louisiana voucher scheme fails to attract many students By Valerie Strauss A few months ago Louisiana started enacting a new law backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal that is one of the broadest attacks on public education in any state across the nation — if not the broadest. Under the law more than half of the students in the state would be offered vouchers, the number of privately managed charter schools would be greatly expanded and preschoolers will be given letter grades — just to name a fe... more »

NEW GRAD INTERVIEWS FOR FIRST TEACHING JOB « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
NEW GRAD INTERVIEWS FOR FIRST TEACHING JOB « Teachers Fight Back: NEW GRAD INTERVIEWS FOR FIRST TEACHING JOB by alkleen Administrator: Why do you want to become a teacher when so many in the teaching profession have come under tremendous criticism lately ? Grad: I want to change those perceptions by being the best possible teacher I can be. Administrator: Do you realize most districts like ours are running a deficit and need to cut salaries and benefits ? Grad: I don’t care about my salary and benefits, I’m here to make a difference in the lives of children. Administrator: Your e... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Bloomberg: Live By the Test, Die By the Test

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Bloomberg: Live By the Test, Die By the Test: Bloomberg: Live By the Test, Die By the Test by Duke Generalissimo Mike Bloomberg, 8/8/11: – Mayor Michael Bloomberg says students, teachers and administrators should be very proud of the gains in standardized test scores. The mayor expressed joy over the latest test scores that show city school kids in grades 3 through 8, making gains in the state’s annual math and English exams. [...] Bloomberg said that the “most important” and “encouraging conclusion” from the results was that “city students continue to move in the rig... more »

Geaux Teacher!: BOBBY JINDAL RETIREMENT PARTY

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Geaux Teacher!: BOBBY JINDAL RETIREMENT PARTY: BOBBY JINDAL RETIREMENT PARTY by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) The Louisiana Political Action Committee announces an event to support the Recall of Bobby Jindal and other related political actions to be held on Friday, July 27. The Alexandria Best Western Conference Center 7-10 PM featuring a cocktail hour followed by appearances of the recall leaders who will demonstrate petition signing. Noted author and newspaperman, *Thomas Aswell*, our keynote speaker, will address Jindal's scams. GAROFALO RECALL KICK-OFF by ... more »

The Educated Reporter: In Sea of Reform, A Rising Tide For Teachers' Union Suppor

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: In Sea of Reform, A Rising Tide For Teachers' Union Suppor: In Sea of Reform, A Rising Tide For Teachers' Union Suppor by Emily Richmond In a new survey, teachers say they rely on their unions to protect them from school politics and abuses of administrative power, but they also want the labor groups to do more about ineffective educators, either by guiding them to improve – or guiding them out the door. For “Trending Toward Reform,” the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Education Sector surveyed more than 1,100 K-12 public schoolteachers from across the co... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Real Legacy of "Reform"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Real Legacy of "Reform": The Real Legacy of "Reform" by Duke In the not too distant future, we will look back at this assault on teachers and say, "What in the world were we thinking?": Not long ago I spoke at an “open house” for high school students who wanted to meet college professors and learn more about different career opportunities. When relatively few students or their parents showed interest in elementary education, a father remarked that he understood the rejection of teaching as a profession and that he, too, was trying to convince his exceptiona... more »

Camika Royal Speaks Out « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Camika Royal Speaks Out « Diane Ravitch's blog: Camika Royal Speaks Out by dianerav The other day I blogged about a TFA leader who spoke at the opening ceremonies of the TFA summer institute in Philadelphia. Before my blog was posted, the Youtube video was taken down. Just a few hours ago, I received a tweet saying that Dr. Camika Royal had posted an article at Huffington Post. The article contained an explanation of what happened as well as the text of the video. In the Youtube video, Dr. Camika Royal was speaking to the recruits. She said some amazing things that were distinc... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Cory Booker Brings Reforminess To The Nation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Cory Booker Brings Reforminess To The Nation: Cory Booker Brings Reforminess To The Nation by Duke *Politically savvy teachers are my kryptonite! * If you had any doubt that the Democratic party is getting all reformy, this should put those to rest: Newark Mayor Cory Booker is among a raft of Democratic Party leaders chosen to draft the party platform for the next four years, according to a report in the the National Journal. The four-year tradition involves party leaders drafting a series of priorities or "planks" such as job creation, developing more renewable en... more »

Policy to Performance Grantees Named - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Policy to Performance Grantees Named - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Winners of Grants to Help Adult Education Students Go to College SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced 10 school districts were awarded $750,000 in Policy to Performance Pilot Project grants. P2P was established to help adult education students transition to higher education. "California's demand for a highly educated workforce continues to grow, and we must keep up," Torlakson said. "As part of my Blueprint for Great Sch... more »

Who Will Be the Next Outstanding Young Educator? — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Who Will Be the Next Outstanding Young Educator? — Whole Child Education: Who Will Be the Next Outstanding Young Educator? by Klea Scharberg [image: ASCD OYEA] Each year, ASCD awards $10,000 to up to two educators under the age of 40 in recognition of their significant accomplishments. ASCD needs your help in saluting the next generation of teachers and administrators who demonstrate outstanding leadership. Each ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) winner educates the whole child; demonstrates leadership; improves student engagement, achievement, and learning; and makes con... more »

School Discipline Alternatives Explored In Harkin Hearing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
School Discipline Alternatives Explored In Harkin Hearing: School Discipline Alternatives Explored In Harkin Hearing by Joy Resmovits During Elijah's early years in school, Debbie Jackson, his single mother, routinely came home to hear messages of his screams on her answering machine -- and no other word from administrators. The blood-curdling voicemails sometimes came as often as three times a day. "It was a nightmare," Jackson said. "I no longer recognized my son." Elijah was screaming because he was an unruly kid, and his teachers tried to get him in line through seclusion and ... more »

Schools Matter: Backed into a corner by a monster it helped create, LAUSD fights back against charter colocation greed

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Schools Matter: Backed into a corner by a monster it helped create, LAUSD fights back against charter colocation greed: Backed into a corner by a monster it helped create, LAUSD fights back against charter colocation greed by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *Although the bungalows are used for after school programs, art classes, festivals and special education speech therapy space, according to the number of enrolled students at Micheltorena, the bungalows have been deemed empty and available for tenancy by any charter that requests them. — Lulu Wilson* [image: Communities & Families ... more »

What Kind of Teaching Do Students in Poverty Need? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
What Kind of Teaching Do Students in Poverty Need? « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Kind of Teaching Do Students in Poverty Need? by dianerav In response to today’s ongoing discussion about teaching and specifically what kind of teaching is right for urban students, this comment came from Ira Shor. Shor teaches at the City University of New York. He has written extensively about critical pedagogy. Our discussion began with the proposition that poor kids need a tightly disciplined environment, some would say a “boot camp” or “no-excuses” pedagogy. Others disagreed. Shor gives his view... more »

Occupy Education California holds outdoor classroom-style events - The Daily Californian

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Occupy Education California holds outdoor classroom-style events - The Daily Californian: Occupy Education California holds outdoor classroom-style events [image: ride illustration] The group known as Occupy Education California, which orchestrated the 99 Mile March for Education and Social Justice held in early March, is planning to hold outdoor classroom-style events in public parks around the Bay Area in July. According to Elizabeth de Martelly, a UC Berkeley graduate student and one of the events’ organizers, these events are designed to raise public awareness about issues co... more »

My Friends in Louisiana « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
My Friends in Louisiana « Diane Ravitch's blog: My Friends in Louisiana by dianerav *Corporate Reformer* Readers may notice that I often post about what is happening in Louisiana. There are several reasons for this. One is that Louisiana is truly an important site for what is now called school reform. It became important after Hurricane Katrina wiped out most of the public school system, and New Orleans became a closely-watched experiment in privatizing public education. Corporate reformers frequently refer to New Orleans as their shining example of the good that will come as a r... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Factual knowledge is worthless

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Factual knowledge is worthless: Factual knowledge is worthless by Charlie Mas I read an article by Esther Dyson in a 1992 edition of WIRED magazine about where to find value in the information economy. The article was so good that I still have it. It turns out that in an information economy, information itself is essentially worthless. The rules of supply and demand remain the same, and, thanks to the internet, there is a grotesque surplus of information. So where is the value and how can we educate our children to prosper in the 21st century? I ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Steve Perry Is Awesomer Than You!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Steve Perry Is Awesomer Than You!: Steve Perry Is Awesomer Than You! by Duke Just ask him: At the tip of the educational iceberg, Perry believes that Gov. Scott Walker's move to break up unions - including the state teachers union - will improve educational outcomes for all children. I'm sure that statement just sent shivers up the spine of most educators in Wisconsin, especially when you consider that Walker also cut $800 million from public education budgets. But Perry's tell-it-like-it-is approach is refreshing. "Before you say Walker cut $800 million, you first ... more »

Illinois pension news. Here comes the judge. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Illinois pension news. Here comes the judge. « Fred Klonsky: Illinois pension news. Here comes the judge. by Fred Klonsky Mike Madigan, Tom Cross, Pat Quinn and Ty Fahner may have plans to kill public employee pensions and retiree benefits including health insurance and cost of living adjustments They have one little problem. The law. The law suits have now begun. There will be more. Five retired state employees are suing over a new law that allows Illinois to begin charging some state retirees for health insurance.The State Journal-Register reports the retirees are members of the... more »

What It Takes to Teach in an Urban School « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
What It Takes to Teach in an Urban School « Diane Ravitch's blog: What It Takes to Teach in an Urban School by dianerav As I said in an earlier post, I am not sure if the teaching techniques and curriculum should be tailored to urban students, whether this is a form of racism or sensitivity. I’m listening and learning from teachers who know far more than I do. I worry about the danger of segregated schools and segregated learning styles. But I have heard the horror stories for years about teachers who couldn’t control their classrooms and about disruptive students and students wh... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Reforminess: Impossible

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Reforminess: Impossible: Reforminess: Impossible by Duke One of my guilty pleasures is the Food Network's *Restaurant: Impossible*. Jacked-up chef Robert Irvine comes into a lousy restaurant, yells a lot at the owner and staff, redecorates, and comes up with a new menu. The show always ends with a grand re-opening featuring lots of tears, happy costumers, and redeemed owners thanking Irvine for saving them from themselves. It's my personal experience that people and institutions, including restaurants, very rarely change overnight. So I read this article about wh... more »

Commentary: Hite appointment is not a cause for celebration. | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Commentary: Hite appointment is not a cause for celebration. | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Commentary: Hite appointment is not a cause for celebration.by Ron Whitehorne on Jul 11 2012 Posted in Blogger commentary - COMMENTS (0)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - budget cuts - data - parent organizing - student activism - unions - William Hite - LEADERSHIP The appointment of William Hite as our new superintendent has won praise from many in education circles. His performance in meetings with stakeholders, his credentials as an educa... more »

AFT Executive Council Recommends a Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
AFT Executive Council Recommends a Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings: AFT Executive Council Recommends a Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing by Bob Sikes Saying that “America’s public school accountability system must be re-examined and rebuilt,” the executive counsel of the American Federation of Teachers has recommend its own resolution against “the current test-and-punish accountability model.” All children deserve a rich, meaningful public education that prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and challenges that await them as t... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What Rahm's 1-percenters worry about...

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What Rahm's 1-percenters worry about...: What Rahm's 1-percenters worry about... by Mike Klonsky The early headline in this morning's Sun-Times reads: *Is City Violence Hurting Tourism?* By 10 a.m. the mayor's overstaffed spin department was doing damage control. Go online now and the new headline reads: *Official backs down from claim crime hurting city’s tourism effort*. But Fran Spielman's story remains the same. M*ayor Rahm Emanuel’s office swung into full damage-control mode Wednesday after Chicago’s convention and tourism chief was quoted as sa... more »

Schools Matter: The Disturbing State of Education: SC to Follow Template from LA and TN

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Schools Matter: The Disturbing State of Education: SC to Follow Template from LA and TN: The Disturbing State of Education: SC to Follow Template from LA and TN by P. L. Thomas Two news articles from South Carolina capture the state of education currently: Zais: Put failing schools in single district Charleston County school leaders promise to leverage local control into improvements at Burke, North Charleston High SC State Superintendent of SC Zais exhibits many of the flawed patterns driving claims about public schools and arguments for policy and reform: • Zais has no experi... more »

NYC Educator: Let's Make a Deal(?)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
NYC Educator: Let's Make a Deal(?): Let's Make a Deal(?) by NYC Educator In the spirit of being reasonable, Bloomberg and Walcott have conceded they may need to follow the law after all. This is a huge step for Mayor4Life, who actually managed to change a law twice affirmed by voters so he could buy himself a third term. After all, what's the point of having all that money if you actually have to follow rules clearly intended for the little people? Nonetheless, after having one's ass handed to one twice in a row, one begins to wonder whether the third time is a charm. Given the ver... more »

What Is the Boston Consulting Group? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
What Is the Boston Consulting Group? « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Is the Boston Consulting Group? by dianerav There is a new scandal in New York City. It seems the New York City Housing Authority paid $10 million to the Boston Consulting Group to write a report that is not available to the public that paid for it. According to the article in the *New York Daily News*, the report was commissioned by someone at the Housing Authority who used to work for the Boston Consulting Group. Now, readers of this blog may recall that the Boston Consulting Group was paid over $1 million in pri... more »

Parents describe Chicago Board of Education disrespect Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents describe Chicago Board of Education disrespect: Parents describe Chicago Board of Education disrespect by admin Today’s Chicago Sun-Times editorial by 19th Ward Parents leader Becky Malone describes in infuriating detail the disrespect that parents and others experience every time they go to a Chicago Board of Education meeting to speak up for their children’s education: “On many occasions we have gotten into line by 6 a.m. to wait for two hours hoping to get the golden ticket that would allow us an audience with the ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Virtual Rip-Off

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Virtual Rip-Off: Virtual Rip-Off by Duke Con Academy Browse Con Academy library of over 3,100 educational videos... The questions about virtual charter schools continue to pile up. One proposed charter is especially troubling, because it looks to more than double its costs to the taxpayers for no apparent reason. NJ Spotlight reports on the application: A fourth school that K12 is involved with, the New Jersey Virtual Charter School, an online high school for at-risk students in Monmouth County, is asking the state for another year to recruit students before it... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, July 12, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Stockton, California* Education Headlines *Thursday, July 12, 2012* Lodi and Galt school districts could face more cutsIf the November tax initiative is passed, the state budget and education funding will remain as is. If the initiative fails, up to $460 per student per year will be withheld from Lodi Unified, or about $12.3 million. Galt high school district hires Michael Roberts as new superintendentMichael Roberts has been chosen as the new superintendent of Galt Joint Union High School District and will earn $139,382 annually. ... more »

The Common Core Standards: I Remain Agnostic « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
The Common Core Standards: I Remain Agnostic « Diane Ravitch's blog: How to Create Throwaway Teachers by dianerav A teacher writes in response to the Match guide for teaching: *As a teacher of 23 years, I find this is absolutely an appalling disregard for the professionalism of the profession of education. It is also a very scary notion for teacher preparation. These authoritative, autocratic beliefs are not what makes for good teaching and classroom management. Teaching in the manner described above will elicit fear in students, not learning. When individuals (including kids) ... more »

Shanker Blog » A Chance To Help Build Grassroots Democracy In China

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Shanker Blog » A Chance To Help Build Grassroots Democracy In China: A Chance To Help Build Grassroots Democracy In China by Han Dongfang *Our guest author today is Han Dongfang, director of China Labor Bulletin. You can follow him on Weibo in Chinese and on Twitter in English and Chinese. This article originally appeared on the China Labor Bulletin, and has been reprinted with permission of the author.* The first of February this year was a historic day in the Chinese village of Wukan. Several thousand villagers, who had chased out their corrupt old leaders, went to the polls to d... more »


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