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Friday, July 20, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 7-20 AM Posts #soschat #edreform



BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

Jersey Jazzman: Reformyists Lose the Shanker Wars

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: Reformyists Lose the Shanker Wars: Reformyists Lose the Shanker Wars by Duke ACTING NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf recently invoked Albert Shanker, the legendary teachers union leader, in supporting Cerf's expansion of charter schools: First, it is often forgotten that one of the first advocates for public charter schools was Albert Shanker, the former New York City teachers' union leader, who supported charter schools as a way to empower public school educators to innovate. While certainly charter schools are not the only schools that innovate, because of ... more »

Will Governor Quinn be able to get a pension deal in August? « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 24 minutes ago
Will Governor Quinn be able to get a pension deal in August? « Fred Klonsky: Will Governor Quinn be able to get a pension deal in August? by Fred Klonsky H/T Roger Sanders. Capitol Fax reported that Governor Quinn still has dreams of getting the General Assembly back in session before the November election. The members of the General Assembly may have other ideas. But in Springfield two things can always be counted on. Either nothing happens. Or it happens before you can do

Cyber excess: Taxpayers should not over-fund charter schools - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 24 minutes ago
Cyber excess: Taxpayers should not over-fund charter schools - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: *Cyber excess: Taxpayers should not over-fund charter schools* Con Academy Browse Con Academy library of over 3,100 educational videos... There is something very wrong with an education funding system that has public school districts chopping staff and ending programs while a publicly funded charter school is making so much money that it can pay millions to its spinoff companies. The operators of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, the state's first and largest online charter with more ... more »

The famous international scholar and the N.J. Education Commissioner — NewsWorks

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 24 minutes ago
The famous international scholar and the N.J. Education Commissioner — NewsWorks: The famous international scholar and the N.J. Education Commissioner July 19, 2012 By Laura Waters, of NJ Left BEhind .. Rate This: - - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 (6 votes) Ask a question In this January photo, Christopher D. Cerf, center, acting New Jersey Commissioner of Education, applauds as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivers the annual State of the State address in Trenton. (Mel Evans/AP Photo) More Info: - NJ SPOTLIGHT Op-Ed: Charter schools -- a single strand in N... more »

Op-ed by President Obama: Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously | The White House

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 24 minutes ago
Op-ed by President Obama: Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously | The White House: Op-ed by President Obama: Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously The full text of the op-ed by President Barack Obama is printed below. The piece will be published tomorrow in The Wall Street Journal and can be found HERE. *Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously By President Obama* Last month I convened an emergency meeting of my cabinet and top homeland security, intelligence and defense officials. Across the country trains had derailed, including one carrying industrial chemicals that exploded ... more »

Bingo! Pattern-on-the-Rug Time « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Bingo! Pattern-on-the-Rug Time « Diane Ravitch's blog: Bingo! Pattern-on-the-Rug Time by dianerav One of the brilliant readers of this blog sent in a comment that made me understand what has been happening to American public education for the past 15-20 years. It is the conscious, purposeful application of a marketing strategy called FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Wikipedia says that FUD is used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics, and propaganda. I sensed that this was happening but I didn’t realize that it was a tried and true strategy that has a name and a docu... more »

Teacher voice. CTU teachers get to tell their story on my favorite TV show, Chicago Newsroom. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Teacher voice. CTU teachers get to tell their story on my favorite TV show, Chicago Newsroom. « Fred Klonsky: Teacher voice. CTU teachers get to tell their story on my favorite TV show, Chicago Newsroom. by Fred Klonsky PopoutChicago Newsroom host Ken Davis couldn’t believe a hundred percent of teachers agree on anything. I had to laugh at that. And then cry a little. Team Englewood High School teacher and four-year member of the CTU House of Delegates David Stieber says Bill Gates’ dreams. by Fred Klonsky Rahm’s CPS budget puts a dagger into the heart of neighborhood schools. by ... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-20 - Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Charter Takeover of Public School District? by dianerav There is a rapidly expanding charter chain in Pennsylvania called Propel. It has charter schools in several districts in the state with a total enrollment of 2,000. They are “no excuses” schools, and they reportedly get high test scores. The Propel charter chain wants to open a K-12 charter school in the small district of Sto-Rox, which has 1,400 students. The charter school would enroll 800 students. Last November, the school board unanimously reject... more »

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Proud to be a teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Proud to be a teacher: Proud to be a teacher by noreply@blogger.com (Vicki Davis) [image: English: teacher and its importance]English: teacher and its importance (Photo credit:Wikipedia) "In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have." :Lee Iacocca See, Iacocca agreed that teaching is noble. Let's look at people who know th... more »

Redefining the F-Bomb: Who Needs Feminism? - Technology - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Redefining the F-Bomb: Who Needs Feminism? - Technology - GOOD: Redefining the F-Bomb: Who Needs Feminism? by Julie Ma For the 16 women behind Who Needs Feminism?, the GOOD Goes Viral challenge winner on GOOD Maker, the topic alone was taboo enough to toss Duke University and the internet into a frenzy. The organizers (and classmates) dropped what they jokingly refer to as “the F-bomb” on campus in the name of a social media campaign. Armed with a camera, whiteboard, and dry-erase marker, these women were determined to bring awareness to a matter they believe is central to everyo...more »

News from The Associated Press

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
News from The Associated Press: Study: Private student loans parallel subprime By DANIEL WAGNER AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Risky lending caused private student loan debt to balloon in the past decade, leaving many Americans struggling to pay off loans that they can't afford, a government study says. Private lenders gave out money without considering whether borrowers would repay, then bundled and resold the loans to investors to avoid losing money when students defaulted, according to the study, which is being released Friday. Those practices are closely associated wi... more »

The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) « Cooperative Catalyst: The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) by dloitz In my work with the Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP), I and my peers waged a dramatic struggle against the State of Maryland, Baltimore City, and the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). The state of Maryland was (and still is) systematically underfunding the BCPSS. I discuss this in detail in the Case for the National Student Bill of Rights . Baltimore City and BCPSS believed that the solution to the school funding iss... more »

A mind is still a terrible thing to waste | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
A mind is still a terrible thing to waste | EdSource Today: A mind is still a terrible thing to waste ** July 20th, 2012 | Add a Comment | By Michele Siqueiros and Arun Ramanathan Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services [image: Michele Siquieros] Michele Siquieros What if we told you that no matter how hard you tried, you only had a 5 percent chance of succeeding? What if it was your first day of kindergarten and we told youthose were your odds of getting a college degree at a California university? We don’t tell our kindergartener... more »

Another reason for summer school: national security? - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Another reason for summer school: national security? - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Another reason for summer school: national security? Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at 5:51 pm in 1 Comment Retired military officers think so. The nonprofit Mission: Readiness (affiliated with the public safety-related group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids) put out a report this week arguing that summer inactivity was contributing to the obesity crisis and high dropout rate — which, in turn, poses a threat to the economy and the military’s ability to recruit. What do you make... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be by Melissa Westbrook [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] So there was a bit of a kerfuffle between Diane Ravitch, the noted educator and Chris Cerf, New Jersey's Education Commissioner, over what he said about Albert Shanker, who is thought to be the father of the charter school movement. Now, I outlined Mr. Shanker's role in charter schools in my multi-part series on charters, saying that he approved of lab classrooms within schools... more »

Navin Johnson Gets Excited About PS 154x Test Scores.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Navin Johnson Gets Excited About PS 154x Test Scores by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) Remember when Navin Johnson was so excited that the new phone books arrived? We here at SBSB are just as excited as he that the test scores have arrived. Yes, with PS 154 sliding down its slippery slope, due to upper echelon *(NOT AT ALL THE FAULT OF THE TEACHERS!!!!)* incompetence, the test scores are out and like Navin Johnson PS 154 is going places. Down to be exact. (click below to enlarge) If it wasn't for PS 154, there would be no need for summer school... more »

WHAT "BUSINESS" OTHER THAN LAUSD WOULD FORCE OUT ITS MOST EXPERIENCED? - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
WHAT "BUSINESS" OTHER THAN LAUSD WOULD FORCE OUT ITS MOST EXPERIENCED? - Perdaily.com: WHAT "BUSINESS" OTHER THAN LAUSD WOULD FORCE OUT ITS MOST EXPERIENCED? by Leonard Isenberg [image: The Music Man.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) Given a choice between having a first year intern operate on you or having a skilled surgeon with 20 years of experience perform the operation, which would you choose? So why is it different when it comes to teachers and the art of teaching? Because what goes unchalleng... more »

NYC Educator: Are You Afraid of Tech?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
NYC Educator: Are You Afraid of Tech?: Are You Afraid of Tech? by NYC Educator I can't say as I blame you. Principals can't wait to install another Smartboard, put out another iPad, hook up WiFi to the boiler room, and incorporate computers into everything and everyone. Now, don't get me wrong. I love computers. I love the internet. It's like the public library right here on my laptop. Why deprive anyone of that? On the other hand, there are some things we still need to do ourselves--like writing. How many times have you received a paper with the internet address still on top of i... more »

School Tech Connect: Popping Out The Rivets In Chicago

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Popping Out The Rivets In Chicago: Popping Out The Rivets In Chicago by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Rahm is destroying the schools. That's all there is to it. The new *de facto * ed policy in Chicago is set parents against teachers and against each other, and to fan the fire kindled by segregation. The whole message is *get your kids away from those other kids who are so problematic.* They don't do these things in the suburbs or downstate. People have neighborhood schools. Everyone attends them. There's this quaint idea that we're all in this together. In... more »

Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”" by larrycuban Two comments from readers got me thinking about the guest post by Joel Rose that I just published The first is from Joe Nutt, former teacher and consultant in the UK: *There is a very real and very serious error underneath what so often passes for the enthusiasm of the reformers. It’s evident in this piece where the author refers to the “factory-model ... more »

Hang on to Your Job(s): Bain Capital Ventures Introduces StartUp Academy -- PALO ALTO, Calif., July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Bain Capital Ventures Introduces StartUp Academy -- PALO ALTO, Calif., July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --: Bain Capital Ventures Introduces StartUp Academy New initiative to identify top talent and provide college students with unique opportunity to gain entrepreneurial experience at Bain Capital Ventures' portfolio companies PALO ALTO, Calif., July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bain Capital Ventures, a leading venture capital and growth equity firm with over $2 billion in committed capital, today announced the launch of StartUp Academy, a newly created initiative to provide students wit... more »

Being driven out of teaching. « Deborah Meier on Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Being driven out of teaching. « Deborah Meier on Education: Being driven out of teaching. by debmeier From Caitlin Casement, *“I worked in urban schools for 25 years. On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, I received my final send-off from the school district I worked for for all of those years…—among the retirees who left with me, more than 200 had served at least 25 years, and one woman had taught for 50 years…….* *Some, like me, are being driven out through harassment campaigns conducted by vindictive and insecure administrators threatened by our vigilant advocacy for our students—and t... more »

What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? « Diane Ravitch's blog: What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? by dianerav Highly Qualified Teacher? A reader gives her view of what it means to be a “highly qualified teacher,” if not by the elastic definition in NCLB, then by her own knowledge of teaching: As many have pointed out, no new teachers are “highly qualified.” While some new teachers may be more prepared than others, many years of teaching experience is necessary to become a truly effective (and therefore highly qualified) teacher. So not only are TFA teachers certainly not highly qu... more »

Why do the Waltons care about education?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Education: Education *Introduction* “*Before considering the specific goals and activities of these foundations, it is worth reflecting on the wisdom of allowing education policy to be directed or, one might say, captured by private foundations. There is something fundamentally antidemocratic about relinquishing control of the public education policy agenda to private foundations run by society’s wealthiest people.”[1]* *- Diane Ravitch, education historian and Assistant Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush* When the richest family in the country inserts itself ... more »

Mother Crusader: Edith Shanker Puts Laura Waters, Chris Cerf, & Joel Klein In Their Place.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Mother Crusader: Edith Shanker Puts Laura Waters, Chris Cerf, & Joel Klein In Their Place.: Edith Shanker Puts Laura Waters, Chris Cerf, & Joel Klein In Their Place. by darciecima I am floored by the utter arrogance of this statement from Laura Waters. Here's a fact. If Albert Shanker was alive today he'd still be an education reformer and would support NJ's efforts to expand school choice for poor urban students. Jersey Jazzman already did a great job of telling Laura Waters how preposterous it is for her to state as "fact" what Albert Shanker would or wouldn't think, feel, o... more »

Bush Financier K12 Inc Under Fire for Ineffectiveness; Contracts With 39 Florida Districts | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Bush Financier K12 Inc Under Fire for Ineffectiveness; Contracts With 39 Florida Districts | Scathing Purple Musings: Bush Financier K12 Inc Under Fire for Ineffectiveness; Contracts With 39 Florida Districts by Bob Sikes With an FBI investigation underway of an affiliated virtual charter school network in Pennsylvania affiliated with K12 Inc a National Education Policy Center report urged states to “curb the growth of virtual charters until they demonstrate dramatically improved academic results.” From reporter Ian Quillen in *Education Week*: The National Education Policy Cent... more »

The States’ Budget Crisis « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
The States’ Budget Crisis « Diane Ravitch's blog The States’ Budget Crisis by dianerav My ex-husband Richard Ravitch is a brilliant man who has spent most of his life in public service. He was born during the Great Depression, and he grew up idolizing Franklin Delano Roosevelt and believing that the highest ideal was to improve the well-being of the public. We have an informal agreement that he doesn’t do education and I don’t do housing, transportation or public finance. But now he has stepped into my territory and I must step into his. Yesterday he and Paul Volcker released a tas... more »

Former Principal and Current U.S. Representative: “No Other State Deceives” Like Florida Does With FCAT | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Former Principal and Current U.S. Representative: “No Other State Deceives” Like Florida Does With FCAT | Scathing Purple Musings: Former Principal and Current U.S. Representative: “No Other State Deceives” Like Florida Does With FCAT by Bob Sikes The vigorous debate over Florida’s test-based accountability systems added a figure of national status and significant credibility. U.S. Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Florida #17) was a school principal before entering politics. Also a former Dade County School Board member, Wilson penned a condemnation of FCAT and the suffocating utility ... more »

An Abundance of Genius | Lefty Parent

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
An Abundance of Genius | Lefty Parent: An Abundance of Genius by Cooper Zale John Taylor Gatto was a teacher for nearly 30 years, including working with disadvantaged youth in urban New York City public schools. He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991. That was the same year he wrote a letter announcing his retirement, titled “I Quit, I Think”, published in the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal. In the letter he wrote that he no longer wished to “hurt kids to make a living”. He has since gone to a s... more »

Parents and students working to save a school in Portland, Oregon | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Parents and students working to save a school in Portland, Oregon | Seattle Education: Parents and students working to save a school in Portland, Oregon by seattleducation2011 *This post is on behalf of the girls at Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women, a pubic school in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Public School Board closed their school in the most egregious manner and the girls and parents are fighting to keep their school open.* *As the author of this post explains:* When Tubman was closed, the superintendent offered to let it survive as a charter school — giving ... more »

Mother Crusader: United States DOE Awards Over $2M to Four Charters That Will Never Serve A Single Student!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Mother Crusader: United States DOE Awards Over $2M to Four Charters That Will Never Serve A Single Student!: United States DOE Awards Over $2M to Four Charters That Will Never Serve A Single Student! by darciecima Just a quick post today to point out something rather striking. Last October, my battle against Tikun Olam hit the national stage when the United States Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement awarded "Friends of Tikun Olam", a non-profit started by the lead founder, a $600,000 federal grant. They were not the only New Jersey charter awarded fund... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Reformy Fainting Couch

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Reformy Fainting Couch: The Reformy Fainting Couch by Duke *Mercy!* Laura Waters is so anxious to defend charter schools against the criticisms of Diane Ravitch that she actually attempts to claim expertise on teacher unions over America's best-known education historian: Here's a fact. If Albert Shanker was alive today he'd still be an education reformer and would support NJ's efforts to expand school choice for poor urban students.. Here's another fact: he wouldn't have given this answer to a parent's query, which appears in the comment section of Dr. Ravitch... more »

Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize: Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth by Christina Collins In general, charter advocates have become somewhat more responsible about acknowledging the impact of demographic differences in charter and district school enrollments on charters’ academic performance. The recent release of the New York City Charter School Center’s “State of the Sector” report is one example, and we had hoped that the existence of its database (which offers straightforward comparisons between enrollments at each New York City charter school compared to... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?): It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?) by Melissa Westbrook A heartfelt guest post from The Washington Post's Answer Sheet written by Brock Cohen about the REAL issue that holds back schools in closing the achievement gap. *This was written by Brock Cohen, a teacher and student advocate in the Los Angeles Unified School District who contends that we can no longer afford to trivialize the critical role that poverty plays in a child’s learning... more »

Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs: Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education by *Donna Krache*, CNN [image: Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education]Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor meets with students at an iCivics event in Washington, D.C. *(CNN)* - The retired Supreme Court justice is all business as she walks into our meeting room. But inside, she’s got the heart of an educator. Of course, Sandra Day O’Connor will always be associated with her historic “first,” as the first woman justice to sit ... more »

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirst still referring to Change.org petition signers as their “members”

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
RheeFirst! » StudentsFirst still referring to Change.org petition signers as their “members”: StudentsFirst still referring to Change.org petition signers as their “members” by admin Written by Dave Lindorff. Read the entire article here. “*In an email blast sent out to progressives on Tuesday, Rhee’s organization StudentsFirst.org, says:* Thank you for joining StudentsFirst by signing a petition on Change.org. … *Recipients of this letter may not have ever signed a StudentsFirst.org-sponsored petition on the petition site Change.org. Nor will they likely know that Rhee’s organi... more »

ARBITRATOR SHOWS NAIVETE, SO DO EMANUEL AND BRIZARD « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
ARBITRATOR SHOWS NAIVETE, SO DO EMANUEL AND BRIZARD « Teachers Fight Back: ARBITRATOR SHOWS NAIVETE, SO DO EMANUEL AND BRIZARD by alkleen [image: Jean-Claude Brizard - Arne Duncan Hosts Forum On Big Cities And Education Reform] The arbitrator who recently issued a ruling in the ongoing battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago School District must be extremely naive. He sided with the teachers on most issues, especially the salary demands that the teachers want in exchange for working a much longer day that the District is insisting on. The arbitrator is naive b... more »

Save Our Schools (SOS) March and Rally: DC trip to bring education reform - NorthJersey.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Verona-Cedar Grove Letter: DC trip to bring education reform - NorthJersey.com: Verona-Cedar Grove Letter: DC trip to bring education reform THURSDAY JULY 19, 2012, 12:10 PM VERONA-CEDAR GROVE TIMES PRINT | E-MAIL Editor, The Times I am a retired public school teacher and retired or not, I am appalled by the demonizing attacks on public education in the name of school "reform." My fellow retirees and current school employees have suffered scapegoating by pundits and politicians, lost precious money from our paychecks and pensions only to be reallocated to balance a budget. That ... more »

Democurmudgeon: The Illusion of Highly Qualified Teachers to continue.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Democurmudgeon: The Illusion of Highly Qualified Teachers to continue.: The Illusion of Highly Qualified Teachers to continue. by Democurmudgeon Parents won’t know it, but that “highly qualified teacher” in their kid’s classroom, may be a teacher in training. Don’t get me wrong, this isn't a criticism of those dedicated new graduates learning the profession, it’s the idea that they would be considered “highly qualified” already. But for years, parents weren’t told how loose that qualification had become. It essentially helps private training colleges like the controversial teache... more »

Shanker Blog » What Florida's School Grades Measure, And What They Don't

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Shanker Blog » What Florida's School Grades Measure, And What They Don't: What Florida’s School Grades Measure, And What They Don’t by Matthew Di Carlo A while back, I argued that Florida’s school grading system, due mostly to its choice of measures, does a poor job of gauging school performance *per se*. The short version is that the ratings are, to a degree unsurpassed by most other states’ systems, driven by absolute performance measures (how highly students score), rather than growth (whether students make progress). Since more advantaged students tend to score more highly on ... more »

The in box. Stephen Colbert on Texas GOP’s opposition to teaching critical thinking skills. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
The in box. Stephen Colbert on Texas GOP’s opposition to teaching critical thinking skills. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. Stephen Colbert on Texas GOP’s opposition to teaching critical thinking skills. by Fred Klonsky *“I blame Galileo.”* Stephen Colbert: *..The minds of our young people are being poisoned by knowledge… I have long praised the Texas Board of Education for their valiant work rewriting our nation’s**history textbooks. But now I believe they’ve got some stiff competition from the Texas GOP, who recently put a plank in their 2012 party platformn regarding children’s ed... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action by Mike Klonsky [image: SOS Save Our Schools] *Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action* www.saveourschoolsmarch.org for immediate release *SAVE OUR SCHOOLS ANNOUNCES KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, PANEL LEADERS* *FOR AUGUST 3 -5 WASHINGTON, DC PEOPLES EDUCATION CONVENTION* Organizers of the upcoming Save Our Schools (SOS) “Peoples Education Convention” today unveiled the list of featured speakers for their *August 3 – 5, 2012 *event at *the Marriott Wardman Park* hotel in * Washington,... more »





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