Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 12-4-12 #soschat #edreform


Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break




Sat, Dec 08, 2012
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Education Summit

Scroll down to register • Click to download flyer
TOGETHER
PHOTO: CTU members march bearing signs that say 'Whatever we do we will do together' and '♥ our students'

Teachers,

Parents,
Students,
Communities

Can Stop

the Attacks
on Public
Schools
EDUCATION SUMMIT

Saturday

December 8
10am–3pm
Marshall HS

3250 W. Adams

  • No more school closings
  • No more charter openings
  • No more “Turnarounds”
  • Funding for ALL Schools
  • Keep Public Schools Public!
FEATURING WORKSHOPS ON:
  • Sustainable School Transformation
  • Charter Schools: Myth vs. Reality
  • Student Organizing
  • Appropriate Student Assessment
    vs. Test Factories
  • Whose Schools? Our Schools!
    Fighting for an Elected School Board
  • Decision-making on the Ground:
    Strengthening & Empowering LSCs
  • Educating the Whole Child:
    Wrap-around Services
IN COLLABORATION WITH:




Students and Faculty Sitting in at Emory

As the occupation continues at Cooper Union, a new action has propped up further down the Eastern seaboard — students and faculty at Emory University are currently sitting in to protest what activists call “devastating” cuts to academic programs. From a statement released yesterday:
“These cuts, which are occurring against the backdrop of a budget surplus and a $105-million growth in the school’s $5.4 billion endowment, include the total elimination of Emory’s renowned Division of Educational Studies, the Institute for Liberal Arts, Journalism, and more. … These cuts were enacted in secret, without any pretense of systematic or transparent review, and in direct defiance of Emory’s own governance protocols. Moreover, the administration’s own data reveals that these cuts have a grossly disproportionate impact on minorities and women. …
“The Emory community has had enough. … Time and again, the University has doubled-down on the cuts 


Fallout From Our Governor's Ambitions

C. B. Forgotston is a former state budget official and is an expert on politics and Louisiana state government. I thought my readers might like to see the opinions of a non-educator on the recent fight over vouchers. The following is the post by Mr Forgotston about the Governor's ambition creating a problem for children. Remember when I pointed out in this blog that the LAE lawyer Brian Blackwell was correct in warning  private school administrators about the possible consequences of accepting voucher money. The following is an excellent blog on Louisiana politics and the folly of our governor's ambitions.

"Judge Tim Kelley’s decision today that the funding for Bobby Jindal’s school voucher program unconstitutionally diverts state funds to private and parochial schools was refreshing.
It’s rare when a Louisiana judge rules against a sitting governor, but the constitution is as clear as can be written 

Innovation: The False Promise Of "Zombie-Based Learning"

ScreenHunter_01 Dec. 02 10.07One of the pitches singled out for shame in The New Republic's article The False Promise Of Kickstarter is this one for Zombie-Based Learning (Geography taught in Zombie Apocalypse), which is hilarious but not necessarily worth the money it's receiving.

Aprender arte en París


He estado en París.No es caro llegar a París. Hay vuelos económicos a París.  París ha sido una fiesta. No se acaba nunca París. Bien merece una misa, … Demasiadas son  las citas que arrastra esta ciudad de luz, corazón vivo de la cultura hasta que Nueva York emergió en el panorama cultural de occidente.
El caso es que he estado en París. En el museo Pompidou, en la fundación Pompidou. Se trata de una exposición organizada por el MNCARS (Museo nacional centro de Arte reina Sofía) y el Centro Pompidou de París en colaboración con la Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí y el Salvador Dali Museum.  Nunca se cansa uno de 


Deja Vu All over Again-DC Public School Closures


Written By Candi Peterson

Plans to consolidate twenty DC Public Schools were announced on November 13, 2012 followed by a rush of public hearings and neighborhood stakeholder discussions that gave precious little time for parents, teachers and administrators to respond. The edict sounded all too familiar to those of us who were around for the first round of closures in 2008.

In a nutshell, DC's Chancellor Kaya Henderson proposes to close twenty public schools because they are under enrolled and in DCPS’s opinion are too costly to operate. The list of school closures includes 8 elementary schools, 3 special education schools, 4 middle schools, 2 education campuses, the 


The Best Short Video Clips About Hurricane Katrina

We’re doing a unit in our ninth-grade English classes on New Orleans (see The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About New Orleans) and I thought I’d bring together a few short video clips to introduce the tragedy to our students.
Feel free to suggest others…. Some of these probably won’t go through if you’re reading this on an RSS Reader.
Here’s one from the History Channel.


Bob the Builder Speaks For Educators4Excellence

Told ya they'll be more. Not too long after listening to nothing as explained by E4E's Eric Cartman, The Crack Team came across this figuratively emasculated gentleman who showed up in support of his wife who happens to be a teacher in the South Bronx. He cracked us up in the first video with such myths as;

That there needs to be evaluations

He's a construction worker

 
He is not in a union, however is employed by a union shop. C'mon, really?
 
He works with many union guys. Wait a minute, the same union guys that have a giant inflatable rat in front of non-uni

Philadelphia Parents Take a Stand for Public Control of Public Education

Contact:
Helen Gym, Parents United for Public Education: 215-808-1400
Jerry Mondesire, Philadelphia Branch NAACP: 215-848-7864
Michael Churchill, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia: 267-546-1318

Press Conference: Private dollars vs. Public Interest
Parents/NAACP to file Ethics Board complaint
on Foundation and Boston Consulting Group
Wed., Dec. 5, 2012
1:30 p.m. 1515 Arch Street
18th floor

Parents United for Public Education, the Philadelphia Home and School Council, and the Philadelphia branch of 


Why accountability matters

The reason that school reformers believe in testing and measuring students is summed up pretty clearly in data from STAAR exams last year. According to this story in Monday’s Dallas Morning News: If the standards envisioned for the STAAR exam in 2014-2015 had been used last year, less than half of freshmen high school students taking tests in reading, … [visit site to read more]





LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-4-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Is There a Severe Shortage of Math and Science Teachers in Massachusetts? by dianerav EduShyster is at it again. She continues to ask questions that elude the Boston Globe and other media in Massachusetts. Like, why do certain charters in the nation’s highest performing state get visas to import all their teachers from other nations, such as Turkey? Are there really no teachers of math, science or even English in the state? What gives? Reader Calls Out NY Daily News for Charter Spin by dianerav One regula... more »