Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, June 25, 2012

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-25-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A Big Education Ape Nite Cap

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's Monday Massacre at Clemente

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 minutes ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's Monday Massacre at Clemente: Rahm's Monday Massacre at Clemente by Mike Klonsky When the board announced that Roberto Clemente High School was to be the city's third public high school, (along with Senn and the new Back of the Yards H.S.) converted into a wall-to-wall International Baccalaureate (IB) school, many Clemente teachers were thrilled by the news. Teacher teams began preparing to implement the new plan and think about how they could make a contribution to the new Clemente. Unlike most early CPS school restructuring efforts, the new IB... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Best way to end a stressful school year? Flash mob and budget cuts restored

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago
NYC Public School Parents: Best way to end a stressful school year? Flash mob and budget cuts restored: Best way to end a stressful school year? Flash mob and budget cuts restored by Leonie Haimson Brooklyn moms (and dads) perform a flash mob in the schoolyard at PS 10 on June 19th. Wow! More at theNYPost, Windsor Terrace Patch, and Gothamist . Meanwhile, GothamSchools reports good news about the budget: Instead of losing 6,500 child-care spots and 30,000 after-school spots, the city will actually have more spots next year than this year. And although Bloomberg had slashing ... more »

Culturalist Crutches: The Atlantic's Wrongheaded "The Education System That Pulled China Up May Now Be Holding It Back" | K-12 News Network

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Culturalist Crutches: The Atlantic's Wrongheaded "The Education System That Pulled China Up May Now Be Holding It Back" | K-12 News Network: Culturalist Crutches: The Atlantic’s Wrongheaded “The Education System That Pulled China Up May Now Be Holding It Back” by admin I think this Atlantic magazine piece, “The Education System That Pulled China Up May Now Be Holding It Back,” has many key aspects all wrong. It’s not enough to recite “culturalist” interpretations of flaws like the emphasis on “rote learning” and “innately imitative” Chinese culture, which are a crutch for frustrat... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's nonprofit raises $8 million - - POLITICO.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Crossroads GPS to endorse bipartisan immigration bill - Rhee nonprofit raises $8 million - Romney Park City weekend draws K-Streeters - Cantor takes in JPMorgan $$ - POLITICO Influence - POLITICO.com: *PI EXCLUSIVE… RHEE NONPROFIT RAISES $8 MILLION:* *StudentsFirst*, the education reform group founded by former D.C. Schools Chancellor *Michelle Rhee*, raised nearly $8 million in its first months of operation, according to tax documents obtained by POLITICO. The most recent tax filings, from October 2010 to July 2011, show Rhee’s group spent $143,000 on lobbying and another $1.8 ... more »

Can a National Campaign Get Schools to Rethink Homework? - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Can a National Campaign Get Schools to Rethink Homework? - Education - GOOD: Can a National Campaign Get Schools to Rethink Homework? by Liz Dwyer Popout Summer vacation means the nation's students have a respite not just from the school day but from the hours of homework they're required to complete every night. Homework evangelicals will tell you that assigning kids math problems to do while seated at the kitchen table helps them master what's been taught in class. But for the

Celery sticks. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Celery sticks. « Fred Klonsky: Celery sticks. by Fred Klonsky Regular readers of this blog know that I didn’t exactly hold my last principal in the highest of regard. The fact is that she was a mean-spirited, foolish bully. I admit that I was on the committee that interviewed her on behalf of the teachers. I admit I recommended her. Go figure. Never trust an interview. There was the day she came in and announced that there was a new district policy that banned sweets from our school. We already had a district no-peanut, no hard candy and no home-made baked goods policy. But underst... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Looming Disaster of a Charter Conversion

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Looming Disaster of a Charter Conversion: The Looming Disaster of a Charter Conversion by Charlie Mas The charter school initiative, if approved, would create a time bomb that would seriously threaten Seattle Public Schools. The threat doesn't come from the possibility of a charter school organization creating a school in Seattle - at least not if they get their own building. The threat comes from the possibility of a conversion. A conversion occurs when a majority (50% plus 1) of either the teachers or the families at a school request conve... more »

Guest Post: Here’s What Was Missing From The Wall Street Journal’s Column On Teacher Evaluation | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Guest Post: Here’s What Was Missing From The Wall Street Journal’s Column On Teacher Evaluation | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: Guest Post: Here’s What Was Missing From The Wall Street Journal’s Column On Teacher Evaluation by Larry Ferlazzo *Guest Post by John Thompson* * * When I first followed Larry’s link to Tom Kane’s Op Ed in the *Wall Street Journal* (see Disappointing Op Ed On Using Tests To Evaluate Teachers By Head Of Gates’ Project), I also was disappointed. Perhaps I’m naive but, upon reflection, I was struck by Kane’s conclusion. The Gates Foundation’s schol... more »

Daily Kos: Poverty and Privilege: The Consequences of Arrogance over Humility

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Daily Kos: Poverty and Privilege: The Consequences of Arrogance over Humility: Poverty and Privilege: The Consequences of Arrogance over Humility byplthomasEdDFollow Share3 PERMALINK1 COMMENT Charles Blow has offered a recent video of a disturbing account of bullying on a bus captured on video and posted to YouTube: "The video shows Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother and bus monitor in upstate New York, being relentlessly tormented by a group of young boys." "But what, if anything, does this say about society at large?" asks Blow, adding: "Many things one could argue, but, f... more »

Schools Matter: Eva Moskowitz, Corporate Welfare Charter Queen

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Schools Matter: Eva Moskowitz, Corporate Welfare Charter Queen: Eva Moskowitz, Corporate Welfare Charter Queen by Jim Horn Worth 100,000 wordsPriceless photo of Eva pitching by Linda Rosier, NY Daily News. Commentary by Juan Gonzalez for the Daily News: Even in public education, the rich keep getting richer. That's the message the trustees of the State University of New York will send Monday when they vote to approve a huge 50% increase in the per-pupil management fee of one of the city's wealthiest, biggest-spending and most controversial charter school operators. The Success Aca... more »

Supreme Court affirms racial profiling. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Supreme Court affirms racial profiling. « Fred Klonsky: Supreme Court affirms racial profiling. by Fred Klonsky In ruling on Arizona’s immigration law, the Supreme Court upheld racial profiling as legal in the United States. The Court was unanimous on this part of the ruling, including all of the Liberal wing except Justice Kagan who disqualified herself. My Congressman, Luis Gutierrez, made clear the meaning of today’s court ruling. Experience has shown us that police are highly unlikely to stop an individual with the last name of Kennedy or Roberts on suspicion of not being a le... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meet Superintendent Banda This Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meet Superintendent Banda This Week: Meet Superintendent Banda This Week by Melissa Westbrook I had already planned on attending this event but wasn't sure it was open to the public; it is. To note: still nothing from the Mayor or Councilman Burgess on Superintendent Banda's appointment. I have to wonder about that and I hope they both show up to this event. From El Centro de la Raza and the Alliance for Education: *What:* El Centro de la Raza and the Alliance for Education, together with a host committee including nearly thirty community groups... more »

Comprehensive Education > Reading, Math, and Science — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Comprehensive Education > Reading, Math, and Science — Whole Child Education: [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Comprehensive Education > Reading, Math, and Science June 25, 2012 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers ASCD and more than 25 other major education organizations (including several whole child partners), representing a wide array of subject areas, are promoting consensus recommendations for how federal education policy can better support subject disciplines beyond reading, math, and science. The recommendations are a response to proposals that could threaten schools' and distric...more »

NEA - Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
NEA - Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA): 2012 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA) [image: overhead view of the RA floor and crowd of delegates] 2012 Annual Meeting Agenda View the tentative schedule of events. [image: detail of delegate crowd on RA floor] NEA: We Educate America WASHINGTON, DC, JUNE 27 - JULY 5, 2012 - Tentative 2012 Annual Meeting Agenda - Delegate Resources - Travel, Transportation & Lodging Related Information Walter E. Washington Convention Center (Washington, DC) [image: Useful links and information about Washington DC] Was... more »

#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines - Occupy Together | Journal

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines - Occupy Together | Journal: #Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines Grim at Occupy Together | Journal - 41 minutes ago YOUR WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF OCCUPY MOVEMENT NEWS FROM THE OCCUPIED WALL STREET JOURNAL This week in Occupy, the Cruz family was rebuffed by PNC Bank, Rio + 20 was mic-checked and #occupied, Egyptians took to the streets to demand an election and occupiers nationwide saw convictions and dismissals stemming from last Fall’s raids and evictions. [...] Direct Action Highlight: #MicCheckWallSt Money Drop Ella at Occupy Together | Journa... more »

Why Kids Can’t Do Math Without a Calculator and the Common Core Isn’t Helping | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Why Kids Can’t Do Math Without a Calculator and the Common Core Isn’t Helping | Truth in American Education: Why Kids Can’t Do Math Without a Calculator and the Common Core Isn’t Helping by Shane Vander Hart [image: calculator]Konstantin Kakaes wrote an interesting article in *Slate* entitled, “Why Johnny Can’t Add Without a Calculator” about how technology is hurting, not helping kids really learn math. I went to see (Vern) Williams because he was famous when I was in middle school 20 years ago, at a different school in the same county. Longfellow’s teams have been state champion... more »

CTU Strike Humor: What About Those Greedy Teachers? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
CTU Strike Humor: What About Those Greedy Teachers? « Diane Ravitch's blog: CTU Strike Humor: What About Those Greedy Teachers? by dianerav Last Stand for Children First is a very funny Twitter site. The person who created it does a great job of impersonating trust-fund babies who know everything about how to fix public schools without ever setting foot into one. Popout

Initiative I-1240: The money and the lies | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Initiative I-1240: The money and the lies | Seattle Education: Initiative I-1240: The money and the lies by seattleducation2011 Bill Gates is cranking it up a notch with his enablers, the League of Education Voters and Stand for Children. He and some other donors have put money into the pot to put a charter school initiative on the ballot this fall,Initiative 1240. The money so far has been contributed by: Mike and Jackie Bezos: $250,000 Bill Gates: $200,000 Paul Allen: $100,000 (can someone give this guy a clue?) Katherine Binder: $100,000 (who also contributed to Senator Patty Murra... more »

TOUGHER STANDARDS FOR POTENTIAL EDUCATORS « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
TOUGHER STANDARDS FOR POTENTIAL EDUCATORS « Teachers Fight Back: TOUGHER STANDARDS FOR POTENTIAL EDUCATORS by alkleen The State Board of Education in Illinois is poised to raise the standards for any college student wanting to have a career in teaching. It will be more difficult to get into a college teaching program and more difficult to stay in one if a student’s test scores don’t achieve the required level. I have no problem with the raised academic standards. Let’s get only the “best and the brightest” in the teaching profession. Unfortunately, there are about a hundred other... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, June 25, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
[image: Wind Farm]*Altamont Pass Wind Farm* FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Monday, June 25, 2012* Test scores drop after state rule changeThe Lake Elsinore Unified School District’s standardized test scores, recently lauded as some of the most improved in Riverside County, have dropped significantly because of a change in state rules. Perris school board approves budgetPerris Union High School District trustees approved a budget for 2012-13 at their meeting Wednesday. The spending plan calls for $69 million in revenue and $73 million in ex... more »

Schools Matter: Smear Campaign Against Teachers is Freakish, New Low

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Schools Matter: Smear Campaign Against Teachers is Freakish, New Low: Smear Campaign Against Teachers is Freakish, New Low by Judy Rabin Perhaps like an alcoholic or drug addict, our children, teachers, public schools and country will have to hit rock bottom before finding a way to recover from the last 30 years of destructive corporate driven ed reform policies that are gutting our nation's public schools. The dire fiscal circumstances of local and state government is yet providing another crisis to be conveniently used as a reason to dismantle democratically elected school boar... more »

Children Become Risky Assets as Business Practices Come to Education - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Children Become Risky Assets as Business Practices Come to Education - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Children Become Risky Assets as Business Practices Come to Education by Anthony Cody A report from the El Paso Times revealed last week that school administrators in that city may have engaged in some questionable practices to make their all-important data appear better than it ought to have been. The key element in the District's data portfolio is the 10th grade standardized test. Administrators apparently went to great lengths to prevent students likely to score po... more »

Even in public education, the rich keep getting richer. - NY Daily News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Schools network rolling in money but still wants 50% increase in management fees from state - NY Daily News: Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Schools network rolling in money but still wants 50% increase in management fees from stateOne of New York City's wealthiest charter school operators is expected to be approved for a 50% increase in per-pupil management fees Comments (7)NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Even in public education, the rich keep getting richer.LINDA ROSIER/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowtiz (right) pitches her charter scho...more »

What Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Said to For-profit Colleges by Daniel Luzer | Washington Monthly

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
What Michelle Ree Said to For-profit Colleges by Daniel Luzer | Washington Monthly: What Michelle Ree Said to For-profit Collegesby Daniel Luzer - e-mail - print In April I reported that Michelle Rhee, the controversial former superintendent of Washington, DC public schools, would be speaking at a meeting of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, the government relations umbrella group of for-profit colleges in the United States. She promised to tell for-profit colleges “the hard truths they need to hear” at their annual conference this month at Man... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core: More Glimpses into the Consequences of National Common Core Standards and Assessments?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core: More Glimpses into the Consequences of National Common Core Standards and Assessments?: Common Core: More Glimpses into the Consequences of National Common Core Standards and Assessments? by stlgretchen Is education about accountability or learning? Reading about the high stakes testing in China for university admission, can we make an educated guess on what might be in store for American schools if Common Core standards are fully implemented? We previously wrote how Chinese teachers marked zeros on college admission essays that criticize... more »

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Another weekend of violence. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Another weekend of violence. « Fred Klonsky: Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Another weekend of violence. by Fred Klonsky Anthony Davis was 14. He was one of two teenagers shot and killed this weekend. 30 more people were shot in Chicago. It was another weekend of growing violence in our city. Rahm’s police superintendent Garry McCarthy says, *“We have a lot of violence, but the fact is, we have to keep doing what we’re doing, because the trend is actually turning. You would never know it, but the trend is actually turning.”* Shortened library hours, no summer jobs fo... more »

Shanker Blog » Colorado's Questionable Use Of The Colorado Growth Model

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Shanker Blog » Colorado's Questionable Use Of The Colorado Growth Model: Colorado’s Questionable Use Of The Colorado Growth Model by Matthew Di Carlo I have been writing critically about states’ school rating systems (e.g., Ohio, Florida, Louisiana), and I thought I would find one that is, at least in my (admittedly value-laden) opinion, more defensibly designed. It didn’t quite turn out as I had hoped. One big starting point in my assessment is how heavily the systems weight absolute performance (how highly students score) versus growth (how quickly students improve). As I’ve arg... more »

A Letter to Change.Org « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
A Letter to Change.Org « Diane Ravitch's blog: A Letter to Change.Org by dianerav Dear Change.Org, You told the world that you stopped collecting the signatures of unknowing people for StudentsFirst. You didn’t tell the truth. You informed me that I was a member of StudentsFirst because I signed a petition on your website a year ago. I never knowingly signed on as a member of StudentsFirst. I was duped. Apparently StudentFirst has cynically used your website to dupe a million other people as they duped me.

Commentary: Segregation and DPS | EdNewsColorado

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Commentary: Segregation and DPS | EdNewsColorado: Commentary: Segregation and DPS by Alexander Ooms *Alexander Ooms is senior fellow at the Donnell-Kay Foundation. This entry is cross-posted from the Donnell-Kay blog.* One of the early criticisms leveled against charter schools was that they were “skimming kids” – that the lottery enrollment policy used by charters resulted in the admission of primarily the brightest, most motivated students. This argument has faded (at least in Denver) since charters here serve the same demographics as traditional schools, as well as the undispu... more »

Chicago Democrats and Wall Street at War with CTU « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Chicago Democrats and Wall Street at War with CTU « Diane Ravitch's blog: Chicago Democrats and Wall Street at War with CTU by dianerav More evidence, this time in the Chicago Tribune, that Wall Street hedge fund managers and Obama Democrats are pouring money into the fight against the public school teachers of Chicago. I know that Republicans get a hearty laugh when they see Democratic mayors like Rahm Emanuel and Cory Booker and Antonio Villaraigosa at war with the teachers’ unions in their cities. I am on several conservative mailing lists and I can practically hear they snicke... more »

Wait, What? - Working to educate, persuade and mobilize through "perceptive and acerbic" observations about Connecticut Government and Politics

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Wait, What? - Working to educate, persuade and mobilize through "perceptive and acerbic" observations about Connecticut Government and Politics: Bridgeport’s illegal Board of Education prepares to plunge to a new level of deceit. by jonpelto Tonight, June 25, 2012, Bridgeport’s illegal Board of Education will be holding a “special meeting” at 7:30 p.m. at the Bridgeport Aquaculture School on 60 Stephens Road in Bridgeport. Actually they will be trying to sneak in an earlier meeting to get everything lined up, but the “real” meeting will be occurring at 7:30 p.m. The agenda include... more »

Tea Party Rising in Indiana Against Common Core | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Tea Party Rising in Indiana Against Common Core | Truth in American Education: Tea Party Rising in Indiana Against Common Core by Shane Vander Hart [image: indianapolis_tea_party_02] Indianapolis Tea Party, 2009 Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett are pushing in favor of the Common Core State Standards even though embracing them undermines the conservative principles they say they hold. That isn’t even to mention that several critics (including one common core supporter) have noted that Indiana is swapping out superior standar... more »

First, keep the lights on | Thoughts on Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
First, keep the lights on | Thoughts on Public Education: First, keep the lights on Share Districts used deregulated dollars to stay solvent Posted on 6/25/12 • Categorized as Equity issues, State Budget, Student spending By *John Fensterwald - Educated Guess* * * Given more control over how they could spend state money, school districts not surprisingly chose survival over experimentation. And if legislators want otherwise – to encourage districts to innovate or target money on low-achieving students – then they should be more explicit about their intentions. That was the main find... more »

Bad News: We’re No Longer the Nation’s Biggest Nuts | California Progress Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Bad News: We’re No Longer the Nation’s Biggest Nuts | California Progress Report: Bad News: We’re No Longer the Nation’s Biggest Nuts Posted on 25 June 2012 [image: Printer-friendly version]Printer-friendly version[image: Send by email]Send by email *By Peter Schrag* It’s just a half-century since California was widely regarded as the nation’s cradle of kookiness. It was because of the sunshine, famously said Jesse Unruh, the “Big Daddy” speaker of the Assembly in the 1960s, that we grow so many fruits and nuts. The evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, one of America’s first radio pr... more »

The FDOE Joins Patricia Levesque in Blaming Districts for Tests | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The FDOE Joins Patricia Levesque in Blaming Districts for Tests | Scathing Purple Musings: The FDOE Joins Patricia Levesque in Blaming Districts for Tests by Bob Sikes When the FCAT Writes debacle went viral in May, the organized PR campaign to rescue it was documented by the Florida media here and here. And in this blog here. Originating in Governor Rick Scott’s office, the effort would include former governor Jeb Bush’s education foundations in addition to a PR firm who had done work for the Gates foundation. In a strategy charitably characterized as throwing spaghetti against t... more »

A Statement From The Occupy Student Debt Campaign | OccupyWallSt.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
A Statement From The Occupy Student Debt Campaign | OccupyWallSt.org: A Statement From The Occupy Student Debt Campaign by OccupyWallSt [image: occupy student debt campaign] Everybody is now talking about the student debt crisis, but nothing is being done about it. Thanks in large part to the great public amplifier of the Occupy movement, this year’s presidential contenders have been forced to embrace student loan reform as a talking point in their respective campaigns. But the debt relief being pushed by the Obama administration is a token gesture, aimed at getting some traction on... more »

State Pensions Update - Pew

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
State Pensions Update - Pew: The Widening Gap UpdateStates are $1.38 Trillion Short in Funding Retirement Systems - States' Fiscal Health - Contact Nicole Dueffert 202.552.2274 - June 18, 2012 [image: The Widening Gap Update] PDF Downloads - Full Report - State Fact Sheets Quick Summary The gap between the promises states have made for public employees’ retirement benefits and the money they have set aside to pay these bills was at least $1.38 trillion in fiscal year 2010, according to Pew's latest comprehensive analysis on pension and retiree health care fun... more »

Riders, mount you steeds. Today let us talk about COLA. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Riders, mount you steeds. Today let us talk about COLA. « Fred Klonsky: Riders, mount you steeds. Today let us talk about COLA. by Fred Klonsky Graphic: Chicago Reader I was planning on doing a Monday post on the threats to Illinois teachers’ COLA, the cost of living increases that are a part of our TRS pension benefit. How lucky then that my friend Glen Brown published Roger Sander’s piece on COLAs on his blog this morning too. Now you now have some important reading to do over your coffee. Don’t expect to find this over on the IEA website. They have been amazingly silent on this.... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: So Why Don't They?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: So Why Don't They?: So Why Don't They? by Charlie Mas The people who say that we need charter schools have no trouble pointing out the obvious fact that the bulk of our public schools don't work for the students, particularly minority students, students from low-income homes, students with IEPs, and English Language Learners. The people who say that we don't need charters respond with two powerful arguments: 1) We don't need charters to develop and implement strategies that are effective with these populations. We can point to a number of public ... more »

From Teaching to Learning « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
From Teaching to Learning « Cooperative Catalyst: From Teaching to Learning by whatedsaid *Cross posted at What Ed Said* We’re working on shifting the focus from teaching to learning at my school. We try to ensure decisions are based on our learning principles, be they about teaching, classrooms, programs or personnel. *Shifting the focus from teaching to learning…* *We used to* spend a whole day planning how we would teach a unit of inquiry. *Now we * discuss the big ideas, establish the conceptual lens, clarify the enduring understandings… and then wait and see how the learning un... more »

Cartoons on Addiction to Electronic Devices | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Cartoons on Addiction to Electronic Devices | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons on Addiction to Electronic Devices by larrycuban In the media and in the blogosphere, the issue of children and adults being hooked on email, Facebook, Twitter, games, solitaire–you name the “drug”–is commonly aired. Whether the word “addiction” is a metaphor or a real medical condition comes up repeatedly. Some argue that there is a difference between “addiction” and“dependency.” Many parents and teachers, however, do not see it as a metaphor; they take the word seriously. ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Weekend Quotables

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Weekend Quotables: Weekend Quotables by Mike Klonsky "Privatopia"David Segal *With public employee unions under attack in states like Wisconsin, and with cities across the country looking to trim budgets, behold a town built almost entirely on a series of public-private partnerships — a system that leaders around here refer to, simply, as “the model.”* -- "A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private." Natalie Hopkinson Today, as the quality of life improves, there is a subtext to change, that in order to make progress, black people must be pu... more »

NYC Educator: A Vision

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
NYC Educator: A Vision: ' A Vision by NYC Educator One of my daughter's friends, now 17, got a summer job working at IHOP. She was really excited. We went there a few weeks ago and were pretty happy to see a nice kid like her had gotten a job. Daughter was jealous, but at 16, they wouldn't hire her. A few days ago, my wife saw this girl walking home in her IHOP uniform, and stopped to pick her up. Apparently, the folks at work felt they didn't need her that day. So, after she'd walked a half-hour to work there, they just sent her home, saving whatever pittance they'd have paid her ... more »

Geaux Teacher!: JONATHAN KOZOL WEBINAR FROM SAVE OUR SCHOOLS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Geaux Teacher!: JONATHAN KOZOL WEBINAR FROM SAVE OUR SCHOOLS: JONATHAN KOZOL WEBINAR FROM SAVE OUR SCHOOLS by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) Webinar. *“Fire In The Ashes: Keeping Hope Alive”* with Jonathan Kozol Start: June 29, 2012 8:00 pm EST End:June 29, 2012 9:30 pm EST Cost:Donations Please Category:Money Cascade, Webinars Organizer:Save Our Schools A Computer Near You, Select a Country: Visit this page to register for the Webinar: http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/ Save Our Schools Webinar Fire In The Ashes Keeping Hope Alive in Kids and Teachers as We... more »

My Hat's Off to ED :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
My Hat's Off to ED :: Frederick M. Hess: My Hat's Off to ED *by Frederick M. Hess • Jun 25, 2012 at 8:25 am Cross-posted from Education Week* Print Send RSS [image: Share] Share [image: Frederick M. Hess] Big props to the Obama Department of Education for doing something that you don't see too much in Washington or in edu-circles. Last Thursday, the Department invited my colleague Andrew Kelly and I tocome over and have a public, unscripted conversation about our book *Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit*(Harvard Ed Press, 2012). This was a sterling example of how leaders can ... more »

Companies Shortchanged Preschool Special-Ed Program, Audits Find - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Companies Shortchanged Preschool Special-Ed Program, Audits Find - NYTimes.com: Companies Shortchanged Preschool Special Education Program, State Audits FindBy DAVID M. HALBFINGERPublished: June 24, 2012[image: SOS Save Our Schools] - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - GOOGLE+ - EMAIL - SHARE - PRINT - REPRINTS - The owners of a Bronx company that employs teachers for disabled toddlers used thousands of dollars in government funds to fix up a weekend getaway in the Poconos, state auditors found. A Brooklyn company in the same program, which provides treatment for pre... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The "Hating Teachers Unions" Reflex

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The "Hating Teachers Unions" Reflex: The "Hating Teachers Unions" Reflex by Duke Want to write education op-eds for newspapers like the *Star-Ledger*? Follow this easy two-step process! Step 1) State what you think the teachers unions are for (this need not be accurate). Step 2) Oppose it! Mark this as another landmark achievement for Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic leaders; more important in the end than even the pension and health reform. State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) has spent two years drafting this reform, and the past few days greasing a deal that re... more »

The in box. No good choices. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
The in box. No good choices. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. No good choices. by Fred Klonsky John Laesch is a progressive political activist in the western suburbs. He is responding to an earlier post,*“Pensions. No, not ours.”* *Fred,* *Lauzen says he will not take a second public pension. Nadia is wrong.* * * *The race for Kane County Board Chair presents a choice between two Republicans and it is a horrible choice. That being said, Lauzen has said openly that he will reject his second pension. Here are some facts to back this up. Both were asked if they would accept a public p... more »


Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-21-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-20-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-19-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-18-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-17-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-16-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-15-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-14-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-13-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-12-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-12-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-11-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-10-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-9-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-8-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-7-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-6-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-5-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-4-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-3-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-2-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-1-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2