Tuesday, July 3, 2012

by Jose

I always dreamed I would end up in Seattle somehow.
In the early 90s, I fell in love with the idea of going to the Emerald City back when Gary Payton threw lobs to Shawn Kemp for some of the most incredible alley-oops I had ever seen in my life. My infatuation with the green and gold only grew as I started to see pictures of the Space Needle and the Puget Sound. Back when Ken Griffey displayed the most beautiful swing possibly of all time, Nirvana and Pearl Jam already cranked through my headphones, and I had developed a good taste for seafood.
It took me 20 years, but I finally arrived on Friday, and it felt so good.
I walked down through downtown Seattle, sniffing in the plethora of Starbucks and Pan-Asian foods deep into my lungs. I brushed past the crowds near Safeco Field and Pike Place Market. I wiped my mouth after having a clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, leaving just enough room for grilled seafood for the main course. I laughed at vendors selling Yankees Suck! tees while cheering on the Mariners versus the Red Sox in Viva Las

Sacramento Press / Organization Wants Schools to take Notice - Seth's Law is in Effect

Sacramento Press / Organization Wants Schools to take Notice - Seth's Law is in Effect:

Organization Wants Schools to take Notice - Seth's Law is in Effect

by Ken Pierce

Peer-abuse and biased harassment is a problem in the best of schools. Last Sunday, “Seth’s Law” which forces public schools to better enforce existing anti-bullying policies took effect.
To those parents whose children were victims of peer abuse-driven bullycide, based on biased harassment, this California law comes too late.
However, for those students returning to school in the fall, it will offer them, as well as their parents’ valuable support in enforcing legal protections as well as creating a transparent compliance structure that schools must follow in order to be in compliance with Seth’s Law.
Authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by Equality California, ACLU, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, AB-9 requires schools to establish

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Don't Get Caught?: What Message Are We Sending Our Kids?

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Don't Get Caught?: What Message Are We Sending Our Kids?:

Don't Get Caught?: What Message Are We Sending Our Kids?

by Lisa M

Every Tuesday I read to 3 and 4 year olds at the day care center across the street from my school. As I picked up one of my enthusiastic charges I noticed the phrase on his t-shirt, "Don't Get Caught!"

"Don't Get Caught?" I realized he had no idea what it said, so I left it alone. However, as we sat down to read, the phrase on his shirt picked at me. Negative connotations were the only meaning I could derive from that statement. Maybe I was projecting. Maybe it meant "Don't get caught slacking" or "Don't get caught....", you fill in the rest, I can't think of anything positive right now.

But it reminded me of what our society has become. A place where you can do whatever you want, as long as you "don't get caught". And, if you do get caught, do not, under any circumstances, take responsibility for your actions!

I have a sign in my classroom that I place in full view every year, "Your Actions, Your Responsibility!" I repeat it,

Still waiting… « Cooperative Catalyst

Still waiting… « Cooperative Catalyst:

Still waiting…

by caseykcaronna

Still Waiting…

I am still waiting for that large, sweeping legislation in the house, senate, and presidency in regards to progressive education. It is ironic that I will post something on Facebook in regards to education and get “likes” both from my most conservative and liberal friends. Education is something that internally, I believe many of us understand. We get it emotionally and we are able to connect to that part of learning, that relationship part of learning. However, we are so fearful to take the big step, to recognize that education is fundamentally broken in the United States and needs drastic overhauls. I’m still waiting, for that collective recognition.
I relate it somewhat to health care. Even with the Supreme Court upholding the health care bill, we still move slowly towards a system that would give all citizens preventive care and health services at a reasonable price. Why we still hold onto an employee-only based system, which while good when it was concocted by unions a hundred years ago, it surely is out dated and does not represent the complex society we live in today. So why

Louisiana Gives Us a Taste of Mitt Romney's Education Policy | Mother Jones

Louisiana Gives Us a Taste of Mitt Romney's Education Policy | Mother Jones:

Louisiana Gives Us a Taste of Mitt Romney's Education Policy

—By Kevin Drum

| Mon Jul. 2, 2012 6:06 PM PDT

127

Ed Kilgore has been sounding the alarms over Mitt Romney's education proposals for a couple of months now, and I keep meaning — but somehow forgetting — to link to his posts about this. It's probably all part of my love-hate relationship with education policy in general. But today he's got another post up on the subject, so let's take a look. He's riffing on a TPM piece about the kudzu-like growth of Bobby Jindal's voucher program in Louisiana:

In heading his state in the direction of universally available vouchers rationalized by public school failure, Jindal is not, of course, holding any of the private school beneficiaries accountable for results, or for common curricula, or, it appears, for much of anything. A big chunk of the money already out there is being snapped up byconservative evangelical schools with exotic and hardly public-minded curricular offerings, with the theory being that any public oversight would interfere with the accountability provided by "the market." So if you want your kid to attend, at

Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” – Zinn Education Project

Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” – Zinn Education Project:

Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”

Film clip. Frederick Douglass “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (1851) is read by Danny Glover. From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

Frederick Douglass

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro,” a speech given by Frederick Douglass in Rochester, NY on July 5, 1852, is read by Danny Glover.

In this famous speech, Douglass says:

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 7-3-12 #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

JFK...the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of ...

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago

[image: abstract blue] *"But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. He knows that "knowledge is power," more so today than ever before. He knows that only an educated and informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all, and that if we can, as Jefferson put it, "enlighten the people generally ... tyranny and the oppressions of mind and body will vanish, like evil spirits at the dawn of day." And, therefore, the educated citizen has a special obligation to encourage the pursuit of learning, to pro... more »

Biden: Romney’s assault on teachers – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago

Biden: Romney’s assault on teachers – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs: Biden: Romney's assault on teachers Posted by CNN's Alex Zuckerman [image: Biden: Romney's assault on teachers] *Washington (CNN)* – Vice President Joe Biden said teachers "are under full blown assault" by Mitt Romney and "his allies in Congress" Tuesday. In response, the Romney campaign said the vice president was touting "failed" policies in his remarks. Speaking before a large crowd of educators at the National Education Association 91st representative assembly, Biden blasted Romney for his education... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm lied about Clemente's new IB program

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 44 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm lied about Clemente's new IB program: Rahm lied about Clemente's new IB program by Mike Klonsky The joke is on us. While all of us were focused on the firing of at least 22 Clemente teachers last week, over at the Clark St. wing of City Hall, J.C. Brizard and the mayor were figuring out how to pull another fast one on the Humboldt Park community. Rahm's announced plan to turn Clemente High School into a wall-to-wall IB academy turns out to be a hoax. Emanuel had told parents and community leaders that the wall-to-wall schools were an expansion of... more »

Charter schools to return to a ballot near you - Seattle Snohomish County Progressive | Examiner.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 44 minutes ago

Charter schools to return to a ballot near you - Seattle Snohomish County Progressive | Examiner.com: Charter schools to return to a ballot near you [image: Microsoft founder has contributed a million dollars to establish charter schools in Washington State] You can throw your clichés out the window. Apparently forcharter schools supporters it is not “Three strikes and you’re out.” Neither do they believe, “The third time is the charm.” Indeed, the sponsors of Initiative 1240 are hoping to turn in enough signatures by Friday to put the latest charter school measure before Washi... more »

Detroit Federation of Teachers leaders call imposed contract 'a farce,' hint at potential strike | MLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 50 minutes ago

Detroit Federation of Teachers leaders call imposed contract 'a farce,' hint at potential strike | MLive.com: Detroit Federation of Teachers leaders call imposed contract 'a farce,' hint at potential strikePublished: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 5:49 PM Updated: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 5:52 PM [image: Dave Murray | dmurray@mlive.com] By Dave Murray | dmurray@mlive.com Detroit teachers union leaders are dismissing their new imposed contract as “a farce,” saying there was no agreement or even bargaining before the contract was announced. Detroit Federation of Teachers leaders als... more »

Ben Velderman and the end of the NEA. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Ben Velderman and the end of the NEA. « Fred Klonsky: Ben Velderman and the end of the NEA. by Fred Klonsky *The return of Ben Velderman.* Last week it was the crazy group of standardized test critics who jubilantly predicted the death of teacher unions. This week it my old stalker from the right-wing, Ben Velderman of the Education Action Group. You remember Ben. He’s the one who filed a Freedom of Information Act request last year for all my work emails and for my personnel file. Predicting and rooting for the death of teacher unions is nothing new. What’s interesting is the broad ... more »

Oakland school sit-in raided after nearly three weeks - Inside Bay Area

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Oakland school sit-in raided after nearly three weeks - Inside Bay Area: Oakland school sit-in raided after nearly three weeks By Katy Murphy Oakland Tribune Posted: 07/03/2012 09:50:05 AM PDT Updated: 07/03/2012 02:20:45 PM PDT Click photo to enlarge Staff Archive: A couple of kids run through a small campsite set up by teachers and... (RAY CHAVEZ) OAKLAND -- On Tuesday, nearly three weeks into a peaceful occupation of an elementary school that was closed last month, Oakland school district police cleared out the demonstrators in an early morning raid. When police entered th... more »

Should CMOs really be in the business of ed reform?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Should CMOs really be in the business of ed reform?: Should CMOs really be in the business of ed reform? *Robb Snowe / July 3, 2012* *This guest blog post is written by a former administrator at a charter management organization. Robb Snowe is a pen name.* Charter schools were born of the idea that, endowed with more autonomy and flexibility than traditional public schools, they would be free to experiment with different educational approaches, thereby serving as laboratories of innovation. Presumably, such experimentation would, at least in some cases, lead to better outcomes. T... more »

School districts' anti-bullying funds range from $38K to only $36 | NJ.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

School districts' anti-bullying funds range from $38K to only $36 | NJ.com: School districts' anti-bullying funds range from $38K to only $36Published: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 4:46 PM Updated: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 4:56 PM [image: Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger] By Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger [image: bullying.jpg]Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerA group of Long Branch Middle School students are shown in a 2011 file photo. The students created a re-mix of Enrique Iglesias' pop hit: "I Like it" called Bullying: We'll Stop It" TRENTON — Some 371 New Jersey school dis... more »

Blue Jersey:: John Adams to Abigail Adams, 236 Years Ago Tonight

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Blue Jersey:: John Adams to Abigail Adams, 236 Years Ago Tonight: John Adams to Abigail Adams, 236 Years Ago Tonight by Rosi Efthim [image: L17760703jasecond_1lg] This letter gives me chills every time I read it. *(Want real chills? Go look at the original letter written 236 years ago tonight, below the fold - his prediction is on page 3.).*In 1776, John Adams pushed, prodded and greatly annoyed the members of the Second Continental Congress to break with England, hectoring them daily in the hot rooms of what we now call Independence Hall in Philadelphia until their resistance to... more »

National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress | U.S. Department of Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress | U.S. Department of Education: National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress JULY 3, 2012 *Contact: * Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Average math scores for fourth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools have improved since 2009 according to a national study released today, though the overall academic progress of these students has stalled since 2005. The National Indian Education Study (NIES) study, which provides data on the educ... more »

NEA Representative Assembly - California Teachers Association

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

NEA Representative Assembly - California Teachers Association: NEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY *NEA RA 2012* -* NEA: We Educate America* *Friday, June 29 - Friday, July 6, 2012 - Washington, DC* *Registration for the NEA RA is now closed* The NEA Representative Assembly is the largest democratic deliberative assembly in the world. California sends more than 1,000 delegates to the NEA RA each summer. During this annual meeting, CTA members help set policy and chart the direction of NEA business through participation on various committees, constituencies, caucuses, and leadership groups... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION by Mike Klonsky With all eyes on Chicago as Rahm continues to push the teachers and their union to the wall, the NEA Regional Assembly voted overwhelmingly to support the CTU. The resolution came out of the Illinois Delegation. Here's brother Fred making the pitch. Popout Unanimous! Solidarity! Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich by Mike Klonsky Ohio Tea-Party Gov. John Kasich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson hug after Jackson talked about the agreement th... more »

Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! by Kate_Lenox [image: Home] Recently I posted about the requirements of the new Race to the Top grants for school districts. The federal Dept. of Education has doubled down on the emphasis on standardized tests by moving to use them not only to judge schools, but also to judge teachers and administrators. Even more disturbing is the new requirement that tests for schools boards be developed. Is this just another way to... more »

Jersey Jazzman: International House of Education Statistics

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: International House of Education Statistics: International House of Education Statistics by Duke I'll be doing the #soschat tonight on the Twitter machine, which should be fun (if TweetDeck for Mac stops acting so quirky). Stop in if you can: 9:00 PM EDT. We needed a topic, and I'm sick of talking about Chris Christie, so I thought we'd talk about international comparisons. Why? Because they seem to be a lynchpin of the entire reformy argument: "*Our kids suck compared to the rest of the world! Even our kids who we say don't suck really suck! 'Cause their teacher... more »

D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post: D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry by Bill Turque While I was gone, a significant announcement from the D.C. Charter School Board that slipped through without much notice. The board is proposing a streamlined approval process that would allow experienced charter operators with good track records in other cities to open their doors in the District a full year ahead of the current timetable. (Astrid Riecken - FOR THE WASHINGTON POST) The new guidelines, unveiled at th... more »

Justice was our floor strategy. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Justice was our floor strategy. « Fred Klonsky: Justice was our floor strategy. by Fred Klonsky PopoutA couple of folks came up today and asked me if I had a floor strategy. At an NEA RA that’s what the big boys do. When you want to control the speakers, you plant folks at different microphones who then give their time over to those prepared to speak. The Illinois caucus had already voted for the New Business Item calling for the NEA to support the AFT Chicago teacher local in their negotiations with Rahm and his hand-picked school board. It had now been assigned a number: NBI 13. A... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World by Duke A citizen revolution has been brewing in Newark for some time, with local citizens getting increasingly sick and tired of being left out of decisions that affect their own children. So, if this is a revolution, yesterday was the Battle of Lexington and Concord: The Newark public schools uneasy relationship with the city’s charter schools stirred more debate last night, as the district’s advisory board rejected leases to share space with the alternative ... more »

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel Urges Delegates to Stay Strong

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

*NEA President Dennis Van Roekel opened the National Education Association's 91st Representative Assembly today with a challenge to members to stand up for their profession and come together in a united mission to transform America's public schools into world class institutions of learning.*

PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools) Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools): PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools) by admin *For our nation’s birthday – let’s give some thought to what it really means to be a great nation.* (I’m trying to take a little work break in honor of July 4th so I’m just going to share the most recent Action of the Week from the Parents Across America June 28 newsletter.) The Supreme Court has upheld the federal healthcare reform law. My long-time friend and PURE colleague Johnny Ho;mes sa... more »

Why Elected Local School Boards Matter « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Why Elected Local School Boards Matter « Diane Ravitch's blog: Why Elected Local School Boards Matter by dianerav Lance Hill in New Orleans knows what it is like to have no democratic control of schools funded with taxpayer dollars (so do people in New York City, but that’s another topic). He writes: *Local democratic control of schools is the last remaining obstacle to the complete privatization of public education. For that reason alone, the movement to save public education needs to make this a central program tenet.**Locally elected boards are the only entity that has the miss... more »

Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish: Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish by Joy Resmovits [image: Biden Education] Vice President Joe Biden thinks that teachers face a "fullblown assault" thanks to people like Mitt Romney. "I can't think of a candidate for president who's ever made such a direct assault on such an honorable profession," Biden said at the National Education Association's annual convention, in front of thousands of teachers in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning. Romney and Republicans, Biden asserted, want to increase the in... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, July 3, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Mono Lake Tufa SNR* Education Headlines *Tuesday, July 3, 2012* The story behind school superintendent's dubious degreeIn July 1996, FBI agents raided a nondescript office building beside a church in Mandeville, La., a small town near New Orleans. That long-ago raid, half a nation away, came home late this spring when questions were raised at a school board meeting about the educational attainment of Columbia Union School District Superintendent John Pendley. SF Superintendent Carlos Garcia ends 37-year careerFor a city accustomed ... more »

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally For the foreseeable future, the battle to save public education from uncontrolled testing and Corporate control will not be won at the national level. Both political parties are in the pockets of the Billionaire reformers, and the national leadership of teachers unions are desperately trying to save their organizations by making compromises that will leave them... more »

The Arrogance of Privilege

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

The Arrogance of Privilege: The Arrogance of PrivilegeTuesday, 03 July 2012 11:39By P.L. Thomas, The Daily Censored | News Analysis - 3 - font size [image: decrease font size] [image: increase font size] - Print - Email 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, ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich: Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich by Mike Klonsky Ohio Tea-Party Gov. John Kasich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson hug after Jackson talked about the agreement that was reached on the Cleveland reform plan. (Plain Dealer)Privatizers' dream, union goes along Two things are predictable when states pass school reform laws that only apply to one city. First, that city has a largely poor, black and brown school population and second, the reform is more about privatization, charter

Sample Policies and Implementation Plans - School Environment (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Sample Policies and Implementation Plans - School Environment (CA Dept of Education): Sample Policies and Implementation PlansModel policies and plans on the prevention of bullying and on conflict resolution that were developed by the California Department of Education as resources to help California schools address these vital school safety concerns. ------------------------------ To ensure that the California schools act promptly to resolve disputes, taunting, harassment, intimidation, or bullying that could result in violence, the Legislature and the Governor enacted Assembly B... more »

Stand for Children on Education Radio | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Stand for Children on Education Radio | Seattle Education: Stand for Children on Education Radio by seattleducation2011 *In December of 2011, one of the programs on Education Radio focused on Stand for Children.* *With the Gates funded organizations Stand for Children (SFC) and the League of Education Voters (LEV) pushing for charter schools in our state and campaigning for state legislative candidates who are pro ed-reform, it seemed appropriate to once again take a look at this organization.* *To follow is the introduction to the radio show:* Stand for Children or Stand for Profit... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Career Tracking for Kindergartners. Parody or Fact?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Career Tracking for Kindergartners. Parody or Fact?: Career Tracking for Kindergartners. Parody or Fact? by stlgretchen ACT assesses kindergartners for college/career track so they can reach full potential? Is this from The Onion or fact? *WASHINGTON -- A new digital tool to test academic and behavioral skills will target students starting in kindergarten.* *ACT, the organization that developed the ACT college-entrance exam, will start testing the tool in the fall. It will be available to schools starting in 2014.The tool tracks students' career inte... more »

NYC Educator: Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

NYC Educator: Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home: Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home by NYC Educator NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured at left, says the arbitrator exceeded his authority when he ruled for the union. The arbitrator, according to Mayor4Life, should not have considered the union's arguments. Evidently, the city feels its opponents have no authority to make arguments, let alone have them heard, and that only the city's arguments should be considered. Listen to our side, ignore the other, and then make an informed decision. There is precedent for that, of course. The city h... more »

Lakeview Elementary Raided « occupy california

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Lakeview Elementary Raided « occupy california: Lakeview Elementary Raided by * OAKLAND, California – The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) shut the doors to 5 elementary schools in June reportedly due to budget cuts. As community members including teachers and parents first heard about the proposed shuttering of the schools over a year ago, they began organizing against the school closures. The 5 schools closed were all in areas of the city home to low-income families of color. On June 15, parents, teachers and some children established a camp outside the Lakeview Elementary ... more »

More on Memphis: Jim Horn Responds « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

More on Memphis: Jim Horn Responds « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] More on Memphis: Jim Horn Responds by dianerav In my post about the Memphis-Shelby County schools yesterday, I quoted Jim Horn of Schools Matter. Horn was extremely critical of the plan to increase the proportion of students in charters from 4% to 19%, resulting in a $212 transfer of public school funding from the Memphis public schools to private hands. A comment on the web site was highly critical of Horn and said he knew nothing about the plan or its supporters. *As a... more »

Ex-Jindal aide disputes suits | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

School bill actions defended | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA: School bill actions defended [image: Jimmy Faircloth]Show caption *Ex-Jindal aide disputes suits* BY WILL SENTELL Capitol news bureau July 03, 2012 5 COMMENTS Gov. Bobby Jindal’s former executive counsel, who is defending Jindal’s public school overhaul measures, said in court filings that the Legislature acted properly when it approved a bill that expands Louisiana’s voucher program. Lawsuits by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, among others, contend that the voucher measure and one that makes it harder for te... more »

Gerard Robinson Takes Another Stab At Spinning Florida’s Status Quo Test Regime | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Gerard Robinson Takes Another Stab At Spinning Florida’s Status Quo Test Regime | Scathing Purple Musings: Gerard Robinson Takes Another Stab At Spinning Florida’s Status Quo Test Regime by Bob Sikes *Gradebook’s* Jeff Solochek provides the link to Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson’s letter to the state’s parents. While observers of Florida education policy will find much to challenge, it is these two paragraphs which are most critical to Robinson and his handlers: The combination of changes to Florida’s accountability system will cause a temporary drop in some scho... more »

Daily Kos: Welcome to the rest of our lives.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Daily Kos: Welcome to the rest of our lives.: Welcome to the rest of our lives. by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Still don’t believe in climate change? Then you’re either deep in denial or delirious from the heat. So begins Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson in Eugene Robinson: Feeling the heat, an opinion piece in today's *Washington Post.*Like me, Robinson lives in Arlington County, right across the Potomac from the District of Columbia, and I periodically see him in a local supermarket. It has power from a generator truck, but as I write this, the rest of that ... more »

Student Loan Changes for 2012 - US News and World Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Student Loan Changes for 2012 - US News and World Report: Student Loan Changes for 2012Get the scoop on new rules for undergraduate and graduate students. By KATY HOPKINS July 3, 2012 RSS Feed Print [image: A Congressional decision will keep subsidized Stafford loan interest rates at 3.4 percent for one more year.] A Congressional decision will keep subsidized Stafford loan interest rates at 3.4 percent for one more year. On Sunday, July 1, several changes to federal student loanprograms took effect. If you’re a current or soon-to-be college or graduate student, read on to see if yo... more »

Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot | Local News | The Seattle Times

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot | Local News | The Seattle Times: Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot Supporters of allowing charter schools in Washington state have raised nearly $2 million from a handful of high-profile donors and say they are poised to submit the needed 241,153 valid signatures by the Friday deadline. By Brian M. Rosenthal Seattle Times education reporter MOST POPULAR COMMENTS HIDE / SHOW COMMENTS Make no mistake about it, the same technology oligarchs that fund this ... more »

NEA 2012: It's All About Obama - Teacher Beat - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

NEA 2012: It's All About Obama - Teacher Beat - Education Week: NEA 2012: It's All About Obama by Liana Heitin [image: obama wall.jpeg] *This post originally appeared on* Education Week Teacher's* Teaching Now blog.* Campaign rally or Representative Assembly? At some points yesterday it was hard to tell. The 8,000 or so delegates of the nation's largest teachers' union gathered in Washington for their annual convention heard one message above all others: Vote for Obama in November. Just outside the assembly hall, attendees traded off Sharpees to write notes to the president on a mas... more »

Schools Matter: Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Schools Matter: Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck: Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene [image: Dr. John Thompson was an award-winning historian, lobbyist, and guerilla-gardener who became an award-winning inner city teacher after crack and gangs hit his neighborhood.]By John Thompson The Education Sector's new report, *Getting to 2014 (and Beyond): The Choices and the Challenges Ahead*, could have been entitled "Whistling Past the Graveyard." The report starts wit... more »

Do We Need a 'Bar Exam' For Teachers? - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Do We Need a 'Bar Exam' For Teachers? - Education - GOOD: Do We Need a 'Bar Exam' For Teachers? by Liz Dwyer [image: exam] Teachers unions ensure teachers have the resources and support they need to educate kids, but given the perception that they primarily protect bad teachers, there’s plenty of pressure on Randi Weingarten, head of theAmerican Federation of Teachers, to come up with ideas that’ll prove her union isn’t just about maintaining the status quo. In a conversation with Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Weingarten did just that, suggesting that making all pros... more »

The Educated Reporter: From Schools to the Olympics, Women and Title IX Score New Victories

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

The Educated Reporter: From Schools to the Olympics, Women and Title IX Score New Victories: From Schools to the Olympics, Women and Title IX Score New Victories by Emily Richmond Four school districts have agreed to ensure thousands of girls are given equal athletic opportunities after gender discrimination complaints were filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Title IX, the 1972 federal law banning gender discrimination in schools, applies to all campuses that receive public funding. In 2010, the National Women’s Law Center filed complaints agains... more »

From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. « Fred Klonsky: From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. JULY 2, 2012 We all know there are plenty of people who are eager to offer advice — or worse, try to impose their ideas on our profession. Bloggers, columnists, elected officials, and self‑proclaimed reformers, they are constantly weighing in about public education. I mean, they have an opinion on everything — the who, the what, the when, the where, and the how — all of that about public education. Always opinions. The “who” th... more »

Schools Matter: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schools Matter: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered *I think about former Senator Gloria Romero comparing Compton educators to "batterers" and wondered whether the writers of those words ever stop to think about the consequences of their prose. — Martha Infante* [image: Gloria J. Romero, Queen of California School Privatization, head of reactionary DFER, darling of the CCSA.] Photo by Mark Warner (CC BY-SA 2.0) As the DFER vene... more »

NEA - Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

NEA - Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates: Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates NEA President Dennis Van Roekel opened the 2012 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA) by challenging members to stand up for their profession and come together in a united mission to transform America’s public schools into world class institutions of learning. Van Roekel said NEA members realize they can’t set education policy by themselves, but they do have the power to influence it. “You do i... more »

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Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Louisiana Gives Us a Taste of Mitt Romney's Education Policy

Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”

James Baldwin said it best:

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