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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Signs of hope on the road to doom | Jerry Large | The Seattle Times

Signs of hope on the road to doom | Jerry Large | The Seattle Times:


Signs of hope on the road to doom

Policy-driven by data and results could overcome the usual politics.
Seattle Times staff columnist

A lot of problems that seem unending do have solutions. You may not hear about them in a political debate, but they exist.
Washington state is brimming with ideas that could make the future better than the present.
No, I'm not on happy drugs. If anything, I'm probably more likely than you to think we're speeding down the highway toward doom. Living immersed in the news can nurture that feeling.
But I see a lot of reminders of people building alternate routes. And they are more than isolated cases of good sense put to work; they are part of a growing reliance on evidence-based and research-based approaches to a whole range of issues from education to crime, from health care to 

NO ON 1240 (CLICK ON PICTURE)

Friends Don't Let Friends Get Fooled No On 1240 - No On 1240 is a grassroots group of volunteer parents and citizen education advocates from Seattle and Tacoma who are united to defeat I-1240. We stand in alliance with The People for Our Public Schools.

Diane in the Evening 10-21-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:




Thomas Friedman Needs Your Help

I am assuming Thomas Friedman knows a lot about foreign affairs, which is what he mostly writes about. He certainly knows very little about America’s public schools. I wonder when was the last time he stepped into a school or talked to a real teacher. My guess: it has been many years. Maybe he went to a public school.
His article in Sunday’s New York Times demonstrates that he is not only out of touch, but woefully misinformed. Everything he knows about Race to the Top he learned not by any research or school visits or investigative reporting, but by talking to Arne Duncan.
Guess what? Arne Duncan thinks Race to the Top is a huge success. He says so. It must be so. It will make the entire population college-ready. Everyone will go to college, get a good job, poverty will end, and we will 






NYC Public School Parents: Parents, do you know where your child's data is? My interesting but not reassuring afternoon with the Gates Foundation's Shared Learning Collaborative

NYC Public School Parents: Parents, do you know where your child's data is? My interesting but not reassuring afternoon with the Gates Foundation's Shared Learning Collaborative:


Parents, do you know where your child's data is? My interesting but not reassuring afternoon with the Gates Foundation's Shared Learning Collaborative

Yesterday, I spent several hours at the Shared Learning Collaborative “camp” held in midtown, where the Gates Foundation people invited teachers and  developers to brainstorm new “learning apps” to take advantage of all the confidential student data that they will be “holding” in their “data bank”.  (See our press conferencemedia coverage, and videos, during which we released a letter to the State Attorney General and the Regents, protesting the unprecedented agreement of NYC and NY State to provide confidential teacher and student data to this data bank without parental consent.  Four other districts and states, including Illinois, Massachusetts, and Colorado are also participating in this project, and Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana have agreed to follow soon.
  
The Gates Foundation identifies their role as “facilitating” the transfer of this data to commercial developers so they can invent learning products aligned with the Common Core; to aid in encouraging “efficiency” in “addressing the individual learning needs of students.”
I walked in late to the morning session, and after asking a question about the risks to student privacy, they seemed to identify me as a person of interest.  I’m not sure if the

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 10-21-12 #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



Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 minutes ago
Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter: This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter by Larry Ferlazzo Guest post by Joe Mazza Image credit: http://www.educationfuture.infoThis Wednesday night at 9PM EDT/6PM PST, we’ll be talking politics and the future of U.S. Education on #PTchat (Parent-Teacher Chat). Nikhil Goyal (@nikhilgoya_l), a 17 year-old student and author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School will answer questions and offer ideas during our chat according to his lens as a student attending today’s schools. During the chat, we’ll discuss ... more »

Short Notes: Inspire The Next, Recognize The Present | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Short Notes: Inspire The Next, Recognize The Present | The Jose Vilson: Short Notes: Inspire The Next, Recognize The Present by Jose Malala Yousafzai A few notes: - Relando Thompkins interviews a few of us for his People Who Inspire Me series. Read our dialogue. [Relando Thompkins] - Facing History wants you to nominate teachers who’ve inspired you to speak out against injustice. More details here. [GOOD Magazine] - NYC Educator demonstrates the value of a New York (presidential) vote. We can be honest, right? [NYC Educator]

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week: Seattle Schools This Week by Melissa Westbrook [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] *Tuesday, October 22nd* Road Map to College : College Application Event from 2:30-8:00 p.m. at Franklin High School *Wednesday, October 23rd* Public Comment on SPS Levies - BEX IV and Operations from 4-5 p.m. at JSCEE This is a legally mandated public hearing the district must have for all levies. Unfortunately, they don't say how long the speaking period is but I suspect it is about 2 minutes. I recall that President DeBell said they ... more »

California Teacher, Finland Bound « InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
California Teacher, Finland Bound « InterACT: California Teacher, Finland Bound by ACT Guest Blog Posts [image: orphal]Dave Orphal *InterACT guest blog post by Dave Orphal**Dave Orphal teaches high school social studies in Oakland, CA. In addition to being a member of Accomplished California Teachers, he is also active in two projects of the Center for Teaching Quality (Teacher Leaders Network, Bay Area New Millennium Initiative) and a project of the the Institute for Teaching, an initiative of the California Teachers Association. This blog post was originally published on Trans... more »

The Brookfield Shooting Is the Latest Battle in the War on Women « Student Activism

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
The Brookfield Shooting Is the Latest Battle in the War on Women « Student Activism: The Brookfield Shooting Is the Latest Battle in the War on Women by Angus Johnston *“Now it’s a war on women? Tomorrow it’s going to be a war on left-handed Irishmen or something.”* *—Paul Ryan, three days ago.* *“But gosh, to tell our kids that before they have babies, they ought to think about getting married to someone — that’s a great idea… We can make changes in the way our culture works to help bring people away from violence.”* *—Mitt Romney, five days ago.* • • • The alleg... more »

Daily Kos: 348 or 359

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Daily Kos: 348 or 359: 348 or 359 by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) No, I am not ready call the electoral college just yet. But my gut is talking to me. I am watching what is happening with early voting. I am looking at advertising in Omaha intended for IA but also having an impact in NE-02. And I am starting to think that Obama will sweep all of the battleground states, some perhaps very narrowly, and the2nd CD of NE. That would get him to 348. So why 35(? B/c I think there is a real chance that there is a swelling of Hispanic vote that is not showing up in most of the poll... more »

Letter of Endorsement of the NYC Field Test BoycottSave Our Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Letter of Endorsement of the NYC Field Test BoycottSave Our Schools: Letter of Endorsement of the NYC Field Test Boycott by Server *Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action* www.saveourschoolsmarch.org Letter of Endorsement of the NYC Field Test Boycott*Dear Save Our Schools Supporters…* We wish to offer an opportunity to express your support for *The Letter of Endorsement of the NYC Field Test Boycott* We the undersigned, education researchers and scholars from across the United States and abroad, support the New York City families in their decision to boycott the field test fro... more »

This Week In Education: Weekend Reading: Scary Stories From Weekly Mags & Sites

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
This Week In Education: Weekend Reading: Scary Stories From Weekly Mags & Sites: Weekend Reading: Scary Stories From Weekly Mags & Sites [image: ScreenHunter_09 Oct. 24 10.02]Will GA voters create a $430 million charter-school commission? ow.ly/eDdzg TAP @RaRapoport Governor Patrick on Massachusetts Top Spot in Education (Audio) @ BloombergEDU bit.ly/RMYoTT How the national media "maligned" the Chicago teachers strike In These Times ow.ly/eDcGq A sad attack on Advanced Placement: Nearly all of us are experts about something... bit.ly/ScJQhb Can an Online [Teaching] Degree Really...more »

Direct Democracy, for Billionaires

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Direct Democracy, for Billionaires: [image: save image] Direct Democracy, for Billionaires DAVID CALLAHAN OCTOBER 17, 2012 In a classic case of unintended consequences, these mechanisms for popular power are routinely used by the rich to change state laws. 23InstapaperShare on readitlaterPocketShare on emailEmailShare on printPrint Over a century ago, progressive reformers were deeply worried about how wealthy interests had hijacked American politics populating state legislatures with cronies who did as they were told and otherwise steamrolled the will of the people. To level the pl... more »

21st century education: Flaws, fixes, further thoughts [SAIS/MISBO NOTES] | Dangerously Irrelevant

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
21st century education: Flaws, fixes, further thoughts [SAIS/MISBO NOTES] | Dangerously Irrelevant: 21st century education: Flaws, fixes, further thoughts [SAIS/MISBO NOTES] by dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod) [image: SAISlogo] [Warning: long post] I’m at the SAIS/MISBO conference in Atlanta, Georgia. My keynote and workshops aren’t until tomorrow so today I’m just a learner. Right now I’m sitting in a session titled *21st century education: Flaws, fixes, further thoughts*, facilitated by Matt Gossage and David Streight. David is the director of the Center for Spiritual and ... more »

The Battle for Public Schools: Action for the Week of 10/21/2012 | United Opt Out National

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Battle for Public Schools: Action for the Week of 10/21/2012 | United Opt Out National: The Battle for Public Schools: Action for the Week of 10/21/2012 by admin We are headed back to D.C. this spring. We will not be silenced. If you were unable to attend last year, be sure to check out last year’s videos and schedule. Join us in the front yard of the Dept. of Ed. in D.C. to learn from educational activists across the country as they share what they have accomplished in their fight to end corporate education reform. We will have a full schedule available soon. Mark your calend... more »

Daily Kos: IA-04: two major endorsements for Christie Vilsack

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Daily Kos: IA-04: two major endorsements for Christie Vilsack: IA-04: two major endorsements for Christie Vilsack by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) First, the Des Moines Register, which begins its endorsement by dissing her opponent: Every time the Register’s editorial board meets with Rep. Steve King, we are reminded why we endorsed him a decade ago. He is articulate, personable and full of energy. Yet, about 15 minutes into the conversation, we are reminded of why we later withdrew that endorsement and why the Kiron Republican should not be representing Iowa in Congress. DesM... more »

NYC Educator: Teacher Union Prez Auditions for NY Post Editorial Board

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
NYC Educator: Teacher Union Prez Auditions for NY Post Editorial Board: Teacher Union Prez Auditions for NY Post Editorial Board by NYC Educator Joseph Del Grosso, head of the Newark Teachers Union, is endorsing a new contract that entails merit pay, value-added measures, and which is "secretive about financial details," though we know it hinges on $100 mill in Facebook bucks, which we don't know to be renewable. Del Grosso is portrayed in the article as someone who's moved from a young firebrand to someone with a completely different position-- heroic by the writer's highly uninfo... more »

The Wisdom and Legacy of George McGovern, Who Told America to Come Home | The Dissenter

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The Wisdom and Legacy of George McGovern, Who Told America to Come Home | The Dissenter: The Wisdom and Legacy of George McGovern, Who Told America to Come Home by Kevin Gosztola Screen shot from "Democracy Now!" special on McGovern nearing death There is nothing I remember about the late Senator George McGovern, who just passed away at the age 0f 90. I was not alive when he made his historic run for president in 1972, energizing the antiwar movement and other Americans with hope. Nor was I alive in 1968 or 1984 when he also ran for president. And I did not ever get to vote for this... more »

Don’t demonize teachers because of pension system’s faults | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Don’t demonize teachers because of pension system’s faults | toteachornototeach: Don’t demonize teachers because of pension system’s faults by aristotlethewise *Don’t demonize teachers because of pension system’s faults* ** By Steve Lopez *Yes, public pensions got out of hand. But teachers aren’t the biggest culprits, nor are they why California has some of the nation’s most shamefully underfunded schools.* Just as I was preparing to defend public school teachers and their retirement benefits, I got a form letter last week from my employer’s vice president for human resources. Appar... more »

NYC Public School Parents: "Won't Back Down" a "loss leader" for the privateers?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: "Won't Back Down" a "loss leader" for the privateers?: "Won't Back Down" a "loss leader" for the privateers? by Leonie Haimson See Diane Ravitch’s blog today about the fact that the anti-teacher, anti-public school film “Won’t Back Down” continues to tank. The movie premiered Sept. 28, and had the worst opening of any film in thirty years opening “wide” (2500 screens), despite shameless promotion by CBS (remember their “Teachers Rock”concert show which featured the film?) and NBC’s Education Nation. "Won't Back Down" revenues after 21 daysYet on Thursda... more »

Ex-Marine turned teacher: ‘Stop demonizing me and my profession’

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Ex-Marine turned teacher: ‘Stop demonizing me and my profession’: Ex-Marine turned teacher: ‘Stop demonizing me and my profession’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 21, 2012 at 2:15 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - - - - Matthew Swope has been teaching physics for 10 years and before entering the teaching profession, was a Marine and a police officer. The following piece by Swope was first published on Diane Ravitch’s blog. It is both moving and important. By Matthew Swope I am a teacher. Year 10. High scho... more »

Reflection on Chicago’s Amplified School Segregation | The Classroom Sooth

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Reflection on Chicago’s Amplified School Segregation | The Classroom Sooth: Reflection on Chicago’s Amplified School Segregation by classroomsooth *David is a teacher-organizer on the south side of Chicago. He is a member of the Caucus of Rank-and File Educators (CORE) and I met him in 2009 fighting against school actions that destabilize students’ teaching and learning conditions and ultimately lead to neighborhood gentrification.* *Recently Steve Bogira (@stevebogira) wrote an article comparing the educational conditions of two students in Cook County, IL. Hayley is a student a... more »

On Probation or Off Parole? You can Vote in California – Register Now! Here!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
On Probation or Off Parole? You can Vote in California – Register Now! Here!: On Probation or Off Parole? You can Vote in California – Register Now! Here! by PATTY JONES on OCTOBER 21, 2012 · 0 COMMENTS in CALIFORNIA, CIVIL RIGHTS, ELECTION, POLITICS, SAN DIEGO [image: Secretary of State - Register to Vote] Click on this image to register now! While having a conversation about the upcoming Presidential debate I asked a coworker if he was going to be voting. He replied, “I wish I could, but I’m on probation.” Whoa… This was a moment in a busy shop, that is normally filled with Mitt Ro... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The MASSIVE Failure of Jonah Edelman

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The MASSIVE Failure of Jonah Edelman: The MASSIVE Failure of Jonah Edelman by Duke I just can't let this go without comment: Less than two months into a new school year, *teacher strikes have popped up in Chicago and four suburbs — with a handful of potential walkouts on the horizon — despite a new state law that was expected to make it harder for work stoppages to occur.* Similar themes have surfaced in each district — the latest during last week's one-day strike in Highland Park's North Shore School District 112 — but officials on both sides agree that often, t... more »

Jersey Jazzman: TFA Is a POLITICAL Organization

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: TFA Is a POLITICAL Organization: TFA Is a POLITICAL Organization by Duke Leonie Haimson points us to a paper by the reformy Alex Russo, edited by the reformy Fredrick Hess, and published by the reformy American Enterprise Institute. That's a whole lotta reformy. For edunerds, Russo's paper is actually very interesting: it chronicles the political rise of Teach For America, the "training" program for teachers. It seems that Wendy Kopp's merry band wasn't always the darling of the Beltway; according to Russo, TFA was ill-prepared to lobby Washington when it first ... more »

Diane in the AFTERNOON Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Florida’s Race-Based Academic Goals by dianerav Florida, in its wisdom or lack thereof, has adopted different standards for different racial groups. Quite frankly, this is abhorrent. Every child is a child, period. We should look at each one as an individual, not as a racial representative. This is NCLB thinking squared, cubed, and absurdist. It is racist, it is insulting. It should stop. Now. The Upside of the Florida VAM Disaster by dianerav A reader called my attention to this comment by an anonymous teacher in Florida. It appears following an article in the... more »

America’s Best (and Worst) Educated States - 24/7 Wall St.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
America’s Best (and Worst) Educated States - 24/7 Wall St.: America’s Best (and Worst) Educated States Posted: October 15, 2012 at 2:31 pm PrintEmail inShare6 The number of Americans with college degrees has increased steadily in the last decade. According to the latest government data, 28.5% of U.S. residents 25 or older had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2011, up only slightly from 27.2% in 2005. While the number is relatively unchanged, there are substantial differences across the country. In West Virginia, the state with the lowest graduation rate, 18.5% of adults have at leas... more »

What Makes the Difference Today - Woodbridge, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
What Makes the Difference Today - Woodbridge, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators: Looking Ahead What Makes the Difference Today I have spent the last few days in Nassau, Bahamas celebrating the approval of Bahamas ASCD application to become an ASCD affiliate. It was just a year ago I came to attend their inaugural conference as an ASCD Connected Community, their first step in becoming an affiliate. I remember being impressed with how well planned and coordinated that first conference was…how committed the leadership was to bu... more »

Daily Kos: The Polonius Chronicles: The Invisible Hand and the King Imperative

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Daily Kos: The Polonius Chronicles: The Invisible Hand and the King Imperative: The Polonius Chronicles: The Invisible Hand and the King Imperative byplthomasEdDFollow 3 PERMALINK1 COMMENTS / 1 NEW *Rust Limbo (a pseudonym to protect the innocent)* ** * * * * *Prologue* Like Jane Goodall among the chimpanzees, I ventured briefly into the role of anthropologist several years ago, listening most days for extended periods of time to a national radio show host to gather the necessary evidence needed to identify the patterns of his narratives. Unlike Goodall, I was fortunate that my a... more »

The Education Report: Wealthy donors donate big money in Oakland school board races - Inside Bay Area

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The Education Report: Wealthy donors donate big money in Oakland school board races - Inside Bay Area: The Education Report: Wealthy donors donate big money in Oakland school board races By Katy Murphy Oakland Tribune Posted: 10/21/2012 12:00:00 AM PDT This is a sampling of The Education Report, Katy Murphy's Oakland schools blog. Read more atwww.IBAbuzz.com/education. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatyMurphy. Oct. 18: As we reported today, this Oakland school board election is a departure from past cycles -- and not just because every race is contested. The Oakland Education Associat... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: DON’T DEMONIZE TEACHERS BECAUSE OF PENSION SYSTEM’S FAULTS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: DON’T DEMONIZE TEACHERS BECAUSE OF PENSION SYSTEM’S FAULTS: DON’T DEMONIZE TEACHERS BECAUSE OF PENSION SYSTEM’S FAULTS Yes, public pensions got out of hand. But teachers aren't the biggest culprits, nor are they why California has some of the nation's most shamefully underfunded schools. [image: Steve Lopez] BY STEVE LOPEZ, LA TIMES COLUMNIST | HTTP://LAT.MS/UNRG0M October 21, 2012 :: Just as I was preparing to defend public school teachers and their retirement benefits, I got a form letter last week from my employer's vice president... more »

The Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky: The Sunday Mail. by Fred Klonsky http://player.vimeo.com/video/51757083?autoplay=1*IEA’s Vimeo on the Constitutional Amendment.* *Jesse Turner, The Walking Man,* wants me to join his cause: Saving the Native American burial site near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. *A reminder that John Dillon, Glen Brown, and I will be speaking at Plymouth Place,* LaGrange Park (315 N. LaGrange Rd.) on Wednesday (October 24) at 7pm. Topics will include the constitutionality of pension “reform,” HJRCA 49, revenue and pension debt reform… This is also an opportunity for... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Test Scores and the Newark Teachers Contract

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Test Scores and the Newark Teachers Contract: Test Scores and the Newark Teachers Contract by Duke It's a fact: *test scores will be used to determine who gets merit pay bonuses in the proposed Newark teachers contract*. From the new TEACHNJ Act, which sets out criteria for teacher evaluations: *Standardized assessments shall be used as a measure of student progress but shall not be the predominant factor in the overall evaluation of a teacher.* As I've said here many times, it doesn't matter if tests are the "predominant factor" or not when used to make a high-s... more »

Looking Back on 3 Bad New Principal Assumptions | Connected Principals

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Looking Back on 3 Bad New Principal Assumptions | Connected Principals: Looking Back on 3 Bad New Principal Assumptions by Joe Mazza Image Credit: http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org A little over 5 years ago, I arrived at Knapp Elementary School as a brand new 29 year-old principal. The leader I replaced was very active in the community and had spent much of his career at the school. There was a certain culture that I was entering, and understanding and adapting to this was my first task as principal. Reflecting back, I can now see some glaring blindspots I missed during those first ... more »

George McGovern: An American Hero - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
George McGovern: An American Hero - Wait, What?: George McGovern: An American Hero by jonpelto In 1972, I had the honor of meeting George McGovern when he flew into Bradley Airport to speak at a nearby hotel ballroom. That year, at the age of eleven, I spent hundreds of hours making persuasion, ID and GOTV phone calls at the Mansfield Democratic Headquarters. I still remember some of the mean comments that were made when someone heard my childlike voice. That November, I stayed up late on election night, watching CBS News and thinking that somehow California and the West Coast w... more »

George McGovern C-SPAN The Contenders

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
C-SPAN The Contenders: George McGovern Born: July 19, 1922 "The Establishment center... has led us into the stupidest and cruelest war in all history. That war is a moral and political disaster - a terrible cancer eating away at the soul of our nation." *1957 – 1961:* Member of the U.S. House of Representatives *1963 – 1981:* U. S. Senator from South Dakota *1972:* U.S. Presidential Candidate *1981:* Founded Americans for Common Sense (PAC) *1981-1982:* Professor at the University of New Orleans *1984:* Aimed to get the Democratic Presidential nomination (did not receive the nominatio... more »

Morning UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-21-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Why Won’t the Reformers Let Us Teach? by dianerav An English teacher in Rhode Island writes: *I’m a great teacher. I’m waiting for the opportunity, at the ripe old age of 49, to switch careers. My heart is broken. I am deluged with PLC’s, SLO’s, dog and pony lesson plans that go nowhere, and impossible observations that require me to make my students lie through their teeth. I’m tired of the “idiocracy” that states things like “the SAT is an achievement test” and that “all children can learn” without provid... more »

Educar en el sentido comĂşn : vivirlaeducacion

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Educar en el sentido comĂşn : vivirlaeducacion: Educar en el sentido comĂşn by admin Dosis de realismo habrĂ­a que añadir a los contenidos educativos, no acadĂ©micos, en los que el sentimentalismo sigue dominando toda nuestra formaciĂłn como personas. Cuando contratamos un* seguro de vida,* la compañía puede obligarnos a pasar un reconocimiento mĂ©dico previo a la contrataciĂłn, sobre todo cuando la cuantĂ­a asegurada supera los 300.000€, o cuando al rellenar el cuestionario de salud, decimos que tenemos una enfermedad conocida previa. Si la cuantĂ­a que queremos asegurar es menor de los 300...more »

EduShyster’s Sister Schools President Obama | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
EduShyster’s Sister Schools President Obama | EduShyster: EduShyster’s Sister Schools President Obama by edushyster2012 Some 400 teachers sent letters to President Obama this week, including EduShyster’s sister, who just happens to look very much like Tina Fey. EduShyster is often asked from whence her impressive body of knowledge about public education comes. Is she a teacher? (No). Does she really carry a box of wine everywhere she goes? (What do you mean by ‘everywhere’?) You see reader, I couldn’t help but learn a thing or two about education because I am from a family FULL of t... more »

Radical Scholarship: Against Obedience, Susan Ohanian

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Radical Scholarship: Against Obedience, Susan Ohanian: Against Obedience, Susan Ohanian by P. L. Thomas Ohanian, S (2012). Against obedience Critical Education, 3(9). Retrieved from http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/183270 from page 13: "Of course some professors are leading the resistance. Rich Gibson and E. Wayne Ross have shown me that “The Education Agenda Is a War Agenda.” I have their book and stacks of others sitting at my elbow and piled at my ankles—books I referred to when writing this piece, books with titles like *Neoliberalism and Educati... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gates axes its L.A. front group

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gates axes its L.A. front group: Gates axes its L.A. front group by Mike Klonsky The Gates Foundation, has pulled the rug out from under it's national group formed to push for favored "reforms," including teacher evaluations based on standardized testing. Communities for Teaching Excellence, headed by former L.A. school board member Yolie Flores, is planning to close its doors next month. Although based in Los Angeles, the group had a presence in Hillsborough County, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; and in Pittsburgh — all locations where the Bill & Me... more »

Quote of the Day « Student Activism

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Quote of the Day « Student Activism: Quote of the Day by Angus Johnston “I have no secret plan for peace. I have a public plan. And as one whose heart has ached for the past ten years over the agony of Vietnam, I will halt a senseless bombing of Indochina on Inaugural Day. There will be no more Asian children running ablaze from bombed-out schools. There will be no more talk of bombing the dikes or the cities of the North. And within 90 days of my inauguration, every American soldier and every American prisoner will be out of the jungle and out of their cells and then home in Ame... more »

The difference between Kahn and Austin | Ideas and Thoughts

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
The difference between Kahn and Austin | Ideas and Thoughts: The difference between Kahn and Austin by Dean Shareski I get it. Will is has a point about the Kahnifcation of Education. But as I expressed, …after watching a few and even knowing one of them, Paul Andersen, I was under the impression that most of these are classroom teachers. At least many of them are. So what's the problem? I get it, you're worried about Gates' vision of Khan but I think Khan himself argues against his work replacing teachers. I say, be wary of the business model approach but also let's stop crappi... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland; Useful for Today's Politics

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland; Useful for Today's Politics: The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland; Useful for Today's Politics by Melissa Westbrook The Wizard of Oz was published in 1900. Alice in Wonderland was published in 1865. But their usefulness in politics? Timeless. So many phrases describe what we see every day. *Down the Rabbit Hole. Advice from the Caterpillar. Don't mind that man behind the curtain. Not in Kansas anymore. * The Mock Turtle on education: * Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with, and then th... more »

Special ed in distress A few schools get it right, but complaints and lawsuits are mounting against a troubled program serving 7,000 Seattle students. | Local News | The Seattle Times

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Special ed in distress A few schools get it right, but complaints and lawsuits are mounting against a troubled program serving 7,000 Seattle students. | Local News | The Seattle Times: Special ed in distress A few schools get it right, but complaints and lawsuits are mounting against a troubled program serving 7,000 Seattle students. Formal complaints on behalf of the Seattle school district's 7,000 special-education students have doubled over the past two years. Parents, teachers and state officials blame a central administration they say has become indifferent to the long-troubl... more »

Obama’s Best-Kept Secrets - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Obama’s Best-Kept Secrets - NYTimes.com: Obama’s Best-Kept SecretsBy THOMAS L. FRIEDMANPublished: October 20, 2012 1 Comment - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - GOOGLE+ - E-MAIL - SHARE - PRINT - REPRINTS - ONE thing that has struck me about the debates so far is how littlePresident Obama has conveyed about what I think are his two most innovative domestic programs. While I don’t know how Obamacare will turn out, I’m certain that my two favorite Obama initiatives will be transformative. Enlarge This Image Oliver Munday His Race to the Top program in education has alrea... more »

Jersey Jazzman: What a Teachers Union Should Be

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Jersey Jazzman: What a Teachers Union Should Be: What a Teachers Union Should Be Given the last couple of days, I thought this would be appropriate. Here's Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union, talking to her members: God bless the teachers of Chicago's public schools.

A letter to Obama. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A letter to Obama. « Fred Klonsky: A letter to Obama. by Fred Klonsky Education Historian Diane Ravitch called on us to write letters to President Obama on October 17th. *October 17, 2012* *President Barack Obama* *Dear Mr. Obama:* *I am a retired teacher and teacher librarian, a mother, and a grandmother. I have worked in education for forty years. I attended all public schools in Los Angeles and went on to a fine public university for both undergraduate and graduate school. I have seen our schools go from places of nurture and caring that provided every subject a child needs, to... more »

The Weekly Update: Gates’ test metric is imploding, disappearing students in El Paso, Pearson sells a blank art book and takes down 1.5M ed blogs. | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The Weekly Update: Gates’ test metric is imploding, disappearing students in El Paso, Pearson sells a blank art book and takes down 1.5M ed blogs. | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: Gates’ test metric is imploding, disappearing students in El Paso, Pearson sells a blank art book and takes down 1.5M ed blogs. by seattleducation2011 Courtesy of EduShyster *The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed.* Let’s start with Bill Gates. Posting this article gives me great sadness. I feel no anger and frustration, just sorrow in regards to what Gates has wrought with h... more »

Goodbye to PS 154 in The Bronx?.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Goodbye to PS 154 in The Bronx? by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) Wow, I have been gone for some time now. According to SBSB records the last blog post was October 2. Unfortunately, I have been quite busy of late and have had a bad case of writer's block. But not to fear, as when the blog started back in 2008, I have recently been blessed with a whole slew of fresh material to blog about. For those haters of the blog and for those that need their SBSB fix, I and the Crack Team are back. So, what is new? My school, PS 154 in the Bronx has been... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Is Creativity Antithetical to Common Core?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Is Creativity Antithetical to Common Core?: Is Creativity Antithetical to Common Core? by stlgretchen What is Cafe Communications? From "about us" on cafecommunications. eu: *In old times, one would have said: advertising.* *One and a half decade ago, professionals would have defined it as ATL, BTL and PR communication.* *Around the turn of the millennium, Café Group was founded to develop integrated communication solutions for its clients.* *Nowadays, all three definitions are still correct, but none of them describes the essence. *









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