Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-18-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Monday, March 18, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 3-18-13 #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

The truth starts to come out about Jumoke Academy and Hartford’s Milner Elementary School - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 minutes ago

The truth starts to come out about Jumoke Academy and Hartford’s Milner Elementary School - Wait, What?: The truth starts to come out about Jumoke Academy and Hartford’s Milner Elementary School by jonpelto (Written by Jonathan Pelto and Wendy Lecker) The CTMirror has a story today about the situation surrounding the takeover of Hartford’s Milner School by the Jumoke Academy. In an article entitled, The promise — and challenge — of rescuing Hartford’s Milner School, the CTMirror’s Robert Frahm reports developments surrounding the Jumoke Academy’s $345,000-a-year publicly funded co... more »

Mike “MRSA” Madigan infects Public Education | Reclaim Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago

Mike “MRSA” Madigan infects Public Education | Reclaim Reform: Mike “MRSA” Madigan infects Public Education by kenpreviti Mike “MRSA” Madigan infects Public Education. This is not an insult; it is reality at its most primeval. [image: Madigan 12]Madigan has been a member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 1971 and Speaker of the House since 1986 – minus a little blip. He presently refers to the intentional pillaging of teacher and other public pensions as the work of “previous legislatures.” Hmm… What intelligent and qualified person would choose to be a teacher in Illin... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Community Education District 2's Response to the C4E Plan FY 13

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 minutes ago

NYC Public School Parents: Community Education District 2's Response to the C4E Plan FY 13: Community Education District 2's Response to the C4E Plan FY 13 The following letter is from the Community Education Council District 2, regarding the Contracts for Excellence Proposed Plan FY 13: Community Education District 2's Response to the C4E Plan FY 13 Posted by Molly at 3/18/2013 11:30:00 AM ShareThis Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook inBloom's student and teacher data screenshots by Molly Thanks to our work and the advocacy of parents and teachers across the c... more »

Today’s must watch video: Chicago Teacher Union’s Karen Lewis on corporate ed reform | Parents United for Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

Today’s must watch video: Chicago Teacher Union’s Karen Lewis on corporate ed reform | Parents United for Public Education: Today’s must watch video: Chicago Teacher Union’s Karen Lewis on corporate ed reform by parentsunitedphila Popout What is behind the attacks on public education and what do they mean for us as parents? Watch Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union break down the corporate ed reform movement and how teachers and parents need to build alliances to fight back and save our schools. Lewis spoke on Saturday to the New York Collective of Radical Educator... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: STEM Expands in Washington State

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: STEM Expands in Washington State: STEM Expands in Washington State by Melissa Westbrook From GeekWire: *The UW Board of Regents officially approved the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) last week. It’s the first school in the state to combine all of the STEM fields into one academic unit.* ***The school of STEM will bring together two existing programs — computing and software systems, and science and technology — and house them under one school.* *The creation of the school was also due to the increased interest i... more »

So it is written… | My Island View

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

So it is written… | My Island View: So it is written… by tomwhitby After a marathon attendance at a number of education conferences this year I have stored up many observations on the approach these conferences use to engage educators in their profession. Since I began attending them over 35 years ago I do have some historical perspective. More often than not my experience on the planning of the “Education Conference” is: So it is written, so it shall be done! Many reshuffle the deck and deal out the same old hands. If we always plan conferences on what worked last year, progres... more »

Privacy, big data and education: more about the inBloom databases | Hechinger Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

Privacy, big data and education: more about the inBloom databases | Hechinger Report: Privacy, big data and education: more about the inBloom databases by Jill Barshay A new national database of personal student information understandably has parents and privacy advocates alarmed. As reported elsewhere, the new inBloom database houses information on millions of school children from nine states and includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, disciplinary records and learning disabilities. One of the states is New York. Naturally, the mommy listservs in Brooklyn, where I live, ar... more »

Grumpy Educators: An Open Message to Legislators from Florida Civil Rights Groups

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago

Grumpy Educators: An Open Message to Legislators from Florida Civil Rights Groups: An Open Message to Legislators from Florida Civil Rights Groups by Sandra An Open Message to Legislators from Florida Civil Rights Groups The Parent Trigger bill, and any others that could prematurely expand the number of charter schools in the state, should be voted down. To do otherwise would be to continue to perpetuate injustice and constitute a disservice to our students, their parents, taxpayers, and the state. The attached Joint Position Statement on Equity Issues and the Parent Trigger bill e... more »

Grumpy Educators: An Open Message to Legislators from Florida Civil Rights Groups

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 30 minutes ago

Daily Kos: 58% percent of Americans now favor gay marriage

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago

Daily Kos: 58% percent of Americans now favor gay marriage: 58% percent of Americans now favor gay marriage by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) as one can read in this just up Washington Post story. Her's the first paragraph: Public support for gay marriage has hit a new high as Americans increasingly see homosexuality not as a choice but as a way some people are, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll Some key findings from the poll: should be legal 58-37 (versus 37-55 in 2003). Should be left up to state versus decided on basis of US Constitution: 33-64 And this is CR... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Wall St. is bullish on school closings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Wall St. is bullish on school closings: Wall St. is bullish on school closings by Mike Klonsky Moody's in no mood for public schools. Philly.com reports that Wall St. likes the mass closing of public schools. *The Philadelphia School District's plan to shut almost 1/10 of the district's 250 schools, as competing, taxpayer-funded charter schools draw off one-third of the district's student body and Gov. Corbett cuts state aid, is "positive from a credit perspective" because it shows school officials "are intent on reducing expenditures" even if it... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Anti-Stand Group - The Network for Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Anti-Stand Group - The Network for Public Education: The Anti-Stand Group - The Network for Public Education by Melissa Westbrook [image: The Network For Public Education -] Diane Ravitch and other noted public education activists have joined together to form a national group, *The Network for Public Education*. Here's what they are: *We created the Network for Public Education as a way of connecting groups and individuals around the country who are devoted to preserving public education. This is no small task. We're up against a well-funded c... more »

Lane student protest blocked this morning. UPDATED INSIDE PHOTO. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago

Lane student protest blocked this morning. UPDATED INSIDE PHOTO. | Fred Klonsky Lane student protest blocked this morning. UPDATED INSIDE PHOTO. by Fred Klonsky [image: 253633_3030200330572_1874691178_n] *Photo: John Kugler* Word is coming from contacts inside Lane that the student sit-in that was planned this morning for the school library has been blocked. [image: lane_tech_student_protest]The protest was organized in response to the banning of the book, *Persepolis*. What I am hearing is that the principal Dr. Dignam, was not present as promised. CPS district Network officials we... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, March 18, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 54 minutes ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *it is march: must be pink slip season* Education Headlines *Monday, March 18, 2013* Bakersfield City SD's new campuses taking shapeThe Bakersfield City School District is nearing the finish line on its newest campus, a two-school complex in the northeast that will house the Douglas K. Fletcher Elementary and Paul L. Cato Middle schools. Lodi Unified to adopt social media contractAthletes and extracurricular club members in Lodi Unified are being told to tame their Facebook timelines and Twitter feeds, or they might find themselv... more »

The Time is Now: Students Talk School and Community Safety with Secretary Duncan | ED.gov Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 54 minutes ago

The Time is Now: Students Talk School and Community Safety with Secretary Duncan | ED.gov Blog: The Time is Now: Students Talk School and Community Safety with Secretary Duncan Posted on March 18, 2013 by Guest Blogger [image: Duncan meets with students] Secretary Duncan talks with students about school safety as part of his ongoing Student Voices Series. Official Department of Education photo by Joshua Hoover. The fight to end the school-to-jail track and reestablish restorative justice practices is personal for Jasmine Jauregui, a youth organizer from the Youth Justice Coalition.... more »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CPS chief didn’t “hear” at all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CPS chief didn’t “hear” at all: CPS chief didn’t “hear” at all by admin I just sent this fax to the Illinois House and Senate education committee members. You should contact them, too. Oh, first read this powerful article by Curtis Black for Newstips. *RE: **Support SB 1571 and HB 3283,** school closing moratorium* [image: SaveOurSchoolsChicago] _____________________________________________________________________________ *CPS chief didn't listen at all* CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has *wasted the extra three months*the Illin... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-18-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Students in R.I. Punished for Their Tweets by dianerav The ACLU is protesting disciplinary actions taken against high school students in Warwick, Rhode Island. The students tweeted something negative about State Superintendent Deborah Gist. Whatever they tweeted was not reported in this story. The story said: “Several students called Gist names on Twitter following a story in the Journal in which about 35 adults took a portion of the New England Common Assessment or NECAP, deeming it very difficult. Several qu... more »

Sacramento Will Close Schools Serving Neediest Students | Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Sacramento Will Close Schools Serving Neediest Students | Diane Ravitch's blog: Sacramento Will Close Schools Serving Neediest Students by dianerav [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] I am late posting about the school closings in Sacramento, but better late than never. In Sacramento, the Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and the Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education are working together to protest the closing of seven elementary schools. The closing of these schools will have a disparate impact on children of color and English-language learners. The “sav... more »

Oregon High School Honored with ASCD's Vision in Action Award — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Oregon High School Honored with ASCD's Vision in Action Award — Whole Child Education: [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Oregon High School Honored with ASCD’s Vision in Action Award March 18, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers [image: Vision in Action] ASCD is honored to present Milwaukie High School, located in Milwaukie, Ore., with the 2013 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award. This special award recognizes schools that move beyond a vision for educating the whole child to actions that result in learners who are knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy, civically... more »

School Tech Connect: Notes on the Revolution

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

School Tech Connect: Notes on the Revolution: Notes on the Revolution by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) This is my favorite image from the recent Northside P.O.W.E.R. event. It's one of the organizers, Bridget Harris, reacting to the spectacular turnout and the perfectly executed march to the alderman's house. Bridget Harris, Northside P.O.W.E.R. I'm posting it because I was reflecting on that marathon post from last night, in which I tried to list the many activities that the people in this mobilized city are going to in this one week alone. And that doesn't even include what's ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS blocks Lane student sit-in over book-ban

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS blocks Lane student sit-in over book-ban: CPS blocks Lane student sit-in over book-ban by Mike Klonsky Hundreds of Lane Tech College Prep students attempted to hold a sit-in this morning inside the school library, in response to CPS' book banning. Progress Illinois went to the school as classes began this morning but was told by one of the school’s assistant principals that members of the media were not allowed to attend the sit-in within the school or speak with faculty or students on school property about the protest, or other events, citing ... more »

New Recommended Literature List - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

New Recommended Literature List - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Unveils New Recommended Literature List *List includes Common Core, and College and Career Readiness materials* SACRAMENTO—To help students meet the new Common Core State Standards and prepare for a career, college, and the challenges of a changing world, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today unveiled the new*Recommended Literature: Pre-Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve* list. "The books our students read help broaden their perspectives, enhance their know... more »

WHAT DOES FINLAND HAVE THAT LAUSD DOESN'T - EQUITY - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

WHAT DOES FINLAND HAVE THAT LAUSD DOESN'T - EQUITY - Perdaily.com: WHAT DOES FINLAND HAVE THAT LAUSD DOESN'T - EQUITY by Leonard Isenberg *(Mensaje se repite en Español)**What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success* *by Anu Partanen is a Finnish journalist based in New York City. She is writing a book about what America can learn from Nordic societies.* *The Scandinavian country is an education superpower because it values equality more than excellence.* *[image: finnish-kids.jpg]* *Sergey Ivanov/Flickr* *Everyone agrees the United States needs to improve its education...more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Illinois Superintendent Denies Parental Right to Opt Student Out of Common Core

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Illinois Superintendent Denies Parental Right to Opt Student Out of Common Core: Illinois Superintendent Denies Parental Right to Opt Student Out of Common Core by stlgretchen from: http://www.areweawareyet.com/29241/illinois-parents-denied-request-that-their-daughter-be-placed-in-classroom-not-using-common-core-standards/ Where does your school stand on this issue? Do you have any parental/taxpayer rights in your local school district? Apparently the goal of SBAC or PARCC of the implementation of CCSS (without a single vote of taxpayers/parent... more »

Confessions of a black school reformer

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Confessions of a black school reformer: Confessions of a black school reformer Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 18, 2013 at 3:00 pm [image: garden path]Here’s a post about a new book on school reform — “The Garden Path: The Miseducation of a City — by Andre Perry — that smacks opposing sides of the debate. This was written by Natalie Hopkinson. a contributing editor to The Root DC. E-mail her at*NHopkinson@hotmail.com*. This appeared on The Root D.C. By Natalie Hopkinson The principal wanted the boy expelled. “We can’t teach every child because Clarence is a terror,” he pleaded t... more »

Overwhelmed Open Enrollment Process Reveals the Myth of School Choice. | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Overwhelmed Open Enrollment Process Reveals the Myth of School Choice. | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: Overwhelmed Open Enrollment Process Reveals the Myth of School Choice. by Kate_Lenox The Open Enrollment priority for kids at the closed schools is a farce. The Open Enrollment timeline was just an excuse for the hurried closure "process" --we have to rush to get the schools closed so that parents can apply for open enrollment. There is no way 2000 students can be accommodated through that process. Students who live within the attendance boundaries hav... more »

Bill Maher takes on Michelle Rhee

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Bill Maher takes on Michelle Rhee: Bill Maher takes on Michelle Rhee Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 18, 2013 at 10:57 am 0 Comments More [image: Bill Maher (hbo.com)] Bill Maher (hbo.com) Bill Maher clearly had done some homework when he sat down with to über-school reformer Michelle Rhee onhis HBO show, challenging her “no-excuses” philosophy on teachers by saying that he thinks the problem with public education is “poverty and parents.” On Friday night’s episode of “Real Time With Bill Maher,” he wasn’t the sledgehammer that he can be on other topics, but he did push back on so... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-18-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] What You Have Been Waiting For: The Cla$$room of the Future by dianerav EduShyster has captured in one small post the essence of the classroom of the future. Here it is. We will go where no nation in the world has ever dared to go: Schools where happy teachers (all of them Excellent) have classes of 100 or more students, each one enjoying a customized, personalized education on their own tablet. This Is What School Reform Does Not Look Like by dianerav Once agai... more »

ASCD Conference Highlights: Day 2 | InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

ASCD Conference Highlights: Day 2 | InterACT: ASCD Conference Highlights: Day 2 by David B. Cohen [image: Principal Torian White participating in the ASCD Forum, 3/17/13 (photo by the author)]My second day at the ASCD Conference in Chicago brought another good variety of interactions and learning opportunities. (Read about Day 1 highlights here). I started the day at the ASCD Forum, which gave ASCD leadership a chance to engage with conference attendees both live and virtual around discussions of teacher and principal effectiveness and how to assess it. The forum was organized arou... more »

Ed Notes Online: Karen Lewis Video at NYCORE: 30 Minutes of Wisdom

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Karen Lewis Video at NYCORE: 30 Minutes of Wisdom: Karen Lewis Video at NYCORE: 30 Minutes of Wisdom by ed notes online *Rather than continuing an insider strategy that has netted so little for the rest of labor over the years, the CTU has entered into open opposition with the neoliberal wing of the [Democratic] party." --- Micah Uetricht from Strike for America: The CTU and the Democrats as quoted by Diane Ravitch.* * **This is an important development. And this is an essay you must read.-- Diane Ravitch* What a treat seeing Diane Ravitch signing on to the analys... more »

CDE, Torlakson lead effort to forge ahead on common core despite challenges SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *CDE, Torlakson lead effort to forge ahead on common core despite challenges * *By Tom Chorneau* Sunday, March 17, 2013 There’s no shortage of skeptics when it comes to the plan to begin testing students in the new common core curriculum standards beginning in the spring of 2015. After more than five years trapped inside the deep recession, the Legislature has been unable to set aside additional funds to buy the new textbooks, train teachers or make technological upgrades needed for a successful transition. But there’s a growing number of sta... more »

NIEER Summarizes Pre-K Research |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

NIEER Summarizes Pre-K Research |: NIEER Summarizes Pre-K Research March 18, 2013 by Irene Sege [image: Photo: Micaela Bedell for Strategies for Children] Photo: Micaela Bedell for Strategies for Children Ever since President Obama’s call for universal preschool, there’s been a lot of talk about the research on the benefits of high-quality early education. With the talk come questions. Decades of well-regarded research document the positive effects of high-quality early education, but are advocates overselling it? What about the criticism from opponents of the president’s proposal? ... more »

solidaridad: Stand up for Special Needs Students against the lucrative charter industry

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

solidaridad: Stand up for Special Needs Students against the lucrative charter industry: Stand up for Special Needs Students against the lucrative charter industry by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *An activist parent of a special needs child who is a long-time advocate for equitable special education, who has been especially critical of the lucrative charter industry for its outright discrimination, sent the following:* Help me spread the word, Robert: LAUSD families of students with disabilities: Speak truth to power! These annual hearings are an opportunity to give public testim... more »

$43,056 bonus to charter teacher at ‘D’-rated school

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

$43,056 bonus to charter teacher at ‘D’-rated school: $43,056 bonus to charter teacher at ‘D’-rated school Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 18, 2013 at 4:02 am 19 Comments More [image: money1]The obsession among school reformers with standardized test scores and merit pay has led to this: A fourth-grade teacher at a charter school in New Orleans won a $43,056 bonus because her students’ scores skyrocketed at a school with a “D” state rating. But there’s more. According to The Lens, the standardized test scores of Deborah Williams’ students at Pierre A. Capdau Charter School jumped... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Could eScholar Data Mining on "Bobby" be Considered Stalking?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Could eScholar Data Mining on "Bobby" be Considered Stalking?: Could eScholar Data Mining on "Bobby" be Considered Stalking? by stlgretchen Should stalking awareness include the information gathered on your child and disseminated without parental knowledge and/or consent? Common Core and the revision of FERPA by the US Department of Education allows intensive data mining and sharing of student information to various federal agencies and private firms selected the the USDOEd. The company eScholar is one education reform company eager and ready to data ... more »

No End to Magical Thinking When It Comes to High-Tech Schooling | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

No End to Magical Thinking When It Comes to High-Tech Schooling | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: No End to Magical Thinking When It Comes to High-Tech Schooling by larrycuban [image: cartoon-9]Few high-tech entrepreneurs, pundits, or booster of online learning, much less, policymakers, would ever say aloud publicly that robots and hand-held devices will eventually replace teachers. Yet many fantasize that such an outcome will occur. High-profile awards to entrepreneurs, the occasional cartoon, and advocates who dream of online instruction anywhere, anytime tr... more »

The Educated Reporter: Word on the Beat: Assessments

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

The Educated Reporter: Word on the Beat: Assessments: Word on the Beat: Assessments by Emily Richmond *As a regular feature, The Educated Reporter features a buzzword or phrase that You Need To Know (yes, this designation is highly subjective but we're giving it a shot). Send your Word on the Beat suggestions to erichmond@ewa.org.* *Word on the beat:* Assessments *What it means:* Assessments typically refers to tests that students are required to take to track their academic progress. Increasingly, those results are also being used to evaluate teacher effectiveness. More broadl... more »

Daily Kos: Thoughts on the 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Daily Kos: Thoughts on the 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright: Thoughts on the 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) When I taught government to high school students, Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, was one of only eight Supreme Court cases students in Maryland high schools were required to know - along with Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Tinker v. Des Moines, New Jersey v. TLO, and Miranda v. Arizona. Perhaps a selective review of the Cour's history, with four pairs of re... more »

ALEC Releases Model Education Bills; Foes Not Satisfied - State EdWatch - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

ALEC Releases Model Education Bills; Foes Not Satisfied - State EdWatch - Education Week: ALEC Releases Model Education Bills; Foes Not Satisfied by Andrew Ujifusa For those of you who always wondered what exactly was in the American Legislative Exchange Council's model bills, your time is now. ALEC hasn't been quite as much in the news as it was just over a year ago, but it is still considered a force in state policymaking circles. The conservative Washington policy shop and think tank is celebrated by right-leaning politicians and advocates not only for its wide-range of forcef... more »

Florida’s Ed Reformers Are Only Telling Half the Story on Common Core | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Florida’s Ed Reformers Are Only Telling Half the Story on Common Core | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s Ed Reformers Are Only Telling Half the Story on Common Core by Bob Sikes Fresh of her stint as interim Education Commissioner for Florida, Pam Stewart is out working on her ed reformer*bona fides* as has penned a gushing column on Common Core for the *St. Augustine Record*: In a guest column in last Sunday’s Record, Crescent Beach education consultant Dr. Jon Wiles recognized the importance of college and career readiness for Florida’s students but did not distinguish betwee... more »

I Heart Social Studies - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

I Heart Social Studies - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: I Heart Social Studies by Nancy Flanagan So y'all know what STEM is, of course. Conversations about whether STEM's "engineering" component is just a convenient vowel or truly another gaping hole in the shabby American curriculum are long past. Everybody's talking STEAM now--A is for Arts. STEAMed up! That's the ticket! My friend Sam Chaltain recently tweeted that, maybe, what we really need is STREAM-- expanding the acronym to include Reading. (Welcome back, reading!) Actually, I tweeted back, isn't STRE... more »

Joy Resmovits: Denver School Cheating, Moody's Likes Philly School Closings: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Joy Resmovits: Denver School Cheating, Moody's Likes Philly School Closings: Ed Today: Denver School Cheating, Moody's Likes Philly School Closings: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *Colorado Cheating?* According to Ed News Colorado, about 35 high school students figured out how to go into their teachers' computer system. They changed their grades on instant "mastery tests" to make it look as if they'd entered the correct answers in the first place. Thirty-five kids in a major urban school district is proportionally small, but keep in mind that the mastery test is a *low-stakes, formati... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLES by Mike Klonsky SatrapiPersepolis author, Marjane Satrapi * “For me, the worst in all of that is it’s absolutely the biggest insult to the intelligence of the teachers.”* -- Sun-Times * *More from Marjane Satrapi * I’m absolutely shocked. Even in Texas I didn’t have trouble with Persepolis.” *-- Sun-Times CPS liar-in-chief, Becky Carroll *"The book was never banned.” *-- Sun-Times Lane Tech students * - This is a SIT IN…We will SIT. And READ. You do not need to bring the book with you. You can hold up signs ex... more »

Common Corn | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Common Corn | EduShyster: Common Corn by edushyster2012 *Concerned about what the Common Core has in store for kids? Just wait till you see what it’s doing to the “adult interests.”* It may be years before we know for sure that the grand experiment known as the Common Core has succeeded in producing outstanding 21st century workers with 21st century skillz. But while we wait for the current generation of guinea pigs students to attain factoidal fluency, there are encouraging signs that the Common Core is already enhancing excellence in education officials. In fact, their excellence... more »

R.I. adults took a standardized test, and they didn’t like it

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

R.I. adults took a standardized test, and they didn’t like it: R.I. adults took a standardized test, and they didn’t like it Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 17, 2013 at 12:00 pm 0 Comments More [image: test]This time it was the kids serving as proctors and the adultstaking the standardized test. In Providence, R.I. on Saturday, several dozen state legislators, city officials, professors and others sat down for several hours at a library to take a standardized test that was created from actual questions off of the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP. Why did they do it?... more »

Sunday reads. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Sunday reads. | Fred Klonsky: Sunday reads. by Fred Klonsky [image: BFfGdqrCUAACBIf.jpg-large] *CTU President Karen Lewis at yesterday’s NYCoRE conference. ”When you call my school a failure, them’s fightin’ words.”* *The pension fight in Illinois is creating a civil war in Springfield.* Who is getting a free lunch? *Senate Bill 2404 is supported by the We Are One coalition of public employee unions.* I support it too. I don’t like the part that requires active teachers to contribute 2% more. It makes our pensions the most expensive in the country. It divides active and retired te... more »

College student leads fight against anti-evolution teachings in schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

College student leads fight against anti-evolution teachings in schools: College student leads fight against anti-evolution teachings in schools Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 17, 2013 at 10:05 am 2 Comments More [image: Zach Kopplin (billmoyers.com/)] Zach Kopplin (billmoyers.com/) Going to college is tough enough without leading a campaign to stop creationism from being taught in school as an alternative to evolution, but that’s whatZach Kopplin, 19, has been doing for several years. He began by taking on the badly named Louisiana Science Education Act, which actually allows tea... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-17-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Mayor Bloomberg’s Chaos Theory by dianerav This article in the New York Times describes how one large high school now houses nine small schools. Some succeed, some fail, some statistics are better, some are worse or no different. Some statistics are undoubtedly inflated by credit recovery and other tricks to game the system. One thing is clear: a building that once had one principal now has nine. It is not clear that the nine schools are doing a better job than the one old school in meeting the needs of the ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Data Collection Gets High Tech and Personal

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Data Collection Gets High Tech and Personal: Data Collection Gets High Tech and Personal by Anngie How many of us heard, as a child growing up, that we were not living up to our potential? I remember taking some comfort in the belief that the person doing the chastising had no idea what my potential was and that I was perfectly happy with my level of performance. A young child's world of rationalization, true, but it was based in my following my definition of happiness. Like most kids I resisted efforts to push my performance beyond levels I felt I w... more »

Ed Notes Online: Karen Lewis and Mike Mulgrew at Left Labor Project

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Ed Notes Online: Karen Lewis and Mike Mulgrew at Left Labor Project: Karen Lewis and Mike Mulgrew at Left Labor Project by ed notes online The panel. Darn, wish I had cropped out that balding guy on the right.Saturday, March 16, 7 AM. Just racing off to NYCORE but I wanted to share some quick views of last night's LEFT Labor Project event at the UFT. Given the background and connections of some of the people in the LLP and the willingness of Mulgrew to host and support this event, I found the evening somewhat remarkable, especially given that this was right outside the Shanker hall... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Rhee-al World

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Jersey Jazzman: The Rhee-al World: The Rhee-al World by Duke *You'll see the data that I say you can see!* The Rhee-al World, as described by Michelle Rhee on *Real Time with Bill Maher*: MAHER: *I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I hear that all the time: "closing down schools." Where do the kids go then? * RHEE: *Well because the district had done such a poor job of education kids for a very long time, kids were sort of fleeing the district. So we were running the same number of schools, but just with fewer kids. So you can close down the low-performing schools, and then, hopefu... more »

State files charges against Phila. charter that opened in September - Philly.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

State files charges against Phila. charter that opened in September - Philly.com: State files charges against Phila. charter that opened in September By Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff WriterPOSTED: March 16, 2013 The Solomon Charter School only opened in September, but Pennsylvania's secretary of education filed charges Friday to revoke the operating charter of the Philadelphia-based cyber school for violating its charter and state law. Secretary Ron Tomalis said the cyber school based at 1209 Vine St. was not meeting the requirement of offering a significant portion of its i... more »

Tea Party explains its opposition to Cobb education SPLOST vote on Tuesday | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Tea Party explains its opposition to Cobb education SPLOST vote on Tuesday | Get Schooled: Tea Party explains its opposition to Cobb education SPLOST vote on Tuesday by Maureen Downey J.D. Van Brink is a Cobb County resident, businessman and chairman of the Georgia Tea Party, Inc. In this essay, he explains the Tea Party’s opposition to the *Cobb Education SPLOST IV referendum*. On Tuesday, Cobb taxpayers will decide whether to renew a 1 percent special sales tax. The special purpose local option sales tax was created in 1996 as a way to fund capital projects. Of the 562 educatio... more »

Louisiana Educator: Muddying the Narritive on VAM

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Louisiana Educator: Muddying the Narritive on VAM: Muddying the Narritive on VAM by Michael Deshotels *In the old days before the Jindal reforms, educators could count on our State Department of Education to provide us with the facts about various education programs. If a program was new and needed to be evaluated to see if it was really working, we could generally count on our DOE to give us a legitimate evaluation, without bias and spin. Sadly this is no longer the case. John White set the standard last year around the time of his confirmation hearings when it was discovered by... more »

NYC Public School Parents: A St Patrick's Day Salute to Brave Educators Everywhere

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

NYC Public School Parents: A St Patrick's Day Salute to Brave Educators Everywhere: A St Patrick's Day Salute to Brave Educators Everywhere by Patrick J. Sullivan In the arts section of today's print edition, the NT Times ran a full copy of the Easter Proclamation, the document announcing the formation of an independent Irish Republic in 1916. Along with its political importance, the Proclamation is recognized for its literary qualities. Those qualities are due to its authorship by teacher, school principal and poet Patrick Pearse. He had founded a school to teach the Irish in ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Rhee Knows Nothing About Inequality

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Jersey Jazzman: Rhee Knows Nothing About Inequality: Rhee Knows Nothing About Inequality by Duke I finally got around to watching failed author Michelle Rhee's appearance on *Real Time with Bill Maher *from last night. Maybe I'll say more about it later, but I wanted to get to one of the little data points she threw out last night: MAHER: "*I have some statistics here on studies they have done on schools here in America, and it doesn't really indicate that it's the schools that is the problem. I mean, we hear all the time that America is falling behind, but in three major internat... more »

H.R.1041: Providing Resources Early for Kids Act of 2013 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

H.R.1041: Providing Resources Early for Kids Act of 2013 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: H.R.1041 Providing Resources Early for Kids Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 6 minutes ago To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve early education. Bill Introduced: S.502 Prepare All Kids Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education - 6 minutes ago A bill to assist States in providing voluntary high-quality universal prekindergarten programs and programs to support infants and toddlers. Bill Introduced: S.... more »

Michelle Rhee Needs a Head Shrinker… – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Michelle Rhee Needs a Head Shrinker… – @ the chalk face: Michelle Rhee Needs a Head Shrinker… by Kris Nielsen …so, here I am! (*Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist, but I play one on the Internet. The following is for entertainment purposes only and should not be used as an official diagnosis, even though I know I’m totally right.*) [image: "Hey, everyone! Watch me school this kid before I close his school!"]This probably isn’t healthy. Perhaps I should find a new hobby, before people start to think I’m obsessed or something. I’ve already previously diagnosed her as a full-blown ... more »

Public ed heroes of the day: School closings | Parents United for Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Public ed heroes of the day: School closings | Parents United for Public Education: Public ed heroes of the day: School closings by helengym [image: Photos via philly.com, Joseph Dworetzky, Research for Action, Media Mobilizing Project] Photos via philly.com, Joseph Dworetzky, Research for Action, Media Mobilizing Project History is not made only by those with titles and power. It is defined and understood through the heroic actions of many. Here are a few public ed heroes who stood out for us during the school closings vote: *Media Mobilizing Project and the public education testim... more »

ASCD Conference Highlights: Day 1 | InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

ASCD Conference Highlights: Day 1 | InterACT: ASCD Conference Highlights: Day 1 by David B. Cohen [image: Freeman Hrabowski] What a busy day! There are 10,400 participants in this conference, hundreds of sessions, in a facility that seems like a whole campus. Lots here to write about in greater depth, but here are my highlights from Day 1. Freeman Hrabowski Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III was the keynote speaker this morning. His speech offered some inspirational examples of what’s possible when children have the support, expectations, structures, and nurturing that they need. Sometim... more »