NYSED Commissioner King Should Open Up A Whine Shop
He's always whining how the message about how wonderful his education reforms are never gets out to the general public - and usually he blames the media for not carrying his message.Here's his latest whine:Commissioner King, speaking to reporters afterward, admits the message about what the department believes are the benefits of using data collection companies like Inbloom, has not been getting o
Poor, Poor Eva
colleague jokes "Eva Moskowitz didn't get a spot on the de Blasio transition team. bummer.”— Azi (@Azi) November 20, 2013Maybe next time.Gotham Charter Schools notes no teachers on the transition team, no UFT heads - but some good, solid friends of public schools, IMO:The committee includes Zakiyah Ansari, the Alliance for Quality Education’s advocacy director and a leading critic of the Bloo
Cuomo Pays Hollywood To Film In New York
Next time you hear Sheriff Andy lecture about fiscal discipline, remember this:ALBANY—New York's tax rebates for movie and TV studios are so generous that the state is actually paying them to film here, according to an analysis prepared for—but not published by—one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's tax commissions.The 137-page addendum to the commission's formal report asserts the Film and Television Tax Cre
How Much Have Districts Spent On Race To The Top Mandates?
A commenter at the Newsday article on Diane Ravitch writes the following:The greatest scam was Andy Cuomo and Obama holding a gun to our head about the $700 million Federal funding and other state aid as well. Cuomo painted the teachers' union as the greedy obstructionists depriving children of their right to learn. These absurd programs cost more to implement than what most districts got in retur
Children Have Only One Childhood
A commenter at a discussion on the Common Core reforms at Comsewogue High School:9:02 p.m. -- Trustee Alexandra Gordon head to the podium to speak about her experiences with common core. "Our kids only have one childhood and if we don't act for them or if we don't advocate for them who knows whats going to come down the pike next," said Gordon. "John King has his children enjoying t
The Insanity Of Close Reading A Text Without Context Or Personal Connections
@leoniehaimson To teach without contact & context is bizarre, pointless, ineffective. Learning doesn't exist in a vacuum. Connection is all.— JosieHolford (@JosieHolford) November 20, 2013Read the whole Valerie Strauss post on Close Reading that they are talking about here - it is a horrifying tale of what is so wrong with Common Core and why kids and teachers hate it so much. I am teaching an
YESTERDAY
Ravitch Calls For Civil Disobedience Over Common Core Standards, Tests
From Newsday:Diane Ravitch, the outspoken education historian, policy analyst and author, called on educators across Long Island Tuesday to boycott Common Core-related curricula and refuse to administer state tests as an act of defiance against the state and federal governments."Your community is your boss, and you do what's best for children," said Ravitch, speaking at a Hauppauge meeti
11-19-13 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: Regents Cut Time To Take State Tests, But Not Length Of TestsIf Merryl Tisch, John King and Andrew Cuomo think this sort of thing is going to head off mor protests against their education reform agenda, they're delusional: The state Board of Regents, with testing policies drawing increasing public outcry, is shortening the time that students will have to take next spring's s