Sunday, October 27, 2013

VI Congressional Leader Fights for Black Boys in Education - Higher Education

VI Congressional Leader Fights for Black Boys in Education - Higher Education:

VI Congressional Leader Fights for Black Boys in Education



Donna Christensen
Congresswoman Donna Christensen addresses a group of scholars at the second annual International Colloquium on Black Males in Education held at the University of Virgin Islands in St. Thomas last week. (Photo Credit: Clifford White)
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands — As the lone Democratic congressional leader from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Donna Christensen has had her share of public frustrations.
“Many people think that being Black and being a woman is the biggest obstacle that I face in Congress,” said Christensen, who is a trained medical doctor and has represented the Virgin Islands territory on Capitol Hill since 1996. “But representing the territory has been the biggest problem because many of my colleagues in Congress don’t see the territory as being entitled to the same rights the states are entitled to.”
Christensen is working around the clock to push through an energy bill that would help provide relief to the Islands where energy costs are 500 percent higher than the national average, a financial impediment that is “unsustainable and crippling to the economy and the health and safety of the community.”
But like Washington, D.C.’s Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Christensen is a non-voting member of Congress who is forced to establish strategic alliances with congressional members on both sides of the aisle to help her secure federal funding for the Islands, including money for the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) 

10-27-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Germany's Confidence in America is Declining

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Germany's Confidence in America is Declining:

Germany's Confidence in America is Declining

Since learning that the United States National Security Agency monitored Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone, Germany's interior minister has declared that their confidence in their American allied nation is shaken. He also stated "If the Americans intercepted cell phones in Germany, they broke German law on German soil," and that he wants to know what information the U.S. has. In response, Obama said he too only just found out about this information network and would have stopped them if only he had known. Also, our government has told them that they are only going by the same standard that other nations use to monitor other nations.

Many European nations and citizens have yet to accept or deny the American explanations. I personally think that other nations knew that they were being monitored; I think too that there was a reason for monitoring Germany since we once had to fight against them. Perhaps, they 


10-25-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Russell Brand on the RevolutionLast night's edition of the UK's BBC Newsnight featured this remarkable interview with Russell Brand by host Jeremy Paxman.   Brand's explains to a weary-sounding Paxman why he doesn't vote (and never will) and believes a revolution is inevitable.   No matter what you think, Brand is certainly not the "trivial man" that Paxman ca



10-15-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog
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Top 16 NYC charter school executives earn more than Chancellor Dennis Walcott - NY Daily News

Top 16 NYC charter school executives earn more than Chancellor Dennis Walcott - NY Daily News:

Top 16 NYC charter school executives earn more than Chancellor Dennis Walcott

Big paychecks are called 'outrageous' as New York City charter schools claim their students would face cuts if the schools are charged rent under a new mayor.

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UPDATED: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2013, 3:06 PM
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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Village Academies Network CEO Deborah Kenny, who earned $499,146 in the 2011-12 school year; David Levin of KIPP NY, who earns $395,350; and Eva Moskowitz, who reported earning $475,244 on the Success Academy Charter Schools’ tax forms, all draw bigger paychecks than Chancellor Dennis Walcott.

As charter schools cry poverty over the threat a new mayor might charge them rent, their bigwigs raked in the big bucks — with at least 16 earning more than the city schools chancellor.
The outsize paychecks have even ballooned, with the top three execs chalking up raises of at least $99,000 in four years’ time.
While Chancellor Dennis Walcott earns $212,614 for overseeing more than 1,600 public schools,



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/top-16-nyc-charter-school-execs-out-earn-chancellor-dennis-walcott-article-1.1497717#ixzz2iyVGJcid

5 Reasons the Common Core Is Ruining Childhood | toteachornototeach

5 Reasons the Common Core Is Ruining Childhood | toteachornototeach:

5 Reasons the Common Core Is Ruining Childhood 
by Katie Hurley
My daughter has four tests this week. Week after week she has at least four tests, one of them a high-pressure timed math factor test. If she gets more than one answer wrong, she repeats the same test the following week (which, by the way, is a great way to start an unhealthy competition among classmates). Some weeks, if they happen to finish a unit in social studies, science, or math, they also have a unit test. So now we’re up to five.
What’s the big deal? She’s 6-years-old. This is first grade we’re talking about. For the first couple of weeks of school, it actually wasn’t a big deal. She’s never taken a test before, so there was no fear of incorrect answers or failure. As the daughter of a musician and a psychotherapist, she’s actually one of the lucky ones. There is no pressure to perform, academically or otherwise, in this house. We believe in creativity, low stress, and happiness.
Sadly, a few weeks into school she somehow learned that tests and grades hold some 

NYC Educator: Family Time

NYC Educator: Family Time:

Family Time

Today I played fiddle for a band at Terrhune Orchards in Princeton, New Jersey. There was apple picking and pumpkin painting and all sorts of kid-friendly stuff so I brought not only my family, but also a friend and her 3-year-old daughter. It's a nice day trip for kids, though I'm not sure how much longer they'll be doing it. It was a bit on the cold side out there.

We had to play four hours, and on the way back we were starving. Route 1 is full of chain restaurants and we picked the one that offended the most people the least. They had Sam Adams Octoberfest on tap, which made it seem a little better than it really was. But what I really noticed was the family that took the booth next to us.

They had two young children, one of whom was crying loudly. A waitress tried to calm her down, telling her about the wonderful coloring contest they were having, but she was having none of it. In fact, she wouldn't calm down until Mom and Dad plopped a laptop in front of her and started playing video on it. Their son, a little older and a little calmer, knew how to open his and was  already wearing his 

How Serious Are Madison Schools With High-Risk Students? | CAFFEINATED POLITICS

How Serious Are Madison Schools With High-Risk Students? | CAFFEINATED POLITICS:

How Serious Are Madison Schools With High-Risk Students?

OCTOBER 27, 2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The statistics regarding high risk students in Madison schools are something no one can be proud of,  The numbers are not something taxpayers should accept,  Over and over we hear the statistics on the news, or read about them in the paper.  We continually hear some promise that the district will do better, and yet it never seems to take place for those who need it the most.   Then we turn to others issues, and seem to forget that a large segment of our youth are struggling to find a place they can be proud of on the educational ladder.
In 2010, 89% of White tenth graders in the Madison Metropolitan School District scored proficient or advanced in reading compared to 56% of Latino tenth graders and 48% of African American tenth graders.  In 2011, 50% of Black students and 59% of Latino students graduated from our city’s public high schools, compared to 84% of White students and 85% of Asian 

Nite Cap 10-27-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #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



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Nite Cap 10-26-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #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 CAPTODAYCoop Goes to High School Part 7 – Song & Dance | Lefty ParentCoop Goes to High School Part 7 – Song & Dance | Lefty Parent: Coop Goes to High School Part 7 – Song & DanceOctober 26th, 2013 at 13:38Me and my Ado Annie in OklahomaT