Monday, February 24, 2014

Morning Wink 2-24-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS




LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-24-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #EDCHAT
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: New Mexico Teacher: Skandera Is No Friend of EducationDavid Aram Wilson offered this testimony at the confirmation hearings of Hanna Skandera, who is acting secretary of education in New Mexico and chairperson of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change. Skandera has been importing “the Florida model” of high-stakes testing and accountability
We Like to Pretend Enriched Child Care and Pre-K Are Important: Are We Willing to Pay the Price? | janresseger
We Like to Pretend Enriched Child Care and Pre-K Are Important: Are We Willing to Pay the Price? | janresseger: We Like to Pretend Enriched Child Care and Pre-K Are Important: Are We Willing to Pay the Price?Posted on February 24, 2014 by janressegerBecause New York mandates that its legislature approve enabling legislation even for local taxes, New York City’s new mayor, Bill deBlasio, may not ac
2-24-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: Hartford Leaders scheduled to waste another $650,000 in taxpayer fundsLast week’s Hartford Board of Education meeting has been re-schedule for tonight. At tonight’s meeting, the Hartford Board of Education, led by Mayor Pedro Segarra is expected to throw an additional $650,940 at Teach for America. Despite the fact that there are hundreds of unemployed and underemployed Connecticut res
2-24-14 The Answer Sheeteet
The Answer Sheet: Class size matters a lot, research showsEvery now and then someone in education policy (Arne Duncan) or education philanthropy (Bill Gates) or the media (Malcolm Gladwell) will say something about why class size isn’t really very important because a great teacher can handle a boatload of kids. Not really. A new review of the major research that has been conducted on class […]    
Shanker Blog » When Checking Under The Hood Of Overall Test Score Increases, Use Multiple Tools
Shanker Blog » When Checking Under The Hood Of Overall Test Score Increases, Use Multiple Tools: When Checking Under The Hood Of Overall Test Score Increases, Use Multiple ToolsPosted by Matthew Di Carlo on February 24, 2014When looking at changes in testing results between years, many people are (justifiably) interested in comparing those changes for different student subgroups, such as those def
2-24-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: The Gainesville Sun Rips Rick Scott, Calls for Pause in School Grade FormulaFrom the editors of the Gainesville Sun: Gov. Rick Scott should be providing leadership on this issue, but he has shown repeatedly he’s more about lip service on education than actually fixing wh
2-24-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Learn About Comparatives & Superlatives At My Latest NY Times Post For ELLsMy latest New York Times post for English Language Learners includes a student interactive and teaching ideas. It focuses on comparatives and superlatives. You can see all my previous Times posts for ELLs here.by Larry Ferlazzo / 47min hide  //  
2-24-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Jersey Jazzman: Education "Reform": The Endgame"What, in your opinion, is the endgame with all this?"A veteran educator with years of experience teaching children in New Jersey's urban areas asked me this Saturday during my talk at the Abbott Leadership Institute. I had just gone through an explanation of the analysis I did with Bruce Baker of the One Newark plan, State Superin
2-24-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: THIS FRIDAY (Feb. 28)! Meet with NYC Parents Who Are Saying NO! (to high stakes testing)Meet with NYC Parents Who Are Saying NO!     (Please Share Widely with your friends, PTAs, SLTs, Parent Lists, teachers)As children and teachers enter the spring “testing season,” parents must decide if we will continue to allow our children to support high-stakes testing. There are many ways t
2-24-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: Knowledge: Not If, but How (and Who Decides)Knowledge: Not If, but How (and Who Decides). via Knowledge: Not If, but How (and Who Decides).1 by plthomasedd / 42min hide  //  saveYESTERDAYuntitledWhile writing my post on the NEA-Teach Plus “partnership,” my attention was drawn to more of the information available regarding grant payment on the Gates grants search engine. My curios
2-24-14 V.A.M.: Value Added Measure
V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Bosses of the Department of Re-education"The business of America is business."  Public education is not a business, however, and whatever strikes at its heart strikes at the foundations of our democracy.  I have to believe some of the corporate "reformers" think they have the best interests of education at heart.  Many may have their millions, b
2-24-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Knowledge: Not If, but How (and Who Decides)As I have posted before, progressivism and whole language have a long history of being blamed for failure when in reality neither has been practiced in any substantial way by teachers. While school policies and classroom practi
2-24-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: Wall Street Bankers, CEO For CuomoFrom the Post:Gov. Cuomo is making another pitch Monday for Republican heavy hitters to back his re-election campaign.Home Depot founder Ken Langone is hosting a “Republicans for Cuomo” event at the Harvard Club at 8:30 a.m. Cuomo will address the well-heeled Wall Street and real-estate titans and field questions.David Malpass, who ran in th
Skip school and lose welfare? The good and bad of Australia’s tough tactics on truancy | HechingerEd Blog
Skip school and lose welfare? The good and bad of Australia’s tough tactics on truancy | HechingerEd Blog: Skip school and lose welfare? The good and bad of Australia’s tough tactics on truancyWhat if the punishment for skipping school was a loss in welfare benefits for your family? It’s a strategy that some politicians are considering in the U.S. – plans have been floated in Missouri and put into
Hawthorne Ave suffers as Newark plays Let’s Make a Deal | Bob Braun's Ledger
Hawthorne Ave suffers as Newark plays Let’s Make a Deal | Bob Braun's Ledger: Hawthorne Ave suffers as Newark plays Let’s Make a DealHawthorne Avenue School–who gets to keep it?Nothing illustrates the bizarre internal politics of state control of Newark schools more dramatically than the fate of the city’s Hawthorne Avenue school.  Neglected for years, in a bad state of repair, its students failin
The Gates Grant Addiction | deutsch29
The Gates Grant Addiction | deutsch29: The Gates Grant AddictionFebruary 24, 2014While writing my post on the NEA-Teach Plus “partnership,” my attention was drawn to more of the information available regarding grant payment on the Gates grants search engine.My curiosity concerned the simple word, “term.”Gradual Grant Disbursement (?)On the Gates grants site, “term” definitely means the number of m
LAUSD- FIX SCHOOLS AND STUDENT INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE SAME TIME - Perdaily.com
LAUSD- FIX SCHOOLS AND STUDENT INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE SAME TIME - Perdaily.com: LAUSD- FIX SCHOOLS AND STUDENT INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE SAME TIME(Mensaje se repite en Español)In the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the land that time forgot, the motto remains: We've Always Done It That Way...No Matter What The Human Cost, Financial Cost Or Legality. Case in point: The squandering of billio
NYC Public School Parents: The current sad state of Murry Bergtraum High School - the result of 10 years of DOE failure
NYC Public School Parents: The current sad state of Murry Bergtraum High School - the result of 10 years of DOE failure: The current sad state of Murry Bergtraum High School - the result of 10 years of DOE failureJohn Elfrank-DanaJohn Elfrank-Dana has been a teacher and chapter leader at Murry Bergtraum High School for many years, as well as an adjunct professor at Fordham University.  He blogs at
Newark Schools Chief Wants Teacher Performance Included in Layoff Criteria - NJ Spotlight
Newark Schools Chief Wants Teacher Performance Included in Layoff Criteria - NJ Spotlight: NEWARK SCHOOLS CHIEF WANTS TEACHER PERFORMANCE INCLUDED IN LAYOFF CRITERIAJOHN MOONEY | FEBRUARY 24, 2014Union leaders leap to defense of long-established contractual practice of basing job cuts on years of experienceCredit: Howard Best/NPSNewark Superintendent of Schools Cami AndersonIn an unprecedented mov
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLESMichael BrennerA feature of the Obama presidency has been his campaign against the American public school system, eating way at the foundations of elementary education. That means the erosion of an institution that has been one of the keystones of the Republic. The project to remake it as a mixed public/private hybrid is inspired b

YESTERDAY

Redshirting kindergartners: Bench them for a year or put them... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com
Redshirting kindergartners: Bench them for a year or put them... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Redshirting kindergartners: Bench them for a year or put them in the game and the class?   0 0 0 NewView Larger Phil SkinnerKindergartener Yandel Resendiz has a case of the first day jitters at Sawyer Road Elementary School in Marietta on Thursday August 8, 2013.Previous PostsGeorgia broadens access to A
ALEC Rock
ALEC Rock"ALEC Rock" Produced by Mark Fiore (http://www.markfiore.com) and the Center for Media and Democracy (http://www.prwatch.org), which is the creator of ALECexposed (http://www.alecexposed.org), and co-produced by the Alliance for a Better Utah (http://betterutah.org) to help expose ALEC.
12 Years a Slave to Be Part of Public High School Curriculum - The Root
12 Years a Slave to Be Part of Public High School Curriculum - The Root: 12 Years a Slave to Be Part of Public High School CurriculumProducer Dede Gardner, producer Jeremy Kleiner, director Steve McQueen, producer Anthony Katagas and actor Brad Pitt with their awards for best film for 12 Years a Slave at the British Academy Film Awards, on Feb. 16, 2014 CARL COURT/AFP/GETTY IMAGESCall it another w
A rallying cry story and call to action for the Common Core destroyers among us | Crazy Crawfish's Blog
A rallying cry story and call to action for the Common Core destroyers among us | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish's BlogZesty Louisiana Education PoliticsA rallying cry story and call to action for the Common Core destroyers among usPosted on February 23, 20140Parents are getting creative about how they are showing their displeasure towards the Common Core, and the would-be supporters of it.
The Tragedy behind Noble Street Charters – a Skimmed Lottery | The Classroom Sooth
The Tragedy behind Noble Street Charters – a Skimmed Lottery | The Classroom Sooth: The Tragedy behind Noble Street Charters – a Skimmed LotteryPosted on February 23, 2014 | Leave a commentI am teaching logic and argumentation in civics this week, and one of my favorite #edjustice advocates, Katie Hogan has submitted a response to Noble St. CEO Mike Milkie’s OpEd regarding expulsion rates at his c
Heroin in Fallsburg NY? southbronxschool.com
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Heroin in Fallsburg NY?Let's get one thing out of the way first.In no way does this blog, myself, nor The Crack Team condone or excuse any drug use by staff members in or near our schools. If a teacher is caught on drugs, having drugs on their person, in their personal space in the school, they should be dealt with accordingly. With that being said, we can now move
2-23-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Shooting at Chardon HighAn important story about a football coach who went above and beyond, not just one day but for all the days that followed when a shooting happened at his high school.   A great piece from 60 Minutes.I will note - again - that in all the (sadly) multiple stories about school shootings that I have yet to read one where teachers or staff did
Expand Pre-K, Not A.D.H.D. - NYTimes.com
Expand Pre-K, Not A.D.H.D. - NYTimes.com: Expand Pre-K, Not A.D.H.D.BERKELEY, Calif. — THE writing is on the chalkboard. Over the next few years, America can count on a major expansion of early childhood education. We embrace this trend, but as health policy researchers, we want to raise a major caveat: Unless we’re careful, today’s preschool bandwagon could lead straight to an epidemic of 4- and
Sharing Our Successes Can Erode the ‘Teacher Shaming’ Culture, Says Award-Winning Educator | NEA Today
Sharing Our Successes Can Erode the ‘Teacher Shaming’ Culture, Says Award-Winning Educator | NEA Today: Sharing Our Successes Can Erode the ‘Teacher Shaming’ Culture, Says Award-Winning EducatorFebruary 23, 2014 by twalker  Filed under Featured News, Top StoriesLeave a CommentBy Susan Anglada BartleyTen years ago, as I struggled through my first days and weeks of teaching, I was amazed at how maje
2-23-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Please take a closer look at the Common CoreSent to the School Library Journal 2/23Librarians may be "findings aspects of the common core to celebrate"("What's happening at the core," Feb. 2014), but they are ignoring very serious problems.  The standards might look like look like they involve "deeper levels of critical thinking" but they are completel
Audit of D.C. TAG tuition assistance program shows millions of dollars unaccounted for - The Washington Post
Audit of D.C. TAG tuition assistance program shows millions of dollars unaccounted for - The Washington Post: Audit of D.C.TAG scholarship program shows millions of dollars unaccounted for The popular D.C. tuition assistance program that helps city students pay for college can’t explain how millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent since 2004, according to an unreleased audit that describes wea
Same Teachers, Similar Students, Similar Tests, Different Answers |
Same Teachers, Similar Students, Similar Tests, Different Answers |: Same Teachers, Similar Students, Similar Tests, Different Answers One of my favorite studies to date about VAMs was conducted by John Papay, an economist once at Harvard and now at Brown University. In the study titled “Different Tests, Different Answers: The Stability of Teacher Value-Added Estimates Across Outcome Measures” pub
Why We Never Get Over High School - Deborah Fallows - The Atlantic
Why We Never Get Over High School - Deborah Fallows - The Atlantic: Why We Never Get Over High SchoolMentioning high school is loaded with hidden meaning"Ridgemont High. Why do you ask?"“Hello. Where did you go to high school?” When so many of you nominated this question as your natural conversation starter, as I mentioned here last week, it was tempting to dismiss it as an example of ho
Newark school board meeting Tuesday–more outrage? | Bob Braun's Ledger
Newark school board meeting Tuesday–more outrage? | Bob Braun's Ledger: Newark school board meeting Tuesday–more outrage?Antoinette Baskerville-RichardsonThe last meeting of the elected Newark school board erupted in boos and catcalls when state-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson stormed off the stage, closely followed by her senior staff. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the Rafae
solidaridad: LAUSD's own facts demolish Deasy and Daily News' defense of iPad Profligacy
solidaridad: LAUSD's own facts demolish Deasy and Daily News' defense of iPad Profligacy: LAUSD's own facts demolish Deasy and Daily News' defense of iPad ProfligacyFrom KPCCEven life-cycle repairs such as roof or air-conditioner replacements will inevitably exhaust available bond funds. Officials estimate those repairs will run over $13 billion over the next fifteen years, much more than the rema
Nite Cap 2-23-14 #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 CAPTeachers Speaking out Against Common Core – (What was promised, was not what was delivered) | Crazy Crawfish's BlogTeachers Speaking out Against Common Core – (What was promised, was not what was delivered) | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish
Teachers Speaking out Against Common Core – (What was promised, was not what was delivered) | Crazy Crawfish's Blog
Teachers Speaking out Against Common Core – (What was promised, was not what was delivered) | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish's BlogZesty Louisiana Education PoliticsTeachers Speaking out Against Common Core – (What was promised, was not what was delivered)Posted on February 23, 20140This information comes from our friends at LAPACC, Louisiana Parents Against Common Core.https://www.facebook
2-23-14 empathyeducates – For Whites Only – Students and Teachers Matter
empathyeducates – For Whites Only – Students and Teachers Matter: For Whites Only – Students and Teachers MatterTeacher Linda Robinson works on algebra with students, left, Alicia Varney and Savannah Reed, both 16, at Union County’s Porter Ridge High, one of the schools that logged a strong performance on new state ratings of teacher effectiveness. Davie Hinshaw — dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.comInt
Louisiana Educator: Jindal Loses Again
Louisiana Educator: Jindal Loses Again: Jindal Loses AgainPlease Help Make Sure He Continues to LoseWhen Governor Jindal rammed through his brutal attack on teachers and public schools in the 2012 legislative session he was warned that his new laws violated the constitution, violated basic due process rights of teachers, and improperly usurped the authority of our elected school boards. But he dec
So What If It's Not Relevant Right Now? (Just Math It) - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson
So What If It's Not Relevant Right Now? (Just Math It) - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson: So What If It’s Not Relevant Right Now? (Just Math It)by JOSE VILSON on FEBRUARY 23, 2014in MR. VILSONThis week, I’m supposed to teach my students how to solve a system of equations by elimination. It’s the hardest of the four ways  for solving systems (graphing, substitution, guess-and-checking), and I’m n
On Turning Public Spaces Into Forces of Consumption | educarenow
On Turning Public Spaces Into Forces of Consumption | educarenow: On Turning Public Spaces Into Forces of ConsumptionPosted on February 23, 2014 | Leave a commentThe common spaces traditionally provided for the public are slowly being eroded in the name of economic efficiency, victim to the ideology of pervasive market fundamentalism that serves as the scourge of our age.  On the front edge of pos
CURMUDGUCATION: Standardized Testing Sucks
CURMUDGUCATION: Standardized Testing Sucks: Standardized Testing SucksI am not a testing scientist. There are bloggers and writers and people who frequent the comments section of Diane Ravitch's blog who can dissect the science and the stats and the proper creation and forming and parsing of testing and testlettes and testicles (okay, maybe not those). I'm not one of those people; Mercedes Schneid
2-23-14 The Answer Sheet
The Answer Sheet: Why test-based school reform isn’t working — by the numbersAward-winning Prinicipal Carol Burris of South Side High School in New York has been exposing the problems with New York’s botched school reform effort for a long time on this blog. (You can read some of her work here, here, here,  here, and here.) In the following post she looks at irrefutable data to show that the test-
2-23-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Are Florida Tea Party Voters Turning Away From Rick Scott and Jeb Bush?The mostly conservative Florida opponents of Common Core didn’t like the brush-off they received from Board of Education commissioner Gary Chartrand at last week’s public hearing. Chris Quakenbush, a
Willful Ignorance Is Not A Desired Trait For Elected Officials | PWC Education Reform Blog
Willful Ignorance Is Not A Desired Trait For Elected Officials | PWC Education Reform Blog: Willful Ignorance Is Not A Desired Trait For Elected OfficialsFebruary 23, 2014 — pwceducationreformLast week, by majority vote, PWC School Board chose to send a letter to Governor McAuliffe asking him to allow Virginia to remain independent from the Common Core State Standards initiative.  The vote was clo
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 2-23-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: John Marshall High School: ACADEMIC DECATHLON PUTS THE WORK IN TEAMWORKMarshall team members forge friendships, gain confidence and learn as they train for the statewide competition after winning the L.A. Unified contest. By Alicia Banks, LA Times  |  http://lat.ms/1cED2FT Academic Decathlon coach Larry Welch talks to members of the John Marshall High S
A Teacher’s Advice to Bill Gates | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates
Teachers’LettersToBillGates | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates: A Teacher’s Advice to Bill GatesPosted on February 23, 2014by Teachers'LettersToBillGatesTeachers'LettersToBillGates:Dear Bill and Melinda,Are you out of touch with those who do not travel in the circles of American CEO’s?Do we need to do an intervention for you, CEO’s and the rest of the 1% corporate edreformer vulture philanthropists
2-23-14 V.A.M.: Value Added Measure
V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Common-Core Pushers Rebrand their ProductAt the Common-Core Beauty Pageant, Rebranding is the Name of the Game.  Who will win this year?  Will it be Miss. Iowa Core, Miss Arizona College and Career Ready Standards, Miss Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, or any of one of a number of the other "Rebranders"? The Common-Core pushers realize the dwindl
2-23-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: The sickness that has crept into Connecticut politics and governmentAs measured by the number of college graduates Connecticut is among the most educated states in the nation.  As measured by per capital income Connecticut is wealthiest state in country, and if we were our own country we’d be one of the wealthiest and best educated countries in the world. And yet there is a […]The post
Schooling in the Ownership Society: New religious charter believes in Value-Added
Schooling in the Ownership Society: New religious charter believes in Value-Added: New religious charter believes in Value-AddedStudents participating in By the Hand Club's after school program, say a prayer at the end of their chapel session before returning to their classrooms to begin their homework. | Jessica Koscielniak / Sun-Times“My faith motivates me to do more,” says Donnita Travis, the f
2-23-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: REVIVE UFT : Mulgrew Forms New Group to Ally With MORE, Causing Split in Unity"Before we can move forward, we must resolve many outstanding issues from those dark years, starting with our working conditions, which are also our students’ learning conditions."... Michael MulgrewUFT President Mike Mulgrew is finding so much in common with the MORE caucus he has decided to b
Morning Wink 2-23-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS2-23-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdDthe becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): remnant 56: “thus I, for example, in the midst of my unhappiness”remnant 56: “thus I, for example, in the midst of my unhappiness”.by plthomase