Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

The Liberal Education Reform Revolt | Jacobin

The Liberal Education Reform Revolt | Jacobin:



The Liberal Education Reform Revolt

Are liberals finally ready to oppose neoliberal education reform?

(Katrina Ohstrom / Jacobin)
(Katrina Ohstrom / Jacobin)
An eloquent call to “reclaim the conversation” challenges leading liberal educators to repudiate their involvement in what’s being called “corporate school reform.” We finally see liberal activists opposing the bipartisan education project that has subjected school and teachers to “free market” policies. Liberals are starting to contest privatization, testing, and attacks on teacher unions, rather than accepting neoliberal assumptions and policies taken wholesale from right-wing think tanks and functions.
Since last fall’s Chicago teachers strike, we’ve seen an acceleration of critique in traditionally liberal media about school reform — from Teach for Americato charter schools and Michelle Rhee. There’s even been a whiff of real reporting in the New York Times on the common core curriculum. Why did liberals urge teachers unions to back down on contractual issues that protect kids and miss what the unions should have been doing, like mobilizing their members?
And why do liberals who expose what’s wrong with standardized testing, asJohn Merrow has, continue to propagandize for charter schools, ignoring compelling research about the educational devastation in New Orleans because of “charterization”?
To be fair, liberals have not been alone in their confusion about policies cloaked in the rhetoric used by the civil rights movement about equalizing educational opportunity. The pace of change in education has been breathtaking, schools and teachers battered by the speed and force of mandates. The most profound changes in education were made more enticing with the carrot of increased funding. Cash-strapped school districts and states couldn’t turn down extra money they received as a quid pro quo for adopting the stranglehold of testing and privatization required by “No Child Left Behind” and, more recently, “Race to the Top.”  Still, for way too long, liberals assumed that schools could be “fixed” without tackling social and economic inequality
Liberals couldn’t see this big picture, partly because as Bhaskar Sunkarawrites, “American liberalism is ineffective and analytically inadequate.” But why?  One reason is that they want to be non-ideological and practical, and without principles to guide them, they are pulled in the political direction exerting the most influence. David Steiner, currently Hunter College Dean and a former Commissioner of Education in New York State and Director of Arts Education at the National Endowment for the Arts, illustrates how liberals persuade themselves to support neoliberal policies. It’s essential, he argues, “to be non-aligned [ideologically]” and look at “policy recommendations, policy as executed based on its merits and not on whether it’s the darling child of the left or the right…”
When power relations are skewed, however, the “merits” are generally found in the right-hand column if one’s principles don’t configure theThe Liberal Education Reform Revolt | Jacobin:

4-29-14 Ed Notes Online: LA Dreamin: Alex Caputo-Pearl Wins Run-Off for Presidency with 80% Over Incumbent Warren Fletcher

Ed Notes Online: LA Dreamin: Alex Caputo-Pearl Wins Run-Off for Presidency with 80% Over Incumbent Warren Fletcher:







LA Dreamin: Alex Caputo-Pearl Wins Run-Off for Presidency with 80% Over Incumbent Warren Fletcher

Breaking: Alex Caputo-Pearl, the Union Power candidate for UTLA President, just defeated Warren Fletcher, the incumbent UTLA President, in the run-off election, winning 80% of the vote, completing a Union Power sweep. Alex won just short of 50% in round 1.Alex is well-known nationally:...half the teachers at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles found out they had been dismissed from their jobs as p




4-26-14 Ed Notes Online Week
Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineParent Activists Expose Chalkbeat Bias in Letter to EditorWe are concerned that your inadequate and one-sided coverage of the forced privatization of our schools has been unduly influenced by the same forces that have biased the Governor – the huge pocketbooks of the organizations and financiers that back them.  ...Is Chalkbeat a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart?C

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 20,000 homeless CPS students. Not an 'excuse' but a reality.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 20,000 homeless CPS students. Not an 'excuse' but a reality.:



20,000 homeless CPS students. Not an 'excuse' but a reality.

Homeless Jesus statue unveiled in Chicago. But 20,000 homeless students remain invisible. 
I and many others have been trying to make the case for years, that children's lived experiences outside of school have as great, or even greater impact on measurable learning outcomes than anything that goes on in the classroom. Conditions of poverty, homelessness, poor medical care, pandemic violence, poor nutrition, etc.. all play major roles in shaping the student's connection to school.

Of course, great teachers, small classes and small, well-equipped schools, along with good school district, state and federal policies and leadership can do much to counter or soften the negative impact of poverty but nevertheless, today's widening poverty gap explains most of what is called, the "achievement gap."

In today's test-crazy school environment, the above statement is often attacked by corporate reformers as "making excuses" or "defending the status quo." But the facts are stubborn fellows and can't be dismissed so easily.

Take as a case in point Monday's public meeting by a state task force, which concluded that homelessness and transportation are two big reasons why so many Chicago Public Schools students are truant and that mass school closings in black and Latino neighborhoods have intensified the problem. The task force estimated that 20,000 CPS students do not have a stable place to live.
"Homelessness is not always those who live on the street or in shelters but also those staying Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 20,000 homeless CPS students. Not an 'excuse' but a reality.:

The Table of Contents to My Book | deutsch29

The Table of Contents to My Book | deutsch29:



The Table of Contents to My Book

April 29, 2014


On April 27, 2014, I announced publication of my book, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education.
I realize that the Amazon.com listing of my book currently lacks the interactive component allowing shoppers the opportunity to “look inside” the book.
So, I have decided to offer some “peeks.”
In my post entitled, Bush and Rhee Endorse a Book– Fortunately, Not Mine, I included two excerpts, one from one of my Jeb Bush chapters, and one, from my Michelle Rhee chapter.
The excerpts are enlightening– all “reformer” polish removed.
Here, I wish to provide more of the book’s “big picture”: A viewing of the table of contents:
A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement: My Mentor, Diane Ravitch
Additional Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Joel Klein: The Man From Whom Nothing Good Comes
2. Eva Moskowitz: Stage Mother of Charter School “Success”
3. Wendy Kopp, The Leader in Temp Agency Education: Teach for America (TFA)
4. Michelle Rhee: Sociopathy Finds a Home in Ed Reform
5. Erik Hanushek: Expert Witness for “Less Doing More” in the Classroom
6. The Chicago Connection: The Daley-Vallas Years
7. The Chicago Connection: Duncan (with Obama in the Mix)
8. The Chicago Connection: Emanuel (with Obama Still in the Mix)
9. Paul Vallas Beyond Chicago: Wrecking Philadelphia
10. Paul Vallas Beyond Chicago: No Good for New Orleans or Bridgeport
11. David Coleman and His Common Core State Standards
12. Chester Finn and Frederick Hess: Pushing Reforms “Just Because”
13. Jeb Bush and His Florida Miracle (Well, Most of It)
14. Jeb Bush and His Miracle Reforms (The Rest of It)
15. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education and Chiefs for Change
16. Michelle Rhee’s TNTP and StudentsFirst
17. Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) and Education Reform Now (ERN)
18. National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), or So They Say
19. Stand for Children (Crush Their Teachers)
20. Black Alliance for Education Options (BAEO) and Parent Revolution (PR)
21. Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP): What Money Cannot Seem to Do
22. The Aspen and Pahara Institutes: Advancing Privatization in Fine Style
23. The Big Three Foundations: Gates, Walton, and Broad
24. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC): Manipulating the Nation State by State
Conclusion: Where to from Here?
Endnotes
And where might one find such a book online?

Gerald Bracey: The Hatchet Job On Linda Darling-Hammond

Gerald Bracey: The Hatchet Job On Linda Darling-Hammond:



The Hatchet Job On Linda Darling-Hammond



When Senator Clinton was still a candidate for president, both she and Senator Obama sought counsel from an educator friend of mine. He told them both not to say anything about education. No matter what you say, he told me that he told them, you're going to make a lot of people mad (he made his point in more colorful language). Oh, man, how right can you be?
In the run-up to Obama's picking a secretary, two sides formed in a debate over the desiderata for a secretary and might have duked it out, but only one side was permitted to throw punches in public. It wasn't Dems vs. the GOP. Indeed, that huge sucking sound you hear is Republicans trying to control their laughter. The two groups are largely within the Democratic Party. They might duke it out still because some see secretary of education-designate, Arne Duncan, as the right man in the right place and others see him as evil incarnate (though not quite so incarnate as Joel Klein or Michelle Rhee). If not evil incarnate, a man to further the corporatization of education and the commodification of childhood.
The winners in the fight-that-wasn't were the people who managed to get themselves anointed by the mainstream media--or "corporate media" as some call them--as reformers. They thereby once again illustrated George Lakoff's powerful concept of "frame." This gang consisted of Mike Bloomberg, Joel Klein, Paul Vallas, Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan and, weirdly enough, Al Sharpton. Really. It is useful to remember that "reform" means only to reshape, not necessarily improve.
The losers were actual educators in schools and universities who were mostly not permitted in the ring. The "reformers'" advocates managed to label their opposition candidate, Stanford's Linda Darling-Hammond, as an instrument of the "status quo" and as a teachers union tool. Ludicrous? Yes, but it happened.
In Newsweek, Jonathan Alter wrote that Obama knew "that if he chooses a union-backed candidate such as Linda Darling-Hammond...he'll have a revolt on his hands from the Gerald Bracey: The Hatchet Job On Linda Darling-Hammond:

Nite Cap 4-29-14 #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 CAP



4-29-13 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Parental Advice To Education Policy Makers”Parental Advice To Education Policy Makers is a good article by Jeff Bryant. Here’s an excerpt: Instead of empowering parents to feel they are part of their children’s education and engaging them in school governance, we are making parents feel that their input doesn’t matter and
John Kline Takes Arne Duncan To Task Over Special Education Funding
John Kline Takes Arne Duncan To Task Over Special Education Funding: John Kline Takes Arne Duncan To Task Over Special Education FundingPosted: 04/29/2014 4:10 pm EDT Updated: 04/29/2014 4:59 pm EDT Educational funding for students with disabilities became the subject of yet another heated partisan argument with no resolution at a budget hearing Tuesday, after Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) attacked Se
Assembly Public Safety Committee Testimony - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)
Assembly Public Safety Committee Testimony - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education): Assembly Public Safety Committee TestimonyState Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson's testifies on Assembly Bill 1432 at the State Capitol in Sacramento on April 29, 2014.Good morning, Assembly Member Ammiano (chair) and Assembly Member Melendez (vice chair). Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you
Do Androids Dream of Computer-Graded Essay Tests? | Gatsby In L.A.
Do Androids Dream of Computer-Graded Essay Tests? | Gatsby In L.A.: Do Androids Dream of Computer-Graded Essay Tests? In a recent opinion piece in The New York Times, “When the Circus Descends,” David Brooks derided opponents of Common Core Standards, implying that they were clownish ideologues on the far left and far right making “hysterical claims and fevered accusations.” But as I visit classro
Russ on Reading: Arne Duncan to Washington State, "No Waiver for You!"
Russ on Reading: Arne Duncan to Washington State, "No Waiver for You!": Arne Duncan to Washington State, "No Waiver for You!"Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's decision to rescind the NCLB waiver from Washington state is an act of such monumental stupidity that it would be laughable, if it did not have the potential for such a negative impact on children, parents and teachers
Public School Supporters: Attack via Restraining Order for Freedom of Information Request? | Reclaim Reform
Public School Supporters: Attack via Restraining Order for Freedom of Information Request? | Reclaim Reform: Public School Supporters: Attack via Restraining Order for Freedom of Information Request?Posted on April 29, 2014by Ken PrevitiHere is a stark and scary reminder of just how the corporate education reform industry’s tentacles reach into the public policy making process. In this case, a sen
4-29-14 The Whole Child Blog — IED Pulse Poll Results: Which "Future of Schooling" Prediction Is Coming True? — Whole Child Education
ED Pulse Poll Results: Which "Future of Schooling" Prediction Is Coming True? — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGED Pulse Poll Results: Which “Future of Schooling” Prediction Is Coming True?April 28, 2014 by Whole Child SymposiumPost written by Kit Harris, ASCD ResearchASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recentASCD
4-29-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: News on graduation rates and fidgety boysCalifornia graduation rate rises, but achievement gap remains Commentary: Let’s assume, at least for discussion, that maximizing high school graduation rates is – or should be – the primary goal of any public school system. A corollary assumption, of
4-29-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Defending the Indefensible in the Late Days of the Testing OrgyThe testing madness is underway this week in Tennessee, where a week of TCAP counts 15-25 percent of a student's grade and 35-50 percent of a teacher's evaluation for the other 195 days of the school year.  Is that reason enough for 3rd graders to be vomiting and having nosebleeds on their test booklets this week? But t
Education a new defining issue for 2016 GOP class - US News
Education a new defining issue for 2016 GOP class - US News: Education rising as issue among 2016 GOP class; standards now a metaphor for government reachFILE - This March 19, 2014 file photo shows former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaking at an education forum in Nashville, Tenn. Battling “the soft bigotry of low expectations” with national education goals was former Republican President George W. Bu
The Intersection of Standards and their Assessments: From an AZ Teacher |
The Intersection of Standards and their Assessments: From an AZ Teacher |: The Intersection of Standards and their Assessments: From an AZ Teacher In January, I wrote a post about “An AZ Teacher’s Perspective on Her “Value-Added.” Valerie Strauss covered the same story in her The Answer Sheet blog for The Washington Post, validating for me that readers appreciate stories from the field that explai
4-29-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open ThreadSIIF is having a Giant Monsters All-Out Attack week - Godzilla, Mothra, King Kong, and others.What's on your mind?by Melissa Westbrook / 1min 4-28-14 Seattle Schools Community ForumSeattle Schools Community Forum: Kindergarteners - Get with the SystemI come to this issue because of two recent stories about kindergarteners.One was from Oregon wher
“The Common Core may actually fail”: Union chief sounds off on Christie, Rhee, and for-profit testing “gag order” - Salon.com
“The Common Core may actually fail”: Union chief sounds off on Christie, Rhee, and for-profit testing “gag order” - Salon.com: “The Common Core may actually fail”: Union chief sounds off on Christie, Rhee, and for-profit testing “gag order”Randi Weingarten warns of "huge backlash," and tells Salon why she still believes in Common Core's potentialJOSH EIDELSON   Follow Share 44   58    0 
BBC News - The rise and rise of global school rankings
BBC News - The rise and rise of global school rankings: The rise and rise of global school rankingsInternational tests have become an important driving force in setting education policy and their influence seems to be growing.For the first time, England's exams are going to be linked to an international benchmark, with the new grading system for GCSEs being pegged to the Pisa tests run every three
Morning Wink 4-29-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-29-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Who Wrote the Common Core Standards. part 2Mercedes Schneider continues in her task to determine who wrote the Common Core State Standards. The first work group had 24 members; the second had 51
California superintendent race shows Democrats split on school reform - Yahoo News
California superintendent race shows Democrats split on school reform - Yahoo News: California superintendent race shows Democrats split on school reform By Sharon Bernstein16 hours ago.View photoSuperintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson speaks at the 2014 California Democrats State Convention …(This version of the story corrects April 25 story to political consultant Hefner is Torlakson'
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-29-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Who Wrote the Common Core Standards. part 2Mercedes Schneider continues in her task to determine who wrote the Common Core State Standards. The first work group had 24 members; the second had 51. Very few in either group were teachers. The standards were produced in remarkably short order. Typically, it takes years to write state s
4-29-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Good luck students. Your professors are heading for the exits.Under provisions of the State University Retirement System’s money purchase option, 10,000 state university employees are eligible to retire by July 1. As a result of the Senate Bill 1 pension theft passed last December 3rd and signed immed
4-29-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Where Is Outrage for Systemic Racism?Where is the outrage for this? The New Jim Crow Where is the outrage for this? Incarceration is not an equal opportunity punishment Incarceration Rates by Race and Ethnicity, 2010 Where is the outrage for this? Revealing New Truths Ab
4-29-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: App Puts You In The Shoes Of A Person Suffering From DementiaA British non-profit has created a Facebook app that puts you in the shoes of a person suffering from dementia. Here’s how the BBC describes it: The FaceDementia app, by Alzheimer’s Research UK, “takes over” personal Facebook pages, and temporarily erases importan
4-29-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Jersey Jazzman: Derrell Bradford Takes Manhattan!Hey, New York! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You and me, we got a beef:See, you guys are always shipping your reformy types across the Hudson to us here in New Jersey and, frankly, we're all sick of it. We're up to our necks in these corporate education reformers, with their "no excuses" and "think-tanky research" and Joel Klein-enha
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-29-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: SUPREME COURT MAY BOOST FREE-SPEECH PROTECTIONS FOR PUBLIC WORKERS …but be Very Careful!Justices seem likely to rule that a government employee who testifies about corruption cannot be fired. First they'd have to revisit a 2006 ruling limiting those rights. The operative words in the above headline are “MAY” and “SEEM LIKELY” - ‘May’ has a meaning in th
4-29-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: Malloy administration considered “restraining order” to stop FOI requests?In what may be the single most bizarre development yet in the Malloy administration’s war on teachers and public education and their ongoing commitment to secrecy, a recent Freedom of Information request has produced an email between Governor Malloy’s Director of Communications and a senior official from ConnCAN,
4-29-14 The Answer Sheet
The Answer Sheet: The scary way Common Core test ‘cut scores’ are selectedYou may have given no thought to the “cut scores” that are set for various tests, but they make all the difference in who passes and who fails. What exactly are cut scores?  The Educational Testing Service describes them this way: Cut scores are selected points on the score scale of a test. The points […]7 by Valerie Strauss
4-29-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Bush Ally Condemns High-Stakes Testing to Justify Different Tests for Florida VouchersThe James Madison Institute, long a reliable parrot for any Jeb Bush education initiative, has trotted out one of its scholars to defend Florida’s voucher program. And resident fellow,
Walmart Has Ruined our Towns: Will We Let the Walton Foundation Destroy our Schools? | janresseger
Walmart Has Ruined our Towns: Will We Let the Walton Foundation Destroy our Schools? | janresseger: Walmart Has Ruined our Towns: Will We Let the Walton Foundation Destroy our Schools?Posted on April 29, 2014 by janressegerMotoko Rich’s recent blockbuster article in the NY Times explores the vast reach of the Walton Foundation to promote and support the privatization of public education.  What has
An Assault on Public Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week
An Assault on Public Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week: An Assault on Public SchoolsBy Guest Blogger on April 29, 2014 9:06 AMAuthor and advocate Mike Klonsky again writes to Deborah Meier today. The two are currently co-blogging on Bridging Differences.Deb,What a week it's been!I'm feeling a little shocked-and-awed by the Supreme Court's Schuette decision. It's another nail in the c
All Week 4-29-14 @ THE CHALK FACE
@ THE CHALK FACE: Joanne Barkan’s Three Types of Criticism of Edu-PhilanthropyDiane Ravitch recently praised Joanne Barkan’s “How to Criticize ‘Big Philanthropy’ Effectively.” Barkan’s excellent analysis was first presented at the March 2014 Network for Public Education (NEP) Conference in Austin, Texas. It is now published in Dissent Magazine. Barkan began with the oft-repeated question, “You’re
4-29-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week
With A Brooklyn Accent: Ras Baraka, Newark and the Future of Public EducationFriends of public education. The most important election in the nation regarding the future of public education is happening right now in Newark New Jersey. On one side is Shevar Jeffries, a lawyer and a huge charter school supporter getting millions of dollars in contributions from Hedge Fund advocates of school privatiz
Why Education Reform is Probably Not The Best Way to Fight Poverty | Paul Bruno
Why Education Reform is Probably Not The Best Way to Fight Poverty | Paul Bruno: Why Education Reform is Probably Not The Best Way to Fight PovertyBy PAUL BRUNO | Published: APRIL 29, 2014Doug Lemov is skeptical that I’m right about education being a (relatively) ineffective way of fighting poverty. His response is thoughtful and deserves a response of its own.First, it’s worth being clear that th
Attention School Board Members. Have you Budgeted in Legal Expenses for Data Privacy Protections? | Missouri Education Watchdog
Attention School Board Members. Have you Budgeted in Legal Expenses for Data Privacy Protections? | Missouri Education Watchdog: Attention School Board Members. Have you Budgeted in Legal Expenses for Data Privacy Protections?inShareWill lawyers be the most expensive line item on school district budgets because of Common Core data gathering and privacy concerns?The National School Board Associatio
empathyeducates – Separate and Unequal: The Charter School Pedestal the Public Can’t Reach
empathyeducates – Separate and Unequal: The Charter School Pedestal the Public Can’t Reach: Separate and Unequal: The Charter School Pedestal the Public Can’t ReachBy Trymaine Lee | Originally Published at MSNBC News. April 25, 2014 06:53 AM—UPDATED April 25, 2014 12:07 PMThere are two pathways for children at one of the largest school buildings in Harlem. One route, reserved for a select few, com
4-29-13 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: The New Enemies ListThe Tea Party threat is over. Well, over-ish.I've been writing about this in the context of other topics, but I believe it deserves its own attention. Over the past ten days, the narrative about the Enemies of the Core has shifted.On April 21, The Daily Beast attributed attacks on the Core to "an unholy alliance between the Tea Party and the teachers' union
4-29-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: Clueless Elwood District Officials Double Down On Decision To Cancel Kindergarten ShowMore educrats who ought to be forcibly removed from office and hit with a restraining order to stay away from anyone under the age of 18:Elwood school officials Monday night stood behind the principal's decision to cancel a traditional Harley Avenue Primary School kindergarten event due to
On “Dropout Factories” & (Fraudulant) Graduation Rates in NJ | School Finance 101
On “Dropout Factories” & (Fraudulant) Graduation Rates in NJ | School Finance 101: On “Dropout Factories” & (Fraudulant) Graduation Rates in NJPosted on April 29, 20140      Rate ThisThis NJ Star Ledger piece the other day reminded me of an issue I’ve been wanting to check out for some time now. I’m skeptical of graduation rates as a measure of student outcomes to begin with, because, of c
Shanker Blog » "Show Me What Democracy Looks Like"
Shanker Blog » "Show Me What Democracy Looks Like": “Show Me What Democracy Looks Like”Posted by John McCrann on April 29, 2014Our guest author today is John McCrann, a Math teacher and experiential educator at Harvest Collegiate High School in New York City. John is a member of the America Achieves Fellowship, Youth Opportunities Program, and Teacher Leader Study Group. He tweets at @Jo
PARCC Offers "Three Answers to Rick Hess's Questions" :: Frederick M. Hess
PARCC Offers "Three Answers to Rick Hess's Questions" :: Frederick M. Hess: PARCC Offers "Three Answers to Rick Hess's Questions"by Frederick M. Hess  •  Apr 29, 2014 at 9:00 amCross-posted from Education WeekA few weeks ago, I asked three questions about how confident we should be that the results of the new, quasi-national, computer-assisted Common Core tests will be valid an
NYC Educator: Teachers' Message to Cuomo--Leave Moskowitz, the Tax Cap, and the GEA, Take the Cannoli
NYC Educator: Teachers' Message to Cuomo--Leave Moskowitz, the Tax Cap, and the GEA, Take the Cannoli: Teachers' Message to Cuomo--Leave Moskowitz, the Tax Cap, and the GEA, Take the CannoliYesterday I went to Holbrook, NY, to join hundreds of Long Island teachers. We decided to greet Governor Cuomo at Villa Lombardi's, where he was joining a bunch of his BFFs for some manicotti, or whatever it is
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: YESTERDAY'S CLASS -- Malcolm London, Schuette, Rocketship...
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: YESTERDAY'S CLASS -- Malcolm London, Schuette, Rocketship...: YESTERDAY'S CLASS -- Malcolm London, Schuette, Rocketship...THANKS MALCOLM...Thanks to brilliant, young Chicago poet/activist/educator Malcolm X London from Young Chicago Authors for his guest lecture in my class yesterday. My students, all aspiring teachers, were bowled over as Malcolm recounted his exper

YESTERDAY

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento : end of the imposed Core Waiver
Choosing Democracy: Sacramento : end of the imposed Core Waiver: Sacramento : end of the imposed Core WaiverDon't believe what the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board says, SCTA, along with many community groups, has been consistently opposed to the NCLB waiver as submitted by our former Superintendent and the California Office to Reform Education with no true input from stakeholders.  While the waiver
Elect Respect Community Brunch and Fundraiser: Join Jesse Hagopian and the Seattle Education Association Respect Slate members this Sunday | Seattle Education
Elect Respect Community Brunch and Fundraiser: Join Jesse Hagopian and the Seattle Education Association Respect Slate members this Sunday | Seattle Education: Elect Respect Community Brunch and Fundraiser: Join Jesse Hagopian and the Seattle Education Association Respect Slate members this SundayElect Respect Community Brunch and FundraiserJoin Jesse Hagopian and the Seattle Education Association
NYC Public School Parents: Resolution opposed to the provisions in the NYS budget giving preferences to charter schools for free public space
NYC Public School Parents: Resolution opposed to the provisions in the NYS budget giving preferences to charter schools for free public space: Resolution opposed to the provisions in the NYS budget giving preferences to charter schools for free public spaceThis resolution has been approved by  Community Education Councils in District 1 in Manhattan, District 20 in Brooklyn and District 30 in Queen
Bush and Rhee Endorse a Book– Fortunately, Not Mine | deutsch29
Bush and Rhee Endorse a Book– Fortunately, Not Mine | deutsch29: Bush and Rhee Endorse a Book– Fortunately, Not MineApril 28, 2014Rhee-lated $tory: Michelle Rhee answers Ravitch in New Bookal$o $ee Rhee-lated $tory: Excerpts from "Rhee The Art of the Deal" a new $tory about Corporate Education Reform and the Woman that make$ it Happen!As I announced on April 27, 2014, my book on key indi
The Maiming of a Teacher's Career in Queens.southbronxschool.com
http://www.southbronxschool.com: The Maiming of a Teacher's Career in QueensThis is from the files of you can't make this sh** up.The following anectodals are from a teacher at MS 72, District 28 in Queens. The principal isOmotayo Cineus, late of the (Yep! You guessed it! the Leadership Academy).The Crack Team received these anectodals this afternoon and immediately were repulsed at what this teac
Geaux Teacher!: Real Teacher Challenges Incumbent for BESE
Geaux Teacher!: Real Teacher Challenges Incumbent for BESE: Real Teacher Challenges Incumbent for BESE Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Holly Boffy, who was the state teacher of the year in 2010, could have another distinguished former educator challenging her next year.So far it’s the most substantive BESE face-off threatened for next year’s fall ballot, but the board’s presiden
Louisiana Educator: Attempts by Big Business to Ban Payroll Dues Deduction
Louisiana Educator: Attempts by Big Business to Ban Payroll Dues Deduction: Attempts by Big Business to Ban Payroll Dues DeductionLABI (The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry) was not satisfied with promoting the raiding of our public MFP funds by charter schools and voucher schools; big business was not satisfied with stripping most teachers of due process rights and rating teachers u
Nite Cap 4-28-14 #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 CAPCollege-Ready? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week TeacherCollege-Ready? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: College-Ready?By Nancy Flanagan on April 28, 2014 4:39 PMWhat does it mean to be "ready" for college