Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, September 18, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/18/15 #FightForDyett



CORPORATE ED REFORM




Seattle Schools Community Forum: As School Year Starts, Think about Student Data Privacy
Seattle Schools Community Forum: As School Year Starts, Think about Student Data Privacy: As School Year Starts, Think about Student Data PrivacyFrom a group I belong to (and you should, too), Student Privacy Matters:Five principles to protect student data privacyThe Parent Coalition for Student Privacy believes that the following five principles should be incorporated in any law or policy regardi
Who's Funding Kevin Johnson's Secret Government?
Who's Funding Kevin Johnson's Secret Government?: Who's Funding Kevin Johnson's Secret Government?It isn’t hard to see why nothing bad has ever quite touched Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, Calif., even as he’s authored a long series of lurid sex and corruption scandals, any one of which would have ended the career of a less fortunate man.Johnson is a youngish, attractive Democrat with a reput
CURMUDGUCATION: Duncan Still Oblivious
CURMUDGUCATION: Duncan Still Oblivious: Duncan Still ObliviousRiding along with Arne Duncan on the back-to-school bus tour, Alyson Klein had the opportunity to do a little Q & A with Arne Duncan. The discussion indicates that there are some things that Arne just doesn't get. I recommend reading the whole piece, but there are a few moments I'd like to zero in on.AccountabilityIn the midst of di
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Good riddance, Tim Cawley. Champion of privatization and disinvestment in neighborhood schools.
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Good riddance, Tim Cawley. Champion of privatization and disinvestment in neighborhood schools.: Good riddance, Tim Cawley. Champion of privatization and disinvestment in neighborhood schools.Good riddance to Tim Cawley, the very worst of Rahm's army of CPS bureaucrats who's gone from Number 2 honcho under Byrd-Bennett, to under the bus. I hope readers won't remember
Wait, What? Needs your help - Wait What?
Wait, What? Needs your help - Wait What?: Wait, What? Needs your helpWait, What? is dedicated to informing readers about the truth enveloping policy and politics in Connecticut. If you believe Wait, What? plays in important role, please donate so we can continue our mission.DONATE ON LINE TO WAIT, WHAT?Since January 2012, a total of 2,124 articles have been posted to Wait, What?  Together they hav
The NJ Standards Review Farce - Education Lessons From A Sparkly District
Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: The NJ Standards Review Farce: The NJ Standards Review FarceBack in the spring, Gov. Christie, quite out the blue, announced that he had concerns with Common Core State Standards (CCSS). I’m sure he took a lot of the reformy cheerleaders in the state by surprise. With that proclamation, he also announced yet another review committee to look at CCSS and tu
Fed rule changes for testing disabled children start Sept. 21 | Parents Across America
Fed rule changes for testing disabled children start Sept. 21 | Parents Across America: Fed rule changes for testing disabled children start Sept. 21Thanks to conversations with Dr. Gary Thompson, a noted Utah child psychologist who has spoken out against the Common Core, we have learned that new federal regulations go into effect on September 21, 2015, barring states from using alternative assess
9/18/2015 – Seattle Teachers’ Strike A Win For Social Justice
9/18/2015 – Seattle Teachers’ Strike A Win For Social Justice: Seattle Teachers’ Strike A Win For Social JusticeSeattle Teachers’ Strike A Win For Social JusticeBy Jeff Bryant“Striking teachers in Seattle appear to have been victorious in getting most of their demands met … Their demands for increased pay was just one item in a much more extensive list of demands that demonstrate how badly fans of
What Will Zuckerberg Learn from Newark? - Living in Dialogue
What Will Zuckerberg Learn from Newark? - Living in Dialogue: What Will Zuckerberg Learn from Newark? By John Thompson.Dale Russakoff’s 2014 New Yorker profile “Schooled” is a wonderful account of Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million investment in Newark school reform, and how and why it failed. Perhaps the best new revelation in “Schooled” starts with the lesson Russakoff learned from a wealthy donor.
Children are more than test scores: Dear Secretary Duncan a message from the Walking Man
Children are more than test scores: Dear Secretary Duncan a message from the Walking Man: Dear Secretary Duncan a message from the Walking ManHello Secretary Duncan , my name is Dr. Jesse Patrick Turner, and I am a teacher who occupies the humanity of the spaces I teach. I am inspired by the young voices of those occupying my teaching space. I find magic in the faces I teach. I find hope living in
Schools Matter: School Board Member Lays Out Cost of Charter Expansion
Schools Matter: School Board Member Lays Out Cost of Charter Expansion: School Board Member Lays Out Cost of Charter ExpansionRecently the school board of Metro Nashville rejected three new charter applications.  Will Pinkston was one of those thoughtful and responsible school board members who voted with his constituents' interests in mind, rather than with the segregating ideologies of corporate
CTU sues CPS. AUSL schools show a pattern of racial discrimination. African American teachers were targeted. | Fred Klonsky
CTU sues CPS. AUSL schools show a pattern of racial discrimination. African American teachers were targeted. | Fred Klonsky: CTU sues CPS. AUSL schools show a pattern of racial discrimination. African American teachers were targeted.Wednesday, on behalf of the CTU and our members, another class action lawsuit was filed challenging the five turnarounds in 2013 and the ones from 2011 forward, includ
Another Former Supporter of Test-Based Accountability Confesses His Error | janresseger
Another Former Supporter of Test-Based Accountability Confesses His Error | janresseger: Another Former Supporter of Test-Based Accountability Confesses His ErrorAfter more than a decade of federal test-and-punish education policy, true believers in the schemes spun by corporate education reformers are reevaluating how it has all worked out since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.  One a
From finger guns to #IstandwithAhmed clock, zero-tolerance gone too far? | | Dallas Morning News
From finger guns to #IstandwithAhmed clock, zero-tolerance gone too far? | | Dallas Morning News: From finger guns to #IstandwithAhmed clock, zero-tolerance gone too far?The arrest and suspension of a teen boy taking his invention to school may have been more than anti-Muslim sentiments. Some juvenile justice experts say the zero-tolerance stance that often drives school discipline also played a c
Parents’ Hunger Strike Reveals Flaws in Chicago’s Education Reforms - Yahoo News
Parents’ Hunger Strike Reveals Flaws in Chicago’s Education Reforms - Yahoo News: Parents’ Hunger Strike Reveals Flaws in Chicago’s Education ReformsIt’s a drastic, painful, potentially fatal tactic associated with third-world political movements calling attention to brutal regimes, or history lessons about legendary protest leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Cesar Chavez.Related StoriesChicago to
The State of Teacher Diversity in American Education | Shanker Institute
The State of Teacher Diversity in American Education | Shanker Institute: The State of Teacher Diversity in American EducationTeacher Diversity in the U.S. is an area of concern. The teacher work force has gotten less ethnically and racially diverse and more female, a development which has had an adverse effect on students, particularly on males of color. It is an impediment to the broader goals o
Critics Of Charter Schools Say Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Raises Political Questions | WVXU
Critics Of Charter Schools Say Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Raises Political Questions | WVXU: Critics Of Charter Schools Say Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Raises Political QuestionsThe Ohio Supreme Court decision that nearly a hundred million dollars in equipment bought by charter school operators with tax money belongs to those operators and not to the schools has raised more anger against the industry
Another voucher school closes, stirring a simmering pot of issues | Milwaukee | Wisconsin Gazette
Another voucher school closes, stirring a simmering pot of issues | Milwaukee | Wisconsin Gazette - Smart, independent and revealing. News, opinion and entertainment coverage: Another voucher school closes, stirring a simmering pot of issuesJust nine days into the school year, a Milwaukee voucher school abruptly shut down, drawing renewed criticism from opponents of efforts to privatize Wisconsin’
Sacramento News & Review - The latest on Mayor Kevin Johnson's lawsuit against SN&R - Editor's Note - Opinions - September 17, 2015
Sacramento News & Review - The latest on Mayor Kevin Johnson's lawsuit against SN&R - Editor's Note - Opinions - September 17, 2015: The latest on Mayor Kevin Johnson's lawsuit against SN&RIt was strange when Kevin Johnson sued us earlier this summer. But in recent weeks, this K.J. lawsuit saga has become even more head-scratching.This latest weirdness began when city of Sacramento att
Louisiana Educator: Playing Political Games with PARCC Test Data
Louisiana Educator: Playing Political Games with PARCC Test Data: Playing Political Games with PARCC Test DataIn this latest pro-John White article, Will Sentell of The Advocate never seems to question why it should take until November for the student scores on the Common Core PARCC test to be reported to the schools and the general public. The LDOE has the data but apparently is just sitting on i
CURMUDGUCATION: Testing: The Circular Argument
CURMUDGUCATION: Testing: The Circular Argument: Testing: The Circular ArgumentThis morning, the indispensable Mercedes Schneider takes us on a trip to Massachusetts, where profiteers have captured many of the positions of power in the education world.Much has been said about commissioner Mitchell Chester, who heads up the fast-evaporating PARCC test consortium, but who will also recommend to the s
Who came up with these peculiar rules about preschools and child-care centers? - The Washington Post
Who came up with these peculiar rules about preschools and child-care centers? - The Washington Post: Who came up with these peculiar rules about preschools and child-care centers?Here are some eyebrow-raising licensing rules, regulations and other tidbits about day-care centers and preschools in various states. These were collected by Noodle, an education website that offers help to parents and s
Teaching History at Mission High School (Kristina Rizga) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Teaching History at Mission High School (Kristina Rizga) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Teaching History at Mission High School (Kristina Rizga)This is the third excerpt taken from Kristina Rizga’s new bookMission High. With her permission I have excerpted descriptions ofmath  and English lessons. In this post, Rizga describes a history lesson that Robert Roth, a long time
Parents, teachers, and students in the Milwaukee Public School District are holding “walk-ins” | The Progressive
The hidden education tradeoff: tax cuts now or real economic growth in the future | The Progressive: The hidden education tradeoff: tax cuts now or real economic growth in the futureParents in Milwaukee—as across the nation—know that their children’s futures depend on the quality of public education, and many of them are deeply upset about continuing cuts to public education funding. Parents, teac

YESTERDAY

Massachusetts, Roland Fryer, and a “Two-tiered System of Standardized Testing”? | deutsch29
Massachusetts, Roland Fryer, and a “Two-tiered System of Standardized Testing”? | deutsch29: Massachusetts, Roland Fryer, and a “Two-tiered System of Standardized Testing”?On November 17, 2015, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will vote on either the PARCC assessments or the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) as the statewide assessment system
CURMUDGUCATION: WSJ on Teacher Quality
CURMUDGUCATION: WSJ on Teacher Quality: WSJ on Teacher QualityEarlier this week the Wall Street Journal convened a trio of educational experts to discuss the question "How Do We Raise the Quality of Teachers."I'm not sure what got into them, exactly, but reporter Leslie Brody actually included a teacher in her trio of experts. In fact, not just a teacher, but New York teacher, activist a
The Eleventh Honeymoon | The Jose Vilson
The Eleventh Honeymoon | The Jose Vilson: The Eleventh Honeymoon11 years ago, I promised myself I would inspire, kick butt, and teach kids to the best of their abilities. Ten years ago, I eschewed all that and said I would be much stricter with them because they needed it. Nine years ago, I wanted to take pieces of my first two years and double down on my firm resolve. Eight years ago, I wanted to
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/17/15 #FightForDyett
SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMLawsuit: Schools failed to inform parents of right to opt out of tests | EdSourceLawsuit: Schools failed to inform parents of right to opt out of tests | EdSource: Lawsuit: Schools failed to inform parents of right to opt out of testsA bucket of forms to opt out children of Common Core-aligned tests sits at a protest in May 2015 at Yorba Linda High School.A pare