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Sunday, September 25, 2016

Special Late Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/25/16

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/25/16




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ALEC is Excited About the New Testing Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), so is iNACOL | Seattle Education




Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America?
Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America? : Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America? With more than $75 million coming in from government at last count and another $220 million from the philanthropic community, we should be seeing more evidence of long-term student gains and far more alumni continuing their impassioned work in the classroom. Pa
Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) | The Jose Vilson
Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) | The Jose Vilson : Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) Come here. Please take a seat with me and let’s talk about evolution. Your morning routine hasn’t changed in years. You roll swiftly out of bed, but your eyes have barely opened yet. You’re thinking about your students before you’re done brushing your teeth. You’re out the door before t
Washington Charter Schools- Don't Ask, Don't Tell: 2 Democrats run for state ed chief | OregonLive
2 Democrats run for Washington state education chief | OregonLive.com : 2 Democrats run for Washington state education chief SPOKANE — Randy Dorn is stepping down after eight years as state superintendent of public instruction, and two Democrats are vying to replace him as head of Washington's K-12 public education system. The nonpartisan job pays $132,000 a year and oversees about $9 billion in
Michigan: Third Grade Flunk Club Rears Its Ugly Head. Again - Teacher in a Strange Land
There is No Such Thing as Social Promotion - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher : There is No Such Thing as Social Promotion Alternate title: Third Grade Flunk Club Rears Its Ugly Head. Again. It seems that the promoters of "kids who fail have to be smacked upside the head with their shortcomings" have hit on a recycled tactical meme every educator is familiar with: usin
ALEC is Excited About the New Testing Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), so is iNACOL | Seattle Education
ALEC is Excited About the New Testing Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), so is iNACOL | Seattle Education : ALEC is Excited About the New Testing Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), so is iNACOL Personally, whenever a bill in Washington D.C. is praised for its bipartisan nature – I get worried. The common ground discovered by Democrats and Republicans, usually c
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Readings from the week (9/25)
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Readings from the week (9/25) : ICYMI: Readings from the week (9/25) As always, remember to share and spread the word. Everyone can be an amplifier. Don't Believe the Charter School Hype Charles Pierce is one mainstream journalist who has taken up the cause of public ed and given reformsters some serious grief. Here's his take on the charter push in Massachusetts Preaching
Clinton's plan to Save Public Education / Trump's Plan to Destroy It | 89.3 KPCC
Hillary Clinton's plan for America's students | 89.3 KPCC : Clinton's plan to Save Public Education / Trump's Plan to Destroy It Hillary Clinton's plan for America's students For nearly as long as she's been in the public eye, Hillary Clinton has counted the well-being of children among her defining causes — from the bestselling 1996 book (and enduring cliche) It Takes A Village to her advocacy f
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all Leonie Haimson: How DFER Hijacked Public Education 6 by dianeravitch / 45min This post was written in 2014, but it remains relevant today. DFER (Democrats for Education Reform) raises large sums of money from hedge fund managers to promote charter schools. The free
Schools Matter: How Unions Came to Support ESSA
Schools Matter: How Unions Came to Support ESSA : Schools Matter: How Unions Came to Support ESSA We know that much of the rationale for the NEA/AFT/NPE support of ESSA comes from the need to support the Clinton agenda, which is, of course, the Gates agenda , the Broad agenda, etc. But long before Hillary became Wall Street's most recent neolib darling, however, there were other reasons for AFT/N
The Tyranny of Philanthrocapitalism | Diane Ravitch's blog
The Tyranny of Philanthrocapitalism | Diane Ravitch's blog : The Tyranny of Philanthrocapitalism Antonio Olmedo writes here about the new undemocratic, unaccountable Philanthrocapitalism, as embodied by the Gates Foundation: In 2008, in their Ode to philanthrocapitalism, Bishop and Green claimed that philanthrocapitalists are “hyperagents who have the capacity to do some essential things far bett
Russ on Reading: Teaching Struggling Readers: Focus on Meaning
Russ on Reading: Teaching Struggling Readers: Focus on Meaning : Teaching Struggling Readers: Focus on Meaning Russ Walsh Why do we read? Of course, you will say we read for pleasure and we read for information and perhaps even we read to become better writers and thinkers. In order to enjoy and learn from reading we must make sense of the words on the printed page. This is true of all readers. T
Broad, Walton, and Their LA-based Nonprofit, Great Public Schools Now | deutsch29
Broad, Walton, and Their LA-based Nonprofit, Great Public Schools Now | deutsch29 : Broad, Walton, and Their LA-based Nonprofit, Great Public Schools Now Los Angeles is the focus of a major billionaire-funded, astroturf effort to expand the charter sector. And where there is a major market-driven reform push, a new, billionaire-funded nonprofit is often on the horizon. So it is with the 2015-crea
As American Education Collapses, Democracy’s Foundation Shakes - The Daily Beast
As American Education Collapses, Democracy’s Foundation Shakes - The Daily Beast : As American Education Collapses, Democracy’s Foundation Shakes And we are here as on a darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, Where ignorant armies clash by night. Deeply depressed by the rise of Donald Trump and fearful for our nation’s future, I recently found myself reciting the last l
KJ-Marcos Breton Bromance: Hitting Kevin Johnson with a pie won’t help the homeless | The Sacramento Bee
Hitting Kevin Johnson with a pie won’t help the homeless | The Sacramento Bee : KJ-Marcos Breton Bromance: Hitting Kevin Johnson with a pie won’t help the homeless Since Colin Kaepernick began his now-famous protest against police brutality by refusing to stand during “The Star Spangled Banner,” I have been thinking more broadly about ways people express discontent with the status quo. Protests a

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Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/24/16
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/24/16 Featured Post Students Are Pulling a Kaepernick All Over America — and Being Threatened for It CURMUDGUCATION: Essential Reading for Education Activists (and Wonks) by mike simpson / 10min CURMUDGUCATION: Essential Reading for Education Activists (and Wonks) : Essential Reading for Education Activists (and Wonks) Corporate, privatized, market-dri

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Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America?

Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America?:

Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America?

Business woman has an aces up his sleeve. Isolated on white background

With more than $75 million coming in from government at last count and another $220 million from the philanthropic community, we should be seeing more evidence of long-term student gains and far more alumni continuing their impassioned work in the classroom.
Do Americans understand that by contributing to a turnaround group of young novices to be teachers, they are destroying the American teaching profession? Do they know that sooner or later there will be no more real, qualified teachers to instruct their students?
Are they not aware that fast-track trained beginners, who focus on data, digital instruction, and classroom control, and who are never intent on becoming teachers until they recruited, are not the best individuals to lead a classroom?
Are they confused and think they are doing something nice, or are they hell-bent on destroying public education?
How Does One Boycott so Many?
Upset teachers and parents who understand the background of TFA, and their overall Do Americans Hate Teachers, Or are they Duped by Teach for America?:


Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) | The Jose Vilson

Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) | The Jose Vilson:

Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) 

Image result for Jose Vilson

Come here. Please take a seat with me and let’s talk about evolution.
Your morning routine hasn’t changed in years. You roll swiftly out of bed, but your eyes have barely opened yet. You’re thinking about your students before you’re done brushing your teeth. You’re out the door before the grocery stores around the block open. The hustle to the bus then the train get your blood pumping and your feet throbbing. You swipe your MetroCard a few seconds before the train gets there. Your headphones currently blare Chance The Rapper because you need something between hard rap and gospel music. You play FreeCell all the way up to the second to last stop on the A train.
You see students in this neighborhood. Perk up, you.
You get your coffee. A dollar’s never been so valuable. You climb the set of stairs, ignoring the security that doesn’t like you for whatever reason. You’re cordial with adults as you move your card into the “in” slot. You jog up the next set of stairs into your classroom. You sniff around to make sure everything’s in place. You turn on the lights and the AC. You take a deep breath. You’re back in your element.
You have two grades and five classes to teach, each with their own set of needs. You got this.
Lesson plan 1: We will convert numbers in scientific notation to standard form. Eighth graders may or may not fully get it. We will make them care somehow someway.
Lesson plan 2: We will add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. Seventh graders may or Hope of a Black - Latino Educator (Evolution) | The Jose Vilson:
Image result for Educator Evolution

Washington Charter Schools- Don't Ask, Don't Tell: 2 Democrats run for state ed chief | OregonLive

2 Democrats run for Washington state education chief | OregonLive.com:

2 Democrats run for Washington state education chief


Image result for big education ape bill gates

SPOKANE — Randy Dorn is stepping down after eight years as state superintendent of public instruction, and two Democrats are vying to replace him as head of Washington's K-12 public education system.
The nonpartisan job pays $132,000 a year and oversees about $9 billion in education spending.
State Rep. Chris Reykdal, 44, of Tumwater has served three terms in the state House and is an administrator for the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. He believes pressure must remain on the Legislature to better fund schools.
His opponent, 45-year-old Erin Jones of Tacoma, sees the job more as setting out a vision for education. Jones is the first African American woman to run for statewide office in Washington. She works for the Tacoma School District as a teaching coach and program administrator, and this is her first time seeking public office.
"We've got to have a much clearer vision for public education," Jones said. "We need to be more visible as an agency outside the halls of Olympia."
Reykdal, if elected, would be the first superintendent in recent history with children in public school. He also has worked as a high school history teacher.
"I bring expertise in budget and policy to an agency that is good but needs to be great," Reykdal said. "I have endorsements from both sides of the aisle and both parts of the state."
A former lawmaker, Dorn was hard to miss in Olympia and made sure his views were heard by lawmakers and the Washington Supreme Court, which decided in 2012 that the way the state paid for public schools was unconstitutional. That case is called the McCleary decision, and it looms over the Legislature.
Dorn pushed hard for more money for education, which put him at odds with many lawmakers.
Among those praising Dorn is Reykdal, who said the superintendent kept lawmakers on their toes as they debated school finance. Reykdal said he will maintain an active role in the discussion about the McCleary decision.
"There is an enormous need to fully fund our system and do that more equitably," Reykdal said.
Jones said she wants to be a resource for the Legislature while working to educate Washington residents and encourage them to push lawmakers to increase education funding.
"We do need additional revenues," Jones said. "We need more teachers and new buildings."
Jones said she has a unique perspective on the state's education system because her children have experienced the inequity that the school funding lawsuit sought to fix. They were students at a high-poverty school in Tacoma and then at another Title I school that was dramatically overcrowded in Puyallup.
Reykdal also would bring a parent's perspective to the job. But while Jones' kids are now adults, Reykdal's children were still in elementary school last school year.
Both candidates would like to pull back on the state's commitment to student testing and not use the high school exams as a graduation requirement. But they do not want to eliminate testing altogether.
They want to increase the starting salaries for teachers and work to make the teacher pay system more competitive statewide. And they think the estimated $3.5 billion to finish the work outlined in the McCleary decision is 2 Democrats run for Washington state education chief | OregonLive.com: