Wednesday, May 4, 2011

“Who Is Osama Bin Laden?” … Do Teens Really Not Know? « Student Activism

“Who Is Osama Bin Laden?” … Do Teens Really Not Know?

by Angus Johnston

Yesterday Yahoo put up a post on its search blog titled “Teens Don’t Know Who Osama Bin Laden Is, According to Yahoo! Search Trends.”

The story has been picked up by a long list of other outlets — PC Magazine and Gawker both claimed that “many” teens don’t know who Bin Laden was, while one site went so far as to claim that a “majority” are unaware. BoingBoing hedged its bets, claiming that “a non-insignificant number of teenagers in America do not know who Osama bin Laden is.”

But what did Yahoo’s published data actually show?

Not much, it turns out. According to the blogpost, “who is osama bin laden” was the fifth-most searched question relating to Bin Laden on Sunday, which made it more popular than questions about his height, but more popular than questions about his age. How many people searched that question? Yahoo doesn’t say. Could have been millions, could have been a handful. What it does say is that two thirds of those searching were between the

Jersey Jazzman: Masters Bump For Me, Not For Thee!

Masters Bump For Me, Not For Thee!

by Duke

Just to follow up on Chris Christie's proposal to do away with using graduate degrees as a criterion for determining teacher pay:

The idea that corporate reformers such as Christie push is that these degrees do not make for better teachers. His own kids, however, go to Delbarton, a tony private school, where they have a slightly different take:

The course of study offers preparation in all major academic subjects and a number of electives.
The studies are intended to help a boy shape a thought and sentence, to speak clearly about ideas and

Mitch Daniels' Surprising Defense of the Public School System - Dana Goldstein

Mitch Daniels' Surprising Defense of the Public School System

by Dana Goldstein

Now that I've criticized major elements of Mitch Daniels' education agenda, I thought I'd highlight by far the most interesting statement he made at AEI today, because it breaks in a significant way with typical conservative, free-market school reform rhetoric:

"You cannot often enough affirm your commitment to the public schools. As I said, 90 percent of Indiana kids are in public schools today. I think even with the new option that's in place [private school vouchers], it'll always be close to that. I really believe that; I would be surprised if it's not. Therefore, there's a huge responsibility, and we should all share a commitment, to make the public schools better all the time. Semantically, it's probably important to talk about school improvement. Reform means different things to different people."

There's a humility here that is typically lacking among proponents of private school vouchers and other free-

Heading home. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Heading home.

by Fred Klonsky

This is my first post on my iPad2. I’m writing on the bus, heading back to Chicago following a day of lobbying in Springfield.

The IEA leadership wanted us to focus mainly on SB7 and pensions.

There was no way we would lobby for Senate Bill 7. Cheerleading for the bill that limits our ability to strike and which ends seniority as the basis for reductions in staff was met with a smattering of mild applause from about five hundred IEA members who had gathered for a pre-lobbying rally under a tent set up next to IEA offices.

I don’t know how many folks were here today. The IEA wanted 5,000, but I doubt there it was close to that number.

While the concern about pensions is strong, support among the membership for the SB7 sellout is evident by the weak turnout.

The turnout from our local was strong, however.

And when a large group of us met with Senator Kotowski on the lawn in front of the statue of Stephen Dougla

ASCD Inservice: How Can We Support the Whole Teacher?

How Can We Support the Whole Teacher?

In our school, we have devoted much attention to teaching the Whole Child. Now we would also like to look at how we can support the Whole Teacher. What strategies has your school implemented to make sure that teachers are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged?

--Amy Lockhart, Teacher, Malcolm Price Laboratory School, Cedar Falls, Iowa

Acknowledge What Causes Teachers' Stress

During a half-day inservice, we conducted an exercise to explore what causes stress for staff members. We asked teachers to write down on sticky notes things that cause them daily stress, and then we sorted the notes and displayed them on opposite walls of the room according to school stressors and personal stressors. Outside issues clearly outweighed school issues. This was a powerful visual reminder that educators are often asked to be strong for students

In Case You Missed It

by Matthew Swift

Here are some recent updates from ASCD: The May issue of Education Update looks at how teachers improve through personal and professional learning, teaching in Finland, and increasing student engagement and achievement through peer tutoring. Can multiculturalism and standardization coexist?...

Evaluating Mitch Daniels' Education Agenda - Dana Goldstein

Evaluating Mitch Daniels' Education Agenda

by Dana Goldstein

Potential GOP presidential candidate Mitch Daniels gave a graceful--though, in my view, somewhat misguided--speech on education policy this afternoon at the American Enterprise Institute, the free-market think tank based in Washington.

You don't often hear Republicans use the words "social justice" or praise the Obama administration's domestic policy agenda, but Daniels did both those things today. He supported Race to the Top's focus on national curriculum standards and accountability for teachers, saying, "I salute the President and Secretary Duncan. ... They've had the courage...to irritate their allies." (A veiled reference to teachers' unions.)

Daniels does not appear to be campaigning for the Tea Party's support when it comes to education. Indeed, the Indiana governor was at AEI to promote his accomplishment of signing four sweeping, top-down education reform bills into law over the past several months. "Many of us in Indiana are very uplifted this week," Daniels said, because the reforms "will make a significant difference in the economic prospects of our state if we can

Financial Reporting - Software & Forms (CA Dept of Education)

Financial Reporting

Software used by local educational agencies in preparing budgets, interim reports, and year-end financial reports to the California Department of Education.

SACS2011 Budget Software

On this page you will find links to the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) SACS2011 software and to any known problems and fixes. The SACS2011 software contains the components necessary to prepare the 2011–12 budget reports. We anticipate releasing the SACS2011ALL software in early July. At the bottom of this page, there is also a link to the prior year software.

SACS2011setup.exe (EXE; 26MB)

Before beginning the download, identify (or create) a clean subdirectory into which you will download the SACS2011setup.exe zipped file. Right-click on the SACS2011setup.exe link above, select "save link as" (or "save target as" or "copy to folder"), then select the subdirectory into which the SACS2011setup.exe file will be downloaded.

Once the file has been downloaded, use Windows Explorer to find the SACS2011setup.exe file, then double-click on the file and follow the prompts to install the software.

When the SACS software is installed on your computer, the financial reporting calendars and the SACS Software User Guide will be automatically copied into your C:\SACS2011\Calendars and Manuals subdirectory. To find the financial reporting calendars and the SACS2011 Software User Guide, use Windows Explorer and navigate to your C:\SACS2011\Calendars and Manuals subdirectory. In addition, to help make the software easier to use, the SACS Software User Guide is accessible from the Help menu and also from within the forms and processes in the software by pressing F1.

What's New?

Please refer either to the "What's New" section of the SACS2011 Software User Guide or to the readme.txt file installed with the software for a summary of the changes made to the SACS2011 budget forms and process. Also, be sure to check "SACS2011 Software: Known Problems/Fixes" below for any updates subsequent to the SACS2011 software release.

Need to Update Your Validation Tables?

The SACS2011setup.exe file (above) contains the most current validation tables at the time the software was released, dated May 2, 2011. Any subsequent validation table updates will need to be downloaded and added to the software. The Validation Tables page contains software update instructions.

SACS2011 Software: Known Problems/Fixes

The SACS2011setup.exe file (above) will not include fixes made subsequent to the SACS2011 software release. If any problems are found, we will list them on the SACS2011 Software: Known Problems/Fixes page and provide any revised files or workaround instructions. All revised files will need to be applied separately after the software is installed.

Financial Reporting and Fiscal Oversight Calendars

County Office of Education (COE) Calendar 2011
COE Oversight Calendar 2011
District Calendar 2011
Summary Calendar 2011

The SACS2011setup.exe file (above) also downloads these calendars to your C:\SACS2011\Calendars and Manuals subdirectory.

Prior Year Software

The prior year SACS2010ALL Software used to report the 2010–11 budget and interim reports and the 2009–10 unaudited actuals is also available.

The prior year Charter School Alternative Form used to report the 2009–10 unaudited actuals is still available.

Need Assistance?

For assistance with the SACS software or the Charter School Alternative Form, districts should call their county office of education, and charter schools should call their authorizing agency. County offices may contact us using the contact information in the Questions Section of this page.

Questions: Financial Accountability & Information Services | sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-1770

School Tech Connect: Unlimited Oversight-Free For-Profit Chartering

Unlimited Oversight-Free For-Profit Chartering

Will Arne Duncan chime in about the rapacious hell-with-oversight apetite of the permanently mediocre White Hat organization in Ohio? He really should but I won't hold my breath. Perhaps a minion could tweet about it.

Source

Just one of many great stories over at School Matters.

Why is the Department of Education Rushing Regulations? | CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Why is the Department of Education Rushing Regulations?

Department of Education logo Yesterday, Reuters reported that the Department of Education sent the highly controversial “gainful employment” regulation to OMB for final review.

Ever since CREW first learned noted short-seller Steve Eisman was pushing for a gainful employment regulation, we have been trying to uncover the extent to which Wall Street investors with a financial interest in for-profit colleges have been involved in Education’s rulemaking process. This regulation is likely to have a huge financial impact on for-profit colleges; hints about the extent of the regulation have been enough to drive down industry stock prices. At the same time, declining stock prices may create windfalls for short-sellers.

CREW sent numerous Freedom of Information Act requests to Education and sued the department for failing to produce the requested records. Over the course of the past year, we have uncovered a number of documents revealing Education officials working on the regulations were communicating with Wall Street investors about

Matt Yglesias on Teacher Compensation - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Matt Yglesias on Teacher Compensation

by E.D. Kain

Matt has responded to my post and he’s uncertain where it is that we disagree:

What I said in my post is that if you take the idea that teaching matters seriously, then you can’t seriously think that the Last In, First Out layoff policies and seniority-based compensation schemes that are mandated by most teaching collective bargaining agreements are a good idea.

Well that’s one point of disagreement right there. Last In, First Out (LIFO) and seniority may not be the most ideal way to determine who keeps their job, but the alternatives proposed by most reformers are no better, and sometimes they strike me as much worse.

For instance, imagine you are a cash-strapped state government with a governor like Scott Walker as executive. LIFO and seniority policies mean that the most senior teachers, who cost the state the most money, are protected from layoffs – regardless of quality. So you use that last point – quality, even though most of the

NYC Public School Parents: Dennis Defends DOE Democracy

Dennis Defends DOE Democracy

by Gary Babad

May 4, 2011 (GBN News): After a firestorm of criticism over the lack of transparency in the coming elections for Community Education Councils (CEC’s), NY City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott has finally offered an explanation for the failure to make public the list of candidates. “Since the linchpin of our democracy is the secret ballot,” Mr. Walcott told reporters, “it only seemed fitting that the names of the candidates on the ballot should be secret.”

In a related story, it was revealed today that Jimmy Carter has turned down a request to monitor the CEC elections. The former President, whose Carter

School Tech Connect: Robbing Peter

Robbing Peter

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

TRS Trustee Bob Lyons wrote a great letter to the Chicago Tribune back in April. I missed it then but here it is. I particularly like this:

That's exactly right.

Anyhoo, when you're talking to your elected

Riffing Teachers Has Become a Rite of Spring in Seattle | Seattle Education

Riffing Teachers Has Become a Rite of Spring in Seattle

by seattleducation2011

The testimony below will be given this evening regarding a proposal authorizing our interim superintendent to rif teachers yet again this spring.

Dora

I am speaking on behalf of Parents Across America, the Seattle chapter. We oppose teacher layoff’s and demand that the school board place our students first and instruct the superintendent to find cuts in other areas including central district staff who reside in the Stanford Center per Section IX of the RIF motion that is listed as an option.

The Seattle School District has a history of being top-heavy, with 39% more money spent on central administration than any other district in our state according to the 2008 state auditor’s report.

Our former superintendent scoffed at the idea of furlough days for employees in the Stanford Center when asked

This Week In Education: Video Interlude: Teach 'Em How To Dougie, FLOTUS!

Book Excerpt: How Much Contract Is Enough? [image: 38940259 coleman interviewing 08] "For weeks, Mayall bugged everyone who would listen to her about the class sizes being too big. She talked about the issue at faculty meetings. She talked to Coleman [pictured, right]. She talked to Green ...

Events: Young Leaders, Turnaround Charters, & Beverages [image: image from www.dl21c.org] If you're in Manhattan after work on Monday and so inclined the kind folks at DL21C (Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century) are having me come talk about "How One Charter Network Tried to Fix a Broken High ...

Video Interlude: Teach 'Em How To Dougie, FLOTUS! First Lady joins in the dancing at Dodd in Tenleytown NBC via Jezebel via GothamSchools

School supporters rally at San Leandro High on Tuesday « State of Emergency

School supporters rally at San Leandro High on Tuesday

by CTA

Almost 200 people came out in support of Tuesday’s rally in front of San Leandro High School to protest state budget cuts to education and to urge the California legislature to approve the tax extensions instead of making deep funding cuts to schools.

Participants included educators, parents, school board trustees, district officials, Superintendent Cindy Cathey, Mayor Stephen Cassidy and Councilmember Jim Prola.

Read the news story from the San Leandro Patch.

The San Leandro Teachers Association has started

Diane Ravitch on Corporatization of Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog

Diane Ravitch on Corporatization of Public Education

by millerlf

The Outrage of the Week By Diane Ravitch on May 3, 2011

It is way past time to get mad. Each week, it is hard to know which of the latest outrages against American public education is the worst.
Perhaps it was the agreement between the Gates Foundation and the Pearson Foundation to write the nation’s curriculum. When did we vote to hand over American education to them? Why would we outsource the nation’s curriculum to a for-profit publishing and test-making corporation based in London? Does Bill Gates get to write the national curriculum because he is the richest man in America? We know that his foundation is investing heavily in promoting the Common Core standards. Now his foundation will write a K-12 curriculum that will promote online learning and video gaming. That’s good for the tech sector, but is it good for our nation’s schools?
Oh, and one more outrage: The Gates Foundation and the Eli Broad Foundation, both of which maintain the pretense of being Democrats and/or liberals, have given millions to former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s foundation, which i s promoting vouchers, charters, online learning, test-based accountability, and the whole panoply of corporate reform strategies intended to weaken public education and remove teachers’ job protections.
Yes, indeed, the education reform business is booming. A recent article in Idaho details the campaign contributions of online learning companies to the state superintendent of instruction, who recently decided—

Reader Comment One Amazing Hugely Pissed-Off Awesome World-Class: National Teacher Appreciation Day | ED.gov Blog

Big Education Ape: Join Secretary Duncan in Thanking a Teacher on National Teacher Appreciation Day | ED.gov Blog

Dear Secretary Duncan:

When I read the title for your open letter to teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, I rolled my eyes. I mean, I couldn't help it; my eyes just automatically started rolling. So, Arne has penned a missive to teachers to express his appreciation? RUFKM? Seriously.

You said that teachers "deserve to be respected, valued, and supported". But aren't you the guy who applauded when every teacher at Rhode Island's Central Falls High School was fired? Remember that school? You know, it's one of those high-poverty, failing schools?

And aren't you the guy who applauded again when the Los Angeles Times published a list ranking teacher effectiveness based on a test score? I don't think Rigoberto Ruelas was feeling your love. He was that highly regarded teacher who the LA Times rated less effective than his peers. After that list came out, Ruelas killed himself. But that little bump in the road didn't sway you from giving New York City educrats the thumbs up when they announced their intention to publish teacher rankings. I guess, you some people are just slow learners.

You said that you appreciate the challenge and skill involved in the work teachers do and applaud those who have dedicated their lives to teaching??
How we recognize, honor, and show respect for our experienced educators will reaffirm teaching as a profession.
I mean, you really said that! I am NOT making this up. You also said that the days of a last-in-first-out (LIFO) policy of layoffs are over. Wow, Arne, that certainly is an innovative way to honor those dedicated, experienced, veteran educators.

To put it in words, many of which you incessantly overuse, that you can understand: I am fundamentally tired of your laser-like focus dramatically aimed at dismantling public education during your hugely historic tenure as Secretary of Education. I am tired of you putting absolutely amazing veteran teachers on the trajectory to obsolescence. Your unprecedented attack on our nation's schools has been dramatically rigorous as you work to super-size the status quo. You demonstrate an amazing sense of 21st century urgency while pimping for the Billionaire Boys Club as they incent you to do their world-class dirty work. No Corporation Left Behind! Inequitable funding through your ill-conceived Race to the Top should be the civil rights issue of our generation, not getting rid of LIFO and due process for those teachers you so honor and respect.

BTW, a lot of people can say that they have spent much of their life working in education - custodians, cafeteria workers, secretaries, health clerks, bus drivers and playground supervisors. So when you say that you've spent much of your life working in education... well, I'm just not overly impressed. In fact, I'm not impressed at all. With your laser-like commitment to imposing your failed Chicago Public Schools policies on our nation's schools, well, I'm just feeling hugely unimpressed with your understanding of teaching, learning, and how to best serve our most needy children. I'm willing to bet that those school workers I mentioned above have a greater grasp on what is really happening in schools across the land than do you. You're just the drive-by photo op dude to me.

Next year, please don't write another love letter to teachers. We're just not that into you.

Sincerely,

One Amazing Hugely Pissed-Off Awesome World-Class Teacher

p.s. You might want to try to out-educate yourself and do a little reflecting: Chicago Tribune says 'Renaissance 2010' has failed

Federal tests find little progress in civics education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Federal tests find little progress in civics education

by Valerie Strauss

Only a tiny percentage of American students achieved superior performance in civics on the 2010 test known as the “nation’s report card,” according to results released Wednesday.

Bigger percentages -- but nowhere near a majority -- of students tested in grades 4, 8 and 12 scored at the proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Only fourth-graders showed gains in civics from the federal tests taken a decade earlier.

The average 2010 score for fourth-graders, on a 300-point scale, was three points higher in 2010 than in 2006 and seven points higher than in 1998.

Read full article >>

How to see Parenting as Leadership. (Hint #1 Don’t Underestimate Children.)

by Rick

One day, Suzanne said to her five-year-old niece Emma, “My that is a beautiful stuffed lion you have there.”

“I know, I saw it in the store and Mommy bought it for me.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yes. Well, she wasn’t going to.”

“Oh?”

“No. She wasn’t going to,” she said. “So I went,” and screwing up her face she acted out,

Shanker Blog » Unions And Pensions: Unfunded Culpability

Unions And Pensions: Unfunded Culpability

by Matthew Di Carlo

The Pew Center on the States just released an updated report on unfunded liabilities of state pension (and retiree health) systems. The figures are sobering. In FY 2009, state pension plans were funded at an average of 79 percent, meaning that they were short about one dollar for every five that projections suggest they’ll need to meet their obligations.

While there’s no doubt about the dire implications of these findings, there’s a lot of disagreement as to causes. Lately, governors and state legislators (of both parties, but mostly Republicans), as well as dozens ofcommentators, have tried to lay the blame on the public sector workers, to whom the pensions are owed – seeking to restrict these workers’ collective bargaining rights, with the claim that this will help control the cost of benefits.

The unfairness of blaming public sector workers – and their unions – should be pretty clear. By all accounts(also here), the primary reason that pension plans are in trouble is that the 2008 collapse of financial markets decimated the value of pension fund investments (the early 2000’s recession also seems to have played a role).

Florida 2011 Budget Deal: You Know, For Kids

Republican-dominated FL state legislature passes 2011 budget that cuts education, health care, social services of every kind...and corporate taxes too! Governor Rick Scott sets the tone for an ultra-conservative Florida government that in 2011 is advancing the most regressive, repressive body of legislation seen in the Sunshine State in many, many years...

Writer: Toxic reform movement demonizes teachers | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Writer: Toxic reform movement demonizes teachers

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2011

By Jennifer D. Jordan

Journal Staff Writer

Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch speaks with Governor Chafee in Providence Tuesday.

The Providence Journal / John Freidah

PROVIDENCE — To Diane Ravitch, one of the nation’s most influential writers on education, nearly everything about Rhode Island’s current path of school reform is wrong. Worst of all, she says, the debate over how to improve schools has turned toxic, “demonizing and belittling” teachers.

Ravitch came to Rhode Island Tuesday to say so — privately to Governor Chafee, who urged the state’s teachers union leaders to invite her — and publicly to nearly 500 teachers who turned out to hear her speak at Rhode Island College.

Expanding charter schools isn’t the answer, she says.

Nor is paying bonuses to the best teachers, or tying standardized test scores to teacher evaluations and certification.

In fact, she thinks American students are tested too often.

And the real problem plaguing schools is not bad teachers, she says, but the insidious impact of poverty.

In short, Ravitch soundly rejects Rhode Island’s education-improvement plan, which is supported by a $75-million Race to the Top federal grant.

The policies embraced by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and by his ally state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist have

Kent State Massacre May 4, 1970

In 1970, in response to Nixon's widening of the Vietnam War into Cambodia, students throughout the US protested. Nixon sent the National Guard to restore order to the Kent State campus. The resulting consequences changed the course of the war.

Most of 13 parcel taxes passed | Thoughts on Public Education

Most of 13 parcel taxes passed
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55 percent threshold would have made the difference

Posted on 5/04/11 • Categorized as Uncategorized

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

If the threshold for passing a parcel tax were 55 percent, as Sen. Joe Simitian and fellow Democrats in the Legislature favor, a baker’s dozen parcel taxes would have passed on Tuesday. Instead, four fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage, including two that came within 1 percentage point of winning.

Simitian’s SCA 5 would let voters decide whether to lower the threshold for a parcel tax to the same level as required to pass a school construction bond. The proposed constitutional amendment has been in limbo for years, for lack of a handful of Republican legislators willing to agree to place the measure on a state ballot.

But districts aren’t waiting for the Legislature to act.

All but one of the 13 school districts that did the mail ballot Tuesday are

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