California Teacher Tells Kindergarteners "More Than Two Genders"

California Teacher Tells Kindergarteners "More Than Two Genders"

California Teacher Tells Kindergarteners "More Than Two Genders"

Oakland elementary school indoctrinates students with 2-day gender-bending program

• By Erin R. Brown
• Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:51 AM EDT

Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland, CA has joined the chorus of those wishing to mainstream 'gender-bending' by enacting a program this week that, according to a press release, tells kindergarteners 'there are more than two genders.'

The kindergarten through fifth grade school hosted a 2-day program for students titled, 'Gender Spectrum Diversity Training,' in which single-sex Hawaiian geckos and transgender clownfish were brought in to teach childrenthat 'there are different ways to be boys. There are different ways to be girls,' according to Redwood Heights principal Sara Stone. Students received

"Race to the Top" grants made available for nine states | Reuters

Education grants made available for nine states | Reuters

Education grants made available for nine states

Related Topics

Faheem Hanson, 5, colors a Chinese mask at Broadway Elementary School in Venice, Los Angeles, California, April 11, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

By Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON | Wed May 25, 2011 1:06pm EDT

(Reuters) - Nine states will be eligible to compete for education grants of up to $50 million through President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" program, the federal government said on Wednesday.

The states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and South Carolina -- were picked in the third round of grant competition after they failed to win funding in their first two tries.

Race to the Top was created as part of the 2009 federal stimulus plan to encourage states to adopt unified education standards, implement

EDUCATION: Do teacher evaluations make the grade? - News Articles - Rochester City Newspaper

EDUCATION: Do teacher evaluations make the grade? - News Articles - Rochester City Newspaper

EDUCATION: Do teacher evaluations make the grade?

By Tim Louis Macaluso on May 25, 2011

Total Recommendations (0)

Leave A Comment
Read Comments (1)

New standards enacted by the Board of Regents will make the problem of teacher evaluations worse, says RTA President Adam Urbanski. FILE PHOTO

New York's teachers and principals just got a peek into the future. And while some may have been inspired, many were frustrated by what they saw.

Before adopting new evaluation standards for teachers and principals last week, the state Board of Regents enacted eleventh-hour changes that make the evaluations more rigorous. And the changes will go into effect sooner than expected.

Education reformers heaped praise on the board and on Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has pushed for tougher standards. But many teachers, union leaders, and education experts says the changes are politically motivated and misguided.

There is widespread agreement among educators and community and business leaders that teacher evaluations need to be improved. But there are serious concerns among teachers and their union leaders about evaluations that are overly reliant on student performance on state tests.

The State Legislature, with the support of the state teachers union, passed a law last year requiring tougher evaluation standards to help

Why I’m Marching « Cooperative Catalyst

Why I’m Marching « Cooperative Catalyst

Why I’m Marching

POSTED BY SABRINA ⋅ MAY 25, 2011 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post and Daily Kos

The development of common standards and shared assessments radically alters the market for innovation in curriculum development, professional development, and formative assessments. Previously, these markets operated on a state-by-state basis, and often on a district-by-district basis. But the adoption of common standards and shared assessments means that education entrepreneurs will enjoy national markets where the best products can be taken to scale.
– Joanne Weiss, chief of staff to Education Secretary Duncan and former CEO of the New Schools Venture Fund

When I talk to teachers, students and parents, and when I think about education policy and politics, two simple questions almost always come to the fore.
• If America needs to reform its public schools, why aren’t public school teachers, students and families leading the education reform movement?
• If teachers, students and public school families are most familiar with the problems with our current school system, why aren’t our voice

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Michelle Alexander, "The Age of Obama as a Racial Nightmare"

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Michelle Alexander, "The Age of Obama as a Racial Nightmare"

Michelle Alexander, "The Age of Obama as a Racial Nightmare"

by Paul B

By Michelle Alexander

08 March, 2010
TomDispatch.com
Countercurrents.org

Ever since Barack Obama lifted his right hand and took his oath of office, pledging to serve the United States as its 44th president, ordinary people and their leaders around the globe have been celebrating our nation’s “triumph over race.” Obama’s election has been touted as the final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow, the bookend placed on the history of racial caste in America.

Obama’s mere presence in the Oval Office is offered as proof that “the

Satoshi Kanazawa is Even Wronger Than You Think « Student Activism

Satoshi Kanazawa is Even Wronger Than You Think « Student Activism

Satoshi Kanazawa is Even Wronger Than You Think

from Student Activism by Angus Johnston

When the brouhaha over the Psychology Today “Why Black Women Are Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women” article broke, I wrote a quick blogpost pointing out some of author Satoshi Kanazawa’s most ludicrous, obvious mistakes. But now someone with a bit more competency has gone back to look at the actual data Kanazawa used, and discovered that the problems with his “study” go much deeper.

Much, much deeper.

Basically, Kanazawa completely misrepresented the data. His source material just flatly doesn’t say what he says it says.

Here’s the deal. Kanazawa drew his conclusions on the relative attractiveness of black women from the “Add Health” study, a long-term survey of American adolescents. He claimed that the study showed — proved — that black women were less attractive than women of other races. But that’s not the case.

The attractiveness “data” is itself suspect, for one thing. It consists of the subjective judgments of interviewers

Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Racial Colorblindness « Student Activism

Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Racial Colorblindness « Student Activism

Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Racial Colorblindness

by Angus Johnston

I recently finished reading A Rap on Race, the book-length transcript of a conversation between James Baldwin and Margaret Mead, recorded in
the summer of 1970. As I said over the weekend, it’s a fascinating book, and I’m going to be posting excerpts off and on for the next while. I put up the first on Monday — here’s the second, somewhat condensed from the original:

MEAD: This was, I suppose, twenty-five years ago. I was speaking in those days about three things we had to do: appreciate cultural differences, respect political and religious differences, and ignore race. Absolutely ignore race.

BALDWIN: Ignore race. That certainly seemed perfectly sound and true.

MEAD: Yes, but it isn’t anymore. You see, it really isn’t true. This was wrong, because –

Interview with Angela Beeley « Failing Schools

Interview with Angela Beeley « Failing Schools

Interview with Angela Beeley

MAY 24, 2011

tags: interview

by markfriedman1

Angela Beeley

Last month I read the powerful statement “Why I’m Mad” by Angela Beeley. Ms. Beeley, a veteran English teacher at Alta Loma High School in California, composed a compelling, insightful analysis of where the profession of teaching rests in today’s political environment. This drew the attention of many concerned educators, parents, and community members who are incresingly involved in the struggles for sound, equitable public education nationwide.

We at Failing Schools knew that we had to connect and engage on the issues we’re collectively facing in public education. We’re fortunate that Ms. Beeley was more than willing to participate. The following interview formed from our communication and proved to be meaningful and insightful. Let’s show a warm welcome, as we continue to seek out thoughtful voices and work towards building a movment.

1. What is your history in teaching?

I decided to become a teacher

This Week In Education: Funders: Zuckerberg Wants To Educate K-8 Kids--On Facebook

This Week In Education: Funders: Zuckerberg Wants To Educate K-8 Kids--On Facebook

Funders: Zuckerberg Wants To Educate K-8 Kids--On Facebook

by Alexander Russo

Seemingly little noted by most of the reformy types attendance at the NSVF summit last week, Mark Zuckerberg revealed some startling thinking behind his interest in school reform and a controversial plan for Facebook going forward. Outside of education, the remarks caught folks' attention and -- in combination with hearings back in Washington -- generated a flurry of coverage and concern (PCMag, Fortune Tech, International Business Times, Atlantic Wire, Huffington Post). What's it all about? Asked what got him interested enough to give $100M to Newark, Zuckerberg noted that part

Video: Even "The Simpsons" School Has A Rubber Room

by Alexander Russo

This episode of the Simpsons featuring an un-dismissable teacher named Edna Crabapple and a NYC-style "rubber room" is almost as good as the one a few years ago in which administrators reclassified Bart as special education in order to raise school test scores.

Sorry about the preview ads - not my fault. Via EIA

Our Version of Democracy | Dissident Voice

Our Version of Democracy | Dissident Voice

Our Version of Democracy

by Terry Everton

DianeRavitch: No Easy Answers, “No Child Left Behind” – HDNet

No Easy Answers, “No Child Left Behind” – HDNet

» »

May 20 2011 5:20 PM EST

THIS WEEK ON DAN RATHER REPORTS
Excerpt from No Easy Answers
Dan Rather Reports This week’s “Dan Rather Reports” features interviews with some of the country’s biggest names in education, offering insights into how we can improve our public education and overcome the great challenges facing our schools.

No Easy Answers, “No Child Left Behind”

“No Easy Answers,” airs on HDNet Tuesday, May 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
A clip from the story can be viewed below.

As always, you can keep connected with our weekly stories by following Dan Rather Reports on facebook and twitter @DanRatherReport

Schools Matter: Bully Lawbreaker, Chris Christie, Reeled in By NJ Supreme Court

Schools Matter: Bully Lawbreaker, Chris Christie, Reeled in By NJ Supreme Court

Bully Lawbreaker, Chris Christie, Reeled in By NJ Supreme Court

by Jim Horn

And yes, they had a whopper on the line with this loud-mouthed poster boy of the privileged. From the NYTimes:

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a major piece of Gov. Chris Christie’s cost-cutting was unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to raise spending for poor, urban schools by $500 million next year, despite a state budget shortfall estimated at $10 billion.

The decision is a new milestone in the intertwined disputes over school financing, taxation and the role of the courts that have roiled the state’s politics since the 1970s. And those disputes remain; the ruling intensifies Mr. Christie’s running battles with the Supreme Court and the Legislature, and it will resonate in the coming negotiations to balance the budget, negotiate new contracts with state workers and rescue the government employee pension plans.

The majority in the 3-to-2 decision accused the state of willfully violating previous Supreme Court

Schools Matter: More Bribes Readied for T4: Test To The Top

Schools Matter: More Bribes Readied for T4: Test To The Top

More Bribes Readied for T4: Test To The Top

by Jim Horn

As Stephen's post indicates just below, the testing war on babies (B-K) is being prepared by corporatists who brought you the damaging parrot learning of Reading First.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will hold a town hall with early childhood stakeholders at 10 a.m. today to make a major announcement about Race to the Top and early learning.

Secretaries Duncan and Sebelius will announce plans for a new Race to the Top competition with a strong focus on early learning. They will also discuss the importance of their collaboration on early learning to improve the health, social, emotional and educational outcomes for young children from birth to age 5.

Ralph Smith, executive vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and a leader in the

Teach Your Children - War Video

The United state of health: How healthy [sick] is your state? | Being Latino Online Magazine

The United state of health: How healthy [sick] is your state? | Being Latino Online Magazine

The United state of health: How healthy [sick] is your state?

by Libby Juliá Vázquez

When it comes to the health of this nation, where does your state rank? Using obvious factors such as obesity, smoking, and physical activity, and not so obvious factors such as unemployment and high school graduation rates, America’s Heath Rankings, in partnership with the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, is providing a comprehensive list—State HealthStats.

With information listed by factor and the ability to make state by state comparisons, the website provides a convenient method for anyone to get informed. It also provides information to help concerned citizens to get

ASCD Inservice: Differentiate Without Lowering Expectations

ASCD Inservice: Differentiate Without Lowering Expectations

Differentiate Without Lowering Expectations

from ASCD Inservice by ASCD Bloggers

Differentiate Without Lowering Expectations

My experience has been uplifting students from failure to consistent success at an inner city high school. A key factor that I attribute to the students' success is the independent exit price -- a 15-20 minute assignment that asks students to perform the objective with high accuracy before leaving the classroom. You may be asking,

How do you deal with advanced students who need challenge and low skilled students who are not ready to tackle the exit price?

Here is how I differentiate the exit price:

1) Everyday I teach to a base skill or what I call "baby objective" that builds off what the majority of students already know and can actually master in one period. The objective should be rigorous but not overwhelm the majority.

2) My exit price includes a mix of problems- high, middle, and lower level. I put high level problems so that advanced students feel challenged and the other students know they have something to shoot for. If a student shows mastery at a basic level by doing 70-80% of the exit price correctly, then they get an A, and everyone leaves happy. If the student can do

Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit :: Frederick M. Hess

Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit :: Frederick M. Hess

Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit

by Frederick M. Hess • May 25, 2011 at 8:29 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

Monday, at AEI, we hosted one of our major conferences, on "Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit: Sobering Lessons from a Half Century of Federal Efforts to Improve America's Schools" (you can watch it here). The conference featured eleven new papers by authors including Mike Smith, Checker Finn, Maris Vinovskis, Mark Schneider, Jane Hannaway, Paul Manna, and Mike Casserly (you can find copies of all of the papers here), and reactions from discussants including DC Chancellor Kaya Henderson, L.A. supe John Deasy, ED chief of staff (and former RTT chief) Joanne Weiss, former Congressman Mike Castle, RI state supe Deborah Gist, Ed Trust's Kati Haycock, and Fordham's Mike Petrilli.

The question of the hour was what we've learned over time about what federal government has does relatively well, and what it hasn't done as well, when it comes to K-12 schooling. There was surprising consensus from an array of authors with diverse perspectives and frames of reference. There seemed to be a shared sense that the feds can have enjoyed substantial success when it came to ensuring access for vulnerable populations

Queens Teacher: "The Children Are Being Used"

Queens Teacher: "The Children Are Being Used"

"The Children Are Being Used"

by Queens Teacher

Weprin: Bloomberg Testing Regimen ‘Insane’

In light of today’s A1 New York Times story about the Bloomberg administration’s plans to administer a dozen new standardized tests in order to evaluate not students, but teachers, Queens City Councilmember Mark Weprin is out with a statement blasting the mayor and the Department of Education.

“These tests will do nothing to improve education in our public schools and will only continue to sap time and resources that should be going toward helping our children learn,” Weprin said. ”Enough is enough. It is time for parents to rise up and give the DOE a wake-up call. Stop the insane obsession with testing.”

Weprin noted that the city planned to use $64 million it received in federal Race to the Top money in order to pay