McMahon Doesn't Understand Education
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McMahon's particular brand of passionless functionary was on display Sunday
morning for a dozen minutes with Dana Bash. The interview kicked around a
few t...
This and That, August 24, 2026
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I meant to post this sooner - this event is tomorrow night, the 25th.
I am hearing that Governor Bob Ferguson and State Superintendent Chris
Reykdal ...
Spider-Man Lands a Punch: Fist to Cheese
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The classic line from the Spider-Man show was, “Lookout! Here comes the
Spider-Man.” And so, Spider-Man punched a white supremacist. Fist to
cheese. For so...
Not Vanquished
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I was once engaged in a massive battle for the ages, pitting my powers
against those of a five-year-old boy.
It began when he declared that he was going...
MNPS and Not-So-Secret Secrets
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Nashville education blogger TC Weber highlights what some say are
significant challenges around student discipline in MNPS. It is one of the
worst-kept sec...
No Compromise: End the War Now!
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At this hour, solidarity begins with a clear demand: the United States and
Israel must end their illegal war, and they must retreat.
Understanding Education: Corporal Punishment
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15 states have laws that allow corporal punishment in schools. Here’s
where, and why, Katie Mills (NPR, 19 August 2026) Recommended Summary
Physical punish...
We Love Billionaires!
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As a middle school teacher, I spent a fair amount of time talking with
kids—mostly 8th graders, going into high school—about what you might call
their life...
What Is the Far Left ?
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What is the Far Left ?
The growing visibility of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and
victories by some DSA-backed candidates has triggered an upsu...
SPI Welcomes Salinas Students Back to Campus
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California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond
welcomes Salinas students back to campus and celebrates community schools.
Under the Lights, the Truth Is Harder to Hide
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“The problem is that progress stopped making sense. More and more of us
looked up one day and realized that the emperor had no clothes.” ― Anna
Lowenhaupt ...
SQ 844: How is this better?
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In plain terms, the new language gives the Legislature the authority to
establish both the amount and methodology for distributing ad valorem
reimbursement...
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It's time to Revise Louisiana's
School Curriculum
Present standards do not allow for individual differences and life goals
For the last 15 years Louisiana'...
Read This If You Want to Learn to Read
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I want you to experience how a skilled teacher makes certain that her first
graders learn to read. Imagine that you’re sitting in the back of a
classroom...
What’s the Pattern?
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The Pattern. Is it the thing that holds our raises down? Yup. What
precisely is it? Activists and advocates know it is a problem. That’s good.
They are rig...
Time to change our Nation’s Diaper
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It’s time to change our nation’s diaper. Our national identity now reeks
due to our inability to clean out the mess caused by the Orange Turd.
Corruption i...
GLP-1 Meds for Kids? Some Info.
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Like many consumers of television and social media, I have been bombarded
with ads for GLP-1s (short for glucagon-like peptide-1). The ads are
everywhere. ...
By One Dishonest Measure
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A loaded question that education reformers like to ponder is: Exactly how
many students in the boroughs of New York City are trapped in failing
schools? In...
1776
-
__________
“The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and
conduct of this army…. We have, therefore, resolved to conquer...
May’s Parent Engagement Resources
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San Diego Unified Created a System to ‘Empower’ Parents. It Unraveled is
from The Voice of San Diego. Why Those Disengaged Parents in Your School
Deserve a...
Reflections on America, the world, and life
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I acknowledge that I rarely post here anymore. Folks should remember that I
am approaching my 80th birthday in less than 9 weeks, I am still teaching
ful...
Shutting Down The Site
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Ten years ago, I ran for a seat on the LAUSD School Board of Education with
the goal to *Change the LAUSD*.
I am proud of the campaign we ran. We achieve...
Blogoversary #19 — Time to Move on
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Times have changed. I had a nice long run here, but let’s face it, it ended
a while ago. So I’ve moved. I’m not writing much any more, but when I do it
wil...
Il Papa è Morto
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Francis brought a distinct pastoral outlook to his papacy. A simple man, he
lived in a small apartment in the guesthouse. He sought to make the church
acce...
Mike Shulman the ARISE UFT Judenrat
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I was surprised to learn that Mike Shulman has aligned himself with ARISE.
I previously supported him, advocating that the Castle Doctrine could have
bee...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
-
Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
I’ve moved.
-
I’m on Substack now. You can continue to receive periodic posts for free.
Or you can read every post and comment for $5 a month, $60 a year.
fredklonsky.su...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
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*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
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Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Reminiscences
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I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
-
Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
-
It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
Reduced time for testing? Not so fast.
-
NYSED and Commish Elia continue to say that the NYS Assessments are of
reasonable length, I completely disagree.
Here is what NYSED states are average expe...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
-
It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
-
In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
-
In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
-
Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
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States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
-
In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
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By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
-
I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
-
Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
-
*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - The Train Has Left the Station: More on Teacher Pay-4-Performance | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom PracticeThe Train Has Left the Station: More on Teacher Pay-4-Performanceby larrycuban...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Capitol Weekly: Senate OKs power shift from Board of Education to superintendentSenate OKs power shift from Board of Education to superintendentBy Allen Young | 06/07/11 12:00 AM PST Email PrintLeg...
schoolfinance101.wordpress.com - I’ve reached a point after these past few years where I feel that I’ve spent way too much time critiquing poorly constructed arguments and shoddy analyses that seem to be playing far too large a r...
latimes.com - School principals should be able to hire any teacher of their choosing, and displaced tenured teachers who aren't rehired elsewhere within the system should be permanently dismissed, according to a...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Libertarian research paper finds top-funded Calif. charter schools not worth the money | The Washington IndependentFlickr/*christopher*Libertarian research paper finds top-funded Calif. charter sch...
failingschools.wordpress.com - Was this an excerpt from The Onion or did Arne Duncan really say “Diane Ravitch is in denial and she is insulting all of the hardworking teachers, principals and students all across the country who...
articles.philly.com - The Corbett administration wants to institute statewide evaluation procedures that would start by the 2012-13 school year. Education Secretary Ronald J. Tomalis said Monday that such a plan would u...
thinkprogress.org - Last week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) — buoyed by legislators who received hundreds of thousands of dollars of special interest cash — signed into law legislation that would dramatically expand ac...
nj.com - New Jersey awards diplomas to 87 percent of its high school students, making the state’s graduation rate the highest in the nation, an annual review released today shows.Between 1998 and 2008, the ...
schoolingintheownershipsociety.blogspot.com - Dust-bowl refugees walk towards Los Angeles during the Great Depression. House prices have now fallen further than in the 1930s. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis British Guardian Economics Editor, Lar...
blog.angryasianman.com - So next week, the New England Association for College Admission Counseling holds its annual meeting and conference. Well, that's great. But one reader was browsing through the conference program an...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Anne Frank’s Birthday | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...For Email Subscribers To My “Engaging Parents In School” Blog If you subscribe to my other blog, Engaging Parents In School, by email,...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Milwaukee's Voucher Program Discriminates Based On Disabilities, ACLU SaysACLU: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Segregates Schoolsby The Huffington Post News TeamNEW YORK -- Milwaukee's voucher system,...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Modern School: Gates and Villaraigosa: Screw Family Leave! Screw the Feds! Fire 25% of All Teachers!Gates and Villaraigosa: Screw Family Leave! Screw the Feds! Fire 25% of All Teachers!by Michael D...
my.firedoglake.com - Kevin Durant face-palm. #gomavs #mffl 23 pt lead. by rondostar This may explain why the Democrats got away with not passing the Employee Non-Discrimination Act when they controlled both houses of C...
nytimes.com - MADISON, Wis. — The gears of government tend to grind slowly. But in Wisconsin lately they are racing at turbocharged speed. In just the last few weeks, Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican,...
sfgate.com - With apologies to my colleague, who made the case for Weiner's resignation here, New York Representative Anthony Weiner should not resign from office. Not now, not later, not ever. He will, without...
defendwisconsin.org - MADISON, Wis. — Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold made a surprise appearance on the Capitol Square on Monday, joining protesters marching against Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed state budget. ...
commondreams.org - Today marks the 10th anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law his 2001 tax cuts (he passed a second round in 2003). While doing so, Bush promised prosperity and growth, but t...
thinkprogress.org - We could've guaranteed health care for every child for the cost of the Bush tax cuts. Today marks the tenth anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law his 2001 tax cuts (he pas...
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Progreso Financiero, a financial institution dedicated to the economic advancement of lower-income Hispanic families, today announced that since its founding in 2005 it has loaned more than $140 mi...
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Experts Discuss Importance of the Last Weeks of PregnancyEvery week of pregnancy is crucial to a newborn’s health, and today, the March of Dimes unveiled a new public education campaign to raise aw...
baycitizen.org - Facing criticism for rate increases and its CEO's multi-million dollar salary, Blue Shield of California announced plans to cap its yearly profits on Tuesday. The announcement came on the same day ...
my.firedoglake.com - I’m a little confused by Erza Klein’s mostly helpful post showing, once again, the US paying much higher public and private costs than OECD countires for health care. Congress and the Administratio...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Milwaukee's Voucher Program Discriminates Based On Disabilities, ACLU SaysACLU: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Segregates Schoolsby The Huffington Post News TeamNEW YORK -- Milwaukee's voucher system,...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Many STEM Teachers Don't Hold Certifications - High School Notes (usnews.com)Many STEM Teachers Don't Hold CertificationsBy JASON KOEBLERPosted: June 8, 2011PrintShare ThisWith teacher layoffs and ...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Daily Kos: Why I'm marching on July 30Why I'm marching on July 30by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)Not only because I am a teacher, but because I am an American. Along with others,For the future of...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Blog U.: #satechBOS Unconference - An #SAtech event - Student Affairs and Technology - Inside Higher Ed#satechBOS Unconference - An #SAtech eventBy Eric Stoller June 7, 2011 7:15 pm EDTWhere do stu...
insidehighered.com - By Eric Stoller June 7, 2011 7:15 pm EDT Where do student affairs practitioners go for information about technology and student affairs? I generally point folks toward several websites, including: ...
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of educators, technology coordinators, administrators, and tech industry reps from around the world are expected to attend the International Society for Technology in Education's 32nd annual conference and exposition June 26 – 29, 2011, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. In addition to a full program of nearly 700 sessions, ISTE 2011 includes three inspiring keynotes and the support of more than a dozen tiered sponsors.
The world's premier ed tech event, ISTE's annual conference and exposition typically attracts between 15,000 and 20,000 attendees.
"Unlocking Potential" is the theme of ISTE 2011, which is held in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology (PAECT). Each keynote features a unique perspective on the different ways educators can unlock the potential of their students. Here is the keynote lineup for ISTE 2011:
With teacher layoffs and staff shortages nationwide, some teachers are being asked to teach subjects they are not certified to teach.
Roughly 30 percent of chemistry and physics teachers in public high schools did not major in these fields and haven't earned a certificate to teach those subjects, according to a new survey released Monday by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Half of earth science teachers are similarly unqualified.
Tom Luce, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) and a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, says that, oftentimes, a certificate to teach
Play matters but too many schools don’t give kids a chance to enjoy themselves.
Here’s a story about a school that had no recess for kids, until a teacher showed the principal how to get kids to listen and organize games — and how important the time is for students.
The story is told by Jill Vialet, the chief executive officer of Playworks, a national nonprofit organization that supports learning by providing safe, healthy and inclusive play and physical activity to schools at recess and throughout the entire school day.
In May, we examined the benefits of creating active communities that are a meaningful part of a whole child education. Collectively we have the knowledge, skill, and ability to meet these challenges and share these strengths. So, what’s holding us back? Every school, community, classroom, educator, student, and family has unique challenges and strengths, and has a role to play in ensuring that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. With this in mind,
Who is your community?
What does involvement look like in your community?
How do you plan to build and sustain your community’s involvement in educating the whole child?
For Email Subscribers To My “Engaging Parents In School” BlogIf you subscribe to my other blog, Engaging Parents In School, by email, you might, or might not, have recently stopped receiving notifications of new posts. If you have had that problem, please just go to the blog and re-subscribe. The problem ...
“Top 10 Evil Animals”Top 10 Evil Animals is a pretty interesting slideshow from TIME Magazine. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Animals.
Anne Frank’s BirthdayAnne Frank’s birthday is June 12th, and I’ve added these resources to The Best Sites To Learn About Anne Frank: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a great interactive titled Anne Frank The Writer: An Unfinished Story. It provides audio ...
Today’s “Round-Up” Of Good School Reform Posts & ArticlesHere are some recent good school reform posts and articles: Low-income students and KIPP charter schools appeared in Valerie Strauss’ Washington Post blog. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools. VAM Nauseum: Bleeding ...
If California’s graduation and dropout rates were a pair of jeans, they’d have an “irregular” sticker on them. Sure, social science research has a reputation for squishy results, but it’s still a bit jarring when a renowned researcher describes certain data as “bogus.” Although he said it with an ironic laugh, that was the first word that popped into Russell Rumberger’s mind when I asked him about the California high school graduation rates in “Diplomas Count,” an annual report from Education Week.
I asked fellow BigThink blogger Kirsten Winkler if she would join me in writing about the recently-released 2011 K-12 Horizon Report. She’s done a nice job of summarizing the six trends highlighted in this year’s report and I encourage you to perhaps read her post before you read this one. I confess that she’s more positive than I am about the state of K-12 educational technology, perhaps because of her start-up perspective.
Although the postsecondary series of Horizon Reports started back in 2004, there only have been three annual reports so far aimed at elementary and secondary educators. Like those aimed at higher (tertiary) education, the K-12 reports attempt to identify “six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use in the educational community within three adoption horizons over the next one to five years” (2011, p. 3, emphasis added). Here’s what the reports have identified so far for elementary and secondary schools:
Yesterday morning, in my mailbox, I found a note declaring there should be no parties during class. You can imagine my surprise. After all, here we are, almost ten months into the year, and they're setting policy. And here I am, partying since September, ready to continue, and lo and behold, I'm instructed to halt immediately. Isn't that a kick in the pants?
About the time I turned 13, Prop 13 passed. Libraries and other crucial services were threatened with closure. When asked what this would mean for children, I can still remember Howard Jarvis’ response, “What do they need libraries for, they’re all illiterate anyway?” Now, my son will soon turn 13, and that meanness of spirit has brought us to this place where where our schools are not the best, but the worst in the country.
Here is why the Howard Jarvises of our state should care….because kids are our future, and it doesn’t matter if they are black, brown or whatever, they will pay our social security, etc. If we are to do better, don’t they deserve
Dust-bowl refugees walk towards Los Angeles during the Great Depression. House prices have now fallen further than in the 1930s. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis
British Guardian Economics Editor, Larry Elliott ponders whether America in 2011 is Rome in 200AD or Britain
Knowledge, someone said, is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not making a fruit salad out of it.
And that difference between knowledge and wisdom is how I feel about those state- and district-approved schemes that lean heavily upon “value-added” measures for a substantial portion of the judgment that a teacher is highly effective, marginally effective, or ineffective. Sure, I know that eager policymakers push value-added measures, flawed as they are, to evaluate and pay teachers; but it is unwise, even foolish, to make it the central measurement. Tomatoes in a fruit salad? Better in a pasta sauce.
I say that even though that policy train filled with tomatoes has left the station. But down the track, the train