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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Big Education Ape: 6-15-11 PM Why the Republican War on Workers' Rights Undermines the American Economy Edition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now

Published by Coopmike48 – 6 contributors today



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nypost.com - Michael Goodwin Say this for Mayor Bloomberg: He's consistent about his view of numbers. Those that make him look good are important, those that don't, aren't. The mayor's single-minded determinati...
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coopmike48 Ryan's Medicare plan so toxic GOP censoring Dem mailings about it | Uppity Wisconsin - http://goo.gl/ABtwd26 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 The Tuition Bubble and the Voucher Slide | Tran|Scripthttp://bit.ly/iq43JP #Edu19 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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Federal Hall Monitors on Patrol

huffingtonpost.com - The Department of Education's Office of Inspector General served a warrant on Stockton, California resident Kenneth Wright at six in the morning on Tuesday. Though the initial story gave the impres...
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Jackboots at the door? Assume the worst

post-gazette.com - By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Because you were preoccupied with Rep. Anthony Weiner's private parts last week, you probably missed the story about the Stockton, Calif., man who claimed he...
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(AZ) Russell Pearce to face recall election, group says

democraticunderground.com - Source: Arizona CentralThe Maricopa County Elections Department has verified enough signatures to call a special recall election for Senate President Russell Pearce, according to the group lobbying...
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If You Blog, Blog About Education… - Lily's Blackboard #nn11

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - If You Blog, Blog About Education… - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's BlackboardIf You Blog, Blog About Education…Jun 15th, 2011 by Lily.I’m going to a blogger’s convention. I have a blog. Oh yeah. You’r...
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Show Your Displeasure: Boycott These Koch Products

kochwatch.org - Koch companies' products are everywhere we look- In our offices, homes and backyards. We walk on them. Wear Them. Eat off them. We use them to clean spills or to keep spills from staining. Chances ...
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If You Blog, Blog About Education… - Lily's Blackboard #nn11

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - If You Blog, Blog About Education… - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's BlackboardIf You Blog, Blog About Education…Jun 15th, 2011 by Lily.I’m going to a blogger’s convention. I have a blog. Oh yeah. You’r...
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    The Tuition Bubble and the Voucher Slide | Tran|Script

    The Tuition Bubble and the Voucher Slide | Tran|Script

    The Tuition Bubble and the Voucher Slide

    by Michael Caulfield

    Stephen Downes makes what seems initially to be a good point here:

    Caulfield argues that tuition is not a bubble, that because of discounting and government aid, the amount of tuition students actually pay is declining. Well maybe. But what this means is that unless they get some sort of grant or assistance, middle class students cannot pay current tuition rates, as evidenced by the fact that they are not paying these rates. An industry that prices itself to the point where its customers cannot afford the product without some sort of subsidy is almost the definition of a bubble, and when the subsidy ends – as it will – the bubble implodes.

    To explain why this point is not necessarily valid, you have to understand the rather byzantine American system of funding public education. About 5 out of 6 of our students goes to some form of state-funded school (someone can correct me on that if I’m off, but I think that is in the ballpark). These state schools used to be (in the early 80s for example) funded pretty heavily by the state, which kept tuition down for everyone.

    Over the past thirty years (and especially the last five), state funding has been pulled from these colleges. At the same time, federal grant money for students has increased.

    It’s possible under a system like that, as direct funding is replaced with a voucher system, that total public

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    United Farm Workers | Tell CA Gov. Jerry Brown to protect farm workers

    United Farm Workers | Tell CA Gov. Jerry Brown to protect farm workers
    United Farm Workers

    Tell CA Gov. Jerry Brown to protect farm workers

    Our vital bill, the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act (SB 104) has passed the CA Senate and Assembly and will shortly go to Governor Jerry Brown.

    Daily Kos is proud to be supporting this very important bill to bring basic rights to farm workers.

    The United Farm Workers has won solid laws to protect California farm workers who provide more than half of our nation's produce. But with over 400,000 field workers migrating among 80,000 farms, these laws have not and cannot be enforced by the state of California.

    The Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act will ensure the laws on the books do become the laws in the fields. This new law will make it easier for farm workers to have a union and thus have the opportunity to speak up and protect

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    Less Testing, Not Different Tests « InterACT

    Less Testing, Not Different Tests « InterACT

    Less Testing, Not Different Tests

    by David B. Cohen

    accountableEarlier this afternoon I watched a webcast of a panel discussion at the Fordham Foundation, titled “Is it Time to Turn the Page on Federal Accountability in Education?” (Event information is here; a video will be posted at some point on the Education Gadfly YouTubechannel). The event featured some interesting conversation and commentary, but I was struck by the one audience question that came from a high school student, a rising senior from Michigan. He asked the panelists what it would take to make our country less reliant on high-stakes standardized tests, and instead place greater emphasis on critical thinking and creativity. Among the panelists there were some responses about the next generation of assessments that will supposedly do a better job of assessing critical thinking. There were comments about the extent to which AP tests and college applications drive that emphasis on tests for college-bound high school students.

    I didn’t really hear an answer to the young man’s question. Stop for a moment and consider what he has probably been through this past year. (I’m basing this review on what juniors go through at my high school, which may differ slightly, but probably not greatly). In the fall, juniors often take the PSAT test, which doesn’t necessarily carry high-stakes for all students, but it does determine National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. Then, as the school year goes on, students face all the usual testing and final exams in their academic

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    Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Strategic Plan Survey Results

    Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Strategic Plan Survey Results

    Strategic Plan Survey Results

    by Melissa Westbrook
    Here is the presentation from today's Work Session on the Strategic Plan with survey results.

    Highlights:
    • 5905 responses - 64% family member, 26% teacher or school staff, 1% principals, 5% community, 4% Central Office
    • By zip code - looks like a somewhat even distribution with NE - 98115 with 528 responses, SE - 98118 with 221 responses, SW - 98136 with 118 responses, West Seattle - 98116 with 182 responses and NW - 98117 with 433 responses. (There were more zip codes than those.)
    • page 8 has a breakdown of coaches and costs - overall it costs $6.4M for 65.6 coaches (the salary swings are interesting)
    • Professional development in math, science and reading helping teachers and students - the big answer was .... no opinion. And, out of the nearly 6,000 responses, only 3443 people answered this question. Effective/somewhat effective (families-27%/teachers-51%). Ineffective/somewhat ineffective (families-22%/teachers-28%)
    • MAP test results effectiveness. Effective/Somewhat Effective (families-41%/teachers-33%). Somewhat effective/ineffective (families-45%/teachers50%). Out of 6k responses, only 3682 respondents answered.
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    Modern School: Left Wing USA Today Supports Education Revolution

    Modern School: Left Wing USA Today Supports Education Revolution

    Left Wing USA Today Supports Education Revolution

    by Michael Dunn

    The New York City teachers union, United Federation of Teachers (UFT), has sued to block the city from opening 20 more charter schools. USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham is calling the NAACP’s support for the lawsuit “revolutionary,” and is throwing his support behind their revolution.

    Wickham says that the disproportionate number of African Americans in New York’s charter schools (they make up only 30% of New York City’s 1 million public school students, but 60% of the students in the city’s 125 charter schools) is due to the fact that black parents see the charter schools as the only way out of their low performing neighborhood schools. Quoting Albert Memmi, he criticizes this exodus to charter schools as a revolt that can only bring about reforms, when what is needed is a revolution “to wipe out a system of oppression.”

    Wickham argues that public school systems oppress black children more than they educate them. When parents demand better, they get charter schools, essentially “a way to vent their anger, not fix the problem.” What makes the NAACP perspective revolutionary, according to
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    URGENT! Press Lawmakers to Approve RDA Plan and Protect $400 Million for Public Schools « State of Emergency

    URGENT! Press Lawmakers to Approve RDA Plan and Protect $400 Million for Public Schools « State of Emergency

    URGENT! Press Lawmakers to Approve RDA Plan and Protect $400 Million for Public Schools

    by Leonard Feldman

    It is urgent that you call the following lawmakers ASAP today to press them to approve the proposal to transfer funds from Redevelopment Agencies (RDA) to public education.

    The transfer will provide $400 million in desperately needed dollars for public education.

    Urge these lawmakers to vote for these bills: AB x1 26, ABx1 27, SBx1 14, SBx1 15.

    The targeted lawmakers and their phone numbers are as follows:

    Assembly
    Luis Alejo —Watsonville (also Gilroy, Hollister, King City) District 28 — 831-726-6032
    Charles Calderon East LA, Hacienda Heights, Montebello District 58 — 562-692-5858
    Nora Campos — San Jose District 23 — 408-802-0334
    Beth Gaines – Roseville, Rocklin District 4 – 916-774-4430
    Ben Hueso—San Diego District 79—619-335-3383
    Tony Mendoza – San Fernando Valley District 56 – 562-864-5600
    Henry Perea—Fresno District 30 — (559) 445-5532
    Manuel V. Perez—Coachella Valley District 80– 760-391-0958
    Sandré Swanson—Oakland District 16—510-847-1125

    Senate
    Ted Gaines – Roseville, Rocklin area District 1 — 916-783-8232
    Alex Padilla – Los Angeles District 20 – 818-901-5588
    Michael Rubio – Fresno area District 16 — 559-264-3070
    Leland Yee – San Francisco District 8 – 415-557-7857

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    If You Blog, Blog About Education… - Lily's Blackboard #nn11

    If You Blog, Blog About Education… - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard
    Save the Dream Act

    If You Blog, Blog About Education…

    Jun 15th, 2011
    by Lily.

    I’m going to a blogger’s convention. I have a blog. Oh yeah. You’re reading it. I’m never sure who might actually find my blog, but I know my mother enjoys it. And my uncle in Panamá. But I’m going to a blogger’s convention to talk to other bloggers and through them, I hope to find those who might actually find other bloggers’ blogs. I want other bloggers and their readers to know why they should care about education even though they might not blog about education.

    Some of these bloggers write about health. I want to talk to them about healthy schools and the air our children breathe. I want them to understand that hundreds of thousands of students miss hundreds of thousands of school days because they stay home with asthma.

    So many schools have cut back on custodial staff who keep the ventilation systems running and who make sure floors and carpets are clean.When you cut back on a clean building, kids get sick. I want them to know that one of the major correlations to kids dropping out of school is the number of days of school missed. And the Number One reason kids miss school is sickness. And the Number One common sickness: Asthma. Bloggers who care about

    Join us at Netroots Nation!

    Jun 15th, 2011
    by Lily.

    Join Lily, prominent bloggers, and activists from across the nation to engage in a productive discussion about the compelling education issues of the day. If you are at Netroots, stop by, if not, follow our livestream and updates.

    share

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    Eduflack: There's Edu-Gold in Them Thar States?

    Eduflack: There's Edu-Gold in Them Thar States?

    There's Edu-Gold in Them Thar States?

    For the past three years, we have heard a great deal about the financial cliffs our states were falling off, particularly with regard to education funding. When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed in early 2009, the promise was additional dollars to the states for K-12 education, all in the name of ensuring that programs and service levels were not slashed as a result of the economic downturn.

    Today, states and school districts are forced to confront the next "new normal," a normal where the stimulus dollars are gone, state economies are still fragile and hurting, and schools are being asked to do more with far less. District after district notes we've long passed the point of cutting school budgets to the bone. We're now at the marrow.

    An interesting new report from Education Research Strategies offers an interesting take on the "cupboard is bare" reality facing so many school districts. In Restructuring Resources for High-Performing Schools: A Primer for State Policymakers, ERS authors Karen Hawley Miles, Karen Baroody,
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    Live feeds of lunar eclipse at Slooh, Google Earth and Times Square - latimes.com

    Live feeds of lunar eclipse at Slooh, Google Earth and Times Square - latimes.com

    Live feeds of lunar eclipse at Slooh, Google Earth and Times Square

    EclipseSince it’s currently pouring in Los Angeles, the only way to watch Monday night’s total lunar eclipse might be through a live feed from Google Earth and robotic telescope service Slooh.

    Google Earth’s Sky feature will present an ongoing visual of the celestial event, which will stretch for several hours beginning around 10:30 p.m. PST. Viewers can go to the Slooh Space Camera section -– known as a “layer” -- to watch.

    It will be a coming-out party of sorts for the Google Earth-Slooh partnership, which launched in the fall.

    Slooh also will show the total lunar eclipse -- the first in about three years -- on its website, with live audio commentary by astronomer Bob Berman. The phases will also appear on a large digital billboard in Times Square in New York City at 1568 Broadway.

    And NASA will be hosting Web chats about the eclipse and feeding it live atNASA.gov/WatchTheSkies

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    Republican teachers hold news conference in Central Valley to show support for tax extensions « State of Emergency

    Republican teachers hold news conference in Central Valley to show support for tax extensions « State of Emergency

    Republican teachers hold news conference in Central Valley to show support for tax extensions

    by CTA

    Fed up with the stonewalling by GOP leaders and the failure by the Legislature to approve tax extensions and pass the state budget, several Republican teachers from throughout the Central Valley turned out on June 9 to urge their GOP lawmakers to do the right thing for schools, students and California by getting behind the governor’s proposed budget.

    The teachers, all prominent in the Republican Party and active in CTA’s Republican Caucus, particularly took aim at two local GOP legislators during a news conference at the Visalia Adult School.

    “I’ve been a Republican all my life, and I know that Republicans care about California and about our schools,”

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    “Jesus would be marching with the protesters”-a Christian Walkerville resident - blue cheddar blog

    “Jesus would be marching with the protesters”-a Christian Walkerville resident - blue cheddar blog
    Special radio shows: 6:30PM CST Today Senator Jon Erpenbach. Tomorrow 6:30PM CST Russ Feingold I just got confirmation: we will have as a guest Senator *Jon Erpenbach* on our live and *online radio show* at 6:30PM CST tonight Wednesday 6/15. And tomorrow at 6:30PM CST, Steve Hanson and I will talk to *Russ Feingold *on a special 1 hour ...
    “Jesus would be marching with the protesters”-a Christian Walkerville resident By Appleton Wonk: I spent another day in Madison yesterday and had a good time. Major protesting was planned because of the “extraordinary session” called by Republicans in the legislature to get the budget passed quickly, with little discussion ...
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    Momentum growing for new ‘core’ standards and their architect | GothamSchools

    Momentum growing for new ‘core’ standards and their architect | GothamSchools

    Momentum growing for new ‘core’ standards and their architect

    by Geoffrey Decker

    David Coleman presenting to principals. View his talk here.

    A couple of weekends ago, with temperatures climbing toward 90 degrees, 1,400 school administrators stuffed into a non-air conditioned high school auditorium and listened to education officials talk policy.

    “Energetic” isn’t the first thing that springs to mind from that scene, but that’s just how Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and other attending principals characterized it yesterday.

    “The energy in that room was off the chart. Truly off the chart,” Walcott said on NY1 last night. He and principals had described the event in similar terms at a press conference earlier in the day.

    So what exactly went on inside Brooklyn Technical High School during the June 4 conference for principals?

    Besides a virtuoso performance by an all-freshman string quartet to welcome the audience, much of the

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    Chicago Teachers Union prez: “I don’t believe in slavery on any level”

    Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Chicago Teachers Union prez: “I don’t believe in slavery on any level”
    Chicago Teachers Union prez: “I don’t believe in slavery on any level”

    Wednesday, Jun 15, 2011

    * About a thousand (or 5,000, depending whom you ask) people demonstrated in Chicago yesterday against corporate welfare handouts. Among the protesters was Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis…

    For the CTU, the rally sets the stage for another fight on Wednesday, when the new school board deals with a proposed longer school day and contractually-obligated four percent teacher pay raises.

    “I don’t believe in slavery on any level. I don’t believe we should work for free. Ever. And we’re not going to,” said Lewis.

    Slavery? Whew. That’s some overly charged rhetoric if ever there was overly charged rhetoric, especially considering this…

    CPS officials say that even if the 4 percent hike is denied, 75 percent of teachers will still get a pay increase next year. They will qualify for step increases of 3 to 5 percent granted for more years of service.

    * Anyway, the city’s school board voted today to rescind the union raises…

    Newly-seated Chicago School Board members ruled Wednesday that the cash-strapped CPS system does not have the money to cover

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    Goals 2000: Educate America Act | Federal Education Policy History

    Goals 2000: Educate America Act | Federal Education Policy History

    Federal Education Policy History

    Goals 2000: Educate Americ

    a Act

    President William J Clinton signed the Goals 2000 Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227; 108 Stat. 125) on March 31, 1994.

    The law had many aspects, not least was its aim to “provide a framework for meeting the National Education Goals,” which included ensuring “all children will start school ready to learn,” an “at least” 90% high school graduation rate, and more. All of these goals were to be achieved by the year 2000.

    The full text of the Goals 2000 Educate America Act is accessible in the window below, and you also can see and download it at http://www.scribd.com/doc/57939480/Goals-2000-Educate-America-Act.

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    Swanson mistakenly hits the “send” button. Now you know what he says about the membership behind their backs. « Fred Klonsky's blog

    Swanson mistakenly hits the “send” button. Now you know what he says about the membership behind their backs. « Fred Klonsky's blog

    Swanson mistakenly hits the “send” button. Now you know what he says about the membership behind their backs.

    by Fred Klonsky

    Recently one of our members sent IEA President Ken Swanson an email that was critical of the union leadership’s stand on Race to the Top, pension reforms and Senate Bill 7.

    Here’s an excerpt.

    Mr. Swanson, Ms. Klickna, and Mr. Blades,

    I am writing to express my deep disappointment in the way you have sold out the rank and file membership with the two tiered pension system, Race to the Top, SB 7 , and most recently, HB 512. I am firmly in support of unions, and have been a proud member of the CTU and later IEA since 1994, yet I now believe that you no longer represent me or my fellow educators in any way. It seems that you have betrayed us, and I am considering resigning from my local and simply paying fair share. I can tell you that I am not the only member of my local, PREA, that feels this way. We

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    On the agenda: a $742,000 contract with WestEd | The Education Report

    On the agenda: a $742,000 contract with WestEd | The Education Report

    On the agenda: a $742,000 contract with WestEd

    By Katy Murphy
    Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 at 12:04 am in budget.

    I keep hearing about WestEd and its prominent role in the new direction of OUSD, but until today, I hadn’t seen any big-ticket agenda items related to the San Francisco-based organization.

    The school board has been asked to increase an existing WestEd contract from $62,000 to $742,000. That’s right, an increase of $680,000. This is for a 7-month period that ends in two weeks. (Funding source: English Language Program)

    The item is on Wednesday’s Finance and Human Resources Committee agenda:

    Approval by the Board of Education of Amendment No. 1, Professional Services Contract between the District and WestEd, San Francisco, CA, for the latter to provide a series of professional development to 101 principals, 50 instructional coaches and up to 400 teachers and 30 central office administrators and also develop up to 20 District employees to be trainers for the professional

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