Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts

Bill lets ailing N.J. parochial schools turn into secular charter schools | NJ.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Bill lets ailing N.J. parochial schools turn into secular charter schools | NJ.com:Bill lets ailing N.J. parochial schools turn into secular charter schoolsPublished: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 8:45 AM By Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger Follow1ShareEmailPrintJohn O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerTeacher Andre David, center, works on a language arts tutorial with two seventh-grade students at the Great Oaks Charter School in Newark.TRENTON — Some New Jersey parochial schools facing closure because of declining enrollment may be allowed to convert into a public charter school, under ... more »

Education Nation Kicks Off With Questionable Sponsor, New Teacher Survey

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Education Nation Kicks Off With Questionable Sponsor, New Teacher Survey: Joy ResmovitsJoy.resmovits@huffingtonpost.comBecome a fan of this reporterEducation Nation Kicks Off With Questionable Sponsor, New Teacher SurveyFirst Posted: 9/27/11 09:03 AM ET Updated: 9/27/11 10:02 AM ETNEW YORK -- Hundreds of players in the education debate hunkered down in a tent staked over Rockefeller Center's ice skating rink this week for NBC's multi-million dollar, three-day panel fest "Education Nation."This year marks the second iteration of Education Nation, which launched in 2010 ... more »

Poverty is relative, wealth is absolute - NorthJersey.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Poverty is relative, wealth is absolute - NorthJersey.com:Poverty is relative, wealth is absoluteTUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2011, 9:16 AMBY SILVIO LACCETTITHE RECORDPAGES: 1 2 DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE | PRINT | E-MAILTo understand wealth is to know its non-utilitarian nature; wealth is excess beyond usefulness.SHOCK HEADLINES greeted the release of new federal government statistics on poverty, fueling a vitriolic debate about wealth and poverty in America.Ancient rhetoric is resurrected every election cycle to confuse the ... more »

Women’s Delegation Traveling to Atlanta to Expose Human Rights Violations MomsRising Blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

MomsRising Blog:Georgia’s New Anti-Immigrant Law – Writings from the Women’s Delegation Traveling to Atlanta to Expose Human Rights ViolationsMary Olivella at MomsRising Blog - 17 minutes agoWelcome to the MomsRising blog-a-thon developed by the delegation of women leaders traveling to Georgia this week as part of a growing national resistance to anti-immigrant laws. The We Belong Together Delegation will hear, and then share, the stories of women and children affected by Georgia’s anti-immigrant bill, HB 87, copycat legislation of Arizona’s ... more »

Can We Educate Our Way Out of the Unemployment Crisis? - Education - GOOD

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Can We Educate Our Way Out of the Unemployment Crisis? - Education - GOOD:Can We Educate Our Way Out of the Unemployment Crisis?by Liz DwyerPresident Barack Obama spent yesterday in California, fielding questions about creating economic opportunity and putting America back to work at a Silicon Valley town hall hosted by social media site LinkedIn. As the nation grapples with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate, the connection between education and ending the nation's unemployment crisis dominated the conversation."When we were ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Walton heirs bankroll 'choice' candidates in Wisconsin

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Walton heirs bankroll 'choice' candidates in Wisconsin:Walton heirs bankroll 'choice' candidates in Wisconsinby Mike KlonskyHeirs to the Walmart fortune, including Alice and Jim Walton, have given thousands to Wisconsin political candidates since mid-2008. Photo courtesy of Walmart StoresPublic schools in Wisconsin will have to make do with $800 million less from the state over the next two years,

Teachers Aren't Paid Too Much and Aren't Evil -- Really - Yahoo! News

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Teachers Aren't Paid Too Much and Aren't Evil -- Really - Yahoo! News:Teachers Aren't Paid Too Much and Aren't Evil -- ReallyBy Giuseppe Giannet | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 14 hrs agotweet2ShareEmailPrintRELATED CONTENTEducation is about more than words on a page.COMMENTARY | There is little to be happy about today in America. Pessimism permeates our society that seems unshakable. The government is paralyzed, the recession lingers, and who is to blame changes with every election cycle. No issue is of ... more »

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: PEOPLE'S EDUCATION TRIAL IS ON!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: PEOPLE'S EDUCATION TRIAL IS ON!:PEOPLE'S EDUCATION TRIAL IS ON!by Black Educator

NJ Spotlight | Legislature Passes Charter Bill, But Advocates and Critics Want More Changes

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

NJ Spotlight | Legislature Passes Charter Bill, But Advocates and Critics Want More Changes:Legislature Passes Charter Bill, But Advocates and Critics Want More ChangesParochial school conversion measure passes, although reception remains in doubt print | email | shareBy John Mooney, September 27 in Education |Post a CommentOne change to New Jersey's charter school law passed the legislature yesterday, while talk mounts that a broader rewrite of the state's 15-year-old statute governing the semi-autonomous schools may be in the offing.Related LinksSenate ... more »

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Janitors - Day of Action

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Janitors - Day of Action:

Janitors - Day of Action

by Duane Campbell

OUR American Dream Is Under Attack: Janitors National Day of Action Wednesday, September 28th @ 11:30 am 555 Capitol Mall, Sacramento Across the nation corporations are throwing people out of work—while cutting workers’ pay, benefits and even our freedom to form a union. Janitorial companies too are pushing for cuts to healthcare and wages, a heavier workload, and fewer hours. Starting in September and continuing in 2012, more than 150,000 SEIU janitors and cleaners in 29 cities and counties across America will negotiate with our employers over pay, benefits, and working conditions—all of which will impact our communities. The companies are rich and powerful. But by showing our unity, we’ll be more powerful. By standing together during a National Day of Action on September 28, we can show them that workers are serious about protecting what we have and winning more. For more information, please contact (916) 498-9505.

Group Asks Supreme Court to Allow Religious Services in Schools – SchoolBook

Group Asks Supreme Court to Allow Religious Services in Schools – SchoolBook:

Group Asks Supreme Court to Allow Religious Services in Schools

by Beth Fertig

A Bronx evangelical church and its supporters have petitioned the United States Supreme Court to hear a case on whether New York City can bar religious services in its public schools.

The Alliance Defense Fund filed the petition Tuesday on behalf of the Bronx Household of Faith, which has been trying for 16 years to get the city to drop a rule forbidding religious services in school buildings in after-school hours. The new petition argues that the government cannot keep religious services out of public buildings that are open for other meetings.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has definitively ruled that the government cannot limit access to generally available public spaces merely because government officials disapprove of a form of expression,” said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. “Equal access means equal access, and that

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? | Thoughts on Public Education

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? | Thoughts on Public Education:

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? - by Jeff Camp

By Jeff Camp

My daughter’s first-grade report card came in two sections, one related to her academic work and the other for her teacher’s feedback about the character she displayed in school. Did she play well with others? Did she participate in class? Did she take risks?

In a few years, my daughter’s report cards will become less personal, and probably less interesting. Letter grades and test scores will assume for her the central role that they play for just about everybody in education.

“I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., I HAVE A DREAM, 1963.

For the past decade or so, the most pursuedgoal of K-12 education in America has been pretty clear: Ensure that all children master essential academic content, and do so in a way that can be verified through tests.

One premise of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was that predictable patterns of

Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds - NYTimes.com

Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds - NYTimes.com:

Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds

By SAM DILLON

Published: September 28, 2011

• RECOMMEND
• TWITTER
• LINKEDIN
• E-MAIL
• PRINT
• REPRINTS
• SHARE

When Julian Bond, the former Georgia lawmaker and civil rights activist, turned to teaching two decades ago, he often quizzed his college students to gauge their awareness of the civil rights movement. He did not want to underestimate their grasp of the topic or talk down to them, he said.

A new Web venture featuring news, data and conversation about schools in New York City.

• Join us on Facebook »
• Follow us on Twitter »

“My fears were misplaced,” Mr. Bond said. No student had heard of George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama, he said. One student guessed that Mr. Wallace might have been a CBS

A film on education that gets it right - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

A film on education that gets it right - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

A film on education that gets it right

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Mark Phillips, professor of secondary education at San Francisco State University and author of a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal. In this post he wrotes about “American Teacher,” a new feature-length documentary based on the bestselling book “eachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers,” by Daniel Moulthrop, co-founder of the 826 National writing programs Nínive Calegari, and writer Dave Eggers.

Read full article >>

Op Ed by Henry A. Giroux on Larry Summers, the corporate media and public education | Seattle Education

Op Ed by Henry A. Giroux on Larry Summers, the corporate media and public education | Seattle Education:

Op Ed by Henry A. Giroux on Larry Summers, the corporate media and public education

by seattleducation2011

In Truthout for September 27, 2011

Corporate Media and Larry Summers Team Up to Gut Public Education: Beyond Education for Illiteracy, Vulgarity and a Culture of Cruelty

A must read. Below is an excerpt:

Since the early 1970s, the rich, corporate power brokers and right-wing cultural warriors realized that education was central to creating a viable populist movement that served their interests. Over the last 40 years, the financial elites and their wealthy accomplices have not only mobilized an educational anti-reform movement in the name of “reform” to dismantle public education and turn it over to hedge-fund managers and billionaires; they have also taken a lesson from the muckrakers, critical public intellectuals, left-wing journals, progressive newspapers and educational institutions of the mid-20th century and developed their own cultural apparatuses, talk shows, anti-public intellectuals, think tanks and grassroots organizations. As the left slid into organizing around mostly single-issue movements since the 1980s, the right moved in a different direction, mobilizing a

Schools Matter: Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty

Schools Matter: Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty:

Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty

by skrashen

Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty

Stephen Krashen and Susan Ohanian

Council Chronicle 2

Posted on the NCTE connected community; OK to share

"The way you end cycles of poverty is through educational opportunity …" (Arne Duncan, in "A conversation with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan," in the NCTE Council Chronicle, 2011).

The US Department of Education says that with better teaching, we will have more learning (higher test scores, according to the feds), and this will lead to major improvements in the economy. This is a core concept that drives US Department of Education policy. It also suggests that our economic problems are because of low-quality education.

The US DOE philosophy is identical to Bill Gates' view: "There's a lot of uncertainty today about our nation's

The Educated Reporter: Daring to DREAM: Rhode Island Opens Higher Ed Door to Immigrant Students

The Educated Reporter: Daring to DREAM: Rhode Island Opens Higher Ed Door to Immigrant Students:

Daring to DREAM: Rhode Island Opens Higher Ed Door to Immigrant Students

by Emily Richmond

Rhode Island's state higher education board took a big step Monday toward opening the doors of higher education to undocumented students, according to this story by the Associated Press.

The DREAM Act is a long way from reality, and so far there's no federal initiative that's been approved to solve the question of what to do with undocumented students. Federal law requires they be provided equitable public education opportunities through the 12th grade. After that, they're on their own.

There are plenty of states wrangling with the same issue as Rhode Island: What to do with students who graduate from local high schools only to face barriers because of their immigration status. In some cases students can enroll, but only at the (significantly) higher out-of-state tuition rate.

What's interesting about this particular instance, as AP reporter Erika Niedowski explains, is that Rhode Island's

Daily Kos: why we remember and make the effort to celebrate

Daily Kos: why we remember and make the effort to celebrate:

why we remember and make the effort to celebrate

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

This was originally written as a comment on my diary earlier today, yet one more romantic anniversary - I thought I would put it up separately in case it might speak to those unlikely to see it in its original location

it can bring some real joy back into life

we have the day we encountered one another at the train station

we have the day of our first "date" - today

we have the day I told her I loved her

we have the day she told me she loved me

we have the day we officially decided to get engaged and after explaining why we really couldn't afford the star sapphire with which she had fallen in love, I went in and bought it as her engagement ring

Exhausted, Discouraged, and Thankful « InterACT

Exhausted, Discouraged, and Thankful « InterACT:

Exhausted, Discouraged, and Thankful

by David B. Cohen

I don’t know how many people noticed, but I haven’t posted in a while. I know a few people noticed some comments I made on Twitter recently about my current state of mind around education politics and media coverage, and it’s that state of mind that has contributed to my writer’s block. Add to that the adjustment to a new school year and new work arrangements (I’m now doing two part-time jobs), and well… it’s been an unusual few weeks.

While we're busy in the classroom, the debates go on without us. (photo by the author)

What’s bugging me is the sense that education reform debates and policy wrangling are constant and in high

Ending Florida’s “Fad Oriented Approach to Soultions” in Education | Scathing Purple Musings

Ending Florida’s “Fad Oriented Approach to Soultions” in Education | Scathing Purple Musings:

Ending Florida’s “Fad Oriented Approach to Soultions” in Education

by Bob Sikes

The University of South Florida has released what s perhaps the most comprehensive look at what Florida schools have been doing. The David C. Achin Center‘s report, titled Florida’s First Comprehensive Comprehensive Conditions of Education Report, is in a five volume package which is separated by the state’s regions. “A foundation of data on which to base necessary changes is required because getting the results you want requires knowing what you already have,” said Anchin Center Director Bruce Jones. “But you can’t know that until you have the numbers at your disposal.”

Jones indicates that the data is bot clear and troubling for African American males:

A few disturbing snapshots are emerging from the data. The often spoken of achievement gap has solid numbers and trackable trends. Jones says it doesn’t take a crystal ball or mathematical computations to figure out why.

Dropout and graduation rates among African American males are particularly alarming and reading

Some thoughts on Education Nation | Taking Note

Some thoughts on Education Nation | Taking Note:

Some thoughts on Education Nation

As always, remember that John’s book The Influence of Teachers is for sale at Amazon;you can also check out a Sacramento Bee editorial he co-authored with Esther Wojcicki, the Learning Matters Board Chair.

Although I left before the final event — an appearance by former President Bill Clinton — I was on hand for almost everything else, and I am comfortable declaring Education Nation 2011 a success, a 180-degree turn from last year’s disappointment.

Last year, education wonks will remember that Education Nation was badly tilted in favor of charter schools and against unions and the ‘bad teachers’ they protect. It was as if everyone running the show drank the Kool-Aid poured by “Waiting for ‘Superman’”, Davis Guggenheim’s well-made but