Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts

All Education Matters: Data and Ideology of the We are 99% Tumblr #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

All Education Matters: Data and Ideology of the We are 99% Tumblr:Data and Ideology of the We are 99% Tumblrfrom All Education Matters by Cryn JohannsenThis collection of data about the We are 99% Tumblr is fascinating.The image of that 4-year-old boy is tragic. It really hits on the fact that children - the most vulnerable in our society - have been hit the hardest by the policies of our cruel, neoliberal state. The dismantling of the welfare state is ... more »

I Am My Hair, Too | The Jose Vilson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

I Am My Hair, Too | The Jose Vilson:I Am My Hair, Tooby JoseNivea's Ad, Re-Colonize YourselfTo look as fresh as some of us brothers do takes a certain amount of patience, skill, and discernment that people don’t understand until they’ve seen it in action. A brotha first observes the movements of their barber, looking at the prior customer’s face to measure their own satisfaction. Their space doesn’t need to be perfect, but at least familiar, and the smell has ... more »

Soul Survivor

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Education Officials Travel Paid by a Vendor’s Foundation - NYTimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Education Officials Travel Paid by a Vendor’s Foundation - NYTimes.com:Free Trips Raise Issues for Officials in EducationBy MICHAEL WINERIPPublished: October 9, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINCOMMENTSE-MAILPRINTSINGLE PAGEREPRINTSSHARESince 2008, the Pearson Foundation, the nonprofit arm of one of the nation’s largest educational publishers, has financed free international trips — some have called them junkets — for education commissioners whose states do business with the company. When the state commissioners are asked about these trips — to Rio de Janeiro; London; Singapore; and Hels... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Which New Yorkers have the best interests of working people and children at heart?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

NYC Public School Parents: Which New Yorkers have the best interests of working people and children at heart?:Which New Yorkers have the best interests of working people and children at heart?by Leonie HaimsonSee below video made by Darren Marelli of GEM, who interviewed NYC parents and teachers joining the Wall St. protesters on Wednesday.PopoutAs the NY Times points out, children are most hurt by the nation's cutbacks to social services:"Children will be among those most harmed by the jobs crisis. ... more »

Audience Cheers as Grayson Explains Occupy Wall Street to Maher, Guests | Firedoglake #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Audience Cheers as Grayson Explains Occupy Wall Street to Maher, Guests | Firedoglake:Audience Cheers as Grayson Explains Occupy Wall Street to Maher, GuestsBy: Scarecrow Sunday October 9, 2011 4:00 pm Tweet Alan Grayson sat quietly, patiently, while Bill Maher’s guests, P.J. O’Rourke and Nicolle Wallace dissed the Occupy Wall Street participants and ridiculed the “bongo drum” atmosphere. At one point, Ms. Wallace revealed her inner fears by wondering aloud how and where the Occupiers relieved themselves. I wondered if she ... more »

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Ama Nyamekye The New Sock Puppet Of Educators4Excellence And Little Evan Stone

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Ama Nyamekye The New Sock Puppet Of Educators4Excellence And Little Evan Stone:Ama Nyamekye The New Sock Puppet Of Educators4Excellence And Little Evan Stoneby noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)Yesterday, we shared how Educators4Excellence plans to invade the schools of Los Angeles. Today the readers will learn about the new Jugendleiter for E4E Los Angeles, Ama Nyamekye.Ama is currently, or was, the CEO Good Influence LLC, some neo-liberal think tank or other that serves its founder. In fact, Ama has had ...more »

Jerry Brown Puts the Brakes on Test-Driven Reform - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Jerry Brown Puts the Brakes on Test-Driven Reform - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:Jerry Brown Puts the Brakes on Test-Driven Reformby Anthony CodyJerry Brown is perhaps the most powerful leader in our country who actually understands what has happened to our schools as a result of standards-based data-driven reform. In a move that signals exactly what should be done with the moribund No Child Left Behind in Congress, Brown has issued a veto of a California law, SB ... more »

Barbara C. Goodman: An Open Letter to Education Reformers | Education News

Barbara C. Goodman: An Open Letter to Education Reformers | Education News:

Barbara C. Goodman: An Open Letter to Education Reformers

Barbara C. Goodman, a teacher, writes that she wants her students to be prepared for life, not just the job market.

The following is an open letter to the education reform community by educator Barbara C. Goodman.

Dear Education Reformist,

We have been battling each other for a long time. You present clear ideas and data to support your reform agenda. I am not moved. It’s not because I am old, recalcitrant and averse to change. I balk because I know you are wrong. My heart tells me so.

In my family, being learned was second only to being healthy. My grandfather’s life

Senators Consider Codifying Race to the Top in ESEA - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Senators Consider Codifying Race to the Top in ESEA - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

Senators Consider Codifying Race to the Top in ESEA

by Alyson Klein

The Race may be on for a while longer.

Race to the Top, the competitive grant program first created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, would become an authorized part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, under a draftof Senate education leaders' reauthorization proposal circulating around Washington.

So far, states have split a total of $4 billion in Race to the Top grants, which further some of the Obama administration's top school reform priorities The draft language would allow grants to go to high-need districts in addition to states, and also to groups of states, or groups of high-need districts.

The U.S. Secretary of Education would be allowed to use the program to encourage states and districts to:

• Boost low-income children's access to high-quality teachers (including making sure that teachers are equipped

Plaza – Riot – Commune « occupy california #ows

Plaza – Riot – Commune « occupy california:

Plaza – Riot – Commune

by *

We are the generation of the abandoned, the betrayed. Tossed up on the shores of the present by 150 years of failed insurrection, by the shipwreck of the workers’ movement, the failure of a hundred political projects. But it is not only our once-upon-a-time friends who have departed. Today, even our enemies flee from us, even capital abandons us: no more its minimum promises, the right to be exploited, the right to sell one’s labor power. Abandoned, we greet the world with utter abandon. There is no longer any possible adequacy of means and ends, no way of subordinating our actions to the rational or the practical. The present age of austerity means that even the most meager of demands require the social democrats to pick up bricks. Betrayed by democracy, betrayed by the technocrats of socialism, betrayed by the dumb idealism of anarchy, betrayed by the stolid fatalism of the communist ultraleft. We are not the 99%. We are not a fucking percentage at all. We do not count. If we have any power at all, it is because we are the enemies of all majority, enemies of “the people.” As

A Clear Message for Occupy Wall Street | Dissident Voice #ows

A Clear Message for Occupy Wall Street | Dissident Voice:

A Clear Message for Occupy Wall Street

by Rand Clifford

In the late Douglas Adams’ masterpiece of wit, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is: 42.

Philosophers whose ancestors built the gargantuan computer Deep Thought to calculate an answer to that Ultimate Question were mortified upon learning that their computer spent 7.5 million years to come up with 42. Deep Thought’s response was along the lines of: How do you expect to understand the answer, when you don’t understand the question?

Perhaps a correlation is there regarding Corporatocracy’s denigration of the Wall Street Occupiers for not having

teachers's Channel - YouTube

teachers's Channel - YouTube:

Why Use YouTube in your classroom?

Increase student engagement Start your class off with an engaging video clip that brings a lesson to life and sparks a lively discussion. No longer will students be late for physics class when you begin the class with an engaging clip. Make the subjects applicable to your students' everyday lives by showing culturally relevant YouTube clips. Teach students video production and editing skills through projects and upload the videos to your classes YouTube channel.

Free access to thousands of high quality educational videos YouTube provides free, unlimited access to tens of thousands of videos of high quality educational content. These videos range from the world's best professors giving hour long lectures to great teachers giving short lessons. Check out the diverse array of educational content at YouTube.com/EDU

Teach to every type of learner Tap into the mind of the visual learner. Each student has different learning needs. You can create videos or playlists to suit the different types of learners in your classroom. On YouTube you can find videos explaining the same topic, many different ways. For example, here are four different videos, all explaining the concept of number patterns in a different way. This video presents number patterns in a real world context. Rather than explaining, this video uses visual examples of number patterns. In this video, a teacher works through math problems that involve number patterns. In this video, there is an explanation of the concept without any visuals or examples.

Use videos to lengthen in-class instructional time Turn mini-lessons into short videos that students can watch on their own time. Record directions and explanations so you don't waste time repeating yourself. Students can pause and replay your explanations whenever they need help - it's almost like 1:1 tutoring and can especially help students who were out sick. Create a YouTube station in your classroom where students can work independently, freeing yourself up to work with small groups. Minimize student's summer learning slide by creating review activities for outgoing students or preview content for incoming students. Students can continue the learning at home by exploring playlists of videos on the Roman Empire.

Occupy Colleges Group Plans Second Day of Action This Thursday « Student Activism #ows

Occupy Colleges Group Plans Second Day of Action This Thursday « Student Activism:

Occupy Colleges Group Plans Second Day of Action This Thursday

by Angus Johnston

Last week a campus walkout in support of Occupy Wall Street, originally called for New York City, mushroomed in a matter of days to include dozens of campuses across the country. The Wednesday actions drew numbers ranging from hundreds to — on at least five campuses — single students, starting from scratch and organizing on their own.

And this week they’re doing it again.

After a frenzy of discussion and several straw polls on Facebook, the folks at Occupy Colleges have announced

School Tech Connect: Faxing The Senate

School Tech Connect: Faxing The Senate:

Faxing The Senate

Today's the day I'm writing my senators about charter schools and ESEA. They'll be short faxes-- I'd like to enjoy a day off before heading down to the Board of Trade. It's a depressing task but it must be done. The irony is that even though Mark Kirk has a charter jones, too, not unlike my representative, Jan Schakowsky, he might at least obstruct HR2218 nsimply to participate in the permanent GOP obstruction.

Tests, Shmests

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

I've heard Karen Cator say these things before:

Karen Cator, a former Apple executive who directs the Office of Educational Technology at the Department of Education, said the clearinghouse reports on software should be “taken with a grain of salt” because they rely on standardized test scores. Those tests, Ms. Cator said, cannot gauge some skills that technology teaches, like collaboration, multimedia and research. 

Ms. Cator’s office is developing a new framework to measure the educational value of technology, but she advised schools and districts not to wait to invest in software like Cognitive Tutor.  “They know what their students need to know and what they need to be able to do,” she said.

First of all, there she is, hawking Cognitive Tutor even though it's clear from the rest of the article that Cognitive Tutor is less effective than random chance of teaching kids anything about math. What it does is generate charts 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Turning around the 'turn-arounds'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Turning around the 'turn-arounds':

Turning around the 'turn-arounds'

L.A.'s Promise turns out to be a big lie

Out in L.A., they're "turning-around" Manual Arts High School again. School district officials announced that they will retake control over Manual from L.A.'s Promise, a corporate-style reform group they had appointed to turn the school around. The huge campus (3,500 Latino and African-American students) has been beset by overcrowding and endured a disorderly start to the school year that saw initial shortages of desks and textbooks and left some students without class schedules. In March, hundreds of Manual students walked-out to protest teacher lay-offs and transfers forced by the management group.

Writes Howard Blume in L.A. Times:

Diane Ravitch to Offer Keynote Address at First-Ever Bronx Education Summit

William Paterson University - News:

William Paterson University’s Distinguished Lecturer Series Features Leading Educator Diane Ravitch on October 13

One of the nation's leading authorities on American education history and policy, Ravitch will speak about issues related to test-based accountability and school choice

Diane Ravitch

Diane Ravitch, one of the nation’s leading authorities on American education history and policy, will discuss issues related to test-based accountability and school choice on Thursday, October 13, 2011, at 7 p.m. as part of the 32nd season of the Distinguished Lecturer Series at William Paterson University in Wayne.

Tickets are $10 for the general public; $5 for William Paterson alumni, faculty and staff; and free for William Paterson students with a valid ID. To purchase tickets, please call the Shea Center Box Office at 973-720-2371 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. or purchase online at www.wpunj.edu/dls. The lecture will take place in Shea Center on the campus in Wayne; please allow ample time for parking.

The 2011 recipient of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award presented for the use of social

Diane Ravitch to Offer Keynote Address at First-Ever Bronx Education Summit

Today, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. announced that Dr. Diane Ravitch, widely considered to be the preeminent education expert in the United States, will offer the keynote address at the first-ever “Bronx Education Summit: From Cradle to Career,” to be held on Saturday, October 15, 2011, at Lehman College.

Dr. Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. In addition, she is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Her most recent book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education (2010), is a critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller.

“The goal of our education summit is to bring together the best minds in education, from all sides of the issues, to put forward a clear vision for the future of education in the Bronx. With that in mind, we are extremely grateful that none other than Diane Ravitch, one of the most important voices in the national debate on education, is coming to the Bronx to participate in this historic event,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The topic of Dr. Ravitch’s address will be "Improving Education for 

Diane Ravitch
Education historian & policy analyst

"Will School Reform Improve the Schools?" 
Humanities Lecture Series

Tue., Oct. 18, 2011, 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Supported by the Sosland Foundation of Kansas City. Co-sponsored by Kansas Public Radio.
Location: Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union

Diane Ravitch is a policy analyst and historian of education whose highly respected work in education policy at the federal level endured through the presidencies of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.  Today, Ravitch is one of our most vocal supporters of public education, launching trenchant critiques of the fallout from No Child Left Behind and Obama's Race to the Top program. Her most recent publication, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education(2010) advocates strongly for supporting teachers, rather than penalizing them for being unable to achieve "draconian" testing standards.

Ravitch is deeply suspicious of school reform movements in general.  She finds the concept of "teacher accountability" contentious, noting that when it is tied exclusively to test results, teachers are forced to prepare students for testing, rather than critical thinking.  Neither are charter schools the panacea that everyone imagines them to be, she argues.  Their success rests, at least in part, on their ability to siphon off the most