Big Education Ape

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

NYC Educator: Let's Ask the KIds How They Feel about Class Size:Let's Ask the KIds How They Feel about Class Sizeby Miss EyreAfter reading Mayor Bloomberg's fascinating views on class size(for everyone else's kids, of course, not his own), I realized whose voices weren't being heard in the discussion: Those of the children. I thought about some recurring comments made under the collective breath of my class of 30+ tenth graders who are crammed into middle-school-sized desks in a room ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Innovation Schools, Er, "Creative Approach Schools"

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Innovation Schools, Er, "Creative Approach Schools":Innovation Schools, Er, "Creative Approach Schools"by Melissa WestbrookThe initial draft of the MOU between the district and the SEA about innovation schools (now renamed "Creative Approach Schools") is clearly a work in progress. But it is promising.It's interesting because I think some fear this as an intro into charters; I see it as a way to strong-arm off charters. Why do you need charters if districts and unions are willing to ... more »

What ‘multiple measures’ really means in evaluation - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

What ‘multiple measures’ really means in evaluation - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:What ‘multiple measures’ really means in evaluationby Valerie StraussThis was written by Lisa Guisbond and Monty Neill of FairTest, the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing, which is dedicated to eliminating the misuse of standardized testing. Guisbond is a policy analyst and Neill is the executive director.By Lisa Guisbond and Monty NeillLike the same old laundry detergent with a “new and improved” sticker, sometimes ... more »

Put The FOIL In The Recycle Bin, Please | The Jose Vilson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Put The FOIL In The Recycle Bin, Please | The Jose Vilson:Put The FOIL In The Recycle Bin, Pleaseby JoseThat’s it. I’m done with FOIL. Now and possibly forever, unless someone like Alfie Kohn or JD tells me otherwise.At first I didn’t have a horse in the race. I mean, who cares so long as kids can multiply binomials right? If they get it one way or another way, then they’ll get it and that’s great. So what prompted me ... more »

Daily Kos: How to Rescue Education Reform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Daily Kos: How to Rescue Education Reform:How to Rescue Education Reformby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)is the title of this interesting New York Times op ed. It is interesting, and unusual, in the pair of authors, because they are normally not seen as allies on matters educational, disagreeing strongly on things like merit pay for teachers, to cite only one example.Linda Darling-Hammond is one of the most notable figure in education, having been a professor at Teachers College Columbia and now at Stanford, ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: It's A Wonderfully Stupid Life

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: It's A Wonderfully Stupid Life:It's A Wonderfully Stupid Lifeby DukeLess than a month before the deadline, we have a sure winner in the "Stoopidest Conversation On Cable News TeeVee" category:Damn you, Muppets, with your anti-capitalism propaganda and indoctrination! Why can't we return to the good old days of Hollywood celebrating the wealthy? Like when they would destroy small towns?Every time a wacko says something stoopid on Fox, and

LAUSD's Employee Relations Director Ira Berman - The Banality of Evil Part 1 - Perdaily.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

LAUSD's Employee Relations Director Ira Berman - The Banality of Evil Part 1 - Perdaily.com:LAUSD's Employee Relations Director Ira Berman - The Banality of Evil Part 1by Leonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español)(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)During the last several weeks I have been inundated with phone calls from Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) rubber room teachers and others who the new regime of Superintendent John Deasy is moving ... more »

How to Rescue Education Reform - NYTimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

How to Rescue Education Reform - NYTimes.com:How to Rescue Education ReformGracía LamBy FREDERICK M. HESS and LINDA DARLING-HAMMONDPublished: December 5, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHARETHE debate over renewing No Child Left Behind, the education reform act that will be 10 years old in January, has fallen along partisan lines even though school improvement is one of the few examples of bipartisan cooperation over the last decade.Related in OpinionMore on Education »Though the law was initiated and signed by a Republican president, presidential candidates like ...more »

A Multi Year Evaluation of the Philadelphia School Turn Around Model is Necessary Before Considering any Further Expansion « City School Stories

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

A Multi Year Evaluation of the Philadelphia School Turn Around Model is Necessary Before Considering any Further Expansion « City School Stories:A Multi Year Evaluation of the Philadelphia School Turn Around Model is Necessary Before Considering any Further Expansionby fmurphyNotes from the FieldSubmitted by Frank Murphy on December 6, 2011In the last two years, several Philadelphia District schools have either been converted to charter schools operated by outside providers, or have been converted to Promise Academies, the District’s internally-managed school ... more »

All Things Education: School "Reform" in DC: Is the Problem Choice or What Compels Families to Choose?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

All Things Education: School "Reform" in DC: Is the Problem Choice or What Compels Families to Choose?:School "Reform" in DC: Is the Problem Choice or What Compels Families to Choose?by Rachel LevyAfter reading the New York times op-ed on school choice in DC, I asked some folks close to what's happening in education there for their thoughts. Mary Levy sent me what is written below and (with her permission), I decided to use it as a guest post. Mary Levy ... more »

Health centers and “full-service community schools” - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Health centers and “full-service community schools” - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:Health centers and “full-service community schools”By Katy MurphyMonday, December 5th, 2011 at 8:38 am in health, high schools, initiatives, OUSD central office, students.photos by Roy Manzanares, courtesy of Oakland UnifiedOakland Superintendent Tony Smith’s vision of full-service community schools is taking shape on some campuses, thanks to a school-based health center initiative that has picked up steam (and millions of dollars in funding) since 2008.Oakland ... more »

some asian american college applicants are leaving the 'asian' check box blank | angry asian man

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

some asian american college applicants are leaving the 'asian' check box blank | angry asian man:some asian american college applicants are leaving the 'asian' check box blankGot bombarded over the weekend with this Associated Press article about college-bound mixed-race Asian American students who are choosing not to identify themselves as 'Asian' on their applications: Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian.'The idea is to get an edge at elite schools, where Asian Americans are perceptibly held to higher admissions standards ... more »

ALEC Education Task Force Approves Anti-Common Core Model Legislation | Truth in American Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

ALEC Education Task Force Approves Anti-Common Core Model Legislation | Truth in American Education:ALEC Education Task Force Approves Anti-Common Core Model Legislationby Shane Vander HartThe American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) met last week in Scottsdale, AZ. They are an organization whose mission is “to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.” They h... more »

Schools Matter: Gingrich and Trump Team Up to Create "Junior Janitor Apprentice"

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Schools Matter: Gingrich and Trump Team Up to Create "Junior Janitor Apprentice":Gingrich and Trump Team Up to Create "Junior Janitor Apprentice"by Jim HornLast week Newt Grincherly proved to be the latest threat to the GOP's only brand of ReaganLite, Mitt Romney. In showing why he is the intellectual voice of conservative politcs, Grinchoski offered his view on helping poor children while saving the schools some money. Let's go to the video:PopoutToday the new GOP frontrunner zoomed up Trump Towers for ... more »

Current Events and a Recent Interview « Bill Ayers #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Current Events and a Recent Interview « Bill Ayers:Current Events and a Recent Interviewby billayersBill Ayers interviewWith the Arab Spring and the Occupy movements there seems to be a distinct parallel between what is happening now and what was happening in the 60’s: the summer of ’68, world uprisings, the Civil Rights movement, the general malaise with the establishment. What is your take on Occupy? 1). It’s tempting to make comparisons, but I resist. Humanity plunges forward, circumstances shift, unpredictable ... more »

Cornel West: ‘I intend to fight’ for Harlem school that could close | GothamSchools

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Cornel West: ‘I intend to fight’ for Harlem school that could close | GothamSchools:Cornel West: ‘I intend to fight’ for Harlem school that could closeby Geoff DeckerPopoutStudents at a Harlem school that could be closed got an unlikely ally today: famed philosopher Cornel West.West spoked to students this morning at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing Arts as part of librarian Paul McIntosh’s long-running speaker series meant to inspire students to stay on the right track.Wadleigh and another school in ... more »

School Choice? A Question of Time and Money – SchoolBook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

School Choice? A Question of Time and Money – SchoolBook:School Choice? A Question of Time and MoneyErin E. Evans for SchoolBookFACEBOOKTWITTERQUESTIONWhat do you think of the school choice process?RespondDec. 5, 2011, 6:21 p.m.By AMY STUART WELLSIn a New York Times op-ed article on Monday, Natalie Hopkinson writes that school choice in her neighborhood in Washington hasdestroyed community-based education for working-class families. With New York ranked No. 1 in the nation in giving parents and students choices, according to one study ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Great Schools for Amerca — Great Teachers ##edreformBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-52 minutes agoGreat Schools for Amerca — Great Teachers:EdwatchEducation Watch is an evolving database constructed to illuminate the connections between wealthy individuals, the proliferation of newly formed tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, and the policy that diverts public money to these private ventures. Nearly all of these organizations were formed or co-opted within the past decade. If you know of an organization to add to Education Watch, please e-mail ... more »

Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists - NYTimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists - NYTimes.com:Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School JournalistsBy HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVOCourtesy of Blue Devil HUBVideo taken by Anna Sturla, a high school journalist, of the U.C. Davis chancellor’s “silent walk” amid student protesters in the aftermath of the pepper spray incident.Readers learned of the pepper-spraying incident at the University of California-Davis by reading coverage on The Lede, The Times’s breaking news blog, in a post by Brian Stelter. The next day, ... more »

Who Is the Best EDU Consultant? - The Educator's PLN

Who Is the Best EDU Consultant? - The Educator's PLN:

Who Is the Best EDU Consultant?

by Thomas Whitby

I had a busy morning today. I observed a student teacher for her final observation, and I made it home in time to participate in the weekly noon #Edchat on Twitter. As I participated in the #Edchat I was struck by the fact that it had a great deal to do with a conversation I had with my student’s cooperating teacher in a high school that morning.

The conversation that I had with this high school teacher took place in the school’s computer lab. It was a very relaxed session, as all of the students were involved in a Web Quest in support of their recent reading of Inherit the Wind. They were now learning first-hand about the “Scopes Monkey Trial”. I observed that the computer Lab had an Interactive White Board installed on the wall. I remarked to the teacher that it struck me that this is not the most effective place for an IWB, since every student sat at a desktop computer. A simple, less-expensive digital projector could serve as well, and that would free up an IWB for a classroom. That started the conversation ball rolling.

The teacher told me that the school received a grant for the IWB’s and Boards were placed in many of the

NYC Public School Parents: Leonie Haimson on CNN this morning

NYC Public School Parents: Leonie Haimson on CNN this morning:

Leonie Haimson on CNN this morning

Carol Costello interviewing me today on CNN's American Morning. Here's an accompanying article from the CNN blog.

After the show, I looked up Forest Hill HS; only 38% of their graduates are college ready, meaning they will need remediation. I'm sure that even this relatively successful school could do better by its students if it provided them with smaller classes.

Schools Matter: The Most Dangerous Aging Geek in America

Schools Matter: The Most Dangerous Aging Geek in America:

The Most Dangerous Aging Geek in America

by Jim Horn

From Crooks and Liars:

This is exactly why I've always been suspicious of Bill Gates' "philanthropy." Yes, I understand that he's done wonderful things in Africa, but the United States is where we live and there is a very real and lasting battle going on over the future of public education.

While union-busting is certainly one goal of the privatization monsters, profit is the primary goal. Education for profit is lucrative and alluring, especially to people with large sums of money parked and waiting for investment in big-profit items. So when Bill Gates claims to stand for education reform in this country, I place him squarely in the category of those

"Choice" Doesn't Always Mean Options | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

"Choice" Doesn't Always Mean Options | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

"Choice" Doesn't Always Mean Options

by obriena

Brookings Institution recently unveiled the Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI). Its goal is to provide an “informative and consumer-relevant measure of the degree of choice and competition within the geographical boundaries of large school districts.”

This index considers this choice and competition a positive – the nation’s 25 largest school districts are given a letter grade, with an “A” representing the highest “quality” of choice, as determined by the developers’ framework of 13 categories, including the proportion of students enrolled in nontraditional public schools, the mechanism used to assign students to schools, and information available on-line

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Does Testing Mean?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Does Testing Mean?:

What Does Testing Mean?

by Melissa Westbrook

I read these two articles and thought, "What are we doing?" and "How did we get here?"

The first is a blog entry from the Washington Post blog, The Answer Sheet, by Valerie Strauss who, in turn, had a guest blogger, Marion Brady. It's called, Revealed: The School Board Member Who Took a Standardized Test. The board member failed the test. But that's not really the story. Here's what he had to say:
I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.
“I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities.

“It might be argued that I’ve been out of school too long, that if I’d actually been in the 10th grade prior to taking

Daily Kos: Do You Believe in Miracles?

Daily Kos: Do You Believe in Miracles?:

Do You Believe in Miracles?

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

No, I am not quoting Al Michaels at the end of the Lake Placid Gold Medal Hockey game. Rather, I am quoting my friend Diane Ravitch, for the title of this important blog post

Often we are in education presented with supposed examples of "miracles" - high poverty schools that have a remarkable performance, or so we are told. As Diane begins her post,

One of the central claims of the corporate-reform movement is that poverty is not destiny and that a school staffed with great teachers can eliminate poverty. This is a very appealing sort of rhetoric because we all harbor the hope that every single person can overcome the obstacles of poverty to achieve success in school and in life.

If this remind you in some ways of the earlier mythology of Horatio Alger stories, perhaps it is appropriate.

Diane had previously written about 3 such miracle schools - Urban Prep Academy in Chicago, Bruce Randolph in Denver, and Miami Central High School in Florida.

Gary Rubinstein, as Diane notes,

has just updated the statistics on these schools, and he shows that they continue to struggle despite the accolades of officials in search of a miracle.

(side note - Gary is a former TFAer who has now become an important voice critical of TFA).

Please keep reading. . .

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) Welcomes New Federal Guidance on Diversity in K-12 and Higher Education | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) Welcomes New Federal Guidance on Diversity in K-12 and Higher Education | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog:

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) Welcomes New Federal Guidance on Diversity in K-12 and Higher Education

Posted By The Editors | December 2nd, 2011 | Category: Education | No Comments »

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Today the United States Department of Education and the Department of Justice issued policy guidance that provides greater clarity and encouragement to school districts and higher education institutions as they seek to explore available options for promoting and maintaining meaningful diversity. Released in two parts —one for K-12 school districts and the other for higher education institutions — the guidance provides concrete and creative examples of programs that comply with constitutional mandates in the Supreme Court’s decisions in two recent cases, Grutter v.Bollinger (2003) and Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007).

Significantly, as the new guidance recognizes, a majority of the Supreme Court Justices in those two cases held that educational diversity and avoiding racial isolation are not only compelling governmental interests but also among our country’s highest priorities. Integrated schools and diverse universities are essential to the fabric of our democracy because they provide all children with the skills necessary to participate meaningfully in our nation’s civic life and to flourish in our globalizing workplaces.

“LDF welcomes the new guidance as an important re-affirmation of the federal government’s commitment to the vital work of redeeming the promise of Brown v.

Support PURE! » PSAT for 12-6-11: School principals, unite!

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 12-6-11: School principals, unite!:

PSAT for 12-6-11: School principals, unite!

by admin

Last night we watched a charming movie, “Amreeka,” about a Palestinian mom and her son who emigrate to Illinois the same week the US invaded Iraq. Not surprisingly, they encounter some challenges. Somewhat surprisingly, one of the film’s heroes is the mild-mannered principal of the local high school.

School principals are popularly portrayed as creeps, crooks, or idiots (anyone besides me remember Osgood Conklyn in Our Miss Brooks? OK, how about Glee’s Principal Figgins?).

My own experience of principals in the Chicago system has been similarly mixed. As a Local School Council (LSC) member, one of my first successful fights was getting rid of a do-nothing principal. The LSC’s choice appeared to be a dynamo at first but she quickly turned paranoid and never became effective. Over the years, we

PSAT for 12-6-11: Principals, Unite! « Parents Across America

PSAT for 12-6-11: Principals, Unite! « Parents Across America:

PSAT for 12-6-11: Principals, Unite!

by pureparents

School principals are popularly portrayed as creeps, crooks, or idiots (anyone besides me remember Osgood Conklyn in Our Miss Brooks? OK, how about Glee’s Principal Figgins?).

My own experience of principals in the Chicago school system has been similarly mixed. As a Local School Council (LSC) member, one of my first successful fights was getting rid of a do-nothing principal. The LSC’s choice appeared to be a dynamo at first but she

Union democracy by polling data. « Fred Klonsky

Union democracy by polling data. « Fred Klonsky:

Union democracy by polling data.

by Fred Klonsky

The late, great Chicago newspaperman, Mike Royko.

One of the great things about living in Chicago back in the day was reading Mike Royko in the daily newspaper. I didn’t always agree with his politics. In fact, I rarely agreed with his politics. He was the epitome of the cynical reporter.

And he was a friend of Studs Terkel. And any friend of Studs…

Royko hated exit polls. In fact, he hated polls of any kind. He believed the polling business was a scam and that

In the News: Getting at why school choice fails | catalyst-chicago.org

In the News: Getting at why school choice fails | catalyst-chicago.org:

In the News: Getting at why school choice fails

By: Cassandra West / December 06, 2011

Tags: charters Chicago Teachers Union dropouts Jean-Claude Brizard Karen Lewis school choice school closings

Natalie Hopkinson, a Washington-based writer and parent, takes on the perverse inequities that play out along racial lines and have resulted from a "reform" process that proponents say will bring choice and accountability to school systems in majority-black neighborhoods such as hers. (The New York Times)

Chicago Teachers Union officials say they are coming to the rescue of ailing schools, with plans on how they would spend the same budget the Academy of Urban School Leadership is being given to “turnaround’’ ailing Chicago Public Schools, CTU President Karen Lewis said Friday. Lewis called closing schools