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

Looking at the Concept of Adultism | Lefty Parent

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 41 minutes ago

Looking at the Concept of Adultism | Lefty Parent:Looking at the Concept of Adultismby Cooper Zale[FYI... for those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you may recognize this piece as the combining of three pieces I wrote previously on this subject.]So you have probably already been “ism’d” within an inch of your life and may be ready to roll your eyes if I attempt to direct your attention to another one! Seems the 20th Century ... more »

L.A. schools chief vows suit to block cuts to bus-service funding - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 41 minutes ago

L.A. schools chief vows suit to block cuts to bus-service funding - latimes.com:L.A. schools chief vows suit to block cuts to bus-service fundingDecember 13, 2011 | 2:53 pm 50L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy announced Tuesday that the state’s largest school system would file suit to block fresh budget cuts that would end state funding of home-to-school transportation for the rest of the school year.The so-called trigger cuts are set to take effect automatically because the latest projections of state tax ... more »

Tax Reform Victory! What’s next? « EdVox

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 41 minutes ago

Tax Reform Victory! What’s next? « EdVox:Tax Reform Victory! What’s next?by edvoxnyby Nikki JonesNikki Jones, Communications Director of AQEThis month’s tax reform agreement is a milestone in the fight to ensure that all students are given the opportunity to learn and are prepared for college and careers. Along with grassroots organizations, parents, students, educators, community members, and of course Occupiers, we affected a change to New York State’s tax structure.Without the tax reform, we would have lost a total of ... more »

Mid-Year Cuts Reaction - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 41 minutes ago

Mid-Year Cuts Reaction - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Comments on Mid-Year CutsSACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following statement regarding mid-year spending cuts announced today:"It's a sad day for California. Taking hundreds of millions of dollars from our schools—on top of the $18 billion in cuts they have already suffered—will only make life harder for students in California's chronically underfunded schools."Mothballing school bus fleets across the state will mean many rural, ... more »

Teachbad Watches “Waiting For Superman”, Part I | Mr. Teachbad

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Teachbad Watches “Waiting For Superman”, Part I | Mr. Teachbad:Teachbad Watches “Waiting For Superman”, Part Iby teachbadI know I’m a little late to this party. Remarkably, I have not seen the blockbuster film Waiting For Superman…until yesterday. I have, of course, been aware of this movie and heard what many people, especially teachers, have had to say about it. It will not surprise you that, generally, people in my circle have not liked this movie. (By the way, I borrowed ...more »

From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 41 minutes ago

From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated AssessmentDecember 13th, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost written by Douglas B. Reeves, founder of the Leadership and Learning Center in Salem, Mass., and author of ASCD books on educational leadership. Connect with Reeves by e-mail atDReeves@LeadAndLearn.com. This post was originally featured in ASCD Express.For all the ink that has been spilled regarding the issue of differentiated instruction, little has been ... more »

American Enterprise Institute’s Hess is intrigued by the NEA teacher effectiveness report. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 41 minutes ago

American Enterprise Institute’s Hess is intrigued by the NEA teacher effectiveness report. « Fred Klonsky:American Enterprise Institute’s Hess is intrigued by the NEA teacher effectiveness report.by Fred KlonskyIf Fred Hess is intrigued, you should be concerned with the NEA’s report.The American Enterprise Institute pretty much defines right-wing think tank.Fred Hess is an AEI “scholar.”He is the definition of an anti-union corporate school reformer.Amazingly, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel invited him to serve as a consultant to the NEA’s commission on

Support PURE! » PSAT for 12-13-11: Stop school closings!

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 12-13-11: Stop school closings!:PSAT for 12-13-11: Stop school closings!by adminTonight beginning at 6 pm, the CTU is sponsoring a vigil and camp out at CPS headquarters, 125 S. Clark Street, prior to the December 14th Chicago Board of Education meeting. Think about joining them, or at least stopping by for a while – after rush hour it gets pretty quiet downtown and you can usually drive by or even ... more »

Teacher Power: The One Percent Solution - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

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Teacher Power: The One Percent Solution - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:Teacher Power: The One Percent Solutionby Anthony CodyFollow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCodyNumbering more than four million, teachers represent better than one percent of the population of the United States. Given the fact that only about half the people in our nation actually vote, teachers are potentially even more than one percent of the electorate. And national elections are sometimes decided by margins smaller than this. Beyond ... more »

School Tech Connect: Words of Wisdom

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School Tech Connect: Words of Wisdom:Words of Wisdomby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Pass them along.Diane gave a barnburner in DC yesterday. I decided to pass it along to my state representative, my highly reformy state senator, my charter-happy liberal Democratic congresswoman, for whom I campaigned fiercely in 1998--and my senators, one of whom can be seen hiding in a copy room here. After reading Fred's last post, I feel like sending it to the leadership of NEA, which as far as I'm concerned ... more »

Florida Governor Scott is tonight’s Tool Time winner « Continuing Change

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Florida Governor Scott is tonight’s Tool Time winner « Continuing Change:Florida Governor Scott is tonight’s Tool Time winnerby gatorbonbc“Come on Scott, your half-ass efforts on Thanksgiving are not going to get Floridians on your side….and nobody who pays attentions to your efforts at dismantling the social safety net in Floridawill be fooled by your little photo op…so stop pretending to help the homeless while you are really just kicking them to the curb.Governor Scott is tonight’s Tool Time winner. “

Daily Kos: The most important speech on education in years #ows #edreform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 days ago

Daily Kos: The most important speech on education in years:The most important speech on education in yearsby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)was given yesterday at the National Opportunity to Learn Education Summit by Diane Ravitch.You can read the entire text here (pdf).You should.You should pass it on.For example, how about this paragraph: So today we see Wall Street hedge funders and billionaires saying that they are leading the civil rights movement of our time. I have trouble imagining Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ... more »

They eat kids, don’t they? Destroying the teaching profession in Wisconsin: Virtual vouchers are next | Dailycensored.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 days ago

They eat kids, don’t they? Destroying the teaching profession in Wisconsin: Virtual vouchers are next | Dailycensored.com:They eat kids, don’t they? Destroying the teaching profession in Wisconsin: Virtual vouchers are nextWritten by Danny WeilEducationDec 10, 20110diggShareThis is from Larry Miller’s blog out of Wisconsin. Not only are Walker’s policies destroying the teacher’s union and the desire on behalf of teachers to teach, but with all this he is destroying the lives of both the children ‘born’ (of which he has ... more »

National Opportunity to Learn Summit - Speech by Diane Ravitch

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 days ago

National Opportunity to Learn Summit - Speech by Diane Ravitch:National Opportunity to Learn Summit – Speech by Diane Ravitchby rbhattThe following speech was delivered by Diane Ravitch yesterday, December 9, 2011, at the National Opportunity to Learn Summit. Our own Ken Bernstein has written a piece on this speech at his Daily Kos. Check it out after reading the speech! Just click on the link to access the pdf copy of Diane Ravitch’s speech.

Action for week of December 11, 2011 | United Opt Out National

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Action for week of December 11, 2011 | United Opt Out National:Action for week of December 11, 2011by PegFor the week of December 11th we are asking everyone to spread the word of January 7th, National Opt Out Day, by sharing it on Facebook. Last week we asked that the information be placed in your email signature – easy peasy way to spread the word without any legwork. This week, make it go viral on FB!! Here is the info ... more »

Schools Matter: Diane Ravitch, December 9, 2011

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Schools Matter: Diane Ravitch, December 9, 2011:Diane Ravitch, December 9, 2011by Jim Horn NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARNSUMMITDecember 9, 2011Diane RavitchMy theme for today: Whosechildren have been left behind?Let me tell you a little bitabout myself. For many years, I was a strong advocate of testing, accountability,and choice. I worked in three conservative think tanks where these ideas wereheld sacred. In 1998, I went to Albany, New York, to testify on behalf ofcharter legislation. At the time I was connected to ... more »

Walker: Destroying the Teaching Profession in Wisconsin « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

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Walker: Destroying the Teaching Profession in Wisconsin « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:Walker: Destroying the Teaching Profession in Wisconsinby millerlfWill Anyone Want to Teach in WisconsinBy Lisa Kaiser ExpressMilwaukee 12/8/11Milwaukee-area teachers say they would not encourage anyone to pursue a career in education, according to a new survey conducted by the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), which represents educators across the state.Three-fourths of the 3,800 educators surveyed said morale has gotten worse since February, when Gov. Scott Walker int... more »

9 Valley schools to lose Title I funds - LA Daily News

9 Valley schools to lose Title I funds - LA Daily News:

9 Valley schools to lose Title I funds

By Barbara Jones, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 12/13/2011 10:31:26 PM PST

Updated: 12/13/2011 10:35:57 PM PST

Federal money to help impoverished students will be diverted from 23 Los Angeles Unified schools, including nine in the San Fernando Valley, to campuses with higher numbers of low-income students under new guidelines adopted Tuesday by the school board.

Valley board member Tamar Galatzan led a spirited debate as she fought the proposal to raise the threshold for receiving Title I money, which helps pay for things like dropout specialists, counselors and after-school programs.

Under the new rules, half of a school's enrollment must be considered low income, up from the previous 40 percent. That means that schools like the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, where 49.07 percent of the students are impoverished, will no longer be eligible for the supplemental funding of about $450 a year per student. Instead, the money will be given to Title I schools where at least three-quarters of students are

Ravitch: What Scrooge might think of modern school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Ravitch: What Scrooge might think of modern school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Ravitch: What Scrooge might think of modern school reform

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by education historian Diane Ravitch for her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is the author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” an important critique of the flaws in the modern school reform movement that she just updated.

Read full article >>

Jersey Jazzman: Voucher Mendacity

Jersey Jazzman: Voucher Mendacity:

Voucher Mendacity

by Duke

The school voucher proponents are just so brazen in the way they twist the facts:

When critics worried that OSA would divert funds from local public schools, it is a revenue-neutral bill that was revised to pass on the savings as well as the costs to local school districts.

Although school districts bear the costs of their students’ scholarships, they also avoid the costs of educating those students. Since the average school district spends $18,000 on each student, districts will save at least $8,000 for each scholarship recipient in elementary or high school, respectively.

The money saved by OSA will allow school districts to invest even more money on the

Abandoned Library in South Central Los Angeles Liberated, Evicted « occupy california #ows

Abandoned Library in South Central Los Angeles Liberated, Evicted « occupy california:

Abandoned Library in South Central Los Angeles Liberated, Evicted

by mtd

INGLEWOOD, CA — Around 9am this morning, youth from South Central LA, Watts, Inglewood, and Compton liberated the LA City Library’s Hyde Park branch on Crenshaw and 66th. The library has been vacant since 2004 and is located in one of LA County’s poorest neighborhoods, not far from one of the major flash points of the Rodney King riots.

The action was intended to keep the building open to provide programming and services to the community, including free food, employment and health workshops, and classes for high school students who have been through the criminal justice system or are at risk.

LAPD officers arrived within an hour–apparently alarmed that young people of color were trying to enter a library–

NYC Public School Parents: Overwhelming Opposition to DOE Agenda for PEP

NYC Public School Parents: Overwhelming Opposition to DOE Agenda for PEP:

Overwhelming Opposition to DOE Agenda for PEP

by Patrick J. Sullivan

This week's agenda has some highly controversial items. Emails sent to me ran overwhelmingly against the co-location of Success Academy in Cobble Hill. There were 540 opposed and 5 emails in favor. I wrote back to four of the supporters. Their primary issue was simply overcrowding and are looking for more good schools. There was no preference for a charter.

For a good preview of the meeting and deep dive into the issues at stake, be sure to check out Liza Featherstone's Brooklyn Rail column Here Comes Success. Here's an excerpt:

At Success Academies, by contrast, the 1% runs the schools for the 99%. But public schools are not supposed to be charities. In fact, in the 19th century, the move away from charity schools, toward a publicly funded, publicly controlled system, was a significant step toward a more democratic society. That’s progress we’re rushing to undo in our own century. A public school is not supposed to use the generously donated largesse of the rich to benefit a handful at the

Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Denying Your Brother « Student Activism

Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Denying Your Brother « Student Activism:

Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Denying Your Brother

by Angus Johnston

I recently read A Rap on Race, the book-length transcript of a conversation between James Baldwin and Margaret Mead, recorded in
the summer of 1970. As I noted last week it’s a fascinating book, and I’m going to be posting excerpts every Wednesday for the next while.

Here’s the first, from the third page of the book:

MEAD: I recall a boy whose father married again, married a woman who had a son about the same age. They weren’t related, of course, they were stepbrothers. And then that father and mother, the father of the first boy and the mother of the second, had a child. And the first boy said, “Now I feel differently about it. We have a brother in common.”

BALDWIN: Ah, that makes a great deal of difference.

MEAD: You see, this is true in a sense. Because as far as I know — and this is all any white person in the

The Truth Behind Stand for Children: A Video | Seattle Education

The Truth Behind Stand for Children: A Video | Seattle Education:

The Truth Behind Stand for Children: A Video

by seattleducation2011

The unholy trinity of Stand for Children (SFC), the League of Education Voters (LEV) and the Washington State PTA (WSPTA) will be lobbying for a charter school bill starting in January with the backing of Microsoft, Boeing and Bill Gates. They will be in the House and Senate halls in Olympia in front of our representatives saying that they stand for the rest of us when in actuality they are representing only a wealthy few.

After watching this video, please send this to your representatives in Olympia, you school PTA, your school board representatives and the board members of the WSPTA. Everyone needs to be informed about who is backing charter school legislation in our state and exactly what organizations like LEV, SFC and the Alliance for Education have become, puppets of the 1%.

Thanks to Parents Across America, Portland for

Florida Charter Schools Failing Disbaled Children | Scathing Purple Musings

Florida Charter Schools Failing Disbaled Children | Scathing Purple Musings:

Florida Charter Schools Failing Disbaled Children

by Bob Sikes

From reporters John O’Connor and Sarah Gonzalez of NPR:

According to state law, every student is supposed to have an equal shot at enrollment – including students with disabilities. But students with severe disabilities are not appearing in most charter school classrooms.

StateImpact Florida and The Miami Herald gathered and analyzed data on K-12 students with disabilities from 14 school districts representing more than three-quarters of Florida’s total charter enrollment.

The analysis focused on students in the state’s two most severe disability categories, which