Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Asking students: revolutionary?

Whether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that...

Whether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that station will be held by anyone else I cannot tell. All I can say is I am Devoted and Dedicated to my education. That is WHY I OCCUPY!

I Occupy Education because they say we don’t CARE. We...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks ago

I Occupy Education because they say we don’t CARE. We proved them all wrong with Occupy High!

I Occupy Education because I...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks ago

I Occupy Education because I think! Engaged Development Unique Creative Active Talent Interesting Occupy Nonviolence Love Education!

- Ive seen locked doors open due to my education - I want to...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks ago

- Ive seen locked doors open due to my education - I want to see money equally distributed to ALL schools, no matter that location of the institution or the race of the student body. - innovatively injecting education into the minds of the youth will cripple “the cycle” - We live in a society where operating without one is extremely dangerous - I want my kids and all their friends to be contributing members of society - Ignorance is not bliss, more like poison. - If we all occupied education”their” efforts in oppressing us would be a lot more strenuous on their behalf. I OCC... more »

From a student at Occupy High… I occupy Education because...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks ago

From a student at Occupy High… I occupy Education because I am the future, the pillars of society. We are the future, the pillars of society. The good and the great of humanity comes out of whether we have a good educational system. Occupy Edu Because I love to learn. I occupy edu because I need to be educated. And I got 99 reasons why! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-High/201388856602444

From a student at Occupy High… Don’t analyze me....

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 3 weeks ago

From a student at Occupy High… Don’t analyze me. Inspire me. I occupy my education! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-High/201388856602444

ninafranco90: As a future educator… I am determined to provide...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

ninafranco90: As a future educator… I am determined to provide a quality education for ALL students regardless of zip code, SES, language, race, AND legal status. I see students’ abilities before their disabilities. I refuse to fill students’ minds with the ideals of a corrupt Capitalistic society. I OCCUPY EDUCATION

I occupy education by teaching in a mindset, “The Secret...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

I occupy education by teaching in a mindset, “The Secret W6” (don’t ask, ‘cos if you need to you aren’t a member) where the demands of the “Curriculum” come second, third or last to the importance of discussing What Really Matters.

I occupy education so that all children will one day be healthy,...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

I occupy education so that all children will one day be healthy, well nourished, are part of a community, and that their gifts are celebrated! 1 in 4 hungry children in New Mexico

I occupied education by publishing a book with the testimonies...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

I occupied education by publishing a book with the testimonies of the actual protesters themselves. It’s time for a revolution and it starts right here in the hearts of the protesters. I, myself am an educator. Occupy the World: From the Heart of the Protesters. I spoke with various protesters in Chicago and New York. I have published them here. In honor of the protesters and the movement, it is available free.

I occupy education because I believe education should inspire,...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

I occupy education because I believe education should inspire, empower, challenge, and facilitate growth

Occupy Education Blogger March Day of Action N17 #occupyeduN17 « Cooperative Catalyst

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

Occupy Education Blogger March Day of Action N17 #occupyeduN17 « Cooperative Catalyst: Please join us by making your voice heard! Today’s blogger march in solidarity with the direct action around the world is meant to help amplify our voice and those of other teachers, parents and students. From Portland to Wall St to Munich to Madrid, students, parents and teachers are marching for a better world for our children and our community. Make your stories and visions public today. *Here are a few ways you can add your voice to the blogger march today and for the rest of the weekend:* ... more »

I am a big picture visionary person, and one who strives to...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 weeks ago

I am a big picture visionary person, and one who strives to make this world a better place.I see education as a place to foster learning about the world, and about relationships. The corporate influence in the educational environment via the testing companies, have made it increasingly difficult for teachers to be creative, and to allow for children to discover their passions and to work cooperatively together. The public school system is yet another environment that divides us. We must transform this system if we are to prepare the younger generations for the challenges we face... more »

Occupy Education: School should be a time and place for students...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 1 month ago

Occupy Education: School should be a time and place for students to discover and become themselves. At the same time, they should learn to become contributing members of something bigger than themselves: A classroom community, a group of friends, a family, a neighborhood, a polis. As educators, therefore we must aspire toward building classroom communities around this ideal: where each person is encouraged to grow and thrive in harmony with others. See my blog post: Part I — “Education is political”: The people and the * polis* .

Occupy Education Reclaiming Our Voice In Education!

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 1 month ago

Occupy Education Reclaiming Our Voice In Education!

I occupy education because: The big picture is being shattered...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 1 month ago

I occupy education because: - The big picture is being shattered into smaller and smaller pieces. - We need less competition and more cooperation—now more than ever. - The labels we assign to students (and other people) become our blinders. - Learning “disabilities” may actually be wonderful gifts. - We become less human the more we allow ourselves to be measured, tracked, and reduced to bits of data. - Teachers and students are not robots. - Imagination—not productivity—is the engine of human progress. - “Normal” is a myth. Diversity is the truth. ... more »

Occupy Education Radical Doula I am a grad student researching...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 1 month ago

Occupy Education Radical Doula I am a grad student researching midwifery and birth, and I’m in the process of receiving my doula certification via DONA. I occupy education by insisting whatever I learn about women’s reproductive health should be shared and common knowledge.

To educate for liberation is to tear down prison walls that had...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 1 month ago

To educate for liberation is to tear down prison walls that had colonized our imaginations and held our minds captive. I Occupy Education. New Orleans Liberation Academy is an emerging grassroots community-based, democratic school based in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. The Lower 9th Ward community, the city of New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast is our classroom. The challenges our communities face and our collective vision for the future is our curriculum. To learn more and/or get involved with making education a practice of liberation in New Orleans, visit www.liberationacadem... more »

I Occupy Education by helping visual thinkers learn important...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - 1 month ago

I Occupy Education by helping visual thinkers learn important skills and express their own profound stories through Video Storytelling. Video Storytelling is a powerfully effective, research-validated teaching tool which engages the students, communicates in a visual language, and creates movies in which the student is the star. Parents or educators can film the students acting out a social or educational concept, with support as needed. Then we edit out the prompting. As the students see themselves in the movie doing & saying something new, independently & successfully, the ... more »

New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012 « Cooperative Catalyst

New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012 « Cooperative Catalyst:

New Year, New Teacher-my classroom resolutions for 2012

by Tinashe Blanchet

It has been a long time since I’ve posted on my own blog because lately, I have gone into survival mode–just getting grades done and hanging on to my sanity leading up to the holiday break. The fall semester was filled with triumphs and successes for my students and me, but I also must admit that in the end, I was pretty disappointed by what things had degenerated into. Even my students wondered (aloud) if I was having trouble in my personal life, as my jovial, chatty demeanor quickly deteriorated into a frazzled abruptness as the end of the semester approached. My personal life was fine, it was my job that was stealing my joy! By my last day, I found myself questioning whether I should just switch careers, since my patience had clearly run out. I even scheduled an interview for a consulting gig that would possibly include a company car in which I could drive far, far away from grades, obnoxious kids, demanding administrators and all of the things that made being a teacher so. damn. hard.

Today, after enjoying some much needed quality time with family and friends, I can now say what I’ve always known–I was born to be in the classroom. I love kids, especially the ones who get on your last nerve. I love

Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal | Scathing Purple Musings

Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal | Scathing Purple Musings:

Continuing the Deliberately Misleading and Coordinated Smear on Florida’s Teachers for Opposing Blaine Amendment Repeal

by Bob Sikes

James Madison Institute public policy director Robert Sanchez was a busy man two days before Christmas. His first order of business was in contributing to a Tallahassee Democrat piece which touted school choice as” the civil rights issue of this era.”

Sanchez has obviously staked out a position which choice trumps all. Its a difficult one at times to defend when confronted by realities. Choice or “too choose” is such an ill-defined thing. For choice at-all-cost advocates like Sanchez, it ultimately presumes that some combination of federal-state-local governments will be providing universal school choice. At some point equating choice with civil rights will become absurd to the casual observer.

Sanchez and I agree on one thing. Its time to shudder to federal department of education. Our reasons are just

Jersey Jazzman: Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias

Jersey Jazzman: Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias:

Cerf: Facts Have A Racial Bias

by Duke

There is no other way to read this latest pronouncement from ACTING NJ Education Commissioner Cerf:

AP: What's the state of public education in New Jersey? How do we compare to other states?
Cerf: We compare very well from an aggregate perspective if you take the NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. New Jersey typically ranks within the top two to four in each of the four major categories.
It's a reflection of a very evolved, very developed, very successful education system in the main. The dissonance in that is if you get beneath the numbers, beneath the aggregates,

Seattle Schools Community Forum: 2011 in Review

Seattle Schools Community Forum: 2011 in Review:

2011 in Review

by Charlie Mas

My, but this was a year of change for Seattle Public Schools.

Change at the top.
The biggest news of the year was the sudden dismissal of the superintendent, Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. The Board, which had dragged their feet from June to March in response to the State Auditor's report, acted expeditiously between their receipt of a report from an internal investigation of the Regional Small Business Development Program and their decision to fire the superintendent. We can make all kinds of conjecture about why the Board decided to fire her, but we need to give strong credence to their stated reason: they no longer felt that they could trust her. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson had been losing the Board's trust bit by bit in a number of other incidents over the course of the previous three years. The "Pottergate" scandal was just the last step - a big one - that took her over the line. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson was fired "without cause" and took a year's pay (over a quarter

Jersey Jazzman: Still Not Getting It On Charters

Jersey Jazzman: Still Not Getting It On Charters:

Still Not Getting It On Charters

by Duke

Oh, Star-Ledger: what do I have to do to get you to start understanding the charter school debate?

As charter schools begin to spread beyond the urban districts where they first took root, they are provoking a political backlash in the suburbs that could weaken support for the overall movement. We've seen the brush fires in Cherry Hill, East Brunswick, Millburn, Montclair and Princeton.
In our view, the opposition in the suburbs is mostly misplaced. Every district has the right to open a charter, an alternative public school that educates kids

Daily Kos: blame this one on Jotter

Daily Kos: blame this one on Jotter:

blame this one on Jotter

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

thanks to his retrospective lists of top ten diaries, I encountered one I posted two years ago on Christmas.

Even as we are past that day now, I have just reread it, it still speaks to me, and I thought perhaps I would share it again. If you prefer the original for the thread, you can read it here

Please indulge me a bit

ecause this will be another diary where I meditate aloud - or if you prefer, online. I do not celebrate Christmas per se - my wife goes off to her immediate family and spouses and children.

I lack the financial resources to give gifts. But I wish to offer gratitude. So my gifts will be in the form of the words I offer here. Thanks, with explanations.

It may not be Thanksgiving, but this, after all, a holiday with which the words Peace on Earth, Good Will towards Men are associated. And it those two things, Peace, and Good Will, on which I wish to focus.

This will be a personal reflection, you may not agree with the selections I make. They will be my selections.

Feel free to stop reading if that does not interest you.

Daily Kos: TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Daily Kos: TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE:

TFA: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

TFA = Teach for America. The title of this post is borrowed from this piece from my good friend David Greene, who has mentored Teach for America recruits for a number of years.

I think it is one of the most important things for understanding the problems with Teach for America. Thus I asked Dave for permission to cross-post it here, which he willingly gave.

Everything else below the ------ line are words from Dave, which is why I have blockquoted them.

I think his words need to be widely distributed, which is why I am not only cross-posting here, but urging you to share, either through this diary or directly from the link for his blog. Thanks in advance for all that you do.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the past three and a half years, I have worked very closely with 19 first and second year

Modern School: Too Much Evolution For KY Superintendent

Modern School: Too Much Evolution For KY Superintendent:

Too Much Evolution For KY Superintendent

by Michael Dunn

Caricature of Darwin, 1871 (Public Domain)

Evolution, is fine, just like junk food, so long as we aren’t giving our kids too much of it, suggests Ricky Line, superintendent of Hart County Schools in Kentucky. Line wrote to the Kentucky Board of Education to complain about the overemphasis on evolution in the schools.

The Panda’s Thumb blog paraphrased his letter to the school board:

“I have a deep concern about the increased emphasis on the evolution content required in the new End-of-Course Blueprint. After carefully

Ten Edu-Stories We'll Be Reading in 2012 :: Frederick M. Hess

Ten Edu-Stories We'll Be Reading in 2012 :: Frederick M. Hess:

Ten Edu-Stories We'll Be Reading in 2012

by Frederick M. Hess • Dec 27, 2011 at 10:49 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Here's my best guess at some of the key edu-headlines we'll be reading in 2012.

10] "GOP presidential nominee abandons primary season attacks on Department of Education; talks up education reform in push for moderates."

9] "Aggressive efforts to tackle bullying starting to raise questions and fuel backlash. After a number of elementary-age boys are disciplined or even suspended for 'harassment' that included routine tussling and name-calling, many parents and school board members are asking whether the anti-bullying effort has gone too far."

8] "Relentless attacks by media, Obama administration, and Senator Harkin on for-profit operators in K-12 and

December’s Best Tweets | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

December’s Best Tweets | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

December’s Best Tweets

by Larry Ferlazzo

Every month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. Now and then, in order to make it a bit easier for me, I may try to break it up into mid-month and end-of-month lists (and sometimes I’m a bit late).

I’ve already shared in earlier posts several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave credit to those from whom I learned about them. Those are not included again in this post.

If you don’t use Twitter, you can also check-out all of my “tweets” on Twitter profile page or subscribe to their RSS feed.

This month, I’m trying the embed feature the “new” Twitter offers. We’ll see how it looks…

ASCD Inservice: The #1 Reason Girls Drop Out (and What You Can Do About It)

ASCD Inservice: The #1 Reason Girls Drop Out (and What You Can Do About It):

The #1 Reason Girls Drop Out (and What You Can Do About It)

by ASCD Bloggers

The United States has the highest teen birthrate in the industrialized world, and teen pregnancy and parenting is the number one reason girls drop out of school. (See the infographic below for the far-reaching effects of teen pregnancy.)

This is an avoidable crisis -- Teen parents don't have to be left behind. Not only can access to comprehensive sex education (including information about both abstinence and birth control) help drive down those numbers, but measures to keep pregnant and parenting students in school actually reduce the incidence of repeat teen pregnancies, and lead to improved outcomes for teen parents and their children.

Building school connectedness, empowering students with accurate sex education, and ensuring school policies that

The Quick and the Ed

by ASCD Bloggers

If you're an education law junkie or simply an educator wondering how the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) will affect you and your school, The Quick and the Ed belongs on your must-read list. The blog...