Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform 1-19

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Education Reformer Cabal (Rhee, Duncan, Gates) Gets Called out at a Data Quality Campaign Conference. It was NOT Appreciated.

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 23 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Education Reformer Cabal (Rhee, Duncan, Gates) Gets Called out at a Data Quality Campaign Conference. It was NOT Appreciated.:The Education Reformer Cabal (Rhee, Duncan, Gates) Gets Called out at a Data Quality Campaign Conference. It was NOT Appreciated.by stlgretchenThe Data Quality Campaign group had a meeting in Washington DC yesterday about the data to be extracted and supplied by public school children. From the DQC website:

The values behind ‘value-added’ | Taking Note

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 23 minutes ago

The values behind ‘value-added’ | Taking Note:The values behind ‘value-added’by John MerrowJohn investigates the new turn towards "value-added" measures in education.Does the current push for “Value Added” measures mean that education has finally figured it out, or is this yet another silver bullet that will fail — and perhaps do more harm than good along the way?While that is an interesting question, a number of prior questions need answers:1. What exactly do we mean by ‘value’?2. Who adds ‘value,’ and ... more »

Follow up on Fire First, Ask Questions Later « School Finance 101

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Follow up on Fire First, Ask Questions Later « School Finance 101:Follow up on Fire First, Ask Questions Laterby schoolfinance101Many of us have had extensive ongoing conversation about the Big Study (CFR) that caught media attention last week. That conversation has included much thoughtful feedback from the authors of the study. That’s how it should be. A good, ongoing discussion delving into technical details and considering alternative policy implications. I received the following kind note from one of the study ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's retreat was phony

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's retreat was phony:Rahm's retreat was phonyby Mike KlonskyProtesting the mayor's latest assault on free speech.With protesters chanting “We vote no” outside, a compliant city council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to deny First Amendment rights to the thousands of protesters who are expected to come Chicago for the NATO and G-8 summits. The cost to taxpayers for the summits will likely exceed a billion dollars, if past summits are

Shanker Blog » Income And Educational Outcomes

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Shanker Blog » Income And Educational Outcomes:Income And Educational Outcomesby Matthew Di CarloThe role of poverty in shaping educational outcomes is one of the most common debates going on today. It can also be one of the most shallow.The debate tends to focus on income. For example (and I’m generalizing a bit here), one “side” argues that income and test scores are strongly correlated; the other “side” points to the fact that many low-income students do very well and cautions ... more »

Teachers, Superman and the ‘anti-Michelle Rhee’ - News - Local Stories - January 19, 2012 - Sacramento News & Review

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 23 minutes ago

Teachers, Superman and the ‘anti-Michelle Rhee’ - News - Local Stories - January 19, 2012 - Sacramento News Review:Teachers, Superman and the ‘anti-Michelle Rhee’Education historian Diane Ravitch says education reformers are killing the American school systemBy Cosmo Garvin cosmog@newsreview.comRead 1 reader submitted commentThis article was published on 01.19.12.You’ve seen Waiting for Superman and were thrilled ateducation-reform superstar and part-time Sacramentan Michelle Rhee roughing up those bad teachers.Bill Gates too is spreading the gospel of more testing and technology in... more »

Diane Ravitch: Embattled teachers need support, not more testing - Lodi News-Sentinel: News

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Diane Ravitch: Embattled teachers need support, not more testing - Lodi News-Sentinel: News:Diane Ravitch: Embattled teachers need support, not more testingStoryCommentsShareSharePrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizePosted: Thursday, January 19, 2012 12:00 amBy Sara Jane Pohlman/News-Sentinel Staff Writer | 0 commentsDiane Ravitch believes public school teachers are getting bashed for problems beyond their control. She's strongly critical of standardized testing, which she says is corroding public education, not building it.She is an author, ...more »

NYC Educator: Getting Even?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 23 minutes ago

NYC Educator: Getting Even?:Getting Even?There are many good reasons for teachers not to bully children. First and most obviously, it's wrong, followed closely by the fact that it is illegal and you could lose your job if you engage in it. We as educators are meant to build the capacities of children, be honest with them but also fair and kind, and if we humiliate, belittle, and hurt children, those very basic goals are not going to get accomplished. We ... more »

Retired D.C. teacher says he was thrown out of ed data summit - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

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Retired D.C. teacher says he was thrown out of ed data summit - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Retired D.C. teacher says he was thrown out of ed data summitby Valerie StraussA retired D.C. teacher who has written critically about Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee said security guards escorted him out of an education data summit where the two were speaking on Wednesday.Read full article New problems found in 4th-grade Virginia history textbookby Valerie StraussThis was written ... more »

How Effective Family Engagement Makes a Difference : NEA Today

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How Effective Family Engagement Makes a Difference : NEA Today:How Effective Family Engagement Makes a DifferenceJanuary 18, 2012 by twalker Filed under Featured News, NEA Priority Schools Campaign, Top StoriesLeave a CommentBy Cindy LongIf it hadn’t been for parental involvement at Glendale Middle School, a large group of girls would be failing gym class for one simple reason – they couldn’t wear the uniform.Nearly a quarter of the student population at Glendale is Muslim, and for religious reasons, Muslim girls ... more »

DIANE RAVITCH AND THE SELF-DEFEATING PUBLIC EDUCATION NO DIRECT ACTION AGENDA - Perdaily.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 hours ago

DIANE RAVITCH AND THE SELF-DEFEATING PUBLIC EDUCATION NO DIRECT ACTION AGENDA - Perdaily.com:DIANE RAVITCH AND THE SELF-DEFEATING PUBLIC EDUCATION NO DIRECT ACTION AGENDAby Leonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)One year ago Diane Ravitch spoke at Immanuel Presbyterian Church across from the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) headquarters. Her analysis of how the corporate agenda was proceeding unimpeded for privatizing public education and in the process ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Really? We're Winning? It Doesn't Seem Like It

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Really? We're Winning? It Doesn't Seem Like It:Really? We're Winning? It Doesn't Seem Like Itby Melissa WestbrookReader Caroline commented on this post by Alexander Russo at This Week in Education (late December, 2011). It's a pretty funny lament over how the ed reformers can't seem to sell their message. These two lines made me laugh:In contrast, reformy folks have lacked a SWAT team of feisty and prolific school-level champions defending articulating their message. The now middle-aged ... more »

Schools Matter: Save Ethnic Studies

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 hours ago

Schools Matter: Save Ethnic Studies:Save Ethnic StudiesAmigos,This information is being sent to you by Roger Norma Cazares . . . PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY! If you want someone to address this issue further at any gathering, let us know.As you may know, Arizona has banned the teaching of ethnic studies, specifically targeting Mexican-American Studies in the Tucson Unified School District. Eleven TUSD teachers, administrators and students are suing the state to bring back Ethnic Studies.To fight blatant discrimination and the spread ... more »

School Tech Connect: On Data, and Fundamentalism

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 18 hours ago

School Tech Connect: On Data, and Fundamentalism:On Data, and Fundamentalismby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)I stopped teaching kids English at the end of the of the 2004-2005 school year to become a testing coordinator and media specialist, and then administrator and finally, a computer guy. I'm trying to think of a time in the classroom or after when there was a data point generated from testing that surprised me or highlighted a trend I couldn't guess from working with kids all day long.I ... more »

Paulo Freire’s book, ‘A Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ banned in Tucson: A note from Bill Bigelow and ReThinking Schools | Dailycensored.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 18 hours ago

Paulo Freire’s book, ‘A Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ banned in Tucson: A note from Bill Bigelow and ReThinking Schools | Dailycensored.com:Paulo Freire’s book, ‘A Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ banned in Tucson: A note from Bill Bigelow and ReThinking SchoolsWritten by Danny WeilDaily Journal (Opinion), EducationJan 18, 20120diggShareDear Rethinking Schools friends,Did you see the news last week? On Friday, we learned that our book Rethinking Columbus was banned — along with other books used in Tucson’s Mexican American Studies program, including ... more »

Geaux Teacher!: REFORM OR BUST - JINDAL STYLE!!!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 18 hours ago

Geaux Teacher!: REFORM OR BUST - JINDAL STYLE!!!:REFORM OR BUST - JINDAL STYLE!!!by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT)http://theadvocate.com/newsletters/breakingnewsnewsletter/1826105-77/jindal-gives-education-specifics.htmlGovernor Jindal finally "revealed" his agenda for the demise of true public education today. The full article can be found at the URL above and a concise FACT SHEET as distributed to the press is below. I'll try to address each point in separate blogs - I guess you could call it a translation or transliteration - because the language and syntax Jindal ... more »

All Things Education: Opportunity to Expand Choice (Maybe)

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 18 hours ago

All Things Education: Opportunity to Expand Choice (Maybe):Opportunity to Expand Choice (Maybe)by Rachel LevyI've been busy responding to my governor's education agenda. On Monday, I wrote about the initiative to advance literacy. On Tuesday, I wrote about possible implications of repealing the Kings Dominion Law. Today will be a much meatier post about choice. I want to take a minute to acknowledge that school choice is a very thorny and complex issue; I do my best to approach it as ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: More Leadership Voices Speaking Out Against Charter Legislation

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 18 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: More Leadership Voices Speaking Out Against Charter Legislation:More Leadership Voices Speaking Out Against Charter Legislationby Melissa WestbrookBraving the snow day, the president of WSSDA (Washington State School Directors' Association), Mary Fertakis, testified today before the Senate committee hearing testimony about SB 6202, the charter schools bill.Here's a link to the story at the Seattle Education blog. It is clear from her testimony that she has read this bill thoroughly and spotted several of the issues I ... more »

Schools Matter: Arizona Oppressors Ban Discussion of Oppression in Classrooms

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Schools Matter: Arizona Oppressors Ban Discussion of Oppression in Classrooms:Arizona Oppressors Ban Discussion of Oppression in Classroomsby Jim HornFrom Democracy Now:Public school officials in Tucson, Arizona, have released a list of seven banned books that can no longer be used in classrooms following their suspension of the district’s acclaimed Mexican American Studies program. Last year, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal ruled the program violated a new state law, saying it "promote[s] resentment toward a race or class of ... more »

The Washington Teacher: Vote For The Washington Teacher Blog's Fascination Award!

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The Washington Teacher: Vote For The Washington Teacher Blog's Fascination Award!:Vote For The Washington Teacher Blog's Fascination Award!by Candi PetersonDear Washington Teacher blog readers:I want to thank many of my loyal readers who continue to check out The Washington Teacher blog regularly. As you may have noticed, I have taken a short-term break from blogging. After writing this blog for three years, while maintaining my full-time job at DCPS- I felt the need for a little R R (rest and ... more »

The People's Library: Did You Know? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

The People's Library: Did You Know? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

The People's Library: Did You Know?

by Tarsi Dunlop

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library. Materials are added at the rate of 10,000 per day and the Copyright Office has a card catalogue with more than45 million card entries. It contains 838 miles of bookshelves and holds a collection of more than 147 million items. The Library is open to the public and its resources are available on-site in Washington D.C to anyone older than 16 with government issued identification. The American Memory Project – an effort to digitalize a large portion of the Library’s collection – has more than 9 million items available electronically, for free, to anyone with access to the internet.

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RheeFirst! » The irony of the Data Quality Summit– from an eyewitness account

RheeFirst! » The irony of the Data Quality Summit– from an eyewitness account:

The irony of the Data Quality Summit– from an eyewitness account

by admin

This piece was submitted to Rheefirst by “Daequan”–a Summit event participant whose true identity we’ve been able to verify

“I admit it. I went in person to the DQC event to see how Michelle Rhee would handle her cheating reputation. However the audience was never able to ask questions and cheating was never mentioned.

Rhee was apparently unaware that people like me were in the audience. When she described academic progress in one school where she had changed the principal as “unbelievable.” those in the know about the cheating scandal whispered to themselves, “it was unbelievable because it was cheating.” She claimed that the children at this school loved her, fawned over her and are now obsessed with their own student achievement, no

Five CTA members named Teachers of the Year - California Teachers Association

Five CTA members named Teachers of the Year - California Teachers Association:

Five CTA members named Teachers of the Year

By Dina Martin

California Teachers of the Year. From left: Rebecca Mieliwocki, Tom Collett, Shari Ann Herout, Ken LaVigne, Florence Avognon.

In a time of excessive cuts and dwindling resources, the 2012 California Teachers of the Year find success and recognition in their approach to teaching.

“This honor is afforded to teachers who have demonstrated a special ability to connect with their students, a zest for the classroom, a genuine passion for an occupation that is so demanding yet oh so rewarding, as these five talented individuals will attest,” explained Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

The five teachers to receive this year’s honor are:

Rebecca Mieliwocki, Seventh-Grade English, Luther Burbank Middle School
Burbank Teachers Association
Mieliwocki has been teaching for 13 years, including nine years at Burbank Middle School, where she teaches general education and Gifted and Talented Education classes. She is faculty chair and serves on the school leadership team. Her lessons are infused with a wide array of technical tools that, as her principal says, “brings lessons to life.” Mieliwocki will go on to represent California in the National Teacher of the Year program this spring.

Mieliwocki: “If I accomplish anything with my students, I am proud to say, it’s that when they leave my classroom, they are better people than when they walked through my door.”

Superintendent Torlakson: “Mrs. Mieliwocki is an innovative, creative teacher with boundless energy and an enthusiastic spirit that spreads through each class and each student. Her phenomenal approach toward teaching and her unshakable faith in the potential of her students, led me to nominate her for the national Teacher of the Year title.”

Florence Avognon, High School Reading/Reading Intervention, The Phoenix Academy
Los Angeles County Education Association
Avognon has been teaching for 18 years, including nine years at Central Juvenile Hall, a detention facility for students going through the court system. She teaches high school English and history. Due to budget cuts, Avognon was transferred in September to another court school, The Phoenix Academy, a residential treatment program for adolescent substance abusers, where she continues to teach high school.

Avognon: Part of her effectiveness as a teacher and mentor is to remind each new class of students that youth is fleeting. “I share with them that they were children longer than they will be teens, and that what they do for these brief six years can dictate what happens for the next 60 years of their lives.”

Superintendent Torlakson: “Ms. Avognon says teachers are simply partners for a better tomorrow. Such passionate, skilled, and dynamic teachers are able to take troubled and struggling young people and direct them to a brighter tomorrow, a more promising future.”

Tom Collett, Eighth-Grade Science, Newark Junior High School
Newark Teachers Association
Collett taught earth science for 17 years at Newark Memorial High School. The 2010-11 school year was his first at Newark Junior High School, where he currently teaches eighth grade science. An eclectic mix of magician and scientist, Collett keeps his students actively engaged through a treasure trove of strategies that include hands-on learning and the use of new educational technology, like a student response system where responses to questions are sent directly to his computer.

Collett: “Students need to feel connected to their teacher, which makes them brave, enthusiastic, and eager to learn.”

Superintendent Torlakson: “Tom is a wonderfully effective teacher who employs a wide array of teaching techniques tailored to increase student motivation, achievement, and engagement. I appreciate his remarkable ability to prepare students for an increasingly competitive, scientific world.”

Shari Ann Herout, Kindergarten and RtI, Foxboro Elementary School
Travis Unified Teachers Association
Herout has been teaching for 15 years, three of which have been at Foxboro Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten and provides Response to Intervention instruction. (RtI is a process that schools can use to help children who are struggling academically or behaviorally.) Each school day, her young children enter her world with a sense of wonder. They are each greeted personally with a handshake or elbow bump, and they instantly know they are safe in a classroom where “we make room for everyone to shine.”

Herout: “Once a child gets a taste of success, failure is no longer a measure of worth — strengths and successes are that measure, and weaknesses are simply skills to be worked on.”

Superintendent Torlakson: “Mrs. Herout sees teaching as more than a job. She teaches with a multiage, one-room schoolhouse philosophy that empowers her students to seek knowledge with passion. She knows of the obstacles that face many children, yet she helps them work through them so success can be achieved and savored.”

Ken LaVigne, Grades 10-12 OASIS and English, La Serna High School
Whittier Secondary Education Association
LaVigne has been a teacher and football coach for 27 years, the last 21 of which have been spent teaching English at La Serna High School. Within days of retiring from coaching in 2006, he was asked to help develop a program for the school’s most at-risk students. He and Principal Martin Plourde created Organized Academic Support in School (OASIS) with amazing results. The average GPA of the inaugural class upon entering the program was 0.93. A year later, the average GPA increased to 2.28. The first graduating class totaled a dozen students; last school year, the number doubled.

LaVigne: “My job is to determine the reasons for the lack of effort, anger, and defiance. Loneliness and desperation cut deeply into the spirit of a child. I am a medic. I have to first stop the bleeding, and then get to the business of healing.”

Superintendent Torlakson: “Mr. LaVigne brings to the classroom a unique blend of personal and professional commitment. He is able to break through the anger, the hopelessness that many of his students feel. As a teacher, an advocate, a watchdog, a cheerleader, he helps them find a reason to excel and sticks with them until they do.”

RELATED TAGS: Inside Educator, Educator, Make A Difference

Students & Parents Slam “Mayor 13%” Education Record « EdVox

Students & Parents Slam “Mayor 13%” Education Record « EdVox:

Students & Parents Slam “Mayor 13%” Education Record

by edvoxny

Just one-in-four City students and 13% of black and Latino students are prepared for college under Bloomberg Administration, according to recent data

(New York, NY – January 19, 2012) Fed up with abysmal college preparedness and attendance numbers under the Bloomberg Administration, the City’s largest student- and parent-led organizations decried the mayor’s failed

UNION’S LAST STAND GOING WELL ? « Teachers Fight Back

UNION’S LAST STAND GOING WELL ? « Teachers Fight Back:

UNION’S LAST STAND GOING WELL ?

by alkleen

A Golden Chalk Award goes out to all the volunteers in Wisconsin who are fighting to save the last hope of labor unions. Organizers of the move to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said they filed more than one million signatures with election officials demanding a new election. The total represents nearly half of all the votes cast in the 2010 race for governor that Walker won and nearly twice the number of signatures required.

Governor Walker and his millionaire friends were trying to strike the death knell for public worker unions like those of teachers, policemen and firefighters. Walker moved to crush unions by doing away with their collective bargaining rights and by cutting funds that went to employ such people. The last decade has seen union

Review of MAKING THE GRADES by Todd Farley | Mr. Teachbad

Review of MAKING THE GRADES by Todd Farley | Mr. Teachbad:

Review of MAKING THE GRADES by Todd Farley

by teachbad

Todd Farley, author of Making the Grades: My Misadventures in the Standardized Testing Industry (PoliPoint Press, 2009) leads us through a world that is at once outside of teaching and its very lifeblood. Our Dark Lord. In Making the Grades, Farley chronicles his 15-year rise through the standardized testing industry (STI); from lowly day-scorer to muckity-muck with a big expense account to high-paid consultant. In 1994, Farley started scoring written tests for $7.75/hour in Iowa City, IA. Read more […]