Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Afternoon Posts 2-5 #ows #edreform

The privatization trap - The 99 Percent Plan - Salon.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

The privatization trap - The 99 Percent Plan - Salon.com:The privatization trapFrom schools to prisons, outsourcing government's works typically ends with cronyism, waste and unaccountabilityBY MIKE KONCZALAn employee of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., waiting for the front gate to be opened. The detention center is operated on contract by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America. (Credit: AP)TOPICS:THE 99 PERCENT PLAN, AMERICAN SPRING, U.S. ECONOMYThe 99 Percent Plan is a joint Roosevelt Institute-Salon series that explores ...more »

4LAKids - HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT:HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENTBY GARY WALKER, THE ARGONAUT |HTTP://BIT.LY/XND0QSWednesday, February 1, 2012 5:19 PM PST :: A group of Mar Vista residents are mulling over the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District to stop the construction of a charter school.On Jan. 20, the LAUSD Facilities Management Division awarded Ocean Charter School a ... more »

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky:Sunday links.by Fred KlonskyThey’re still talking about Rahm’s paid protesters on Ken Davis’ Chicago Newsroom. This is a story that seems to have legs. It starts at 22:30 on the video.The cops break up one of the last Occupy encampments. This one in DC.In an address to the Hitler Youth, Hitler said, ”In our eyes, the German boy of the future must be slim and slender, as fast as a greyhound, tough as leather and hard ...more »

Jersey Jazzman: Full Disclosure From This Professional Blogger

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: Full Disclosure From This Professional Blogger:Full Disclosure From This Professional Bloggerby DukeIn the past, I've said I haven't made "one damn dime" off of this blog. Well, I started putting up the ads a while ago, and now I'm making just about that.So, every few months, I'll be taking Mrs. Jazzman out to dinner as a penance for making her listen to my rants while I type this tuff at the kitchen table. This is thanks to all ... more »

Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time « Mathalicious

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time « Mathalicious:Khan Academy: It’s Different This TimeFebruary 4, 2012 14 commentsOver the past year, it’s become difficult to have a conversation about education and education reform without mentioning the words “Khan Academy.” For those who aren’t familiar, Khan Academy is a website that offers free instructional videos on everything from basic arithmetic to multi-variable calculus. Its founder, Sal Khan, originally started the site to help tutor his cousins in math. Today, millions of students ... more »

Schools Matter: Wild Dreams about Anonymous and Testing

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Schools Matter: Wild Dreams about Anonymous and Testing:Wild Dreams about Anonymous and Testingby Jim HornLast night I was re-reading a terrific little book from 1976 by Don Martin, George Overholt, and Wayne Urban: Accountability in American Education: A Critique. The book brings so many elements of the current edu-mess into focus, while giving a long view of history. What is evident in re-reading this book is that the threats to democracy that the authors feared in 1976 from the encroaching ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Tenure Boogeyman!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: The Tenure Boogeyman!:The Tenure Boogeyman!by DukeOne of our recurring cast of characters here at the Jazzman has been the Merit Pay Fairy:Yo, whassup?The Merit Pay Fairy lives in the minds of corporate reformers, who believe the Fairy can magically wipe away the "achievement gap" with a mere wave of her wand. Don't bother trying to explain to these corporate reformers thatthe Merit Pay Fairy doesn't exist; like Linus in the pumpkin patch, they fervently wait for the Fairy ... more »

Finite Pie - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Finite Pie - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators:Looking AheadFinite PieWe grew up in an age of finite pie. There was only one pie and it could e divided into only so many slices. Even our pie graphs represent the totality of the resources we have to work with. There’s only so much pie to go around. And the implications play out in how we think, act and define success. If ... more »

Hyping classroom technology helps tech firms, not students - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 minutes ago

Hyping classroom technology helps tech firms, not students - latimes.com:Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms?How much genuine value is there in fancy educational electronics? Don't let companies or politicians fool you.Comments42Share0U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, left, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski speak at a Digital Learning Day event sponsored in part by Google, Comcast, ATT and Intel. (Mark Wilson, Getty Images / February 5, 2012)By Michael HiltzikFebruary 4, 2012Something sounded familiar last week when I heard U.S. ... more »

IT IS NOT SOMETHING NEW | Connected Principals

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IT IS NOT SOMETHING NEW | Connected Principals:IT IS NOT SOMETHING NEWby Akevy GreenblattPicture Courtesy of :reading.pppst.comOne of my pet peeves is when people think that Differentiation Instruction and 21st Century Skills are something new and that now teachers need to do something different. I think if would ask most teachers if it is important that they meet the needs of their students or that their students can communicate, think critically, and be creative, I would think most teachers would ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-4 #edreform #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm lures Hitler's favorite company to ChicagoBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 minute agoMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm lures Hitler's favorite company to Chicago:Rahm lures Hitler's favorite company to Chicagoby Mike KlonskyHere's what they brought with them I heard the mayor boasting the other day about how he had lured the German-based company, ThyssenKrupp to Chicago to set up it's regional headquarters. Rahm claims the move will add about 100 employees to it's payroll. Big ... more »

Corporate Education Reformers Plot Next Steps at Secretive Meeting | Common Dreams

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Corporate Education Reformers Plot Next Steps at Secretive Meeting | Common Dreams:Corporate Education Reformers Plot Next Steps at Secretive MeetingALEC Education "Academy" Launches on Island Resortby Dustin BeilkeToday, hundreds of state legislators from across the nation will head out to an "island" resort on the coast of Florida to a unique "education academy" sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). There will be no students or teachers. Instead, legislators, representatives from right-wing think tanks and for-profit education corporations will ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm lures Hitler's favorite company to Chicago

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm lures Hitler's favorite company to Chicago:Rahm lures Hitler's favorite company to Chicagoby Mike KlonskyHere's what they brought with them I heard the mayor boasting the other day about how he had lured the German-based company, ThyssenKrupp to Chicago to set up it's regional headquarters. Rahm claims the move will add about 100 employees to it's payroll. Big wup!“ThyssenKrupp’s decision to locate their North American headquarters in Chicago is a testament to the world-class business environment ...more »

Marvin Gaye - When A Man Loves A Woman

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

When a man loves a woman, can't keep his mind on nothing elseHe'll change the world, for the good thing he's foundIf she is bad he can't see it, she can do no wrongTurn his back on his bestfriend, if he put her downWhen a man loves a woman, he'll spend his very last dimeTrying to hold on, to what he needsHe give up all his conforts, sleep out in the rainIf she says it's the way, it ought to ... more »

Protesters gathered Saturday outside Dallas ISD board president's house | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Protesters gathered Saturday outside Dallas ISD board president's house | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com:Protesters gathered Saturday outside Dallas ISD board president's houseby Matthew Haag/ReporterUpset about recent decisions by the Dallas ISD school board, protesters chanted and marched Saturday morning outside one of board president Lew Blackburn's houses. The six demonstrators, led by community activist Joyce Foreman, expressed their displeasure with the board's controversial decision last month to close 11 DISD campuses. But the main purpose of Saturday's protest was ... more »

Schools Matter: Occupy the Unions #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Schools Matter: Occupy the Unions:Occupy the Unionsby Judy RabinLois Weiner, a professor at New Jersey City University, has an excellent article in the Winter issue ofNewPolitics titled Teacher Unionism Reborn, Weiner makes a case for occupying the unions.If teachers unions are to continue to exist as a meaningful form of workers’ representation, members need to transform them — and fast. The future of the movement depends on activists realizing that they, not staff or officers on the state and national ... more »

Grumpy Educators: 2012: States Where Parents Oppose Excessive Standardized Testing

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Grumpy Educators: 2012: States Where Parents Oppose Excessive Standardized Testing:2012: States Where Parents Oppose Excessive Standardized Testingby Sandra2012: States Where Parents Oppose Excessive Standardized TestingTexas in the news. Parent opposition to excessive testing and teaching to the test continues to grow, and they are not the only ones it seems.The New York Times quotes Robert Scott, the commissioner of the Texas

Student Assessments Facing Stiff Backlash in Texas - NYTimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Student Assessments Facing Stiff Backlash in Texas - NYTimes.com:In Texas, a Backlash Against Student TestingBy MORGAN SMITHPublished: February 4, 2012RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTSINGLE PAGEREPRINTSSHAREWhen Christopher Chamness entered the third grade last year, he began to get stomach aches before school. His mother, Edy, said the fire had gone out of a child who she said had previously gone joyfully to his classes.Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization. To join the conversation about this article, go ...more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 19: New Horizons

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 19: New Horizons:Week 18: What happens with the sub, stays with the sub…byalicemercerI’m coming back after some time off for a conferences. That combined with time off for an illness earlier in the month, and my kids have had more sub time than I would have liked. I’ve been fortunate to have some really good subs in the classroom (2 regulars), so I’m following the rule of letting them do what they ... more »

Bradenton Herald: Unsavory Prison Politics | Scathing Purple Musings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Bradenton Herald: Unsavory Prison Politics | Scathing Purple Musings:Bradenton Herald: Unsavory Prison Politicsby Bob SikesThe privatization lines have blurred in Florida. Few any longer even bother to dispute the fact that Florida’s republican-dominated legislature is engaged in attempted to privatize the state’s education apparatus via any means possible. The privatization template is currently placed over the state’s prison system. Like on education, republicans don’t seem to mind that their efforts are easily labeled as not being above-board. The editors of ... more »

5th Annual Media Reform Summit: Media for the 99% - Perdaily.com

5th Annual Media Reform Summit: Media for the 99% - Perdaily.com:

5th Annual Media Reform Summit: Media for the 99%

by Leonard Isenberg

The Occupy Movement has taken the country by storm, changing the dialogue everywhere from the presidential primaries to kitchen tables. People are talking about economic inequality and power concentrated in the hands of a few -- and they're looking for solutions. Social media and alternative media have aided the movement, providing a wake up call to the unfair advantage wealthy individuals and corporations hold over regular citizens in the political process and mass media environment.

We want to explore these ideas with you at our 5th Annual Media Reform Summit: Media for the 99%. You'll learn how to make new kinds of media work for campaigns, sift through the flood of information on and offline, and understand media reform policy -- all with the aim of ensuring that the media report on the stories that matter to the 99%.

This exciting event is a month away - and you can RSVP to reserve your spot now.

WHEN: Saturday, March 3 from 9:30am - 4:00pm
WHERE: Occidental College, 200 Johnson Hall
RSVP: Here.
AGENDA: Here.

Stay tuned for more updates, and we can't wait to see you!

TRIUMPH OF DUCT TAPE PEDAGOGY #edreform #edchat #p2

Rhee security detailed hired. Duct-taped protesters deemed dangerous

RheeFirst!:

Rhee security detailed hired. Duct-taped protesters deemed dangerous

RheeFirst!:

Rhee security detailed hired. Duct-taped protesters deemed dangerous.

“In order to insure order outside and inside the theater, I’ve hired security people who will be with us all week to provide protection for Michelle Rhee and to provide services as needed to guarantee your safety and enjoyment.“

One more myth (about Rhee) bites the dust

“‘Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee [...] failed miserably — as she conceded — in recruiting and training great principals, the key to turning a school around. She relied on a slapdash recruitment process and her instincts about which of the administrators she interviewed would be good and which wouldn’t.’

What’s more, Rhee cleverly dangled small bonuses in front of teachers; and as soon as they accept one of the bonuses, they find out that it has a poison pill inside, namely, the teacher has to give up some of his/her officially-bargained due-process rights that used to be guaranteed to any teacher in case of layoffs or school closings or other things like that.”

Rhee’s expertise on Alabama education and any pay-outs to her challenged

“Why does Alabama need a so-called expert from Washington D.C. to advise us what to do?” said Dr. Henry Mabry, AEA executive secretary. “Her group sneaks into the state to talk about education reform without even informing our state school superintendent and our state school board members.

“Finally, we must ask, who is picking up the tab for Ms. Rhee, who we understand earns more than $1 million a year. Surely Gov. Bentley doesn’t intend to dip into the Education Trust Fund to pay her.”

Sacramento protest: Rhee represents all that is bad with the education reform movement

Photo credit: Sacramento News and Review

“Mayor Kevin Johnson and his wife, Michelle Rhee, played a hometown gig last Wednesday night. But groupies didn’t cheer the couple at the venue. Instead, some 40 silent protesters, wearing masking tape over their mouths and holding anti-Rhee signs, picketed the education event outside

…Protesters like Kate Lenox were critical—she called the event a “sort of a fake, an Astroturf event for an Astroturf organization.” But she also spoke to the issues.

“[Rhee] represents all that is bad with the education-reform movement,” she argued. “She ignores poverty. The biggest determinate for a child’s success in school is income level. Instead of closing a school, schools ought to be given the resources they need to help kids.”

Diane Ravitch debates StudentsFirst lobbyist

Watch Diane Ravitch dismantle Rhee’s proxy, Tim Melton, on issues of teacher tenure, seniority, testing, and teacher evaluation.

From Minnesota Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Tim Melton left the Michigan House of Representatives to become Rhee’s lobbyist after helping her push her agenda through the Michigan legislature. His status status is that of a revolving door lobbyist—called “perhaps the most pernicious lobbying strategy” by ThinkProgress. Convicted and imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave this explanation of how corrupting the revolving door can be: “You know, when you’re done working on the Hill, we’d very much like you to consider coming to work for us.’ Now the moment I said that to them or any of our staff said that to ‘em, that was it. We owned them. And what does that mean? Every request from our office, every request of our clients, everything that we want, they’re gonna do. And not only that, they’re gonna think of things we can’t think of to do.”

Diane Ravitch Letter - Florida Model Does NOT Work Independent Source PAC

Diane Ravitch Letter - Independent Source PAC:

SPECIAL ISPAC GUEST COLUMN:
An Important Letter From Education Research Professor, Diane Ravitch, to New Mexico Legislators - Florida Model Does NOT Work.

Dear State Legislators:

Friends in New Mexico have told me that your governor wants to import the so-called "Florida model" of education to New Mexico.

I urge you to oppose this effort.

Florida is not a good model for the nation. It is not even good for Florida.

The Florida model rests on two pillars: One is privatization, the other is incessant testing. Neither is good for children or for the future well-being of your state.

Privatization in the Florida model proceeds through privately-managed charter schools and vouchers. Neither of them improves education.

Florida has authorized many charters. Charters are not the answer to educational needs of children for the following reasons, a

THE HYPOCRISY GROWS « Teachers Fight Back

THE HYPOCRISY GROWS « Teachers Fight Back:

THE HYPOCRISY GROWS

by alkleen

RECENT HEADLINES AND STATEMENTS FROM VARIOUS NEWS ORGANIZATIONS:

“There is no more important job than that of teaching our children.”

“Teachers have the most important job in our community.”

“Teachers deserve the respect that should be afforded to the most important job in our society.”

“We must get and retain the best and brightest people in our teaching profession.”

“Teachers seek a raise despite the difficult financial plight of our community.”

“New investigation finds that teachers receive pay for unused sick days.”

“Teacher pensions are one of the main problems that is

Grumpy Educators: Indiana: Bring parent opposition to excessive standardized testing out of the shadows

Grumpy Educators: Indiana: Bring parent opposition to excessive standardized testing out of the shadows:

Indiana: Bring parent opposition to excessive standardized testing out of the shadows

by Sandra

Yesterday, Grumpy Educators reported on Texas concerns of the testing "perversion."

Today, the highlight is on Indiana and parents who are organizing in opposition to testing.

Parent rights are at the heart of the issue. State Impact reported the story including Indiana Department of Education official Stephanie Sample response

LAUSD continues its broken promises

Intersections South LA | Opinion: LAUSD continues its broken promises:

Opinion: LAUSD continues its broken promises
Jose Lara | 2-4-2012 | | Print this Page

Rate this story: --rate-- 1 star 2 stars 3 stars 4 stars 5 stars

LAUSD continues to break its promise to our community by closing adult education. Adult Ed. is one of the few places our students and community can have a second chance at receiving their high school diploma, make up a class they might have missed while in high school, improve their English skills, or simply to learn a new trade in industrial arts. Adult Ed. helps our economy by providing thousands of hard working adults and high school students with the skills they need to enter a new career.

LAUSD breaks its promise to our youngest children by planning to eliminate early education. These are pre-K classes that help children get a head start in school. Study after study show that students who are enrolled in early education classes perform better throughout their educational career; it's a wise investment in the children's future.* Working class parents especially depend on early education as they do not have the resources to enroll their children in expensive private schools, art and other enrichmen

The privatization trap - The 99 Percent Plan - Salon.com

The privatization trap - The 99 Percent Plan - Salon.com:

The privatization trap

From schools to prisons, outsourcing government's works typically ends with cronyism, waste and unaccountability

BY MIKE KONCZAL

An employee of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., waiting for the front gate to be opened. The detention center is operated on contract by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America. (Credit: AP)

TOPICS:THE 99 PERCENT PLAN, AMERICAN SPRING, U.S. ECONOMY

The 99 Percent Plan is a joint Roosevelt Institute-Salon series that explores how progressives can shape a new vision for the economy. This is the first essay in the series.

Privatizing the government is one of the most active projects of the early 21st century.

Everything we once expected the government to do — from education to regulatory rule-writing to military operations to healthcare services to prison management — it now does less of, preferring to support markets in which these services are done through independent, profit-maximizing agents. Tools such as contracting out, vouchering and the selling-off of

4LAKids - HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT:

HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT

BY GARY WALKER, THE ARGONAUT |HTTP://BIT.LY/XND0QS

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 5:19 PM PST :: A group of Mar Vista residents are mulling over the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District to stop the construction of a charter school.

On Jan. 20, the LAUSD Facilities Management Division awarded Ocean Charter School a 2-acre plot at Walgrove Avenue Elementary School in Mar Vista in an effort to alleviate tensions brought on during “colocation spring” last year, when a plethora of charter schools sought classroom space at Westside neighborhood schools in March and April.

“We don’t want to (consider legal action), but we have to protect our way of life and our position as homeowners,” Linnea von Wissmann, who lives a few blocks from Walgrove, told The Argonaut.

Von Wissmann and several of her friends and neighbors feel that awarding a charter school - especially Ocean Charter, whose

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky:

Sunday links.

by Fred Klonsky

They’re still talking about Rahm’s paid protesters on Ken Davis’ Chicago Newsroom. This is a story that seems to have legs. It starts at 22:30 on the video.

The cops break up one of the last Occupy encampments. This one in DC.

In an address to the Hitler Youth, Hitler said, ”In our eyes, the German boy of the future must be slim and slender, as fast as a greyhound, tough as leather and hard as Krupp steel” (“der deutsche Junge der Zukunft muß schlank und rank sein, flink wie Windhunde, zäh wie Leder und hart wie Kruppstahl.”). Rahm warmly welcomes Krupp to Chicago in spite their record of having a hostile work environment.

There is anger in the Bronx. February 4th 2012 was the 13th anniversary of the NYPD murder of Amadou Diallo. The beating of Jatiek Reed and the murder of Rahmarley Graham lead to a Rally for Justice.

As Indiana becomes another Right To Work state, Illinois politicians claim it gives Indiana an economic

Jersey Jazzman: Full Disclosure From This Professional Blogger

Jersey Jazzman: Full Disclosure From This Professional Blogger:

Full Disclosure From This Professional Blogger

by Duke

In the past, I've said I haven't made "one damn dime" off of this blog. Well, I started putting up the ads a while ago, and now I'm making just about that.

So, every few months, I'll be taking Mrs. Jazzman out to dinner as a penance for making her listen to my rants while I type this tuff at the kitchen table. This is thanks to all of you who drop by and click through and leave comments and retweet and like me on Facebook.

I really do appreciate it. I promise you, I will not let the massive fame that comes from being a teacher-blogger go

Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time « Mathalicious

Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time « Mathalicious:

Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

February 4, 2012 14 comments

Over the past year, it’s become difficult to have a conversation about education and education reform without mentioning the words “Khan Academy.” For those who aren’t familiar, Khan Academy is a website that offers free instructional videos on everything from basic arithmetic to multi-variable calculus. Its founder, Sal Khan, originally started the site to help tutor his cousins in math. Today, millions of students across the world have used it for homework help and test prep, while major school districts have begun to incorporate Khan Academy into their curriculum. Some even wonder whether it will eventually replace teachers altogether.

From the Washington Post to 60 Minutes, Sal Khan has been hailed a pioneer, while everyone from gleeful journalists to investors have anointed Khan Academy a “revolution in education.”

It’s not.

Instead, Khan Academy may be one of the most dangerous phenomenon in education today. Not because of the site itself, but because of what it — or more appropriately, our obsession with it — says about how we as a nation view

Schools Matter: Wild Dreams about Anonymous and Testing

Schools Matter: Wild Dreams about Anonymous and Testing:

Wild Dreams about Anonymous and Testing

by Jim Horn

Last night I was re-reading a terrific little book from 1976 by Don Martin, George Overholt, and Wayne Urban: Accountability in American Education: A Critique. The book brings so many elements of the current edu-mess into focus, while giving a long view of history. What is evident in re-reading this book is that the threats to democracy that the authors feared in 1976 from the encroaching accountability juggernaut have become much scarier and much more real since then. Some would say inevitable.

The book reminds us of some of the history behind the stealing of the language of learning by social control behaviorists and the takeover of the knowledge definition by epistemological thugs who define what knowledge is and how it is measured. These moves have had crushing effects on humane pedagogy and schooling, while strengthening and centralizing the administration of schools far beyond what are now the minor functionaries of principals, boards of education, and even superintendents.

The Texas Tribune story below, in fact, that includes the

Jersey Jazzman: The Tenure Boogeyman!

Jersey Jazzman: The Tenure Boogeyman!:

The Tenure Boogeyman!

by Duke

One of our recurring cast of characters here at the Jazzman has been the Merit Pay Fairy:

Yo, whassup?

The Merit Pay Fairy lives in the minds of corporate reformers, who believe the Fairy can magically wipe away the "achievement gap" with a mere wave of her wand. Don't bother trying to explain to these corporate reformers thatthe Merit Pay Fairy doesn't exist; like Linus in the pumpkin patch, they fervently wait for the Fairy to show up. And they get very cross and stamp their little feet when she disappoints them again and again.

Well, I think it's time we add another character to our little friends' imaginary, reformy lives. Boys and girls, meet

Finite Pie - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators

Finite Pie - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators:

Looking Ahead

Finite Pie

We grew up in an age of finite pie. There was only one pie and it could e divided into only so many slices. Even our pie graphs represent the totality of the resources we have to work with. There’s only so much pie to go around. And the implications play out in how we think, act and define success. If you only have one finite pie, what flavor is it? How many people can it serve? How small can you make the slices? What does it mean if you simply don’t have enough?

All of this is a legacy of the Industrial Age, which was based on the availability of natural resources to feed growth. Empires were built for this purpose; gaining access to raw materials that could fuel their economic engines. You could not sustain industrial success on finite resources, so you kept expanding the size of your pie. Of course, this works well as long as there are new lands to acquire and new resources to consume. But in the physical world, there are always limits. Be it foreign lands or fossil fuels, everything runs out eventually.

This legacy of finite pie sticks with us today, especially if we’re over thirty years of age. Our grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. Our parents grew up during the rations of the Second World War. We remember the gas lines of the early 1970s. No doubt about it, we had to think carefully about your resources. And even today, we want to make