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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Literature Standards Provide Less Common Understanding
Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Literature Standards Provide Less Common Understanding:
Common Core Literature Standards Provide Less Common Understanding
You would think that with the word "common" in its title, Common Core standards would be concerned with providing students across the country education on common (meaning -shared) resources. But a look at the Common Core Standards for language arts reveals that they actually move students away from classic literature that has been studied for generations and provides commonality to our experience, if not our lexicon, and towards informational texts in things like science and politics. I suppose you could make a case that "Of Mice And Men" is antiquated, but if you drop reading this, what will this mean to our shared understanding as a culture?
American Principles in Action South Carolina Director Joe Mack and South Carolina State Education Board
American Principles in Action South Carolina Director Joe Mack and South Carolina State Education Board
All Education Matters: Do You Believe That Were You Misled or Misinformed about IBR (Income Based Repayment) by Your Lender?
All Education Matters: Do You Believe That Were You Misled or Misinformed about IBR (Income Based Repayment) by Your Lender?:
Do You Believe That Were You Misled or Misinformed about IBR (Income Based Repayment) by Your Lender?
This past June, when the Texas heat was hotter than a blazing furnace, a borrower named Amy reached out to me about her student loans. Amy was struggling with her payments, and believed that defaulting was imminent. She was hot with anger and distraught about her predicament. But I quickly realized that, because of the type of loans she has, IBR was a possible option. She was misinformed when she first called her lender, but we eventually sorted it out. (You can read the full story here). Amy is now enrolled in the IBR program.
It has come to my attention that Amy is not the only person who has been misinformed about IBR. Some
It has come to my attention that Amy is not the only person who has been misinformed about IBR. Some
The Hunger Strike: Weapon of Choice for the Oppressed | The Dissenter
The Hunger Strike: Weapon of Choice for the Oppressed | The Dissenter:
The Hunger Strike: Weapon of Choice for the Oppressed | |
| By: Kevin Gosztola Wednesday February 22, 2012 10:03 am | |
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The above comes from VisualizingPalestine.org. The site creators say it uses “creative visuals to describe a factual rights-based narrative of Palestine/Israel.” In this case, we have a brilliant graphic showing past heroes for social justice who have gone on hunger strike and what happens to the human body as they carry out a strike.
Khader Adnan, a Palestinian arbitrarily detained by Israel under an administrative detention order, ended his hunger strike yesterday. He had been on strike for sixty-six days. And, it appears he now holds a
This Week In Education: Thompson: Charter Fines & Expulsions Create Dysfunctional System
This Week In Education: Thompson: Charter Fines & Expulsions Create Dysfunctional System:
Thompson: Charter Fines & Expulsions Create Dysfunctional System
Student who jumped off high school roof was bullied, parents say - latimes.com
Student who jumped off high school roof was bullied, parents say - latimes.com:
Student who jumped off high school roof was bullied, parents say
Days after their 15-year-old son died after jumping off of a third-story building at his high school, the parents of Drew Ferraro said they learned by reading his journal that he had been bullied by classmates in the last months of his life.
"There was name-calling, pushing down the hall, pulling his backpack, punching him in the back," his mother, Deana Ferraro, said in an interview with KCBS-TV.
Drew Ferraro, a sophomore at Crescenta Valley High School, leaped from the top of the building overlooking the school quad, falling to the ground when other students were nearby eating lunch.
Los Angeles Unified previously said bullying hadn't been a factor in the suicide, and Ferraro said she
Support PURE! » A battle won in the testing wars
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » A battle won in the testing wars:
A battle won in the testing wars
She writes: “This time last year…. students, teachers and parents endured the outbreak of what we soon called ‘testing madness.’ On top of the regular state tests, teachers across Mecklenburg County were required to administer 52 new high-stakes standardized tests, part of superintendent Peter Gorman’s goal of testing every child in every subject every year. The tests were tied to a pay-for-performance scheme that was slated for rapid approval by the state legislature.
We were racing down a fast track to nowhere.
This year, however, the rush has slowed. The pay-for-performance legislation has stalled. Last
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Add Another One to the No on Charters Column
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Add Another One to the No on Charters Column:
Add Another One to the No on Charters Column
Last night, the 43rd LD Democrats passed a resolution against charter schools. It passed overwhelmingly with just a couple of nays.
The 43rd, the district that Michelle Buetow and I both live in, is the district that Speaker Frank Chopp, Senator Ed Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen represent. I'm sure the leadership in the 43rd will let them know about passage of this resolution. I do hope they will take into consideration in these last weeks of the legislative session.
The 43rd, the district that Michelle Buetow and I both live in, is the district that Speaker Frank Chopp, Senator Ed Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen represent. I'm sure the leadership in the 43rd will let them know about passage of this resolution. I do hope they will take into consideration in these last weeks of the legislative session.
Odds and Ends (Spoiler Alert for a Movie)
A reader asked about the Arbor Heights Elementary charter forum last week. It went well. There were about 35 people there, mostly from Arbor Heights but some from other surrounding schools. The principal, Christy Collins, was there along with several of their teachers. (What was really nice is that some of the PTA leaders from Olympic View, who had also put on their own charter forum a couple of weeks back, came to this forum and stayed for a tour of the building.)
It was well-organized (with little Halloween candy packages for all).
As per Olympic View, I was the fact-checker with Beth Siegal, pro side (and I'm blanking on her district but I
It was well-organized (with little Halloween candy packages for all).
As per Olympic View, I was the fact-checker with Beth Siegal, pro side (and I'm blanking on her district but I
A Perfect Storm Hits Public Schools - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
A Perfect Storm Hits Public Schools - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:
A Perfect Storm Hits Public Schools
Guest post by Steven Sellers Lapham.
Note: Steven Sellers Lapham and Jack Hassard worked together on this post.
Public schools in America are under attack from many directions, and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) seems bent on delivering a lethal one-two-three punch. This decade will likely witness more neighborhood schools shutting down, crowded classrooms, excellent teachers fired, and children fobbed off to "online learning programs." Let's recall that Prince Edward County, Virginia, closed its schools 1959-64, creating a "lost generation" of children who were hobbled, as adults, by years of missed education. Today, a school district in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, cash strapped and unable to pay its teachers, is being kept open only by a federal court order.
We now face the prospect of a school closing because the local tax base has withered, the state government is under water, and the federal government has deemed the school to be unworthy of aid due to lackluster scores
NYC Public School Parents: Testing expert points out severe flaws in NYS exams and urges parents to boycott them this spring!
NYC Public School Parents: Testing expert points out severe flaws in NYS exams and urges parents to boycott them this spring!:
Many recent columns have pointed out the fundamental flaws in the new NY teacher evaluation system in the last few days: by Aaron Pallas of Columbia University; Carol Burris, Long Island principal, education historian Diane Ravitch, (who has written not one but two excellent critiques) and Juan Gonzalez, investigative reporter for the Daily News. All point out that despite the claim that the new evaluation system is supposed to be based only 20-40% on state exams, test scores in fact will trump all, since any teacher rated "ineffective" on their students' standardized exams will be rated "ineffective" overall.
To add insult to injury, the NYC Department of
Testing expert points out severe flaws in NYS exams and urges parents to boycott them this spring!
To add insult to injury, the NYC Department of
“Mutual matching” off the table in Oakland - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools
“Mutual matching” off the table in Oakland - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:
“Mutual matching” off the table in Oakland
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 at 10:48 pm in initiativesTony SmithNo Comments
There will be no mutual matching in OUSD this spring. Without the support it needed from the Oakland Education Association, the OUSD administration says it’s run out of time to reach an agreement with union leaders and implement changes to its teacher transfer policies for the upcoming school year.
There will be some changes for the 50-plus teachers displaced by school closure and other circumstances — such as time to visit some prospective schools — but their seniority rights remain fully in place. Which means
Support PURE! » Chicago parents’ letter to the Board of Education on longer day
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Chicago parents’ letter to the Board of Education on longer day:
Chicago parents’ letter to the Board of Education on longer day
February 22, 2012
Dear Members of the Chicago Board of Education,
Parents from community groups across the city have joined forces to help inform the Chicago Board of Education on what we view as necessary changes to the school day at CPS. Parents are concerned that Chicago Public Schools has set forth an agenda regarding the longer day that profoundly affects Chicago’s children and families without soliciting or listening to real parent feedback. We are deeply concerned that schools, teachers and students are being asked to do more with less resources and that this will have a highly demoralizing effect on our district, and, ultimately on our children and their attitude about formal education.
We are concerned that not all children will receive a well-rounded education, especially kids who are in schools
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