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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Big Education Ape: 4-5-12 AM StudentsFirstNY Promotes Itself EDition #soschat


Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 6 news spotters today

StudentsFirstNY Announces Itself – SchoolBook

nytimes.com - April 4, 2012, 7:31 p.m. StudentsFirstNY, the new political group formed by leaders of the education reform movement like Joel I. Klein and Michelle Rhee, officially announced its arrival on Wednes...
leoniehaimson

Why "turnaround" won't help kids

insideschools.org - UPDATE: On April 2, Chancellor Walcott announced a reprieve for seven of the 33 schools that were slated for closure and "turnaround." These schools will remain open: In Manhattan, Harlem Renaissan...
leoniehaimson

Fly My Pretties | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

garyrubinstein.teachforus.org - The original purpose of TFA was to encourage the ‘best and brightest’ to learn, first hand, about what is going on in the American education system, and then use this knowledge to help improve it. ...
DianeRavitch

Mayor's Work on Schools Gets a Backer

online.wsj.com - Some of the most recognizable names in New York City education—including former schools Chancellor Joel Klein and educator Geoffrey Canada—have formed a group that will work to sustain Mayor Michae...
DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Thursday Churn: Student voices | EdNewsColorado bit.ly/HZTYs04 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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What's the Matter with Rhee-form

allthingsedu.blogspot.com - Michelle Rhee's last day as Chancellor of DC Public Schools will be Monday, November 1st. The common wisdom is that the soon-to-be former DC mayor, Adrian Fenty, was defeated this past September be...
DianeRavitch

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Zakaria: Incarceration nation – Global Public Square

globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com - Editor's Note: Tune in this Sunday at 10am or 1pm EST for Fareed Zakaria GPS.  By Fareed Zakaria, CNN Something caught my eye the other day. Pat Robertson, the high priest of the religious right, h...
mikeklonsky

PoliticsSee all

For Education, Election Results Mean More of the Same

allthingsedu.blogspot.com - Yesterday, the Democrats lost the House and hung on to the Senate, barely. In the meantime, we still have Obama in the White House. So, what do the election results mean for education policy?Valeri...
mikeklonsky

For Education, Election Results Mean More of the Same

allthingsedu.blogspot.com - Yesterday, the Democrats lost the House and hung on to the Senate, barely. In the meantime, we still have Obama in the White House. So, what do the election results mean for education policy?Valeri...
mikeklonsky

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A letter from a black mother to her son - The Answer Sheet

washingtonpost.com - This was written by Dyan Watson(watson@lclark.edu), an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education and Counseling at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore.  She is an editorial associa...
mikeklonsky

Lunch with the FT: Charles Murray

ft.com - The restaurant is empty when Charles Murray and I sit down. It is still empty when we leave 90 minutes later. Nobody else dines in between. “I have to say that we are the only patrons here and it i...
mikeklonsky

A Change Is Gonna Come #edrefom

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - I was born by the river in a little tentOh and just like the river I've been running ever sinceIt's been a long, a long time comingBut I know a change gonna come, oh yes it willIt's been too hard l...
coopmike48

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Pregnancy Can Include Admitting You're Depressed

womensenews.org - Pregnancy is supposed to be a joyous time, but some women can fall into a state of literally deadening despair. Doctors need more training to detect warning signs and women should be encouraged to ...
coopmike48

The “F” in FDA Stands for Failure « MomsRising Blog

momsrising.org - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s motto, located right on their website homepage, is “protecting and promoting your health” however their recent decision not to ban the use of BPA in food pro...
coopmike48

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Fight the Cuts! Occupy for Public Transit TODAY

occupywallst.org - Occupy Wall Street and the Amalgamated Transit Union have declared today, April 4, a National Day of Action for Mass Transit. Demonstrations are taking place in over 20 cities including New York, B...
coopmike48

Reports from the Front Lines | Occupy Together

occupytogether.org - YOUR WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF OCCUPY MOVEMENT NEWS Written by Jennifer Sacks for The Occupied Wall Street Journal Occupy Homes MN fights to keep Frank and Kristina Clark from foreclosure. Photo: Occupy Ho...
coopmike48

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A war with Canada? « Fred Klonsky

A war with Canada? « Fred Klonsky:
A war with Canada?

by Fred Klonsky




Charter school boss Geoffrey Canada is part of the group raising $50 million to wage war on teacher unions and the parents who support them.
Did you see the article in the New York Times about StudentsFirstNY?
What a bunch.
StudentsFirst is the corporate education mouthpiece that the disgraced, former Chancellor of DC Schools, Michelle Rhee, founded.
On the board are some of the most well-known and polarizing figures in public 

 It seems lately that each day brings news of the passing of an artist who has touched my life in profound ways.

Earl Scruggs was a banjo picker who became a master of a joyous instrument created by African slaves brought to country in chains.




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NYC Educator: "But Someone Has to Make War"

NYC Educator: "But Someone Has to Make War":


"But Someone Has to Make War"

by Miss Eyre
Really, Geoffrey Canada? The author of Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun, who really ought to know something about the ramping up of not only violence, but rhetoric?

The title of this post is a direct quote from Canada, founder of Harlem Children's Zone and big-time ed reform mucketymuck, and whose comprehensive approach to school reform brings much to appreciate. But unfortunately, his alignment with Michelle Rhee and Joel Klein hasn't done much to endear him to me, and his comments in this article from the Times about the founding of Students First NY aren't going to help.

This new branch of "Students First" (which I place in quotes, as if somehow making sure that teachers are paid fairly, schools have enough seats for the children attending them, and that budgets are able to meet children's needsisn't putting students first) has formed in response to the coming mayoral election, to do combat with any candidate who might theoretically not be a complete disaster when it comes to the city's schools. Individual merit pay? Publishing teacher data? Stuffing as many students as 
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Beyond Technology: Informal Learning, Place Based Learning, Exploring New Approaches to Education | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Beyond Technology: Informal Learning, Place Based Learning, Exploring New Approaches to Education | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:


Beyond Technology: Informal Learning, Place Based Learning, Exploring New Approaches to Education

by Cheryl S. Williams
Recently, I’ve been reminded of the wealth of publicly supported educational resources outside the classroom that offer rich learning opportunities for students of all ages.  I’ve also mulled over how formal public schooling can take advantage of some of the resources and experiences to which I’ve been exposed.  Certainly, I’ve been involved for many years in advocating for the appropriate and effective use of new and emerging technologies to meet our teaching and learning needs in the public classroom.  But I’m reminded that nothing can change the ‘being there’ and there are ways that the 
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Few school districts are releasing teacher rankings | California Watch

Few school districts are releasing teacher rankings | California Watch:


Few school districts are releasing teacher rankings

monkeybusinessimages/istockphoto.com
The New York City Department of Education’s release earlier this year of teacher performance ratings has become the latest focal point in the debate about how to measure teaching abilities and whether that information should be public.
Education reform advocates say teachers need to be held accountable, while others say the ratings are flawed, misinform the public and unfairly punish teachers.
Two years ago, the Los Angeles Unified School District released teacher rankings as part of a story by the Los Angeles Times. Although now two of the country’s largest districts have released their information, it’s not clear


Reform advocates want more diversity among finance regulators

Kativ/istockphoto.com
To stave off fraud and future Wall Street meltdowns, some reform advocates are pushing for government regulators to become more ethnically diverse.
In a study titled "Government That Looks Like America?," The Greenlining Institute found that, for the most part, financial regulators in the U.S. don't reflect the ethnic and racial makeup of the country's population. The Greenlining Institute is a nonprofit organization that researches and advocates for improved policies in the areas of finance, health, energy and the environment.
The group believes improved diversity will result in fairer policies, practices and increased participation by 
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CHANGING EDUCATION PARADIGMS by RSA Animation - Perdaily.com

CHANGING EDUCATION PARADIGMS by RSA Animation - Perdaily.com:


CHANGING EDUCATION PARADIGMS by RSA Animation

by Leonard Isenberg
RSA Animation.jpg
In what is rapidly becoming a post literate American society, I thought you might want to take a few minutes and watch an exceptional video that puts the present lack of an excellent and relevant 21st century model for public education into an historical and philosophical context, while offering a few suggestions as to how we might survive this fundamental crisis of American society. After viewing it, you might comment on whether or not you share my belief that the very future of this country as anything that even remotely resembles a democracy will be determined by whether or not we meet this challenge and succeed in educating all of our people to their highest potential..

In so doing, I would hope that you might better assume the requisite and imperative role of an engaged citizen of a democratic society to comprehend, contribute, and be part of the aggregation of all people's wisdom that is the real strength of any democracy in addressing an ever changing world.
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Grumpy Educators: Washington State: Parent Opposition Out of the Shadows

Grumpy Educators: Washington State: Parent Opposition Out of the Shadows:


Washington State: Parent Opposition Out of the Shadows

by Sandra

The Seattle Times notes a "rebellion over standardized testing in the Seattle Hill neighborhood of southeast Everett echoes a larger uprising around the country."

Parents may opt out in Washington and have acted on this option over time, but not in the larger numbers seen now. This newspaper report may be one o f the first, if not the first, to acknowledge the mounting parent disgust over excessive testing. While bloggers have reported these events and a handful of education-oriented columns, mainstream reporting has ignored the uprisings. 

The Texas Association of School Administrators reports Over 200 school districts 
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2012 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award Winners — Whole Child Education

2012 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award Winners — Whole Child Education:


THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Laura Varlas

2012 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award Winners

April 5, 2012 by Laura Varlas
2012 OYEA Winners
Ten years ago, ASCD created the Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) Program to recognize creative and committed teachers and administrators under the age of 40 who are making a difference in children's lives. Since 2002, the OYEA program has combed through thousands of applications to identify young educators who embody a whole child approach to education and are leaders in the classroom as well as in their communities.
Continuing the proud OYEA tradition are this year's winners:
  • Matt McClure, superintendent of Cross County Schools in Cherry Valley, Ark.
  • Liliana Aguas, a 2nd grade dual-language immersion teacher at Leconte Elementary School in Berkeley, 
Klea Scharberg

Free Webinar: What Makes the Adolescent and Teen Brain So Different?

April 2, 2012 by Klea Scharberg
Judy Willis
Join renowned author, neurologist, and teacher Judy Willis for an exciting free webinar on the differences between the adolescent and teen brain and what educators can and should do to address these differences.
Thursday, April 5, 2012, 3:00 p.m. eastern time
Register now!
In the adolescent and teen brain, the rate of change exceeds that of even the body. The highest cognitive brain networks in the prefrontal cortex undergo their most profound maturation during the school years. What has neuroscience research revealed about the very unique adolescent brain that has important correlations to planning instruction and teaching strategies?
From seeking immediate gratification and risk, to developing and achieving long-term goals, educators are 
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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Santa Monica tuition protests met with pepper spray

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Santa Monica tuition protests met with pepper spray:


Santa Monica tuition protests met with pepper spray

by Mike Klonsky
Growing up in L.A. in the '60s, I would take summer school classes at Santa Monica City College. L.A. had a great junior college system back then and tuition was cheap enough (about $10/class) so that a kid like me, with few resources, had access to a quality post-secondary education and with that, a job and some social capital. I remember SMCC students as being mostly white, sandy-haired and really into the surfer sub-culture, ie. the Beach Boys, Dick Dale, The Ventures and doing the surfer's stomp at the Oar House on Friday nights.

Courtney Aravena, left, speaks Wednesday about being pepper-sprayed the previous evening, while Ernie Sevilla tells of being pressed up against the wall by the crowd next to the officer who used pepper spray. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / April 4
On Tuesday, hundreds of what is now called, Santa Monica College students (none of them sandy-haired) 
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