Latest News and Comment from Education

Show All

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Big Education Ape: 4-25-12 AM Pineapple Rebellion 2012 EDition #EDREFORM #PINEAPPLEGATE

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

Top 20 K-12 Schools | Green Power Partnership

epa.gov -   The Top 20 K-12 Schools list represents the largest green power users among K-12 school partners within the Green Power Partnership. The combined green power use of these organizations amounts to...
arneduncan

Burbank instructor is named National Teacher of the Year

latimes.com - Though she was raised by two teachers, Rebecca Mieliwocki never figured she'd end up in front of a classroom. She first aspired to be a lawyer, then worked in publishing. Unfulfilled, she decided t...
arneduncan

Live Twitter stream on

@coopmike48/big-edu-ape-news-11

coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Young Moroccans Keep Arab-Spring Spirit Alive | Womens eNewsbit.ly/IcnvhD4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Brown wants financing reform | Thoughts on Public Educationbit.ly/IcnxGb4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/25/2012 bit.ly/IcnxWL4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Study: When times get tough, college is worth it | 89.3 KPCCbit.ly/IcnyKp3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Beverly Hills Unified moves to cut permits from outsiders to enroll in district | 89.3 KPCC bit.ly/Icnz0X3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Beverly Hills Unified to require all juniors take PSAT | 89.3 KPCCbit.ly/IcnA4V3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 Maiden Voyage SS Diane Ravitch #SOSCHAT: Diane Ravitch's blog: NY State Education Department is a Problemdi... bit.ly/IHEoia #eduabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 LAUSD DUMPS TENURED TEACHERS WITHOUT VALID SKELLY HEARINGS - Perdaily.com: LAUSD DUMPS TENURED TEACH... bit.ly/IHEoih #eduabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite
coopmike48 profile
coopmike48 The Educated Reporter: For Most States Getting NCLB Waivers, Extended Learning Time Overlooked, Report Says... bit.ly/JMv2Vr #eduabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing

timeoutfromtesting.org - WHEREAS, our nation's future well-being relies on a high-quality public education system that prepares all students for college, careers, citizenship and lifelong learning, and strengthens the nati...
DianeRavitch

Sweeping Changes and School Closings Proposed for Philly

nbcphiladelphia.com - Getty Images Planners of a new proposal expect 40 percent of Philadelphia public school students to be enrolled in charter schools by 2017. advertisement The Philadelphia school district could clos...
mikeklonsky

SocietySee all

ALEC Politicians - SourceWatch

sourcewatch.org - From SourceWatchLearn more about corporations VOTING to rewrite our laws.ALEC Politicians: ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind clo...
tbfurman

StoriesSee all

why release test items? « Diane Ravitch's blog

dianeravitch.net - A reader said it would be expensive to release all test items as the test publishers would have to spend lots more money creating new ones. Actually there is another way to think about all this. Re...
DianeRavitch

http://www.southbronxschool.com

southbronxschool.com - Did ya read David Brooks' column last week in The New York Times? In the immortal words of Carl Spackler, I had to laugh. It just shows how out of touch the people who think they are on the cutting...
leoniehaimson

PoliticsSee all

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release April 24, 2012 Aboard Air Force One En Route North Carolina11:30 A.M. EDTMR. CARNEY:  I have no announcements to make at the top ...
coopmike48

BusinessSee all

Procter & Gamble Becomes 13th Company To Drop ALEC

thinkprogress.org - Joining a dozen other major corporations, Procter & Gamble decided not to rejoin the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) this year, according to a statement from Color Of Change, which lau...
DianeRavitch

Democrats’ latest tax target: Private corporations

articles.boston.com - The proposal would affect such companies with earnings of at least $250,000 annually and whose revenues come from the work of three or fewer owners. It would also apply to some lawyers, doctors and...
coopmike48

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Listen to WRHU - WRHU Radio Hofstra University 88.7 fm

hofstra.edu - Click below to tune in to a live webcast of Radio Hofstra University!E-mail us to report problems with the WRHU.org webcast.The broadcasters of tomorrow are at Hofstra today! Radio Hofstra Universi...
leoniehaimson

Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience « InterACT

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience « InterACT: Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscienceby David B. CohenBruce Springsteen (image by GabboT, used by permission, via Flickr)Tonight, I’ll be amo...
coopmike48

#edreformRead this paperSee all

Pineapple Rebellion in full swing

illinoisntu.ning.com - The N.Y. Times reports:   Anti-testing activists have taken up the cudgel, saying that the passage and the multiple-choice questions associated with it perfectly illustrate the absurdity of standar...
tbfurman

#pineapplegateSee all

More mistakes on New York State tests

nydailynews.com - Just days after scrapping a puzzling question about a pineapple on state reading exams, New York education officials have admitted to mistakes on the math test, too.Both the fourth and eighth grade...
leoniehaimson

 VideosSee all


Posted by at

The meaning of the ‘talking pineapple’ test question - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The meaning of the ‘talking pineapple’ test question - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:


The meaning of the ‘talking pineapple’ test question

by Valerie Strauss
This was written by Kevin G. Welner, a professor of education policy and program evaluation in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and director of the National Education Policy Center. The center is housed at the university’s School of Education and sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third party reviews of think tank reports.
Read full article >>

NY principals: A ‘wrecking ball’ of reform aimed at schools

by Valerie Strauss
This is an open letter that a group of New York principals sent this week to the New York State Board of Regents about school reform and the standardized testing regime. More than 1,400 New York State principals have signed a petition asking state education officials to rethink their reform agenda. You can read about that effort at www.newyorkprincipals.org and @nyprincipals on Twitter.
Read full article >>
Posted by at

The Educated Reporter: For Most States Getting NCLB Waivers, Extended Learning Time Overlooked, Report Says

The Educated Reporter: For Most States Getting NCLB Waivers, Extended Learning Time Overlooked, Report Says:


For Most States Getting NCLB Waivers, Extended Learning Time Overlooked, Report Says

by Emily Richmond
Most of the 12 states granted waivers from some of the tougher provisions of No Child Left Behind have provided few details on how they plan to satisfy a key obligation of the deal: extending learning time for students at the lowest-achieving schools.

In exchange for being released from some of the law’s requirements, the 12 states had to agree to use student testing data as a factor in evaluating teacher job performance, and to focus their efforts on reforming the lowest-performing campuses. Adding more instructional time was also a requirement.

A new report from the Center for American Progress examining the states’ waiver applications found that, in most cases, there were few details about how the extended learning requirement was actually going to be met.

When it came to laying out plans for implementing extended learning time, the applications from Colorado, New 
Posted by at

LAUSD DUMPS TENURED TEACHERS WITHOUT VALID SKELLY HEARINGS - Perdaily.com

LAUSD DUMPS TENURED TEACHERS WITHOUT VALID SKELLY HEARINGS - Perdaily.com:


LAUSD DUMPS TENURED TEACHERS WITHOUT VALID SKELLY HEARINGS

by Leonard Isenberg
Defective Verified Complaint.jpg
(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

In the present feeding frenzy that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) administration is engaging in as it dumps hundreds of teachers without anything even remotely resembling due process of law that is required by the landmark case of Skelly vs. State Personnel Board (1975), teachers need to be aware of what they and the District should really be doing, if they have any hope of keeping their jobs.

One need only look at the rules under which these mandatory Skelly Hearings for the removal of tenured teachers are supposed to be run to know that they are completely ignored by the District.
Everyone who is now being subjected to the Skelly Hearing process by LAUSD should be aware of the following:
1. It is not the teacher's job to explain anything. If the District does not provide the information 
Posted by at

Maiden Voyage SS Diane Ravitch #SOSCHAT

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch

NY State Education Department is a Problem

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 9 hours ago
Ten years ago, the New York State Education Department got embroiled in a very embarrassing scandal. A vigilant parent discovered that many passages on the Regents’ exam in English had been heavily rewritten to remove any references to race, religion, gender, sex, and a bunch of other topics. The parent’s discovery merited a [...]

I hope you will sign this important resolution

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 11 hours ago
This is the National Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing. Please read it: http://timeoutfromtesting.org/nationalresolution/ If you agree, I hope you will sign it. Let’s all raise our voices together against this nutty regime of ranking, rating, grading, evaluating every child, adult, school. Anything that moves. Say no. Make them stop. Diane

Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis: who is next

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 16 hours ago
New “blueprint” for Philadelphia calls for closing of 40 public schools of the city’s 249. They will be replaced by charters. With more to be closed in the years ahead. Similar shutdowns of public schools have started or been projected for Detroit, St. Louis, D.C., Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Kansas City. School districts in Pennsylvania are [...]

Comment to a comment: why release test items?

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 19 hours ago
A reader said it would be expensive to release all test items as the test publishers would have to spend lots more money creating new ones. Actually there is another way to think about all this. Release all the items as a public bank of thousands of items. Each year’s tests can be reviewed and [...]

Pay attention to Peer Assistance & Review to replace high-stakes testing for evaluation

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 19 hours ago
Great common on my Edweek blog. Often I wish I had a way to call attention to smart comments like this one. My new blog gives me the chance to give additional attention to the ideas of thoughtful writers. This one comments as “laborlawyer.” Objecting to high-stakes-testing cannot stop high-stakes-testing unless those objecting can offer [...]

A college professor in Arkansas describes NCLB generation

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
A friend has been corresponding with a college professor in Arkansas. He asked about well prepared students are for college studies. This was the answer he received. As usual, in the current world of education, no one’s names will be mentioned for fear of offending the vindictive and powerful: “How are you???? “In response, from [...]

How stupid items get onto standardized tests

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
Many people have wondered how the New York State Education Department permitted the nonsensical story about the pineapple and the hare to get onto the state test. This is not the first time a really bad reading passage got onto the test and it won’t be the last. State Commissioner John King was quick to [...]

My new blog

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
I decided to start my own blog because I was overusing Twitter and treating it as a miniblog, which it isn’t. My weekly blog at Bridging Differences is great fun for me, and I love the format of exchanging letters with Deborah Meier. That format creates a certain aura of informality and encourages me to [...]

PINEAPPLE REBELLION 2012 (click picture)
Posted by at

Tonight in Baltimore: Seeds of a Parent Revolution, Grassroots Style | Re:education in Baltimore

Tonight in Baltimore: Seeds of a Parent Revolution, Grassroots Style | Re:education in Baltimore:


Tonight in Baltimore: Seeds of a Parent Revolution, Grassroots Style

by Edit Barry
Tonight at the Village Learning Place in Baltimore’s Charles Village, just a few blocks southeast of the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus and a few yards south of Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School, a group of parents and caregivers will convene to hear about how three neighborhood public schools in Baltimore turned around. (Hint: It didn’t require state intervention or the contracting of outside operators or charter conversions.)
If you’re curious about the power parents have to improve a city school, don’t miss it. Cases under discussion will be Roland Park Elementary/Middle School, The Mt. Washington School, and Federal Hill Prep.
WHEN: TONIGHT! Weds, April 25, 2012.
Doors open at 7 for refreshments and the panel starts talking at 7:30 pm.
WHERE: The Village Learning Place, 2521 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
Check out the invite on the Village Parents website for more details.
Many thanks in advance to the Village Parents for organizing the event and to Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance President Judy Chung O’Brien and others for their participation.
Posted by at

Thinking In A Second Language Makes You A Better Decision-Maker | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Thinking In A Second Language Makes You A Better Decision-Maker | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:


TED Talks Unveils New Interactive Education Website Tonight

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 hours ago
TED has just unveiled a new education website tonight, TED Ed, different from the YouTube channel with the same name that they launched last month (actually, the domain name of today’s new site is ed.ted). This new site, using the … Continue reading →

Smithsonian Magazine’s Most Popular Videos Of All Time

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 hours ago
I periodically post “most popular” lists of websites (and books) that I think educators might find useful. Of course, there are a number of ways to gauge “popularity.” I just view these lists as opportunities to check-out some new sites, … Continue reading →

Thinking In A Second Language Makes You A Better Decision-Maker

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago
Recent research has found that thinking in a second language makes you a better decision-maker: A research team led by psychologist Boaz Keysar reports using one’s second language reduces or eliminates certain biases that otherwise infiltrate our decision-making. Specifically, our … Continue reading →

What Is Metacognition?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago
The Royal Society has just published a journal issue on metacognition. It’s pretty technical, and I don’t think particularly helpful to teachers. However, they also published a short video interview with the guest editors of the journal. In it, one … Continue reading →

More Info on Dropbox

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago
Yesterday, I posted about a great new improvement in Dropbox (see And If You Thought Dropbox Couldn’t Get Any Better….) and added that info to The Best Resources For Maximizing The Use Of Dropbox. Today, today Dropbox is in the … Continue reading →

“Several Ways We Can Teach Social Studies More Effectively — Part One”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 12 hours ago
Several Ways We Can Teach Social Studies More Effectively — Part One is my newest post over at Education Week Teacher. It’s the first post in a three-part series. Three very talented educators share their responses in this post: Stephen … Continue reading →

The Best Resources For Learning About World War I

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
This “The Best…” list is a little different from previous ones. All I’ve done is copy and paste my World War I post from our class’ United States History blog (by the way, a large part of my entire curriculum … Continue reading →

And If You Thought Dropbox Couldn’t Get Any Better….

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Dropbox is the ridiculously easy tool that lets you access your documents from anywhere, and you can read more about it at The Best Resources For Maximizing The Use Of Dropbox. Today, it announced a great additional feature — with … Continue reading →

Amazing Video Of Outer Space

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
This amazing video combines footage taken by NASA’s Cassini and Voyager missions. I’m adding it to The Best Images Taken In Space.

What Are The Roles Of Parents, Teachers & Adminstrators In Parent Engagement Versus Parent Involvement?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Follow-Up: Parent Engagement vs. Parent Involvement is a new short post I’ve written at Education Week. It briefly explores the roles of parents, teachers and administrators in parent engagement versus parent involvement.
Posted by at

Daily Kos: For once Dana Milbank nails it

Daily Kos: For once Dana Milbank nails it:


For once Dana Milbank nails it

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)
Aficionados of the Etch a Sketch will recall a certain flaw in the toy: If you use it often, some of the lines drawn no longer disappear when you shake the device, instead leaving an indelible trace of where you have been.This is the problem Mitt Romney is encountering: He is shaking the device, trying to erase impressions left during this year’s primary contest. But he just can’t shake away the image of Russell Pearce.
So begin Milbank's column in this morning's Washington Post, Romney won’t be able to shake immigration debate, "inspired" by yesterday's testimony by recalled former Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, the person most responsible for his state's passage of the infamous SB1070.  
Pierce, who lost his seat last fall in a recall election, labeled the Obama administration and the 


Wendell Berry, American Hero

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)
is the title of this NY Times piece by Mark Bittman,.
The sole purpose of my posting this for me exceedingly brief diary is to draw your attention to the Bittman piece.
If you care about food ....
if you care about the land ...
whether or not you already know about Wendell Berry ....
this is MUST READ.
I am going to push fair use with probably a bit more than I should quote, from the middle of one paragraph on:
We eat. It’s all local, food they or their neighbors or friends or family have grown or raised, food that Tanya has cooked. There’s little fuss about any of that, only enjoyment and good eating. I note that I can’t stop devouring the corn bread, and that the potatoes have the kind of taste of the earth that floors you.And we chat, and then Wendell takes me for a drive around the countryside he was born in and where he’s lived for most of his life. As he waves to just about every driver on the road, he explains that the land was once home to scores of tobacco farmers, and now has patches of forest, acres 


Walmart: we don't like the law, we want to break the law, so we'll change the law!

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)
If that seems harsh, then you need to read the just post story at The Washington Post, Wal-Mart took part in lobbying campaign to amend anti-bribery law.
The opening paragraph lays it out:
Wal-Mart, the giant retailer now under fire over allegations of foreign bribery in Mexico, has participated in an aggressive and high-priced lobbying campaign to amend the long-standing U.S. anti-bribery law that the company might have violated.
The issue at hand is the 1977 Corrupt Practices Act, which "prohibits U.S. companies from offering fees or gifts to foreign officials to advance corporate interests."The US Chamber of Commerce is actively involved in attempting to change the law, which if you think of it, 
Posted by at

A National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing Hits the Ground; What Say You, Palm Beach School Board? | Scathing Purple Musings

A National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing Hits the Ground; What Say You, Palm Beach School Board? | Scathing Purple Musings:


A National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing Hits the Ground; What Say You, Palm Beach School Board?

by Bob Sikes
Valerie Strauss, one of the nation’s most influential education reporters, has this in The Answer Sheet:
Anational resolution protesting high-stakes standardized testing was released Tuesday by a coalition of  national education, civil rights and parents groups, as well as educators who are trying to build a broad-based movement against the Obama administration’s test-centric school reform program.
This is the latest in a series of recent initiatives taken around the country by academics, educators, parents and others to protest the use of student standardized test scores for high-stakes decisions, including teacher and principal evaluation, student grade promotion and high school graduation.
The high-stakes testing era started with the advent of No Child Left Behind in 2002, and though NCLB has largely been discredited, the Obama administration’s policies have expanded the use of test scores as assessment tools not only for students, but also for teachers and principals.
Many researchers in the assessment field have warned against using standardized test scores for high-stakes decisions, saying they are unreliable for such a purpose. High-stakes standardized 
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)