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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Big Education Ape: 5-6-12 PM Are Test Scores the Point? « Diane Ravitch EDition

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

Published by Coopmike48 – 5 news spotters today

Are Test Scores the Point? « Diane Ravitch's blog

dianeravitch.net - We have reached a point in our public life where the only way to demonstrate the success of a school is to say it has higher test scores than some other school. But we all know–or should know–that ...
DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 tomhayden.com - Peace Exchange Bulletin - The Port Huron Statement: A manifesto reconsidered: t...bit.ly/LpAOxg #edu48 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 BLAST FROM THE PAST: Test Today, Privatize Tomorrowbit.ly/Kwu80Q27 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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mikeklonsky Portoluz presents a creative response to the NATO Summit/ a May Festival of Arts and Culture bit.ly/J3uBUxabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

PENCILS DOWN - End High Stake Testing

us2.campaign-archive1.com - Hello all,   Testing Season is at hand.  We’re fighting back. Our slogan for the campaign is "Pencils Down! End High Stakes Testing."  We have events on Tuesday and Friday this week. Please join us...
leoniehaimson

Slogans That Didn't Quite Make the Cut :: Frederick M. Hess

frederickhess.org - by Frederick M. Hess  •  May 4, 2012 at 8:23 amCross-posted from Education Weekhttp://www.frederickhess.org/2012/05/slogans-that-didnt-quite-make-the-cutI was tasked with emcee'ing an open mike nig...
leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - Cairo, Egypt. May 4th. John Dillon’s Pension Vocabulary Word of the Week: Misinformation. “Working as a hand puppet for the Illinois Policy Institute, ABC’s Chuck Goudie, the crack investigative re...
fklonsky

The Powers of New York

nytimes.com - By CLYDE HABERMAN Tony Cenicola/The New York Times Clockwise from top left: the officials Patricia E. Harris, Raymond W. Kelly and Merryl H. Tisch; and the newer faces Masamichi Udagawa, Sigi Moesl...
leoniehaimson

600 US Troops Occupying Honduras, Two Years After Coup

tomhayden.com - Six hundred US army troops have invaded Honduras in an escalation of the 2009 intervention, in which the State Department stood by during a military coup against Honduras’ elected president, Manuel...
coopmike48

StoriesSee all

Learning That Works - TIME

time.com - Mark Peterman / Getty Images for TIME Clyde McBride is one of those everyday saints who, without much fanfare, go about the work of changing, and sometimes saving, the lives of children. He teaches...
leoniehaimson

Children First…..Always? | Protect Portelos

protectportelos.wordpress.com - The NYC Department of Education is my employer and I do not consider that entity an enemy as many others do. I truly believe that it is a flawed entity, but feel that there is some glimmer of hope ...
leoniehaimson

PoliticsSee all

German center-right coalition poised to lose state

sfgate.com - (05-06) 09:15 PDT BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Exit polls in Germany show that voters in the country's northernmost state have likely ousted a governing center-right government made up of the same parti...
coopmike48

LeisureSee all

our MAY FESTIVAL OF PROTEST !

campaign.r20.constantcontact.com - Saturday May 19th @ the Metro   THIS LAND IS OUR LAND   a  Centennial Concert tribute to Woody Guthrie featuring:   Tom Morello; the Nightwatchman The Klezmatics Holly Near Toshi Reagon   Jon Langf...
mikeklonsky

Around the World with the Supermoon - Global

theatlanticwire.com - On Friday we reported that there's no reason to be afraid of the supermoon. It wouldn't make you crazy. It wasn't going to sink any ships. It wasn't going to signal the end of the world. If any of ...
coopmike48

CrimeSee all

Miramonte: L.A. UNIFIED IS NAMED IN NEGLIGENCE LAWSUIT

4lakidsnews.blogspot.com - Twenty former Miramonte Elementary students say they were victims of abuse and that the district did not do enough to protect students who lodged complaints. By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Time...
coopmike48

DeKalb must take an unflinching look at cronyism

blogs.ajc.com - A DeKalb grand jury reindicted former school Superintendent Crawford Lewis last week. There are new developments in the criminal case against former DeKalb school chief Crawford Lewis and construct...
coopmike48

#eduRead this paperSee all

Louisiana Educator: More on the 10% factor

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Louisiana Educator: More on the 10% factor: More on the 10% factorby Michael DeshotelsMany of my readers are still struggling to understand exactly which teachers are expected to be rated ineffecti...
coopmike48

Dear Charlie. « Fred Klonsky

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Dear Charlie. « Fred Klonsky: Dear Charlie.by Fred KlonskySixty IEA members travel from the north suburbs of Chicago to Springfield to fight for pensions, but nobody from the IEA Communications off...
coopmike48

 VideosSee all


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Social Media For Administrators (Blog Posts) | Connected Principals

Social Media For Administrators (Blog Posts) | Connected Principals:


Social Media For Administrators (Blog Posts)

by George Couros

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by Ken Whytock
I recently decided to compile some of the blog posts that I have written regarding social media and administrators on my own blog site.  I have created a “page” for these articles that I will continue to update as I write posts that may be helpful, but I just wanted to share this as a blog post to those people who may subscribe to this through an RSS feed or email subscription.  There are so many good articles out there but I wanted to compile the ones I have written to help to continuously develop my own portfolio of work.  Please see the articles with brief descriptions below:
As I have done a lot of work with school administrators on why they should be using social media and some practical ways to use it within their schools, I wanted to compile some articles together that will help 
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Update to Lake City Property Issue

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Update to Lake City Property Issue:


Update to Lake City Property Issue

by Melissa Westbrook

Via Director Peaslee, new info from Ron English, legal counsel for the district about the Lake City property (and thank you to Mr. English for this detailed explanation).

It's quite long and detailed and I am printing it in its entirety.   I still have my three main issues with this idea:

- should the district be in the property management business at all?  It is not a core purpose of the district.

- Mr. English's statement says that the district's real estate adviser says:"annual returns over a 20 year period of at least $400,000 can be expected and that the negotiated agreement represents a fair result to the District."

 However, there is no guarantee for the amount the district could earn and we have all seen what effect downturns in the economy can have on deflation of real estate.  My advice would be that if the district goes down this road to make NO plans around this money.  Meaning,"oh, we have $400k from this so we can pay for Program X from it."

 Also, keep in mind that money borrowed from the Community Schools fund would need to be paid back into the 
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tomhayden.com - Peace Exchange Bulletin - The Port Huron Statement: A manifesto reconsidered

tomhayden.com - Peace Exchange Bulletin - The Port Huron Statement: A manifesto reconsidered:


THE PORT HURON STATEMENT: A MANIFESTO RECONSIDERED

DateSUNDAY, MAY 6, 2012 AT 12:01PM | Print ArticlePRINT ARTICLE | | CommentPOST A COMMENT


This op-ed originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times on May 6, 2012.
An Occupy protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask is shown in Oakland, Calif. Occupy Wall Street's insistence that 1% of the population shouldn't control such a vast portion of the country's wealth feels like a direct echo of the Port Huron Statement, which complained in 1962 that 1% of Americans owned 80% of all corporate stock, and that their percentage of all wealth had remained constant since the 1920s, in spite of the New Deal reforms. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / May 1, 2012)Looking back at that summer 50 years ago, it feels as though the Port Huron Statement wrote us, not the other way around.
"We are people of this generation, bred in at least modest comfort, housed now in universities, looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit."
Those were the opening words of the Port Huron Statement, which I helped draft 50 years ago this summer as the founding document of Students for a Democratic Society. The statement, written in the idealistic early days of the New Left, laid out a vision for a nation in which racial equality would be finally achieved, disarmament embraced and true participatory democracy would become the norm.
The group that gathered in Port Huron, Mich., in 1962 to produce the statement included children who'd rejected the Old Left of their parents, black student civil rights activists seeking Northern campus allies, children of 
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Louisiana Educator: More on the 10% factor

Louisiana Educator: More on the 10% factor:


More on the 10% factor

by Michael Deshotels



Many of my readers are still struggling to understand exactly which teachers are expected to be rated ineffective by the Act 54 teacher evaluation plan. So I submitted the following questions to Superintendent White in an email recently: 
Mr White:
The readers of my blog at louisianaeducator.blogspot.com have asked several questions that I have not been able to answer. I would appreciate very much if you could answer the following questions.
  • Will the 10% of teachers deemed to be ineffective by the Act 54 evaluation be determined on a school by school basis with 10% of each faculty deemed ineffective, or will the bottom rated 10 percentile of all teachers in the state be rated as ineffective?   
  • Since approximately two thirds of the teachers are not included in the LEAP categories of testing, will there be a separate 10% factor of ineffective teachers in these other (NTGS) areas or will the 10% ineffective apply to all teachers as a single group? (I understand that the guidelines will exclude certain positions that do not actually work with a measurable group of students such as librarians)
  • How many years do you expect the 10% ineffective factor to 
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Dear Charlie. « Fred Klonsky

Dear Charlie. « Fred Klonsky:


Dear Charlie.

by Fred Klonsky

Sixty IEA members travel from the north suburbs of Chicago to Springfield to fight for pensions, but nobody from the IEA Communications office takes notice.
Dear Charlie McBarron,
Just because you’re pissed at me, Charlie, don’t take it out on everyone in Region 36.
I knew things had gotten bad when you unfriended me from Facebook.
That was when you mistakenly mentioned on one of your status updates that IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin was a member of the Advisory Board of the National Council on Teacher Quality.  Other members of the Advisory Board include Teach For America’s Wendy Kopp, StudentsFirst’s Michelle Rhee, News Corpration’s Joel Klein, Michael Feinberg who is founder of the mega-charter KIPP, Fred Hess of the American Enterprise 
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“If Teachers Were Treated Like Celebrities!” 2012 Version « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

“If Teachers Were Treated Like Celebrities!” 2012 Version « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:


“If Teachers Were Treated Like Celebrities!” 2012 Version

by Oldschoolteach



Can you imagine what it would be like if teachers were treated like actors, athletes, singers, or even “reality tv “stars?”  Wow!
Mrs.Smith, Celebrity Teacher
“Mrs.Smith, Mrs.Smith, can I get your autograph?” She turned and smiled brightly at the young woman running towards her.
“Mrs.Smith”, the young woman gasped, “I have been following your career for years!  I’m about to start teaching myself, and I would be honored if you signed my copy of your book.”
“Are you ready to teach, young lady?’ she asked as she scribbled her signature, “This is a difficult job.”
“I know it is, but I’ve been reading your books,watching your videos, and  listening to your podcasts, I know I’m ready!”
“Good luck”, she says as she handed her the book. “Take care, you have quite a journey 
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I Went Through Hell, So I’m Expecting Heaven [On Speaking Up Again] | The Jose Vilson

I Went Through Hell, So I’m Expecting Heaven [On Speaking Up Again] | The Jose Vilson:


I Went Through Hell, So I’m Expecting Heaven [On Speaking Up Again]

by Jose

Colleague Carrie Kamm commented on my last post with this:
“Something prompted this blog post from you. I am sure these thoughts and ideas have dwelled within you, but I’d love to know what you observed, heard, or felt that made you need to write this post this week. For me, reading Lisa Delpit’s latest book has brought many of these same sentiments to the surface for me in a way that feels more present and urgent.”
She’s probably right. Even after reflecting on the underlying themes of that post, I don’t know exactly what prompted it. I do know it came from a place where people believe all people’s histories, passions, and reasons for coming into this thing we call teaching are the same. It’s almost as if the expectation for teachers now is 
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An Urban Teacher's Education: Whatever It Takes

An Urban Teacher's Education: Whatever It Takes:


Whatever It Takes

by James Boutin



"Are you willing to do whatever it takes to ensure each child succeeds?"

Recently, Highline School District (the district I work in, just south of Seattle) conducted something of an audit around their devotion to equity. The question above was among many considered by the "auditors" in determining the commitment of the district's staff to equity.

That this question was considered by such a group strongly implies that equity is only served when school personnel answer yes. Six years ago, when I was just beginning my journey into teaching, I probably would not have found anything disagreeable with that notion. Today, I find it repugnant.

In the 2009-2010 school year, my school's on-time graduation rate was just over fifty percent. The overall rate was just over sixty percent (adding the students who graduated in five or six years). On Thursday, I began discussing a few of the causes of the vastly inferior quality of education often offered in low-income urban schools in comparison to their wealthier suburban counterparts.

If every staff member in a school like mine truly attempted to do whatever it took to make sure each child found 
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You Can't Be a Feminist and Have Kids (Or: Everything You Do Is Wrong) | Inside Higher Ed

You Can't Be a Feminist and Have Kids (Or: Everything You Do Is Wrong) | Inside Higher Ed:


You Can't Be a Feminist and Have Kids (Or: Everything You Do Is Wrong)

by Susan O'Doherty




Blog: 
This week, The New York Times is running a series on the benefits and pitfalls of attachment parenting in its Room for Debate section, inspired by Elisabeth Badinter's "The Conflict."   For the most part, the essays are thoughtful and measured, and some of them (Erica Jong's and Annie Urban's in particular, I think) discuss important factors in child-rearing.

But the title of the series is "Motherhood vs. Feminism," with the subtitle, "Has women's obsession with being the perfect mother destroyed feminism?" And one of the essays argues seriously that feminism needs to go because women now feel pressure to work outside the home rather than putting our families first.

Every week, it seems, a book or article comes out telling mothers how we're doing it wrong. And because we do want to get it "right," since so much is at stake, many of us buy and read these critiques, which are often ill-
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Final push to save teacher pensions. Keep the pressure on everyone. « Fred Klonsky

Final push to save teacher pensions. Keep the pressure on everyone. « Fred Klonsky:


Final push to save teacher pensions. Keep the pressure on everyone.

by Fred Klonsky

The only time you will read me quoting Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify.”
As we head back to school tomorrow, we are heading into the final month of the Illinois General Assembly session.
Crunch time on the pension issue.
Active and retired teachers have to step up. A contact a day. Every day.
And the pressure must be put on both the legislators and our IEA leadership.
Some argue that the IEA should be at the table. Maybe. But now, I say that that they don’t seem  at the table is 
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