Why Is the Most Popular TED Talk of All Time About Education? - Education - GOOD

Why Is the Most Popular TED Talk of All Time About Education? - Education - GOOD:

Why Is the Most Popular TED Talk of All Time About Education?

by Liz Dwyer

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It's been six years since TED began making its informative talks available online, enabling the world to watch some of our most brilliant thinkers and activists share their ideas. There are so many good ones that watching them can be addicting. But what's the most viewed TED Talk of all time? According to the TED blog, creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 talk on why our education system is killing student creativity and why we need to radically rethink our approach to schooling has a lock on the number one spot. As of this writing, Robinson's 

Mitt Romney: Honor Students Do It All Themselves | Crooks and Liars

Mitt Romney: Honor Students Do It All Themselves | Crooks and Liars:

Mitt Romney: Honor Students Do It All Themselves

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n his town hall appearance in New Hampshire this morning, Mitt Romney celebrated the individual, who clearly needs no support system to succeed in RepublicanLand.
Speaking to a crowd of FreedomWorks devotees and other New Hampshire residents, he said this:
"We celebrate and recognize the success of each individual and acknowledge their success. We don't denigrate it, we don't divide Americans based on their level of success. We come together.
The other day, you know, I thought about a kid that works hard to get the honor roll. And she works real hard. I know that to get the honor roll she had to go on a school bus to get to school. But when she makes the honor roll, I credit the kid, not the bus driver!"
This statement right here underlines the differences I have with conservatives. Because that bus driver did

Des Moines Education Association: DMEA Standing for Something - Part 1

Des Moines Education Association: DMEA Standing for Something - Part 1:

DMEA Standing for Something - Part 1

by Andrew Rasmussen

In the current education environment it seems like educators are so busy reacting to the latest education "reforms" proposed by non-educators that we rarely get a chance to state what we stand for. The DMEA feels like it is time to draw some lines in the sand and state some of the things we stand for. This blog will be a starting point for sharing what we are willing to fight for in order to truly improve the teaching and learning conditions in our schools.

STAND - Advocate for Policies That Deal With Childhood Poverty

According to the latest data provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count program the percent

Hechinger Report | Thinking we know what we test

Hechinger Report | Thinking we know what we test:

Thinking we know what we test

from Hechinger Report by Justin Snider

An op-ed in The New York Times on August 20th, “Testing What We Think We Know,” argued that many medical procedures are carried out in the United States despite a very thin evidence-base for their efficacy. It’s high time to invest more in research, the author wrote, to figure out first what actually works. The op-ed’s author, H. Gilbert Welch, is a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and a co-author of Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health (2011).
Welch’s op-ed about the field of medicine could just as easily have been about the field of education (but then, would The Times have published it?). The problems besetting both are strikingly similar. In that spirit, what follows is a riff on Welch’s op-ed, and it’ll likely make sense only if you first read “Testing What We Think We Know.”
By 2010, many politicians were recommending top-down accountability to healthy schools and rigorous

School vouchers make a comeback, stir concerns about quality

from Hechinger Report by Sarah Carr

NEW ORLEANS — As Louisiana debuts one of the nation’s most extensive private-school voucher programs, deep divides persist over who should be accountable for ferreting out academic failure and financial abuse: the government or parents.

Photo by Sarah Garland

Across the country, vouchers have resurged in a big way over the last two years—both as a form of school choice and a political lightning rod. Republican governors in Louisiana, Indiana, New Jersey and other states have championed them as a solution to the challenges besetting public education. More recently, Republican 

Friday’s General Assembly fiasco. What happened and why? « Fred Klonsky

Friday’s General Assembly fiasco. What happened and why? « Fred Klonsky:

Friday’s General Assembly fiasco. What happened and why?

by Fred Klonsky

PopoutWhat happened in Springfield on Friday?
We know that the Governor called the General Assembly into session to address the pension issue.
We know that they adjourned Friday afternoon after failing to do anything but flap their jaws.
To quote the north shore Democratic Representative Dan Biss, “We all look like idiots.” Who would argue?
I was in the Capitol Friday with several hundred other state pensioners. Mostly they were from SEIU and 

The Big Business of Charter Schools — MUST READ | K-12 News Network

The Big Business of Charter Schools — MUST READ | K-12 News Network:

The Big Business of Charter Schools — MUST READ

by admin

Don’t take it from me. Meet David Brain, an investor who also owns commercial real estate, movie theatre chains, and other businesses. He talks baldly to CNBC about what a great deal it is to have taxpayer dollars subsidize your investment.
As highlighted in Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet, at the Washington Post:

If you are wondering why you should add charter schools to your investment portfolios, here’s David Brain, head of a major investment concern called Entertainment Properties Trust, to tell you.

Video:

So, still think corporate chain charters are rooted in the community and responsive to parents and children?

Anchor: Well let me ask you about potential risks, here, to your charter school portfolio, because 

What is Paul Vallas doing to Bridgeport’s Special Education Students? - Wait, What?

What is Paul Vallas doing to Bridgeport’s Special Education Students? - Wait, What?:

What is Paul Vallas doing to Bridgeport’s Special Education Students?

by jonpelto

When Bridgeport’s City Council approved this year’s $511.1 million city budget, it included a core school budget of $215.8 million.  That is the same amount that was budgeted last year.

Last year’s school budget was balanced, in part, from a series of budget cuts proposed by Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s $229,000, part-time, interim superintendent of schools, and approved by Bridgeport’s illegal board of education.  The final gap was covered by a $3.5 million dollar forgivable loan from the State of Connecticut.

A budget is a type of a law.  It is a blueprint of how the public’s money will be spent.

Although this year’s school budget is for the same amount as last year’s, some spending categories have been increased and others have been decreased.

To date, the focus has been on Vallas’ claim that he “cut” one-third of the school system’s “central office” costs, although considering he’s brought in a cadre of high-priced 

Jersey Jazzman: Perth Amboy: Enough Is Enough

Jersey Jazzman: Perth Amboy: Enough Is Enough:

Perth Amboy: Enough Is Enough

by Duke

A quick note on Perth Amboy, NJ, the new center of education reforminess in America:

Janine Caffrey - hypocritical anti-tenure crusader and PA's superintendent - has been at war with members of her own Board of Education for months.

Members of the PA Board of Education voted to remove Caffrey based on an evaluation of her performance she says was too late to count against her. The board counters that she was late (around 11:00 on the video) in submitting her portion of the evaluation.

When the board took the vote, they had to invoke a "doctrine of necessity" because too many board members had family employed by the district. Caffrey and three other BOE members missed the vote because they were

Reminder: Thursday IRTA pension meeting in Wilmette. « Fred Klonsky

Reminder: Thursday IRTA pension meeting in Wilmette. « Fred Klonsky:

Reminder: Thursday IRTA pension meeting in Wilmette.

by Fred Klonsky

The north suburban chapter of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association will be hosting a meeting on Thursday evening at 7PM at the Wilmette Public Library, 1242 Wilmette Avenue in Wilmette.
The topic: The current fight to defend public pensions in Illinois.
Speaking are teacher and noted blogger Glen Brown and me, just back from Friday’s General Assembly session, which caused north shore Representative Dan Biss to claim, “We’re all idiots.”
No argument there.
Glen knows more about pensions than anybody, including every member of the Illinois General Assembly. Granted. That’s a low bar.
I will be there to add good looks and charm.
Thanks to chapter president Irene Jinks for organizing this.
You don’t have to be retired to attend. You don’t even have to be a teacher. You just have to be concerned about the impact on the economy of Illinois cutting the pensions of nearly 800,000 members of the state’s pension systems.
And want to do something about it.

Clock is ticking. CPS called “intransigent.” Principals get spy memo.

by Fred Klonsky

Brother Mike shares a stunning memo on his Small Talk blog this morning.
It seems that Rahm and CPS CEO JC Brizard are telling school principals to monitor the legal activity of union reps in their schools and forward that information to CPS headquarters.
I’m no lawyer, but this smells like an illegal unfair labor practice to me.
Brother Mike also shares this:

CTU leaders plan to brief the union’s House of Delegates this Wednesday on 

When Charters Enroll Students with Disabilities « Diane Ravitch's blog

When Charters Enroll Students with Disabilities « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Denial as a Reform Strategy

by dianerav

Reformers constantly deny any evidence that contradicts their narrative.
They insist that our public schools are failing, despite the clear evidence in the national assessments that test scores have never been higher for every group tested.
They insist that merit pay is necessary, even though it has never “worked,” in any sense of the word, not in raising test scores or in making teaching more attractive as a profession.
They insist that charters are better than public schools, even though study after study shows this is not true.

When Charters Enroll Students with Disabilities

by dianerav

Bruce Baker has studied charter enrollments in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Houston, and New York City.
Matthew DiCarlo observed that the GAO report actually understated the disparity in charter enrollments of students with disabilities, by comparing charters to the nation, instead of to the district where they are located. Urban districts have higher rates of students with disabilities than the national rate.
Bruce Baker notes that some charters inflate their numbers of special education students by taking only those with the mildest disabilities:

A really big issue which I’ve been able to explore only in a few contexts is the breakout of children with Do Charters Serve the Same Students? No. by dianerav I posted previously about Bruce Baker’s study of charter schools in New York City and Houston. It is such a clear and concise analysis of which students enroll in charters and how much charters spend, I am posting it again here. Charters in these two cities do not enroll the same proportion of students with disabilities and students who are English language learners as public schools. Charters in these cities tend to spend more per pupil, in some cases, significantly more than public schools. Please read it.  This information is drawn from public sources. Why charter advocates continue to insist that charters enroll the

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, August 21, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Education Headlines

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Brown visits SD, promises 'real suffering' if tax fails

Jerry Brown on Monday in San Diego peddled his tax measure to raise $6 billion annually for education and other state services, promising “real suffering by you and really our whole future” if the proposal fails in November.

Twin Rivers probes allegation of unauthorized sports physicals

Twin Rivers Unified School District officials are investigating an allegation that an unauthorized Foothill High School employee conducted sports physicals for student athletes and charged them for the service

Long Beach Unified officials decide not to close New City K-8 charter school

The future of New City K-8 charter school may be safe, for now. In a move that drew applause from a room filled with concerned New City parents, Long Beach Unified School District officials on Monday recommended to the Board of Education that the district not move to revoke the school's charter.

Cost of living can affect student achievement, study says

Poor children living in higher-cost areas like the urban centers of California are more likely to struggle academically than their counterparts in lower-cost areas, according to research published today.

Chorneau: CA charter movement celebrates 20 year anniversary

California now leads the nation with nearly 1,000 charter schools in operation – averaging about 100 new charters every year and an average rate of growth of about 41 percent since 2006. Tuesday, the California Charter Schools Association will mark the fall day in 1992 that former Gov. Pete Wilson signed the Charter Schools Act with an event to be held at the San Carlos Learning Center.

Fensterwald: AB 5 falls short of meeting NCLB waiver requirements

Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes said that the passage of AB 5, the teacher evaluation bill that he authored, could “potentially serve as a key piece” of the state’s application for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law – and free up hundreds of millions of federal dollars to fund districts’ evaluations and other education needs.

Monday, August 20, 2012

State's 'the check is in the mail' forces schools districts to break out credit card

Like a homeowner living beyond their means, California is paying some of its bills late, by months or even years. And this "the check is in the mail" method of balancing the state budget has forced many of California's 977 public school districts to either dip into shrinking financial reserves or pay borrowing fees and interest on short-term loans to cover their expenses in the meantime.

Superintendent recommends leasing classrooms to private school

School officials in Carlsbad have struck a deal with a private school to lease 16 classrooms at Magnolia Elementary School for almost $250,000 a year, substantially less than the amount the private school offered earlier this month.

As year begins, Marin schools use new national standards

There is still much uncertainty about how instruction may change because teachers and administrators are still analyzing the standards and their implications.

Jersey Jazzman: Education Experience Not Required

Jersey Jazzman: Education Experience Not Required:

Education Experience Not Required

by Duke

The Broad infestation of our nation's schools is accelerating. Ken Libby and Stan Karp give us the latest news about billionaire Eli Broad's plans to buy up our nation's education policy:

The Broad Foundation wants to step on the gas.

 The California-based foundation, built on the housing and insurance empire of billionaire Eli Broad, has made “transforming K-12 urban public education” a major priority. Its training and placement of top administrators in urban districts across the country and support for charter schools, school turnarounds, merit pay and other market-based reforms have put it at the center of a polarized national debate about education policy.

A recent memo [see in post below this one] from The Broad Center (TBC) proposes a 

UPDATE: It’s really about the principals - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

It’s really about the principals - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

It’s really about the principals

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Ed Fuller, associate professor in the Education Leadership Department at Penn State University. He is also the director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis as well as the associate director for policy of the University Council for Educational Administration. This first appeared on the blog of the Albert Shanker Institute.
By Ed Fuller

“No one knows who I am,” exclaimed a senior in a high-poverty, predominantly minority and low-performing high school in the Austin area. She explained, “I have been at this school four years and had four principals and six algebra I teachers.”

Elsewhere in Texas, the first school to be closed by the state for low performance was Johnston High School, which was led by 13 principals in the 11 years preceding closure. The school also had a teacher

Eight problems with Common Core Standards

by Valerie Strauss

Correction: The original post said incorrectly that the Common Core was written with no public dialogue or feedback from experienced educators. The post now says there was insufficient public dialogue and feedback from experienced educators.
Read full article >>

What the Hell? She didn't say Vagina! Okla. valedictorian denied diploma over 'hell' in speech

Okla. valedictorian denied diploma over 'hell' in speech:

Okla. valedictorian denied diploma over 'hell' in speech

• Comments

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By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Updated 16h 41m ago

CAPTION

From Prague Public Schools

An Oklahoma valedictorian is having a devil of a time receiving her high school diploma because of an ad-libbed "hell" in her graduation speech, KFOR-TV reports.

Kaitlin Nootbaar, soon to be a college freshman on a full scholarship, was a straight-A, 4.0 student during her fours years at Prague High School in central Oklahoma, "Home of the Red Devils."

Nootbaar's father, David, explained to KFOR what happened 

Educators Strive to Provide Students a Well-Rounded Education — Whole Child Education

Educators Strive to Provide Students a Well-Rounded Education — Whole Child Education:

Educators Strive to Provide Students a Well-Rounded Education

August 21, 2012 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post written by Matthew Swift and originally featured in Policy Priorities.

Teachers, students, and administrators are aware that any major changes to ESEA could have a huge effect on their school districts. Issues such as common core state standards and waivers are among the many policies that could be affected. Even without reauthorization, ESEA (currently known as No Child Left Behind, or NCLB) affects districts across the nation in numerous ways. Despite the issues ESEA presents, educators are still doing their part to ensure students get a good education.

"When we look at the mandates of NCLB and the testing requirements and the proficiency thresholds ... we're all in the same boat right now," says Matt McClure, superintendent of the Cross County School District in Arkansas. "Every year it becomes more and more difficult, but at the same time we've got to keep striving and do what we know is best for students, and that is to prepare them to be successful when they get out [of 

Fast, Free, Online: Because You Can’t Wait to Get Better

by Molly McCloskey

All educators want to improve what they do for kids, but they need help doing so. On a daily basis, we’re thinking, planning, and taking steps to improve school climate and culture, provide high-quality curriculum and instruction, be leaders, assess meaningfully, engage our families and communities, support our own professional development, build staff capacity, and more. How do we balance these multiple school improvement priorities in our schools and with one another?

At ASCD we believe that a whole child approach to education is the way to make these improvements. Ensuring that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged sets the standard for comprehensive, sustainable school improvement and provides for long-term student success. The ASCD School Improvement Tool is the newest and best way to get a snapshot of how well your school or district is doing and 

Shanker Blog » College For All; Good Jobs For A Few?

Shanker Blog » College For All; Good Jobs For A Few?:

College For All; Good Jobs For A Few?

by Randall Garton

A recent study by the Center for Policy Research (CEPR) asks the question that must be on the minds of college grads, now working as coffee shop baristas: “Where Have All the Good Jobs Gone?” The answer: swallowed by corporate profits and the personal portfolios of the ultrawealthy.
Despite the fact that the American economy has experienced “enormous” productivity gains since the late 1970’s, the study finds that the number of “good jobs” (defined as those paying at least $37,000 per year, with employer-provided health insurance and an employer-sponsored retirement plan) has declined from 27.4 percent in 1979 to 24.6 percent in 2010.  This discouraging trend was strong even before the onset of the country’s economic crisis: in 2007, the year before the onset of the recession, only 25 percent of college grads had “good 

Educator Musing: Parent Empowerment? Let Parents Vote!

Educator Musing: Parent Empowerment? Let Parents Vote!:

Parent Empowerment? Let Parents Vote!

by Educator Musing

What is parent empowerment?  I hope it is not a powerful corporation (like Parent Revolution) using a law (like Parent-Trigger) and lawsuits to impose their will on a school that is contrary to the parents' original stated goals.  That seems to be the case in Adelanto, California.  If so, then let's simply bring the issue back to the parents in a secret ballot vote.  

Parent-Trigger (really called the Parent Empowerment Act), allows parents to submit a petition representing 50% + 1 of a failing school population to a local 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Local Control is Another Name for Special Interest Driven Education Policy

Missouri Education Watchdog: Local Control is Another Name for Special Interest Driven Education Policy:

Local Control is Another Name for Special Interest Driven Education Policy

by stlgretchen

You pay for it.  You send your children. You have no decision making abilities on how your money is spent or what is taught....but private foundations sure do.

Does your state worry about funding Common Core?  My state should.  It's estimated to cost Missouri $350 Million.  As Missouri can't even fund its basic educational formula, it's a mystery on how it will come up with this funding for the mandates.

New Jersey figured out how to fund turnaround strategies mandated in this educational reform.  Just have a private foundation fund the mandates.  Why have the taxpayers pay for something they didn't vote