Missouri Education Watchdog: Is THIS why Arne Duncan wants Everyone to go to College?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Is THIS why Arne Duncan wants Everyone to go to College?:

Is THIS why Arne Duncan wants Everyone to go to College?

by stlgretchen

Is college debt collection the new "Wild West in Education" scheme for "entrepreneurs" to make money?

It is no secret this Administration's goal is to make the majority of students college/career ready, in fact, it is in its educational blueprint and heard in many of their speeches.  What is the stated goal of the Administration's school reform?  From an Arne Duncan speech: 

Last Call for Common Core Questions to Smarter Balanced School Chiefs

by stlgretchen

Have questions on Common Core?

Anngie and I are getting ready for the SBAC public discussion meeting in St. Louis this afternoon.

If you have questions, please send them straightaway to stlgretchen@gmail.com or anngie1984@gmail.com.

http://www.missourieducationwatchdog.com/2012/09/questions-on-common-core-smarter.html

Obama between a rock and a hard place with Chicago teachers strike - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Obama between a rock and a hard place with Chicago teachers strike - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Obama between a rock and a hard place with Chicago teachers strike

By Valerie Strauss

Among the signs that striking Chicago teachers are carrying are ones that say, “Obama don’t ignore us.”

Actually, the Chicago teachers, who began their first strike in 25 years on Monday, shouldn’t expect President Obama to do much more than
((Sitthixay Ditthavong/AP))ignore them. Their strike is at best highly inconvenient and could actually work against him, though how much isn’t clear.

The White House hasn’t issued an official statement from the president about the strike in 

Why shouldn’t Chicago teachers ask for air- conditioned schools?

by Valerie Strauss

One of the seemingly smaller issues that striking Chicago teachers are asking for is air-conditioning in schools where there isn’t any.
One can almost hear folks in St. Louis or Birmingham or Miami, saying: “It’s hotter here. What’s their problem in Chicago?”
Read full article >>

Teachers For Social Justice: Why We're Striking in Chicago

Teachers For Social Justice: Why We're Striking in Chicago:

Why We're Striking in Chicago

by sarah atlas

Teachers, paraprofessionals and school clinicians in Chicago have been without a labor agreement since June of this year.

Following the inability of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to reach an agreement over benefits, the role of standardized tests in teacher evaluations, and physical improvements to schools that teachers say are harming both teacher and student performance, the CTU has announced that a city-wide stirke will begin today - the first teachers strike in 25 years.

Pickets are expected at 675 schools and the Board of Education.

The following are remarks from CTU President Karen Lewis.

The New York Times’ folly. « Fred Klonsky

The New York Times’ folly. « Fred Klonsky:

The New York Times’ folly.

by Fred Klonsky

The NY Times issues their encyclical.
It’s not being provincial to point out that the NY Times, which stakes some claim on being a national newspaper, generally ignores the middle of the country.
Once in a while you might read 36 Hours in Iowa in the travel section. But that’s about it.
Over this past year they have certainly ignored the story of Chicago and its teachers.
Until this morning, when they decided to lecture the 30,000 members of the Chicago teachers on the folly of

For your Facebook page.

by Fred Klonsky

Family tradition.

by Fred Klonsky

Photo credit: Misseducation

Seattle Schools Community Forum: No On 1240 Campaign

Seattle Schools Community Forum: No On 1240 Campaign:

No On 1240 Campaign

by Melissa Westbrook

In the "tag you're it" section, I looked around a couple of months ago and realized that no one seemed to mounting a campaign against charter schools.  So I'm the head of the No On 1240 campaign.  I have a great steering committee (all parents) and great supporters down in Tacoma and we have a starting list of volunteers.

I put a link to our campaign on the blog to the right of the threads.  It is chock-full of information (unlike the Yes side - they have 4 FAQs, we have about 25).  We also have a Facebook page and we're at Twitter (No_On_1240).

BEX IV Updates From District

by Melissa Westbrook

Link to BEX IV Work Session presentation scheduled for tomorrow from 4-6 p.m. at JSCEE.
   
Dear Seattle Public School families, staff and community:

We opened our doors to about 49,500 students last week and had a great start to our 2012-13 school year.  We spent time in several schools and it was wonderful to see our students already engaged in learning.

Seattle Public Schools is growing!
Anticipating approximately 1,000 new students this year, we have been working hard to address our enrollment growth challenges. Projections show continued year-to-year increases in our enrollment fo

School Tech Connect: Truly, Truly...

School Tech Connect: Truly, Truly...:

Truly, Truly...

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Moronic. And these are the best and brightest? Seriously, this kid writes with the certainty of someone who's never been shat upon once in her life.

And this..

Great educators produce great results. Using challenging social factors as an excuse, as a crutch, as a reason to say our children cannot perform on standardized tests is shameful. Karen Lewis is using these challenges as a scapegoat for the failures of the public education system.

You can almost see the holier-than-thou expression that must have been on her face as she typed that crap. Poverty is a scapegoat? I hope she doesn't teach English.

If this person stays in teaching, by the time she's 30, she'll be mortified at the stupidity of the above. But she'll 

Students Last: Drug Dealers Defeat Teachers: New Poll

Students Last: Drug Dealers Defeat Teachers: New Poll:

Drug Dealers Defeat Teachers: New Poll

by Students Last

Some surprising results turned up in a new Gallup poll. The poll asked parents to rank occupations according to how much they hoped their children aspired to the profession. Among the most desired were perennial favorites, doctors and lawyers. Nurses also did well. Although they fell 3% from last year's ranking, nurses still managed to come in third place.

Teachers, however, did not fair so well. Two years ago they came in third place; this year they scored below drug dealers. Asked to comment on the poll results, Karen Lewis, who heads the Chicago Teachers Union said, "Our profession has been attacked for years. So I'm not surprised that parents do not see it as a viable career choice for their children."

Still teachers can take solace in knowing that they continue to score above dentists, who have come in last place for ten consecutive years.

The full poll results were as follows:

Ranking	Profession	% of Parents Ranking Profession First
1	Doctor	44

Conservatives and Education Reformers: When in doubt, make sh*t up - Wait, What?

Conservatives and Education Reformers: When in doubt, make sh*t up - Wait, What?:

Conservatives and Education Reformers: When in doubt, make sh*t up

by jonpelto

The verbal assault on teachers has reached a fevered pitch as conservatives and “education reformers push to make it look like the Chicago Teacher Strike is about money and the demands of greedy teachers and their greedy unions, rather than the fact that Chicago teachers are actually standing up to the “education reform” industry and the politicians that support it.

Yesterday, Leonie Haimson, a leader of Parents Across America, the country’s primary public education parent group, was on CNBC.

In typical fashion, as Haimson laid out the facts about what is going on in Chicago, Larry 

Teaching Exponents In Eighth Grade, Part 1: [Old To The Now] | The Jose Vilson

Teaching Exponents In Eighth Grade, Part 1: [Old To The Now] | The Jose Vilson:

Teaching Exponents In Eighth Grade, Part 1: [Old To The Now]

by Jose

India Power Outage

Every so often, I’m inserting some posts on pedagogy, especially for those of us who aren’t as math-inclined. If you find this helpful, just let me know in the comments.
Today, I’m differentiating between the old way I used to prepare the students for a lesson on exponents and the way I do it now.
Old Way
1. Ask “What’s an exponent?”
2. Here are the five mail rules you need to know.
3. Apply them.
New Way
1. Ask “What’s an exponent?”
2. Use their definitions with a bit of refinement.
3. Get their thinking about a few cases involving exponential, expanded, and standard form

115 YEARS AGO « Teachers Fight Back

115 YEARS AGO « Teachers Fight Back:

115 YEARS AGO

by alkleen

A hundred and fifteen years ago, in 1897, a strike by coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia ended with the miners winning an eight-hour workday. (The previous day, 20 Pennsylvania miners were killed when sheriff’s deputies fired on them.)
I posted the above, lest we forget that every major benefit and working condition ever gained by working men and women in this country came at a very high cost. If you have a working knowledge of the history of the labor movement in this country, you can’t help but be a little suspicious of the motives of those who aggressively oppose collective bargaining and the right to strike.
On an unrelated note, I’m getting increasingly irritated with Chicagoans who have been calling radio shows and news programs and voicing their disgust with the teachers. Of course they all seem to be experts on teachers, 

Rick Scott: “Should we get rid of the FCAT and just go with the ACT?” | Scathing Purple Musings

Rick Scott: “Should we get rid of the FCAT and just go with the ACT?” | Scathing Purple Musings:

Rick Scott: “Should we get rid of the FCAT and just go with the ACT?”

by Bob Sikes

Maybe Rick Scott really has seen the light. After meeting with parents and teachers in Boca Raton yesterday,Sun Sentinel reporter Anne Geggis reported this:

For his first year-and-a-half in office, Gov. Scott seemed at odds with many parents and teachers by supporting the state’s use of high stakes testing for everything from teacher pay to student promotion. He signed teacher performance pay legislation in 2011 that bases teacher pay largely on how well students perform on standardized tests and also eliminated teacher tenure for new teachers.

Radical Scholarship: THE DISASTER CAPITALISM CURRICULUM: THE HIGH PRICE OF EDUCATION REFORM

Radical Scholarship: THE DISASTER CAPITALISM CURRICULUM: THE HIGH PRICE OF EDUCATION REFORM:

THE DISASTER CAPITALISM CURRICULUM: THE HIGH PRICE OF EDUCATION REFORM

by P. L. Thomas

THE DISASTER CAPITALISM CURRICULUM:

THE HIGH PRICE OF EDUCATION REFORM

BY ADAM BESSIE AND DAN ARCHER

“What do you do when you want to reach the public but you have no access to the mainstream media? Here’s what: Some very brilliant educators decided to try a novel way to explain the issues to the public. They used comic journalism, a simple, direct means of communicating complex ideas.”

Diane Ravitch,

Research Professor of Education at New York University

Best-selling author of Death and Life of the Great American School System

“Archer and Bessie’s graphic journalism challenges readers’ assumptions about public education and education reform by confronting the misleading narratives of corporate reformers and the mainstream media. The message and the medium bring context, evidence, and dynamic reality to the education reform debate while creating a new voice for educators and scholars dedicated to democracy and equity in society and public schools.”

P. L. Thomas,

Associate Professor of Education at Furman University

Author of Ignoring Poverty in the U.S. (Information Age Publishing, 2012)

Dan Archer and Adam Bessie’s graphic report confronts the popular, though misguided coverage of American public schools in twenty pages of detailed, full-color, first-hand reporting with teachers and education experts. Originally published in three, interactive episodes by independent news source Truthout, The Disaster Capitalism Curriculum received incredible critical and popular feedback, with tens of thousands of views, and thousands of shares in social media. Many people have written to us requesting hard copies for distribution and as teaching tools to raise awareness of this important issue.

Pre-order your copy via Paypal by visiting the link below:

http://bit.ly/edrefcomicorder

@archcomix

@AdamBessie

PRICE INCENTIVES:

$8 buys you a pre-order copy, along with tax and shipping.

$20 buys you a copy of the comic, and behind the scenes PDF of the process

$50 waives your shipping for bulk orders of 6 or more copies, plus PDF

$100 buys you a copy of the comic and page of original artwork, plus no shipping and PDF.

$250 all of the above, plus a visit from one of the creators (Bay Area only)

Modern School: Chicago Strike Update

Modern School: Chicago Strike Update:

Chicago Strike Update

by Michael Dunn

Yesterday, the first day of Chicago’s teacher strike, 35,000 teachers and their supporters (including hundreds of students) picketed in front of their schools and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters. 578 schools held pickets, according to “On The Line,” the CTU’s strike website. Today, CTU asked all members to picket at one of the 144 school sites that CPS is trying to keep open. These sites are being run by people from the district office, with scab support from members of religious organizations.

What are the Issues?

1. The proposed contract put forth by CPS provides a nominal pay increase that does not adequately compensate teachers for the extra work required by the implementation of the Common Core Standards (CCS) and the new evaluation system, let alone cover the cost of inflation. Furthermore, CPS is not offering sufficient teacher training to implement 

Last Stand for Children First: Teachers Strike Day 2: Our Newest Radio Ad

Last Stand for Children First: Teachers Strike Day 2: Our Newest Radio Ad:

Teachers Strike Day 2: Our Newest Radio Ad

by Last Stand for Children

Popout

We couldn't stand it anymore.  With our kids locked out of their beloved schools, we jumped into action with an ad buy aimed at getting the Chicago teachers to call off their strike and think of the most vulnerable in our society.

Charter campuses focus of L.A. school-board protests - latimes.com

Charter campuses focus of L.A. school-board protests - latimes.com:

Charter campuses focus of L.A. school-board protests

About 400 charter school advocates descended on Los Angeles school district headquarters Tuesday to protest a proposed moratorium on new charters. Later, a smaller but equally passionate contingent of parents and teachers from Berendo Middle School arrived to oppose construction of a building to house a charter school on that campus.

Charters have become a flashpoint in battles over school reform. Charters are independently operated, publicly funded schools that are exempt from some rules that govern traditional schools. Most are non-union. L.A. Unified has more of them, 186, than other U.S. school system.
The first pro-charter demonstration was in response to a resolution by school board member Steve Zimmer, who has decried the increasing migration of students to charters as harmful to public education. Zimmer’s proposal, scheduled for action in October, would establish stricter, more sweeping accountability measures for charters, and while these are being established, he proposed, the district should delay approving new ones.
As protesters rallied outside, speaker after speaker in the Board of Education meeting criticized Zimmer, who 

Chicago Teachers Strike: Why I'm On Strike & What I'm Telling My Family and Friends | K-12 News Network

Chicago Teachers Strike: Why I'm On Strike & What I'm Telling My Family and Friends | K-12 News Network:

Chicago Teachers Strike: Why I’m On Strike & What I’m Telling My Family and Friends

by David

As the strike makes national news I am finding along with many teachers that many people are weighing in on the strike who really have no idea what is going on and are basing their opinions off a 2 minute news clip. Here are the talking points and explanation I will share with my family.
Dear Friends and Family,
As the Chicago Teachers Strike becomes national news it is important to remember a few things:
A) I am almost complete with my master’s in Urban Education Policy Studies. What this means is I have dedicated my entire post graduate degree to understanding how urban school systems work and what makes 

American School Health Association Offers Free School Health Webinars — Whole Child Education

American School Health Association Offers Free School Health Webinars — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

American School Health Association Offers Free School Health Webinars

September 11, 2012 by Kristen Pekarek

Schools play an important role in improving student health, social outcomes, and overall academic success. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, aside from families, schools have the most direct contactwith more than 95 percent of U.S. young people aged 5–17 years, for 6 hours a day, and for up to 13 critical years of their social, psychological, physical, and intellectual development.

Coordinated school health programs and policies are the most efficient means schools have to closing achievement gaps, reducing risk behaviors, and preventing serious health problems among students. Whole child partner the American School Health Association (ASHA) is offering free school health webinars this fall to engage audiences in the work of ASHA and the school health field. The webinars will run from September through the middle of November and cover current school health topics, ranging from implementing National Sexuality Education Standards to engaging parents in school health promotion. ASHA will be archiving the webinars and offering participants certified health education specialist (CHES) and continuing education unit (CEU) credits depending on the topic.

Learn more about the webinars, register, and view the archive:

Seeking Mental Health Care Stigma

It's Not Your Father's "Shrink:" New Developments in Children's Mental Health Service Delivery
Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 1:30–3:00 p.m. eastern time
Register now!

Kate Elkington on Adolescents & the Stigma of Seeking Services for HIV (working title)
Thursday, November 8, 2012, 2:00–3:30 p.m. eastern time
Register now!

National Sexuality Education Standards

Part 1: Intro to Implementation
Wednesday, September 6, 2012
Archive coming soon.

Part 2: Best Approaches to Utilization
Thursday, October 25, 2012, 1:30–3:00 p.m. eastern time
Register now!

Parent Engagement

Parental Engagement Strategies for School Health
Thursday, November 15, 2012, 2:00–3:30 p.m. eastern time
Register now!

ASHA's membership includes more than 2,000 administrators, counselors, health educators, physical educators, psychologists, school health coordinators, school nurses, school physicians, and social workers in more than 56 countries. The organization's mission looks to build the capacity to plan, develop, coordinate, implement, evaluate, and advocate for effective school health strategies that contribute to optimal health and academic outcomes for all children and youth. Learn more about ASHA at www.ashaweb.org.

Blue Jersey:: School Privatization Efforts Continue in NJ

Blue Jersey:: School Privatization Efforts Continue in NJ:

School Privatization Efforts Continue in NJ

by KendalJames

The deceptively-named school privatization group American Federation for Children is attempting to link the Chicago Teachers Union strike to what they claim is public support for school vouchers. That's a long walk, considering that most Americans don't want their tax dollars to pay for private and religious schools. AFC claims that their commissioned polling shows a whopping 85% of New Jerseyans support vouchers. If that figure seems weird, it is - AFC's claims are wildly inconsistent with the findings of an arguably much more neutral and reputable polling operation - Quinnipiac University - which consistently finds that a majority of New Jerseyans actually oppose vouchers. It's not surprising, since AFC is a "trustee" level supporter of the now largely toxicconservative bill mill ALEC, and is essentially in the same business of advancing prefab legislation ultimately 

So Reformy; So Stupid

by Duke

This post is so stupid on so many levels that I was going to ignore it. But it's so perfectly... reformy. I just can't resist.

The fact is that female teachers nowadays are not as smart as they used to be. And the fact is that’s why students nowadays are not learning as much as they need to learn in order to succeed.

Trust us - it's a "fact"! Except when it isn't and when it isn't.

This trend is especially meaningful due to the Chicago Teachers Union strike this week. One 

Heartland Institute Staff.

Do Teacher Bashers EVER Know What They're Talking About?

by Duke

Here's a rule to live by: anytime a conservative pundit cites an education statistic, it's probably wrong. Take, for example, this factoid that "proves" that Chicago's children, whose teachers are currently on strike, all suck (all emphases mine):

IJ Review:

Only 15% of fourth graders are proficient in reading.

 CNBC's Larry Kudlow, yelling at the great Leonie Haimson like a mental patient:

15% of fourth graders are proficient in reading.

Amy Payne at the Heritage Foundation:

Among other demands, the Chicago Teachers Union had asked for a 30 percent pay increase—despite 

The Educated Reporter: Chicago Teachers' Union Strike: Win the Battle But Lose the War?

The Educated Reporter: Chicago Teachers' Union Strike: Win the Battle But Lose the War?:

Chicago Teachers' Union Strike: Win the Battle But Lose the War?

by Emily Richmond

As numerous news organizations have noted, including the Washington Post,  the Christian Science Monitor,and the Wall St. Journal, the Chicago teachers' strike is being posited by some as a referendum on President Obama’s education initiatives.



Indeed, the U.S. Department of Education has dangled some sizeable carrots to motivate states and districts to adopt significant reforms. Among them is Race To The Top, a competitive program in which states and districts apply for a share of more than $4 billion in federal grants to turn around underperforming schools. But to qualify for RTTT, states had to agree to implement a number of administration-approved reform measures, including the 

LAUSD: DOING ITS PART IN "THE UNRAVELING" OF AMERICA INTO PAKISTAN? - Perdaily.com

LAUSD: DOING ITS PART IN "THE UNRAVELING" OF AMERICA INTO PAKISTAN? - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD: DOING ITS PART IN "THE UNRAVELING" OF AMERICA INTO PAKISTAN?

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
Over the years I have kept in touch with my old Indian school chum Madukar Shah from my days in the late 1960s and 1970s at UCLA. While I didn't know it until I visited him in India several years ago, Madukar is the Maharajah of the Indian state of Madya Pradesh, even though this no longer means what it once did to his powerful ancestors, which he can trace back with absolute