Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, November 23, 2012

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 11-23-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2


James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP




SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 minutes ago
SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer: SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 23, 2012 at 5:55 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » The College Board’s SAT “Problem of the Day” is supposed to be helpful – but that’s hard when it cites the wrong answer. Over at the Rational Mathematics Education Web site, math assessment reform activist Michael Paul Goldenberg explains the problem with the problem, provided by the Educational Testing Service, whi... more »

Daily Kos: It should be personal to all of us - Please help the reservation Propane Project

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 minutes ago
Daily Kos: It should be personal to all of us - Please help the reservation Propane Project: It should be personal to all of us - Please help the reservation Propane Project by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) [image: indians at Rosebud Reservation] I have never REALLY known cold. I am a middle class white American of Jewish background.The house in which I grew up had an old oil burner, for which fuel had to be delivered. It heated hot water which was sent upas steam to old-fashioned radiators. So long as we had fuel, we had heat. We had a gas stove until we remodeled the kitchen, a... more »

Dedicated to the Children of Gaza | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Dedicated to the Children of Gaza | Seattle Education: Dedicated to the Children of Gaza by seattleducation2011 Chris Hedges America: The Silence of a Nation The author spoke at the Revolution Books Town Hall Meeting at Ethical Culture Society on January 13, 2009 condemning Israel and the United States’ complicity in Israel’s murderous destruction and genocide of innocent men, women and children of Gaza and the West Bank. About these ads Share this: -

A Conference Perspective - The Educator's PLN

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
A Conference Perspective - The Educator's PLN: A Conference Perspective by Thomas Whitby When I accepted an invitation to attend the World Innovation Summit on Education, WISE2012, in Doha, Qatar, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. In my own arrogance I thought I was a seasoned education conference attendee. I have been to maybe a hundred education conferences both good and bad. I planned or helped plan at least a dozen local or statewide conferences. I even considered myself an experienced critic having done several well-received posts on various professional educ... more »

Schools Matter: Walmart "Associates" and Charter School "Scholars"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Schools Matter: Walmart "Associates" and Charter School "Scholars": Walmart "Associates" and Charter School "Scholars" by Jim Horn The Gates Team out in Washington are trying to scare up some media attention on a "study" bought by the charter reform school industry that purportedly shows that charters, long known to exclude special ed kids, are, indeed, enrolling larger numbers of them. Even if you were to believe the findings, we still have the more serious and widespread law-breaking that takes place when no special ed teachers are to found in the charter reform schools that h... more »

Mi Pueblo DBQ available for download! « Classroom Struggle

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Mi Pueblo DBQ available for download! « Classroom Struggle: Mi Pueblo DBQ available for download! See below for a great resource from two OUSD teachers for teaching about the 1-9 audit at Mi Pueblo. —- *Please share with other educators! Check-out the lesson materials here! * Dear teacher colleagues in OUSD and other Bay Area schools, Many of you have probably heard about the impending 1-9 audit of Mi Pueblo stores (more info below) that poses a serious threat to the economic livelihood and stability of many of students’ families throughout the Bay Area. Both of us work at Oakla... more »

In Mississippi, solutions follow funding setbacks for early childhood education | Hechinger Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
In Mississippi, solutions follow funding setbacks for early childhood education | Hechinger Report: In Mississippi, solutions follow funding setbacks for early childhood by Sarah Carr McComb, Miss. — With Mississippi officials steadfastly refusing to fund public pre-kindergarten at a statewide level, local leaders across the state have taken matters into their own hands. Kindergarten students at Kennedy Early Childhood Center. (Photo courtesy McComb School District) From the Gulf Coast to the Delta, school district leaders are cobbling together resources, partnering with community ... more »

Expert on teacher evaluation has concerns about Louisiana's new system | NOLA.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Expert on teacher evaluation has concerns about Louisiana's new system | NOLA.com: *Expert on teacher evaluation has concerns about Louisiana's new system* [image: Grading the graders] The new teacher evaluation systemLouisiana launched this fall may be too simplistic, according to the architect of one of the most widely used evaluation systems in the country -- and the one on which Louisiana's new system is based. Charlotte Danielson is the creator of a method of observing and rating teachers based on their performance in the classroom known as theFramework for Teaching. Louisiana... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread: Friday Open Thread by Melissa Westbrook A few updates: One - with less than 8,000 votes to count statewide, I-1240 appears to have passed. (I'm sure it's true but I'm not the Secretary of State and in a position to officially call it.) The margin appears to be 1.36% of the vote which is just under 41,000 votes. A win for sure but certainly no mandate. Two - Thanks to SPS Leaks for some very illuminating reading. To whit: Lynne Varner gets it wrong in an Times editorial and SPS gently points this out to her. I note that V... more »

What is the “Status Quo?” And What the Heck is a “Reformer?” | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
What is the “Status Quo?” And What the Heck is a “Reformer?” | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: What is the “Status Quo?” And What the Heck is a “Reformer?” by Cheryl S. Williams As I mentioned in a previous post, I am delighted with the election results from earlier this month. Well, I’m delighted with *most* of the election results. I’m sorely disappointed that my friend and colleague, Helen F. Morris, lost her position on the Alexandria City (VA) School Board, where she serves as Vice Chairman and has put countless hours into advocating for strong schools a... more »

Washington lawmakers scrambling for education cash | OregonLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Washington lawmakers scrambling for education cash | OregonLive.com: Washington lawmakers scrambling for education cash*Where is Bill Gates when you need him?* Lawmakers are making their holiday school funding wish list and it's a short one: please send cash. They need the money to give every child free all-day kindergarten, to pay for bus service for about a million school children and to take the pressure off local tax levies that help pay for basic education. A down payment on all of that will cost at least a billion dollars in the next biennium to answer the Supreme Court's orde... more »

Charter school corruption and Other CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Charter school corruption: Charter school corruption Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 23, 2012 at 1:27 pm [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » Here’s how The Arizona Republic started a story detailing its investigation into charter school corruption in the state: *Board members and administrators from more than a dozen state-funded charter schools are profiting from their affiliations by doing business with schools they oversee.* *The ... more »

117 ALEC Members Voted Out of Office in 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
117 ALEC Members Voted Out of Office in 2012: 117 ALEC Members Voted Out of Office in 2012Friday, 23 November 2012 11:17 By Rebekah Wilce, PRWatch | News Analysis - 1 - font size [image: decrease font size] [image: increase font size] - Print - Email In primary and general elections in 2012 and recall elections in 2011 and 2012, a total of 117 members and alumni of the American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) were voted out of office, according to research and analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), ColorOfChange, and others. Arizona Down 14 ALEC ... more »

Thinking About Schools: One for the "Education 'Signs of the Apocalypse'"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Thinking About Schools: One for the "Education 'Signs of the Apocalypse'": One for the "Education 'Signs of the Apocalypse'" Each week Sports Illustrated includes a "Signs of the Apocalypse" - a "can you believe this?" story or event like... SI May 28, 2012 - *"A 12-year-old San Antonio boy received a one-day suspension from middle school after he had a portrait of Spurs forward Matt Bonner—a fellow redhead and his favorite NBA player—shaved into the back of his head; the school declared the haircut a distraction and a violation of the dress code."* SI APRIL 4, 1994 - *"In resp... more »

Chris Hedges on where we are and education as a caste system | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Chris Hedges on where we are and education as a caste system | Seattle Education: Chris Hedges on where we are and education as a caste system Posted on November 23, 2012 by seattleducation2011 | Leave a comment Chris Hedges spoke at West Virginia State University last year just before Occupy Wall Street. He begins about 15 minutes into the video. A highly recommended watch this weekend. For me, his best talk to date. Dora

Talking Turkey on Junk Food in Schools « MomsRising Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Talking Turkey on Junk Food in Schools « MomsRising Blog: Talking Turkey on Junk Food in Schools by Monifa Bandele Whatever your cultural or ethnic background, conversations inevitably turn to food this time of year. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving or just “get together”? Do you eat meat and is it free-range? Are the vegetables organic? What is a healthy dessert? Gluten free? What about sugar? And then there is the ever-present concern; how will we all keep off those extra holiday pounds? Getting family members together with different practices, politics and palates for one big meal... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Nick Kristof

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Nick Kristof: The Incoherent World of Nick Kristof by Duke Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist, 11/21/12: So time and again, we see the decline of public services accompanied by the *rise of private workarounds for the wealthy*. [...] Are public schools failing? Well, superb private schools have spaces for a mere $40,000 per child per year. [emphasis mine] Kristof, 10/14/09: It’s difficult to improve failing schools *when you can’t create alternatives such *

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center: Best of the Ed Blogs *Best of the Ed Blogs* features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make *Best of the Ed Blogs* your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics. Expose of Charter Corruption in The New Republic Best of the Ed Blogs Diane Ravitch November 21, 2012 In Pearson We Trust. Really? But Our Blood is Never Blue Best o... more »

New York Teacher | Edwize

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
New York Teacher | Edwize: New York Teacher by W.J. Levay [image: New York Teacher, Nov. 22, 2012] Highlights from the latest issue of *New York Teacher*: Resupplying relocated students with 30,000 backpacks Calling it the “best of New York City coming together” UFT President Michael Mulgrew praised the efforts of educators, administrators, elected officials and corporate citizens who all pulled together with the goal of raising $1.5 million to deliver 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students whose schools were flooded by Hurricane Sandy. Members roll up their sleeves... more »

Pennsylvania’s charter cheaters. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Pennsylvania’s charter cheaters. « Fred Klonsky: Pennsylvania’s charter cheaters. by Fred Klonsky They tried to bury the news of Pennsylvania’s charter school cheaters by releasing it right before the Thanksgiving holiday. But they got busted anyway. Cheaters. The back story is this: The Duncan Department of Education requires schools to meet certain benchmarks to qualify as making Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). They require districts to meet a more lenient benchmark. So the Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis treated charter schools as districts, not schools. But didn’t ... more »

Thankful (After Thanksgiving) | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Thankful (After Thanksgiving) | The Jose Vilson: Thankful (After Thanksgiving) by Jose Charlie Brown Thanksgiving I try to be thankful everyday. I’m always reminded that I have ancestors who didn’t and don’t have the same fortune I have, and how blessed I am to partake in meals with *all* of my family. It’s hard to celebrate a day you know was dedicated to what pilgrims perceived as manifest destiny but that the victims and survivors perceive as the pillage, rape, and genocide of their people. Of our people. Our blessings in the present came from a legacy of a foul philosophy place... more »

Grading Schools Isn’t the Answer. It’s the Problem. - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Grading Schools Isn’t the Answer. It’s the Problem. - NYTimes.com: When ‘Grading’ Is Degrading Bee Things By MICHAEL BRICKPublished: November 22, 2012 - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - GOOGLE+ - SAVE - E-MAIL - SHARE - PRINT - REPRINTS - Austin, Tex. Related in Opinion - Times Topic: Education [image: Opinion Twitter Logo.] Connect With Us on Twitter For Op-Ed, follow@nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow@andyrNYT. IN his speech on the night of his re-election, President Obama promised to find common ground with oppos... more »

It's Black Friday. Time to support Walmart workers. Here's how. : blue cheddar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
It's Black Friday. Time to support Walmart workers. Here's how. : blue cheddar: It’s Black Friday. Time to support Walmart workers. Here’s how. by bluecheddar Overpass Light Brigade holds light-up letters that spell "Respect the workers" in front of a Kenosha, Wisconsin Walmart. November 22, 2012 (Go all the way to the bottom of this to see the Kenosha Walmart security visit photo.) If you said to me, “Hey. I really need to get to the nearest Walmart. Where do I go?” I would have to say, “I have no idea. There’s a big one on the West side of Madison somewhere.” I also don’t re... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Grading or Degrading?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Grading or Degrading?: Grading or Degrading? by Mike Klonsky *Michael Brick*, writing in yesterday's N.Y. Times, ("When Grading is Degrading") offers a devastating appraisal of current reform policies which are based increasingly on fostering competition and on grading schools and teachers. Brick takes a look at the situation in Texas, which he calls "nobody’s model for educational excellence", where the state has long used complex algorithms to assign grades of Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable or Unacceptable to its schools. *So far, such competiti... more »

Obama's 2nd term to test his education program - CBS News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Obama's 2nd term to test his education program - CBS News: *Obama's 2nd term to test his education program* * * President Obama has already begun to sketch the outlines of an ambitious second-term agenda, touting his mandate on tax rates and making comprehensive immigration reform a top legislative priority. But when it comes to education reform, looming battles over politics and funding threaten to leave students and educators nationwide in the lurch - and could derail the president's legacy on an issue he's long touted as paramount to his vision for governing. The Department of E... more »

The US education system didn't get any thanks at our table this year | ZDNet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The US education system didn't get any thanks at our table this year | ZDNet: *The US education system didn't get any thanks at our table this year* Summary: It wasn't so long ago that many students and parents considered themselves lucky to have access to public education in the States. I'm afraid, though, that I'm headed into 2013 utterly discouraged by the system. [image: Christopher Dawson] By Christopher Dawson for ZDNet Education | November 23, 2012 -- 08:43 GMT (00:43 PST) *No One Loves Corporate Ed Reform except Money * Thanksgiving Day was rather nice in the Dawson househo... more »

Daily Kos: 66.5

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Daily Kos: 66.5: 66.5 by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) I was born on May 23, 1946, into a middle class Reformed Jewish family in New York City. Today, my half-birthday, I am a Quaker married to an Orthodox Christian, living in a middle class neighborhood in Arlington VA. I have remarked to my wonderful spouse, Leaves on the Current, that in 2 months, when I reach 66 2/3, I will qualify as a Long Playing Record of some sort :-) - for those of you old enough to remember when LPs were the dominant form of hove music entertainment. At this stage of my life, I often find myself refle... more »

Snyder's draft of major K-12 changes ‘opens the door to private investors' | Observer and Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies | hometownlife.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Snyder's draft of major K-12 changes ‘opens the door to private investors' | Observer and Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies | hometownlife.com: Snyder's draft of major K-12 changes ‘opens the door to private investors' *Corporate Ed Reform It's About The Money* Gov. Rick Snyder has made it clear he believes the state needs to restructure the way it pays for and oversees public education. The draft of his new act to govern the financing of education would allow K-12 students to choose school districts, expand use of online learning and hand out monetary incentives of $2,5... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-23-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Wonderful Article About Destructive Reforms by dianerav The New York Times has a terrific article today by Michael Brick about the destructive policies that are called “reforms.” This is the first time in my memory that an article in the newspaper of record–albeit an opinion piece–has acknowledged that both political parties share the same demented and punitive approach and that their ideas are hurting, not helping. Please read it. It gives me hope that our message is breaking through the elaborate public... more »

STEM Visa Considered for a House Vote Next Week | NewsTaco

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
STEM Visa Considered for a House Vote Next Week | NewsTaco: STEM Visa Considered for a House Vote Next Week by Voxxi By Raisa Camargo, Voxxi After the Thanksgiving break, Congressional members in the House will consider voting on a Republican-backed STEM Visa bill next week adding to their list of legislative priorities during the lame-duck session. The STEM Jobs Act was introduced by House ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), this fall as an effort to increase the number of green cards to persons with advanced degrees in science, math, engineering and technology. The House bill is... more »

Ed Notes Online: Join the 6% Club: Parents Who Opt Out of High Stakes Tests

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: Join the 6% Club: Parents Who Opt Out of High Stakes Tests: Join the 6% Club: Parents Who Opt Out of High Stakes Tests by ed notes online Parents have the RIGHT to opt their children out of this cycle of madness. If just 6% of the children per school site were opted out of this grossly over-rated system of assessing students and holding educators accountable, we could begin to have a productive dialogue about more humane and complex systems of assessment and education. Just saw this video (http://youtu.be/RJ26p7IKAgI) in an email from Janine Sopp. The growing opt... more »

The economics of higher education 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The economics of higher education 101: The economics of higher education 101 Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 23, 2012 at 4:00 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » ((Butch Dill – Associated Press) ) The cost of going to college is one of the most difficult issues facing education policymakers. Here Catharine Hill, president of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, explains the basics of higher education economics. During her almost seven years as president, Vassar’s signature effort has been ... more »

‘Farm-to-School’ initiative puts fresh produce in classes Page 1 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
‘Farm-to-School’ initiative puts fresh produce in classes Page 1 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com: ‘Farm-to-School’ initiative puts fresh produce in classesSan Marcos district works with Redlands farmer to promote nutrition, better eating [image: Knob Hill Elementary School in San Marcos fifth graders shop for produce during a Farmers’ Market held at the school Wednesday. BILL WECHTER@] Knob Hill Elementary School in San Marcos fifth graders shop for produce during a Farmers’ Market held at the school Wednesday. BILL WECHTER@ SAN MARCOS — When you hear the popular phrase “farm to table,” it... more »

Daily Kos: Division of Labor: Conquering the "Public"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Daily Kos: Division of Labor: Conquering the "Public": Division of Labor: Conquering the "Public" byplthomasEdDFollow Anthony Cody, in his Living in Dialogue blog, has recently addressed the strategy common among "No Excuses" Reformers (NER) using a corporate playbook to render all that is public*private*: Cody identifies "division [as] the key weapon that reformers will be using in the years to come." Divide and conquer has never been more powerful and subtle than it is in the education reform debate, driven by Big Money (Bill Gate), faux-progressives (Michelle Rhee and Arne Dunca... more »

Daily Kos: Krugman: Grand Old Planet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Daily Kos: Krugman: Grand Old Planet: Krugman: Grand Old Planet by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Yes, that is G-O-P. And Krugman starts with - and focuses on - a key figure in that political party, Senator Marco Rubio, whose recent remarks sidestepping a definitive statement on the age of the earth offended some, but was dismissed by others as merely positioning himself for 2016 and pandering a bit to the religious right voters who are dominant in such primaries. But we shouldn’t let go that easily. Reading Mr. Rubio’s interview is like driving through a deeply eroded canyon;... more »

U.S., Mexico Sign Education Agreement | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
U.S., Mexico Sign Education Agreement | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com: U.S., Mexico Sign Education Agreement November 22, 2012 | by HS News Staff [image: U.S., Mexico Sign Education Agreement] Photo: U.S.-Mexico relations Click Here to Enlarge Photo The United States and Mexico signed an agreement to promote student exchanges and increase educational opportunities for young people from both countries, the Mexican Education Secretariat said. The agreement, which covers educational cooperation over the next two years, was signed Tuesday by Mexican Education Secretary Jose Angel Cordova. ... more »

Part 4: High Stakes Testing and Opting Out : The Consequences | Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Part 4: High Stakes Testing and Opting Out : The Consequences | Parents Across America: Part 4: High Stakes Testing and Opting Out : The Consequences by DoraTaylor *The Consequences* As long as policy and funding are determined by test results, we will be dealing with the consequences. There is the narrowing of focus to math and reading and less focus on history, social studies, the arts, foreign languages, writing, physical education, or developing research and critical thinking skills. The emphasis on test scores precludes looking more carefully at the cause of low test scores w... more »

The in box. The most angry union meeting I have ever seen. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
The in box. The most angry union meeting I have ever seen. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. The most angry union meeting I have ever seen. by Fred Klonsky *Hello Fred!* *Been real busy with Union stuff.* *I think the Governor just stepped in the pile that was left by the neighbors dog. Tuesday evening I attended what can only be described as “The most angry Union meeting I have ever seen” The Correctional employees including security and non-security workers are tired, fed up, angry, and ready for out right war. If PQ does not immediately get his act together the workers across the Stat... more »

Quebec: The Fight for Free Education Continues | OccupyWallSt.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Quebec: The Fight for Free Education Continues | OccupyWallSt.org: Quebec: The Fight for Free Education Continues by OccupyWallSt [image: Marchers in Montreal; banner reads "The strike is for students, the struggle is for everyone" in French] If you listen to the mainstream media in Canada and Québec (or elsewhere), you could be forgiven for believing that Québec's student movement is running on cold embers these days. After a historic and lively protest movement that saw hundreds of actions and hundreds of thousands of people in the street demanding an end to the continued neoliber... more »

Stand With Striking Walmart Workers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Stand With Striking Walmart Workers: Walmart Workers Walmart has become the focus of viral, historic strikes by workers in stores and at warehouses across the country. Time and time again, when Walmart workers have come together to call on the company to address issues with understaffing, scheduling, wages, benefits, safety, and just plain respect in the workplace, the company has attempted to silence them. Without an end to the retaliation and mistreatment, *Walmart workers around the country are prepared to strike on the biggest sales day of the year - Black Friday, November 23... more »

UFT Sues the DOE to Obtain Full Access to Joel Klein Emails - ParentAdvocates.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org: UFT Sues the DOE to Obtain Full Access to Joel Klein Emails The UFT sued the Department of Education on Nov. 15 over its failure to comply with Freedom of Information requests for copies of emails that link former Chancellor Joel Klein and senior DOE staffers with City Hall political figures and charter school proponents. The union charged that the copies of the emails that were provided after a wait of nearly two years were so heavily redacted and blacked out that the DOE’s “unlawful conduct” has violated the state law that makes governme... more »

Norquist's grip is loosening. Chambliss: "I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge" : blue cheddar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Norquist's grip is loosening. Chambliss: "I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge" : blue cheddar: Norquist’s grip is loosening. Chambliss: “I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge” by bluecheddar [Don't miss out on the convenient links at the bottom of this post. Wisconsin legislators who signed Norquist's pledge need to know what you think of them.] Here’s a sign that the elected officials who’ve been helping Norquist drown government in a tub are abandoning ship. U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia told local Gannett TV st... more »

School Tech Connect: Thank You!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Thank You!: Thank You! by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I pretty much write this blog for myself; it always surprises me when anyone else drops by. But thank you for doing so! Also, thanks to the Illinois Policy Institute for the chuckle today. Thank you, warriors.

“My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (Part Two)” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
“My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (Part Two)” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: “My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (Part Two)” by Larry Ferlazzo I’ve just posted My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (Part Two) over at “Engaging Parents In School,” my other blog. You might also be interested in seeing all my parent engagement “The Best…” lists in one place here.

Upcoming battles in California Legislature pit education reformers against teacher unions and their backers - San Jose Mercury News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Upcoming battles in California Legislature pit education reformers against teacher unions and their backers - San Jose Mercury News: Upcoming battles in California Legislature pit education reformers against teacher unions and their backers By Sharon Noguchi snoguchi@mercurynews.com Posted: 11/22/2012 02:53:34 PM PST Updated: 11/22/2012 02:53:35 PM PST * "We're not opposed to education reform," CTA President Dean Vogel said. "We're opposed to stupid reform."* A nearly $6 billion infusion from Proposition 30 and a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature are a welcome pre-ho... more »

I GIVE THANKS « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
I GIVE THANKS « Teachers Fight Back: I GIVE THANKS by alkleen I’m thankful that I retired several years before the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois was accused of bankrupting the State, the Country and the entire Western Hemisphere. I’m thankful I taught during a time when parents and students were considered as important as the teacher when it came to a student’s success. I’m thankful I taught before millionaires and billionaires decided they would reform education and that they knew what worked more than any teacher. I give thanks that I taught in an era before political cor... more »







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SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer

SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer:


SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer

The College Board’s  SAT “Problem of the Day” is supposed to be helpful –  but that’s hard when it cites the wrong answer. Over at the Rational Mathematics Education Web site, math assessment reform activist Michael Paul Goldenberg explains the problem with the problem, provided by the Educational Testing Service, which creates the SAT for the College Board.
Read the following SAT test question and then click on a button to select your answer. 
If 24 over 15 = 4 over n, what is the value of 4 times n?

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Goldenberg wrote that he calculated the problem and came up with B — but the Web site told him his answer was incorrect. “This came as quite a shock to me, even at 4:30 a.m.” he wrote.  “…As someone who prides himself on being able to do reasonably accessible mental arithmetic, I saw this problem as relatively accessible without pencil and paper. Cross-

Daily Kos: It should be personal to all of us - Please help the reservation Propane Project

Daily Kos: It should be personal to all of us - Please help the reservation Propane Project:


It should be personal to all of us - Please help the reservation Propane Project

indians at Rosebud Reservation
I have never REALLY known cold.  I am a middle class white American of Jewish background.The house in which I grew up had an old oil burner, for which fuel had to be delivered.  It heated hot water which was sent upas steam to old-fashioned radiators.  So long as we had fuel, we had heat.
We had a gas stove until we remodeled the kitchen, and a gas hot water heater.  Why we did not have gas furnace was beyond me.
We lived through power outages of several days.  We once went through two days when the snow was high enough to prevent the fuel from getting through, just as our oil ran out.  But we did not face freezing, as it was still in the 20s and house was well-insulated.
That was in a suburban area, where the oil truck only had to travel over several miles of suburban, well-maintained roads.
I have lived my entire life within major cities (New York, PhiladelphIa) or their close-in suburbs.  The longest I have ever been without power was 5 days, and our house has gas hot water and a gas stove, so we had some access to heat in wintry conditions, although that power outage was during the heat of the DC summer after the derecho, and the house became quite warm, reaching 90 degrees at one point.
Not all Americans are as fortunate.
For too many of our First Peoples, they live in remote locations on what we still call "reservations" - areas often of concentrated poverty, in rural setting without the kinds of utility services that most Americans take for granted until they lose them, as many did in the aftermath of the derecho, and more recently even in parts of our largest city and its immediate surroundings in the aftermath of Sandy.
For those of us on the East Coast, these were extraordinary events.
For those on our rural reservations, getting through the winter is a struggle, every winter.
Which is why this community, often so generous to its members, has for the past few years, taken on the task 

Dedicated to the Children of Gaza | Seattle Education

Dedicated to the Children of Gaza | Seattle Education:


Dedicated to the Children of Gaza

A Conference Perspective - The Educator's PLN

A Conference Perspective - The Educator's PLN:


A Conference Perspective

When I accepted an invitation to attend the World Innovation Summit on Education, WISE2012, in Doha, Qatar, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. In my own arrogance I thought I was a seasoned education conference attendee. I have been to maybe a hundred education conferences both good and bad. I planned or helped plan at least a dozen local or statewide conferences. I even considered myself an experienced critic having done several well-received posts on various professional education conferences. There was very little in all of that which prepared me for what I was to experience in Doha.
The idea that I had about an international conference relied heavily on my ISTE experience. After all, The "I" in ISTE stands for international. It never occurred to me that I would need an electronic translator to understand what was being presented or being asked about by presenters and audience members. Translators were given out to everyone before every session. I was not prepared for the number of security checks. I never realized how people needed to adhere to cultural protocols. After all was said and done, I realized that the life, of an American educator, is in worldly terms, a sheltered life indeed.

Schools Matter: Walmart "Associates" and Charter School "Scholars"

Schools Matter: Walmart "Associates" and Charter School "Scholars":


Walmart "Associates" and Charter School "Scholars"

The Gates Team out in Washington are trying to scare up some media attention on a "study" bought by the charter reform school industry that purportedly shows that charters, long known to exclude special ed kids, are, indeed, enrolling larger numbers of them.  Even if you were to believe the findings, we still have the more serious and widespread law-breaking that takes place when no special ed teachers are to found in the charter reform schools that have special ed kids with IEPs. 

I recently visited a charter reform school in Memphis that provided a clear example of special needs children receiving the same chain gang teaching as the rest of the unfortunate "scholars" who happen to be enrolled there.  No special ed teacher, no school nurse, no librarian (or library), and no counselor.  

When will parents realize that the "choice" they are being offered systematically robs their children of their dignity, while offering them a sub-standard education aimed at low level learning and high level behavior control? 

When will special ed parents take these scammers to court?  

By the way, calling children "scholars" in these lockdown hellholes is the equivalent of calling the exploited minimum wage workers at Walmart "associates."  Give me a break.

Here is a piece from Timothy Noah at the New Republic blog that exposes another of the 

Mi Pueblo DBQ available for download! « Classroom Struggle

Mi Pueblo DBQ available for download! « Classroom Struggle:


Mi Pueblo DBQ available for download!




See below for a great resource from two OUSD teachers for teaching about the 1-9 audit at Mi Pueblo.
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Please share with other educators! Check-out the lesson materials here
Dear teacher colleagues in OUSD and other Bay Area schools,
 
Many of you have probably heard about the impending 1-9 audit of Mi Pueblo stores (more info below) that poses a serious threat to the economic livelihood and stability of many of students’ families throughout the Bay Area.  Both of us work at Oakland schools and have several students whose family members are employed by Mi Pueblo and many more students who know someone who works there.  In the broader climate of both attacks on immigrant communities and economic hardship for OUSD families in Oakland, we felt compelled to do what we can as teachers to support our school communities.  We are writing to share what we hope is a useful lesson plan and set of resources for teaching your students about the situation at Mi Pueblo and opening up dialogue in your classroom about immigrant and worker rights issues.    
 
Click here to view the Mi Pueblo Document Based Question Lesson Plan and resources page. From there you can easily download the lesson materials including a detailed lesson plan, student readings and worksheets, powerpoints and primary documents. The lesson is designed to support students to write an evidence-supported paragraph in response to the question: To what extent should Mi Pueblo or the Federal Government be held responsible if immigrant workers lose their jobs because of the I-9 immigration audit? There is an optional action-based extension suggested as well.  
 
Taught in its entirety, the lesson will take several class periods, however it could easily be shortened into a 1 or 2 day lesson. It could be adapted for a middle or high school classroom. It is great practice in preparation for the OUSD fall DBQ history assessment or for learning document sourcing and analysis and argumentative writing skills in general. This would fit in perfectly to a unit about immigration, industrialization, labor, civil rights or federal juridiction. The materials are all editable so you can adapt to the student needs and current foci of your classroom.
 
Please consider carving out time this December or January to teach about this struggle. Please also pass along to any other teachers you might know who might be interested. And if you do implement part of the lesson in your class, let us know! We would love to see what your students come up with and let Mi Pueblo workers know young people are investigating the situation.
 
Be in touch if you have any questions about the materials. And please note,this is a work in progress! If you add any lesson materials in ways you think would be helpful for others or create any new materials, please share with us so we can upload to share it with others.
 
Thank you for engaging your students in critically analyzing the world around them,
Perry Bellow-Handelman, perrybh@gmail.com
Alexander Mejia, alexmejia@gmail.com
Summary and Update about the Mi Pueblo 1-9 Audit 
In early fall, the Mi Pueblo grocery store chain, which employs over 3,000 mainly immigrant workers in the Bay Area, began implementing Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s E-verify system under which the social security numbers of all new job applicants are checked.  A short while later Mi Pueblo announced that they had voluntarily joined E-verify because they are undergoing I-9 immigration audit through which all undocumented workers at their stores are expected to lose their jobs. Layoffs are expected to start on January 1, 2013.  Whether Mi Pueblo was forced to undergo the 1-9 audit by ICE or volunteered to do so is unknown.  However Mi Pueblo has been putting out a consistent message to their primary Latino immigrant cliental that their commitment to immigrant rights is unwavering and that they are doing everything they can to support immigrant workers at the store.
This all came on the backdrop of a several year long effort by UFCW to unionize workers at the non-union stores and a hunger strike held by workers at one of the stores in 2011 in protest of working conditions, low wages and firings of pro-union workers.  Several community groups see the audit has an attempt by management to squash union organizing efforts and other worker dissent.  They have joined together under the name of “Dignity and Resistance Coalition” and are organizing to demand Mi Pueblo not collaborate with ICE and not move forward with the 1-9 audit firings.
On October 20th and November 21st (the day before Thanksgiving-often a busy day for grocery stores) there were very energetic pickets held outside of the Mi Pueblo on High St. in Oakland. At each of these protests there were over a hundred people in attendance who marched, chanted, gave out information and watched various showings of a community theatre performance based on the struggle of Mi Pueblo workers. The Dignity and Resistance Coalition has continued to organize around the situation of the workers and build community support. In other areas of the bay, the UFCW is continuing to have meetings with workers in order to unionize.
While the I-9 audit is still taking place but no (or very few) workers have been fired yet. Some say that the slow pace of how the audit is being implemented is due to the negative press and community resistance that Mi Pueblo is receiving. Others say that Mi Pueblo is waiting until after the holidays (their busiest time of year) to fire these workers so as not to diminish their revenue at this important time for them financially.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), a union that is in the middle of an organizing drive with the Mi Pueblo workers is putting together two upcoming actions in San Jose: the first one will be a community forum about workers rights and organizing on December 9th and a protest in against sexual harassment at Mi Pueblo on December 18th. There will be other upcoming actions around the Christmas holiday that are organized by the Dignity and Resistance Coalition.  For more information about their current organizing, you can contact bertaofelia@hotmail.com.

In Mississippi, solutions follow funding setbacks for early childhood education | Hechinger Report

In Mississippi, solutions follow funding setbacks for early childhood education | Hechinger Report:


In Mississippi, solutions follow funding setbacks for early childhood

McComb, Miss.  — With Mississippi officials steadfastly refusing to fund public pre-kindergarten at a statewide level, local leaders across the state have taken matters into their own hands.
Kindergarten students at Kennedy Early Childhood Center. (Photo courtesy McComb School District)
From the Gulf Coast to the Delta, school district leaders are cobbling together resources, partnering with community organizations and devising creative solutions to ensure their youngest students get off to a solid start. Biloxi and Pascagoula have embraced Excel by 5, a privately funded effort that helps communities boost educational opportunities for the littlest learners. Gulfport business leaders have come together in recent years to sponsor two pre-k classrooms. And in the McComb district, officials have brought several different early childhood programs under one roof to improve collaboration.
The proposed education budget released last week by Gov. Phil Bryant included no money for new public pre-k programs, meaning Mississippi will likely continue next year as the only state in the South without state-funded 

Expert on teacher evaluation has concerns about Louisiana's new system | NOLA.com

Expert on teacher evaluation has concerns about Louisiana's new system | NOLA.com:


Expert on teacher evaluation has concerns about Louisiana's new system

Grading the graders

The new teacher evaluation systemLouisiana launched this fall may be too simplistic, according to the architect of one of the most widely used evaluation systems in the country -- and the one on which Louisiana's new system is based.
Charlotte Danielson is the creator of a method of observing and rating teachers based on their performance in the classroom known as theFramework for Teaching. Louisiana has adopted part, but not all, of her framework for use in classroom observations, which will factor into a teacher's annual score and which will ultimately determine whether educators can keep their jobs.
Although Danielson helped the state create a shortened version of her system at its request, she's worried her truncated observation checklist could create problems for teachers and evaluators.
"I think it decreases accuracy. I think that's an almost certain consequence," she said.
Louisiana adopted the new system to comply with Act 54, a law passed in 2010 aimed at improving teacher quality in the state with more intensive, annual 


Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread:


Friday Open Thread

A few updates:

One - with less than 8,000 votes to count statewide, I-1240 appears to have passed.  (I'm sure it's true but I'm not the Secretary of State and in a position to officially call it.)  The margin appears to be 1.36% of the vote which is just under 41,000 votes.  A win for sure but certainly no mandate.

Two - Thanks to SPS Leaks for some very illuminating reading.  To whit:

Lynne Varner gets it wrong in an Times editorial and SPS gently points this out to her.  I note that Varner says "sources" told her certain things about the departure of Superintendent Enfield.  So, as you see, journalists have sources and they don't reveal them (and sometimes not even by the order of a court) and that's how it goes.  (I, of course, still contend that I am not a journalist but I have sources.  I do get my hand slapped occasionally by readers demanding to know my source.  Not revealing them is how you keep your sources.)

Three, I think most of you know that the Board cannot meet privately, with each other or others, with more than two of them in attendance.  There are people up the food chain who know this and frequently invite one or two in to talk.  This is fine except when you see of pattern of who gets invited.  It would appear that Michael DeBell is quite chummy with those people.

I often wonder how much each Board member knows of the other Board members communications and meetings.  Like this one.  This is what Councilman Tim Burgess - who may be announcing for Mayor any day now according to Publicola - said to Enfield and DeBell.  (Italics mine.)

Susan and Michael, I want to provide a little update on our idea to convene a small group of 
individuals for a discussion about the downtown elementary school, Memorial Stadium and district headquarters. 

What is the “Status Quo?” And What the Heck is a “Reformer?” | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

What is the “Status Quo?” And What the Heck is a “Reformer?” | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:


What is the “Status Quo?” And What the Heck is a “Reformer?”

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am delighted with the election results from earlier this month.  Well, I’m delighted with most of the election results.  I’m sorely disappointed that my friend and colleague, Helen F. Morris, lost her position on the Alexandria City (VA) School Board, where she serves as Vice Chairman and has put countless hours into advocating for strong schools and effective teachers for ALL the students in Alexandria, especially children of color and those from disadvantaged homes.  Helen ran for re-election in a field of six for one of three positions in her region.  She was the only incumbent running and the only candidate with a child in the Alexandria City Public Schools.  I have no idea how capable (or not) the other candidates are (I live in Maryland and didn’t study the other candidates’ positions or backgrounds).  What I do know because I worked for years with her on issues around strong public education is that Helen’s position on the school board was a good thing for the children and citizens of Alexandria.
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Washington lawmakers scrambling for education cash | OregonLive.com

Washington lawmakers scrambling for education cash | OregonLive.com:


Washington lawmakers scrambling for education cash

Where is Bill Gates when you need him?
Lawmakers are making their holiday school funding wish list and it's a short one: please send cash.
They need the money to give every child free all-day kindergarten, to pay for bus service for about a million school children and to take the pressure off local tax levies that help pay for basic education.
A down payment on all of that will cost at least a billion dollars in the next biennium to answer the Supreme Court's orders to pay for the Legislature's own education reform plans by 2018.
The court's January decision in the so-called McCleary case — that the state is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation to amply pay for basic public education — will shape nearly every action of the Legislature this year and for years to come.
The school funding lawsuit brought by a coalition of school districts, education and community groups as well as parents sought to force the government to fulfill its obligations to the state's schools.
In the past decade, education spending has gone from close to 50 percent to just above 40 percent of the state budget, despite the fact that some education spending is protected by the constitution.
Facing a $900 million deficit
With the court decision hanging over them, lawmakers will face an even greater