Radical Scholarship: Books by P. L. Thomas

Radical Scholarship: Books by P. L. Thomas:

Books by P. L. Thomas

Thomas, P. L., ed. (2013). Becoming and Being a Teacher: Confronting Traditional Norms to Create New Democratic Realities. New York, NY: Peter Lang USA.

-----. (2012). Ignoring poverty in the U. S.: The corporate takeover of public education. Charlotte NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

-----. (2010). Challenging genres: Comic books and graphic novels. Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

-----. (2010). Parental choice?: A critical reconsideration of choice and the debate about choice. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Co-authored with Schmidt, R. (2009). 21st century literacy: If we are scripted, are we literate? Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.

-----. (2008). Reading, learning, teaching Ralph Ellison. New York: Peter Lang USA.

-----. (2007). Reading, learning, teaching Margaret Atwood. New York: Peter Lang USA.

They shoot horses, don’t they? « Fred Klonsky

They shoot horses, don’t they? « Fred Klonsky:

They shoot horses, don’t they?

by Fred Klonsky

Popout“I’m 65.”
“You’re 64,” said Anne. “You don’t turn 65 for six months.”
“I’m rounding up. Besides, horses’ birthdays are the first of the year no matter what day they were born on.”
Which isn’t exactly true. It is only true for thoroughbred horses that jockey clubs put together for racing purposes.
“Yes, but you’re not a horse.”
“Sometimes I feel like a horse.”
I was thinking about the 1969 movie, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
It was one of the most depressing movies of all time, a metaphor for the Great Depression. The entire movie was 

Louisiana Educator: A special message

Louisiana Educator: A special message:

A special message

by Michael Deshotels

Best wishes to my readers:
I hope the new year brings better policies and much needed support for our public schools. I believe our public schools and teachers in Louisiana have been doing an excellent job for which they have received little appreciation and recognition. I yearn for the day when our teachers, who I believe are among the most dedicated of all public servants, are granted the right to teach as professionals. I believe teachers know what their students need to get the most of their education. But until they are really empowered to teach with creativity and to involve their students in the joy of learning instead of spending inordinate time in prepping for standardized tests, Louisiana will continue to suffer with the mediocrity called "education reform"!
(click here for the test teacher song)

Public Good and the Will of the Ownership Class « @ the chalk face

Public Good and the Will of the Ownership Class « @ the chalk face:

Public Good and the Will of the Ownership Class

1

December 30, 2012 by kuhiokane

Our economy, that is, the economy owned by the one percent, is no longer centered on production and consumer purchases.  It is no longer a part of employment.  It is increasingly centered, controlled by credit creation which, in turn, is used to create profits and income in the form of interest payments until any economic surplus and stock of property becomes obligated to debt service. ( My understanding of our economy as discussed here is provided by reading Michael Hudson, a real economist).

Like the organized criminals that they are, most big banks and their lobbyists, those who are the greatest perpetrators of fraudulent activities that have led to the extraction of trillions of dollars from the ninety-nine percent, those brokers of corruption, continue to load up the economy with debt, leaving little for 

NYC Educator: Mayor Bloomberg Redefines Negotiation

NYC Educator: Mayor Bloomberg Redefines Negotiation:

Mayor Bloomberg Redefines Negotiation

by NYC Educator

Mayor Bloomberg is shocked and stunned that teachers want more money. How dare they make such frivolous demands when he's trying to enact a junk-science-based evaluation system? Clearly they don't grasp the nature of the emergency in city schools. Mayor Bloomberg simply cannot fire enough teachers under the current system, and unless he gets a legal basis to fire them for no good reason, he won't be able to fire them for no good reason.

Bloomberg is aghast that the UFT would claim teachers haven't had a raise in four years. Don't they get step promotions for experience? Aren't they raises? Just because all other city employees got 8% between 2008-2010, does that mean teachers should get it too? And those uppity teachers, rather than bow down to his financial superiority, say things like, "Cops and firefighters get step increases too."

It's difficult being mayor when people throw things like 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-31-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

When Non-Profits Are Very Profitable

by dianerav

The New York Times had a front-page story yesterday about a non-profit corporation that runs halfway houses in New Jersey.
It may be non-profit, but the owner and his family are making millions.
Does this remind you of anything else you have read lately?

Love Is the Answer

by dianerav

Please read about Mr. Wright, a brilliant physics teacher in Louisville.
An award-winning film was made about him, not just because of his vivacious, unorthodox teaching style, but because of his love for his son, who was born profoundly disabled. Please read the story about him in the New York Times and watch the video.
The video is amazing.
It will make you grateful for your blessings.
It will humble you.
It might change your life.

An Ally Offers His Help to You

by dianerav

Robert Rendo, a National Board Certified Teacher, has offered his talents as an illustrator to help all those fighting misguided reform. He writes:
dear diane,
i am a veteran teacher of 19 years, nationally board certifeid, and teach a low income immigrant population. i am also an editorial illustrator with works in the new york times, the chicago tribune, the sacramento bee, the society of illustrators, and the American photography/american illustration show. my work is a tool for advocacy, 

The Voice of a Data Point

by dianerav

This is a story written by Noa Rosinplotz, a sixth-grade student in the District of Columbia public schools. It first appeared on a Facebook page called “Children Left Behind,” a protest site for students and families. Noa sent it to her story, and she also wrote a letter, which follows the story. Students are not widgets; they are not pieces of clay. They don’t like what is being inflicted upon them. Once they become active, everything changes.
Please help Noa’s letter go viral!
The Little Datapoint and the Big Bad Test
Once upon a time, there was a little datapoint named Rosin Plotz, Noa. Her friends called her by her ID number, 9——, or 9 for short. She liked her job-most of the time. But 6 times a year, or 19 days in total, came the Big 

Diane in the Evening 12-30-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Time for Action by dianerav In response to Katie Osgood’s post, “A Message to Reformers,” Maureen Reedy wrote the following: “Katie, Diane and Friends, I am loving your article Katie, it is right on in every way. No more! No MORE!!! NO MORE!!!! I have contacted Ed Schultz, a production company in California, Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow who teaches at Ohio State, state senator and superintendents in Michigan, I have a panel ready to go with the media when we get someone to pick up the ball and run with it. I have been in touch with Paren... more »

Leadership Principles | Connected Principals

Leadership Principles | Connected Principals:

Leadership Principles

by Dwight Carter

Author and Leadership Consultant, Ken Blanchard, wrote in one of his books, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” I couldn’t agree more. However, I don’t think this has anything to do with positional leadership, but more about leadership principles. There are a number of people I consider leaders, from students to global dignitaries and everyone in between. I have learned and continue to learn what leadership is by observing others and reflecting on my own behaviors as a leader. Following are my most important principles that define leadership and how each principle is present or in the works at Gahanna Lincoln High School:
 Vision
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” -Proverbs 29:18. Vision creates a picture of what a group, team, or organization can become as the people involved work together towards a common purpose. Vision creates a powerful story about the organization and can inspire the high-quality, dedicated work of the people invoked. Without it, individuals will begin to do what they individually think is best, thus creating islands of excellence as 

Does a STEM degree guarantee a job? Not always. | Get Schooled

Does a STEM degree guarantee a job? Not always. | Get Schooled:

Does a STEM degree guarantee a job? Not always.

by Maureen Downey

Does STEM always spell success for college graduates?
Whenever I write about the efforts to bolster U.S. graduates in science, technology, engineering and math, readers send me notes about their problems finding work despite a STEM degree. And that includes math teachers.
(If you are interested in this topic, take a look at this Duke study on which countries produce more engineers and the job prospects for those graduates. The report concludes: Our research shows that companies are not moving abroad because of a deficiency in U.S. education or the quality of U.S. workers. Rather, they are doing what gives them economic and competitive advantage. It is cheaper for them to move certain engineering jobs overseas and to locate their R&D operations closer to growth markets. There are serious deficiencies in engineering graduates from Indian and Chinese schools. Yet the trend is building momentum despite these weaknesses…The calls to graduate more engineers do not focus on any field …

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Little Emperor, Rahm makes Chicago Sun-Times front page.

Fran Spielman

In year two of his whirlwind administration, Emanuel survived a seven-day teachers strike that he had helped instigate; parted company with a highly touted schools CEO who turned out to be a bad fit, and struggled to control a spike in homicides that became a national media obsession. -- Sun-Times

Jackson Potter

Why should people, by virtue of their money, be able to make decisions that everyone else has to live with but has no power to influence? -- Letter to Sun-Times 

Education Research Report

Education Research Report:

Education Research Report:

THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT

Teenagers Without Internet Access at Home Are Educationally Disadvantaged

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 14 minutes ago

A major in-depth study examining how teenagers in the UK are using the internet and other mobile devices says the benefits of using such technologies far outweigh any perceived risks. The findings are based on a large-scale study of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in the UK, coupled with regular face-to-face interviews with more than 200 teenagers and their families between 2008 and 2011. While the study reflects a high level of parental anxiety about the potential of social networking sites to distract their offspring, and shows that some parents despair at their chil... more »

Nearly One in Three Children With Food Allergies Experience Bullying

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 34 minutes ago

Nearly a third of children diagnosed with food allergies who participated in a recent study are bullied, according to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Almost eight percent of children in the U.S. are allergic to foods such as peanuts, tree-nuts, milk, eggs, and shellfish. Nearly half of parents surveyed (47.9 percent) were not aware of the bullying -- although both the bullied children and their parents reported experiencing higher stress levels and lower quality of life. The study, titled, "Child and Parental Reports of Bullying in a Consecutive Sample ... more »

94 percent of high school students accessed social media on their phones during class

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 hour ago

* Study shows most common use of the Internet in class was to access social media sites, followed by listening to music, playing games, and sending text messages and photos*. Of Israeli high school pupils 94% access social media via their cell phones during class, reveals a new study conducted by the University of Haifa. Only 4% reported not using their cell phones at all during class. It was also found that in classes with more permissive teachers, cell phone use was lower than in classes where the teacher imposed strict discipline. "The students use their mobile phones in various... more »

Positive results from a comprehensive reform of Portland’s high school system

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 hour ago

This report provides an update on the implementation of Portland Public Schools’ High School System Design (HSSD), a comprehensive reform of Portland’s high school system that was approved by the Portland School Board beginning in the fall of 2010, following an extensive two year public input process. HSSD changes were formally launched at the start the 2011-12 school year and will take full effect by the end of the 2014-15 school year. (High schools had already begun implementing a core program as early as 2010-11, and making other changes even earlier.) The high school reforms ... more »

Positive impacts of Pacific CHILD on reading comprehension and on teachers’ instructional practices

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 hour ago

This study examines the impact of the Pacific Communities with High Performance in Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD) professional development program on student achievement in reading comprehension and on teacher pedagogical knowledge and instructional practice in English language arts classes. Pacific CHILD is a two-year professional development program that trains fourth and fifth grade teachers in research-based reading comprehension strategies and instructional practices for enhancing student reading comprehension. The study used a randomized design and involved 45 elemen... more »

Algebra for 8th graders: Negative effects among students in the bottom 60%

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 hours ago

This paper examines the effects of policies that increase the number of students who take the first course in algebra in 8th grade, rather than waiting until 9th grade. Extending previous research that focused on the Charlotte-Mecklenberg school system, The authors use data for the 10 largest districts in North Carolina. The authors identify the effects of accelerating the timetable for taking algebra by using data on multiple cohorts grouped by decile of prior achievement and exploiting the fact that policy-induced shifts in the timing of algebra occur at different times in diff... more »

Socioeconomic risk and oral reading ability in first grade predicts growth of reading and math achievement in Grades 3 through 8

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

This investigation tested the importance of early academic achievement for later achievement trajectories among 18,011 students grouped by level of socioeconomic risk. Students considered to be at highest risk were those who experienced homelessness or high residential mobility (HHM). HHM students were compared with students eligible for free meals, students eligible for reduced price meals, and students who were neither HHM nor low income. Socioeconomic risk and oral reading ability in first grade predicted growth of reading and math achievement in Grades 3 through 8. Risk statu... more »

Both socioeconomic and racial diversity are essential to promoting a positive campus racial climate

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

This article considers whether the socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate student body and experiences with cross-class interaction (CCI) are significantly related to cross-racial interaction (CRI) and engagement with curricular/co-curricular diversity (CCD) activities. Individual students who reported higher levels of CCI had significantly higher levels of CRI and CCD. While the socioeconomic diversity of the student body had no direct effect on student involvement in CCD activities or CRI, it had an indirect effect on these activities via CCI. In other words, a socioecono... more »

Mathematics Recovery: By the end of second grade, no significant effects

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Mathematics Recovery (MR) is designed to identify first graders who are struggling in mathematics and provide them with intensive one-to-one tutoring. This study reports findings from a 2-year evaluation of MR conducted in 20 elementary schools across five districts in two states. The design allowed for the estimation of the counterfactual growth trajectory based on those students randomly assigned either to a tutoring cohort with a delayed start or to a wait list. Results demonstrate strong end of first grade effects on a diagnostic measure developed by MR and weak to moderate ... more »

Young offenders who work, don't attend school may be more antisocial

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Many high school students work in addition to going to school, and some argue that employment is good for at-risk youths. But a new study has found that placing juvenile offenders in jobs without ensuring that they attend school may make them more antisocial. The study, by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, and the University of California, Irvine, appears in the journal Child Development. While evidence suggests that working long hours during the school year has negative effects on adolescent antisocial behavior among middle- and upper-income youths,... more »

Motivation, study habits -- not IQ -- determine growth in math achievement

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

It's not how smart students are but how motivated they are and how they study that determines their growth in math achievement. That's the main finding of a new study that appears in the journal Child Development. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Munich and the University of Bielefeld. "While intelligence as assessed by IQ tests is important in the early stages of developing mathematical competence, motivation and study skills play a more important role in students' subsequent growth," according to Kou Murayama, postdoctoral researcher of psychology at t...more »

Toddlers' language skills predict less anger by preschool

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Toddlers with more developed language skills are better able to manage frustration and less likely to express anger by the time they're in preschool. That's the conclusion of a new longitudinal study from researchers at the Pennsylvania State University that appears in the journal Child Development. "This is the first longitudinal evidence of early language abilities predicting later aspects of anger regulation," according to Pamela M. Cole, liberal arts research professor of psychology and human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University, who was the principa... more »

Head Start: Early effects rapidly dissipated in elementary school

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Report of the Third Grade Follow-up to the Head Start Impact Study, a nationally representative evaluation of the federal Head Start program. The evaluation studied children who entered the program in the fall of 2002. The report presents impacts on children and families through the children's third grade year, as well as impacts on subgroups of children and families. Key Findings Looking across the full study period, from the beginning of Head Start through 3rd grade, the evidence is clear that access to Head Start improved children’s preschool outcomes across developmental doma... more »

Research debunks the IQ myth

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

After conducting the largest online intelligence study on record, a Western University-led research team has concluded that the notion of measuring one's intelligence quotient or IQ by a singular, standardized test is highly misleading. The findings from the landmark study, which included more than 100,000 participants, were published today in the journal Neuron. The article, "Fractionating human intelligence," was written by Adrian M. Owen and Adam Hampshire from Western's Brain and Mind Institute (London, Canada) and Roger Highfield, Director of External Affairs, Science Museum ... more »

Continued high use of marijuana by the nation's eighth, 10th and 12th graders

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Continued high use of marijuana by the nation's eighth, 10th and 12th graders combined with a drop in perceptions of its potential harms was revealed in this year's Monitoring the Future survey, an annual survey of eighth, 10th, and 12th–graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan. The survey was carried out in classrooms around the country earlier this year, under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The 2012 survey shows that 6.5 percent of high school seniors smoke marijuana daily, up from 5.1 perc... more »

Content Literacy Continuum: No impact on on high school students’ reading comprehension

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

This study examines impacts of the Content Literacy Continuum (CLC) on high school students’ reading comprehension and accumulation of credits in core subject areas. The Content Literacy Continuum (CLC) combines whole-school and targeted approaches to supporting student literacy and content learning, using instructional routines and learning strategies developed by the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. The study used a randomized design and involved 33 high schools in nine school districts within four Midwestern states. The study found no statistically signifi... more »

California Lagging Far Behind Other States in Implementing the Common Core State Standards

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

A new Education Trust—West (ETW) report, Catching up to the Core: Common Sense Strategies for Accelerating Access to the Common Core in California, finds that California has fallen far behind other states and even local school districts in implementing the new English Language Arts and Math CCSS. This lack of progress will leave millions of California students trailing their peers in other states, two years before new assessments aligned with the Common Core are expected to come online. “Districts know that students will benefit from the Common Core State Standards, but many are st... more »

NYC DOE failure to provide curriculum and training threatens city results on new state tests

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Although new state tests will be rolled out this spring based on demanding Common Core national standards, almost 8 out of 10 New York City teachers surveyed said the city’s Department of Education has yet to address the new learning benchmarks, including failing to provide any curriculum or other instructional materials keyed to the new standards. And more than half of the teachers surveyed said they had received no training to get their students ready for the tougher courses and exams, while many of those who did attend training sponsored by the DOE said the sessions were too fe...more »

The year in education—a look back at 2012 | Hechinger Report

The year in education—a look back at 2012 | Hechinger Report:

The year in education—a look back at 2012

by Hechinger Report

In 2012, new teacher-evaluation systems and merit pay spread across the country. Technology continued to transform classrooms, and presidential candidates made education an unexpected focus on the campaign trail. Yet widespread problems in America’s education system persisted, and the nation remained behind much of the international competition.
At The Hechinger Report, we traveled from coast to coast to examine new approaches to improving U.S. schools and to answer important questions about what’s working and what isn’t.
On the eve of 2013, we’ve selected 13—a baker’s dozen—of our top stories from the past year to highlight what we found in 2012. These stories provide insight into some of the most staggering problems facing U.S. public education today, and look at promising strategies for solving them.
1. In India, a college building boom
In 2011 and 2012, Hechinger reporters traveled the globe to find lessons for America from the higher-education systems of Canada, China, Poland, South Korea and other countries. In India, we found a massive college building spree under way. A third of India’s 1.24 billion people are under the age of 14. Acknowledging that the country’s youth could be an asset in efforts to become a world power or a disaster that drains resources and fuels social unrest, the Indian government has responded by rapidly expanding access to higher education.
2. New teacher-evaluation systems in Tennessee have rough road ahead
More than two-thirds of states are in the process of overhauling how they evaluate their teachers in an effort to 

Cory Booker and the $100M gift to Newark Public Schools | Seattle Education

Cory Booker and the $100M gift to Newark Public Schools | Seattle Education:

Cory Booker and the $100M gift to Newark Public Schools

by seattleducation2011

This goes into the OMG category because that is what I kept saying to myself as I read this article.

From FireDogLake:

ACLU Wins Lawsuit Against Cory Booker, Forcing Release Of Emails with Facebook Executives

By: DSWright, posted on Wednesday December 26, 2012

Cory Booker (left) and Mark Zuckerberg

It started on Oprah.

Facebook founder and Winklevii nemesis Mark Zuckerberg announced a $100 million donation to Newark schools to blunt PR damage from the release of The Social Network help school children. The money would not be going into the