Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. Studies show that today's teens regularly use more than one screen at a time to stay connected.; Credit: Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images A new report by The Wallace Foundation argues students are increasingly finding valuable arts education exposure via technology they access outside of the classroom - and teachers should use that to their advantage. The extensive, 10

by Mary Plummer / 25min

Options growing for bilingual education for the preschool set

Deepa Fernandes | July 30th, 2013, 6:00am

Maya Sugarman/KPCC

Transitional kindergarten dual language student Jesus Lopez goes through a keycard exercise with his classmates on Wednesday, March 20 at Foster Elementary School. Half of the school is in a dual language program, and the other half of the students are taught in English only.

Bilingual learning continues its upward trend in Southern California. Two of the latest offerings: a drop off program at the Zimmer and a new preschool in Pasadena.

Called “Jugando Grande” (Playing Big), the museum invites 3 year-olds to participate in a five-week program that it said “combines best practices in Early Childhood and Arts Education with the Zimmer mission to help young people develop their capacity for creating positive change.”

It comes at a time when dual language immersion education is gaining in popularity across Southern California.

Experts say a dual language education helps children develop the focus and mental flexibility of young minds. Immersing preschool- and elementary school-aged children in learning in a second language can improve their performance in both languages, according to researchers. (Check out KPCC’s extensive series on bilingual learning

Shanker Blog » The Characteristics Of SIG Schools

Shanker Blog » The Characteristics Of SIG Schools:

The Characteristics Of SIG Schools

Posted by Matthew Di Carlo on July 30, 2013

A few years ago, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) launched the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, which is designed to award grants to “persistently low-achieving schools” to carry out one of four different intervention models.

States vary in how SIG-eligible schools are selected, but USED guidelines require the use of three basic types of indicators: absolute performance level (e.g., proficiency rates); whether schools were “making progress” (e.g., rate changes); and, for high schools, graduation rates (specifically, whether the rate is under 60 percent). Two of these measures – absolute performance and graduation rates – tell you relatively little about the actual performance of schools, as they depend heavily on the characteristics (e.g., income) of students/families in the neighborhood served by a given school. It was therefore pretty much baked into the rules that the schools awarded SIGs have tended to exhibit certain characteristics, such as higher poverty rates.

Over 800 schools were awarded “Tier 1” or “Tier 2” grants for the 2010-11 school year (“SIG Cohort One”). Let’s take a quick look at a couple of key characteristics of these schools, using data from USED and the National Center for Education Statistics.

The table below compares SIG schools with all U.S. schools in terms of poverty, ethnicity, school type, and school location in 2009-10, the year prior to their receiving the grants.

Clearly, Tier 1/2 SIG schools are different in terms of these characteristics. The free and free/reduced lunch (FRL)

NYC Educator: TFA Becomes Scab for America

NYC Educator: TFA Becomes Scab for America:

TFA Becomes Scab for America

I've read a lot of criticism of Teach for America over the last few years. For one thing, they provide a scant five weeks of training, and that's clearly insufficient preparation to teach in urban schools. This is particularly true when you compare it to student teaching, which is basically a full year shadowing and experienced teacher.

But when there are teacher shortages, TFA is the tip of the iceberg. I myself was recruited via a subway ad, with no experience at all. And I watched for years as the DOE conducted intergalactic searches, taking anyone in the universe who could occupy a wooden chair in front of kids.

I don't fault non-career teachers who wish to give back to the community, or even pad their resumes en route to doing something else. If there is a need, and they are filling it, they are helping, even if they have to learn on the job.

But when faux Democrat/ Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fires thousands of teachers and hires TFA grads to teach kids, that's something else altogether. In fact, TFA is now enabling the unemployment of working people. They are making their likely idealistic young college grads into scab labor. Their insane defense, that the jobs were eliminated and they are taking newly created jobs, is nothing more than a semantic game, unworthy of anyone capable of

Charter schools are rebuilding the walls of segregation: As I See It | PennLive.com

Charter schools are rebuilding the walls of segregation: As I See It | PennLive.com:

Charter schools are rebuilding the walls of segregation: As I See It

By Bill Maxwell

Charter schools are seen by many parents, policymakers and educators as the panacea in public education. Each year, these campuses are increasing in number nationwide.

In a recent survey of research on school choice and charter schools, the Hechinger Report, an independent education news affiliate of Teachers College at Columbia University, finds mounting evidence that charters are not a panacea. In fact, they are enabling our return to racial segregation in public education.

Some advocates used to believe that school choice through charters would help diversify public education despite racially segregated housing patterns. But that has not been happening.

"Charter schools and their proponents argue that charters must take any student who wants to attend -- and randomly select students through a lottery if too many apply -- and, as such, can't control who enrolls," according to the Hechinger Report. "Yet some experts are concerned that this trend is an example of the next phase of white flight, following a long history of white families seeking out homogeneous neighborhoods and schools."

At the beginning of the movement, many charters -- independent public schools given freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for raising student achievement -- were established in cities, and they served predominantly African-

California Moving Away From Washington's Corporate Education Reform | John Affeldt

California Moving Away From Washington's Corporate Education Reform | John Affeldt:

California Moving Away From Washington's Corporate Education Reform

Posted: 07/29/2013 6:42 pm

California's shift to a new weighted student funding model represents just the most recent example of how Democratic state policymakers here are charting a different course in education policy than the Obama administration and Congress.

As I noted in a post last week, California and Washington have taken distinctly different approaches to achievement gaps that increasingly are most closely associated with economic inequality. Rather than focusing on firing "bad" teachers and closing schools, California has moved to direct more resources to low-income districts and increase local decision-making, with sanctions a last resort after support and technical assistance have failed.

Other examples of the divergence between California and Washington abound. It's not just that Gov. Brown and Secretary Duncan failed to come to terms over a waiver from No Child Left Behind when nearly 40 other states have. While the feds have pushed for greater linkages between student and teacher data, Brown (with the unions quietly cheering) vetoed funding to implement a teacher database, CALTIDES.

In March, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, headed by Brown's

Get to Know the American Academic System - International Student Counsel (usnews.com)

Get to Know the American Academic System - International Student Counsel (usnews.com):

Get to Know the American Academic System

By EMILY BURT

July 30, 2013 RSS Feed Print

International students should take time to adjust to the standard grading and testing systems at universities in the U.S.

The adjustment to new classes and grading systems can sometimes be a confusing process for international students. Most countries have very different educational and grading systems, which can be unsettling for students new to the U.S.

Here's a basic breakdown of some of the key components of the American academic system so incoming international students know what to expect when arriving at a U.S. college.

In order to progress through each year of college, students will be required to pass a certain number of classes. Although assignments will often be graded with the universal letter system of A, B, C, etc., most American colleges will express your cumulative grade as a grade point

The Rich R Different | EduShyster

The Rich R Different | EduShyster:

The Rich R Different

Reader: the rich are different than you and I. For one thing they keep getting richer. But that’s not the only good news. The days when the rich were content to sit around grooming theircorgies and watching their portfolios blossom are over. Today’s wealthy want to give back, using their wealth, or at least a small part of it, to address the pressing issues of the day. There’s just one teensy, weensy catch. No messing with the systemthat put them on the right side of the have/have not equation. Darling—it simply isn’t done!

These days, the cause du jour of the day is the wealth gap, the vast gulf that has opened up between the nation’s wealthiest children and the growing number of children in poverty.Did I say wealth gap? How very gauche of me. I meant the achievement gap between white students and their minority peers which has been narrowing steadily since the 1970′s. Today, one would be hard pressed to find a person of means who is not directing

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch

House of Cards: The Michelle Rhee Story

The Badass Teachers Association has produced a series of videos to explain the intricacies and deceptions of corporate reform. The first laid out the corporate reform strategy. The second examined the Broad superintendents. The third looks closely at the legacy of Michelle Rhee. The thesis that ties them together is that “reform” is a house of cards built on lies that will inevitably fall down, as

by dianerav / 2min

George Schmidt: How to Become an Excellent Teacher

George Schmidt taught for many years in Chicago until he was fired by Paul Vallas, then the CEO, for revealing test questions (to show how idiotic they were). He now offers advice on how to succeed as a teacher: Thanks for making me laugh this otherwise unfunny Chicago morning. Around here, the best way to become one of the “best” teachers is to get as far as possible away from the hard core seg

by dianerav / 9min

Greg Michie: What Is Really Happening in Chicago

Greg Michie is a teacher in Chicago and a published author. Michie is fed up with the hypocritical incantations of “students first,” when the reality is that the “reformers” put students last. In this post, he explains what is really happening. “I see our school’s only computer lab — which should be a student resource — closed for weeks at a time (a total of nine this past year) so it can be used

by dianerav / 1min

Link Added to EduShyster Post This Morning

Sorry, readers, I did it again! I forgot the link to the EduShyster article about TFA’s insidious mission. I added it to the original post. Here it is: http://wp.me/p2odLa-5o0

by dianerav / 11min

Bruce Baker: Three Smokescreens to Avoid Talking about Resources

In another great post, Bruce Baker explains the smokescreens that reformers use to divert attention from resource inequality. One smokescreen is choice. The idea is that liberty should replace equality. But says Baker, hoice is highly inequitable. “But these arguments are merely a diversion, sidestepping whether, when applied in practice, adequate alternatives are equitably distributed. “One pro

by dianerav / 1min

Public Education in New York City: The Bloomberg Legacy

Marc Epstein has been teaching in the public schools for almost two decades.His articles on school violence, curriculum, and testing have appeared in most of the New York papers, the Washington Post, Education Next, and City Journal. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. Public Education And The Next Mayor —Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclina

by dianerav / 5min

A BAT Writes a Letter to Bill Gates

Here is good advice for the Gates Foundation: Mr. Gates, I have been working on this letter for days now. I just can’t seem to get my thoughts down before my anger gets the best of me. Then it turns into a letter of rant which helps no one, least of all my students. I am a 10 year veteran teacher. I have earned my BA and my MAT. I also have received National Board Certification. I am sick over th

by dianerav / 2min

Nancy Flanagan Dissects the Latest Harebrained Reform Idea

Nancy Flanagan taught music in Michigan for many years. She now blogs at Edweek. In this post, she dissects a new reformy idea called “the opportunity culture.” The bottom line is that if you are in the top 25% of teachers, determined by test scores, then you should teach larger classes and get paid more. This is Bill Gates’ and Michael Bloomberg’s dream. Nancy is at her best in this column. You

by dianerav / 22min mark as read // save

EduShyster: The Insidious Mission of TFA

In an unusual turn, EduShyster writes a serious article about the increasingly insidious role played by Teach for America today. The organization began with the laudable goal of supplying teachers to schools where there were chronic shortages. However, it has become a mainstay of the privatization movement, staffing charters that open as public schools close. She warns: “By fueling charter expa

by dianerav / 1h

Diane in the Evening 7-29-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Breaking News: AP Says Tony Bennett Rigged Indiana Grades to Favor a Charter SchoolAccording to the latest reports from Indiana, the Associated Press obtained emails showing that State Superintendent Tony Bennett (then of Indiana, now Florida) changed the grading system to make sure a particular charter school got an A. The school

by mike simpson / 34min

7-30-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

... and now the return to the classroom begins

I will not have students until August 26, but today I begin my transition back to being a classroom teacher. I will spend from 8:30-3:30 in an AP Summer Institute presented by two experienced AP US Govt and Politics teachers in Anne Arundel County. Strictly speaking, I did not have to attend this, as I am an experienced AP teacher and have served as a Reader (grader) of the Free Response Questi

by rss@dailykos.com ... / 31min

teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos: A few thoughts on VA in 2013byteacherkenSaturday evening was the annual Arlington County Democratic Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. I am not doing as much politically this cycle, either volunteering or financially, because of my wife's illness and my forthcoming new job. But I am a consistent supporter of the local Democratic party (which is VERY EFFECTIVE) so I attended the d

by mike simpson / 10h

Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education | toteachornototeach

Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education | toteachornototeach:

Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education

by Randi Weingarten

The idea that teachers have the summer off is something of a myth. I recently spent a few days with several thousand teachers — not at the beach, but at TEACH, the AFT’s largest gathering of educators focused on their professional practice and growth. Teachers spent long days learning from fellow educators and other experts about concrete ways to improve teaching and learning. Many teachers told me how they were spending the rest of their summer: writing curriculum aligned to the new, challenging Common Core State Standards; taking classes, because teachers are lifelong learners; and working with students — in enrichment camps and in programs to stem summer learning loss. So much for the dog days of August.

But our conferees did much more. We also committed to reclaim the promise — the promise of public education. Not as it is today or as it was in the past, but as what public

The Washington Teacher: 400 DCPS Teachers RSVP'd For July Job Fair

The Washington Teacher: 400 DCPS Teachers RSVP'd For July Job Fair:

400 DCPS Teachers RSVP'd For July Job Fair

Wilson Senior High School

By Candi Peterson

In April, DC Human Capital Chief, Jason Kamras testified before the DC City Council that 500-600 DCPS teachers would be excessed this school year. With the advent of 15 school closings in 2013 and two school reconstitutions at Patterson Elementary and Cardozo Senior High, it comes as no surprise this many teachers are having their positions eliminated.

DCPS held its final job fair for teachers and school personnel on July 29 at Wilson Senior High School in their open space atrium from 3-6 pm.Four hundred teachers RSVP'd for this event according to Brooke Miller, DCPS Manager of Teacher Recruitment and Selection.

The lines for mini interviews with school principals from 33 schools were long. Teachers came with stacks of resumes in hand and many complained of not being able to find a principal interested in hiring them, despite a minimum of five interviews which is required by the school system.

A teacher who requested anonymity shared her disappointment as a certified French teacher as there were

Tony Bennett’s Emails Reveal His Personal Agenda | Scathing Purple Musings

Tony Bennett’s Emails Reveal His Personal Agenda | Scathing Purple Musings:

Tony Bennett’s Emails Reveal His Personal Agenda

Posted on July 30, 2013by Bob Sikes

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The Magic of Tony Bennett

In the aftermath of revelations that then superintendent of public education Tony Bennett changed a school grade for the charter school belonging to a wealthy campaign donor, editorial boards from Indiana’s newspapers are weighing in. This from the Lafayette Journal and Courier:

Everyone wondered what took the Indiana Department of Education so long to report its A-to-F grades — a cornerstone of the state’s school accountability push during former Superintendent Tony Bennett’s term.
Now, Hoosiers know why. And it shapes up as one sorry story.
According to emails uncovered by Associated Press reporter Tom LoBianco, Bennett bent over backward — and contorted the system in the process — to find a way for a charter school sponsored by school choice patron Christel DeHaan to do well.

The Journal and Courier includes a batch of the emails that LoBianco obtained at it

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » More Common Core SNAFUs

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » More Common Core SNAFUs:

More Common Core SNAFUs

One inherent weakness in Common Core is how they tried to avoid controversy at their inception, by not wading into the troubled shoals of curriculum and content. They discovered that since they were offering standards that were so “new” and “different” they had to show exactly what folks should be doing that was so different. So some examples were thrown up with David Coleman sharing how to teach “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that just left folks scratching (or banging) their heads.

Fortunately for the Common Core movement, Mr. Coleman moved on to a position at College Board. In that time, other exemplars and lesson plans have started to pop up. Most are from New York, which has been very aggressive in implementing Common Core. At this point, we at least haveactual teachers and students involved, but here is where the problem occurs with content. If I’m reading the intent of the standards correctly

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Safe passage charade

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Safe passage charade:

The Safe passage charade

The mayor and Byrd-Bennett are hoping that warring gangs and assorted shooters will read and obey the new signs posted along school routes by the Dept. of Transportation. I hope so too, but I'm somehow not reassured. (DNAInfo)

As we approach the opening of school, everyone in the school community is hoping that the 40,000 students impacted by Rahm's reckless CPS school closings make the trek to their receiving schools, across rival gang territory safely. But in deteriorating neighborhoods, awash with guns but left out of the mayor's TIF and infrastructure investment strategies, the threat of gun violence is ever present.

Parents in those neighborhoods are scared half to death, hoping upon hope that some judge somewhere, independent of the City Hall political machine, will issue an injunction in response to the two pending civil rights suits and keep schools open, at least until there is a reasonable transition plan in place.

Rahm is trying to reassure families by hiring hiring 245 residents to serve as guides along the walks to school, as well and by removing abandoned cars and graffiti and inspectingof

UPDATE: EduDEformistas are all about data — how to “massage” it until it looks good to their wealthy backers | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

EduDEformistas are all about data — how to “massage” it until it looks good to their wealthy backers | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:

New report: "family income appears more determinative of educational success than race”

Reblogged from Something Like the Truth: By Robert Mann The evidence keeps piling up on the relationship of poverty to poor student/school performance. The latest is in a new report, "Poverty and Education: Finding the Way Forward," released by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Here are a few excerpts from the report: While education has been envisioned as the great equalizer, this promise h

by crazycrawfish / 6min

EduShyster: The Insidious Mission of TFA: LINK Added!

Reblogged from Diane Ravitch's blog: In an unusual turn, EduShyster writes a serious article about the increasingly insidious role played by Teach for America today. The organization began with the laudable goal of supplying teachers to schools where there were chronic shortages. However, it has become a mainstay of the privatization movement, staffing charters that open as public schools close.

by crazycrawfish / 9h

Common Core/Data Sharing letter from a true Louisiana Patriot, Debbie Sachs, that I would like to share with my readers

Common Core and Data Sharing is an issue that should be a concern for everyone, no matter what political color you bleed (red, blue or green.) I am proud to count Debbie as one of my staunchest and most dedicated allies in the fight to reject the corporate takeover of public education and commercialization of our children and their data. Our children are not products, and their data are not resour

by crazycrawfish / 16min

EduDEformistas are all about data -- how to "massage" it until it looks good to their wealthy backers

Posted on July 30, 2013

Reblogged from GFBrandenburg's Blog:

Educational Deformers like Tony Bennett, Michelle Rhee, and others proclaim that they are "data-driven".

They don't tell you the rest of that slogan, however. It goes like this:

"...unless the data contradict what we keep claiming; in that case, then we fake or alter the data!"

In a secondary-school science project where a student fakes their measurements to get the "right" answer in their expeiment, it's not so serious, though it's not good there, either, because some of those dishonest students end up being dishonest researchers or scientists claiming breakthroughs that don't exist.

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Tuesday, July 30, 2013