One Teacher's Perspective: A Lesson George Zimmerman Never Learned

One Teacher's Perspective: A Lesson George Zimmerman Never Learned:

A Lesson George Zimmerman Never Learned

Usually I trend toward indifference on high-profile court cases, like the George Zimmerman trial, when the constant media coverage kicks in.

However, this case was different. I was and continue to be enthralled on many levels.

My anger toward Zimmerman and his supporters persists. Regardless of what the jury’s "not guilty" ruling indicates, Zimmerman’s inappropriate racial profiling, unnecessary gun-toting, and his obvious hypermasculinity (which allowed him to ignore the 911 dispatcher’s advice for restraint) are deserving of some sort of just punishment.

This Zimmerman case reminds me of my involvement in a criminal chase. I have shared this following story from time to time with my students and long before the Martin-Zimmerman incident. I wish Zimmerman had heard it before he played sheriff in pursuit of Trayvon.

I once was in the vicinity of a mugging by a pathetic, forty-something crook--who stole the purse of a senior in a McDonald’s parking lot. I had heard the victim scream, “he took my purse.”  Without much thought, my own machismo kicked in and I began to give chase after the perpetrator. The foolish mugger fled across an open 100-yard parking lot.  I had a clear view and was quickly gaining ground on him.

In telling my students this story, I usually ask them at this juncture what they think

Are reformers reviving ‘reading wars’?:

Are reformers reviving ‘reading wars’?

By Valerie Strauss, Published: August 13 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer

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Mary Sullivan reads at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library in 2012. (By Katherine Frey / The Washington Post)

In June a group called the National Council on Teacher Quality published ratings of teacher education schools that garnered a lot of attention — and a good deal of criticism. Why? The NCTQ wascreated by the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in 2000 in order to promote alternative teacher certification and try to diminish the influence of education schools. Its largely negative results were hardly unexpected. In this post, Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, an expert on teacher training, critiqued the NCTQ’s methodology and said the ratings did not reflect the work of ed schools:

NCTQ’s methodology is a paper review of published course requirements and course syllabi against a check list that does not consider the actual quality of instruction that the programs offer, evidence of what their students learn, or whether graduates can actually teach.

After taking some time this summer to review what the NCTQ produced, members of the Reading Hall of Fame, an honorary group founded in 1973 with the aim of contributing to the improvement of reading instruction, just issued their own statement (see below) about the ratings. In its report, the NCTQ made declarations about what books were and were not acceptable in literacy instruction, determinations with which the literacy experts are taking issue. A good number of books by Hall of Fame authors 

Clergy Calls for Philadelphia School Boycott

Clergy Calls for Philadelphia School Boycott:

Clergy Calls for Philadelphia School Boycott, say “$50 Million not Enough!”

Touting Moses as the first Civil Rights Leader, Pastors calls for an “Exodus Experience”

www.techbookonline.com

Clergy Calls for Philadelphia School Boycott, say “$50 Million not Enough!”

Touting Moses as the first Civil Rights Leader, Pastors calls for an “Exodus Experience”

According to Bishop Dwayne Roster, Executive Director, POWER, the Mayor, along with Superintendent Dr. Hite and the State Delegation, will hold a Press Conference at City Hall tomorrow at noon. Whatever the news the disgraced public officials will announce, Royster says, it won’t be enough. (Photo Credit: C. Norris – ©2013)

By Christopher “Flood the Drummer”® Norris

8.12.13: Philadelphia– (Education/Politics): Despite the last minute efforts of local officials to secure the necessary funds to open Philadelphia schools on September 9th, the more than 100 outraged Philadelphians in attendance at tonight’s town hall meeting sponsored by POWER and held at the historic Mother Bethel A.M.E., all agree that $50 million won’t be enough to provide a quality or safe educational experience and unless politicians bring $180 million to the table the community will boycott Philadelphia’s schools.

READ: Philadelphia School Crisis Solicits Reactions From Activists

According to Bishop Dwayne Roster, Executive Director, POWER, the Mayor, along with Superintendent Dr. Hite and the State Delegation, will hold a Press Conference at City Hall tomorrow at noon. Whatever the news the disgraced public 

Stop And Frisk These Test Scores - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

Stop And Frisk These Test Scores - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson:

Stop And Frisk These Test Scores

by JOSE VILSON on AUGUST 12, 2013

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly

I’d rather have a tall glass of “innocent until proven guilty,” whether it’s about my standing as a citizen in NYC or my students’ test scores.

This month has been rather unsuccessful for Mayor Bloomberg and two of his political postures: his stance on stop-and-frisk and his direction in education reform. Despite what comes out of his office, everyone ought to recognize it as a major fail, and a blow to an already tarnished third term.

I can’t tell you how quickly my jaw dropped when I saw my school’s test scores. I didn’t get a glimpse of them, but when I heard only ~30% of students “passed” the English or Math test, AND that the scales were aligned to the NAEP, I knew NYC would be in some trouble. I sighed, and hoped none of my students took the drop personally. Only a handful of eight graders at my school got a 4, the highest level possible.

I can’t understand the games some adults play with their lives, especially when they tie these scores to all types of notions, including their scholarships, honors classes, and their actual ability as students.

Then I read this by Diane Ravitch and almost flung my phone at someone:

The state didn’t just “raise the bar.” It aligned its passing mark to a completely

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/stop-and-frisk-these-test-scores/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheJoseVilson+%28The+Jose+Vilson%29#sthash.K76PgWRG.dpuf

Part Three: Summer, 2013 | Bill Ayers

Part Three: Summer, 2013 | Bill Ayers:

Part Three: Summer, 2013

Until the killing of Black men, Black mothers’ sons, is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.
** Ella Baker

A dominant narrative in contemporary school reform is once again focused on exclusion and disadvantage, race and class, Black and white. “Across the US,” the National Governor’s Association declared in 2005, “a gap in academic achievement persists between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts.” This is the commonly referenced and popularly understood “racial achievement gap,” and it drives education policy at every level.  Once again, whether heart-felt or self-satisfied, the narrative never mentions the monster in the room: white supremacy.
It’s true, of course, that standardized test scores reveal a difference between Black and white test-takers: 26 points in one area of comparison—fourth-grade reading—20 points in another, 23 in a third.
 But the significance of those differences is wildly disputed. Some argue—as Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein did in their popular and incendiary book The Bell Curve—that genetic differences account for the gap, and there’s little that can be done to lift up the poor 

Portland Association of Teachers considers unfair labor practice complaint as negotiations continue at anemic pace | OregonLive.com

Portland Association of Teachers considers unfair labor practice complaint as negotiations continue at anemic pace | OregonLive.com:

Portland Association of Teachers considers unfair labor practice complaint as negotiations continue at anemic pace

Contract negotiations for Portland Public Schools and the Portland Association of Teachers continued its sluggish pace Monday, with the union threatening to file claims against the district for bad faith bargaining, and both sides accusing the other of slowing down talks.

The district and the union have now met ten times since April but have failed to make significant headway on major issues, such as salary, health insurance benefits and a clause concerning teacher workload.

At the July 11 bargaining session, the union’s lead negotiator Marty Pavlik claimed the district was using “power play” politics after the district gave teachers a list of subjects they would refuse to discuss because they are not required bargaining topics under state law. Pavlik characterized the move as a possible ploy to slow down the union's momentum.

On Monday at the Portland Association Teachers office, Pavlik told the district's bargaining team that the union and its attorneys were still formulating a response addressing which topics they consider mandatory and are "considering" an unfair labor practices complaint because of the district’s actions.

An August 12 letter from Noah T. Barish, an attorney representing the union, said the teachers would need extra time to analyze which topics are mandatory and said they “fully expect that part of our response will include filing claims against the District for engaging in bad faith bargaining.”

The district “now attempts to avoid bargaining about many allegedly permissive 

AFT Nows Asks for Bennett’s Florida Emails | Scathing Purple Musings

AFT Nows Asks for Bennett’s Florida Emails | Scathing Purple Musings:

AFT Nows Asks for Bennett’s Florida Emails

Posted on August 12, 2013by Bob Sikes

From Orlando Sentinel reporter Leslie Postal:

The AFT’s president, Randi Weingarten, is to be in Miami this afternoon and will speak about the email request then.

The union wants a wide-range of emails from players not specifically linked to the Bennett controversy in Indiana.

But here are the connections: Bush’s education foundations are influential, and Bennett was part of “chiefs for change,” a group put together by Bush’s group. ALEC is a private group of conservative state lawmakers that pushes “model” legislation on a host of topics. Bush, a former Florida governor, was a featured speaker at an ALEC conference last week in Chicago.

“Public education is a public good, and taxpayers, parents, teachers and others who rely on our public schools are entitled to full transparency around the decisions and actions made regarding our schools—whether in 

Online Learning: How do We Achieve it? Join the Discussion Tonight 8:30 EST/7:30 CST #StuVoice Student Voice

Student Voice:

Online Learning: How do We Achieve it? Join the Discussion Tonight 8:30 EST/7:30 CST #StuVoice

Have you ever been sitting in class or online, listening to your teacher, and not understanding anything? Gotten into a program you can’t afford?

Technology, specifically the internet, has proven to be extremely helpful to students that run into these problems. There are thousands of resources available to students online, and they’re changing the way education is looked at. It’s no longer necessary to spend hundreds of dollars on a college course when a free MOOC is available from MIT.

Students themselves can come together to help each other, as Club Academia, a strictly-student run tutoring organization, does in creating helpful videos on various subjects from Physics to French.

Things are taking shape online, but where does that leave the traditional education model?

Share your thoughts tonight on twitter 8:30 EST/7:30 CST with special guest Shilpa Yarlagadda, founder of Club Academia, using the hashtag #stuvoice.

For further information check out this article: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130804/NATION/308040008/Higher-education-path-toward-worldwide-technological-revolution

And go to www.clubacademia.org for tutoring, volunteer options, or to make a donation!

- See more at: http://www.stuvoice.org/2013/08/12/online-learning-how-do-we-achieve-it-join-the-discussion-tonight-830-est730-cst-stuvoice/?utm_source=feedly#sthash.om2kSO2D.dpuf

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Sometimes, you just have to cry…

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Sometimes, you just have to cry…:

Sometimes, you just have to cry…

It was a difficult week. Once again I find myself at the center of school reform in my professional life. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but car issues have affected my transportation choices on and off this summer, and last week brought more troubles. When a friend asked a group of us to accompany her to see the movie “Fruitvale Station” I said sure, because when one is experiencing a life filled with “first-world” troubles, you need some perspective. I’m glad I went although it was a truly bittersweet experience for a number of reasons.

Going “home”…

Prior to moving to Sacramento, I had lived in Oakland, California for around 15 years. Our son was born there, and I had transitioned to and started my teaching career there. The movie did an excellent job catching the vibe of that place, and it truly was like going back for a family reunion where there are changes, but the basics stay the same. Oakland in the post-war had an extreme case of white-flight, became an African-American plurality city. Then as gentrification and immigration increased in the 1980s and 90s black plurality dropped to 27% and  it’s not pretty much an “all minority city” (the other large ethnic/racial groups are ~20-25%). This made for a place where other non-white groups often mixed a 

Dewhurst supports parent group in CSCOPE lawsuit | Education Blog

Dewhurst supports parent group in CSCOPE lawsuit | Education Blog:

Dewhurst supports parent group in CSCOPE lawsuit

By Terrence Stutz
tstutz@dallasnews.com
5:12 pm on August 12, 2013 | Permalink

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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst gave his support Monday to a group of parents who have gone to court to block use of a controversial series of lesson plans in a central Texas school district. Dewhurst said parents across the state should speak up if they are troubled by the CSCOPE lesson plans and encourage their local school boards to either fix or replace the lessons before the new school year begins. The group of parents obtained a temporary restraining order last week prohibiting the Llano school district from using CSCOPE until a court hearing is held on the matter.

“We need to work as hard as we can to come up with the best possible solution on how to either eliminate CSCOPE and replace it with a different lesson plan, or fix it so it doesn’t have factual errors and bias,” Dewhurst said. He asserted that under a law passed by the Legislature earlier this year, school boards planning to use CSCOPE should have a public hearing to allow citizens to review the lesson plans. “I want to encourage parents to read the lesson plans and tell their school board what they think,” he said. Dewhurst also urged the State Board of Education to identify errors and bias in CSCOPE, and “communicate that to parents and school boards around the state.”

The lieutenant governor said he does not want to interfere with local control of what students are taught. “Our lesson plans have historically been strictly under local control by our schools, our teachers and