Missouri Education Watchdog: Teenager Expresses Her Thoughts about Common Core through Art and Language.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Teenager Expresses Her Thoughts about Common Core through Art and Language.:

Teenager Expresses Her Thoughts about Common Core through Art and Language.

Don't get caught in the riptide of bad education reform.  Get out of that school of fish!

A 13-year old girl drew this poster about her feelings on Common Core and is reprinted here with permission.

I wonder if she will be allowed freedom of expression when she encounters the Common Core Standards for art?  I'm serious about that question.  From Arts Education Partnership about CCSS and arts education:

Common Core and the Arts

Art and the Common Core – The powerpoint presentation from an Education Week webinar about arts integration within the Common Core, featuring Susan M. Riley and Lynne Munson, and moderated by Erik Robelen.
Guiding Principles for the Arts: Grades K-12 – Developed by David Coleman, this is a discussion of the ways in which arts education intersects with the Common Core areas.
Common Core: What are the Possibilities for the Arts? – A webinar hosted by Grantmakers in the Arts and conducted by Julie Fry and Richard Kessler regarding the implications of the Common Core for arts education. The presentation slides are also available separately.

Obama’s Jim Crow Education System | FrontPage Magazine

Obama’s Jim Crow Education System | FrontPage Magazine:

Obama’s Jim Crow Education System

August 29, 2013 By Arnold Ahlert 4 Comments

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In his speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Washington, President Obama hypocritically bemoaned the current state of education, saying that many Americans face a “fortress of substandard schools and diminished prospects.” He claimed that such schools were “underfunded” and that every child has a “right … to get an education that stirs the mind and captures the spirit and prepares them for the world that awaits them.” However, it is the Obama administration that has been instrumental in depriving poor, especially minority, children from the “right” to a quality education with its campaign to eradicate school vouchers. Just recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit in New Orleans federal court to prevent Louisiana from implementing a voucher program at public schools that remains under federal desegregation orders.

According to the DOJ, the 570 students who received the vouchers for the 2012-2013 school year “impeded the desegregation process,” and therefore vouchers for 2014-15 school year must be blocked. The great irony here is that 90 percent of the children who used the vouchers to get themselves a better education are black Americans. Yet the DOJ remains concerned that 10 percent 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-29-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Great News! EduShyster Selected to Lead Camden, NJ, Schools

No doubt reacting to the news that New Hersey has selected an inexperienced young man with no obvious qualifications to run the Camden, New Jersey, public schools, EduShyster has concocted a hilarious parody in which she is the one hired for the job. She acknowledges that she has no experience, has never run a school or a district, and has never set foot in Camden, but she insists that these are p

by dianerav / 13min 

Jose Vilson: Stop and Frisk Those Test Scores

Jose Vilson is one of New York City’s best teacher bloggers. In this post, he notes that Mayor Bloomberg experienced two major setbacks within a matter of days: First, his education legacy collapsed along with the new state test scores showing that most students are “failing.” The Mayor felt compelled to defend the lower scores, calling them “very good news,” when he should have been calling foul

1 by dianerav / 6min 

What Do Public Educators Do? They Educate the Public!

This reader responds to the findings of the PDK/Gallup poll, which showed a shift in public opinion against testing, against using test scores to evaluate teachers, and against public release of teacher personnel files and ratings. “We said last year that we had a lot of hard work to do, to inform and educate the parents we work with, to organize communities and form effective coalitions of resist

by dianerav / 12min mark as read  //  save

Is Experience Necessary to Be a “Great” Teacher?

The New York Times has a good debate this morning about the value of experience for teaching. The debate was prompted by a very controversial article last week in which charter leaders claimed that two or three years of teaching was good enough, and that they liked the constant turnover of bright inexperienced teachers. The title of the article actually referred teachers who had a “short career b

4 by dianerav / 1h 

This Is What a Real Educator Sounds Like

Several months ago, I honored Tom Scarice, superintendent of schools in Madison, Connecticut, for his brave opposition to corporate reform and top-down mandates. Instead of letting Arne Duncan impose high-stakes testing on his students and staff, Scarice created a community study group to chart the district’s future. Please read what he told the community as school opened. No jargon. No reformer

13 by dianerav / 1h 

Do Civil Rights Groups Want More High-Stakes Testing?

A group called the Campaign for High School Equity made news the other day when it criticized Arne Duncan’s NCLB waivers and complained that the waivers might reduce the amount of high-stakes testing for poor and minority students. Mike Petrilli at the conservative think tank Thomas B. Fordham Institute challenged me to admit that the civil rights groups were leading the charge to protect high-st

by dianerav / 11min mark as read  //  save

What He Learned at the “Worst School in Texas”

Education debates in D.C. and the media tend to be dominated by what economists and think tanks say. What is needed most and seldom heard is the voice of teachers. Here is a brilliant new voice that should get as much air time as Bill Gates, Joel Klein, and Arne Duncan. What are the chances? In this article at Salon, John Savage describes his experience teaching at J.E. Pearce Middle School in Aus

11 by dianerav / 1h 

Diane in the Evening 8-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Juan Gonzalez: Harlem Success Academy Suspends LosersIn this article in the New York Daily News, award-winning investigative journalist Juan Gonzales examines the high suspension rates at the Harlem Success Academy charter schools of Eva Moskowitz. Gonzales writes: “Success Academy, the charter school chain that boasts sky-high stu

by mike simpson / 21min 

Q&A with Rick Miller: California district waivers mean tougher accountability, but less focus on tests | Hechinger Report

Q&A with Rick Miller: California district waivers mean tougher accountability, but less focus on tests | Hechinger Report:

Q&A with Rick Miller: California district waivers mean tougher accountability, but less focus on tests

By Sarah Amandolare

Dozens of states have been granted waivers from No Child Left Behind since 2011, when the Obama administration adopted a more flexible approach to the Bush-era act. When the Department of Education denied California’s waiver application in December 2012, a consortium of eight districts pushed for autonomy from the state. Dubbed CORE, the California Office to Reform Education, the districts developed their own set of strategies, emphasizing shared accountability and a holistic approach to student evaluation.

Rick Miller

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan granted CORE a waiver from certain aspects of No Child Left Behind, the first waiver for districts rather than a state. CORE districts now have the flexibility to spend approximately $110 million in Title I funding as they see fit. CORE Executive Director Rick Miller took inspiration from Michael Fullan, the mastermind behind world-renowned schools in Ontario, whose significant population of English language learners resembles California’s.The Hechinger Report talked to Miller about what the waiver will mean for the nearly 1.2 million students in CORE districts, including Fresno Unified

8-29-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Maybe The Elites Should Get Out Of The House More

Harry Enten links to the Politicker article covering the Anybody But Quinn rally yesterday and says:It's just hard to understate how much a certain % of the population dislikes Quinn http://t.co/UEgdrbKbGO— Harry Enten (@ForecasterEnten) August 29, 2013Farrell McManus responded with this:@ForecasterEnten Media just now seeing this. They tend to be more on elite side and they think everyone loves M

by reality-based edu... / 10min 

Bill Thompson Has No Plan To Get Rid Of School Trailers

Bill Thompson and the UFT leadership held a rally over school trailers today:Mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson vowed Thursday to get rid of the trailers used as makeshift classrooms at overcrowded city schools.Democrat Thompson, the chosen candidate of the teacher’s union, seized on one of their pet issues in denouncing the 357 trailers -- some infested with mold -- still being used to house kids.“Rig

by reality-based edu... / 23min 

Wayne Barrett: Christine Quinn Made Deal With Devil With Vito Lopez

While Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn try and make something big out of a Daily News attack on Bill de Blasio today over alleged meetings with "lobbyists" that de Blasio had, Wayne Barrett reports the following about Christine Quinn: So much of what happens at the City Council occurs under the radar that few noticed when Speaker Christine Quinn started her second term in January 2010 with appoin

by reality-based edu... / 4min 

Now We Know Why Spitzer Was Reaching Out To The UFT

Yesterday I wondered why Eliot Spitzer was reaching out the UFT with a "make nice" gesture over the teachers contract.Today, Quinnipiac shows us why:When Quinnipiac University surveyed the field two weeks ago, they found ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer with a dominating 19-point lead over Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Well, things have changed a little bit in their latest poll. Mr. Stringer an

by reality-based edu... / 5min 

The Corporatists Go On The Attack Against De Blasio

The Quinnipiac poll showing de Blasio not only in the lead in the Democratic Primary but closing in on the 40% needed to avoid a runoff has the corporatists in this city terrified.As Politicker noted, they went on the attack this morning.The NY Post in particular was in hysterics:Surprise! Bill de Blasio is far ahead in the Democratic race for mayor. The latest Quinnipiac poll’s numbers put him at

by reality-based edu... / 24min 

Anybody But Quinn People Give Christine Quinn A Nice Parting Gift

From Politicker:Advocates hoping to swing the election by urging voters to elect “Anybody but Quinn” gathered across the street from the closed St. Vincent’s Hospital this evening for a get-out-the-vote rally they billed as an early “retirement party” for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.The event–which included the presentation of a series of mock parting gifts in honor of Ms. Quinn’s desired

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

8-28-13 Perdido Street School:

Perdido Street School: Eva Moskowitz: Success Through Attrition And SuspensionA devastating column by Juan Gonzalez in the New York Daily News on how Eva Moskowitz gets those high test scores:Success Academy, the charter school chain that boasts sky-high student scores on annual state tests, has for years used a “zero tolerance” disciplinary policy to suspend, push out, discharge or demote the ver

by mike simpson / 10h 

Clinton Ties Common Core With Civil Rights | Truth in American Education

Clinton Ties Common Core With Civil Rights | Truth in American Education:

Clinton Ties Common Core With Civil Rights

Filed in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on August 29, 2013 • 0 Comments

Yesterday former President Bill Clinton spoke at the “Let Freedom Ring” rally at the Lincoln Memorial that commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In his speech he expressed support for the Common Core:

So how are we going to repay the debt? Dr. King’s dream of interdependence, his prescription of wholehearted cooperation across racial lines — they ring as true today as they did 50 years ago. Oh, yes, we face terrible political gridlock now. Read a little history; it’s nothing new. Yes, there remain racial inequalities in employment, income, health, wealth, incarceration, and in the victims and perpetrators of violent crime. But we don’t face beatings, lynchings and shootings for our political beliefs anymore. And I would respectfully suggest that Martin Luther King did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political gridlock. It is time to stop complaining and put our shoulders against the stubborn gates 

Program for forgiveness of loans not easy to use | toteachornototeach

Program for forgiveness of loans not easy to use | toteachornototeach:

Program for forgiveness of loans not easy to use

WASHINGTON — More than 33 million workers qualify to get their student loans forgiven because they work in schools, hospitals or city halls, but too few take advantage of the options because the programs are overly complicated and often confusing, the government’s consumer advocate said on Wednesday.

Roughly a quarter of the workforce could take advantage of federal rules that give favorable loan repayment options to those in public service fields, including the military, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency recommended Congress review the loan forgiveness programs and encouraged employers to make sure their workers know they are available.

“Teachers, soldiers, firefighters, policemen — public sector careers invariably involve some effort, some inconvenience or some sacrifice. People give up higher incomes to serve their city, their state or their country,” said Richard Cordray, bureau director. “We believe that people who contribute part of their talents, part of the benefits of their education, to society as a whole should not be mired in debt because they stir themselves to the calling of public service.”

Student loan debt has topped $1 trillion, the consumer advocate estimates, and has been 

How Teach For America recruits get preference for teaching jobs:

How Teach For America recruits get preference for teaching jobs

By Valerie Strauss, Published: August 29 at 6:00 amE-mail the writer

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This story takes place in Bridgeport, Conn., but the same thing is happening around the country. It’s about how Teach For America corps members are given preference over well-trained teachers in Bridgeport, Conn., where Paul Vallas remains superintendent pending a state Supreme Court decision on a lower court’s order that he leave his position because he doesn’t have the state-mandated requirements for the job.  This was written by Jonathan Pelto, a former member of the Connecticut House of Representatives who now provides commentary on politics and public policy at his blog,Wait What?”, where this first appeared.

By Jonathan Pelto

Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s reform-driven superintendent of schools, revealed this week that he had hired 31 new Teach For America recruits to staff the district’s schools this year.  Few, if any, of the recruits come from Connecticut and none went to a Connecticut college or university to become a teacher.

The TFA recruits come courtesy of a March 2013 deal between Vallas and Nate Snow, executive director for the Connecticut Chapter of Teach For America.  Snow is also president of the board of directors of Excel Bridgeport, Inc. the corporate-funded 

Five bad education assumptions the media keeps recycling

Here author Alfie Kohn uses a review of Amanda Ripley’s new education book, “The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way,”  to write about how the media keeps recycling bad education assumptions. Kohn is the author … Continue reading →    

17 by Valerie Strauss / 3h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Mantra of the corporate reformers: 'Teachers Wanted -- No Experience Necessary'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Mantra of the corporate reformers: 'Teachers Wanted -- No Experience Necessary':

Mantra of the corporate reformers: 'Teachers Wanted -- No Experience Necessary'

Noel Price teaching a class at YES Prep. Throughout YES Prep’s 13 schools, teachers have an average of two and a half years of experience. (NYT)

From the Times to Edweek, it seems like planted stories abound, hailing the coming of the new prototype teacher. You know, she's the one "most difficult to pick from of the group of students surrounding her", writes Edweek's Alexis Lambrau, about the subject of her photo shoot, Ferrin Bujan, a 24-year old teacher at the Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School.

She often feels like student test scores are all that matter in her district. Yet she has students who rarely show up to class, and their scores still factor against her. This is particularly difficult given that Bujan is up for tenure this year, a process that involves an increasingly rigorous application process. She feels pressure to do well by her principal. “It’s hard. The city wants so much and they