LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Diane Ravitch @DianeRavitch
Matt Damon and I at CSUN Northridge

Mercedes Schneider Follows the Gates Funding of Common Core

Mercedes Schneider has been meticulously scouring the Gates website to see which groups are being paid to research, support, promulgate, evaluate, study, review the Common Core standards. This is her sixth post on the subject. There will be more. After you go through her posts, the question you might reasonably have is: Who was NOT funded to development, implement or advocate for the Common Core

5 by dianerav / 2h 

Jim Horn Reviews “Reign of Error”

Since my earlier post of Jim Horn’s thoughtful review contained an incomprehensible autocorrect error, I am reposting here. Haste makes errors. My stubborn insistence on doing everything on my own comes with a price. My apologies. Jim Horn has been a thorn in the side of the know-nothings for many years. He’s smart, he’s tough, and he has a long memory. In this review of “Reign of Error,” he remin

1 by dianerav / 2h 

Jim Horn Reviews “Reign of Error”

Jim Horn has been a thorn in the side of the know-nothing’s for many years. He’s smart, he’s tough, and he has a long empty. In this review of “Reign of Error,” he reminds me of my own long sojourn in the wilderness of bad ideas. Now, I am happy to say, he welcomes me into the fold as an ally in the fight to preserve public education. He generously concludes: “It took a long time for Dr. Ravitc

by dianerav / 6min 

“Kids in the System” Reviews “Reign of Error”

Blogger David Chura, who blogs at Kids in the System here reviews Reign of Error. This is what David does and has done: “For the last 40 years I’ve worked with at-risk kids, kids “in the system”–foster care, group homes, homeless shelters; psych hospitals, drug rehab; special education, alternative high schools.” When he picked up the book, he expected to hear more bad news. But this book is not a

1 by dianerav / 5min 

What to Do with Your Child’s Test Scores: Send ‘em Back!

Some parents in New York have devised a creative way to protest the absurdly hard Common Core tests that most kids “failed” last spring. They are sending the scores back to the State Commissioner John King. The word is getting out. The tests were designed to create failure. Test makers know exactly how each item will “function.” Whether the question is hard, easy, or in the middle. When they asse

48 by dianerav / 1h 

What to Do with Your Child’s Test Scores: Send ‘em Back!

Some parents in New York have devised a creative way to protest the absurdly hard Common Core tests that most kids “failed” last spring. They are sending the scores back to the State Commissioner John King. The word is getting out. The tests were designed to create failure. Test makers know exactly how each item will “function.” Whether the question is hard, easy, or in the middle. When they asse

45 by dianerav / 1h 

Diane Ravitch’s new book criticizes ‘reform’ movement | EdSource Today

Diane Ravitch’s new book criticizes ‘reform’ movement | EdSource Today: Diane Ravitch’s new book criticizes ‘reform’ movementOctober 1st, 2013 | Comments Off | By Lillian MongeauDiane Ravitch discussing her book, “Reign of Error,” on stage in Stanford’s Memorial Hall. Credit: Barbara McKenna, SCOPEDiane Ravitch was at Stanford University on Monday to discuss her most recent book,“Reign of Error,” 

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: EduShyster: Adell Cothorne Speaks!Adell Cothorne is the brave principal in Washington, D.C., who reported to her headquarters that she saw cheating going on. She was featured on a PBS Frontline special about the uncertain legacy of Michelle Rhee. What happened after she reported cheating by a group of staff? Nothing. Nothing except

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-3-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

Charter Schools and the systematic discrimination of special education students

Most charter schools are failing to take their fair share of students who require special education services You can always count on Connecticut resident, fellow blogger and public education advocate, Jonathan Kantrowitz, to explore the important issues with a sophisticated, fact-based approach. In a new blog post entitled, “Why the Gap? Special Education and New […]The post Charter Schools and th

2 by jonpelto / 12min 

Achievement First’s Teacher Certification Violations lead right into State Department of Education

Achievement First – Bridgeport Academy is among Connecticut’s worst offenders when it comes to charter schools that fail to provide students with properly certified teachers. According to the records filed with the State Department of Education, of the 59 teachers working at Achievement First – Bridgeport last year, 21 (36 percent) did not have Connecticut […]The post Achievement First’s Teacher C

5 by jonpelto / 5min 

10-2-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:  s Achievement First angling for a co-location site in Hartford?Achievement First, Inc. is the charter school management company co-founded by Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor. Achievement First, Inc. won’t take its fair share of bilingual students or students who aren’t proficient in English. Achievement First, Inc. won’t take its fair share of students who ne

by mike simpson / 4h 

Diane Ravitch: Q&A on her controversial new book:

Diane Ravitch: Q&A on her controversial new book

By Valerie Strauss, Published: October 3 at 8:30 amE-mail the writer

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The new book by education historian and activist Diane Ravitch, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools,has debuted on The New York Times bestseller list in the non-fiction hardback category at No. 10.  The book is, like Ravitch herself, highly controversial, praised by her supporters and attacked by her detractors.

Here’s a Q * A I did by e-mail with Ravitch, the leader of the national movement that opposes corporate-influenced school reform, about why she wrote her new book, what she learned researching and writing it, and what she thinks about being called “mean” by her critics. If you want to read an excerpt of the book, click here.

Q) Why did you decide to write another book on education reform? How much further does this book take us from your 2010  bestseller, The Death and Life of the Great American School System.
A) The new book goes beyond what I wrote in “Death and Life.” D&L explained why I changed my mind about testing, accountability, competition, and choice after having supported them during the 1990s and until about 2006-07. I tried to document the evidence that persuaded me that these strategies were actually harming education and children. In the book, I open with a conversation I had with David Denby of The New Yorker. He said to me in April 2012, “Your critics say you have no solutions.” I 

10-3-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Seattle Mayoral Candidate, Ed Murray, Delivers Vision for City

Here's what he said in his speech about public education:As mayor, I will make education at every level the foundation of the city’s work. We need to move from being an educated city to becoming an education city. As Mayor, I will use every possible tool in my toolbox to make sure that our education system is delivering the education and skills that our kids need and our economy demands. I’ll work

by Melissa Westbrook / 33min 

Seattle School Board Meeting for October 2, 2013

From the Board meeting last night:Native American ProgramThe Superintendent announced the following:- there is a tribal history curriculum via a bill that was in the Legislature.  This school year that curriculum will be provided to 4th graders in the SW region (and other unnamed schools). Later it will be in 4th,8th and 11th grades across the district.- Gail Morris is the new director of the Nati

by Melissa Westbrook / 10min 

Growth Boundary Updates

I learned some new things at last night's Board meeting about the growth boundaries and decided to pull them out as a separate thread.1) There is to be an added Work Session on growth boundaries in the next couple of weeks.  President Smith-Blum stated this but no date was given.  I am trying to get the date from SPS Communications.  She also stated that a big concern for the Board is that "w

by Melissa Westbrook / 11min

Director McLaren Announces Health Issue

Via her blog, Director McLaren has this statement:I am writing to let you know that, due to a health issue, I will be less available than usual for the next several weeks. I will be monitoring email periodically. Please bear with me if I do not respond in a timely fashion.We wish Director McLaren all the best during this time.

by Melissa Westbrook / 9min 

Seattle Schools seeks members for Math Adoption Committee

From SPS:Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is accepting applications from SPS families and community members interested in serving on the District’s Math Adoption Committee.The committee will advise SPS on the selection of mathematics instructional materials for kindergarten through Grade 5 students that meet the new Common Core State Standards for mathematics. The goal is to have materials adopted in

by Melissa Westbrook / 7h 

10-2-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education News RoundupDual-language in Washington State - a view from Seattle Globalist.A MacArthur Genius award went to an educational researcher, Angela Duckworth.  From Ed Week:Educational research psychologist and former teacher Angela Duckworth has devoted her career to understanding traits beyond IQ or test-taking abilities that predict a student's success— i

by mike simpson / 1h 

10-3-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

34th ELT Blog Carnival Just Published!

David Deubelbeiss at EFL Classroom 2.0 has just published the 34th ELT Blog Carnival (also known as the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival). It’s theme is “Best Lessons,” and teachers from around the work have contributed posts. The next edition will be hosted by Vicki Hollett and its about video lessons! Submit your entries by Oct. 31st HERE. You can see all the previous Blog Carnivals here. And you can

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 15min 

Talk With Me Online Friday Night!

As part of Connected Educators Month, Steve Hargadon is organizing a nightly “cafe” with with education bloggers and anybody else who would like to join in! You can read more about it at Steve’s blog and see a complete schedule for the month here. Friday night (tomorrow at the time this post was published), I’ll be on with Angela Maiers from 4:30-5:30 PM Pacific Coast Time (7:30 – 8:30 PM Eastern

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4min 

“Trippin” Is An Innovative Site For Learning English

Trippin is an engaging and innovative site for English language-learning that combines “edgy” videos (classroom appropriate — just “hip” enough to be particularly attractive to teenage learners), quizzes, and geography. Though I obviously didn’t view all the videos and try-out all the interactives, they seem to be laid-out sequentially (and, I assume, with graduated levels of difficulty) — in oth

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7min

Special Edition Of This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Important Posts & Articles On Ed Policy

Usually, I just publish one “round-up” of good articles & posts on education policy each week, but there have been quite a few lately. Here’s a second, extra edition: PISA Learning, Not PISA Topping is by Andy Hargreaves and appears in Education Week. High-School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics is from The Atlantic, and makes some important points that can be applied to other areas beyond ath

6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h mark as read  //  save

Video: “Our Story In 2 Minutes”

I’ve previously posted about a Robert Krulwich NPR column, “Let’s Play History As A List” and how I’ve applied it in my Social Studies classes. Simply put, students list a few words, along with their rationale, to describe an historical era. I’ve also previously posted about a video produced by Melody Sheep, Our Story in 1 Minute, which makes me think that a version of “history as a list” could b

8 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

10-2-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: October’s (2013) Best Tweets — Part OneEvery month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. I’ve already shared in earlier posts several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave

by mike simpson / 10h 

10-3-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

The in box. Information on CMS dependent verification and Medicare Advantage program.

Information about CMS/HMS dependent verification and the new Medicare Advantage options are slowly coming out. The following went out to members of the SUAA from Linda L. Brookhart, Executive Director, State Universities Annuitants Association, 217 East Monroe Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701, 217.523.4040 Office, 217.523.4044 Fax, 217.553.1091 Cell linda@suaa.org   Mini Briefing October 3,

by Fred Klonsky / 3h 

Live from the Heartland on October 26th.

  On Live from the Heartland with Mike James and Katy Hogan. This is a save-the-date notice. On October 26th my pals Katy Hogan and Mike James have asked me to return to the stage of the Heartland Cafe for their Saturday morning show, LIve from the Heartland. Show up at 9AM and order breakfast. I love their corn bread with my eggs. I was on the show back in December. Mike and Katy had invited me

by Fred Klonsky / 50min 

The in box. Bev Johns on the CMS demands for verification. “Almost every person that received the letter must request an extension from HMS in writing.”

My friend Bev Johns writes me that from the emails she is receiving from retirees around Illinois, it is not clear that a simple copy of your IRS statement will not satisfy the audit by HMS. You can NOT send a copy of the Federal tax return you submitted to IRS.  You MUST request a transcript of your 2012 return from the IRS, but all IRS offices are closed and the 800 numbers do not work. CMS advi

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

What is the purpose of the state auditing every Illinois retired teacher on TRIP?

  FOIA I filed for all CMS and HMS contracts. What is the purpose of the data dredging audit that Central Management Services (CMS) has hired HMS to do? I posted about this yesterday. My post came after the letter HMS sent to every Illinois retired teacher enrolled in the Teacher Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP) demanding proof of dependent eligibility. The self-audit demands that retirees sub

1 by Fred Klonsky / 31min mark as read  //  save

The inbox. IRTA’s Gary Elmen says, “A promise made by an elected body is a promise that must be kept.”

  Illinois Retired Teachers Association President Gary Elmen. Chicago Tribune: Tribune reporters Bob Secter and Rick Pearson nailed it with their examination of the constitutional convention delegates’ intent to safeguard public worker pensions (“Pension crisis rooted in 1970 debate; Guarantee made decades ago stymies legislators’ efforts to break deadlock,” Page 1, Sept. 23). As someone who ha

1 by Fred Klonsky / 59min 

10-2-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: CMS, HMS and self-audits.I posted yesterday about the letter that was sent to Illinois retirees regarding Teachers Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP) eligibility. Central Management Services (CMS) has contracted with a national firm, HMS, that specializes in cost control through audits of members’ cl

by mike simpson / 7h