10-14-13 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. What is the root of the current health insurance issue. SB1313 under the radar.

A reader writes: Despite the denials of many organizations at the time, Senate Bill 1313 is the reason we are in the mess we are in with retiree insurance. Many groups said SB 1313 affected ONLY State employees, and not teachers. SB 1313 passed the Illinois House on May 9,2012, by a vote of 74 yes, 43 no; and the Illinois Senate the very next day, May 10, 2012, by a vote of 31 yes, 20 no. On May

2 by Fred Klonsky / 49min 

Playing lose with the facts on pensions.

  Laura and James Arnold. He made billions after Enron. For those of us who have toiled in the fields of  exposing corporate and political pension raids for many years, it is an honor to welcome  those like Matt Taibbi and David Sirota. As I often remind friends. I’m just a retired K-5 Art teacher who blogs. Sirota and Taibbi are serious journalists and have a huge audience. They are Steven Spiel

1 by Fred Klonsky / 37min 

Legislative gibberish and the war on public employee retirees.

  State Sen. Bill Cunningham, State Rep. Kelly Burke and Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury are waging a war on retirees. The war metaphor gets used a lot. And perhaps there’s a diminishing return by using it. There’s the war on the working class. The war on the middle class. The war on women. And of course, there are the real wars. The shooting kind. The twelve-year old War in Afghanistan, for example.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 2h 

Ten minute drawing. A letter from Elma.

4 by Fred Klonsky / 15min 

Echoes of Washington. Springfield partisan manipulation and the pension hurt.

  Chair of the Gang of Ten Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul. From the Daily Journal: Four Republicans want a pension crisis fix to be more far-reaching. One of six Democrats wants more concessions to unions. With the Illinois Legislature’s fall veto session a week away, an Associated Press survey of a special 10-member committee tasked with finding a solution to the state’s enormous public pens

by Fred Klonsky / 7min 

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.: Important updates on Illinois retiree health insurance and eligibility audits. Our message is breaking through.The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will be meeting in Springfield on October 23rd. The Commission has oversight over changes to Illinois state retiree health

by mike simpson / 8h 

10-14-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

State Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk Tells John King To Listen To Parents

From Capital Confidential:Dear Dr. King, I was greatly saddened to read about your decision to suspend four planned PTA-sponsored Town Hall Meetings on the Common Core. Common Core and the standardized testing mandates we’ve placed on our schools, teachers and students are among the most significant challenges ever faced by our public education system. They deserve a full airing, and those involve

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Bloomberg Administration: We Went A Whole Week Without A Murder!

No murders in NYC last week. Murders down 26% this year off last year's record low.— howard wolfson (@howiewolf) October 14, 2013That tweet got some interesting reactions:@azi @nycmayorsoffice First time I've seen a mayor's office call attention to 6 days without a reported murder.— BinghamtonNow (@BinghamtonNow) October 14, 2013And this:"@howiewolf MT: No NYC murder last week. Murders down 2

by reality-based edu... / 1h

De Blasio Says Bloomberg's Late Term Charter Co-Locations Will Be Subject To Review If He Is Elected Mayor

Doesn't sound like Eva's charter school march changed de Blasio's take on charter school co-locations too much:With just two and a half months left in his administration, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is busy tying up loose ends and attempting to secure some of his most ambitious policy objectives."The city’s Department of Education is giving the green light to open or expand 23 charter schools bef

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

Commissioner King's Firing Won't Solve The Problems With Common Core And The State's Education Reform Agenda

Techydad points out how getting John King fired from NYSED won't solve the problems that we're having in the NY State public education system:Even now, people are calling for King’s resignation.  Sadly, I don’t think this will cause real change.  Instead Commissioner King will likely become a scapegoat.  He will be publicly fired and blamed for the fiasco.  Then, they will appoint a new commission

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

No Reformer Comes To Commissioner John King's Defense

Lat spring, College Board President David Coleman said this about NYSED Commissioner John King:“These are hard times for New York City and New York State,” Coleman said. “The vultures are out. There is a culture in our city and state right now of trying to take people down, including the commissioner to my left.” Coleman then implored the mostly friendly audience, which included former superintend

by reality-based edu... / 14min 

Garden City Parents Upset NYSED Commissioner King Canceled Town Hall Meeting On Common Core Concerns

From Patch:New York State education commissioner John King has "suspended" Tuesday's roundtable discussion on the new Common Core standards until further notice.The Garden City School District, in conjunction with Nassau PTA, was hosting the forum at the high school. Parents and educators from across the county were invited to attend. King also called off three other forums scheduled to

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

NYSED Commissioner King's Charter School Chain Does Not Have To Use APPR Teacher Evaluation System

Just outrageous:State Education Commissioner John King is overhauling the state’s method of evaluating teachers, but the charter schools he used to run aren’t participating. The high-performing Uncommon Schools — which include 20 schools in Brooklyn — have opted out of receiving federal Race to the Top funds, meaning they don’t have to follow the new state rules in teacher evaluations.“Uncommon Sc

by reality-based edu... / 19min

10-13-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Is Commissioner John King Now A Liability To The Education Deform Movement?CNY Teacher posts that NYSED Commissioner had a difficult week.On Thursday, he got beaten up pretty badly at a state PTA-sponsored town hall meeting on the Common Core in Poughkeepsie, as parents attacked him over his education reform agenda, problems with the Common Core standards, the inBloom data p

by mike simpson / 7h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-14-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Parent Groups in New York Call for Commissioner John King to Resign

Commissioner John King made the mistake of treating parents with disrespect. He doesn’t listen. He cannot lead. He was hired to serve the public. He can’t and he won’t. A statement just released by parent groups in New York: New York State Allies for Public Education Calls for the Resignation of NYS Commissioner of Education John King Billed as an opportunity to “gather information, ask questions

10 by dianerav / 23min 

Aaron Pallas Rates NY Commissioner John King: Zero

Aaron Pallas, one of our best sociologists of education, looks at the terrible scores of teachers in Syracuse. “The summary evaluations reported by Superintendent Contreras [of Syracuse] were striking: Just two percent of Syracuse teachers were rated highly effective, and an additional 58 percent were deemed effective. Seven percent were classified as ineffective, and 33 percent as developing, ca

16 by dianerav / 1h 

John King: My Charter Schools Don’t Need My Invalid Evaluations

State Commissioner John King of Néw York has created an educator evaluation system that is untested, one if those planes built in mid-air by uncertified mechanics and unlicensed engineers. If the plane crashes, too bad. But not every teacher will be subject to King’s burden of paperwork and test-based evaluation! If you happen to work on the boot-camp no-excuses charter chain that King founded, k

1 by dianerav / 19min 

EduShyster Interviews Joanne Barkan About Plutocrats

We previously posted Joanne Barkan’s stunning article about the way our plutocrat philanthropists are undermining democracy. In this post, EduShyster interviews Barkan about her central theme of plutocrats-gone-wild. An excerpt. EduShyster asks whether the billionaires–surrounded by sycophants– understand that they are not getting much ROI [return on investment] from their failed ventures, and Bar

1 by dianerav / 46min

NAISON: Time for Commissioner King to Resign

When John King was booed at his first parent meeting, he got angry. He expected parents to listen to his wisdom, gleaned from his three years in a no-excuses charter school that is known for kicking out non-conforming students. Most state superintendents understand that they are public servants, meaning they serve the public. John King thinks he was chosen to give orders to schools, teachers, prin

9 by dianerav / 33min 

New Jersey Taxpayers Underwrite Nepotism, Profiteering in Private Schools for Disabled Students

New Jersey has 180 private schools that receive public funding for students with disabilities. They operate with little or no state oversight. Governor Chris Christie and his State Commissioner Chris Cerf are big supporters of privatization. They rant about the high salaries of public school superintendents, but say it is none of their business if the publicly-funded private schools have even high

8 by dianerav / 41min 

Bruce Baker: Should Economists Be Paid by Their Hair Color?

Bruce Baker continues to be one of our most valuable academic scholars of educational madness. In this post, he explores and explodes the claim by certain economists that teachers should not get a pay increase for anything except higher test scores. This is the only value that they ever add to a school. On the basis of this absurd claim, states are now passing laws to deny teachers any salary incr

7 by dianerav / 43min mark as read  //  save

States Don’t Want to Pay Teachers for Earning Masters’ Degrees

This article appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It reports a trend among states to pay teachers for “performance,” meaning student test scores, not for masters’ degrees. So a history teacher who wants to get a degree in history gets no salary increment. The science teacher who wants to learn more about science will get no salary increment. The message to teachers: More education doesn’t make you

14 by dianerav / 1h 

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

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Dr. Joseph Ricciotti: How CCSS Ruins KindergartenDear Diane, As an outgrowth of reading your new book, “Reign of Error” and reading your blog, I have written the op-ed piece below to the Connecticut Post. Thank you for all you do in your support of public education. Regards, Joe Ricciotti The Developmental Inappropriateness of the

by mike simpson / 9h 

10-14-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

More Student Resources On The Debt Ceiling

Here are new additions to The Best Resources For Understanding The Debt Ceiling: Republicans and Obama in debt crisis talks is a Breaking News English lesson. Here’s a video from The Washington Post: Here’s a video from The New York Times:

7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

“Response: The Best Advice On Doing Project-Based Learning”

Response: The Best Advice On Doing Project-Based Learning is my latest post over at Education Week Teacher. Suzie Boss provides the primary guest response, along with many suggestions from readers.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 19min 

More Columbus Day Resources

Here are new additions to The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus: Columbus Activities from The Zinn Education Project. The New York Times Learning Network has a number of Columbus lessons. Christopher Columbus: 3 things you think he did that he didn’t is from Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. Here’s an online Columbus game.

6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 44min mark as read  //  save

Video: Using This Excellent Optical Illusion To Teach English

I’ve previously written how I use illusions and magic as language learning activities. Here’s another great illusion that can be used in the same way, and that students will love:

10 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

YESTERDAY

October’s Infographics & Interactives Galore — Part Two

There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you

6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h 

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

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: New Study Says That Half Of “Evidence-Based Practices” In Writing Instruction Not “Signaled” By Common CoreOne day after I posted the last in a three part Education Week Teacher series on teaching writing in the context of the Common Core Standards, a study was released suggesting that over one-half of “evidence-based pract

by mike simpson / 9h 

Chats: What are they and why do we need them? | My Island View

Chats: What are they and why do we need them? | My Island View:

Chats: What are they and why do we need them?

October 14, 2013 by tomwhitby

This post originally appeared on the ISTE Connects Blog.

Back in 2009 I was becoming quite acquainted with the ins and outs of Twitter. I had migrated to Twitter from a heavy involvement on LinkedIn. While on LinkedIn I had founded a very active education group called Technology-Using Professors. The LinkedIn discussions often referred to sources picked up on Twitter. It wasn’t long after that I found myself spending more and more time on Twitter and less on LinkedIn. I did however miss the discussion component that was so prevalent with the groups on LinkedIn.

I began to ask somewhat engaging questions on education in order to start discussions on Twitter. The discussions were at random times when the mood would strike me to start one up. A probing question here, and a provocative statement there would always strike a chord with a few folks. It was however limited to my followers, which was at the time only a few hundred. It was a great experience, but it was limited. The only beneficiaries were those few of my followers who were on the twitterstream when the question was posed.

I was fortunate to have discovered and virtually assembled a number of collaborative, knowledgeable, and intelligent people in my network of connected educators for the purpose of advancing my own professional development. This was my Professional Learning Network, my PLN. I found myself engaging two individuals more than any others, Shelly Terrell from Germany, @ShellTerrell, 

NYC Educator: Anyone Who Disagrees with King John Is a Special Interest

NYC Educator: Anyone Who Disagrees with King John Is a Special Interest:

Anyone Who Disagrees with King John Is a Special Interest

Rookie teacher/ NYS Education Commissioner John King has declared he will no longer discuss Common Core with the public. They have been manipulated by "special interests." It could be those awful teacher unions, except they all happen to support Common Core. So it must be individual parents and teachers. Who the hell do they think they are to publicly express opinions?

In King's view, parents and teachers have no right to advocate for their students, and should simply do as they're told by Pearson and Gates. They are not special interests, one must suppose, because they have all that money.

King is in their thrall, and can stand for 90 minutes and rhapsodize on how wonderful Common Core is. It's wonderful that two-thirds of our children are failing. Nothing meant anything until we introduced Common Core, and those of us who were educated before its inception did not know how to think critically and could not possibly know anything. It's vital that our children know how to think critically.

And by thinking critically, Reformy John King clearly means they should accept his edicts without question. Parents