Sunday, November 17, 2013

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan blatantly declared to a meeting of school superintendetas that it was “fascinating” that so many opposed to the expensive high stakes testing of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were “white suburban moms who – all of a sudden – their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.”
Read the Washington Post article HERE.

Needless to say, later that day all Hell broke loose.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman protecting her young.” – Billy Shakespearski III

Moms are supposed to protect their children – even white suburban moms. That is what moms do. Doesn’t Duncan know the divide and conquer strategy doesn’t work against moms? (Race, geographical location, perceived economic status, and anything else inferred by Duncan.) Mommies protect their children from injustice, unfairness, bullies and all those who serve the Corporate Education Industrial Complex. White collar child abuse is still child abuse as far as ALL mommies are concerned.

Hey, Arne! Well, welcome to 2013 parenting.

Dads are more heavily and personally

Heavy emphasis on “hard skills” leaves children unprepared for the real “tests” in life. | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

Heavy emphasis on “hard skills” leaves children unprepared for the real “tests” in life. | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:

Heavy emphasis on “hard skills” leaves children unprepared for the real “tests” in life.

Posted on November 17, 2013by Teachers'LettersToBillGates

Mr. Gates,

Working with grade 7-12 students for more than two decades, and as a summer youth employment counselor for 10 years, it has been my experience that a lack of soft skills and virtues (perseverance, ambition, responsibility, self-confidence, self-discipline, patience, initiative, integrity, empathy, leadership, maturity…) has directly contributed to declining student achievement and performance in the classroom and on the job. While mastery of content and literacy skills are important for career and college readiness, these performance standards are too often trumped or canceled out when a student or employee lacks a work ethic, emotional intelligence, and has not developed a personal code of conduct. One of the underlying premises of CCSS appears to be that students who cannot read and write on an advanced college level are destined to be unsuccessful in life. Not everyone can be an advanced reader, no matter how hard they try. Do proponents of CCSS really believe that the 15 to 20% (NICHD) of our population with language-based

11-17-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Have Fun With MOREistas at the Holiday Party, Dec. 6

Thank goodness. A party instead of a meeting in December. Here is your chance if you haven't touched base with us to eat, drink and be merry. And you don't even have to say the magic words: social justice. But you can bitch all you want about the UFT, Advance, ed eval, Randi, Mulgrew, etc. Or not. Just have some fun -- even if you're in Unity or New Action --- just parteeeeeee!MORE Holiday Party 1

1 by ed notes online / 1h

MORE Comes to QUEENS! FRIDAY 11/22 5PM ASTORIA

***PLEASE FORWARD***Are you...Nervous about the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system?Outraged that teachers are evaluated on tests for subjects they don't even teach?Eager to organize resistance to the new teacher evaluation system?The MORE Chapter Organizing Committee invites educators, parents and students to our Queens Happy Hour:The Movement of Rank-and-file Educators Chapter Orga

2 by ed notes online / 1h

Arne Duncan Grounds Ed Deform Ship of Fools

At the Answer Sheet, Valerie confirms Arne Duncan outrageously condescending statement on the resistance to the Common Core: "It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary."

3 by ed notes online / 1h

11-16-13 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes Online mark as readAdvice from a Lowly Retired Elementary School Computer Teacher - Hey Obama - It's Computer Science 1.1.... and some lessons for my colleagues in MORE.Bear with me on this one. Obama Care Spaghetti codeWith every passing day, it becomes clearer just how incompetent -- and really arrogant - team Obama is and has been - and I can begin to understand the of

1 by mike simpson / 39min

Some Kids “Aren’t Brilliant”? This Duncan Blunder Is Bigger Than It First Appears | deutsch29

Some Kids “Aren’t Brilliant”? This Duncan Blunder Is Bigger Than It First Appears | deutsch29:

Some Kids “Aren’t Brilliant”? This Duncan Blunder Is Bigger Than It First Appears

November 17, 2013

In May 2010, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke at the first annual “Mom Congress” at Georgetown University. Duncan’s goal, as reported on the USDOE website, was “to discuss how to effect meaningful change in American education and to mobilize millions of parents to become more involved in their children’s learning.” [Emphasis added.]

Duncan wants parents to be “more involved” in the educational process. But there is a hitch– as there always is with the reformer version of “parental involvement”:

The parental involvement must coincide with the reform agenda.

Consider this excerpt from Duncan’s speech at the May 2010 Moms Congress:

Parents can serve in at least one of three roles: Partners in learning, advocates and advisors who push for better schools, and decision-makers who choose the best educational options for their children.

When parents demand change and better options for their children, they become the real accountability backstop for the educational system. Parents have more choices today than ever before, from virtual schools to charters to career

First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan) - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan) - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson:

First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan)

by JOSE VILSON on NOVEMBER 17, 2013

in JOSE

A few months ago, I walked past a “successful” charter school here in Harlem, NY, speed-walking to get my school supplies for the coming school year. I noticed a huge crowd of mostly Black and Latino families all waiting to pick up their children when a taut, pony-tailed White man came out with a clipboard and yells, “Alright, parents, we need everyone to line up!” My inner voice yelled “What!?” at the entire scene. No one protested. A few snickered and rolled their eyes. They all got in one straight line, parallel to Malcolm X Boulevard to pick up their children.

This would have never gone down at a suburban school.

Think about this in contrast to what US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a recent speech:

“It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary,” Duncan said. “You’ve bet your house

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/first-came-urban-black-latino-moms/#sthash.XQXOXTz3.dpuf

11-17-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

In Remembrance

We note the passing of two wonderful writers - one who wrote for children and one who wrote for adults.Barbara Parks, the author of the series, Junie B. Jones, passed away Friday at age 66.Doris Lessing, a literary giant who won the Nobel Prize for writing in 2007, also passed away today. She was 94.

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 47min

Common Core: Arne Duncan's Foot in the Mouth Problem

From Ed Week's Anthony Cody - Common Core Standards: Ten Colossal Errors.As for Arne Duncan, here's what he is doing in service of Common Core. Understand that there is tremendous pushback across the country and getting louder. Hence his over-the-top remarks.From the Network for Public Education: He also said:- Foes of Common Core b/c scores plummet, white suburban moms realize local schools not

by Melissa Westbrook / 3h mark as read // save

Seattle Schools This Week

It's a fairly light week but given the seriousness of the Board meeting on Wednesday, perhaps better that way.Wednesday, November 20School Board meeting starting at 4:15 pm. AgendaAs I previously mentioned, this will be a long (and hard-fought) meeting to slog through. I can't say for certain, one way or another, if the speaker list will run long again. On the subject of the Growth Boundaries, I

by Melissa Westbrook / 3h

11-16-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community Forummark as readFocus on the SoutheastThere are no real or urgent capacity issues in the southeast part of the city. Consequently, a lot of the people there are puzzled by the changes proposed for that part of town and Director Patu is reported to be preparing an amendment to the Growth Boundary plan that will call for the deletion of any

1 by mike simpson / 36min

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » But, I’m not a racist!

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » But, I’m not a racist!:

But, I’m not a racist!

Just to put recent events in their proper context, let’s take a look at how white education “reformers” (female and male) in charge of low SES/high minority districts see their charges, I bring you Cami Anderson, superintendent of the Newark New Jersey school district.

For years, because of the annual New Jersey Educational Association Convention in Atlantic City, NPS closed its doors so teachers could attend. Families lost valuable classroom time and with too many young people idle, crime went up…
via Bob Braun’s Ledger

The letter also tries to imply this is a meeting for a union that Newark teachers don’t even belong to. Just to clarify, The NJEA Convention is a

11-17-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:

Reject Common Core tests in grades K-2: Weingarten, Carlsson-Paige

Here is a post about the Common Core State Standards and early childhood learning, by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and early childhood education expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige. Carlsson-Paiage is professor emerita of early childhood education at Lesley University in Cambridge and author of Taking Back Childhood. She previously co-authored a tough critique on this […]

4 by Valerie Strauss / 18min

All Week @ The Answer Sheet 11-16-13

The Answer Sheet:mark as readReport slams D.C.’s federally funded school voucher programMore trouble has cropped up for the D.C. school voucher program, the only federally funded program in the country that sends children to private school using public money to pay the tuition. A new U.S. General Accountability Office report says that the local agency that administers the program — which has used

1 by mike simpson / 29min

11-17-13 Fred Klonsky | Running for our pensions. | VOTE 4 Fred Klonsky.

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

Dear Jack.

Retired teacher and SORE IEA-Retired member Jack Tucker got a letter from Pat Quinn: Dear Friend, What a month so far! Last week, we succeeded in passing marriage equality legislation in Springfield, one of Governor Quinn’stop legislative priorities this year. Then just a few days ago, the governor announced his 2014 running mate: Paul Vallas. Paul is a reformer and a nationally renown

2 by Fred Klonsky / 46min

The in box. CMS is pleading with retirees to help them reach out to those who have infirmities and/or live out of state.

From SORE member Robert Zahniser: Saturday’s Illinois Central Management Services meeting at the Buffalo Grove Performance Center hosted by Senator Morrison and Representative Drury was standing room only. It was announced that CMS would post a video of its presentation on its Website this Monday for those who have been unable to attend a meeting in person. CMS is pleading with retirees to help

by Fred Klonsky / 23min mark as read // save

Sunday reads.

Chicago’s Curie High School students made this banner for the Neighborhood School Fair. Oh no! Now Arne has pissed off white people too. In Seattle a socialist wins “because she had more credibility than a longtime Democratic seatholder in a Democratic enclave on what should be Democratic issues.” Anthony Cody. Ten things about Common Core that suck. You can go to the People’s School Board meet

11 by Fred Klonsky / 40min

11-16-13 Fred Klonsky | Running for our pensions. | VOTE 4 Fred Klonsky.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Fred Klonsky | Running for our pensions. | VOTE 4 Fred Klonsky.mark as readNeighborhood public schools. An idea whose time has come in Chicago.11 2h Keeping retirement weird. The Silence of the Lambs. I got a call from my retired friend Ed Rosenthal yesterday. His voice sounded tired. He told me that

1 by mike simpson / 44min

Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Nite Cap 11-17-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

James Baldwin said it best:

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

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White suburban dads: Wimps? | Reclaim Reform

White suburban dads: Wimps?