11-19-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

Create Collaborative Online Documents Using “Notepad” With Audio Chat

On my The Best Online Tools For Real-Time Collaboration list, I have quite a few tools that let you create documents with others, including some that allow instant chat. Notepad is a new tool that has both of those features and, unlike most other sites, also provides an audio chat feature. No registration is required to use all its features. I’m adding it to the previously-mentioned “Best” list….

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2min 

Two Interactives On The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy

Here are two new interactives on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I’m adding them to The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy: A Moment That Change Everything is a particularly impressive feature from The Washington Post. John F. Kennedy’s assassination, 50 years later is from CBC News.

9 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

11-18-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Lesson On John F. KennedyLearn about John F. Kennedy, the past tense, and how to use inductive text data sets with English Language Learners in my latest NY Times post for ELLs. A student interactive is included. I’m adding it to The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy.5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h  Engaging Pa

by mike simpson / 8h 

11-19-13 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.:

Arne’s racism. Which suburban white mom?

The apology by Education Secretary rings hollow. Maybe he’s sorry he said it. It doesn’t mean he didn’t mean it. It’s not the first racist comments he’s made. I wondered. Which white suburban moms did he mean? Or in his eyes is being white enough? I taught for thirty years in a district with mostly white kids and white moms. Did he mean the mom who, along with her husband, dedicated her life to h

by Fred Klonsky / 12min 

Breaking: December 2 is Pension Emergency Day.

From the IEA: The We Are One Illinois coalition is declaring Monday, Dec. 2 a pension emergency day. Politicians are expected to return to Springfield on Dec. 3, to vote on an extreme pension scheme devised by legislative leaders. For years, we have been battling changes to the pension system and it appears this could be the date for an actual vote. As we’ve told you before, this plan will blend u

by Fred Klonsky / 10min skip  //  save

Breaking: TRS gets $100 million from Chase settlement.

Illinois’ Teacher Retirement System is reported to be getting $100 million from the Justice Department’s settlement with Chase. Good start. What about the rest they and the rest of Wall Street owes us. In an agreement settling many U.S. claims over its sale of troubled mortgages, JPMorgan Chase will pay a record $13 billion, in a deal announced by the Justice Department Tuesday. The plan includes

by Fred Klonsky / 31min 

This is no time for pension fight fatigue.

Thousands of Illinois public employee retirees have been attending meetings around the state gathering information as best we can about the new Medicare Advantage plan. It is a resulting of the state and Feds unloading their direct responsibility for administering public employee health care plans. Because of the extremely short roll-out time, it has rightly occupied a lot of our time and concern.

by Fred Klonsky / 29min 

Joni Lindgren. “Voting against retirees will make you part of the bigger picture of what is wrong.”

Senator It is immoral for legislators to vote against any unconstitutional bill when you sit comfortably and smuggly in Springfield or at your Thanksgiving table knowing your pensions and great health care plans are intact. What kind of individual are you who can strip retirees of their Constitutional guarantees for the job they performed at lower salaries than in the private sector to just han

by Fred Klonsky / 53min 

Jim Keating: “Leave our pensions alone! Have a happy new (election) year!”

 By Jim Keating. JIm is a member of the DuPage Illinois Retired Teachers Association (IRTA).The post comes from the November issue of the DuPage IRTA newsletter which is published 6 times a year. Jim always contributes a legislative column. This is a tongue-in-cheek look at retiree’s current perilous pension situation. “Dark times are these.”-  Yoda Since last June the days have been getting shor

by Fred Klonsky / 2h 

11-18-13 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.: The in box. Jose Vilson. “I’ve been mad. Perhaps you should have been angry with us, back when the levees broke …”First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan) 11/17/2013     A few months ago, I walked past a “successful” charter school here in Harlem, NY, speed-walking to get my s

by mike simpson / 8h 

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Celebrates 286 Schools as 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools | U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Celebrates 286 Schools as 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools | U.S. Department of Education:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Celebrates 286 Schools as 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools

Seven principals honored with Terrel H. Bell Awards for outstanding leadership 

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Contact:  

 Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov 

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today honors 286 schools as the 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools at an awards luncheon at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The award honors public and private schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in improving student academic achievement. The schools – 236 public and 50 private—are among nearly 7,500 schools that have received the coveted award over the past 31 years.

"Excellence in education matters and we should honor the schools that are leading the way to prepare students for success in college and careers," said Secretary Duncan. "National Blue Ribbon schools represent examples of educational excellence, and their work reflects the belief that every child in America deserves a world-class education."

The National Blue Ribbon Schools award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.

The program recognizes schools in one of two performance categories. The first category is “Exemplary High Performing,” in which schools are recognized among their state’s highest performing schools, as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests. The second category is “Exemplary Improving,” in which schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds demonstrate the most progress in improving student achievement levels as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests.

Additionally, seven principals from the 2013 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools will be recognized with the Terrel H. Bell Award for their outstanding work and the vital role they play in guiding their students and schools to excellence, frequently under challenging circumstances. Named for the second secretary of education, Terrel H. Bell, the award recognizes school leaders committed to fostering successful teaching and learning at their schools, school leaders committed to education as a powerful and liberating force in people’s lives and who do “whatever it takes” to help their students meet high standards.

The Terrel H. Bell Awards will be presented to the following principals by the U.S. Department of Education, together with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the Association for Middle Level Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals:

• Hattie Alexander, W.H. Council Traditional School, Mobile, Ala.
• Jennifer Nauman, Richard A. Shields Elementary School, Lewes, Del.
• Jared Jenks, Sugar-Salem High School, Sugar-Salem, Idaho.
• Kevin Suther, Chapman High School, Chapman, Kan.
• Sheila Harrity, Worchester Technical High School, Worchester, Mass.
• Kathleen Decker, Walter Bracken STEAM Academy, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Vicki Harmdierks, Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School, Mitchell, S.D.

The Bell Award is part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Principals are nominated by their school communities during the final stages of the National Blue Ribbon Schools application process.

In addition, the Department would like give a special thanks to The History Channel and Discovery Education for their continued support of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.

A list of the 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools is available at http://www.ed.gov/nationalblueribbonschools.

11-19-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

The Duncan Debacle: It’s Not (Just) about Duncan

The Duncan Debacle: It\’s Not (Just) about Duncan. via The Duncan Debacle: It’s Not (Just) about Duncan.

by plthomasedd / 2h skip  //  save

An Arne Duncan Reader: Let’s Have that Conversation

While Secretary of Education Arne Duncan—career-long bureaucrat who has never taught and has no formal background in education—has created a controversy over his swipe at “white suburban moms,” the great irony comes from his equally vapid apology, in which he concludes: “Let’s get back to that conversation, because it’s an important one for our country.” Yes, we should […]

6 by plthomasedd / 3h 

The Elephant in the Classroom

When it comes to dealing with chronically disruptive students, everyone  – administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, and social service providers – must operate from the “same page.” Keeping chronically disruptive students in the classroom, as opposed to removing them from classroom, isn’t an effective instructional practice. Although suspensions aren’t effective, no student has the right to

9 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 3h 

The Duncan Debacle: It’s Not (Just) about Duncan

The Duncan Debacle: It\’s Not (Just) about Duncan. via The Duncan Debacle: It’s Not (Just) about Duncan.

by plthomasedd / 2h skip  //  save

An Arne Duncan Reader: Let’s Have that Conversation

While Secretary of Education Arne Duncan—career-long bureaucrat who has never taught and has no formal background in education—has created a controversy over his swipe at “white suburban moms,” the great irony comes from his equally vapid apology, in which he concludes: “Let’s get back to that conversation, because it’s an important one for our country.” Yes, we should […]

6 by plthomasedd / 3h 

The Elephant in the Classroom

When it comes to dealing with chronically disruptive students, everyone  – administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, and social service providers – must operate from the “same page.” Keeping chronically disruptive students in the classroom, as opposed to removing them from classroom, isn’t an effective instructional practice. Although suspensions aren’t effective, no student has the right to

9 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 3h 

11-18-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Why Keeping Your Kids Home Sends the Wrong MessageToday, a protest took place, which was started by a New York State mom and was aggressively advertised as a move against the Common Core State Standards.  It was celebrated as national day of protest, although it seems that designation fell flat.  It seemed like a good way to get attention, and to some extent, […]17 by Kris Nielse

by mike simpson / 15h 

11-19-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

Steve Perry: A bully who fails to show up for work and his a history of using social media on public time:

Later today, Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, Board of Education Chairman Matt Poland and their majority on the Hartford Board of Education are expected to try and push through a special deal to allow Capital Prep’s Steve Perry to shift from being a Hartford employee to the President of his own company, while giving Perry control […]The post Steve Perry: A bully who fails to show up for work and his

by jonpelto / 2h 

11-18-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Re-cap: Deal to give entrepreneur-principal Steve Perry his own school management company at public expense.For quite some time, corporate education reformer and bully, Steve Perry, has been bragging about a plan to get the Hartford Board of Education to allow him to set up a private company and then hand him full control of what is now the Hartford Public School known as Hartford Prep

by mike simpson / 8h 

11-19-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:

Why 2013 ‘word of the year’ is ‘selfie’ and not ‘twerk’

    

by Valerie Strauss / 11min 

Common Core’s odd approach to teaching Gettysburg Address

Imagine learning about the Gettysburg Address without a mention of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, or why President Abraham Lincoln had traveled to Pennsylvania to make the speech. That’s the way a Common Core State Standards “exemplar for instruction” — from a company founded by three main Core authors — says it should be taught to […]    

by Valerie Strauss / 29min 

‘White suburban mom’ responds to Arne Duncan

Parent Ali Gordon has written an open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan that starts like this: I am a white suburban mom, and I’m reaching out to you in an effort to explain what seems to be very confusing to you. Gordon’s letter (see below) is part of backlash that resulted from Duncan’s remarks on […]    

100+ by Valerie Strauss / 5h 

11-18-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: Who are the ‘enemies’ of Common Core?Education Secretary Arne Duncan made news when he told a group of state schools superintendents Friday that he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms” who have discovered, as a result of new standardized test results, that “their child isn’t as brilliant as they

by mike simpson / 8h 

11-19-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Justin Oakley’s Pro-Public Education Radio Show Starts November 20, 2013

by Doug Martin Douglas Storm’s Interchangeprogram on WFHB in Bloomington has been one of the very few avenues where pro-public education advocates in Indiana have been able to voice their concerns. Now Hoosiers will be happy to know that Justin Oakley’s new radio show Just Let Me Teach will appear on Indiana Talks every Wednesday night from 9-10pm, starting tomorrow, November 20th.  A veteran clas

by Doug Martin / 14min 

Joe Hill Lives

From Susan O:I often start the day by posting a significant event of the day on Twitter--from Benjamin opening the first subscription library on Nov. 8, 1731 to six-year-old Ruby Bridges integrating William Frantz Public School in New Orleans in November 1960. Ruby told Robert Coles "I knew I was just Ruby, just Ruby trying to go to school...the Ruby who had to do it" Today is November 1

by Jim Horn / 12min 

Memphis Commercial Appeal Pleads for the Poorest to Pay the Most for the Worthless

The Memphis Corporate Commercial Appeal has engaged in a very public and very losing campaign to  max out the state and local sales tax (on food, too) to pay for an increase of corporate ed early childhood seats in Memphis.  Here is a clip from today's Editorial, with my response below:That’s why we urge Memphians to vote FOR a referendum Thursday that would increase the city’s sales tax rate by a

by Jim Horn / 20min 

An Arne Duncan Reader

While Secretary of Education Arne Duncan—career-long bureaucrat who has never taught and has no formal background in education—has created a controversy over his swipe at "white suburban moms," the great irony comes from his equally vapid apology, in which he concludes: "Let’s get back to that conversation, because it’s an important one for our country."Yes, we should not be di

by P. L. Thomas / 3h 

11-18-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: The Grit-sters Have a New Guru without CIA ConnectionsWith the spook-ish Dr. Seligman too scary to mention in contexts involving children, his longtime disciple, Angela Duckworth, does not even mention Seligman in her mini-TED talk that CorpEd is pumping this week on HuffPo's education page.  Seligman's work with the CIA as an expert on learned helplessness, and then his work with

by mike simpson / 7h