11-22-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

NY TIMES: Democracy Returns to the Senate

For five years, Senate Republicans have refused to allow confirmation votes on dozens of perfectly qualified candidates nominated by President Obama for government positions. They tried to nullify entire federal agencies by denying them leaders. They abused Senate rules past the point of tolerance or responsibility. And so they were left enraged and threatening revenge on Thursday when a majority

by rss@dailykos.com ... / 2h 

YESTERDAY

"It was time to push the button."

That is the final paragraph of Democrats were forced to go ‘nuclear’ at last, the column for tomorrow's Washngton Post by Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson. It is thorough, and every assertion Robinson makes is back up with hyperlinks to support his argument. Or perhaps you might prefer his equally short first paragraph: Way to nuke ’em, Harry. Which is followed by these two paragra

by rss@dailykos.com ... / 8h 

teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos: young people & dismal future for RepublicansbyteacherkenFollow    Email  17 Comments / 17 NewBear with me for this.Last night I had occasion to attend a fundraiser for a PAC for an important Democrat.  When this Democrat was running for the office currently held, s/he drew the line against marriage equality.  S/he had already supported civil unions and legal rights, bu

by mike simpson / 9h 

11-22-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Arne Duncan's Bad, Bad Week

Really bad week for @usedgov betw @arneduncan insulting moms, tepid results of SIG program & twitter fight betw press flack & Ed reporters— leonie haimson (@leoniehaimson) November 23, 2013He can take heart that no matter how bad his week gets, he'll always be welcomed on the Morning Joe set on Monday.

by reality-based edu... / 24min 

NYSED: Tests And Evaluations First, Curriculum Later

In all the jive ass news editorials shilling the Common Core and calling opponents and critics of reform neo-Luddites and the like, you never hear this truth:ALBANY—Teachers across the state are waiting on the state education department to develop the rest of a $28.3 million curriculum that they've already begun teaching.State officials are just a step ahead in developing lesson plans that student

by reality-based edu... / 9min 

We Need Transparency On The Data And Stat Manipulation At Tweed During The Bloomberg Years

From Newsday:A former Hempstead school employee who informed state officials about the district's practice of systematically changing some students' failing grades has filed a federal lawsuit alleging wrongful termination in retaliation for his action.Carlos Ramirez, the Hempstead school district's former director of technology, sent a letter in June to state education officials informing them of

by reality-based edu... / 36min 

Cuomo, Legislature At War

The knives are now officially out for Cuomo in Albany: ALBANY — The battle between the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo's anti-corruption commission is set to explode Friday. The Senate and Assembly plan to jointly file papers in Manhattan Supreme Court to quash subpoenas from the commission that seek detailed information on lawmakers’ outside income and clients, according to sources. Private lawyers r

by reality-based edu... / 12min 

Failed Movie Director Lectures About Education Reform

From the NY Post:M. Night Shyamalan, who directed “The Sixth Sense,” focused on education for his recently published book, “I Got Schooled.”At the apartment of former CNN anchor Campbell Brown, who founded the Parents’ Transparency Project, Shyamalan spoke to a group that included Grace Hightower, Katie Couric, Alexandra Pelosi, Gilt Groupe founder Kevin Ryan, Newark Schools chief Cami Anderson an

by reality-based edu... / 2h skip  //  save

Commemorating The Fifthieth Anniversary Of November 22, 1963

by reality-based edu... / 5h 

11-21-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: UFT Leadership Defends The ADVANCE Teacher Evaluation System Once AgainExcellent report from James Eterno from yesterday's Delegate's Assembly: No speakers were permitted to oppose a Unity Caucus resolution reinforced the UFT's support for the evaluation law.  However, the UFT is calling for a moratorium on using the results of high stakes tests for teacher evaluations until

by mike simpson / 9h 

Fake and Real Student Voice | Ideas and Thoughts

Fake and Real Student Voice | Ideas and Thoughts:

Fake and Real Student Voice

 Here’s the lastest video educator’s are jacked about:

I like much about this video. I like the message. I like the way it’s shot. I like the girls. What I don’t like is the perception that this is the girl’s invention. It’s not. These girls are likely no more into inventing and making than most girls their age. While I might be able to look past that, and I can, I don’t like the perception that this is authentic as it suggests. Which raises the larger question of authentic student voice.

I remember first being struck by this when this video came out about 6 years ago:

It’s an iteration of Michael Wesch video using college aged students. When I saw the k-12 version it just didn’t sit well with me. The signs the students held seemed to be the language and ideas of adults. I had a hard time thinking 

State board approves biology books; orders factual checks on two | Dallas Morning News

State board approves biology books; orders factual checks on two | Dallas Morning News:

State board approves biology books; orders factual checks on two

By Terrence Stutz
tstutz@dallasnews.com
1:56 am on November 22, 2013 | Permalink

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AUSTIN – State Board of Education members late Thursday tentatively approved new high school science books that include full coverage of evolution without the disclaimers that had been sought by social conservatives and other critics of Charles Darwin’s theory.

Board members approved 18 biology textbooks and e-books that will be used for eight years in Texas high schools beginning in the fall of 2014. Those materials were among more than 400 books adopted by the board for math, science and technology at all grade levels.

But two of the books – a printed and digital version of a biology book by Pearson Education – were approved contingent on a panel of science experts reviewing 20 alleged errors in evolution coverage that were cited by a textbook reviewer who has creationist views and is a Darwin critic.

If the alleged errors are dismissed, the books will remain the state’s recommended textbook list. If the errors have foundation, the Pearson books will go back to the board in January and the publisher will be asked to make corrections and possibly pay a fine.

Pearson officials have disputed the alleged errors and several board members said they expect the 

Judge Smails Tells Danny Noonan He Is Not College Ready southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Judge Smails Tells Danny Noonan He Is Not College Ready

In the 1980 hit comedy,"Caddyshack" (Which I have watch hundreds of times), caddy extraordinaire Danny Noonan attempts to curry favor with Judge Smails to win Bushwood's caddy scholarship. This coming on the heels of the untimely death of Carl Lipbaum, the original winner who suddenly died of a severe anxiety attack while at summer school.

While transversing the first fairway Danny, who was caddying for Judge Smails lamented that he will not be able to afford to go to law school after college but his family will be unable to afford it. Judge Smails in a bad mood due to the noise coming from Al Czervik's foursome, tells Danny that the "world needs ditch diggers too." After this comment Judge Smails niece, Lacy Underall from Manhattan, is mean and mocks him.

I bring this up for I am disturbed about a quote from His Commissionership, John King Ph.D, OEO, OC

UPDATE: Racing to the top? Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago Tonight's panel of "experts". No teachers allowed.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago Tonight's panel of "experts". No teachers allowed.:

Racing to the top?

Arne Duncan, as usual is sticking to his misfiring guns but criticism is mounting over his $5 billion in Race To The Top grants showing no real measurable improvement in schools. No surprise there since the whole strategy was flawed from the get go. The money was used to drive massive school closures in minority communities, the unfettered expansion of privately managed charter schools, standardiz

by Mike Klonsky / 1h

Chicago Tonight's panel of "experts". No teachers allowed.

Just watched Chicago Tonight show on dropout prevention. Shouldn't have eaten first.

The panel, which included CPS' new accountability chief John Barker, must have set the world record for empty, meaningless cliches abut Common Core and data-driven this andnew metrics that. Barker was aided in elevating data about freshman-on-track above any and all other issues, by Elaine Allensworth from the Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Accountability Chief Barker

The panel was sailing right along on Phil Ponce'ssoft-ball questions until a few people in the audience began raising issues of poverty, violence and other outside of school crises. The panel then turned into a gaggle of hand-wringing, head-nodding sympathizers of the poor with nothing responsive to add to the 

Japan's Cutthroat School System: A Cautionary Tale for the U.S. - Noah Berlatsky - The Atlantic

Japan's Cutthroat School System: A Cautionary Tale for the U.S. - Noah Berlatsky - The Atlantic:

Japan's Cutthroat School System: A Cautionary Tale for the U.S.

A new book shows how fixating on testing and achievement can backfire.

 

Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

"No Child Left Behind." "Race to the Top." The names suggest mobility, progress, moving on up and not falling back. The goal of education, according to these national education initiatives with their standards and testing, is forward motion and competitive advantage, progress and success, both in an unabashedly economic context. President Obama talks about how we need to "invest in our young people" in order to compete in a global marketplace.   Bill Gates, too,argues we need standards in order to become "more competitive as a country."

In this, as in so many other things, Japan preceded us. In her new book,Precarious Japan, anthropologist Anne Allison returns to the Japanese education system that she discussed in some detail in her 1995 monograph Permitted and Prohibited Desires. As Allison says in both volumes, the Japanese education system after World War II was built around highly competitive and rigorous high-school testing, which required enormous discipline and study. The goal was to prepare students for equally arduous employment in Japan's industrial