12-2-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

“19 Mind-Blowing Tricks Every iPhone And iPad User Should Know”

19 Mind-Blowing Tricks Every iPhone And iPad User Should Know is a post from BuzzFeed that has a lot of helpful advice to iPhone and iPad users. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Beginning iPad Users.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 44min 

The Best Online Learning Games Of 2013 – Part Two

Time for another annual”The Best…” list…. This covers new games since I posted The Best Online Learning Games Of 2013 — So Far six months ago. As usual, In order to make it on this list, games had to: * be accessible to English Language Learners. * provide exceptionally engaging content. * not provide access to other non-educational games on their site, though there is one on this list that doesn

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2013 – Part Two

I write many posts about recent research studies and how they can relate practically to the classroom. In fact, I post a regular feature called Research Studies of the Week. In addition, I write individual posts about studies I feel are particularly relevant to my work as a teacher. Here are my best posts on research studies since I published My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2013 — So Far

by Larry Ferlazzo / 36min 

Slate’s Podcast Asked Me, ” Does Class Size Matter?”; Guess What My Answer Was…

Dana Goldstein had me as a guest, along with Matthew Chingos from the Brookings Institution, on a Slate podcast of Schooled: Does Class Size Matter? I think it’s a fairly interesting discussion — you be the judge… I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About How Class Size Does Matter.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

36th ELT Blog Carnival Just Published!

Eva Buyuksimkesyan has just published the 36th ELT Blog Carnival (formerly known as the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival) and it’s a great one on holiday lessons. Teachers from around the world have contributed posts. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa. The next edition will be hosted by Andrea Wade and its about New Year Resolutions! Submit your entries b

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

Podcast Interview With…Me

Sam Rangel, who hosts a series of podcasts called “Amazing Teacher” did a short interview with me last week and just posted it. You might, or might not, find it useful/interesting…. I’ve embedded it below, though you might want to go directly to his site to explore his other resources and podcasts….

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

Students Creating Quizzes On Videos For Their Classmates

My latest New York Times post for English Language Learners is on students creating quizzes for their classmates by using videos. It includes a student interactive. I’m adding it to The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL (& How To Use Them).

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

YESTERDAY

The Best Fun Videos For English Language Learners In 2013 – Part Two

I use short, funny video clips a lot when I’m teaching ELLs, and you can read in detail about how I use them in The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL (& How To Use Them). I’ve posted quite a few of them during the year, and I thought it would be useful to readers — and to me — if I brought them together in one post. The videos on this list have appeared since I published The Best Fun V

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

12-1-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: The Best Videos For Educators In 2013 – Part TwoHere’s the latest in annual The Best…” posts…. This post includes my choices for videos since I posted The Best Videos For Educators In 2013 – So Far six months ago. You might also be interested in: The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — Part Two The Best Videos For Educators

by mike simpson / 9h 

12-2-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman:

Jersey Jazzman: “‘Twas the Night Before PISA Day!”

Please read Jersey Jazzman’s hilarious spoof on “The Night Before Christmas.” He anticipates not the joy of Christmas and Santa, but the much-anticipated release of PISA scores, when Arne Duncan gets to tell the nation once again how terrible American education is and how we are losing the global competition and why we are still a nation at risk. He will conveniently overlook the fact that he is

by dianeravitch / 54min 

'Twas the Night Before PISA Day!

'Twas the night before PISA Day, when all through the foundationsThe wonks were all dreaming about Bill Gates's donations;The rankings were crafted for each nation with care,In hopes that more grants would come from billionaires;The children were tested and stressed at their desks;While visions of bubble sheets made them feel quite grotesque;Suburban moms in their 'kerchiefs, and dads in their cap

by Duke / 9h 

  

12-1-13 Jersey Jazzman

Jersey Jazzman: Why Won't Charter Cheerleaders Acknowledge The Facts?I've got to give my old buddy Tom Moran, chief of the op-ed page at the Star-Ledger credit: he managed to write a column on education today where he didn't blame the teachers unions for everything. Must have been hard to repress those urges...Cami Anderson, the superintendent of Newark schools, has taken enormous heat for nurturi

by mike simpson / 6h

12-2-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Manic Monday

Interesting post NYC Educator wrote about the anxiety some teachers are feeling Sunday night/Monday morning as they try and sleep before returning to the work week.I awoke at 3:30 this morning and had some difficulty getting back to sleep.I kept thinking about that 15 minute mini observation that's coming.I kept thinking about the lessons I had for today (which were good ones, but nonetheless I wo

by reality-based edu... / 53min 

Bloomberg Kept Playing Golf After Being Told Of Metro North Train Derailment

His aides didn't want to say where he was yesterday when there was no sight of him or press release from him for hours after the news of the train derailment broke:The Bloomberg administration has a longstanding policy of not disclosing the mayor's whereabouts when he has no public events scheduled, but many suspected the billionaire was in Bermuda this weekend when he failed to surface after a Me

by reality-based edu... / 12min 

NY Times: Teacher MUST Make Concessions on Seniority, ATR'S, Pay And Scheduling

Usual neo-liberal claptrap in the NY Times on the teachers contract.The Timesmen want teachers to agree to get rid of salary steps and tie teacher pay to the new APPR teacher evaluation system ("highly effective" teachers would be paid more than other teachers - so what if the system is under attack all across the state, the Timesmen think pay should be based upon it.)They want the union

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

Time To Dispense With The Sham That SED Will Make Reform "Adjustments"

The Syracuse Post Standard editorial board wants to know what NYSED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch are going to do with all the insights they've heard the past few weeks at the Common Core forums:On Tuesday, New York state Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. will sit in front of an audience at Fayetteville-Manlius High School for his ninth public forum on the Common Core standa

by reality-based edu... / 5h 

12-1-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Politicians In Albany Scared Over Common CoreCommenter at a Buffalo News article on the increasing opposition to the CCSS in NY State:A childhood friend of mine works in politics. I saw him recently and conversation turned to the issues highlighted in this article. He said, and I'll never forget the look on his face, "the Common Core has politicians in Albany scared.&qu

by mike simpson / 9h

Early math matters: Top researcher discusses his work | EdSource Today

Early math matters: Top researcher discusses his work | EdSource Today:

Early math matters: Top researcher discusses his work

December 1st, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By Lillian Mongeau

Greg Duncan before delivering the keynote address at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s forum on early math. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource Today

A study showing that early math skills are one of the best predictors of later success in both math and literacy has become a cornerstone of the growing movement among early childhood educators to boost math instruction in preschool through 3^rd grade.

The architect of the 2007 study, Greg Duncan, an economist and University of California Irvine education professor, is a national expert on the importance of strong early math skills. He shared key aspects of his research in interviews with EdSource earlier this year and following a forum on early math by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation in San Jose, where he was the keynote speaker. Excerpts from the interviews are below.

Why early math is so important:

“Math coming into school is important because kids who do well in math early on tend to do very well in school. And math is important later on because kids who do well in math in high school end up doing well in the labor market.

“(My research shows) the links between school success and achievement in, say, 5^th grade or 8^th grade, and the kind of skills that kids bring into school. It’s a pattern that seems to be showing up in a number of different data sets from several different countries and different historical periods: If you do kind of a horse race and ask, ‘What sort of skills and behaviors do kids bring to school that are most important for 

With A Brooklyn Accent: A Tennessee Teacher's Letter to President Obama

With A Brooklyn Accent: A Tennessee Teacher's Letter to President Obama:

A Tennessee Teacher's Letter to President Obama

November 29, 2013

Dear Mr. President,

I generally don't remember my dreams, and I generally don't dream about presidents, but this time, I did both. Go figure. Anyway, in my dream, I had the opportunity to meet you and talk to you face to face. You have to understand, in my dream, I am totally excited- this is a historic moment for me- since I voted for you twice, think you are an incredibly intelligent man with excellent morals and values, a true American and I am so proud to have a Democrat in the White House!!!!!

Anyway, you shook my hand ( no limp fish- Thank GOD- I was so worried you would have the Al Gore handshake- he was an excellent professor and VP but the man really needs to work on his handshake ) and as you looked into my eyes, you gave me your genuine 100 watt full-blown smile. It even reached your eyes. 

Then, as I introduced myself, as I asked you questions about the reform happening in our school systems....my dream changed. You changed, Mr. President. One minute you were all smiles and warmth then, in mid-sentence, I noticed that you were no longer smiling at me. Your eyes looked sad- so sad- and you shook your head at me and turned away from me- coldly-and you did not answer my questions.

Why were you sad, Mr. President? Because, you knew the answers to my questions, you knew that if you told me the truth, it would make me sad. You knew it would hurt me and you did not want to do that to me, Mr. President. Yet, you turned your back on me; you walked away from me, and in that moment, when you turned your back, I felt something inside me crack. I felt a fissure open up inside my heart. I felt betrayed. 

"What had happened?"

"What did I say wrong?" "

“Why did my President forsake me?" 

Mr. President, when you turned away from me, refused to answer me, your silence spoke louder than any words ever could. Suddenly, I knew ( you know how you just have that gut feeling? ) that "ed reform" was a cleverly worded phrase that really meant "corporate takeover of public schools." I knew that you wouldn't admit to it- you knew- yet you had already set the ball in motion- you knew- yet you felt it was too late to turn back- you knew- yet you refused to listen to me- instead- you chose to listen to Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, ALEC, and you turned your back on me. 

The pattern I had been had been struggling to see for months was crystal clear: standardized testing was linked to Ed Reform and NCLB and RttT!!!! It was a money-making capitalist endeavor- and people were getting RICH by testing kids!!!!! I was in shock. What greed- what sin- what a REPUBLICAN thing to do!!!!! In my mind, you turned your back on a loyal voter- you turned your back on a loyal teacher- you turned your back on U.S. PUBLIC schools- you turned your back on OUR CHILDREN, in favor of Corporate Charter Schools and Capitalism and Teach for America. The knowledge I saw in your eyes- as you turned from me- withdrawing into your shell of denial, was gut-wrenching. I felt BETRAYED.

Mr. President, I am asking you to please Face the truth, rather than Race from the truth. I suggest you read Diane Ravitch's new book Reign of Error and educate yourself about what Common Core and RttT are actually doing to our Public schools, teachers, and students. I genuinely believe that your heart is in the right place with Ed Reform, but sir, with all due respect, you are NOT A TEACHER. Arne DUNCAN is NOT A TEACHER. 

I am a public school teacher and public school parent (from a small town in Tennessee- a RED state- where Haslam and Huffman and Rhee all play together in a game to bring the Charter School, or the Achieve School District, plan to fruition ) and I am DEEPLY CONCERNED about my schools, my students, my career, and my children’s future. 

I urge you to remove Arne Duncan and replace him with someone knowledgeable about public education- someone who has taught in the schools- someone who STILL teaches- I urge you to listen to teachers- to what we are saying- to see the dissent- to hear it- to RESPECT it. I worked long and hard for my honors degree from the University of the South- I am a professional educator and I work damn hard- everyday- to ensure my students are "College and Career" ready. I am not a complainer- I am a "doer" and I am a team player. 

Here are some suggestions to start putting things to rights and stop the deconstruction of our Public Schools:

1. Read Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch and make it required reading for ALL of your Department of Education Staff

2. Hire Diane Ravitch as Secretary of Education- Dump Duncan

3. Allow states to back out of Common Core, RttT, and NCLB with no repercussions- states deserve autonomy- let teachers create tests

4. Stop Pearson Publishing, Bill and Melinda Gates, Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee, the Koch Brothers, ALEC ( and any other major philanthropist or "donor" from turning public education into a corporate and business venture ( Charter Schools staffed by Teach for America recruits) 

5. Pay your teachers what they are worth- if you want real reform- you do it by giving money to Public Schools and Teachers. Imagine if teaching was one of the HIGHEST paid PROFESSIONS instead of the lowest? Suddenly, the BEST and BRIGHTEST are in the field- and the worst and do-nothings don't even make it in the doors of schools

6. STOP the testing madness ( it is ruining the passion for learning in our children ) accountability is one thing- TESTING TESTING TESTING makes companies rich financially but OBVIOUSLY it is NOT making our children better educated- so why are we implementing MORE OF IT with PARCC and CCSS?

7. FACE POVERTY- it is the HUGE elephant in the ROOM- let guidance counselors give counsel, NOT TESTs- Common Core is NOT a SOLUTION to POVERTY.

Sir, I do hope that this letter finds its way to you, and I hope that you read it and that you heed my words. I would very much like to meet the real YOU instead of the DREAM you--- therefore, I would like to extend an invitation for you to come visit Franklin County High School in Winchester, TN. Spend some time getting to know our teachers, admins, students, and school community. 

Regards,

Lucianna Sanson
English IV teacher
AP Literature teacher
TN BATs administrator

With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week 11-30-13

With A Brooklyn Accent: With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week mark as readLetter to President Obama on Education PolicyDear President Obama:As a scholar in African American History and a teacher and coach formore than 45 years- it is my unhappy duty to inform you that youreducation polcies have contributed to the lowest morale among teachers that I have seen in my lifetime, while failing to narr

by mike simpson / 29min 

A Fair Minimum Wage As a School Achievement Strategy? | janresseger

A Fair Minimum Wage As a School Achievement Strategy? | janresseger:

A Fair Minimum Wage As a School Achievement Strategy?

Posted on December 2, 2013 by janresseger

When advocates for justice and equity in public education suggest that our nation will have to address America’s outrageous 22 percent child poverty rate as one step to improve school achievement, critics of such strategies point out that schools and teachers alone will have to build achievement levels, because there is little society can do to eliminate child poverty.

Two articles posted over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend suggest that there are steps we can take to ameliorate poverty, with a first step rather obvious: increase the minimum wage and automatically index it to inflation.  If parents can earn a fair wage for the work they do, their children will be more secure.

Writing for the NY Times, Massachusetts economist Arindrajit Dube describes minimum wage reform as The Minimum We Can Do.  According to Dube, “inflation-adjusted minimum wages in the United States have declined in both absolute and relative terms for most of the past four decades.  The high-water mark for the minimum wage was 1968, when it stood at $10.60 an hour in today’s dollars, or 55 percent of the median full-time wage.  In contrast, the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, constituting 37 percent of the median full-time wage.”  Ideally Dube would suggest raising the federal minimum wage to $10.78 an hour, though he would settle for the $10.10 per hour that is part of legislation already proposed by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and California Representative George Miller.

Writing for the New Yorker in Higher Calling, Steve Call presents a less technical but equally 

Giving 101: The Princeton Class That Teaches Students to Be Less Selfish - Christine Gross-Loh - The Atlantic

Giving 101: The Princeton Class That Teaches Students to Be Less Selfish - Christine Gross-Loh - The Atlantic:

Giving 101: The Princeton Class That Teaches Students to Be Less Selfish

Peter Singer's practical ethics course forces students to think carefully about donating to charity.

Aaron Favila/AP Photo

Imagine walking along a road past a pond, when out of the corner of your eye you see a toddler boy flailing about in the water. You quickly look around. There is no other adult in sight. If you don’t jump in to save him, no one else will. He will drown. You know what you have to do. You dive right in and drag the drowning toddler from the water.

But what if that little child were drowning—proverbially—half a world away? What would you do to save him then? 

This is one of many questions Peter Singer, an Australian professor of bioethics at Princeton University, asks undergraduates during his popular semester-long course on practical ethics. The lecture course covers euthanasia, animal rights, infanticide and abortion, effective altruism, and other weighty topics.

Singer puts a uniquely practical spin on how he gets his students to stretch their thinking. This semester, each discussion group in his course of almost 400 students was given $100 to donate to one of four organizations: the Future of Humanity Institute, the Fistula Foundation, GiveDirectly, and Princeton 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Why doesn't Moskowitz pay rent?

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Why doesn't Moskowitz pay rent?:

Why doesn't Moskowitz pay rent?

From deutsch29, Mercedes Schneider's EduBlog:

Since 2006, Eva Moskowitz has been running a small charter empire that has at least $50 million in government per-pupil funding, at least $30.9 million in total, end-of-year assets, and the support of hedge fund millionaires. Why is it, then, that her Success Academies have never paid a dime in rent for the public school space occupied by her charter schools?

Recently-elected New York Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to put an end to the rent-free usage of public school space by charter schools.

Moskowitz’s response? Read the rest here

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Peter Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren on the conflict between capitalism and humanism: "You can't have both." -- Big Philanthropy and Philanthro-Feudalism

Retired teacher, Randy Fritz

Hey General Assembly: your job was/is to return my money to me—you took it in the first place and promised to return it, under specific circumstances, in the form of a pension. You promised to match my contributions. In fact, you have a fiduciary responsibility to do so. That’s not just what you promised, it’s what the 1970 Illinois Constitution promises. -- Fred Klonsky Blog

IFT Pres. Dan Montgomery

“This is a grotesque taking of employees’ retirement security that seems both patently illegal and unfair. It’s a sharp jab in the eye — and the heart — of public