12-16-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:

School named after KKK grand wizard to be renamed — finally

Following a petition drive that garnered more than 160,000 signatures, a Florida school district will rename a high school whose current name commemorates a Confederate general and the first “grand wizard” of the Ku Klux Klan. Nathan B. Forrest High School in Jacksonville will soon be known as something else after the community made clear to the […]    

7 by Valerie Strauss / 46min 

U.S. academic group votes to boycott Israeli universities

Academic institutions generally promote the free expression of idea and unfettered cooperation among scholars and schools. But the membership of the American Studies Association, the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history, has voted to back an academic boycott of Israeli universities. The Web site of the […]    

3 by Valerie Strauss / 1h 

Study: Test-score gains don’t mean cognitive gains

In a finding that should give pause to backers of standardized test-based school reform, a new study by neuroscientists at three major universities shows that students who achieved  the highest gains on standardized tests did not show the same gains in the ability to analyze material and think logically. The research, conducted by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute […]    

46 by Valerie Strauss / 4h 

What’s right — and very wrong — with the teacher education debate

This is the second of three parts of a series on the critically important — and currently hot — topic of teacher education, from scholar Mike Rose. He is on the faculty of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and author of  books that include Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a […]    

7 by Valerie Strauss / 6h 

12-15-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: How much teachers get paid — state by stateHow much do teachers across the United States get paid? Here is data, state by state, collected from the National Center for Education Statistics by Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president at DePaul University in Chicago. The data are for 2013 and represent the estimated average annual salary of teachers in public elementary and secon

by mike simpson / 4h 

12-16-13 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

Pearson and Tony Bennett’s Employer Among Five Firms Want Contract to Make Florida’s New FCAT

Orlando Sentinel reporter Leslie Postal has the details on the upcoming food fight: Five standardized test makers are vying to help create FCAT’s replacement by 2015. They include Pearson, the testing company that has the FCAT contract, and ACT, best known for its namesake college admissions tests, shows the list released today by the Florida Department of Education. The most notable name may be o

14 by Bob Sikes / 31min 

Jeb Bush: the New Status Quo

Jeb Bush and his top dollar mouthpieces have become the gift that keeps on giving. Let’s call them on two of their recent public statements. Last week, top policy wonk Matt Ladner touted Florida’ s record at narrowing the achievement gap between black and white students and concluded with this bit of hyperbole: Florida achieved this progress on achievement gaps the best way possible: strong gains

11 by Bob Sikes / 3h 

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: CATO Slams Michelle Rhee’s “Common Core Crud”H/T to Russ Walsh. CATO Institute scholar Neal McCluskey takes Michelle Rhee to the woodshed: I don’t dislike the oft-attacked Michelle Rhee. I don’t even know her. But I do dislike disingenuous or empirically anemic arguments

by mike simpson / 9h 

12-16-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:

Remembering Mandela, without Rose-Colored Glasses

As the world watched the passing of Nelson Mandela, 95, what died with him was the true Nelson Mandela. I ask, "Who is the real Nelson Mandela?" for which there is only one answer. I also ponder how a nation as great as ours can applaud the life of one of the most notorious communist terrorists of his time. With my recollection, I recall that the United States of America was opposed to C

by Cody Wood / 47min hide  //  save

Budget Deal Now Has Enough Votes to Pass Senate

A bipartisan budget agreement has been passed by the house and now looks like it will likely pass in the senate. Assuming that all 55 members of the Democratic caucus vote yes, they needed the support of only 5 republican members to get the bill passed. Today, Senator Orrin G. Hatch delivered the 5th republican vote stating that the bill ultimately upholds conservative standards and is the best t

by Briahna Yee / 1h 

chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

About one year ago, Major League Baseball player Ryan Freel committed suicide; researchers and his family investigate reasons why he might have done this. After careful brain analysis, researchers revealed that Freel had stage two chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a disease which is usually associated with  erratic behavior and loss of memory. The disease usually develops because of r

by Lorenzo Bustos / 9h   

12-14-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Video Games?With the release of the Xbox1 and Ps4 I am not going to sit around and play fire emblem on my Ds. The go to games this holiday season (parents take note) are violence filled so good you'll want to slap your mama releases like Call of Duty: Ghost, Dead Rising 3, and Assassin's Creed. All of wich are Restricted, but the FTC found 70% of restricted games are ad

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

12-16-13 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 20 most popular TED Talks” Of All Time

TED has just published a list of their twenty most popular Talks of all time — as of December, 2013. Sir Ken Robinson’s talk is number one. I’m adding this info to The Best Teacher Resources For “TED Talks” (& Similar Presentations).

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 6min hide  //  save

“Stoodle” Could Be The Best “Virtual Corkboard” Site Out There

There are lots of sites out there that let you create virtual “corkboards” and you can see them at The Best Online Virtual “Corkboards” (or “Bulletin Boards”). Padlet (formerly known as Wallwisher) is probably the most well-known tool of this kind. Richard Byrne recently shared about a new site that might end up being the best of the bunch. It’s called Stoodle. Like the best of the other sites, y

8 by Larry Ferlazzo / 53min 

Using “PixiClip” With English Language Learners

Last week, I posted about the new web tool called “PixiClip” (see “PixiClip” Is A Neat Drawing Tool For English Language Learners). It’s a drawing tool that doesn’t require any registration and has a feature of letting you provide an audio commentary to your artistry. I explained that I thought it had a lot of potential for English Language Learners, and that I was going to give it a try this wee

6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 20min 

“Records Of Rights” Is Impressive National Archives Site

Records of Rights is a new interactive site from the National Archives. It highlights First Amendment rights, Native American rights, workplace rights, equal rights, rights to privacy and sexuality, and more. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For “Bill Of Rights Day,” which was yesterday, though I assume when I falls on a Sunday it’s recognized on a Monday….

by Larry Ferlazzo / 33min 

Using Current Events As A Language-Learning Activity

Students watch videos on current events, answer questions, and create their own in my latest NY Times post for English Language Learners. Includes a student interactive and teaching ideas. You can see all my previous NY Times posts here.

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

December’s Infographics & Interactives Galore — Part One

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

11 by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t” — December

I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a few and list them here with a minimal description. It forces me to look through these older links, and help me organize them for my own use. I hope others will find them helpful

7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

12-15-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Study: Standardized Tests Don’t Measure “Fluid Intelligence”People might differ with my interpretation of a new study that has just come out (and I’d love to hear if you do), but it seems to me that it has found that standardized testing may measure how well a school is doing on training students on lower-level thinking ski

by mike simpson / 9h 

12-15-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Ed Notes Reprint, Nov. 2007: Welch, Tweed, Farina, and Creative Destruction

Thanks to Tim-Parent's comment at Gotham for digging up this ednotes piece from November 14, 2007, with discussion over a 2003 Carmen Farina quote in Businessweek that seemed to support the Jack Welch philosophy. But in 2007 Farina clarifies what she said with this:Farina's comment posted on the listserve Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007:"Complacency is not the same as complicity in how to evaluate scho

by ed notes online / 2h 

 

12-15-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Change the Stakes end of year meeting - Tuesday 12/17, 5:30Join what promises to be a lively discussion about the issues and how we – as parents, teachers and students – can respond individually and collectively.....Change the Stakes Press Conference re: City Council Resolution on High-Stakes Testing - On December 9th, Change the Stakes participated in a press conference held on t

by mike simpson / 15h 

12-16-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

Family values hypocrisy

is the title of this terrific Washington Post op ed by E. J. Dionne. He begins : Politicians talk about family values but do almost nothing to help families. They talk about parental responsibility but do almost nothing to help parents. They talk about self-sufficiency but do precious little to make self-sufficiency a reality for those who must struggle hardest to achieve it. And the occasion of h

2 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 3h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Krugman: Why Inequality Matters

is the title of this Monday op ed in the New York Times.   It is a well-reasoned and thorough piece, full of relevant links. Krugman reminds us that inequality is not a new issue, starting with a reference to Oliver Stone's 1987 movie Wall Street with the famous Gordon Gekko quote "Greed is Good."  While politicians may have shied away from addressing inequality, Krugman believes the ele

1 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 11h 

Ann Seltzer has done a 2016 Des Moines Register Iowa Poll

and the results, which you can read here, might surprise people. Republican      Favorable        Unfavorable Candidate Paul Ryan          73                   10 Mike Huckabee   68                   17 Rick Santorum   58                    21 Rick Perry          55                   19 Chris Christie     51                   30 Jeb Bush           51                   26 Rand Paul         51      

1 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 11h 

12-14-13 teacherken at Daily Kos: 222 years ago today

Daily Kos: 222 years ago today: 222 years ago todaythe Bill of Rights was ratified and went into effect. We do not honor this day as we do Constitution Day, the day the Convention accepted the document that established our system of government. We should. George Mason would not sign the original because it lacked a Bill of Rights, and after all, he was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rig

by mike simpson / 9h