12-17-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

What the heck is the Capital Prep Scholarship Fund?

The Capital Prep Magnet School website informs supporters that they can make “tax-deductible” donations to the Capital Prep Scholarship Fund.    Donations can be made via a PayPal link or checks can be mailed to “The Capital Prep Scholarship Fund – 1304 Main Street – Hartford, CT 06103.” (Which is the school’s address). Contributors are […]The post What the heck is the Capital Prep Scholarship Fun

13 by jonpelto / 1h 

 

12-16-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Malloy’s Steelpointe Harbor corporate welfare package; the gift that keeps givingThis past September, Governor Malloy and the State Bond Commission approved $31 million in taxpayer funded subsidies for the development of a Bass Pro Store and other improvements to support of the Steelpointe Harbor development project in Bridgeport.    Malloy’s corporate welfare package came on top of $1

by mike simpson / 7h 

12-17-13 teacherken at Daily Kos It’s simple: Either we demand our privacy — loudly — or we kiss it goodbye.

Daily Kos: It’s simple: Either we demand our privacy — loudly — or we kiss it goodbye.:

Update on recount in VA Attorney General Race

just issued by the Herring (Dem) campaign: STATEMENT OF HERRING LEGAL TEAM ON RECOUNT STATUS Marc Elias, the lead counsel for Attorney General-elect Mark Herring, released the following statement tonight: “As of 6:30 p.m., Attorney General-elect Mark Herring is now up 866 votes overall, with 73% of the votes recounted statewide. “Today, as recounting began statewide, and continued in Alexandria, C

7 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 2h 

It’s simple: Either we demand our privacy — loudly — or we kiss it goodbye.

That is the concluding line of Demand your privacy, Eugene Robinson's Tuesday Washington Post column, written in response to the ruling yesterday by Judge Richard J. Leon that the NSA's gathering of metadata data on our phone calls is likely unconstitutional. There is a great deal crammed into this column, the heart of which is these three paragraphs: The theory is supposed to be that only by asse

7 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 7h 

12-16-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos: Family values hypocrisyis 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 strug

by mike simpson / 8h 

Who's the Real Progressive? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Who's the Real Progressive? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Who's the Real Progressive?

By educationweekly on December 17, 2013 10:02 AM

Today, Robert Pondiscio once again writes to Deborah Meier.

Dear Deborah,

I'm disappointed I've failed to persuade you that a common curriculum is a powerful lever for social justice. To me it's clear and undeniable.  There can be no dispute that language proficiency rests on a bed of common knowledge.  The only counter-argument to be made is whether there is some better route to ensuring every student has enough of it to communicate on an equal footing with everyone else, other than teaching a common core of content.  I believe this should be a progressive ideal.  

You are concerned with top-down mandates.  I'm not fond of them myself.  But while you fret about imposing burdens on schools, our language will continue to do what it has done for centuries, soaking up the customs, contributions, and quirks of its diverse contributors like a sponge, and squeezing them into the American vernacular bucket.  We have no power to stop this process or direct it.  We can only teach it.  I believe it's self-evident that we must prepare children to thrive in the world, not the world we might wish for them.

I was surprised to see in your post last Thursday an extended reference to the Calhoun School here in New York City.  By coincidence, as your piece went live, I was engaged in a 

12-17-13 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

UPDATE: SUPERINTENDENT REJECTS APPLICANTS TO REPLACE AQUINO; LAUSD Re-posts Job Posting

by smf December 17th, 2013  ::  After review of applications for the job of Deputy Superintendent of Instruction posted last September none of the applicants were acceptable to the superintendent -  so the job was reposted yesterday. UPDATE TO: LA UNIFIED BEGINS JOB SEARCH TO REPLACE AQUINO + Job Posting + smf’s 2¢ by Hillel Aron in LA School Report | http://bit.ly/16LKjgD Posted on

1 by smf / 34min 

GIVING TWICE-AS-MANY KIDS HALF-AS-MUCH MUSIC EDUCATION? The latest LAUSD SNAFU?

Eloise Porter, President, Los Angeles City Elementary Schools Music Assoc writes 4LAKids Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 11:14 PM So it seems the powers-that-be at LAUSD care not for children--only for numbers.  In the latest effort to be 'fair' in assigning the correct number of arts semesters based on enrollment numbers in our elementary schools, the District, in its great wisdom, is again creating

1 by smf / 59min 

Charters Get Kids Cubicle-Ready

Samantha Winslow | LaborNotes | http://bit.ly/19au9ok A Rocketship charter: Is it a school or a miniature call center? While experimenting on working-class kids, Silicon Valley elites send their kids to private schools like Waldorf Peninsula, whose philosophy is to avoid computers, arguing that they hurt children's development. December 13, 2013  ::  From Silicon Valley, the Rocketship

by smf / 1h 

Moody's: CHARTER SCHOOLS POSE GREATEST CREDIT CHALLENGE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ECONOMICALLY WEAK URBAN AREAS

Global Credit Research by Moody’s Investor Service | http://bit.ly/1fB4zbf New York,October 15, 2013 -- The dramatic rise in charter school enrollments over the past decade is likely to create negative credit pressure on school districts in economically weak urban areas, says Moody's Investors Service in a new report. Charter schools tend to proliferate in areas where school districts already

1 by smf / 2h 

HOW TO START A REVOLUTION: Diane Ravitch and the Angry Rebellion against Common Core

Wielding her influential blog as a weapon, this 75-year-old activist has created a powerful network united by revulsion against top-down, elite policymaking by Mark Funkhouser | Governing Institute | http://bit.ly/1dJnKhb   December 16, 2013   ::  Since the Common Core State Standards for education were first proposed in 2009, 45 states have adopted them. As major public-policy

1 by smf / 3h 

ACT NOW AND NAME A REPLACEMENT L.A. SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: The late Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte's District 1 constituents deserve a voice on crucial issues.

Holding a special election would waste time and money. Op-Ed in the LA Times By David Tokofsky and Jackie Goldberg | http://lat.ms/1cyqOKR School board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte died this month. (Los Angeles Times / July 2, 2013) December 16, 2013  ::  There has been great consternation in recent days over the best way to select an interim school board member to complete the term

1 by smf / 3h hide  //  save

Gov. Brown States Opposition For Federal & State Standards, Standardized Testing For Schools …And Explains Why

GOV, JERRY BROWN OPPOSES GOVERNMENT IMPOSED STANDARDS FOR SCHOOLS In an on-stage interview, the California governor says some educational experiences can't be captured in standardized testing. By Anthony York, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/18O4U5w Gov. Jerry Brown addresses a conference

1 by smf / 3h 

 

12-16-13 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: After LaMotte: POLITICS OF L.A. SCHOOL BOARD MAY SHIFT  Annie Gilbertson, Education Reporter/ Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1bTRZTG Damian Dovarganes/AP - Deceased Los Angeles school board member Marguerite Lamotte [Listen to the radio story] December 16th, 2013, 6:00am  ::  The Los Angeles school board is scheduled to decide Tuesday how to fill

by mike simpson / 6h 

12-17-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

A tenured sociologist gets a bit of the #teacherprep treatment, more like #teacherperp @scottjaschik

In a nutshell, a tenured professor at UC-Boulder is leaving the university because the administration is no longer allowing her to implement a lecture on prostitution that includes a role-play, whereby teaching assistants for the course play dress up as various kinds of “whores” and get interviewed by the class. You know, you’re just going […]

2 by Shaun Johnson / 1h 

A Teacher’s 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my students gave to me: A Well Deserved Day Alone On the second day of Christmas my students gave to me: Two Misplaced Gloves and a Well Deserved Day Alone On the third day of Christmas my students gave to me: Three Broken Pens Two Misplaced Gloves and a […]

2 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 1h 

My December 2013 Michigan Board of Education Testimony

In November 2013, I was asked if I would testify at the December 17, 2013, Michigan State Board of Education meeting. Michigan is considering emulating the New Orleans so-called model Recovery School District (RSD) (including the supposed “parental choice” afforded by open enrollment)  as well as using letter grades for schools. Since I could not be in […]

2 by deutsch29 / 1h 

VAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SC

VAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SC. via VAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SC.

1 by plthomasedd / 25min

  

12-15-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Do you think charter schools “know how to do middle school really well?”According to DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson, charter schools “know how to do middle school really well.” When it comes to defining the phrase “really well,” are education reformers basing their narrative of quantity over quality, i.e. proficiency rates versus growth? What do you – @thechalkfacers – think? In

by mike simpson / 7h 

12-17-13 With A Brooklyn Accent

With A Brooklyn Accent:

The 2 Falso Principles on Which School Reform is Built

It never ceases to amaze me how many people who should know better buy the following dominant principles of the School Reform narrative 1. American schools as a whole are failing because American students are being pampered, both by their parents and teachers. We need to demand more of them to meet Global Competition 2. Schools in high poverty and moderate income neighborhoods are failing becaus

3 by Mark Naison / 2h 

 

With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week 12-14-13

With A Brooklyn Accent: With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week  mark as readThe Crisis in Public Education is Caused by Bad Policies, not Bad TeachersGates, Duncan, Broad et al say they want to attract more talented people to the teaching profession but they 1. Support teacher evaluation frameworks combine humiliating observation protocols (Danielson rubric) with scripted curricula (Common Core)

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

12-17-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

VAMboozled by Empty-Suit Leadership in SC

Rep. Andy Patrick, R-Hilton Head Island (SC), has made two flawed claims recently, one about leadership and another about teacher evaluation (“S.C. lawmaker proposes teacher evaluation plan,” Charleston Post and Courier, December 10, 2013).* First, and briefly, Patrick asserts that SC needs leadership for superintendent of education, discounting the importance of experience or expertise. As I will

6 by plthomasedd / 24min 

12-15-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): GUEST POST: Literature, Young Adult Fiction, and the Common Core, Lauren GirouardLauren Girouard is a student in my first year seminar (writing intensive). Lauren is an avid reader—a Neil Gaiman fan—and when she chose to write about Common Core, I asked her permission to

by mike simpson / 2h