12-26-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Governor Cuomo Is Vulnerable Over CCSS, APPR and InBloom

A very interesting item in Fred Dicker's NY Post column:Cuomo has privately told groups of “progressive’’ Assembly Democrats that despite his election-year plans to reduce some state taxes, he’s sure he can find funds to help soon-to-be-Mayor Bill de Blasio deliver on his pledge of universal pre-K throughout the city. Cuomo, in recent meetings he initiated with black and Hispanic caucus members an

by reality-based edu... / 4min hide  //  save

No Chancellor Pick Announcement Coming Today

From Daily Politics:While Chiara’s revelation is, by all means, a big story, attention still likely turns now, with the holiday over, to when the new Mayor will fill out his cabinet -- and with whom! With only six days remaining before de Blasio’s inauguration, he still hasn’t named a schools chancellor. The only thing we do know is that the announcement won’t come Thursday -- de Blasio’s public s

by reality-based edu... / 2h 

12-25-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Chiara de Blasio, Bill de Blasio And The Politics Of ManipulationI thought the video the de Blasio transition team released of Chiara de Blasio talking about her struggles with drugs, alcohol and depression was on one level an important one.We live in a high stress society in which many people are suffering from depression or other emotional problems, in which many people ar

by mike simpson / 7h 

Math topics that need to be put out of their misery. Part 3: Radian measure | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Math topics that need to be put out of their misery. Part 3: Radian measure | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Math topics that need to be put out of their misery. Part 3: Radian measure

by Gary Rubinstein

So far I’ve written about two topics I feel contribute little to math education.  They don’t inspire students to want to learn more about math.  They are not topics that are ‘useful’ in real life or as a prerequisite to other ‘useful’ math.  Though I plan to do about ten parts to this series, you should know that I could easily write forty parts.  I’d say that at least half of the math that we force kids to learn are, to put it mildly, ‘counterproductive.’

But there are other topics that would make my very short list of things that I think are very important and should never be cut from the curriculum.  Much of the time saved by eliminating the stale topics could be transferred to expanding the focus on these more essential topics.  One such topic is the famous mathematical number π.  I teach an elective called math research which is taken mainly by 9th graders, and we spend a few weeks studying different ingenious ways that mathematicians across the globe and across the centuries have devised for approximating this mysterious number.

Ask most adults what π is and they are likely to say either “I forgot” or “3.14″. Then if you ask them, “But what is π?” and they are unlikely to know.  Put most simply, π is the number of diameters of a circle, any circle, would be needed to wrap around that circle.

Three is too few, but four is too many. It seems to be a little more than three, but how much more? 1/4, 1/5, 1/8? Well it turns out to be quite close, but not perfectly, 1/7, getting the 

12-26-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG 2013 Best of the Blog — Whole Child Education

2013 Best of the Blog: 15–11 — Whole Child Education:

2013 Best of the Blog: 15–11

In the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged and prepared for success in higher education, employment, and civic life. Uncommon Commonsense Ways to Empower Struggling Student

by ASCD Whole Child ... / 30min 

2013 Best of the Blog: 20–16

In the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged and prepared for success in higher education, employment, and civic life. Giving Our Kids an Early Start to Success by John Fa

by ASCD Whole Child ... / 30min 

2013 Best of the Blog: 25–21

In the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged and prepared for success in higher education, employment, and civic life. ED Pulse Poll Results: Does More Recess Increase Aca

by ASCD Whole Child ... / 30min 

In the Future, the Classroom Will Learn You

This week, IBM released its annual predictions of the five technology innovations that will change the way we live in the next five years: The 5 in 5. This year's predictions center around emerging computing systems that will learn, reason, and engage with us in a more personalized way. Topping the five is the classroom of the future. IBM believes that "In five years, classrooms will lear

by Klea Scharberg / 30min 

Personalized Learning Starts with Personal Relationships

Download Podcast Now [Right-Click to Save] How do we help each student succeed? One promising way is to personalize learning and put each student at the center of her learning experience. Broader than individualized or differentiated instruction, personalized learning is driven by the learner. Ensuring personalized learning for all students requires a shift in thinking about long-standing educat

by Whole Child Podca... / 30min hide  //  save

ED Pulse Poll Results: Which Attributes Best Reflect Personalized Learning?

ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently, the ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers about the attributes of personalized learning. Personalized learning has been identified as a revolutionary way to center education on the student, which will require an overhaul in some of the currently accepted methods of teaching. Much mo

by Kit Harris, ASCD ... / 30min 

Have We Made Our Schools Safer?

This past weekend marked one year since the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. During this time, we read, listened to, and participated in discussions on how to keep our schools safe and secure. And also during this time, at least 25 school shootings have occurred, including Friday's shooting at Arapahoe High School in Colorado. School safety is a complicated

by Klea Scharberg / 30min 

12-24-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG 2013 Best of the Blog — Whole Child Education

2013 Best of the Blog: 20–16 — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG2013 Best of the Blog: 20–16December 24, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersIn the past year, experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff have shared their stories, ideas, and resources to help you ensure that each child, in each school, in each community is healthy, safe, engaged, su

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Year in Review: Public Education | The Texas Tribune

Year in Review: Public Education | The Texas Tribune:

Year in Review: Public Education

• by Morgan Smith
• Dec. 26, 2013
• 1Comment

•  Comment
•  Republish
•  Email
•  Tweet
•  Recommend

Enlarge

As 2013 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the most important Texas stories of the year gone by.

---

Let’s say this outright: 2013 ranks as one of the most significant years for public education policy in Texas in the last two decades.

The last 12 months saw the rollout of a new school accountability system as the state dramatically changed course on high school curriculum and testing requirements, a direction it had followed since George W. Bush was governor. Along with the movement to scale back standardized exams, initiated by the activism of parents and educators, came an unprecedented backlash against the influence of for-profit companies in public education policy. It also brought a focus to the courses needed to earn a high school diploma, leading the Legislature to move away from requiringadvanced math and science courses for all students — a decision that continues to generate concern about how it might affect academic achievement and college preparation in the state.

The 2013 Legislature also approved the first expansion of charter schools in the state since they were established in 1995. Along the way, lawmakers lessened the State Board of Education’s involvement in the charter approval process and made it easier for high-performing charter operators to come to the state. The law’s proponents say opening the door to more seats in charter school classrooms will increase the educational opportunities for all students. But some education experts have questioned whether certain charter operators have a sufficient record of reaching out to the low-income communities whose students make up 

SKrashen: Arne Duncan responds to Krashen criticisms, sort of (Jan 4, 2011) on The Situation Room (CNN)

SKrashen: Arne Duncan responds to Krashen criticisms, sort of (Jan 4, 2011) on The Situation Room (CNN):

Arne Duncan responds to Krashen criticisms, sort of (Jan 4, 2011) on The Situation Room (CNN)

Wolf Blitzer asks Arne Duncan about my criticisms of his Washington Post article. Duncan responds, sort of. My comments are included. 
Duncan Washington Post article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2011/01/02/AR2011010202378.html?referrer=emailarticle 
My criticisms at: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/education-secretary-duncan/a- response-to-arne-duncan.html?wprss=answer-sheet 
Both available at: http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_outrages.php?id=4085 
THE SITUATION ROOM: Interview With Education Secretary Arne Duncan Aired January 4, 2011 – 
... 
BLITZER: All right. Let's talk about this article you wrote in "The Washington Post," because you suggested that there was an opportunity to improve education by dealing with poverty, which is the huge source .... 
There was criticism of your article coming in from Professor Stephen Krashen of the University of Southern California, saying, "Duncan gives the impression that overcoming poverty happens all the time under his administration. There is no real evidence that it happens at all." 
Is there any evidence that you are overcoming this? 
DUNCAN: Wolf, that's one of the biggest challenge our country is still -- folks to believe, that 

empathyeducates – Recovery School District Will Be Country’s First All-Charter District

empathyeducates – Recovery School District Will Be Country’s First All-Charter District:

Recovery School District Will Be Country’s First All-Charter District

Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard talks to students at James Weldon Johnson Elementary School in New Orleans in 2012. That school is now closed. Dobard announced Thursday that the system will close its final traditional schools in June 2014, making it the first all-charter district. (Catherine […]

by empathy / 8h 

CPS Says No To Charter Schools, But Michael Madigan Says Yes

Photograph; House Speaker and state Democratic Party chair Michael Madigan (left) shakes hands with Mustafa Demir, the mayor of Fatih district in Turkey. By Dan Mihalopoulos | Originally Published at The Chicago Sun Times. December 23, 2013 When Concept Schools Inc. wanted to open two charter schools […]

by empathy / 5h 

'We Are Creating Walmarts of Higher Education' - Timothy Pratt - The Atlantic

'We Are Creating Walmarts of Higher Education' - Timothy Pratt - The Atlantic:

'We Are Creating Walmarts of Higher Education'

As colleges feel pressure to graduate more students for less money, professors worry that the value of an education may be diminished.

 Universities in South Dakota, Nebraska, and other states have cut the number of credits students need to graduate. A proposal in Florida would let online courses forgo the usual higher-education accreditation process. A California legislator introduced a measure that would have substituted online courses for some of the brick-and-mortar kind at public universities.

Some campuses of the University of North Carolina system are mulling getting rid of history, political science, and various others of more than 20 “low productive” programs. The University of Southern Maine may drop physics. And governors in Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin have questioned whether taxpayers should continue subsidizing public universities for teaching the humanities.

Under pressure to turn out more students, more quickly and for less money, and to tie graduates’ skills to workforce needs, higher-education institutions and policy makers have been busy reducing the number of required credits, giving credit for life experience, and cutting some courses, while putting others online.

Now critics are raising the alarm that speeding up college and making it cheaper risks dumbing it down. “We all want to have more students graduate and graduate in a more timely manner,” says Rudy Fichtenbaum, president of theAmerican Association of University Professors. “The question is, do you do this by lowering your standards?”

About 100 university faculty-members from all over the country plan to meet in January in New York under the umbrella of the Campaign for the Future of 

Nation's educators watching new NYC mayor's moves on charter schools | Al Jazeera America

Nation's educators watching new NYC mayor's moves on charter schools | Al Jazeera America:

Nation's educators watching new NYC mayor's moves on charter schools

by Daniel A. Medina December 26, 2013 5:00AM ET

Bill de Blasio vowed to end 'two-class system,' making charter school supporters nervous about drastic changes

Topics:

 

Education

 

Charter Schools

 

New York

Charter school backers are worried about the future of such institutions under Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

NEW YORK — In early October, just weeks before he was elected mayor of the largest city in the nation, Bill de Blasio made a declaration that resonated with urban education officials and other city officials around the country.

“I won’t favor charters,” he told the crowd at the high profile City Lab Summit in Lower Manhattan, an inaugural event attended by 30 mayors, in addition to city planners, scholars and architects from across the globe that was billed by organizers as a conference aimed at crafting urban solutions to global problems. “Our central focus is traditional public schools.”

Less than a mile away, on the same day, thousands of charter school parents, students and educators held a protest on the Brooklyn Bridge to express their opposition to one of the candidate’s key campaign promises: his plan to charge rents to charter schools.

“Don’t charge us rent; we’re the 99 percent,” shouted the protesters as they marched to City Hall, mimicking the infamous Occupy Wall Street rallying cry against income inequality and challenging the candidate on his progressive credentials.

De Blasio had made the issue of charging rents to charter schools a central piece of his “A Tale of Two Cities” campaign theme — a rejection of what he said was Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 

The Educated Reporter: Gaming: The Future of School Assessments?

The Educated Reporter: Gaming: The Future of School Assessments?:

Gaming: The Future of School Assessments?

This week we're catching up with sessions from EWA's National Seminar, held at Stanford University. Today's guest blogger is Caitlin Fertal of (Willoughby, Ohio)News-Herald.  Stream any session from National Seminar in your browser, or subscribe via RSS or iTunes. For more on classroom technology, check out EWA's Story Starters online resource. 

While video games might seem out-of-place in the education world, some innovators actually are looking at gaming as the future of assessment in schools.

During a session at EWA’s National Seminar, Girlie Delacruz -- a senior researcher at the University of California in Los Angeles’ National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) -- shared her experiences of working in the field with software developers to create games specifically designed to assess a child’s academic skill levels.

Creating these assessment-based games requires specific data and crystal-clear communication between developers and educators, Delacruz said. Defining the 

NYC Educator: Is Reformy John King's Decree Worse Than NY Times Thinks?

NYC Educator: Is Reformy John King's Decree Worse Than NY Times Thinks?:

Is Reformy John King's Decree Worse Than NY Times Thinks?

There's a piece in the NY Times all about the issues with the new evaluation system. They're the paper of record, so it must be accurate. I've no idea how large the school is, but I'm sure the Times reporter carefully considered its application to large schools, and understands completely what it means in a large school where APs are in charge of maybe 40 teachers a piece. After all, reporters get paid for that sort of thing.

On the other hand, the reporter estimates under the assumption that observers will not spend more than 15 minutes a piece on informal observations. In this astral plane, it's unlikely many observations by responsible admin are 15 minutes. Teachers tell me admin usually stays at least 25 minutes, and often wait until whatever activity they're engaged in is completed, so as to get a real picture of what's happening. Of course, I'm just someone who talks to working teachers every single day, and not a NY Times reporter, so I guess you can't go by me.


And it's not just the observations. They have to be low-inference and aligned to the Danielson rubric. Responsible administrators have to take copious notes, supposedly reserving any and all value judgments. They then have to align these supposedly non-judgmental notes to the rubric. That's pretty time-consuming and taxing, particularly for people who aren't used to doing such things. I write very fast, but not everyone does. This is going to be very tough for some administrators, particularly if teachers are sharp enough to catch them when they offer judgments with 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Belmont's Blues

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Belmont's Blues:

Belmont's Blues

Roybal Learning Center

There's a pretty good piece in yesterday's L.A. Timesabout the trials and tribulations of the once-giant Belmont High School. I wrote extensively about Belmont more than a decade ago, opposing the board's decision to replace the 5,000 (mostly Mexican) student school with another humongous school-- the Belmont Learning Complex (now named the Roybal Learning Center), built on a toxic site at the highest cost ever for an American high school.

After years of restructuring, destructing, re-designing and clean-up at a cost of around $200 million, today's Belmont is a trimmed-down community school. While it's lost some of the wonderful tradition of the old neighborhood school,