Morning Wink 12-29-13 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

Foundation Created by Family of Walmart Founder Gives $6 Million to School Voucher Organization

Foundation Created by Family of Walmart Founder Gives $6 Million to School Voucher Organization: Foundation Created by Family of Walmart Founder Gives $6 Million to School Voucher OrganizationBY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTERDecember 27, 2013|3:08 pmA charity organization created by the family of the founder of the retail chain Walmart has given millions of dollars to a pro-vouchers lob

by mike simpson / 6min 

'Reign of Error,' by Diane Ravitch - SFGate

'Reign of Error,' by Diane Ravitch - SFGate: 'Reign of Error,' by Diane RavitchGlenn C. AltschulerPublished 4:51 pm, Friday, December 27, 2013Reign of ErrorThe Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public SchoolsBy Diane Ravitch(Knopf; 396 pages; $27.95)Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, think tanks, philanthropic founda

by mike simpson / 12min 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Edward F. Berger on the Ignorant Mindset Destroying American EducationEdward Berger invites you to watch some important TED talks, which he uses to make a point about the appalling ignorance of some of our key “thought leaders.” Berger writes: To get the most out of this blog, view Ted Talks 2011 – Knowledge Is Power. #1: Sir Ken R

by mike simpson / 1h 

12-29-13 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: Florida’s School Grade Chaos: “Raising the Bar” Became “Moving the Bar After Everyone Jumped”Is anyone really surprised to see the Miami Herald has another story about Florida’s school grades with ”confused parents” and the “credibility gap facing Florida education leade

by mike simpson / 1h 

12-29-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Bob Lyons. “It’s not personal.”Bob Lyons is a member of the Teacher Retirement System board of trustees. He represents the retirees on the board. The board of trustees is now a defendant in the IRTA suit to overturn the pension-busting Senate Bill 1. Fred, The TRS board was told at the start of the mo

by mike simpson / 1h 

12-29-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: A Reminder: “The Children Do Notice”A Reminder: \”The Children Do Notice\”. via A Reminder: “The Children Do Notice”.by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  saveDid The American Federation of Teachers Really Do This???Last month, Boston voters elected a new Mayor, arguably with a little help from a mysterious political action committee that dumped $480,000 into the campaign during its fina

by mike simpson / 1h 

12-29-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): A Reminder: “The Children Do Notice”Most of us who teach are now in a moment of pause, between semesters, between classes. Although we are mid-academic year, we are facing a new calendar year, traditionally a time to reflect, recommit, and redirect. I offer below a repos

by mike simpson / 1h 

12-29-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: NYCDOE Investigator Demanded Sex From Teacher To Save Her JobHere's Mayor Bloomberg's NYCDOE in action - the story is so horrifying via Susan Edelman at the NY Post, I repost it in full:A Department of Education detective tried to have sex with a Brooklyn teacher he was probing in exchange for letting her keep her job, she charges. Investigator Lawrence Scott, 40, allegedly

by mike simpson / 1h 

NYC Public School Parents: Sullivan Thanks Scott Stringer for Support, Resigns from School Board

NYC Public School Parents: Sullivan Thanks Scott Stringer for Support, Resigns from School Board: Sullivan Thanks Scott Stringer for Support, Resigns from School BoardWith Scott Stringer's inauguration as the Comptroller of the City of New York, my service on the Panel for Educational Policy as his appointee will come to an end.  I sent the letter below to formally resign and thank him for his yea

by mike simpson / 1h 

Science, Math, and History: The Historic Struggle to Marry Content and Pedagogy | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Science, Math, and History: The Historic Struggle to Marry Content and Pedagogy | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Science, Math, and History: The Historic Struggle to Marry Content and PedagogyEntangled, impossible to separate, that is what content and pedagogy have been and are in U.S. schooling. But not to reformers.For decades, in science, math, and history policymakers, re

by mike simpson / 1h 

empathyeducates – Opinion: Halt Broken Charter School Expansion Process

empathyeducates – Opinion: Halt Broken Charter School Expansion Process: Opinion: Halt Broken Charter School Expansion Processfile photographCharter operator used political connections to receive funding and approvalBy Mark W. Anderson | Originally Published at The Ward Room. NBC Chicago. December 26, 2013First UNO. Now Concept.Clearly, something’s wrong.Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported a po

by mike simpson / 1h 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Common Core has turned into a testing fiasco

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Common Core has turned into a testing fiasco: Common Core has turned into a testing fiascoThe education world is scrambling to avoid its own version of a full-scale HealthCare.gov meltdown when millions of students pilot new digital Common Core tests this spring, writes Caitlin Emma at Politico. The tests will be given on a massive scale: Roughly 4.2 million thi

by mike simpson / 1h 

YESTERDAY

deutsch29 | Mercedes Schneider's EduBlog

deutsch29 | Mercedes Schneider's EduBlog: NGA “Corporate Fellows”: Providing Governors Ideas That WorkFor four of the five years that I taught in Northwestern Georgia, I taught at an alternative school. Every time I received a new student, it meant that the student had been expelled from a district public school. I had a student who built a bomb and discharged it on a principal’s lawn.  I had a st

by mike simpson / 11h 

Quiet and Submissive | Connected Principals

Quiet and Submissive | Connected Principals: Quiet and Submissiveby George Couros • December 29, 2013 • 0 Commentscc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Rebecca Barray“Being quiet and being submissive. I think that’s frankly the only thing being taught right now. ..how do you be submissive? How do you sit patiently and be disengaged for an hour and take it?” Sal KhanI have talked to a few ed

by mike simpson / 14h 

We active and retired teachers refuse to be silenced or kept in silence. | Reclaim Reform

We active and retired teachers refuse to be silenced or kept in silence. | Reclaim Reform: We active and retired teachers refuse to be silenced or kept in silence.Posted on December 28, 2013by Ken PrevitiWhere is the leadership of the Illinois Education Association? Please tell us what is happening now that the Illinois legislature has approved the pillage of pensions for active and retired teache

by mike simpson / 15h 

Nite Cap 12-28-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

James Baldwin said it best: "For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAPDIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Happy New Year: An Educator's Resolutions!DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Happy New Year: An Educator's Resolutions!: Happy New Year: An Educator's Resolutions!SuccessintheClassroomHave a Wonderful 2014! I re

by mike simpson / 16h 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Happy New Year: An Educator's Resolutions!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Happy New Year: An Educator's Resolutions!: Happy New Year: An Educator's Resolutions!SuccessintheClassroomHave a Wonderful 2014! I resolve to:treat all students fairly, regardless of race, gender, age, behavior, a parent's nasty attitude, the comments from last year's teachers, or seemingly lack of interest in learning continue to follow Rita Pierson's advice, a

by mike simpson / 16h 

Pope Francis: Wall Street, 'Idolatry Of Money' Will Lead Us To Hell: Gothamist

Pope Francis: Wall Street, 'Idolatry Of Money' Will Lead Us To Hell: Gothamist: Pope Francis: Wall Street, 'Idolatry Of Money' Will Lead Us To HellPope Francis issued a blistering attack on capitalism and the "tyranny of markets" in his new apostolic exhortation. He wrote, "Money must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Chr

by mike simpson / 18h 

Dear teachers | Math Wizards

Dear teachers | Math Wizards: Dear teachersWe were sent this letter today and told this was recently sent out by a group of parents and teachers who want to focus on the real problems in public education. WE think it speaks for many! Dear Teachers:It’s time to wake up to the disaster in public education. It’s time to start identifying the REAL people who’ve helped destroy public education over th

by mike simpson / 19h 

12-28-13 Saturday Matinée Special Double Feature Corporate Reform News Breakout

Saturday Matinée Special Corporate Reform School Girls News BreakoutSpecial  Sneak Preview - Witch Hunter starring Campbell Brown  News BreakComing to a theater near you!SKrashen: What research really says about "explicit and structured" phonicsSKrashen: What research really says about "explicit and structured" phonics: What research really says about "explicit and structu

by mike simpson / 19h 

SKrashen: What research really says about "explicit and structured" phonics

SKrashen: What research really says about "explicit and structured" phonics: What research really says about "explicit and structured" phonicsSent to the West Australian (Dec. 28) "New reading rules for kids," (Dec. 27) states that " ...international research has found that explicit and structured teaching of phonics - the relationship between letters and sounds

by mike simpson / 20h 

8 disappearing tax breaks - Teachers' expenses - Dec. 27, 2013

8 disappearing tax breaks - Dec. 27, 2013: 8 disappearing tax breaksBy Blake Ellis  @blakeellis3 December 27, 2013: 4:02 AM ETSome popular tax breaks are set to disappear at the end of the year -- unless Congress extends them.3KTOTAL SHARES2K166398NEW YORK (CNNMoney)Dozens of popular tax breaks are on the verge of disappearing.Credits and deductions benefiting everyone from teachers and students t

by mike simpson / 20h 

On the Metamorphosis from Private Citizen to ‘Public Enemy’ | Bill Ayers

On the Metamorphosis from Private Citizen to ‘Public Enemy’ | Bill Ayers: "From the Chicago Trib, via "On the Metamorphosis from Private Citizen to ‘Public Enemy’December 13, 2013 |By Bill AyersBuy the Book At:Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks IndieboundYou Might Also Like:The Great, Bright Future of Lady Bird JohnsonNelson Mandela’s Life and Legacy Celebrated at Madiba, a South African H

by mike simpson / 21h 

2013 in Review Part 4: Teachers, Unions, and the Best Path Forward - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

2013 in Review Part 4: Teachers, Unions, and the Best Path Forward - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: 2013 in Review Part 4: Teachers, Unions, and the Best Path ForwardBy Anthony Cody on December 28, 2013 12:40 PMAs I bring my review of the year 2013 to a close, the last theme to emerge is a poignant one. I have shared my concerns about Common Core, corporate reform and the poor polici

by mike simpson / 22h 

2nd Banana 12-28-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #RealEdTalk #p2 #1u

BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANARECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POST What kind of Jihad is This? Gulen Charter Schools in America -Turkish probe marks AKP-Gulen power struggleTurkish probe marks AKP-Gulen power struggle - Features - Al Jazeera English: About Gulen charter schoolsIn 1999, members of the Gulen Movement, a secretive and controversial cult-like religious group,opened their first charter school

by mike simpson / 23h 

Morning Wink 12-28-13 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSThe American Enterprise Institute, Common Core, and “Good Cop” | deutsch29The American Enterprise Institute, Common Core, and “Good Cop” | deutsch29: The American Enterprise Institute, Common Core, and “Good Cop”December 28, 2013In my research on Gates’ Common Core State Standards (CCSS) spending, I came across this unusual grant to the pro-reform group, t

by mike simpson / 1d 

2nd Banana 12-28-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

2nd Banana 12-21-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post2nd Banana 12-14-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 2nd Banana 12-7-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

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Foundation Created by Family of Walmart Founder Gives $6 Million to School Voucher Organization:

Foundation Created by Family of Walmart Founder Gives $6 Million to School Voucher Organization

BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER

December 27, 2013|3:08 pm

A charity organization created by the family of the founder of the retail chain Walmart has given millions of dollars to a pro-vouchers lobbying group.

The Walton Family Foundation has donated $6 million to the Alliance for School Choice, a group that advocates for the expansion of alternatives to public school education.

Matt Frendewey, spokesman for the Alliance for School Choice, told The Christian Post that the Walton Family Foundation "is a longtime supporter of the organization."

"The Walton Family Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Alliance and they are the biggest private investor," said Frendewey, adding that "the percentage of support varies from year to year depending on total revenue."

The donation by the foundation to the Alliance will greatly aid the pro-voucher organization, as reported by Lyndsey Layton of The Washington Post last week.

"The $6 million infusion will basically double the budget of the Alliance for School Choice, which reported total revenue of $6,380,488 in 2011," wrote Layton.

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"Currently, about 300,000 K-12 students around the country are paying for private schools with public tax dollars, according to the Alliance for SchoolChoice. The group says it wants to double that number."

News of the foundation's contribution to the Alliance has garnered much

'Reign of Error,' by Diane Ravitch - SFGate

'Reign of Error,' by Diane Ravitch - SFGate:

'Reign of Error,' by Diane Ravitch

Glenn C. Altschuler

Published 4:51 pm, Friday, December 27, 2013

Reign of Error

The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools

By Diane Ravitch

(Knopf; 396 pages; $27.95)

Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, think tanks, philanthropic foundations and the mass media agree that America's public schools are in crisis. Through two pieces of legislation, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, reformers have promoted (and sometimes mandated) a new regime of common standards, testing, accountability and competition (through the establishment of charter schools and for-profit schools).

According to Diane Ravitch, the reformers are wrong on all counts. Although public schools are underfunded, lack well-trained teachers and need a deeper, more diverse and more rigorous curriculum, she maintains that despite these challenges (and the responsibility of educating a heterogeneous population, including many students whose "first language" is not English), they are actually performing rather well, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (the most authoritative gauge of student achievement over time) and high school graduation rates. Ravitch also claims that the demand for testing, accountability and privatization "is akin to bringing a blowtorch to put out a fire." It does nothing to address the realities of poverty and inequality, "the root causes of poor academic performance." And it has put public education, "an essential institution," responsible for producing a democratic citizenry and providing equality of opportunity, 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-29-13 Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Time for a Laugh

Hat tip to KrazyTA for sharing this great cartoon.

by dianeravitch / 2min 

Anthony Cody on Charter Schools: Public, Private or Parasitical?

Anthony Cody wrote a series of posts in which he reviewed some of the key events of 2013. In this one, he considers the changing perception of charter schools. He notes that some of their advocates frankly admit that they are for “strivers,” not for all. While he acknowledges that some charter founders really do aim to help the neediest students, he observes that charter organizations argue in cou

by dianeravitch / 0min 

Douglas County, Colorado: Worse Than at First Glance

I reported yesterday that an administrative law judge found that the school board of Douglas County, Colorado, had violated the state’s fair campaign practices law by commissioning Frederick Hess to write a paper extolling the school board’s agenda of privatization. But when I read the story in the Denver Post, I realized that the school board had been even more active in promoting its agenda than

by dianeravitch / 7min

A Teacher’s Advice to Commissioner King: How Schools Are–and Are Not–Like Business

Beth Goldberg is a Middle School Mathematics Teacher at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, NY in the Mid-Hudson Valley.  Beth has been teaching for eight years since obtaining her Masters of Arts in Teaching at Bard College.  Prior to earning her MAT, Beth was a senior executive at JP Morgan Chase where she had global responsibility for a suite a payment services products.  Beth holds an MS

3 by dianeravitch / 16min 

Edward F. Berger on the Ignorant Mindset Destroying American Education

Edward Berger invites you to watch some important TED talks, which he uses to make a point about the appalling ignorance of some of our key “thought leaders.” Berger writes: To get the most out of this blog, view Ted Talks 2011 – Knowledge Is Power. #1: Sir Ken Robinson; and #5: Salman Kahn, and the Kahn Academy. I selected these two excellent presentations for many reasons, but the most important

by dianeravitch / 6min 

Gates Invests in Urine-Powered Cellphone

When I heard about this, I thought it was a joke: The Gates Foundation is investing in the development of a urine-powered cellphone. Frankly, I have always harbored a secret wish that someone would develop a urine-powered engine for automobiles. No one would ever run out of fuel. Now, that would be a wonderful idea and would provide an endless supply of sustainable energy forever! But a urine-powe

4 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Alan Singer’s Advice to Mayor de Blasio: Ignore the “New York Times”

Alan Singer, former public school teacher and current professor at Hofstra University, offers free advice to the new Mayor of New York City: Ignore the New York Times, especially when it writes editorials about education policies. In his post, he rebuts the New York Times’ editorial advice point by point. He explains why tenure and seniority are necessary and fair. He rejects merit pay and recomme

6 by dianeravitch / 1h hide  //  save

Battle Over Privacy of Student Data Heads to Court

Parents in New York are suing the State Education Department to block the release of their children’s confidential data to inBloom, fearing it ay be hacked or turned over to commercial vendors. New York is the only state that continues to insist that it will release all student data to the database created by the Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation and developed by Rupert Murdoch’s compa

8 by dianeravitch / 2h 

Schneider: Common Core Pushback in 23 States

Mercedes Schneider has been keeping track of the states where there is significant opposition to Common Core standards and/or testing. Initially, she identified 22 states where Common Core has encountered opposition. After that post appeared, she learned that California should be added to the list, for a total of 23 states where critics are rallying against the CCSS.

23 by dianeravitch / 3h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 12-28-13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGPaul Thomas: Teachers Between a Rock and a Hard PlacePaul Thomas taught high school for nearly two decades befor he became a professor at Furman University in South Carolina. He understands the dilemma of teachers caught between Scylla and Charydis, now known as a rock and a hard place. The dilemma arises when federal and

by mike simpson / 1h 

12-29-13 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:

Florida’s School Grade Chaos: “Raising the Bar” Became “Moving the Bar After Everyone Jumped”

Is anyone really surprised to see the Miami Herald has another story about Florida’s school grades with ”confused parents” and the “credibility gap facing Florida education leaders?” No? The Florida Department of Education unfairly has to hold the bag again - the school grade system was created by Jeb Bush, largely driven by his foundations and rubber-stamped by the republican-dominated legislatur

by Bob Sikes / 45min 

12-28-13 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

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 ALL WeekUsing Taxpayer Dollars to Mislead Parents on Common CoreAfter reminding readers that Connecticut governor Daniel P. Malloy is on record as saying “I’ll settle for teaching to the test if it means raising test sco

by mike simpson / 22min