1-7-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Hanna Skandera’s Reforms Cause More Than ‘Discomfort’

Education Secretary-Designate Hanna Skandera recently wrote an editorial to the Albuquerque Journal stating more untruths, vague ideas, and plenty of blame against those who are questioning her initiatives.  She suggests that there will be some “discomfort” during her period of reforms.  I suggest that discomfort isn’t the problem; what we’re fighting against is the actual […]

2 by Kris Nielsen / 2h 

Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform Debate

Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform Debate. via Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform Debate.

1 by plthomasedd / 9min 

Evidence Refutes TFA Expansion

Teach for America: A Return to the Evidence, by Julian Vasquez Heilig and Su Jin Jez, may be too optimistic in its subtitle (not sure we’ve ever lingered at all with the evidence in order to return to it), but that aside, this report offers yet another clear message that TFA is far more agenda- than evidence- […]

1 by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  save

Should California Embrace Common Core? My Response to Bill Honig

On January 7, 2014, California Instructional Quality Chair Bill Honig published a letter on Diane Ravitch’s blog in which he carefully details his reasons for supporting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in California. (Copy of letter ) In his letter, Honig encourages California districts wary of CCSS to reconsider their positions. He notes, “In California, there is widespread, […]

1 by deutsch29 / 2h 

YESTERDAY

Teaching within a low SES school is bittersweet.

Teaching is a demanding profession. The average teacher, regardless of his or her assignment, overcomes many obstacles throughout the school year. With that said, teaching within an economically disadvantaged neighborhood school is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. For better or worse, teaching within low socio-economic status (SES) neighborhood school is bittersweet. Teaching within

3 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 12h 

1-6-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Trickle-Down Administration: Education Reform in a Culture of Distracting OutrageTrickle-Down Administration: Education Reform in a Culture of Distracting Outrage. via Trickle-Down Administration: Education Reform in a Culture of Distracting Outrage.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical2 by plthomasedd / 2h 1-5-14 @ The Chalk Face@ THE CHALK FACE: I wonder if Secretary Dunca

by mike simpson / 9h 

1-7-14 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):

Tone, pt. 4: Dystopian Fiction, Passion, and the Education Reform Debate

Two early scenes in Shaun of the Dead require viewers to understand zombie narrative tropes in order to achieve the film’s satirical intent—distinguishing Shaun of the Dead from the zombie horror films it skewers: Shaun makes nearly identical trips from his apartment to a local convenience store, the first involving a normal day and the second after the (unknown to him) zombie apocalypse. Througho

1 by plthomasedd / 14min

Behind the Advocacy: TFA Remains Mostly Spin, Distraction

Schools Matter: Behind the Advocacy: TFA Remains Mostly Spin, Distraction

1 by plthomasedd / 1h 

1-6-14 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): King’s Next Shining Novel: More “True History of the Torrance Family”Stephen King’s career reminds me of the career of Kurt Vonnegut in three ways: (1) they suffered the negative consequences of being associated with writing genre fiction, (2) they are often devalued as

by mike simpson / 9h

1-7-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Shelly Silver Says Case For Delay In Common Core Reform Agenda Has Been Made

SED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch seemed not to be listening to the public during their Gospel of the Common Core Tour in November and December, but the members of the legislature - including Assembly Speaker Silver - were:ALBANY—Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Tuesday he expects the state Board of Regents to form a plan for improving and possibly delaying implementation of t

by reality-based edu... / 10min

De Blasio Vs. Cuomo

Inevitable that Sheriff Andy would want to make sure Bill de Blasio knows he's the boss.Cuomo says he can get an extra $250 million for full-day pre-k funding without raising taxes - a kind of one year windfall in the budget.De Blasio says the funding needs to be sustainable and over a period of years - in short, taxes need to be raised on individuals making $500,000 or more, as his plan calls for

by reality-based edu... / 10min hide  //  save

Baby Its Cold Outside

6 degrees in #NYC ties the record low from 1896! Feels like -13. Regional temps: http://t.co/2dBYBSORkF @ABC7NY #RecordCold— Lee Goldberg (@LeeGoldbergABC7) January 7, 201413 class days until the ELA Regents exam. 6 degrees out, -14 with the wind chill.Going to guess attendance isn't going to be so great today.

by reality-based edu... / 3h 

1-6-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Cuomo To Call For More Common Core Professional Development For TeachersJust in case you thought he was going to walk back his support of his education reform agenda:Cuomo is also expected to propose additional funding for professional development to help teachers who are struggling with the new, more rigorous Common Core standards, a source said. Both the Regents and the Se

by mike simpson / 9h 

Report: LA Schools' wifi networks may not be ready for tests | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Report: LA Schools' wifi networks may not be ready for tests | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Report: LA Schools' wifi networks may not be ready for tests

Annie Gilbertson | January 7th, 2014, 6:00am

Maya Sugarman/KPCC

As the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District considers a request by Superintendent John Deasy to buy 67,500 more iPads so students can take new digital state tests in the spring, a committee found that even if the fleet of testing tablets is purchased, most schools wifi networks may not be ready.

Documents released by the district Monday show only 208 of the district's 800 schools have the network capacity to support every student and teacher having an iPad. By the time testing begins in April, 59 more school sites will be fully wifi ready.

The other schools will have to wait – but because students can cycle through testing, some may be able to get by on limited existing networks. Some elementary schools need only a handful of computers online on any given testing hour; other schools will 

With shortage of computer science classes, students in Bell code after school

These Bell High School students meet after school twice a week to practice basic coding and cyber security. The high school canceled it Computer Science course this year.; Credit: Annie Gilbertson/KPCC CyberPatriot is possibly the geekiest high school club in history. Sponsored by the Air Force Association, a dozen teens from the city of Bell meet after school to learn to code. Like most of the c

by Annie Gilbertson / 37min hide  //  save

Long beach elementary parents decide to pay for extra music education

Students play a drum at the Very Special Arts Festival in downtown Los Angeles, October 18, 2013.; Credit: Mary Plummer/KPCC Parents at a Long Beach school are taking their students' music instruction into their own hands and paying for two days of music instruction per week, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram. The move will double the amount of music instruction currently available.  In

by Mary Plummer / 37min 

1-7-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

Infographics About The World’s Different Cultures

Here are new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures: Are you middle class? Defining the middle class around the world is from The Christian Science Monitor. by Lemon.ly. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

“Listening To Parents With Our Heads And Hearts”

Listening To Parents With Our Heads And Hearts is my latest Education Week Teacher post. This is the first post in a three-part series on parent engagement. Today, Katy Ridnouer, Janice Fialka, and Joe Mazza provide their guest responses

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

YESTERDAY

“The Best Articles Questioning The View That Single Parents Are A Problem”

The Best Articles Questioning The View That Single Parents Are A Problem is my latest “The Best…” list over at my other blog, Engaging Parents in School. You can see all my parent engagement “Best” lists here.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

Must-Read Article About A Must-Read Study: “Can Upward Mobility Cost You Your Health?”

As regular readers of this blog, and as readers of my books, know, I’m a big believer in helping my students develop Social Emotional Learning skills like self-control and perseverance. For many reasons, though, I’m concerned about it being over-sold as a panacea for many of the challenges we face in schools, and have written about it fairly extensively in The Best Articles About The Study Showin

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

Pretty Amazing Video: “World War II in Europe: Every Day”

I’m adding this video to The Best Online Resources For Teaching & Learning About World War II (Part Two):

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

Video: How Bullies Are Made….

I don’t think I’d use this with students, but, as Greg Toppo said when he shared this on Twitter, it seems like a “spot-on take on bullying.” Because of that, I’m adding it to A Very, Very Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Bullying.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h hide  //  save

From The Archives: “Involvement Or Engagement?”

I’ve recently re-started an effort I’ve tried to do previously by regularly highlighting previous posts and articles I’ve shared in previous years that I think might be worth a second look. Today, I’m highlighting an article I wrote for ASCD Educational Leadership on parent engagement that built on work I wrote about in one of my books. It was published in 2009, and was titled Involvement Or Engag

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h 

The Best Posts & Videos On “Hope” — Help Me Find More

Recently, there been some public attention paid to the idea of helping students develop “hope” and also being able to measure it. I don’t know if I’m entirely convinced that it makes sense to treat this idea as a separate and distinct part of Social Emotional Learning (obviously, it’s part of so many other SEL elements), but I’ve got an open mind and am just beginning to look into it. I thought I

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h 

 

1-6-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Excellent “60 Minutes” Video: “Volcanoes: Nature’s ticking time bombs”60 Minutes did an excellent segment last night titled Volcanoes: Nature’s ticking time bombs. I’ve embedded the video below, and it has additional resources at its website, including a transcript. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Volcano

by mike simpson / 9h 

On Small School Networks & Democracy - Bridging Differences - Education Week

On Small School Networks & Democracy - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

On Small School Networks & Democracy

By Deborah Meier on January 7, 2014 9:44 AM

Dear Robert,

Happy New Year!

I've been trying to imagine a "system" that could work for the kind of liberty within the context of democracy that we both seek. What kind of compromise is possible that meets each of our minimum requirements—and promotes democracy and liberty? What would a public system that puts "citizenship first," but supports many ways to get there, look like? What's the "key" to our differences, and how does it play out?

We agreed on democracy and liberty as the primary public ends we treasure, although no doubt we hold other expectations of good schooling. Given the title of your institution (Democracy Prep), maybe we agree on this.  But what would constitute evidence of a successful education on behalf of democracy and liberty is where there is disagreement. Sometimes quite deep disagreement.

It even includes our definitions of democracy and liberty. "Government of, for, and by the people" seems pretty straightforward. But who constitutes "the people"? At the time that our Constitution was signed and sealed most of our founding fathers favored exclusions. And we still, de facto and de jure, exclude many residents' right to vote.  Some we don't even argue about—such as the rationale for some minimum age restriction for voting.  

But what "of, for, and by" might mean remains elusive, hard to define. Certainly schools don't