1-16-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

What Will New Jersey's Universal Pre-K Look Like?

Universal pre-K is a no brainer when it comes to providing children with a good start.  Then again, brains appear to be in short supply here in New Jersey as voters swept a corrupt Christie administration into office AGAIN.  His record and polices that have hurt just about everyone in the state is as clear as the view from the George Washington Bridge on a sunny day. While Christie and his cronies

by freetoteach / 26min 

Public Meeting To Discuss Closing 12 Memphis Schools to Benefit Charter Industry and Gates Plan

A local columnist in Memphis, Wendi Thomas, has a cynical piece today in the Memphis Corporate Appeal on the planned shutdown of 12 more Memphis schools.  The Shelby County School Board, which represents the interests of the corporate machine, has brought in an economist from Chicago to assure the local media and politicians that the closure of 47 schools in Chicago is fine, because, after all, th

by Jim Horn / 1min 

Comments on "Arne Duncan: School Expectations Are Too Low in the United States"

From US NEWS and WORLD REPORT, Jan 14, 2014 My comments posted on:http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/14/arne-duncan-school expectations-are-too-low-in-the-united-statesARE TEACHERS STUPID?"... teachers in America often come from the bottom of the academic barrel .... Duncan said ..."There is no evidence this is true - Please see: "Are teachers stupid?"  By Jeff McQuill

by skrashen / 4min 

Full Interview, Part II, with Former Charter Teacher at Brooklyn Ascend

Part I of this interview with Emily Talmage, former charter school teacher, was posted yesterday here.  Part III will be posted tomorrow.INT:  How did the parents of these children feel about that [the rigidity with no accommodations]?R:  I don't really know because I don't really know if they were aware of what actually happened in the school.  I never saw a parent actually come in and observe a

2 by Jim Horn / 34min

Walking and Talking with Secretary Duncan

While too little focus is aimed at the substance of education reform claims and the criticisms of the reform movement, critics of misguided education reform are often discredited for their tone.Beneath the political civility of political appointees, such as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, however, are equally offensive implications, which compound the lack of evidence for their claims.On one l

5 by P. L. Thomas / 1h 

1-15-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Full Interview with Former Charter Teacher at Brooklyn Ascend, Part IIn the following interview, a teacher shares her story about working at Brooklyn Ascend, one of the total compliance, "no excuses" charter schools in Brooklyn.  Emily Talmage (formerly Emily Kennedy), who now happily teaches third grade in a Lewiston, Maine public school, has given permission to post her

by mike simpson / 5h 

1-16-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

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

Gary Chartrand’s Irreconcilable Conflicts of Interest

This week’s report that the Jacksonville Public Education Fund is proposing a new school grade formula marks the second time the think tank founded and financed by chairman of Florida’s board of education, Gary Chartrand,  has flexed it’s muscles. In June, JPEF’s top policy wonk, Jason Rose was on Tony Bennett’s cozy little “task force” that Chartrand ordered to ironically look into changing the f

by Bob Sikes / 3h 

1-15-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Are Stew’s Standards All About Keeping Florida’s Race to the Top Cash?Fifteen percent. That’s the number of changes allowed in Common Core Standards ambiguous loosely defined copyright and the estimated amount of largely cosmetic changes Florida education commissioner Pa

by mike simpson / 9h 

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:

Bill Introduced: H.R. 3738: Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to States that enact State laws that will make school attendance compulsory through the age of 17.

6h hide  //  save

Bill Introduced: H.R. 3734: 416d65726963612043616e20436f6465 Act of 2013

To establish a task force to share best practices on computer programming and coding for elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other purposes.

6h 

1-16-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

The Best Videos Documenting The History Of The English Language

There are quite a number of decent videos documenting the history of the English language, and I’m trying to figure out how to use them in my IB Theory of Knowledge class. Ideas are welcome. Here are the videos I know about: The Story Of English is a nine-part television series, and I’ve embedded the entire playlist below: How did English evolve? is from TED-Ed. I’ve embedded the video below, a

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h hide  //  save

Nice Interactive: “Median Income Across the US”

Median Income Across the US is a nice interactive map from WNYC that shows the income levels of all the census tracts in the United States. I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Analyzing Census Data. Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the tip.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

January’s Best Tweets – Part Three

Every month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. I’ve already shared in earlier posts several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave credit to those from whom I learned about them. Those are not included again in this post. If you don’t use Twitter, yo

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h 

Video: “Magic Vine Collection”

Zach King’s ‘Magic’ Vine Compilation is a pretty entertaining collection of Vine videos that would be good for English Language Learners to watch and describe what they see:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11min 

You Can Read About An Excellent ELL Speaking Activity At My New British Council Blog

I’ve just begun publishing a monthly post at the Teaching English site of the British Council, which is the preeminent international organization promoting English-language teaching. My first post there is about an excellent speaking/listening activity for English Language Learners — check out Using a “Three-Two_one” Speaking Activity.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

More Good Martin Luther King, Jr. Resources

Even though we’ll be officially recognizing Martin Luther King’s birthday on Monday, his real birthday is today. Here are two excellent resources I’m adding to The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King: MLK Was a Revolutionary, Not Just a Dreamer is from The Root. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- Assassination and Legacy is from a radio program originating from the Canadian Broadcasting

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h hide  //  save

Two Must-Visit Resources: 40 More Maps AND 40 Charts “That Explain The World”

Last year I posted about an incredible Washington Post resource: 40 maps that explain the world is a great collection from the Washington Post that may be the best geography site of the year. It links to another site called 40 Maps They Didn’t Teach You In School that has a number of other good maps. However, that second site also includes a few maps with topics and language that wouldn’t be appr

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 

From The Archives: “Positive, Not Punitive, Classroom Management Tips”

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 excerpt from one of my books that appeared at Edutopia awhile back. It’s titled Positive, Not Punitive, Classroom Management Tips. Here’s an excerpt:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 

“Blaming Poverty on Single Parents Is Win-Win for Republicans, Evidence Be Damned”

Blaming Poverty on Single Parents Is Win-Win for Republicans, Evidence Be Damned is an extensive Atlantic article. It’s a must-read piece. Here’s an excerpt: And is where everyone should be screaming from the rooftops: “Correlation isn’t causation!” If you don’t have access to a roof, stand on your desk like you’re in Dead Poet’s Society and bellow, “Just because poverty is more common among the u

by Larry Ferlazzo / 5h 

1-15-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “Parents Can Teach Educators ‘Lessons About Learning and Life’”Parents Can Teach Educators ‘Lessons About Learning and Life’ is part three in my Ed Week series on parent engagement. Today’s post features contributions from Catherine Compton-Lilly, Dr. Sherrel Bergmann, Dr. Judith Brough and Maurice J. Elias.by Larry Ferlazz

by mike simpson / 9h 

1-16-14 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 Busch. The U of C and me.

- Bob Busch It was a cold November day when the four of us piled into the V.W. Bug.
There were three men and one women. We were assigned to the University of Chicago Lab School for (pre-service) observation. When we arrived the lady in charge looked down her nose at us and asked where we were from. “Chicago Teachers College,” we all said. Her only
response was “Oh.” Then we got the five-minute spi

by Fred Klonsky / 0min 

A view from the bottom of the academic barrel.

Hey. This is me. Down here at the bottom of the academic barrel. Or so says Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  Arne grew up in Hyde Park, a Chicago neighborhood encompassing the University of Chicago.  His father was a psychology professor at the university and his mother ran an after-school program primarily serving African-American youth in Kenwood. Duncan attended the University of Chicago Lab

by Fred Klonsky / 1min

Illinois unions say no to lifting Special Education class size limits.

January 15, 2014 By IEA News Today, Illinois’ largest education employee unions came out in strong opposition to a proposal from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to remove class size protections for student with disabilities. With this change, school districts could reduce staff and increase the number of special education students in every classroom. The measure is expected to be vot

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

1-15-14 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.: The Trib’s Eric Zorn. “Bruce Rauner is generous.”From Mike Klonsky’s blog: No surprise here. It’s the Trib’s Eric Zorn. He identifies with the Republican billionaire’s clout problems. I didn’t have to play that game with my elder son, who easily tested into Payton in 2004, but I can’t blame many of th

by mike simpson / 9h

1-16-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

PS 106 Update: Why There's No Payroll Secretary

Who is responsible from above Marcella Sills after a decade of this kind of stuff? Will the NY Post blame Farina?From a source:Our last payroll secretary who had retired teturned to PS 106 part time after being begged by [Principal] Sills to return. But Sills was so nasty to her and treated her with gross disrespect. Finally the payroll secretary told her she was leaving due to the way Sills treat

by ed notes online / 2h hide  //  save

Press Advisory from City-As-School present recommendations on the future of NYC education for Mayor Bill de Blasio at “Performance-Based Education”

This was organized by my friend and fellow MORE steering committee member John Antush. John's mind never stops working. City-As-School High School 16 Clarkson Street  New York NY 10014 Alan Cheng, Principal For Immediate Release: January 8th, 2013 Contacts:  Kimberly Acosta (student): kimberly.acosta.13@cityas.org Naomi Richards (student)John Antush (Teacher): Johna@cityas.org Tel: 212.337.6884 P

by ed notes online / 2h 

The Daily Howler On NY Times Confusing Farina Story

Do you understand that story? We don’t! If the school [PS 6] was so good when Farina was assigned there, why did it need a “renaissance” or an “upward swing?” If Farina was tasked with bringing the school “to an even higher level of performance,” why did it need to “blossom?”... Daily HowlerWhile I generally liked the Javier Hernandez story on Farina, I to was puzzled by this contradiction the How

by ed notes online / 2h 

Leonie on MSNBC On Why Charters Should Pay Rent

My appearance on MSNBC and Daily News oped: Why de Blasio is right to charge rent to co-located charters: A  shortened version of the oped below is published in today's Daily News; along with the StudentsFirst opposing view. Also below is my brief appearance Saturday on Melissa Harris-Perry Show  on MSNBC. --Leonie HaimsonDuring his campaign for mayor, Bill de Blasio promised to focus the city’s

by ed notes online / 52min 

1-15-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: PS 106 Update: The Network Up to Ears in Coverup With a Tisch on the ChainIn addition to the Mayor in control of our schools, his appointed Chancellors, Deputies and Sups, what about the Networks that provide support and oversight, in al things pedagogical and not in the current operational structure? Bill Colavito is the NL of the old PSO CEI-PEA whose Board includes:Seymour Flie

by mike simpson / 9h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 1-16-14

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

Review Finds Hundreds Of La School Libraries Without Staff, Shuttered

Annie Gilbertson  | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1j1ZA4F Annie Gilbertson/KPCC January 16th, 2014, 6:02am  ::  Libraries across L.A. Unified are closing their doors. Figures out this week show only half of L.A. Unified school libraries have even part-time staff and far fewer have a credentialed librarian. In a district of 768 schools libraries, there are only 98 librarians to

1 by smf / 57min 

National Education Policy Center’s 8th ANNUAL BUNKUM AWARDS

Recognizing the Lowlights in Educational Research in 2013 National Education Policy Center | School of Education | University of Colorado | http://bit.ly/1gO3jS0 This marks our eighth year of handing out the Bunkum Awards, recognizing the lowlights in educational research over the past year. As long as the bunk keeps flowing, the awards will keep coming. It’s the least we can do. This year’s

1 by smf / 9h  

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 1-15-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD IGNORES BOND COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS; GIVES SUPERITENDENT ALL THE iPADS HE THINKS HE NEEDS WHENEVER HE THINKS HE NEEDS THEMBoardmembers Galatzan and Zimmer work out an amendment “…to just leave it up to the superintendent”. L.A. school board moves forward with computer effort The board votes to distribute iPads to 38 more campuses,

by mike simpson / 9h