3-10-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

Video: “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Here’s the premiere episode of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s remake of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” (thanks to Alexander Russo for the tip). You might also want to check out the show’s website, as well as a New York Times article about it.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 57min hide  //  save

Recent Student Projects From My Theory Of Knowledge Class

As regular readers know, in addition to teaching Beginning and Intermediate English Language Learners English and Social Studies, I also teacher mainstream ninth-grade English classes and an International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge class (and it looks like I’ll be teaching two TOK classes next year!). In addition to IB Diploma candidates, I heavily recruit other students that are not taking

by Larry Ferlazzo / 57min 

Using Art For Language-Learning Is Focus Of My Latest NY Times Post For ELLs

My latest New York Times post for English Language Learners is on art — students complete an interactive about an artist who uses chewing gum for his creations, and I share teaching ideas using online art apps. You might also be interested in The Best Art Websites For Learning English. You can see all my previous New York Times posts here.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

The Best Sites For Learning About The 2014 World Cup In Brazil

I’ve published two posts at The New York Times for English Language Learners that focus on soccer: one on Lionel Messi and the other on a Mexican girls soccer team. The 2014 World Cup begins on June 12th in Brazil. I created a very long “Best” list for the 2010 World Cup, and have selected sites that would be useful this year and added them to this new list. Of course, I’ll be adding a lot more a

by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h

3-9-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: This Has Me Concerned: “Study Links Teacher ‘Grit’ with Effectiveness, Retention”The SAME day The Washington Post republished my piece on the potential misuse of teaching Social Emotional Learning Skills, Education Week reported on new research titled Study Links Teacher ‘Grit’ with Effectiveness, Retention. My Washington P

by mike simpson / 7h 

3-10-14 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.:

Defined benefit versus defined contribution.

  Glen Brown.   Fred, I was thinking that some time ago you did a comparison piece of defined pensions vs. 401K’s. Given what Rauner is saying in the Chicago. Tribune, 401′s are the way he wants to go. To make a short story long, on a FB thread of a friends, one of HIS friends is saying that 401′s are okey dokey with him because he was financially savvy enough to place enough of his money into

2 by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Monday morning with pensions on my mind.

J Jay Travis is running for the Illinois House in the 26th District. Daylight savings time means it is dark at 7AM as I head out the door. I won’t be doing much posting today since I will be at the Area II meeting of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association. I’m speaking along with IRTA President Bob Pinkerton, IRTA Executive Director Jim Bachman and Bob Lyons, the Annuitant Trustee of the Teache

2 by Fred Klonsky / 2h 

3-9-14 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.: Sunday reads.  Mayor Preckwinkle? Twelve powerful images of women in the labor movement. PBS is still hiding their cozy financial dealings with the pension thieves. Ex-guerrilla favorite to win El Salvador’s presidential election. Billionaires are bullying teachers in California. Five bad ideas about

by mike simpson / 4h

3-10-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Dora Taylor: What is a Charter School

Dora reminds us of her 2010 piece on charters at the Seattle Education blog.What is a Charter School?The basic difference between a traditional public school and a privately run charter school is that with a charter school there is complete control of the school by a private enterprise within a public school district. Although taxpayer-funded, charters operate without the same degree of public and

by ed notes online / 10min 

AFT Won’t Accept Gates Money, Except When It Does

...that only accounts for half the money AFT has received from Gates. According to Politico, “AFT’s executive council hasn’t formally voted to reject Gates funding for other projects, but Weingarten said she would be very cautious about taking such grants.” Somehow a headline that reads “AFT Shuns Gates Funding” gives a different impression than one that reads “AFT Will Be Very Cautious the Next T

by ed notes online / 2min

Leonie on Ed Show Tonight on Charter Co-Loco Battle

At least MSNBC has been giving some voice to our side -- hope you saw Julie Cavanagh on the SAT issue on Chris Hayes Friday night. Now Leonie on The Ed Show at 5:30.Dear folks:I will be on the Ed Show at 5:30 PM EST tonight on MSNBC, talking about the furious co-location battle going on in NYC.Lost in the furious rhetoric from the charter lobby and the biased coverage by the mainstream media is th

by ed notes online / 1h 

CamiGate: Get Rid of Black Teachers and Replace them with white TFA in Newark in the Name of Civil Rights

There is a historical context of racial discrimination against black teachers in the United States, and “choice” systems of education have previously been found to disproportionately affect the employment of these teachers. One Newark appears to continue this tradition.There are significant differences in race, gender, and experience in the characteristics of NPS staff and the staff of Newark’s ch

by ed notes online / 3min 

Randi and Gives Up Some Gates Dough -- And She's Being Praised?

Oh, Jesus, when will it end? Diane Ravitch posts the "good news" that Randi will no longer accept Gates money and there are some cheers - but also critiques. Breaking News: Randi Says AFT Will No Longer Accept Funding from Gates Foundation for Innovation FundThere are a bunch of comments you should read. I left one but it is awaiting moderation. In case it doesn't pass muster, here it is

by ed notes online / 6min 

De Blasio Allies Counterattack on Moskowitz - the Real Civil Rights Issue of the Time

As a candidate for mayor, Bill de Blasio electrified crowds of parents and education activists with a pledge to charge rent to charter schools, one of the starkest policy departures from his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg... NY Times, March 10, 2014Well, finally, a word or two that gets to the heart of the issue. The Mayor ran on an anti-charter platform and beat the guy who ran on a pro-charte

by ed notes online / 0min hide  //  save

Charterbeat Distorts Charter Coverage

That private dollars help the charters is fine, but they remain publicly funded institutions, and it is irresponsibly shortsighted to spend that money without also benefiting the host districts.... Your article notes that students at the Success Academy charter schools outscored public school students in standardized math and reading tests. While this may be encouraging for the charter school move

by ed notes online / 35min 

YESTERDAY

Monday March 10, 4PM: Rally at Harlem School for Victims of Moskowitz Attempt to Push Out Special Ed Kids

Which kids are really getting hurt in the charter wars?Rally To Support de Blasio and Public  Schools in Harlem Tomorrow Where:  Outside PS/ MS 149When : 4: 00- 5:00  March 1041 W.  117th St between Lennox Ave and FifthSubway:  2 or 3 to 116th  Even as Mayor Bill de Blasio’s  handling of the issue of charter school co-locations has disappointed many, it has signaled the end of the era when the li

by ed notes online / 10h 

3-9-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: You Mean, That Jessica Tisch? Bratton Chooses TischNYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton names Jessica Tisch as deputy commissioner of information and technologyOh, you mean that Jessica Tisch?Jessica Tisch Calls For Bloomberg 3rd Term - Ed Notes OnlineApr 15, 2008Today's Post includes an op-ed calling for voters to decide on term limits so Bloomberg can run again. The piece claims Bloom

1 by mike simpson / 8h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-10-14

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

Agnotology: CULTURAL PRODUCTION OF IGNORANCE PROVIDES RICH FIELD FOR STUDY + smf’s 2¢

Robert Proctor is one of the world's leading experts in agnotology, a neologism signifying the study of the cultural production of ignorance.   Irony and using a preposition to end a sentence with:  Eric Lawson, who portrayed the rugged Marlboro man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s, died Jan. 10 at his home in San Luis Obispo of respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive

by smf / 21min 

The UTLA Presidential Race: CANDIDATES VYING TO LEAD UTLA REFLECT RECENT TEACHER WOES + UTLA STATEMENTS & E4E RESPONSES

The 10 candidates running for president of United Teachers-Los Angeles seek to lead a dispirited and divided teacher corps with common grievances but who lack consensus on how to move forward. By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1loK43O Incumbent Warren Fletcher, center, seeks a second and final term as UTLA president for a three-year position that pays $101,000 annually

by smf / 48min 

LA Schools iPads: OFFICIALS CHOSE INCOMPLETE SOFTWARE OVER COMPETITORS

Annie Gilbertson, Education Reporter | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1cq4RE2 Grant Slater/KPCC : A student at KIPP Comienza in Huntington Park plays ST Math to review the week's material. The game tracks his progress and gives him harder activities as he masters skills. It's the type of interactivity L.A. Unified reviewers said they were

by smf / 51min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-9-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: ARTS AT THE CORE: Dr. Deasy’s elementary arts plan …and a PowerPoint about the budgetfrom LAUSD, presented w/o commentby smf / 0min 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-8-144LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  Arne blinks! FEDERAL OFFICIALS END STAND OFF, GREEN-LIGHT CALIFORNIA TESTING PLAN  A

by mike simpson / 7h 

3-10-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Holy hell, my God almighty?!? AFT turns away Gates money? Outstanding.

Check out this article from Politico while I step outside to see if hell is frozen over. To wit: Weingarten said she didn’t believe Gates funding influenced the Innovation Fund’s direction, but still had to sever the relationship. “I got convinced by the level of distrust I was seeing — not simply on Twitter, but […]

2 by Shaun Johnson / 16min 

Common Core: Why Money Trumps Evidence

Common Core: Why Money Trumps Evidence. via Common Core: Why Money Trumps Evidence.

4 by plthomasedd / 45min 

A User-friendly Tutorial on IRS 990s

One of the panel discussions in which I participated at the first annual Network for Public Education (NPE) conference was on investigative journalism. I chose to use my twelve minutes to only touch the surface on using IRS 990s (the tax forms for nonprofit organizations) as a research tool. In this post, I would like […]

3 by deutsch29 / 8h  

3-9-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Teaching Students, Missionary Zeal, and the Cult of PersonalityTeaching Students, Missionary Zeal, and the Cult of Personality. via Teaching Students, Missionary Zeal, and the Cult of Personality.by plthomasedd / 3min All Week 3-8-14 @ THE CHALK FACE@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Predatory Reform Strikes Again: Kahn Academy and College BoardKahn

1 by mike simpson / 8h

3-10-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:

On the Misuse of Statistics in Testing by the NY State Department of Education: Anonymous Posting by a Friendly Statistician

The Common Core and Departments of Education: Lies, Darn Lies, Statistics and Education StatisticsNumbers have taken center stage in the discussion of education policy in the United States. Test score metrics have become a particularly critical set of numbers. They are seen as objective measuring devices, comparable across years, that provide a reliable evaluation of how students, teachers, school

by Mark Naison / 4h hide  //  save

Some Thoughts on Randi Weingarten and BATS

I have no problem with people on our page critiquing Randi Weintarten's leadership of the AFT. I have a HUGE problem with anyone asking to remove her from BATS. We only remove people from the organization for violating our posting policies- or for being persistently divisive on our pages- not for their actions outside of BATS. To do so would set a terrible precedent and turn us into intelligence o

by Mark Naison / 9h  

3-8-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All WeekAmerica's Top Colleges and Teach for Americai wonder what future historians will say about the nation's top colleges- especially the Ivies,  Duke and Stanford,and the top public univerisites- enthusiastically welcoming a program that systematically undermines the teaching profession and provides replacement labor for cities trying to we

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

VAMboozled! in Indianapolis |:

VAMboozled! in Indianapolis

 Last week I was in Indianapolis for the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) during which Diane Ravitch gave the keynote speech for the conference’s Welcoming Session. While the video of her live talk is not yet posted online, she talked mainly about the many hoaxes surrounding America’s public education system, all of which were framed by her main question that she revealed from underneath her jacket a t-shirt on which it was written: “Where’s the evidence?”

The key part of her speech, as most relevant here but captured by another author atEducation News, went as follows:

In a far-reaching speech in which [Diane Ravitch] lambasted a variety of players on the educational landscape — from self-styled education “reformers” to Teach for America to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan — Ravitch said American schoolchildren are being shortchanged by an inordinate emphasis on testing. She took particular aim at teacher evaluation models known as value-added models, or VAMs, that seek to measure teacher effectiveness by the test scores of the students they teach. “For nearly five years, states and districts have been trying to evaluate teachers by test scores, and it hasn’t worked anywhere,” Ravitch said. “It makes testing too important, promotes teaching to the test, and gaming of the system. “We know all know this. But the policymakers don’t.