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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Nite Cap 3-18-14 #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 CAP




CURMUDGUCATION: Who Is Diane Ravitch?
CURMUDGUCATION: Who Is Diane Ravitch?: Who Is Diane Ravitch?At Reclaiming Public Education 101 (my website for ed reform neophytes), I'm trying to create and collect materials to answer some of the questions newby ed reform students might have. I'm not a fan of cults of personality-- any time I'm in a group that drops its mission to sing a hymn of praise to its leaders, I get itchy. But I also kno
These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide Movement | I AM AN EDUCATOR
These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide Movement | I AM AN EDUCATOR: These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide MovementBy I AM AN EDUCATOR on March 18, 2014[This article was written for Education Uprising, the Spring 2014 issue of YES! Magazine.  To support many of the MAP test boycott leaders who are now running for offic
Big Conferences: What’s their Goal? | My Island View
Big Conferences: What’s their Goal? | My Island View: Big Conferences: What’s their Goal?March 18, 2014 by tomwhitbyThis is a topic I have written about before, and I will probably continue to write about in the future. I guess we should start by defining a big education conference. For the purpose of this post and my experience let’s make it conferences of over 1,000 attendees. Most big education
NYC Educator: Why Is There a Revive NYSUT?
NYC Educator: Why Is There a Revive NYSUT?: Why Is There a Revive NYSUT?There are a lot of stories floating around the net about this. There's a grain of truth to some of them. Many of  them revolve around Governor Cuomo. They say that NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi wanted to order three tickets for Andy Cuomo's thousand-dollar-a-plate birthday party, and that Executive Vice-President Andy Pallo
12 Excellent Reasons to Opt Out of Relentless Hi Stakes Testing Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública
Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: 12 Excellent Reasons to Opt Out of Relentless Hi Stakes Testing 
Good-bye, Tests! Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out! | Gatsby In L.A.
Good-bye, Tests! Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out! | Gatsby In L.A.: Good-bye, Tests! Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out! Sayonara, test score mania!  Well, for two years, anyway.  The state of California has just suspended the calculation of API scores until 2016—an index of performance based on multiple choice state tests in every subject for every grade–in order to give schools
3-18-14 The Whole Child Blog — ED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the "Next Big Thing" in Education Tech? — Whole Child Education
ED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the "Next Big Thing" in Education Tech? — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the “Next Big Thing” in Education Tech?March 18, 2014 by Kit Harris, ASCD ResearchASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recentASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers wh
Bronies Are Redefining Fandom — And American Manhood | Underwire | Wired.com
Bronies Are Redefining Fandom — And American Manhood | Underwire | Wired.com: Bronies Are Redefining Fandom — And American ManhoodBY ANGELA WATERCUTTER03.11.146:30 AMShare on Facebook1.2ksharesinShare62SIMILAR GALLERIESThese Are the Musicians Who Blew Our Minds at SXSWThe 15 Most Fascinating Filmmakers and Stars at SXSWSee What Famous Movie Locations Look Like Today With This Nifty AppThe 12 Most
3-18-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open ThreadA six-year-old calls Hasbro out on its Guess Who game (with 19 men and only 5 women on the game board).  They write back with a silly answer and her mom weighs in. A bipartisan bill has been introduced into the House of Representatives to cut down on high-stakes testing.  In the on-going debate about discipline, zero-tolerance discipline and how
Georgia State Professor: Gates Has Spent $2.3 Billion on Common Core | Truth in American Education
Georgia State Professor: Gates Has Spent $2.3 Billion on Common Core | Truth in American Education: Georgia State Professor: Gates Has Spent $2.3 Billion on Common CoreFiled in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on March 18, 2014 • 0 CommentsJack Hassard, Professor Emeritus at Georgia State, provides evidence that Gates has spent $2.3 billion on the implementation and advocacy of the
3-18-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): LA Unified board talking lawsuits, budget, MelendezThelma Melendez The LA Unified Board meets this morning, with much of their business scheduled for a closed door session. In private, the six members will discuss various legal cases involving the district as well as updates on labor contracts and student
3-18-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: When Will Ravitch Stop Enabling Weingarten's Corporate Addiction?From PsychCentral:Enabling is a term often used in the context of a relationship with an addict. It might be a drug addict or alcoholic, a gambler, or a compulsive overeater. Enablers, rather than addicts, suffer the effects of the addict’s behavior. Enabling is “removing the natural consequences to the addict of his
FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, March 18, 2014
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: EdTracker: EdSource’s guide to education legislation | EdSource TodayEducation HeadlinesTuesday, March 18, 2014FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.Hacienda La Puente school district considers selling land to
Morning Wink 3-18-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-18-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: A Very Different Cuomo, Once Upon a TimeThirty years ago, the governor of New York addressed the Democratic National Convention, held in New York City. His name was Mario Cuomo. His theme was “A
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-18-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: A Very Different Cuomo, Once Upon a TimeThirty years ago, the governor of New York addressed the Democratic National Convention, held in New York City. His name was Mario Cuomo. His theme was “A Tale of Two Cities,” ironically, the same campaign theme as Bill de Blasio in 2013. He denounced tax breaks for the rich. He spoke of cari
Could Teaching Become A Team Sport? | Taking Note
Could Teaching Become A Team Sport? | Taking Note: Could Teaching Become A Team Sport?by CARMEN on 18. MAR, 2014 in 2014 BLOGS, TEACHINGBy rights teaching ought to have become a team sport years ago, because the majority of school superintendents have been drawn from the ranks of coaches for as long as I can remember. Who better than to inculcate team values than ex-jocks turned coaches turned sch
The Answer Sheet 3-18-14
The Answer Sheet: 50 terrible ideas for improving schoolsA valuable new book called “50 Myths &  Lies That Threaten America’s Public Schools”  takes a stark look at some of the worst ideas being promoted by school reformers around the country as ways to improve the public education.   The book — from which I am going to run a series of excerpts — […]    31 by Valerie Strauss / 5hThe Answer She
3-18-14 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: Florida’s New Testing Non-Profit Has Received $36 Million in Grants From Gates FoundationYou just knew there had to be a catch. Yesterday’s news that Education Commissioner Pam Stewart had selected a new testing company to replace FCAT. Erin Jester reports in the Gainesv
3-18-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “To Help ELLs, We Need To Understand ‘How Language Learning Works’”To Help ELLs, We Need To Understand ‘How Language Learning Works’ is my latest post over at Education Week Teacher. Today, staff from Stanford’s “Understanding Language,” Mary Cappellini and Paul Boyd-Batstone share their thoughts. I’ve also included comment
3-18-14 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.: What I’m reading over coffee at 4AM. Chris Christie’s Pensiongate. A Bruce Rauner preview.Election Day. Logan Square. 39th State Representative District. 4AM – I’m heading out to do poll watching this morning. I’m grabbing a quick breakfast of coffee and an english muffin with peanut butter. Need my p
3-18-14 Ed Notes Online Week
Ed Notes Online: NYSUT: MORE Challenges Unity, VP Candidate Arthur Goldstein to Appear at PSC Candidate Forum TonightOverall, Revive did not look ready for prime time.  If this is the best they can do, then we may be in even more peril than now if they take over NYSUT in April.  The four incumbents in Stronger Together and Arthur Goldstein looked very comfortable up on the stage while Pallotta and
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-18-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: State Board makes it official: NO API SCORES FOR NEXT TWO YEARSBy John Fensterwald | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/1kFiAHs March 14th, 2014   ::  With federal approval finally in hand to give a Common Core-aligned practice test this spring, the State Board of Education took the inevitable next step this week. It suspended the Academic Performance Index,
3-18-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week
With A Brooklyn Accent: The Other Wave of School Closings: How the Shutting of Catholic Schools in the Inner City Paved the Way for ChartersMany people have praised charter schools as providing a safe alternative for inner city families to public schools, implying they are creating something that never existed before. However, that is not exactly true. During the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's, when i
3-18-14 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): “To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true…” Bayard Rustin1 by plthomasedd / 2h hide  //  save“The best lack all conviction…” William Butler YeatsThe Second Coming William Butler Yeats1 by plthomasedd / 4h  3-17-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedag
3-18-14 empathyeducates - Were Charter Teachers and Students Pressured to Rally for Charter Schools
empathyeducates: Were Charter Teachers and Students Pressured to Rally for Charter Schools in Albany?Photograph; Eva Moskowitz, CEO and Founder of the Success Academy (photo courtesy of House Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats, CC 2.0)By Zoe Carpenter | Originally Published at The Nation. March 14, 2014On the first Tuesday in March, thousands of students, parents and teachers ralli
3-18-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Bridgegate Scandal Gets Closer To ChristieChris Christie is making like he doesn't have three scandals dogging him (Bridgegate, Sandy aid, Samson at the Port Authority), going about his business as if he can be a viable 2016 presiential candidate and an effective New Jersey governor.But then you get news like this that pops up every now and then that let's you know just how
Deborah Meier, Libertarian? - Bridging Differences - Education Week
Deborah Meier, Libertarian? - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Deborah Meier, Libertarian?By Guest Blogger on March 18, 2014 9:13 AMRobert Pondiscio of Democracy Prep writes again to Deborah Meier today.Dear Deborah,One of the joys of sharing this space with you is how often you surprise me, acknowledging last week, for example, that in some ways you are "exceedingly conservative."
Russ on Reading: The Devil's Dictionary of Education Reform
Russ on Reading: The Devil's Dictionary of Education Reform: The Devil's Dictionary of Education ReformAs a teenager one of my favorite books was The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. His satirical definitions of words struck at the heart of hypocrisy in the early 20th century. For example Bierce defined absurdity as a "statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.&q
Warning: Do Not Be Beguiled by David Brooks | janresseger
Warning: Do Not Be Beguiled by David Brooks | janresseger: Warning: Do Not Be Beguiled by David BrooksPosted on March 18, 2014 by janressegerI do not pretend fully to understand Newark, New Jersey’s mayoral politics.  I’m a Clevelander and David Brooks is a New Yorker, and we are both outsiders.  But this morning, as a Clevelander, I need to correct what I’ll be generous and call an oversimplifica
for the love of learning: Chair-less classrooms?
for the love of learning: Chair-less classrooms?: Chair-less classrooms?Here's a news story about a chair-less classroom.I'm all for teachers and schools who make play and physical activity a priority. I've seen classrooms use core stability balls in really cool ways. But let's examine this story a little closer.Did you notice the trifolds?I'm less impressed with the "core stability balls&quo
EdTracker: EdSource’s guide to education legislation | EdSource Today
EdTracker: EdSource’s guide to education legislation | EdSource Today: EdTracker: EdSource’s guide to education legislationMarch 17th, 2014 | Add a Comment | By EdSource staffLast year California state legislators passed the Local Control Funding Formula, transforming how schools are funded. They ended the state’s existing system of standardized testing and created a roadmap for introducing new as
Cami, where are the books? | Bob Braun's Ledger
Cami, where are the books? | Bob Braun's Ledger: Cami, where are the books?Where the hell are the books?It’s not the ideology. It’s not the politics. It’s not the ego (see mostrecent HuffPost by Cami Anderson, the overpaid tsar of Newark education). It’s not the national pundits screaming at each other over the Internet.It’s just plain incompetence and indifference to babies of all shades.This is
Survey: Few Southern California school districts can afford comprehensive arts instruction | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC
Survey: Few Southern California school districts can afford comprehensive arts instruction | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: Survey: Few Southern California school districts can afford comprehensive arts instructionMary Plummer | March 18th, 2014, 5:00amMaya Sugarman/KPCCStudents participate in a figure drawing class during the four-week California State Summer School for the Arts program at CalArts.See
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'Let's finish the job'
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'Let's finish the job': 'Let's finish the job'From Will GuzzzardiMike --Two years ago today, we came within 125 votes of doing what no one thought was possible. When I decided to challenge one of the most powerful political families in Illinois, I knew it wouldn't be easy. But what I didn't know was just how many people across the district -- parents, teachers, progr

YESTERDAY

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 3-17-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
Nite Cap UPDATEUPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATECORPORATE ED REFORM“Efforts To Close The Achievement Gap In Kids Start At Home”I’ve been a little skeptical about the effort in Providence to have children wear clothes with built-in audio recorders to county the number of words heard at home (you can see those pieces at The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap”). NPR just ran a piece on it titl
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson: You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves Youby JOSE VILSON on MARCH 17, 2014in JOSEAfter a difficult day “at the office,” I sat on my couch and did next to nothing. My e-mail count ran up. My food got cold. My son played with his cars, and, while I partook in a little chasing around the apartment, I soon fell into the couch again,
FROM THE BAT CAVE Schoolhouse Live
Schoolhouse Live:  FROM THE BAT CAVEThe BATS (Baddass Teachers) are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!  Formed last year, these feisty teachers are tired of district bureaucrats calling the shots. Mark Naison moderates.LIVE STREAM TUESDAY! 4:30 PST TEACHERS AND PARENTS WANT SAFE SCHOOLS, NOT iPADS!FOR MORE NPE PANEL DISCUSSIONS CLICKHERE!FROM OUR ARCHIVES: NOAM CHOMSKY ON THE PUBLIC GOO
Gates Dined on March 13, 2014, with 80 Senators | deutsch29
Gates Dined on March 13, 2014, with 80 Senators | deutsch29: Gates Dined on March 13, 2014, with 80 SenatorsMarch 17, 2014Bill Gates has too much power.The following announcement, dated March 13, 2014, is from Politico:DINNER WITH GATES – About 80 senators are expected to attend a dinner discussion at the Capitol tonight with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the NYT’s David Brooks. The 6:45 p.m. d
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wants to ‘steadlily’ replace school boards with charter schools | The Raw Story
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wants to ‘steadlily’ replace school boards with charter schools | The Raw Story: Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wants to ‘steadlily’ replace school boards with charter schoolsBy Arturo GarciaMonday, March 17, 2014 21:11 EDT Video from a gathering of charter school administrators shows Netflix CEO Reed Hastings telling charter school administrators they should be working toward
Another Brick in “The Wall” | Connected Principals
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Vergara v. California: The most dangerous lawsuit you probably haven't heard of
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Nite Cap 3-17-14 #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 CAP4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-17-144LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: L.A. Unified’S Decision To Move Students Sparks FurorOfficials didn't take into account long-standing (community+gang) rivalries when they decided to




CURMUDGUCATION: Who Is Diane Ravitch?

CURMUDGUCATION: Who Is Diane Ravitch?:



Who Is Diane Ravitch?



At Reclaiming Public Education 101 (my website for ed reform neophytes), I'm trying to create and collect materials to answer some of the questions newby ed reform students might have. I'm not a fan of cults of personality-- any time I'm in a group that drops its mission to sing a hymn of praise to its leaders, I get itchy. But I also know that many folks who are not fully involved--yet-- in the issue of education reform don't really know the best-known players beyond simple name recognition. Part of learning your way around this stuff is knowing who's who, and Diane Ravitch seems like the place to start.

If you are a regular reader of Curmudgucation, you probably know who Diane Ravitch is. But you would be surprised how many people do not, and do not know what the big deal is. Let me draw the broad outline.

Ravitch was born in 1938 in Houston, Texas. She attended Wellesley College, did graduate work at Columbia, established herself as an education historian and cemented her professional reputation with the 1974 book The Great School Wars, a history of New York City schools.

Five years after the release of A Nation at Risk, the 1983 critique of US public schools, she co-authored with Chester Finn What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know, marking her as part of the 

These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide Movement | I AM AN EDUCATOR

These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide Movement | I AM AN EDUCATOR:



These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide Movement

[This article was written for Education Uprising, the Spring 2014 issue of YES! Magazine.  To support many of the MAP test boycott leaders who are now running for office in their union, visithttp://socialequalityeducators.org/%5D

Parents, students, and teachers all over the country have joined the revolt to liberate our kids from a test-obsessed education system.

Kris McBride, Garfield’s academic dean and testing coordinator, at left, and Jesse Hagopian, Garfield history teacher and a leader of the school’s historic test boycott. Photo by Betty Udesen.
by Diane Brooks
Life felt eerie for teachers at Seattle’s Garfield High in the days following their unanimous declaration of rebellion last winter against standardized testing. Their historic press conference, held on a Thursday, had captured the attention of national TV and print media. But by midday Monday, they still hadn’t heard a word from their own school district’s leadership.
Then an email from Superintendent José Banda hit their in-boxes. Compared with a starker threat issued a week later, with warnings of 10-day unpaid suspensions, this note was softly worded. But its message was clear: a teacher boycott of the district’s most-hated test—the MAP, short for Measures of Academic Progress—was intolerable.
Jittery teachers had little time to digest the implications before the lunch bell sounded, accompanied by an announcement over the intercom: a Florida teacher had ordered them a stack of hot pizzas, as a gesture of solidarity.
“It was a powerful moment,” said history teacher Jesse Hagopian, a boycott leader. “That’s when we realized this wasn’t just a fight at Garfield; this was something going on across the nation. If we back down, we’re not just backing away from a fight for us. It’s something that educators all over see as 

Big Conferences: What’s their Goal? | My Island View

Big Conferences: What’s their Goal? | My Island View:





Big Conferences: What’s their Goal?




This is a topic I have written about before, and I will probably continue to write about in the future. I guess we should start by defining a big education conference. For the purpose of this post and my experience let’s make it conferences of over 1,000 attendees. Most big education conferences came about by professional organizations wanting to provide a gathering place for their constituents to meet and share ideas and best practices, as well as the latest tools for learning. The goal is to best educate educators about education. It seems like a simple goal, which should be easily accomplished. The easiest method of delivery is to have teachers teach other teachers. This shares experiences, successes and failures.
The first hurdle is the “when” of the conference. Someone determined that it must be held during the school year in order to get the best access to the most educators.
The conference can’t conflict with other big Education conferences. It would be a drain on the number of attendees, as well as a smaller pool of keynotes and key presenters to draw on.
The second hurdle is the “where” of the conference. Once a conference gets over a certain number of attendees there are limits to access to hotel accommodations. There is also the geographical deterrent. We live in big states in a big country. Whatever the location selected, some educators will need to travel further than others. To be equitable locations are often rotated in order to share the burden of travel. Unfortunately, some educators live in areas 

NYC Educator: Why Is There a Revive NYSUT?

NYC Educator: Why Is There a Revive NYSUT?:



Why Is There a Revive NYSUT?

There are a lot of stories floating around the net about this. There's a grain of truth to some of them. Many of  them revolve around Governor Cuomo. They say that NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi wanted to order three tickets for Andy Cuomo's thousand-dollar-a-plate birthday party, and that Executive Vice-President Andy Pallotta not only bought an entire table of ten, but also gave seats to several of his Revive running mates. Iannuzzi then made any outlays of more than 5K subject to a vote. That's true.

There is of course the myth that Pallotta, a product of UFT Unity and a long-time UFT District Representative, wanted to stir up the state union, because he didn't deem it active enough. Pallotta, the sitting Executive VP, is in charge of legislation. On his watch, we've seen not only a crippling tax rule, but also a Gap Elimination Adjustment that cuts state aid. So districts get less state money, and can't raise taxes to compensate for it. This has cost plenty of NYSUT jobs, and has also saddled hapless kids with higher class sizes.

There's then the story that NYSUT leaders belong to some super-exclusive club, and blogs overstating the membership fees. There are ridiculous contentions about one of the VPs, who doesn't play squash, playing squash there. I always thought squash was a vegetable, but regardless, this club was used as a place of business. People tell me there are Revive tweets suggesting they should have done business at McDonald's. Maybe the blogger in question didn't know the membership was 30 years old, or that neither of 

12 Excellent Reasons to Opt Out of Relentless Hi Stakes Testing Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:



12 Excellent Reasons to Opt Out of Relentless Hi Stakes Testing





 

Good-bye, Tests! Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out! | Gatsby In L.A.

Good-bye, Tests! Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out! | Gatsby In L.A.:



Good-bye, Tests! Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out!





 Sayonara, test score mania!  Well, for two years, anyway.  The state of California has just suspended the calculation of API scores until 2016—an index of performance based on multiple choice state tests in every subject for every grade–in order to give schools time to gear up for the Common Core tests that are still under construction.  As far as I’m concerned, that suspension is cause for celebration.  I know, I know, all over the state, people are freaking out because they believe this suspension of scores will leave schools in low-income communities free to go down the toilet for two full years while corrupt administrators and bad teachers merrily cash paychecks, accountable to no one.  Here’s why I think that logic is wrong—and why I believe this temporary suspension is a great opportunity to create a better system.

First of all, over a decade of API scores doesn’t seem to have done much to stop corrupt administrators and bad teachers.  The schools that were terrible before we started testing are still terrible.  Where schools were declared failing and taken over by the Partnership for L.A. Schools or other charter management systems, results have been underwhelming no matter who is in charge.  I have heard not a single story of a miracle takeover, but have heard many stories of schools that are as bad as before.  In any case, test scores are not the best measure of whether these takeovers have been successful; 

3-18-14 The Whole Child Blog — ED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the "Next Big Thing" in Education Tech? — Whole Child Education

ED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the "Next Big Thing" in Education Tech? — Whole Child Education:









Kit Harris, ASCD Research

ED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the “Next Big Thing” in Education Tech?

ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recentASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers what advancements in technology could help them be more successful at work, either with students or in their own professional development.
As each new year starts, there are multiple stories on the anticipated trends in education technology. Most stories have reinforced the changes we have seen over the past few years that resulted from the "Internet revolution"—the connectivity of students, use of video for classwork and homework, use of mobile devices, and gaming for multiple purposes. However, many feel that education is on the edge of another major technology shift, with cloud applications, e-books, and video conferencing, among other things, contributing to a far greater individualized education experience for students and teachers.
With this in mind, ASCD SmartBrief sought to poll its readers about some cutting-edge technology that might become the "next big thing." Readers selected automated individualized student education plans (35 percent) as the trend that might make educators more successful. Following this, the two items of live two-way peer coaching (22 percent) and accurate voice-recognition word processing (18 percent) were chosen next most frequently. In the third position was spoken language translation without having to type text (12 percent). The other items on the list were selected by less than 10 percent of the readers.

This survey question was included in ASCD SmartBrief, a free daily e-mail news service that provides summaries and links to major education stories and issues, wweekly online poll, data was collected from 325 readers,hich has more than 200,000 subscribers. Using ED Pulse, the  
 
3-17-14 The Whole Child Blog — A New Framework for Health and Education — Whole Child Education
A New Framework for Health and Education — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGA New Framework for Health and EducationMarch 17, 2014 by Klea ScharbergThis is not a launch that calls for health for education's sake. Nor is it education for health's sake. Rather, it is a call for health and education for each child's sake.In 2013, ASCD and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention