4-22-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

No Country for Young Children of Color

While I have argued that we basically do not like children in the U.S., there is considerable evidence that being born a child of color puts those children at a disadvantage relative to white children. Based on the Kids Count report, Race for Results, Smriti Sinha has declared: Black families pondering a move to the Midwest might want to read this, especially if they have young children. According

8 by plthomasedd / 53min

Is There an Alternative to Accountability-Based, Corporate Education Reform? | Alternet

Is There an Alternative to Accountability-Based, Corporate Education Reform? | Alternet

1 by plthomasedd / 21min hide  //  save

REVIEW: Jimmy’s Blues and Other Poems, James Baldwin

For many, James Baldwin is associated with novels, fiction. But my greatest affinity for Baldwin lies with his nonfiction and his role as a public intellectual. In the volume I co-edited, James Baldwin: Challenging Authors, chapter authors examine Baldwin as a powerful voice across genre and form. Concurrent with that volume is the publication of Jimmy’s Blues and Other Poems. Baldwin is rarely ex

4 by plthomasedd / 40min 

4-21-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Legalizing Marijuana Offers Lesson for Changing Course in Education ReformThe role of causality in educational research needs to be questioned on the basis that education is not the same as medicine. As Biesta says: “Being a student is not an illness, just as teaching is

by mike simpson / 9h 

4-22-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Working Families Party Leadership Doesn't Sound Like They Want To Take On Cuomo

In response to the Siena College poll that showed a liberal Working Families Party candidate could do some serious damage to Governor Cuomo's totals in the 2014 general election, Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor released this statement: “Most people are decent, and they want decent, progressive policies from their government. That’s why the Working Families Party was originally

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

Rob Astorino: Andrew Cuomo Not Ideological, Just Greedy For Power

Via State of Politics, here's Rob Astorino hitting Sheriff Andy Cuomo hard on ethics and corruption:My favorite part of the video was excerpted at State of Politics: “It shows what Andrew Cuomo has sadly always been about: Power. Accumulating it, keeping it, meting it out to punish, intimidate, and reward,” Astorino says in the video. “That’s the Andrew Cuomo insiders have always known and feared,

by reality-based edu... / 2h

What The Siena Poll Means For Cuomo's Re-Election Chances

The Siena poll released today revealed some vulnerabilities for Sheriff Andy Cuomo and his re-election campaign, including the revelation that a third party candidate from the left could take a big chunk out of Cuomo's re-election totals and the finding that an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers think the quality of education under Cuomo has either stayed the same or gotten worse (41% say gotten

by reality-based edu... / 35min 

Siena Poll: Overwhelming Majority Of New Yorkers Say Education Hasn't Improved Under Cuomo

We're going to have a whole host of bad news for Sheriff Andy Cuomo from the Siena poll that was released today.The biggest piece of bad news from the poll is that a third party candidate would do some serious damage to Sheriff Andy's totals against GOP challenger Rob Astorino, as I posted about earlier.But there's more bad news for Sheriff Andy in the poll too - bad news like this:The survey by S

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

Siena Poll: Third Party Candidate Cuts 15Poijts Out From Cuomo's Totals

Just like we've been saying all along, a decent third party candidate from the left could throw serioius frights Sheriff Andy Cuomo's way:While the latest poll from the Siena Research Institute shows Gov. Andrew Cuomo maintaining his 2-to-1 lead (58-28 percent) lead over Republican Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, there is a thunderhead on the horizon: When a generic Working Families Par

by reality-based edu... / 1h hide  //  save

Surprise, Surprise: It Sucks Working For Cuomo

The NY Post reports that the Cuomo administration is such a miserable, nasty place to work that a mass exodus is expected if Cuomo wins a second term - and that's not counting the rats who are already jumping:ALBANY — A “mass exodus” is expected from the Cuomo administration after November’s election, according to several sources.“They all want out,” one source said of top Cuomo staffers.A former

by reality-based edu... / 5h  

4-21-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Fred Dicker: Cuomo Will Get No Support From Dems If He Runs For PresidentIf it's Monday, it's time for a Fred Dicker column slamming Andrew M. Cuomo.Today's no different:Gov. Cuomo, long known for his presidential aspirations, won’t enjoy the support of his own Democratic Party if Hillary Rodham Clinton decides not to run for president in 2016, top state Democrats have told

by mike simpson / 9h 

“What the He**’s Going On Out Here?!?” ~Vince Lombardi | Connected Principals

“What the He**’s Going On Out Here?!?” ~Vince Lombardi | Connected Principals:

http://connectedprincipals.com/

Working in a Competency Education School: Hiring Tips for Potential Teacher Candidates

Welcome to May, the month when most school administrators begin the process of filling open positions in their schools for the upcoming school year. Maybe my administrative team and I are getting picky as we mature as a team, or maybe we are just getting wiser, but we honestly believe that our hiring practices have changed dramatically since our school made the shift to competency education four y

4 by Brian Stack / 1h hide  //  save

“What the He**’s Going On Out Here?!?” ~Vince Lombardi

What the he**’s going on out here?!?! This reflection is inspired by a culmination of things, but most recently a conversation with an aspiring teacher, and this recent post by @TonySinanis. The aspiring teacher approached me for some insight on education, stating her enthusiasm is being thwarted by many teachers she talks with. Tony Sinanis’ post highlights some major obstacles in today’s educati

7 by Sam LeDeaux / 1h 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Ownership Society gathering at the Phoenician

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Ownership Society gathering at the Phoenician:

Ownership Society gathering at the Phoenician

Conference attendees at the PhoenicianThanks to Gary Stager for the heads-up on the upcoming GSV Education Innovation summit, which he describes as a corporate takeover of public education being plotted in the open, is held at The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale.Stager writes:The Phoenician is a monument to its builder, Charles Keating, a criminal who helped destroy the United States economy durin

by Mike Klonsky / 12min hide  //  save

Follow up on the scrubbing of the Academica Charter story

Following up on the feds' investigation of Academica Charter Schools in Florida, and the scrubbing of the original Miami Herald story. Here's Bob Sikes' updated report in Scathing Purple Musings along with Kathleen McGrory's revised story in the Miami Herald.Sikes writes:Its hard to count the number of times that McGrory used “conflicts of interest” in her story. No word yet of whether or not the

by Mike Klonsky / 1h 

4-19-14 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership Society All Week

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog:Schooling in the Ownership SocietyMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership SocietySun-Times editors know exactly what's wrong with 'turnaround' strategyThe Sun-Times editorial board has things all figured out. They know exactly why Byrd-Bennett's "radical" plan to turn more schools over to the private turnaround operators at AUSL will be a disaste

by mike simpson / 10h 

Another “oops” in Newark school plan | Bob Braun's Ledger

Another “oops” in Newark school plan | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Another “oops” in Newark school plan

Cami–Ooops. Parents, you’ll just have to wait another month.

The “One Newark” plan is a disaster for the city’s families.  Now, even the district leadership all but admits it by again postponing crucial deadlines. Parents who were promised a “match” with a new school this week  won’t be getting it until next month.  Other parents won’t know until days before school opens. And to make things even worse, some Newark school  principals yesterday received instructions that,  if literally followed, would require them to turn away from their schools all children who had a right to be there.  How can the city’s parents feel comfortable with educators who cannot even express themselves in understandable language?

It’s what happens when you place the fate of school children in the hands of bungling, overpaid  amateurs who got their jobs because of connections with Teach or America and charter schools and who are now  trying to impose a political agenda on the people of a city just to please a governor.

“One Newark”  was not only unworkable in design but now the state regime running the schools  is so incompetent it can’t figure out what to do about the transportation and special education problems it created.  Once more, its implementation has been delayed, leaving Newark’s parents dazed and confused.

In emails, conference calls, and “backpack”  letters home—many of which never found their way to the children—Christie-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson said she was postponing the promised registration of thousands of children in their Another “oops” in Newark school plan | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Beauchman’s agenda: Usurpation | BCS in Context

Beauchman’s agenda: Usurpation | BCS in Context:

Beauchman’s agenda: Usurpation

 I’ve written before about SCCBOE’s October 2013 Charter Schools Study Workshop. I don’t remember seeing a meeting agenda. The discussion focused mostly on each of the SCCBOE members’ personal view of the role of SCCOE/SCCBOE vis-a-vis charters.

It’s not news to a frequent reader that I believe charter schools have always been intended as special remedies for traditional public schools or districts that suffer from intractable shortcomings and deprive students of a quality education.

The stated legislative objectives of the CA Charter Schools Act of 1992 never included establishment of a parallel system of quasi-private voucher schools operated under the aegis of ‘public education.’ It didn’t intend for charters to attack, undermine or replace California’s traditional school districts, yet sitting members of SCCBOE clearly feel it’s their duty to impose an aggressive pro-charter political agenda on our local districts.

When I listened to this audio recording from the meeting I was surprised by some of what I heard from each member. Here’s SCCBOE President Leon Beauchman’s quote regarding new charter petitions from the Oct. 2013 Charter Schools Study Workshop:

 

“Just to provide a little bit of context from what has been happening as far as our, particularly in the view of petitions that come to us from the districts, its… I think people should keep in mind where we started. We had several districts, several instances, where petitioners would take a petition to the district and the district would not even give it the kind of consideration that you would expect a district would if it was trying to be impartial when it was looking at that petition. As an example, we had one district that basically gave the petitioners their staff report the day before—or the day of—the hearing to approve or decline the petition. And so, it 

Beauchman’s agenda: Usurpation | BCS in Context:

Are teachers leaving classroom in droves? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Are teachers leaving classroom in droves? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Are teachers leaving classroom in droves?  

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Are teachers leaving in record numbers?

Previous Posts

• Not everyone can or will get a college degree
  April 21, 2014
• So where did your high school score? Two Early College programs, DeKalb and Atlanta, shine.
  April 21, 2014
• Never mind two Georgias. State school grades tell tale of two metro Atlantas
  April 21, 2014

By Maureen Downey

A common assertion everywhere in the country is that teachers are quitting in droves. That's not always borne out when you look at the data, which shows teacher turnover, while often high, is still within the normal range for the profession.

As the Atlantic noted in a piece on teacher resignations: “…anywhere between 40 and 50 percent of teachers will leave the classroom within their first five years (that includes the nine and a half percent that leave before the end of their first year.) Certainly, all professions have turnover, and some shuffling out the door is good for bringing in young blood and fresh faces. But, turnover in teaching is about four percent higher than other professions.Approximately 15.7 percent of teachers leave their posts every year, and 40 percent of teachers who pursue undergraduate degrees in teaching never even enter the classroom at all."

The Charlotte News & Observer reports the Wake County Public School System contends it's now seeing a spike in midyear teacher resignations.

Please read the full story before commenting as it has some great details. Here is an excerpt from the lengthy piece: Are teachers leaving classroom in droves? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

NYC Educator: Here's What Tenure Really Does

NYC Educator: Here's What Tenure Really Does:

Here's What Tenure Really Does

There's a lawsuit claiming tenure discriminates against children. They say the worst teachers teach the most needy kids in the most needy areas.

I teach the most needy kids, so I must be a terrible teacher too. For goodness sake, my kids can't even speak English. What could be worse than that? The answer is fairly simple. What's worse than that is that they tend not to do well on standardized tests. The only logical conclusion, as you'd infer from NY newspaper editorials, is that I'm a thorough incompetent. I should be fired and replaced with a TFA expert with six weeks of valuable training. You won't see that person hanging around for 30 years and demanding a pension.

And it is, of course, mere coincidence that there is a high percentage of high needs kids in these areas. Rampant poverty in these areas is just an excuse. A good teacher could surely teach them some grit and make them forget that they wake up at 3 AM to help their mother deliver newspapers. A qualified teacher would make them forget that their parents are in another country. A highly effective teacher would make them pass all the tests even if they just arrived from China six weeks ago.

The only answer, as far as our reformy friends see it, is to eliminate teacher tenure. It's important to be able to fire teachers for any reason, or indeed for no reason. And naturally, that's entirely fair. Principals and assistant principals are very wise and never, ever, exercise personal agendas that have nothing to do with learning. And private enterprise hires at will employees, so why isn't that good enough for teachers?

I'd argue it isn't good enough for private enterprise either, but that it's even more important for public school teachers. The fact is that there are NYC Educator: Here's What Tenure Really Does:

Shanker Blog » Will the SAT Overhaul Help Achieve Equity?

Shanker Blog » Will the SAT Overhaul Help Achieve Equity?:

Will The SAT Overhaul Help Achieve Equity?

Posted by Burnie Bond on April 22, 2014

The College Board, the organization behind the SAT, acknowledges that historically its tests have been biased in favor of the children of wealthy, well educated elites – those who live in the best zip codes, are surrounded by books, go to the best regarded schools (both public and private), enjoy summer enrichment programs, and can avail themselves of as much tutoring and SAT test-prep coaching as they need. That’s why, early last month, College Board president David Coleman announced that the SAT would undergo significant changes, with the aim of making it more fair and equitable for disadvantaged students.

Among the key changes, which are expected to take effect in 2016, are: the democratization of access to test-prep courses (by trying to make them less necessary and entering into an agreement with the Khan Academy to offer free, online practice problems*); ensuring that every exam include a reading passage from one of the nation’s “founding documents,” such as the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights, or from one of the important discussions of such texts, such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”; and replacing “arcane ‘SAT words’ (‘depreciatory,’ ‘membranous’),” with words that are more “commonly used in college courses, such as ‘synthesis’ and ‘empirical.’” (See here.)

Will this help? Well, maybe, but the SAT’s long held — but always elusive — mission to help identify and reward merit, rather than just privilege, will only be met insofar as its creators can be sure that all students have had an equal opportunity to learn these particular vocabulary words and have read these particular “founding documents” and texts. That is, it comes down to a question of curriculum.

Curriculum and Equity

The connection between curriculum and equity first occurred to me when I was eight years old (though obviously not in those exact terms). For some reason, my school decided that all third graders needed to have an IQ test. I was sick that day, so one school holiday I found myself filling in bubbles alone in a classroom with Mrs. Beagles, the Shanker Blog » Will the SAT Overhaul Help Achieve Equity?:

It Is Spring and Big-Money Conferences on School “Reform” Bloom | janresseger

It Is Spring and Big-Money Conferences on School “Reform” Bloom | janresseger:

It Is Spring and Big-Money Conferences on School “Reform” Bloom

Posted on April 22, 2014 by janresseger

I  was educated in the public schools of small town Havre, Montana, and my children were educated in the public schools of inner-ring suburban Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  I am a strong believer in public education—publicly funded, universally available, required to accept all children who present themselves at the door, and accountable to the public. A public system seems to me the optimal way to balance the needs of each particular child and family with the need to create a system that secures the rights and addresses the needs of all children. While public education is not a utopia, I believe it has fewer structural flaws, from the point of view of the common good, than privatized alternatives.

How quaint seem my attitudes this month when the money blooming around privatizing public schools is far more lush than the flowers of spring.   Privatization—privately managed charters, vouchers,  all the private contracting that creates and services all the standardized testing, and the education technology sector—is rapidly expanding.  There is money to be made and power to be wielded.

Two national conferences in the next couple of weeks demonstrate the impact of money in education this spring.  Beginning yesterday, the Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley Education Innovation Summit is meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Diane Ravitch quotes the sponsors of the conference:  “Our founders have spent the past two decades focused on the Megatrends that are disrupting the $4 trillion global education market along with the innovators who are transforming the industry.”

The long list of speakers includes a who’s who of supporters of “corporate” education reform: Margaret Spellings (George Bush’s Secretary of Education), Penny Pritzker (portfolio school reform supporter in Chicago before she became Secretary of Commerce), Jim Shelton It Is Spring and Big-Money Conferences on School “Reform” Bloom | janresseger: