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Saturday, May 3, 2014

Nite Cap 5-3-14 #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




The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you! | deutsch29
The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you! | deutsch29: The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you!May 3, 2014I want to thank all who have purchased my newly-released book, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education.On April 27, 2014, my book became available on on Amazon.com.That was a Sunday night. As soon as I found out, I posted this announcement.The ne
Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of Humanity - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of Humanity - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of HumanityBy Anthony Cody on May 3, 2014 1:20 PMLes Perelman, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been doing some interesting experiments to test the capac
City and state still locked in battle over responsibility for Philly schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
City and state still locked in battle over responsibility for Philly schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: City and state still locked in battle over responsibility for Philly schoolsby Dale Mezzacappa on May 03 2014 Posted in Latest newsOn Monday, at its annual budget hearing, City Council will hear pleas from School District leaders for more money.It is a familiar scenario. The same thi
Camp Philos, Andrew Cuomo and the Rise of the Corporate Democrats | Clemsy's Corner
Camp Philos, Andrew Cuomo and the Rise of the Corporate Democrats | Clemsy's Corner: Camp Philos, Andrew Cuomo and the Rise of the Corporate Democrats"Now everything's a little upside down..." ~Bob DylanSome years ago while driving to work I heard, on the local NPR affiliate, then Commissioner of Education Richard Mills say something to the effect that "We have to get out of the min
Ashamed to be a teacher today | Opine I will
Ashamed to be a teacher today | Opine I will: Ashamed to be a teacher todayToday was the first day I was ever ashamed to be a teacher.Today I finished administering the sixth day of New York State Common Core assessments. I was a facilitator in a process that made my 10 year old students struggle,to the point of frustration, to complete yet another 90 minute test. I sat by as I watched my students
Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core Issues | Missouri Education Watchdog
Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core Issues | Missouri Education Watchdog: Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core IssuesinSharePostcard from Mound City, May 3St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial CartoonIt’s interesting that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch insists on running edit
School superintendent candidates at a glance - Times Union
School superintendent candidates at a glance - Times Union: School superintendent candidates at a glanceBy The Associated PressUpdated 11:57 am, Saturday, May 3, 2014NAME: Tom TorlaksonAGE: 64. Born in San Francisco July 19, 1949PARTY: DemocratEXPERIENCE: State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2010-present; state Assembly, 2008-2010, 1996-2000; state Senate, 2000-2008; Contra Costa County Boa
2nd Banana 5-3-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #RealEdTalk #p2
BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANARECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POSTAnother View: Withdrawing from federal waiver best for students - California Forum - The Sacramento BeeAnother View: Withdrawing from federal waiver best for students - California Forum - The Sacramento Bee: Another View: Withdrawing from federal waiver best for studentsBy Patrick KennedySpecial to The BeePublished: Sunday, Apr. 27, 2014 -
With scant oversight, schools in the South are becoming segregated once again
With scant oversight, schools in the South are becoming segregated once again: With scant oversight, schools in the South are becoming segregated once againBy Moyers & CompanySaturday, May 3, 2014 11:30 EDT The desegregation of America’s schools was one of the crowning achievements of the civil rights movement.But getting there was a wrenching process that threatened to tear apart the very fab
Morning Wink 5-3-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSNYC Educator: In Which I Give NYC an Interest-Free Loan of $40,000NYC Educator: In Which I Give NYC an Interest-Free Loan of $40,000: In Which I Give NYC an Interest-Free Loan of $40,000That's what I'm doing, isn't it? After all, the cops, the firefighters, and the sanitation workers got an 8% raise four years ago. I won't get mine until 2020, according to
NYC Educator: In Which I Give NYC an Interest-Free Loan of $40,000
NYC Educator: In Which I Give NYC an Interest-Free Loan of $40,000: In Which I Give NYC an Interest-Free Loan of $40,000That's what I'm doing, isn't it? After all, the cops, the firefighters, and the sanitation workers got an 8% raise four years ago. I won't get mine until 2020, according to this agreement.And don't think I'm generous, because you won't get yours either. Now if you haven't yet rea
5-3-14 Daily Kos
http://www.dailykos.com/blog/teacherkenVA-08 - a resident looks at the Dem primary to replace Jim MoranI live in the 8th Congressional District of Virginia.  At the end of this, his 12th term, Jim Moran is retiring. The district is heavily Democratic, having been carried by Obama in 2010 69-30.  It contains all of the cities Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington County (where I live), and
5-3-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Ed News Round-up Jammin' All Week
Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekDerrell Bradford Takes Manhattan!Hey, New York! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You and me, we got a beef:See, you guys are always shipping your reformy types across the Hudson to us here in New Jersey and, frankly, we're all sick of it. We're up to our necks in these corporate education reformers, with their "no excuses" and "think-tanky rese
5-3-13 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION:Not One Size Fits AllI often criticize the core (and other standards-- while I know some decent, intelligent people like the idea of some sort of national standards, I do not) by calling it a "one size fits all" solution.But I'm wrong.It's a handy shorthand phrase-- just four words and everybody knows what you mean. But it's not precisely correct."One size fits all&qu
5-3-14 NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education
NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:NPE News Briefsfrom The Network for Public EducationTeaching is harder than working in high tech — by a teacher who worked in high tech | The Answer SheetBY VALERIE STRAUSS After spending 25 years in high-tech — primarily in the wireless and Global Positioning System (GPS) industries – Dave Reid became a high school mathematics teacher and is
5-3-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog Putting the Child into Whole Child: Give Students Voice to Improve Your PracticeRecently I was having a discussion with a colleague who is new to the building. This teacher is confident, self-assured, and has decades of experience more than me. We teach the same children, so we meet frequently for RTI and team meeti
5-3-14 This Week in 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):Parents, with some help, offer views on LAUSD spending planIt was “pencils down” day yesterday, for the members of the Parent Advisory Committee, who completed their first opportunity to weigh in on LA Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan, the so-called LCAP required of Gov. Jerry Brown‘s new Lo
Stephen Krashen Blog 5-3-14
SKrashen:Four years of math?Sent to the Washington Post, May 2, 2014.Maryland will now require all high school students to take four years of math ("Maryland to require math for all years of high school; universities also adjust rules," May 2). The fourth year, moreover, must be "non-trivial," such as algebra 2, trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus, statistics and college algeb
5-3-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week
With A Brooklyn Accent:With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All WeekOn the Hunt for "Bad Teachers"The percentage of "Bad Teachers" in our public schools is probably no higher than Bad Principals, Bad Superintendents, Bad Commissioners, Bad Politicians, and Bad Philanthropists. Yet people in every walk of life seem obsessed with getting rid of them. This isn't a well thought out polic
5-3-14 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education This Week - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress
Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:Bill Introduced: H.R. 4481: Head Start Improvement Act of 2014To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education.10d APR 22Bill Introduced: H.R. 4366: Strengthening Education through Research ActTo strengthen the Federal education research system to make research and evaluations more timely and relevant to State an
5-3-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:Scathing Purple Musings  Color me purple in Florida ALL WeekDr. Rosa Castro Feinberg: With Best Wishes to Valentin: Conflicts Between ESOL and Florida Voucher LawReprinted in its entirety with permission from Dr. Rosa Castro Feinberg In respond to my columns, Julio Fuente
All Week @ The Answer Sheet 5-3-14
The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetTeaching is harder than working in high tech — by a teacher who worked in high techAfter spending 25 years in high-tech — primarily in the wireless and Global Positioning System (GPS) industries – Dave Reid became a high school mathematics teacher and is now in his third year of teaching. It didn’t take him long to realize just how hard teaching really i
5-3-14 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 Society'Tech vultures' LEAP towards profitability in ChicagoMillions of dollars intended to support innovations in resourced-starved public schools has long been funneled to privately-run charter schools. One of the chief funnelers in Chicago is non-educator Phyllis Lockett, a former
5-3-14 Wait What? All Week
Wait What?:  Wait What? All WeekMalloy’s Teacher evaluation system is fundamentally and fatally flawedIn her latest MUST READ commentary piece, fellow public education advocate, Wendy Lecker, lays out the facts about Governor Malloy’s unfair, inappropriate and fatally flawed teacher evaluation system.  Like the junk bonds that helped take down Wall Street, Connecticut’s teacher evaluation system i
5-3-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week
Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumDirector Blanford's Community Meeting TomorrowJust a heads up on Director Blanford's community meeting tomorrow at the Douglass-Truth Library from 10 am to noon. I was told that at the Work Session on Capital Projects (which I am sorry to have missed because it sounds like there were not enough hard questions and more than enough funny
5-3-14 Ed Notes Online Week
Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineKit Wainer: Historical Reference to Previous Contract StrugglesKit's history is an important starting point for the upcoming contract struggle. I have a different take on some of Kit's analysis - remember - my history of contract struggles goes back to the early 70s. But it is too nice a day and I am too lazy to get into it - though I may do a separate post at where
5-3-14 Fred All Week 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.: Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacherSupport the people who serve the NEA staff.- From UniteHere Local 23. Seasons Culinary, the food service company that operates the cafeteria in the National Education Association headquarters building in Washington DC, is refusing
5-3-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekUFT Contract Open ThreadPretty negative reaction to the contract news at my school.The feeling I get is, quite a few people are angry enough to vote no.What were you hearing out there?2 by reality-based edu... / 18h Here's How You Know The UFT Contract Deal Is A Bad One - The NY Post Likes ItOne of the measures of any UFT contract deal is what the n
5-3-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
THE BECOMING RADICALRadical ScholarshipEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical  A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by We Socialize Girls To Be Better at School But Set Them Up For Failure in the Real WorldCredit: Shutterstock By Sarah Jane Glynn | Originally Published at Think Progress. April 30, 2014 2:43 PM The New York Times’s Upshot blog reported on Tuesday that the “behavior gap” (which includes
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-3-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  Sb 1174: Senate Panel Moves Bill To Restore Multilingual K-12 Classroomsby Kimberly Beltran  |  SI&A Cabinet Report :: http://bit.ly/1nRILOP MAY 01, 2014 (Calif.)   ::  A bill that would repeal the core tenets of a 15-year-old ban on the use of bilingual education in the state’s K-12 school system cleared
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 5-3-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLLARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY‘The Grading System We Need to Have’‘The Grading System We Need to Have’ is my latest Education Week Teacher post. It features Rick Wormeli and others. Here are some excerpts:by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h Oops — May Day Was Yesterday & I Forgot To Share My Updated “Best” ListYesterday was May
This Week's Education Research Report 5-3-14 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Education Research ReportTHIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORTSmall classes can have an important and lasting impact on student achievementSmall classes, especially in the first four years of school, can have an important and lasting impact on student achievement, a new report shows.In a review of over 100 papers from 1979-2014, education expert Dr David Zyngierfrom Monash University’s Faculty of
5-3-14 Schools Matter All Week
Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekFour years of math?Sent to the Washington Post, May 2, 2014.Maryland will now require all high school students to take four years of math ("Maryland to require math for all years of high school; universities also adjust rules," May 2).The fourth year, moreover, must be "non-trivial," such as algebra 2, trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus
All Week 5-3-14 @ THE CHALK FACE
@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Incompetent Pearson “Wins” PARCC Contract. Big Surprise.In his six-minute videoed speech on the necessity of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), billionaire Bill Gates patiently explains that it is not enough for individual states to implement their own standards because “scale is good for free market competition.” Here is the reality of “free marke
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 5-3-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGBias in Reporting at Chalkbeat?Chalkbeat is a news organization that covers New York City and recently expanded to Memphis. It was previously called Gotham Schools. Daniel Katz of Seton Hall University recently complained that Chalkbeat is biased in favor of charter schools. He notes that it is funded by the Gates Foundat

YESTERDAY

Incompetent Pearson “Wins” PARCC Contract. Big Surprise. | deutsch29
Incompetent Pearson “Wins” PARCC Contract. Big Surprise. | deutsch29: Incompetent Pearson “Wins” PARCC Contract. Big Surprise.May 2, 2014In his six-minute videoed speech on the necessity of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), billionaire Bill Gates patiently explains that it is not enough for individual states to implement their own standards because “scale is good for free market competition.
Nite Cap 5-2-14 #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 CAPHow the Creation of Social Justice Caucuses in Unions Is Revitalizing an Aging Labor Movement | AlternetHow the Creation of Social Justice Caucuses in Unions Is Revitalizing an Aging Labor Movement | Alternet: How the Creation of Social Justice C






The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you! | deutsch29

The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you! | deutsch29:



The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you!

May 3, 2014



I want to thank all who have purchased my newly-released book, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education.
On April 27, 2014, my book became available on on Amazon.com.
That was a Sunday night. As soon as I found out, I posted this announcement.
The next day, I found out through a pre-publishing marketing announcement that pro-privatizer Paul Peterson planned to release a book in which he purports to show that the public wants privatizing reforms but that teachers are in the way of such “progress.”
His book is endorsed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Too bad for him.
In response to this news, I wrote this post in which I include excerpts on both Bush and Rhee from my book.
That brings us to the purpose of this post.
One of the advantages of selling a book on Amazon.com is that Amazon.com tracks the popularity of the books it sells– and it lists over two million books.
I am pleased to write that my book is doing quite well. It is in the top .03% of all books on Amazon.com. As of this writing, A Chronicle of Echoes is ranked #5,194 (see “product description”).
Last night, my book was #6,199, then #6,076 a few hours later.
I have no marketing department.
My interactive book image is not yet available.
My kindle version has yet to be released.
Wow.
There is more: The book Peterson released on April 29, 2014– the one in which he faults teachers for “blocking” reform– the one with an interactive image available– the The Amazon.com Ranking of My Book: Thank you! | deutsch29:

Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of Humanity - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of Humanity - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:



Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of Humanity

Les Perelman, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been doing some interesting experiments to test the capacity of computerized grading systems to accurately judge the quality of written work. In a recent interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Company's Carol Off, he shared what he has learned.  
As our government agencies and various reform efforts seek to shift high stakes testing away from multiple choice questions, there is growing interest in computer programs that can read and score student essays.  But questions persist, given the limitations of the algorithms these programs use. So Mr. Perelman has done an experiment. He created something he calls the Basic Automatic BS Essay Language Generator, BABEL for short. During his interview with Carol Off, Perelman fed his machine a topic she suggested, "Fair Elections Act."
Here is what the BABEL machine provided in response:
Fun fair for adherents and presumably will never be altruistic in the extent to which we purloin the analysis. Fair is the most fundamental postulate of humankind. Whiner to act in the study of semiotics in addition to the search for reality. Act is intrepidly and clandestinely axiomatic by most of the scenarios. As I have learned in my semiotics class, act is the most fundamental exposition of humanity.
Mr. Perelman then submits this essay for grading. The result, a score of 5.4 out of 6, placing this essay in the 90th percentile.
Perelman explains his purpose:
I did this as an experiment to show that what these computers are grading does not have anything to do with human communication. If you think about writing or any kind of human communication as the transfer of thoughts from one mind to another mind, then if the machine takes something that anyone would say is complete incoherent nonsense, and scores it highly, and we know that it's not, then we know that it's not grading human communication.
Two years ago there was some excitement about computer-scored essays, when a demonstration showed that computers could yield results that aligned reasonably well with the scores given by Computerized Grading: Purloining the Analysis, the Most Fundamental Exposition of Humanity - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

City and state still locked in battle over responsibility for Philly schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

City and state still locked in battle over responsibility for Philly schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:



City and state still locked in battle over responsibility for Philly schools

by Dale Mezzacappa on May 03 2014 Posted in Latest news



On Monday, at its annual budget hearing, City Council will hear pleas from School District leaders for more money.
It is a familiar scenario. The same thing happens every year, only this time it is worse. The District says it needs $216 million just to keep the current level of service -- a level in which many schools do not have full-time counselors or nurses, most have no libraries, course offerings have been cut back and virtually all are scrambling for basic supplies.  
Superintendent William Hite has said that without at least that much, the schools next year will be "empty shells." He warned this week that class sizes would rise to as high as 41 in high schools and 1,000 more staff will be laid off.
Ideally, the District says it wants $440 million in additional funds so it can not only restore cuts made over the last two years, but make a start on Hite's school improvement agenda. It is hoping to raise that by getting $195 million from the city, $150 million from the state, and the rest, about $95 million, through concessions from labor unions, particularly the teachers.
But the political and fiscal realities are not looking good.
City Council and Harrisburg remain locked in battle over who is responsible and who should bear the brunt of the burden for the city's schools, which have been under the control of the state since 2001. And while the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers continue to negotiate, there has been no settlement after more than a year of talks.
A group of five advocacy organizations sent a letter Friday to Council President Darrell Clarke urging him to pass a sales tax extension that would send $120 million annually to the schools. The state legislature has authorized it, and the District is already counting on that money.
But Clarke wants to split those revenues between the schools and the city's lagging pension fund and instead increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $2 to raise money for education. City Council has passed such a measure, but it 

Camp Philos, Andrew Cuomo and the Rise of the Corporate Democrats | Clemsy's Corner

Camp Philos, Andrew Cuomo and the Rise of the Corporate Democrats | Clemsy's Corner:



"Now everything's a little upside down..." ~Bob Dylan




Some years ago while driving to work I heard, on the local NPR affiliate, then Commissioner of Education Richard Mills say something to the effect that "We have to get out of the mindset that these kids can't do it." He was discussing the performance of special needs students on the new assessments mandated by No Child Left Behind. Fortunately, I maintained control and avoided needing AAA to drag my car out of the drainage ditch.

He was talking about my students. At the time I was a special education teacher in a self-contained class. Half my students were profoundly learning disabled. The other half were developmentally delayed, meaning that their IQ's were below 90. In fact, they were well below 90. That was the year the high stakes testing madness began, and since my students were technically eighth graders and they had a legal right to be subjected to grade level expectations, they sat for those assessments.

I recall one passage on the English/Language Arts test was about the architecture of the Italian Renaissance.

A few of my LD kids were reduced to tears. A couple of my DD kids thought they did just fine and that it was fun. None of them belonged in the same room as the paper the tests were written on. The same school. County. State. 

Planet.

No one was surprised that our middle school wound up on THE LIST as a SCHOOL IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT. I work in a high poverty district with everything that means. Around 20% of our students have special needs.

In order to get off THE LIST we had to develop a school improvement plan. I was a member of the committee. We met regularly with representatives from State Ed, who acted as partners in this process. Partners. Don't forget that part. We were given funds. We hired consultants. We attended workshops and implemented new instructional strategies. The Camp Philos, Andrew Cuomo and the Rise of the Corporate Democrats | Clemsy's Corner:


Ashamed to be a teacher today | Opine I will

Ashamed to be a teacher today | Opine I will:



Ashamed to be a teacher today


Today was the first day I was ever ashamed to be a teacher.
Today I finished administering the sixth day of New York State Common Core assessments. I was a facilitator in a process that made my 10 year old students struggle,to the point of frustration, to complete yet another 90 minute test. I sat by as I watched my students attempt to answer questions today that were beyond their abilities. I knew the test booklets I put in front of them contained questions that were written in a way that 95% of them had no chance of solving. I even tried to give my students a pep talk, in hopes of alleviating their angst, when I knew damn well they didn’t stand a chance. Today I was part of the problem.
As I watched my students, I was angry that my efforts to stop this madness were not successful. I was angry at my students’ parents for not opting out their children. I was angry at my administrators for not stepping up to the plate and attempting to end this madness. I was angry at Governor Cuomo, NY Education Commissioner King, the Board of Regents, my state senator, my state assemblyman, President Obama, and even my state union. I was angry that my students were victims in the abusive game to drive a political agenda.
I lost it today. I lost a little bit of my self esteem. I lost my faith in my Party. I lost my faith in my ability to protect my students. I lost my faith in our future.
I watched my students valiantly attempt math questions that most adults could not answer. These questions were wordy, and purposely confusing in a warped way to Ashamed to be a teacher today | Opine I will:

Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core Issues | Missouri Education Watchdog

Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core Issues | Missouri Education Watchdog:



Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core Issues

pd CCSS cartoon

Postcard from Mound City, May 3

It’s interesting that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch insists on running editorials, op eds and cartoons supporting Common Core.  It’s a newspaper that supported the Occupy movement which fought against corporate interests directing government policy.  The fact that corporatists are in charge of public education (while being funded by the Federal Government) is apparently lost on the Post’s editorial board.  It turns a blind eye to the extraordinary amount Bill Gates has funneled into Common Core and private industry directing public policy.
The Editorial Board must not have done its due diligence on what Common Core States Standards Initiative really is.  PUBLIC education development/delivery is now being controlled by PRIVATE organizations held unaccountable to voters and legislatures while using taxpayer money. 


Can anyone tell me why a paper supportive of Occupy Wall Street would be supportive of Common Core?  Is the Post-Dispatch supportive of large corporations such as Pearson controlling the market (destroying competition from smaller businesses) while using taxpayer money with no taxpayer input?  Is the Post-Dispatch supportive of an initiative that is nothing more than a massive stimulus funding program (it’s not a law)…and whose funding is due to run out in Close Reading Exercise of the Day: The STL Post-Dispatch and Its Lack of Understanding of Common Core Issues | Missouri Education Watchdog:

School superintendent candidates at a glance - Times Union

School superintendent candidates at a glance - Times Union:



School superintendent candidates at a glance

Updated 11:57 am, Saturday, May 3, 2014


NAME: Tom Torlakson
AGE: 64. Born in San Francisco July 19, 1949
PARTY: Democrat
EXPERIENCE: State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2010-present; state Assembly, 2008-2010, 1996-2000; state Senate, 2000-2008; Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, 1980-1996; Antioch City Council, 1978-1980; high school science teacher, Mt. Diablo Unified School District, 1972-1980; adjunct faculty member, Los Medanos College, 2007-2012
EDUCATION: San Mateo Community College, 1968-1969; bachelor's degree in history,University of California, Berkeley, 1971; master's in education, UC Berkeley, 1977
FAMILY: Wife, Mae Cendana Torlakson; two adult daughters
PRIORITIES: Use classroom teaching experience to advocate for allowing local schools, parents and teachers to decide for themselves how to spend education dollars. Restore quality child care programs and make pre-school available to every child. Improve student safety by protecting children from bullying and other crimes. Expand career and technical training so students graduate ready for a career as well as college
___
NAME: Marshall Tuck
AGE: 40. Born in Burlingame on July 28, 1973
PARTY: Democrat
EXPERIENCE: 2013-present, candidate for state Superintendent of Public Instruction; 2007-2013, CEO of Partnership for LA Schools, a nonprofit that oversaw 17 urban public schools; 2002-2006, president, Green Dot Public Schools; 2000-2002, general manager, Model N Inc., a revenue-management software company
FAMILY: Wife, Mae Tuck, one son
PRIORITIES: Bring major change to California public schools to ensure that every child has access to quality education. Get Sacramento politicians out of local schools, cut bureaucracy and waste, and give parents more control.
___
AGE: 56. Born in Los Angeles on Sept. 1, 1957
PARTY: Republican
EXPERIENCE: 1995-present, teacher, Long Beach Unified School District; 2007-present, councilmember, Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council; 1993-1995, teacher in Colombia; 1990-1993, math and science teacher, Hawthorne school district; 1986-1990, substitute/studio teacher; 1981-1986, administrator/acting cost-estimating supervisor, Hughes Aircraft.
FAMILY: Single. Nine siblings, 20 nieces and nephews.
PRIORITIES: Establishing solidly proven academic standards that are scientifically based and developmentally age-appropriate. Oppose Common Core State Standards on grounds they have not been scientifically vetted as viable academic standards. Building fiscal responsibility. Making sure schools get needed repairs. Proper support staffing, including a librarian in every school. Allowing only credentialed classroom teachers. Maintaining well-rounded academic and vocational programs that prepare youth for college or a trade career the day after graduation.