Bad Medicine | EduShyster

Bad Medicine | EduShyster:

Bad Medicine

 The Obama administration prescribes pay-for-performance for doctors. What could possibly go wrong?

Do you ever feel as though reading one more word about our failed and failing public schools will cause your head to pop off of its very brain stem and spin wildly in the air before reattaching itself at an angle most askew? That is what is known as a medical condition, reader, which is why I am prescribing for you an immediate treatment course consisting of a winebox, bed rest and a change of scenery. Today’s topic: health care—specifically the Obama administration’s brilliant new policy of rewarding the excellence of doctors and hospitals through an innovative approach called *pay for performance.* What could possibly go wrong?

Code pink
As the consumer of a great many medical dramas, I know that the first step towards treating an improbably obscure ailment is to diagnose it. In short, our health care system is (f)ailing and all of its graduates will eventually pass on to the waiting Bad Medicine | EduShyster:

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-16-14

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

From the AALA Update: GOV. BROWN PRESENTS MAY BUDGET REVISION + LAUSD SCHOOLS DOMINATE NATIONAL ACADEMIC DECATHLON

From the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update Week of May 19, 2014 | http://bit.ly/1j2xus5 GOVERNOR BROWN PRESENTS MAY BUDGET REVISION May 15, 2014 | While scores of speakers addressed the LAUSD Board of Education regarding budget priorities at its meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, Governor Brown released the May Revision to the 2014-15 State Budget. The revision brings good

by smf / 27min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-14-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: First impressions: THE GOVERNOR’S MAY REVISE BUDGET + May Revision Budget Documentvia email/in order received from ESEA Cabinet Report May 13, 2014 No major improvements for schools in May Revise by Tom Chorneau (Calif.) Focusing his attention and much of the $2.4 billion in unanticipated state revenue in other directions, Gov. Jerry Brown offered a rev

by mike simpson / 36min 

Brown v. Board Fails: Resegregation is Accidentally on Purpose #Brownat60 | Cloaking Inequity

Brown v. Board Fails: Resegregation is Accidentally on Purpose #Brownat60 | Cloaking Inequity:

Brown v. Board Fails: Resegregation is Accidentally on Purpose #Brownat60

Since it’s inception the United States has enacted and supported racially discriminatory policies. On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in our  nation’s schools. Brown overturned the doctrine of “separate but equal,” which the Court had established in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Brown marked a turning point… 

Fast forward to May 17, 2014… the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education…

Nevada “rancher” Cliven Bundy and current L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling are not racist. At least that would they would have you believe. Cliven Bundy stated to CNN:

At least a half-dozen (black) people sitting on the porch, they didn’t have nothing to do.

Because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he added in comments first reported by The New York Times and later seen on video. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton.

And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.

Bundy’s “apology” to CNN was:

Maybe I sinned, and maybe I need to ask forgiveness, and maybe I don’t know what I actually said, but when you talk about prejudice, we’re talking about not being able to exercise what we think. … If I say Negro or black boy or slave, if those people cannot take those kind of words and not be (offended), then Martin Luther King hasn’t got his job done yet

We need to get over this prejudice stuff.

Donald Sterling, LA Clipper owner, also has been in the news recently. The conversation that his mistress taped Brown v. Board Fails: Resegregation is Accidentally on Purpose #Brownat60 | Cloaking Inequity:

Charter segregation adds layer in Brown v. Board debate:

Charter segregation adds layer in Brown v. Board debate

Sixty years after the Supreme Court ordered an end to segregated schools, the problem of separate and unequal hasn't gone away — and some say charter schools are part of the problem.

About 6 percent of Nashville public school students attend charter schools, but with the state's blessing and start-up money behind it, they're poised for exponential growth. The problem with that, critics say, is that charter systems pay more attention to student achievement than to racial diversity and, in some cases, end up with neither.

Charter advocates here and nationwide counter by listing a number of limitations on their recruitment, including the facts that they draw from already-segregated traditional schools and that school choice means just that — parents don't have to pick them. But at the same time, there's a new movement within the charter community locally and nationwide to open schools with a premium on racial balance.

Today, just before Saturday's 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision that integrated public schools, renowned University of California-Los Angeles desegregation researcher Gary Orfield releaseda new report on the state of racial balance in U.S. schools.

Segregation overall is increasing after the 2007 Supreme Court decision ending the practice of assigning students based on race, and federal courts dropping oversight of school districts' desegregation plans, the report says. Tennessee is 13th most segregated in the nation, it says, with only a quarter of black students attending majority-white schools when two-thirds of public school students in the state are white.

Orfield insists charter schools should seek diversity — and states should enact laws that force them to — recruiting by socioeconomic status that often follows racial Charter segregation adds layer in Brown v. Board debate:

Still apart: Map shows states with most-segregated schools

Still apart: Map shows states with most-segregated schools:

PUBLIC SCHOOLS STILL SEGREGATED

In its 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education ruling, the Supreme Court ruled separate is not equal, and segregation by race is unconstitutional. But 60 years later, segregation is still widespread in America's public schools.

Segregation is still widespread at American public schools, 60 years after the landmark Brown v. Topeka Board of Education ruling, a new report shows.

And it no longer impacts just black and white students.

Black and Latino students are more likely to attend schools with mostly poor students, while white and Asian students are more likely to attend middle-class schools, according to a report released Thursday by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA.

In New York, California and Texas, more than half of Latino students are enrolled in schools that are 90% minority or more. In New York, Illinois, Maryland and Michigan, more than half of black students attend schools where 90% or more are minority, the report shows. Latinos are now the largest minority in public schools.

MORE: Civil Rights in America

Black student attendance at majority-white schools steadily increased since the civil rights era but has been on the decline since the early 1990s. In 2011, only 23% of black students attended a majority white school -- the same percentage as in 1968, according to the report.

Although segregation is most serious in large cities, it's also "severe" in the suburbs, the report points out. In particular, Latino students are "significantly more" segregateStill apart: Map shows states with most-segregated schools:

5-16-14 LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Reflections on Brown

I am writing this from my hospital bed. I am at a rehab center after getting a total knee replacement. I keep thinking how dumb I was. I didn’t hold the railing as I went downstairs and landed full-force on my knee, tearing out every major ligament. Now there is some titanium thing in there, a long row of metal staples, and standing on that leg is painful, almost as painful as bending it. All day

17 by dianeravitch / 50min 

Rally to Save Public Education, Saturday, March 17, 2 pm, New York City

Taking Back OUR Schools Rally & March – NYC Metro May 17 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm “Declaration, Protest, Successes, and Call to Action” Calling all NYC Metro Area community activists, the “voices of resistance”, families, students, civil rights advocates, voters, immigrant families, policymakers and legislators, union members, teachers, faith leaders, and all communities that believe in a good publ

3 by dianeravitch / 18min 

Your Chance to See “Rise Above the Mark” in Chicago!

The marvelous film, created by educators, “Rise Above the Mark,” will be shown at Mary Gage Peterson Elementary School, 5510 N. Christiana Ave, Chicago on Thursday May 29th at 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm. Following each viewing there will be a panel discussion about the challenges raised and any action steps we can take. Please help us spread the word. Thank you! “Rise Above the Mark” was made by public

1 by dianeravitch / 16min 

Arizona State Superintendent: More Money for Vouchers and Charters than for Public School Kids

Arizona’s public schools are among the most severely underfunded schools in the nation. Arizona has the misfortune of having a state superintendent who doesn’t like public education. If it was up to John Huppenthal, he would give everyone a voucher and shut down public education. As it happens, students who go to charter schools get more funding than those in public s hools. Vouchers were supp

1 by dianeravitch / 9min 

Pearson: We Need Better PR

Pearson, the multi-billion British publisher, plans to launch a new PR offensive to push back against the anti-testing and anti-Common Core groundswell. Pearson has been steadily buying up every aspect of Americamn education: it recently won the contract to Axminster the Commin Core test called PARCC, which is worth at least $1 billion; states using Pearson tests buy Pearson textbooks; Pearson bou

by dianeravitch / 1min 

GOOD NEWS: NC Court Overturns State Law Ending Tenure

North Carolina Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood ruled that the state’s effort to eliminate teacher tenure was unconstitutional. “Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood ruled this morning that the state’s repeal of teacher tenure, also known as “career status,” and the 25 percent contract system that would award temporary employment contracts to those who relinquish their tenure, are both un

4 by dianeravitch / 35min 

Laura Chapman: Gates and Arne Love Big Data

Reader Laura Chapmam reminds us that the corporate-government combine wants Big Data. The demise of inBloom is only one stop in a long journey that invokes hundreds of millions of dollars and a foundational belief that what can be measure matters most: Chapman writes: The bare bones infrastructure for data-mongering was expanding in 1990, jump-started by a concerted effort to standardize vocabul

2 by dianeravitch / 36min 

Anthony Cody: How Will Big Data Transform Education?

Anthony Cody recently read Simon Head’s Mindless: Why Smarter Machines Are Making Dumber Humans. This book, Cody says, shows how society is organized to benefit corporations, not people. He then includes a video clip from the CEO of Knewton, who claims that education is ripe for data mining. He says: “Education happens to be the world’s most data minable industry by far. And its not even close….

3 by dianeravitch / 21min 

Parents and Educators to Protest Cuomo-Anti-Public Education Agenda

Say NO to Cuomo’s Anti-Public Education Agenda. Cuomo’s heart belongs to the hedge fund managers. He does not care about public school kids. He is the lobbyist for the charter industry. PROTEST CUOMO’S FAILING EDUCATION AGENDA AT DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION! Come protest at the Dem state convention where Cuomo will be re-nominated for Governor a week from Thursday! PROTEST GOVERNOR CUOMO’S FAILING EDUCA

5 by dianeravitch / 15min 

New York Daily News: Telling the Truth about Charters

While the New York Times and the New York Post continue to recycle the press releases about the awesomeness of charter schools. One newspaper’s reporters tell the unvarnished story. While the editorial board of the New York Daily News, owned by billionaire Mort Zuckerman, continues to dispense charter Kool-aid, the reporters at the News distinguish themselves by writing story after story about out

3 by dianeravitch / 26min hide  //  save

The Great Colorado Promise, Not Yet Delivered

Four years ago, I was in Colorado to discuss education policy. This was in the heady early days of Race to the Top (which Colorado did not win, despite its whole-hearted embrace of everything Arne Duncan wanted). On one occasion, I was scheduled to debate State Senator Michael Johnston, the darling of the “reform” crowd. Johnston had written a bill that was coming to a vote that very day. His bill

10 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Sydney Miller: Why I Quit TFA in New Orleans

Just as there have been many public resignations by teachers in public schools who feel beaten down by mandates and by the high-stakes testing regime, there is now an emerging genre of TFA resignation letters. This one, by Sydney Miller, is poignant and beautifully written. The question that all these statements pose is larger than the situation of the individual. We should all wonder, as we read

6 by dianeravitch / 2h 

Gerri K. Songer Compares ACT and PARCC and Finds They Both Are Rotten

Gerri Songer compares ACT and PARCC and finds them both wanting , both developmentally inappropriate. She begins that she used to think that ACT “is a dreadful attempt to assess student learning. Now that PARCC has hit the scene, ACT is beginning to look significantly better!” Songer shows that both tests are beyond the cognitive levels of most high school students. She then argues: “Albert Eins

9 by dianeravitch / 3h 

5-15-14 LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NYC: A Teacher Explains the Utter Uselessness of High-Stakes TestingAt a rally against high-stakes testing in New York City, high school teacher Rosie Frascella explains the uselessness of high-stakes tests. The students get no feedback about what they did well and where they need to improve. As their teacher, she learns nothing ab

by mike simpson / 7h

5-16-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Breaking. Community sit-in a Gresham. Scheduled for turnaround.

- From Jackson Potter. Gresham parents sitting in now! Come and support them on 85th and Green. Tweet at #savegresham to show support.

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Law from of Robbins Schwartz. Court enjoins implementation of pension reform.

May 16, 2014 On May 14, 2014, the Sangamon County Circuit Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction delaying implementation of Public Act 98-0599 (“Pension Reform Act”). In its order, the court found that plaintiffs established a “fair question” that they will succeed on the merits as to their challenge that the Pension Reform Act violates the Pension Protection Clause

by Fred Klonsky / 44min 

Ten minute drawing. Lisa Madigan claims police power to steal our pension.

by Fred Klonsky / 13min 

Happy birthday Studs!

Studs would have turned 102 today. “Curiosity never killed this cat’ — that’s what I’d like as my epitaph.”

by Fred Klonsky / 5min 

Lisa Madigan argues that the state’s police powers allows them to steal our pensions.

Yesterday Lisa Madigan, Illinois’ Attorney General and daughter of Party Boss Michael Madigan, went before Judge Belz and responded to the pension theft lawsuits. The state filed its response to five lawsuits filed by retired teachers, state workers, university employees and public employee unions seeking to have last year’s pension reform law declared unconstitutional. The lawsuits argue that th

by Fred Klonsky / 28min 

So what is Biss’ Plan B?

The death of Senate Bill 1 is no sure thing. Many of my retired friends are convinced that Mike Madigan has four votes on the Illinois Supreme Court in his back pocket. Close to his ass. Other friends have faith in the judicial process and believe that the judges will rule based purely on what the Constitution says and case law. I’m not so sure about that. At the North Lake Shore Illinois Retired

by Fred Klonsky / 10min hide  //  save

Rahmzilla!

1 by Fred Klonsky / 56min 

5-15-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Glen Brown.Glen Brown. What is at stake right now.Dear Fred, you know I have said this many times: What is at stake right now is an adjudication of claims that public employees have against policymakers who have coerced changes to public employees’ benefits and rights and who are breaking public emplo

by mike simpson / 8h