Morning Wink 5-17-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of Me | deutsch29

A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of Me | deutsch29: A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of MeMay 17, 2014D.  Forman had never heard of me. She had never read my blog, and she did not know that I had recently published my first book, A Chronicle of Echoes, a well-researched whistle blower on numerous major players exploiting American public education in the name of

by mike simpson / 0min 

Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on funding | CJOnline.com

Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on funding | CJOnline.com: Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on fundingAFT's Weingarten hosts meeting on continued legacy of Brown v. BoardBy Andy Marsoandy.marso@cjonline.comFollowing up on a point made by a granddaughter of a Brown v. Board plaintiff about the importance of extracurriculars, Randi Weingarten told a group of education advocates

by mike simpson / 2min 

Louisiana Educator: John White Translated

Louisiana Educator: John White Translated: John White TranslatedEverything John White tells us in print or in person has a definite purpose. But often you need to translate "White speak" to get his true intent or meaning. Let me translate just a few paragraphs from a recent White memo to local education leaders:White states: "Our state's educators, families, and children have accept

by mike simpson / 4min 

60 Years After Brown v. Board, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System? | Diane Ravitch

60 Years After Brown v. Board, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System? | Diane Ravitch: 60 Years After Brown v. Board, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System?Congress is considering new charter legislation, awarding more money to the charter sector, which will operate with minimal accountability or transparency.The bill has already passed the House of Representatives with a bipa

by mike simpson / 7min 

Geaux Teacher!: Exposing Phony Testimony Against Louisiana Charter Bill

Geaux Teacher!: Exposing Phony Testimony Against Louisiana Charter Bill: Exposing Phony Testimony Against Louisiana Charter BillThis letter was sent to members of the Senate Education Committee on May 15 in support of HB 703 sponsored by Rep. John Bell Edwards (Rep. Edwards is the only Democrat running for Governor and enjoys the support of the education community due in part to his support of pub

by mike simpson / 11min 

NYC Educator: The Rat Squad

NYC Educator: The Rat Squad: The Rat SquadReading the MOA on the proposed UFT Contract, I notice that the "validators," the people who decide whether or not the burden of proof will be on the DOE to establish teacher incompetence, will now be teachers. This is touted as a major improvement over the last agreement, though the last agreement has never once been tested. Oddly, leadership cl

by mike simpson / 16min 

60 Years After Brown v. BOE, Mostly White Reformers Try To Fix 'The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Generation'

60 Years After Brown v. BOE, Mostly White Reformers Try To Fix 'The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Generation': 60 Years After Brown v. BOE, Mostly White Reformers Try To Fix 'The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Generation' Sixty years ago, the plight of Linda Brown, a third-grader who had to travel a mile by bus to her segregated black school even though there was a neighborhood school seven blocks from her

by mike simpson / 19min 

Still Unequal/Still Segregated After 60 Years From Brown v Board Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: Still Unequal/Still Segregated After 60 Years From Brown v BoardA vital analysis of the current Educational Genocide impacting the US- especially Black and Brown children and their families--Pub Ed2014- Death by a 100 CutsPub Ed2014- Death by a 100 Cuts

by mike simpson / 24min 

Big Education Ape: 5-10-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Ed News Round-up Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekWould Linda Brown's Parents Have Wanted a "Choice" District?This weekend is this 60th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education, the landmark case that ended separate but equal public schools. The case was originally brought against the Topeka, Kansas school board by Oliver Brown, the father of Linda, a third grader.Oliver had tried to enroll

by mike simpson / 31min 

5-17-13 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:PA Charters Don't Want To Die By SwordIn Philadelphia, Irony has collided with Karma, casing an explosion of hilariously tragic tears.First, some history. Philadelphia schools have suffered from financial and political issues (PA's school funding system is messed up, but we'll save that for another day), as well as questions about how well it was actually teaching children. In the l

by mike simpson / 37min 

5-17-14 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 EducationHedge Fund Titans Hum a Happy Tune as They Target Public Schools | BillMoyers.comThis post originally appeared at Too Much. Pharrell Williams has reason to be happy. The singer and music producer has had the world’s hottest pop single over the past six months. His “Happy” has been topping th

by mike simpson / 39min 

5-17-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog Whole Child Snapshots Provide State and National Pictures of Child Well-BeingTo thrive in today's global society, children need personalized support, safe environments, good health, and challenging learning opportunities. Adequately preparing students for their future requires a more comprehensive approach to educat

by mike simpson / 40min 

5-17-14 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):LAUSD school board candidate drops out, replaced by her twinBarbara Torres is sworn into office by Local 99 Treasurer Maggie Johnson Barbara Torres, the president of SEIU 99, one of the most powerful unions in the Los Angeles school district, said today she is stepping aside in the 2015 race for school boa

by mike simpson / 42min 

Stephen Krashen Blog 5-17-14

SKrashen:The common core: Don't forget what the real problem is.Sent to the Seattle Times, May 15, 2014I think the common core math standards are lousy on purpose, made lousy so that parents will complain ("2+2=What? Parents rail against Common Core math," May 15).The common core architects will then make some adjustments, enough to stop the most vigorous complaints. Many complainers wil

by mike simpson / 42min 

5-17-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week

With A Brooklyn Accent:With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All WeekMark Naison EduNews Takes on Teach for AmericaHere it is!!! Mark Naison EduNews takes on Teach for America!!! http://youtu.be/PREZXh4coIoby Mark Naison / 2d MAY 11On the "Civil Rights" Defense of Common CoreIt is a grave error to portray the Common Core Standards as a Civil Rights measure opposed largely by right wing fanatics

by mike simpson / 46min 

5-17-14 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 WeekMany Florida Districts Underfunded By Convoluted, Unequal FEFP SystemSo much for that level playing field. From WTSP reporter Noah Pransky: Florida’s Constitution requires the state appropriate funds to school di

by mike simpson / 48min 

All Week @ The Answer Sheet 5-17-14

The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetHow to help students of color, 60 years after historic Brown v. Board rulingOn May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court  ruled that state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students were unconstitutional in the historic case Brown vs. Board of Education. I’ve published a few pieces on the legacy of the decision, here and here. Following i

by mike simpson / 50min 

5-10-14 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 SocietyBridging DifferencesLast night at the sit-in at Gresham ElementaryOllie ClementsJitu Brown (Center)Principal Diedrus Brown supports her parentsby Mike Klonsky / 2h YESTERDAYIt's the new, improved Rahm. 'Doesn't believe in personal insults...'Here's Blaine Principal Troy LaRavi

by mike simpson / 52min 

5-17-14 Wait What? All Week

Wait What?:  Wait What? All WeekKneecapped’ Malloy Has Only Himself to BlameLast night, Democratic Party leaders and delegates met to re-nominate Dannel “Dan” Malloy to run for a second term as Connecticut’s Governor. Having won by 6,400 out of more than 1.1 million votes cast four years ago, the most recent public opinion poll indicates that only 44 percent of Connecticut voters think Malloy dese

by mike simpson / 55min 

5-17-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumFriday Open ThreadSeattle's Central Library celebrates its 10-year birthday.  Lots of fun events starting today with a concert by Harry and the Potters and ending with a big party next Friday, May 23rd.  Music, temporary tattoos, cupcakes and a Lion Dance, starting at 10 a.m.Lots of awards for high school students.  From SPS Communicat

by mike simpson / 58min 

5-17-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineLayoffs in Newark and Jaisal Noor: Video on Ras Baraka Election in NewarkA mayoral election in Newark becomes a battle for the soul of the city... Jaisal Noor, The Real News, delivers - as usual.Newark may be a future model for the NYC school system despite the Baraka win, who in the New Yorker article admitted he was for a bunch of ed deform - like ending tenure. W

by mike simpson / 1h 

5-17-14 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 teacherGresham sit-in ends with a sense of purpose. The unfinished work of Brown versus Board of Education.Gresham Principal Diedrus Brown. Following a meeting with CPS officials, parents and community folks ended their sit-in at Gresham

by mike simpson / 1h 

5-17-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekWhat Comes After?There's a lot of talk in schools and around the Internet about voting the UFT contract agreement down and forcing de Blasio to give teachers a better deal in a second agreement.People say this will show the public that teachers are starting to stand up for themselves, they're not going to take getting humiliated or beaten up by the

by mike simpson / 1h 

5-17-14 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 The Conversation: Racial segregation returns to US schools, 60 years after the Supreme Court banned itRacial segregation returns to US schools, 60 years after the Supreme Court banned it1 by plthomasedd / 1d hide  //  saveMAY 15My Speech to the Graduates: Don’t Listen to Graduation Sp

by mike simpson / 1h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-17-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  Hollywood High Recognized On The National Register Of Historical Places.by smf for 4LAKidsNews 16 May 2014  :: This afternoon a bronze plaque was unveiled on the front steps of the Hollywood High School Library recognizing Hollywood High’s historical significance. Hollywood High is and was and will forever be

by mike simpson / 1h 

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 5-17-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLLARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAYTED Talks Starts A New Site, Though I’m Not Really Sure What It Is…TED Talks has just unveiled a new site called “Ideas.Ted.com”. Here’s how they describe it: ideas.TED.com is built to celebrate this: to track ideas that began decades ago and are now forging our current reality. And to foll

by mike simpson / 1h 

This Week's Education Research Report 5-17-14 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Education Research ReportTHIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORTHow Asian American 'tiger mothers' motivate their childrenAn article titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," published in The Wall Street Journal in 2011, has continued to provoke a cultural debate among parents after self-proclaimed 'tiger mother' Amy Chua asserted that Asian American parenting methods produce more success

by mike simpson / 1h 

5-17-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekBogus Test Based Evaluations and Charterization Put Hundreds of Memphis Teachers' Jobs on Chopping BlockThis year it's called "excessing."  Just over a year ago it was call "surplussing." A clip from the Memphis Corporate Appeal:. . . .The shuffle in schools happens every spring as principals draw up staffing numbers to match projected en

by mike simpson / 1h 

All Week 5-17-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE The Conversation: Racial segregation returns to US schools, 60 years after the Supreme Court banned itThe Conversation: Racial segregation returns to US schools, 60 years after the Supreme Court banned it. via The Conversation: Racial segregation returns to US schools, 60 years after the Supreme Court banned it.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

by mike simpson / 1h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 5-17-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGRhode Island Supreme Court Rejects Equality of School Funding: Sorry, Kids!Almost sixty years to the day of the U.S. Supreme court’s historic Brown decision, the Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit against the stste’s inequitable funding system. The court said it was “deeply concerned” and acknowledged that the

by mike simpson / 1h 

YESTERDAY

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: CORE WAIVER VIDEO: The California Office to Reform Education explains it all for you …or

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: CORE WAIVER VIDEO: The California Office to Reform Education explains it all for you …or what if seven superintendents formed their own school board and reported directly to the US Dept of Ed?: CORE WAIVER VIDEO: The California Office to Reform Education explains it all for you …or what if seven superintendents formed their own school board and reported

by mike simpson / 14h hide  //  save

Wait a second...Was it click your heels three hundred times and say Bengazi

Wait a second...Was it click your heels three hundred times and say Bengazi or Was it click your heels and say Bengazi 300 times ...That will make Hillary Clinton go away in 2016?Then close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, 'There's no one like Elizabeth Warren

by mike simpson / 16h 

After Cory Booker, Newark Takes A New Turn : It's All Politics : NPR

After Cory Booker, Newark Takes A New Turn : It's All Politics : NPR: After Cory Booker, Newark Takes A New Turnby ALAN GREENBLATTRas Baraka (right) is greeted by supporters after casting his vote Tuesday in Newark, N.J. Baraka defeated Shavar Jeffries, a former state assistant attorney general, for the mayoral office Cory Booker occupied from 2006 until October 2013.It's not Cory Booker's city an

5 by mike simpson / 16h 

Nite Cap 5-16-14 #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 empathyeducates – 60 Years After Brown v. Board of Ed, Pockets of Segregation Remain in Md. Schoolsempathyeducates – 60 Years After Brown v. Board of Ed, Pockets of Segregation Remain in Md. Schools: 60 Years After Brown v. Board of Ed, Pockets

by mike simpson / 17h

2nd Banana 5-10-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

2nd Banana 5-3-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

2nd Banana 4-26-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 4-19-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 4-12-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 4-5-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

Nite Cap 5-16-14

Nite Cap 5-15-14

Nite Cap 5-14-14

Nite Cap 5-13-14

Nite Cap 5-12-14

Nite Cap 5-11-14

Nite Cap 5-10-14

Nite Cap 5-9-14

Nite Cap 5-8-14

A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of Me | deutsch29

A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of Me | deutsch29:

A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of Me

May 17, 2014

D.  Forman had never heard of me. She had never read my blog, and she did not know that I had recently published my first book, A Chronicle of Echoes, a well-researched whistle blower on numerous major players exploiting American public education in the name of “reform.”

She found my book when perusing the Amazon.com site; read the positive reviews by those kind enough to write them, and decided to buy my book.

On May 16, 2014, D. Forman (who also identifies herself as “Ben’s mom,” was kind enough to write her own review.

Here it is, reproduced in full:

Help

May 16, 2014

By

D. Forman “Ben’s Mom” (Decatur, Ga)

I was looking for a book that would help me to connect the dots for what has been happening today in America’s Public Schools. I understand the history after reading Charlotte Iserbyt’s Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, but wanted to get a clearer picture of education today and the movers and shakers in the education industry.

Mercedes K. Schneider does a fabulous job of linking those involved in education reform and the tangled web that they weave in a clear and concise picture that those just learning about Common Core and education reform to ones who know a great will benefit from what is explained. Each chapter is on a different player (person or group) and can stand alone as reference material, if you want to learn more about one particular person or group. Reading the book chapter by chapter as I did, left me pondering what I know, and how things are all pieced together. At the end of each chapter I had to soak the information in and often went back to make sure that what I thought was actually what was meant.

A Chronicle of Echoes is a book that will be savored and not read and thrown to the side. It’s given me greater insight and knowledge to a topic that I had a fairly good idea about. It helped me to connect dots from experiences of my 16 years of teaching in Chicago Public Schools, in charter schools, in Georgia, and as an education consultant working with and training teachers all over the country. My mind has been working over time processing what I am 

A Review of My Book by Someone Who Had Never Heard of Me | deutsch29:

Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on funding | CJOnline.com

Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on funding | CJOnline.com:

Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on funding

AFT's Weingarten hosts meeting on continued legacy of Brown v. Board

By Andy Marso

andy.marso@cjonline.com

Following up on a point made by a granddaughter of a Brown v. Board plaintiff about the importance of extracurriculars, Randi Weingarten told a group of education advocates Saturday that they were on the right track.

"There's actually research that shows that kids who have music (class) graduate," Weingarten said, leaning forward and tapping a table with her hand for emphasis. "There's research that shows this."

Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers and leader of its 1.5 million educators.

She visited Topeka on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision, saying the city is important because of the legacy of that case.

Weingarten convened a meeting at the AFT office at 1300 SW Topeka to discuss how to "take the legal imperative of Brown and make it a moral imperative."

The meeting included union leaders, religious leaders, parents, an 11-year-old student and Lucinda Noches Talbert, granddaughter of Brown v. Board plaintiff Lucinda Todd.

The discussion was tinged with criticism of conservative political policies that speakers said prevented back-filling of education dollars lost during the recession and led to a lack of school Teachers union leader's roundtable focuses on funding | CJOnline.com:

Louisiana Educator: John White Translated

Louisiana Educator: John White Translated:

John White Translated

Everything John White tells us in print or in person has a definite purpose. But often you need to translate "White speak" to get his true intent or meaning. Let me translate just a few paragraphs from a recent White memo to local education leaders:

White states: "Our state's educators, families, and children have accepted the great challenge of raising expectations for learning in our schools. Louisiana's children are just as smart and capable as any in America, and together we have committed to educating them to a standard as high as anywhere in our country."

Translation: "I don't really care if many families have not acceptedthe challenge of raising expectations for learning, I intend to blame local educators if the students do not all perform to the level I have dictated. Furthermore, I have no idea weather or not Louisiana's children are just as smart and capable as any in America, but by stating this assumption, it allows me to punish educators if our students do not perform as well as students in other states."

White states: "As you know, the state has long committed that Louisiana will not unfairly humiliate educators, denigrate schools, or punish students as we make this transition. You can find a summary of the state's transition policies here, including policies regarding 4th grade promotion and the Transitional 9th grade, an important opportunity to address immediately the learning needs of struggling students."

Translation: "As I have demonstrated many times before, it is my policy to humiliate impoverished school communities by imposing an unfair school grading policy that only tells us the level of poverty Louisiana Educator: John White Translated:

60 Years After Brown v. Board, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System? | Diane Ravitch

60 Years After <i>Brown v. Board</i>, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System? | Diane Ravitch:

60 Years After Brown v. Board, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System?

Congress is considering new charter legislation, awarding more money to the charter sector, which will operate with minimal accountability or transparency.

The bill has already passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan majority and now moves to the Senate.

Make no mistake: on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision, Congress is set to expand a dual school system. One sector, privately managed, may choose its students, exclude those who might pull down its test scores, and kick out those it doesn't want. The other sector -- the public schools -- must take in all students, even those kicked out by the charters.

One sector -- the charter sector -- may enroll no students with profound disabilities, while the public schools are required by federal law to accept them all. The charter sector may accept only half as many English language learners, while the public schools are required to accept them all. Some charter schools push out children who are behavior problems, the public schools must take them all.

This is a dual school system, one bound by laws, the other deregulated. One free to select the "winners, " the other bound to accept all.

Will federally-funded charters be allowed to operate for profit, as many charters do? Will they pay their executives exorbitant salaries, of more than $400,000, as some charters do? Will they be exempt from nepotism laws, as many charters are? Will charter leaders be allowed to hire their relatives or give them contracts? Will they be exempt from conflict of interest and self-dealing laws, as they are in some states? Will members of the board be permitted to win profitable contracts from the board?

The growth of the charter sector has been driven by a strange coalition. Charters are supported by wealthy hedge fund managers who give generously to individual charters and to charter chains; they fund political candidates who support charters. Charters are supported enthusiastically by the Obama administration, which endorses the privatization of public schools. Charters are a favorite of conservative groups like ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) and right-wing governors. Charters receive millions from some of the nation's wealthiest foundations, including the Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation.

This odd coalition doesn't seem to care that it is reversing the Brown decision of 1954. The fact that charters are highly segregated does not trouble them. The fact that 60 Years After <i>Brown v. Board</i>, Will Congress Revive a Dual School System? | Diane Ravitch:

Geaux Teacher!: Exposing Phony Testimony Against Louisiana Charter Bill

Geaux Teacher!: Exposing Phony Testimony Against Louisiana Charter Bill:

Exposing Phony Testimony Against Louisiana Charter Bill

This letter was sent to members of the Senate Education Committee on May 15 in support of HB 703 sponsored by Rep. John Bell Edwards (Rep. Edwards is the only Democrat running for Governor and enjoys the support of the education community due in part to his support of public education).

http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=894875&n=HB703%20Engrossed - To prohibit the State Board of Education from approving a charter that had been denied by a local district school board.

You can watch the video of the testimony spoken of in Senate Education Committee here:

May 15, 2014 RS
	Education Part 1 | Part 2	Upon Adjournment   John J. Hainkel Room

The second piece of commentary is from a Louisiana parent and public education advocate who is well educated on the background behind the privatization of our schools and the part that the Common Core Initiative plays in that effort.

Veronica Brooks -

Email: vbrooks@lacharterschools.org
Veronica, a native of Virginia, graduated from the University of Virginia and earned a Master of Public Policy with a focus on Education Policy from George Washington University. She began her career in education with Teach For America as a middle school science teacher and went on to work from D.C. Public Schools, the Louisiana Department of Education, a teacher quality think tank, and an international research firm before joining LAPCS. (Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools - works for Carolyn Roemer, Exec. Director and sister of State Board of Education President Chas Roemer - the Jindal influenced State Ethics Board ruled that this was not a conflict of interest although Chas Roemer supports the replacement of traditional public schools with charters).  

Veronica replaces fact with fiction and provokes alligator tears in her public testimonies.  Of course she is not from Louisiana.  Of course she is a Teach For America alumnus. 

Stephanie Desselles - Vice President, CABL, Council for a Better Louisiana
Ms. Desselles who has no education background is the mouthpiece for the business interests pushing privatization.  You can see Ms. Desselles in action in this video in which she and a mouthpiece for Stand For Children debate me and Dr. Mercedes Schneider (teacher and author of the new book A Chronicle of Echoes: Who's Who in the Implosion of American Public Education.)

http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/my-lwv-speech-and-debate-of-common-core/

Louisiana Senate Educ Committee Fully Aware Before Vote

A re-post from Mike Deshotel's "Louisiana Educator"  blog.The information in this blog of mine regarding the Charter Management company for the new Lafayette charters mentioned here was sent to every legislator prior to hearing this bill so they were fully aware of what they were voting for. We must hold them accountable for their failure to listen to their constituency.http://www.geauxt

by lbarrios / 9h 

NYC Educator: The Rat Squad

NYC Educator: The Rat Squad:

The Rat Squad

Reading the MOA on the proposed UFT Contract, I notice that the "validators," the people who decide whether or not the burden of proof will be on the DOE to establish teacher incompetence, will now be teachers. This is touted as a major improvement over the last agreement, though the last agreement has never once been tested. Oddly, leadership claimed the last agreement was also wonderful and fair. Evidently, with no evidence whatsoever, they've determined this agreement is even more wonderful and fair.

Teachers who choose to be validators will run around observing their peers, declaring thumbs up or thumbs down. If their thumbs go up, the DOE will have to prove teachers are incompetent in order to fire them. If their thumbs go down, teachers will have to prove they are not incompetent, a burden of proof that will be challenging indeed.

I wonder why any non-administrator would want this job. I don't want this job. If I wanted a job like this I'd have become an administrator. I suppose if I wanted to become and administrator a job like this would look good on my resume. But no way would I sit in judgment of my brother and sister UFT members. No way would I determine they need to prove their competence rather than have the DOE prove otherwise. In fact, I would not even do so for the extra 15K a year offered, nor for the possibility of some future gig in admin.

As this is not tested, it's hard to see what will happen. I can't imagine the DOE's intent in giving teachers this job is to have less discretion in firing teachers. And I know current arbitrators tend to "split the baby" by failing to find anyone absolutely innocent. Absolute innocence in a 3020a hearing tends to be accompanied by a fine of a few thousand dollars for charges that do not merit 3020a.

My daughter likes to watch police shows, and I sometimes watch with her. Often I see references to Internal Affairs, divisions that look after NYC Educator: The Rat Squad:

60 Years After Brown v. BOE, Mostly White Reformers Try To Fix 'The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Generation':

60 Years After Brown v. BOE, Mostly White Reformers Try To Fix 'The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Generation'

 Sixty years ago, the plight of Linda Brown, a third-grader who had to travel a mile by bus to her segregated black school even though there was a neighborhood school seven blocks from her home, became the symbol of America's racist underbelly.

Now, the very language that activists called upon to right that wrong is again at the center of a national fight over the direction of public schools, as a mostly white education reform movement faces the complexities of using civil rights rhetoric to boost its agenda. Meanwhile, opponents argue that the legacy of Linda Brown should look like something else entirely.

"This is an issue with civil rights, where the one thing that would actually be revolutionary would be to actually work with the community to improve their schools," said Jitu Brown, a Chicago organizer and activist with the organization Journey for Justice (and no relation to Linda). "We have been continuously burned and destabilized by people who don't have to bear the consequences of these policies."

Back in the 1950s, Linda's father, Oliver Brown, joined the NAACP in a suit that became known as Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The case became the rallying cry of the civil rights movement, uniting people who sought racial justice in a country they saw as patently unfair.

Sixty years later, no one disputes that the vision of that movement has not been fully realized. Schools are as segregated as ever. Students of color tend to be concentrated in schools with fewer resources. Black and Latino students trail their white peers on standardized tests.

But there is tremendous disagreement on how to fix these issues. While the battle over how to improve the nation's schools is often portrayed as "school reformers" fighting teachers' unions on education policies -- such as evaluations based on test scores, closing underperforming public schools and the expansion of public charter schools -- the subtext is often missed. The fight over education reform is also a war of words, one in which two sides grapple for the legacy of Brown and the civil rights movement.

Hardly a day goes by in which U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan doesn't utter the phrase "Education is the civil rights issue of our generation." He used it as recently 60 Years After Brown v. BOE, Mostly White Reformers Try To Fix 'The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Generation':

Still Unequal/Still Segregated After 60 Years From Brown v Board Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:



Still Unequal/Still Segregated After 60 Years From Brown v Board

A vital analysis of the current Educational Genocide impacting the US- especially Black and Brown children and their families--

Pub Ed2014- Death by a 100 Cuts

Pub Ed2014- Death by a 100 Cuts