5-20-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

NEW Caucus Report: Newark Students Spending the Night

UPDATE: NJ United Students ‏@NJStudents 18m @rasjbaraka now coming in to see @NewarkStudents #ournewark pic.twitter.com/sYp2n5hnxkThis just in from NEW Caucus - a followup to our last post: Video: Newark Student Union Conducts a Sit-in at The Newark Public Schools Board's Budget Meeting and Cami Walks Out Again!As of 11:55 tonight, there are 10 members of the Newark Student Union spending the ni

by ed notes online / 34min hide  //  save

Video: Newark Student Union Conducts a Sit-in at The Newark Public Schools Board's Budget Meeting and Cami Walks Out Again!

Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Cami Anderson has got to go. I hope some of you have been following events in Newark. Students are playing a role. Good thing since no one listens to teachers. How nice to see Cami Anderson walk out again. I think she walks out twice.http://youtu.be/rBCi21i5tjsRemember, Anderson tried to get a tenure waiver so she can fire any teacher whose shirt she doesn't like but was rebuffed

by ed notes online / 1h 

Sally Lee on Resorative Justice

This comment from Sally deserves a post of its own. I was arguing in my original post that the contract is the only way to solidify and codify things so the current and future DOE can't as easily shirk issues like discipline. The Dignity in Schools Campaign is asking for full-time Restorative Justice Coordinators in 20 schools -- do you think this might be more useful that the money spend on PD? G

by ed notes online / 2min 

UFT Contract: The "VOTE NO" Caucus Says .......

They're flying in from all over the place. I'm assuming you're reading the great stuff over at the MORE blog.We are better off with the old contract until we can get a better one. Vote NO on the UFT Contract Offer!!Have you noticed that every new contract that has been imposed on us UFT members over the past two decades has more give-backs than improvements. This contract is no exception. Moreover

by ed notes online / 28min 

Video: I Tape Carmen Farina at CEC 2 Town Hall

I was asked to tape this event at the brand new building housing PS 59 and HS of Music and Art - by CEC 2 head, the always amazing Shino Tawikawa - see the wonderful well-deserved tribute to Shino at the end. [Something went wrong with my camera and I didn't get Carmen's opening speech - but the entire 45 minute Q&A is here.]It was certainly insightful to see an adoring public gush over Carmen

by ed notes online / 1h 

5-19-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: UFT Contract - What's Missing - How About Discipline?The amount of short-sighted "trust" the UFT/Unity crowd is giving this administration is astounding. We have learned from almost 50 years in the UFT - if it's not in the contract, there are no guarantees -- even if it's in the contract, many have learned that the loose language and loopholes allows the DOE to drive tru

by mike simpson / 8h 

5-20-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Pearson Allows Me to Quote 400 Board-meeting Words

At the American Enterprise Institute in March 2014, billionaire Bill Gates explained why the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are necessary above and beyond individual state standards that might be better: You get more free market competition. Scale is good for free market competition. Individual state regulatory capture is not good for competition. [Emphasis added.] In […]

2 by deutsch29 / 1h 

Post-apocalyptic Mindset in a Civilized World

Post-apocalyptic Mindset in a Civilized World. via Post-apocalyptic Mindset in a Civilized World.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

1 by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  save

“A Sustained Critique of the Entire System”

“A Sustained Critique of the Entire System”. via “A Sustained Critique of the Entire System”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

1 by plthomasedd / 1h 

La. Superintendent John White Requires Districts to Embargo LEAP Summary Public Reports

When it comes to the 2014 Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) scores he was supposed to release on Friday, May 16, 2014, Louisiana State Superintendent John White has apparently found himself in an unfamiliar fix regarding his characteristic “water muddying.” It seems that in this instance, his Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) underlings have refused to airbrush […]

1 by deutsch29 / 2h 

5-19-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: An Open Letter to TFAers Tempted to Diagnose ADHD, Among Other IssuesDear Teach for America (TFA) Corps Member: In 1985, I graduated from high school. So did TFA founder, Wendy Kopp. She and I happen to be only five weeks apart in age. In April 2014, I published a book. Kopp has her own chapter. She attended college at Princeton from 1985-89. I also attended college, at […]5 by d

by mike simpson / 8h

5-20-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs

With A Brooklyn Accent:

The Passing of Dr Vincent Harding- Minister, Scholar, Activist- Proud Product of the Bronx

Today, I just learned of the passing of Dr Vincent Harding, a minister, civil rights leader, and pioneering scholar in the emerging field of Black Studies. Dr Harding's odyssey led him from a childhood in the Bronx, where he graduated as valedictorian of Morris High School, to work with Dr King in Atlanta, Selma and Birmingham, to the founding of the Institute of the Black World in Atlanta, toward

by Mark Naison / 4h

5-18-14 With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs

With A Brooklyn Accent: Charter Schools: The Education Equivalent of Subprime MortgagesCharter Schools are looking more and more like the educational equivalent of subprime mortgages---a short cut to greater equity and opportunity that becomes the basis of a huge unregulated industry, which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to make quick profits, and the very wealthy tax breaks and opportunities

by mike simpson / 7h 

5-20-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

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

Post-apocalyptic Mindset in a Civilized World

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. Henry David Thoreau, Walden Since October 1999, when I experienced several weeks of unrelenting panic attacks, I have been negotiating my lifelong struggle with anxiety—many of those years spent completely unaware of the problem and then coming to recognize and even understand a condition that to most people seems completely irrational (even silly

7 by plthomasedd / 59min hide  //  save

“A Sustained Critique of the Entire System”

Please read and consider carefully: The Master’s House Is Burning: bell hooks, Cornel West and the Tyranny of Neoliberalism

3 by plthomasedd / 1h  

5-18-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Autonomy Must Precede AccountabiltyNearly 2.5 years ago, I wrote directly about the essential flaw with the thirty-plus-years accountability movement in K-12 U.S. public education. That essential flaw is that accountability built on standards and high-stakes testing is a

by mike simpson / 9h 

5-20-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:

Go Home, Gramps!

In the ongoing battle to get older, more experienced, and (most importantly) more expensive teachers out of schools, the only surprise is that the latest push didn't come sooner.Education Next, the magazine by and for the discerning corporate conservative educrats at the Fordham Institute, Harvard Kennedy School, and the Hoover Institution, brings us an article about incentive programs for early r

3 by Peter Greene / 9min 

Further Proof Researchers Don't Understand Humans

Most of us suffer from employment bias, the belief that we are doing work that is self-evidently important. On that list of Things They Don't Teach You In Teacher School is the realization that while we can see how obviously important our work is, not everyone shares that belief.Our employment bias simply sets us up for discouragement. But the employment bias of the folks who work with surveys and

17 by Peter Greene / 1h 

5-19-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION: Rigorizing Eight Year OldsOne of the most odious policies to emerge from the Reformster swamp is the mandatory retention of all third graders who don't pass the Big Test in reading. And now Mary Laura Bragg, the director of Florida's program, has popped up to help us all understand just how anti-child this policy is.She has popped up in North Carolina (motto: Strapping schools to a

by mike simpson / 8h 

Pearson’s Behavioral Assessments for Students. Welcome to School Hell. | Missouri Education Watchdog

Pearson’s Behavioral Assessments for Students. Welcome to School Hell. | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Pearson’s Behavioral Assessments for Students. Welcome to School Hell.

inShare

The role of public schools today. Behavioral observation and tracking.

Anne previously wrote about permission requested from parents for their children to be subjects of a Pearson Research Project for Behavior Assessments.  Read about it here: Is Pearson Using Your Child For Research?

This letter came home to a parent in Saline County this week. It seeks parental permission to have their children be the subjects of a Pearson research project for their Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). The letter says that this survey is looking at “student behavior,” that teachers will be using the “Teacher Rating Scale” survey to observe the child, and the big win for the school is that they will have the “opportunity” to earn iPads for “some” classrooms.

Let’s break this down.

1. Teachers and students are being asked to be free labor for an international for profit company. Sure they say they will give the school “some” iPads, but as far as the parents know that could be 1 or 2 that will not necessarily benefit their child directly. In fact, from the Pearson letter to parents, the only educational benefit to their child is that the school can get mentioned in the manual for this for profit product and that the school as a whole could get included in the “national norms.”  Hardly a measurable benefit for a child’s education. The teacher’s time is purely gratis.

And what is this product for which your school’s name could be in the manual? The BASC is, according to one website, “a useful tool that teachers or parents may choose to implement to monitor the progress and behavior patterns of young minds.”

2.  Ok, but what are those behavior patterns they are looking for? They include your child’s focus, intellectual and interest levels, how your child relates to others in a social setting. Teachers are looking for emotional triggers such as anxiety, anger and hyper-Pearson’s Behavioral Assessments for Students. Welcome to School Hell. | Missouri Education Watchdog:

U.S. Department of Education Takes First Step toward Regulating Charters | janresseger

U.S. Department of Education Takes First Step toward Regulating Charters | janresseger:

U.S. Department of Education Takes First Step toward Regulating Charters

Posted on May 20, 2014 by janresseger

Last week something important happened, “finally,” as Valerie Strauss emphasized in herWashington Post report.  The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil rights issued new guidance confirming that charter schools must comply with the same civil rights protections as public schools.

As quoted by Education Week, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Cathrine E. Lhamon issued the following: “I am writing to remind you that the Federal civil rights laws, regulations, and guidance that apply to charter schools are the same as those that apply to other public schools.  For this reason, it is essential that charter school officials and staff be knowledgeable about federal civil rights laws.  These laws extend to all operations of a charter school, including recruiting, admissions, academics, educational services and testing, school climate (including prevention of harassment), disciplinary measures (including suspensions and expulsions), athletics and other nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities, and accessible buildings and technology.”

While Education Week‘s Evie Blad explains that the new guidance applies particularly to admissions, provision of services for students with disabilities and English language learners, she continues:  “In addition to those areas, charter schools should ensure their policies and practices comply with all federal civil rights law, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination based on sex; and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits discrimination based on disability.”

Does the new guidance mean that the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education has the enforcement capacity to tour the country examining the policies aU.S. Department of Education Takes First Step toward Regulating Charters | janresseger:

Here’s The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be ‘Working Poor’ In America | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Here’s The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be ‘Working Poor’ In America | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Here’s The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be ‘Working Poor’ In America

Filed under: Poverty — millerlf @ 7:42 am 

Posted: 05/19/2014 Huffington Post

In a nation that has long operated on the principle that an “American Dream” is available to anyone willing to try hard enough, the term “working poor” may seem to have a bright side. Sure, these individuals struggle financially, but they have jobs — the first and most essential step toward lifting oneself out of poverty, right?

If only it were that simple.

According to 2012 Census data, more than 7 percent of American workers fell below the federal poverty line, making less than $11,170 for a single person and $15,130 for a couple. By some estimates, one in four private-sector jobs in the U.S. pays under $10 an hour. Last month, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have raised the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, despite overwhelming public support for the measure.

And these numbers don’t say anything about the many Americans who earn well above the official poverty line and still barely stay afloat. In HuffPost’s “All Work, No Pay” series, the working poor told their own stories, painting a devastating portrait of their day-to-day struggles.

They’re a diverse range of people: single parents, couples with and without children, young women with graduate degrees, business owners, seniors and everyone in between. Their financial situations, however, show many similarities. Jobs generally provide them with the means to barely scrape by, treading paycheck-to-paycheck, earning just enough to keep from going under, swallowing their pride sometimes to take food stamps or visit food banks. Others are entirely out of work, tirelessly seeking employment and relying on other means to survive.

Through their words, we see what it’s really like to be “working poor” in America — and just how much more it looks like rock bottom than most would imagine.

Being working poor means toiling through “pure hell” for next to nothing.

Earlier this year, 55-year-old Glenn Johnson was making about $14,000 a year — or $7.93 an hour — at a Miami-area Burger King. He’d been in and out of the fast food industry for more than 30 years. Recently he watched as his employer reported a 37 percent increase in its quarterly profit, while continuing to resist a minimum wage increase that workers like Johnson Here’s The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be ‘Working Poor’ In America | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

La. Superintendent John White Requires Districts to Embargo LEAP Summary Public Reports | deutsch29

La. Superintendent John White Requires Districts to Embargo LEAP Summary Public Reports | deutsch29:

La. Superintendent John White Requires Districts to Embargo LEAP Summary Public Reports

May 20, 2014

When it comes to the 2014 Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) scores he was supposed to release on Friday, May 16, 2014, Louisiana State Superintendent John White has apparently found himself in an unfamiliar fix regarding his characteristic “water muddying.”

It seems that in this instance, his Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) underlings have refused to airbrush LEAP scores in order to create a false luster of behalf of the predominately-charter-showcased Recovery School District (RSD).

What to do?

Well, for starters, refuse to honor the deadline. Never mind how much of a selfish, self-serving ripple such an action forces upon all state districts that are trying to wrap up one school year while planning for another– which includes planning for requisite LEAP summer remediation.

Also, be sure to provide districts with a directive on how to report scores, including new, fuzzy score report “groupings” that conceal the precision of the standard five levels of LEAP achievement (unsatisfactory, approaching basic, basic, mastery, and advanced).

Add to that the directive that public releases of score reports are to be embargoed until LDOE says it’s okay to release them. Districts are only allowed to issue individual score reports.

John White does not want the public to see the 2014 LEAP-score big picture.

Here are White’s/LDOE’s words, an amazingly obvious attempt to conceal less-than-favorable LEAP results:

All public releases, other than individual student reports to parents and