7-11-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

AFT Convention Update: Chicago CC Reso Goes Down Overwhelmingly in Committee

Voters supporting CTU CC reso stand in support - est 25-30%.Since we were not allowed in, we were watching the Education Issues Committee debate from outside the glass doors. With long lines at the mic, it was clear that Chicago TU people did not have the muscle to win the room over to its anti- common core resolution to counter the Weingarten pro common core - with conditions. Stephen Sawchuk @

by ed notes online / 27min 

Breaking - AFT Rumor - Reso on Duncan Coming? Randi Crit Duncan in Keynote - But Doesn't Go Deep

Just heard rumor that special order of business will be proposed for a reso either calling for resignation or censoring of Arne Duncan is coming from California Teachers Association - NEA crew who have some people here.Keynote still on:Randi just mentioned NYSUT call for State Ed Comm John King resignation - and mentions NEA Duncan reso -- now attacking Duncan but not calling for resignation.Let's

by ed notes online / 19min hide  //  save

AFT Convention Roundup: Travel Day Part 2 - Common Core, Mulgrew Joins Caputo-Pearl and Lewis on Social Justice Unionism Panel -

See Part 1: LA Confidential: AFT Travel Day, Part 1 See - RBE at Perdido: Is Randi Weingarten REALLY Getting The Message?NYC Educator touches on the AFT Convention: The Myth of the Myth of the Blogger Beast.OK - lots to report in this part 2 of yesterday's activities - I'm writing this up Friday around 10AM while sitting at the press table listening to opening speeches so I will flip back and fort

by ed notes online / 19min 

LA Confidential: AFT Convention Day 1, Part 1

Friday, July 11, 5AM, LA timeDon't expect deep analysis or insights from these reports. Not much time for that. I'm doing them sort of stream of consciousness, diary-like in rough chronological order as the day went. I had lots of conversations with lots of people through the day and want to get them down before they're gone. Luckily my time clock is totally screwed up and I woke up at 3AM - after

by ed notes online / 28min 

7-9-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Must Read: Democracy and Politics in the UFT, 1976 EdIn preparation for next week's MORE summer series on the history of caucuses and what we can learn, thanks to Vera Pavone, we have created an online version of the pamphlet we produced almost 40 years ago (minus the graphics). I will have some hard copies with me next week but I urge you to download it and read the 25 page pamph

by mike simpson / 7h 

Teachers union to rally in L.A. against loss of job protections - Los Angeles Times

Teachers union to rally in L.A. against loss of job protections - Los Angeles Times:



Teachers union to rally in L.A. against loss of job protections

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, criticized a court ruling limiting job protections, but also wants teachers to consider common-sense changes. (John Hanna / AP)

HOWARD BLUMEcontact the reporter

 National union leaders will rally members in Los Angeles this weekend to oppose a recent court ruling that struck down key teacher job protections in the state.



The American Federation of Teachers, at its national convention, will vote on a resolution that condemns the motivation behind Vergara v. California as well as Harris v. Quinn, in which the U.S. Supreme Court limited the right of unions to collect dues from non-members who are represented by unions in contract negotiations.



Related story: Bill to speed firing of some public school teachers advances

Related story: Bill to speed firing of some public school teachers advances

Howard Blume

“Anti-union, anti-worker groups are challenging our voting, political and collective bargaining rights while anti-public education forces have made a concerted effort to undercut fairness for our students, families and communities, capitalizing on the shared frustration with the inequities in our economy and our schools to divide our communities,” the resolution said in part.



The court decisions “are contributing to an escalating and engineered imbalance in our democracy, one where corporations and the wealthy have a dominant voice,” it said.



The union vows a concerted counter-effort “at the ballot box and the bargaining table, in the streets, Washington, D.C., and state capitals, in the courthouse and the court of public opinion.”



Teachers unions have said they will appeal the Vergara ruling.



The prevailing side in Vergara was funded by Students Matter, a Silicon Valley-based group focused on litigation that advances its vision of education reform.



L.A. Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled last month that several job protections for teachers violated the state constitution. He threw out the state's tenure process, stripped teachers of rules that made dismissing them more difficult and expensive, and he eliminated using seniority as the primary factor in deciding which teachers to lay off.



He said these practices resulted in greater numbers of ineffective teachers, disproportionately harming poor and minority students.



“This court decision has to be fought because it invalidates protections that are very important for people as opposed to addressing what will help students get the teachers they deserve,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in an interview Thursday. The ruling “created such fear in Teachers union to rally in L.A. against loss of job protections - Los Angeles Times:

7-11-14 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):

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5min 

Weingarten comes out swinging: attacking Vergara, Duncan

In a fiery speech delivered to her core constituents, Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers went on the assault today, taking on the verdict of the Vergara trial, criticizing Common Core testing and singling out political figures for reprimand. Striking a more combative tone than she used earlier this month when she shared a stage with LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy,

4 by Vanessa Romo / 1h 

VIDEO: Verdugo Hills high school glee club makes us smile

The glee club, the Verdugo Voices, an acappella group from a singing group at the Visual and Performing Arts Magnet at Verdugo Hills High School released this new video, ‘Move.’ Enjoy!

2 28min 

Teachers union is in town, Vergara front and center

GOP leader asks Brown not to appeal teacher ruling Republican lawmakers on Thursday asked Gov. Jerry Brown to resist union pressure to appeal a Los Angeles judge’s decision striking down tenure and other job protections for California teachers SacBee/AP Schools’ next test is getting tenure ruling to pay off in class If the ruling stands, the challenge for California will be to craft a system that

22min 

‘Fiscal mismanagement’ cited in closing 2 Magnolia charters

LA School Report has learned that ‘fiscal mismanagement’ and a host of other irregularities as the reasons behind the sudden closure last month of two LA Unified charter schools, Magnolia Science Academy 6 and Magnolia Science Academy 7, according to a letter sent from LAUSD’s Charter Division. Both are considered high-performing schools; MSA-6 is a middle school in Palms serving about 140 student

2 by Vanessa Romo / 30min 

7-10-14 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): Morning Read: Firing Centinela Superintendent could take a monthProcess for firing Centinela Superintendent could take a month Although the Centinela Valley school board has voted to fire Superintendent Jose Fernandez following an investigation into his excessive pay, the process of terminating the embatt

by mike simpson / 5h 

7-11-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy

Wait What?:

Wait What? All Week

WARNING: The assault on Connecticut’s Hospitals – Here come the for-profit hospital operators

For decades, even centuries, Connecticut’s regional non-profit hospitals have been one of its greatest assets.  Emergency rooms, maternity programs, and access to local, high-quality hospital care have made our communities better, safer and healthier places to live and raise a family. While improvements to the quality of care and the reduction of hospital medical errors […] The post WARNING: The a

4 by jonpelto / 50min hide  //  save

Looking for a place to sign a Pelto/Murphy Petition this weekend?

Members of the Pelto/Murphy 2014 Team will be hanging out at various Starbucks and other coffee shops around the state this weekend.  They may have a clipboard in hand or certainly a pile of petitions. If you’d like to add your name to the Pelto/Murphy 2014 Petition so that we can get on the November […] The post Looking for a place to sign a Pelto/Murphy Petition this weekend? appeared first on W

8 by jonpelto / 1h 

7-10-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy

Wait What?: Wait What? All WeekStep #1 – Dump the Common Core and its testing maniaStep #2 – Focus on properly funding our schools and helping children overcome the educational challenges associated with poverty, language barriers and unmet special education needs. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense [or wasteful education reform industry junk] than on

by mike simpson / 8h 

A Teacher’s Appreciation For Her Principal (Ann Staley) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

A Teacher’s Appreciation For Her Principal (Ann Staley) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

A Teacher’s Appreciation For Her Principal (Ann Staley)

So rare it is for a teacher to write appreciatively about her principal. There are, of course, many reasons for the rarity: too much already on teachers’ plates, writing is hard to do, principals who perform all that is expected of them from diverse audiences are themselves an endangered species (add your own reason here).  I found this  personal portrait of a secondary school principal on the mark for capturing much that is often lost in the current lust for principals to do it all as instructional leaders, CEOs, and hand-shaking politicians.

I knew Ann Staley as a student in one of my classes soon after I came to Stanford to teach three decades ago. Over the time she was in graduate school, we ended up having many conversations about teaching, learning, graduate school, and life in all of its twists and turns. After leaving Stanford, she settled in Oregon and became a teacher and writer. She has taught in junior and senior high schools–winning an award in 1996–supervised student teachers, and taught writing at community college.  A few years ago, she retired from teaching but continued writing both prose and poetry. Every so often we would contact one another. She has published two volumes of poems, Primary Sources and  Instructions for the Wishing Light.  I posted a poem she wrote about her second grade teacher, “Mrs. Kitchen.

Principal Jae Johnson hired Staley in her first job as an English teacher. She wrote this in 1984.

A Good One. No, A Great One

Iowa. Wide-skied, rural, back roads meandering, farm, tidy with care. In a rootless myopic and arcane world, it’s a place you’d like to come from. Jae Johnson did, and it shows.

Jae made his way to Oregon via his brother’s interest in the family farm and his own in a Ph.D. Although he has a way of making his life  very much in the present, still, beside the Principal’s desk at Hedrick Junior High is a black and white photograph of a small farm outside Iowa Falls.

You get to see that photograph when you go in to talk with Jae. Taking off his A Teacher’s Appreciation For Her Principal (Ann Staley) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

7-11-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:

Hechinger Report Pulls Out the Stops to Save the Gates Core

Below are funders of the Hechinger Report, and yesterday's hosannas for Common Core by Hechinger make it clear that the kinder and gentler corporate ed reform propaganda sheet has kicked its coverage up a notch. The piece is written a Taylor McGraw, TFA alum and Eva Moskowitz chain gang employee.If you decide to read it, note how the piece frames the Common Core as a liberation document at the for

2 by Jim Horn / 1h 

7-10-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: Weingarten Riding High on Teacher Union DuesMercedes Schneider has another solid piece on the secret society memberships and sordid political machinations of Rhonda (aka Randi) Weingarten, the corporate manufactured president of the AFT.  Seems that Randi recently plunked down 30K to join and another 100K promised every year to wine and dine with ostensibly liberal billionaires.  Y

by mike simpson / 8h 

7-11-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

Useful Videos & Tweets From #AFT14

[View the story "Useful Videos & Tweets From #AFT14" on Storify]

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

“Cost Of Living Map” Is A Nice Interactive

The Cost of Living Map lets you pick any two major cities in the United States and it compares their costs of living — overall and in specific categories. It’s very, very easy to use, and could be very helpful to students. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning Economics & Practical Money Skills. Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the tip.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 33mi

“Thesaurus.Land” Looks Like A Helpful Tool

Thanks to a tweet from Eric T. MacKnight, I’ve learned about a new site called Thesaurus.Land. It’s an online…thesaurus, and a pretty neat one. You type in a word, as I did with the word “sad” in the above image. Once you click on the arrow/triangle to the left of each word, it will show you synonyms for each one of them. I’m adding it to The Best Reference Websites For English Language Learners.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6h 

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Education Policy

© 2011 claudia gabriela marques vieira, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio Here are some useful posts and articles on educational policy issues: ‘Innovation’ Schools Get a Chance to Shake Up the Rules is from WNYC in New York City. Departure of Official Is Sought by Teachers is from The New York Times. A Draft Bill of Research Rights for Educators is by Daniel Willingham. I’m adding it to The Best Reso

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6h 

YESTERDAY

More Resources On The Child Refugee Crisis At U.S. Border

© 2012 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are some new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The Children Refugee Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border: The Children Crossing Our Border Just Want a Better Life—Let’s Treat Them as Our Own is by Jose Luis Vilson. Fleeing Gangs, Children Head to U.S. Border is from The New York Times. Book Drive Seeks To

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h 

July’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part Two

There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h hide  //  save

July’s Best Tweets — Part Two

Every month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. I’ve already shared in earlier posts several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave credit to those from whom I learned about them. Those are not included again in post. If you don’t use Twitter, you can

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h

7-10-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “‘Collaboration Is Crucial’: An Interview With Carmen Fariña & Laura Kotch”In my latest Education Week Teacher post, I interview Carmen Fariña, Chancellor of the New York City schools, & Laura Kotch, its former Director of Professional Development and Curriculum, about the new edition of their book, A School Leader’

by mike simpson / 7h 

7-11-14 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):

Racism not Below the Surface in U.S., Still

Since it is just sports, that LeBran James and Carmelo Anthony are wielding a significant amount of power during the NBA off-season could easily go unnoticed except for sports fans and those enthralled by ESPN and sports media. But how James and Anthony are framed should be placed in context, notably the recent confrontation and arrest of an African American female professor at Arizona State Unive

17 by plthomasedd / 39min  

7-8-14 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): Why Is Arne Duncan Still Pushing the Dangerous Myth of Low Expectations? | AlternetWhy Is Arne Duncan Still Pushing the Dangerous Myth of Low Expectations? | Alternet1 by plthomasedd / 2h hide  //  saveTeaching Students, Not Standards or ProgramsIf you believe shoddy com

by mike simpson / 7h