LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-28-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Columbia Economist Says Chetty, Friedman, and Rockoff Are Wrong About VAM

Moshe Adler, professor of economics at Columbia University, has emerged as one of the most incisive critics of the work of Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Jonah Rockoff on Value-added measurement (VAM). In the recent Vergara decision about tenure for teachers in California, the study by Raj Chetty and John Friedman of Harvard and Jonah Rockoff of Columbia played a prominent role. But according to t

by dianeravitch / 6min 

Microsoft Lays Off 18,000 Workers While Seeking Visas for Foreign Worksrs

Unbelievable. Microsoft lays off 18,000 workers while pressing Congress to expand the number of visas for engineers, mathematicians, scientists, and other workers. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and casino operator Sheldon Adelson wrote an article calling for Congressional action to increase H-1B visas. . Senator Jeff Sessions responded with rage, directed mainly at Gates and at the the tech industry

3 by dianeravitch / 12min

Chicago: School Choice and the Néw Segregation

The Chicago choice system works exactly as every choice system works: It segregates students by ability. “But a new WBEZ analysis shows an unintended consequence of the choice system: students of different achievement levels are being sorted into separate high schools. “WBEZ analyzed incoming test scores for freshmen from the fall of 2012, the most recent year data is available. That year, the di

5 by dianeravitch / 54min hide  //  save

Detroit’s Bold Experiment: 100 Children in a Kindergarten Class

When Governor Rick Snyder created the Educational Achievement Authority for the state’s lowest-performing schools, he promised bold new thinking. One of his bold plans is a kindergarten called the Brenda Scott Academy, which has a kindergarten of 100 students. It is a stretch to call it “new,” because classes of this size sometimes existed a century ago. The lead teacher, a veteran, is 30. Her he

30 by dianeravitch / 1h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why the Election in Georgia MattersBertis Downs is a native of Georgia and a member of the board of the Network for Public Education. He writes: This is the best electoral news in a long time– Georgia Democrat Valarie Wilson won the runoff for state school superintendent, and it wasn’t even close: http://bit.ly/Us7qNi I am proud to

by mike simpson / 8h 

Answer Sheet 7-28-14

Answer Sheet:

50 Virginia college presidents protest Obama’s planned school rating system

Fifty presidents of public and private nonprofit colleges and universities in Virginia have signed a letter (see text below) to Education Secretary Arne Duncan expressing “serious reservations” about the Obama administration’s “misguided” development of a school rating system that could include data such as how much students earn after graduation.  What will be called the […]

by Valerie Strauss / 12min hide  //  save

That kid in class who utterly infuriated me

For two decades Ellie Herman was a writer/producer for television shows including “The Riches,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Chicago Hope” and “Newhart.” Her fiction has appeared in literary journals, among them The Massachusetts Review, The Missouri Review and the O.Henry Awards Collection. In 2007, she decided, “on an impulse,” she wrote, to become an English teacher and […]

by Valerie Strauss / 12min 

‘Education reform’ now a pejorative term to many progressive Democrats

Earlier this year I published a post about how the Democratic Party has been split for years over the issue of corporate school reform. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have been Democratic leaders of the dominant reform movement which seeks to transform public schools through standardized-test-based “accountability” and the expansion of charter schools. […]

40 by Valerie Strauss / 5h 

All Week @ The Answer Sheet 7-26-14

The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetChris Christie to mayor: ‘I’m the decider and you have nothing to do with it’New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is consistent — at least when it comes to espousing total  indifference to what Newark residents want for their state-operated public school system. Christie just bragged (see video below) that he told new Newark Mayor Ras Baraka that Baraka’s

by mike simpson / 8h 

7-28-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

National PTA Sponsoring Common Core Ads on Facebook

I would guess if you are a PTA member and on Facebook, these PTA-sponsored ads will pop up on your Facebook page.Would be nice if someone had proofread it first. Disappointing that National PTA is going this direction rather than having a real conversation about the issue and parents' concerns.

by Melissa Westbrook / 6min 

Where's the problem?

Over and over again we see that the problem is not inadequate policies or procedures but the absence of any enforcement and the absence of any accountability for those who violate the policies and procedures.And who has the job of enforcing policy and holding staff accountable? The Board.

by Charlie Mas / 41min hide  //  save

Garfield Field Trip Assault: Continuing Questions

1) There is a lengthy account at the Facebook page associated with the family of the student assaulted.  I do have a few questions but I'll wait and see if the family contacts me.  It is fairly well-fleshed out so they were clearly documenting as they went along (a very good thing for all parents to do should any type of school situation arise - document everything).2) I called the Seattle office

by Melissa Westbrook / 41min 

Downtown School; Maybe Something Deeper Happening

There is nothing on the Seattle Schools calendar for this week.  Well, there is one meeting happening and yet strangely, it does not appear on the district calendar.  It's almost as if this meeting is really for one purpose or group.  It's the meeting at the Downtown Library about SPS taking over the Federal Reserve building. (The meeting is at 6 pm in the "Microsoft" auditorium with a w

by Melissa Westbrook / 7h 

7-27-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Something Horrible Under Every RockPeople frequently ask me "What fuels your activist energy?" and I tell them "Outrage." "But how," they ask,"can you stay outraged for fourteen years?" "I can't." I tell them. "I'm newly outraged every couple days. And you would be too if you watched the District closely. There

by mike simpson / 3h 

7-28-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

Students Seeing Assets, Not Deficits, In Their Neighborhoods

My favorite lesson each year is when my students compare their neighborhood with the wealthiest neighborhood in Sacramento, and then write a persuasive essay about which one they think is better. At least ninety percent of them choose their neighborhood. You can read — at length — about that lesson at A Lesson Highlighting Community Assets — Not Deficits. Here’s a powerful tweet about Chicago stud

by Larry Ferlazzo / 21min hide  //  save

More Resources On Sleep & Teenagers

© 2011 Pink Sherbet Photography, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are a new additions to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep: Too little sleep may trigger the ‘munchies’ by raising levels of an appetite-controlling molecule is from Science Daily. To Get More Sleep, Get More Sunlight is from Forbes. Experts Make a Case for Later School Start Times is from Ed Week

by Larry Ferlazzo / 21min 

Video: “Barbecue From Around The World”

I’m adding this video to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 24min hide  //  save

Create A Map Of Places You Want To See With “KLM Must See”

The KLM Must See Map lets you create a map of most major cities in the world, along with the key places you want to see in them. No registration is required. If you want, you can invite others to make suggestions, too. Once you add sites to your map, you’re also provided with a link to go to where you can find out more about information about it. It’s very easy to use. It does have two drawbacks,

by Larry Ferlazzo / 24min 

Two Good Resources For Virtual Field Trips

© 2011 Wesley Fryer, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are two new additions to The Best Resources For Finding And Creating Virtual Field Trips: 6 virtual field trips to give lesson plans a boost is from Education Dive. Here’s a map of virtual field trips and webcams that I learned about from Richard Byrne. You can see a bigger version here. View Virtual Tours & Webcams in a larger map

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2min 

The Best Articles Highlighting Parallel Critiques Of Increasing School & Health Care “Efficiency”

© 2011 401(K) 2012, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio There have been a number of articles and posts over the years highlighting efforts in education and in health care to institute similarly misguided changes in both areas. Here are ones that I’ve seen, and feel free to suggest more: Medicare Penalizes Nearly 1,500 Hospitals For Poor Quality Scores is from NPR, and shows that some hospitals get penal

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10min hide  //  save

NY Times Column Skewers Performance Pay

Many school reformers view teacher merit pay as one of the “be all, end all” solutions to the challenges facing schools, even though it’s been found to never work (see The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea). Today, The New York Times published a column that highlights all of what is wrong about merit pay. However, they talk about it in the context of doctors and the m

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10min 

“Race To The Top Has Been A ‘Fiasco’”

Race To The Top Has Been A ‘Fiasco’ is Part Two in my series on the Race To The Top program, which has just had its fifth anniversary. Today, Barnett Berry, Ariel Sacks, John Thompson, Alice Mercer and David B. Cohen weigh in with their thoughts, and I include comments from readers, too. Here are some excerpts:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Amazing Video: 1980 Bush & Reagan Comments On If Undocumented Children Should Be Able To Attend Schools

This is amazing. What has happened to the Republicans? I’m adding this to The Best Resources About The New Push For Immigration Reform. Remarkable. MT@jdickerson-1980: Reagan & Bush discuss whether the children of illegals should attend school 4 free. https://t.co/0lWrYz1O2V” — Daniel Pink (@DanielPink) July 28, 2014

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h 

7-27-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: The Best Resources To Help Promote A Physically Healthy Lifestyle For Our Students© 2014 Juhan Sonin, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio I’ve published a fair amount number of posts about lessons and tools I use to help promote a physically healthy lifestyle for my students, including research that shows how essential it is for lea

by mike simpson / 8h 

7-28-14 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.:

Ten minute drawing. What’s that noise.

by Fred Klonsky / 38min 

Madigan’s Iron Dome.

Mike Madigan has been Speaker since 1983. Remember Lee Elia? All this debate about whether we should vote for Quinn or not. Save your breath. When November’s election rolls around, the most powerful man in Illinois will be re-elected to office. And you won’t be voting for him. That would be the State Rep from the 22nd House District. He will get the votes of a few thousand people, out of couple m

by Fred Klonsky / 17min 

John Dillon. A Bitter Pill: Illinois Supreme Court’s decision and Chicago corporate media.

- John Dillon is a retired teacher, pension activist and blogs at Pension Vocabulary. Bitter Pill is an idiom that arises from usage nearly a century ago or in some lexicons even earlier.  Imagine a time when medicine was less than palatable or manageable, and you have a start.  Later on, during the malaria infestations of the Panama Canal  (1880 – 1920) project, “bitter” became the operative adj

by Fred Klonsky / 51min 

7-27-14 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.: An ethnic slur.A few days ago, in my continuing sadness about what is happening in Gaza, I posted on Twitter. “One Palestinian child is killed every hour in Gaza.” People all over the world have taken to the streets to call for an end to Israel’s military assault on what is the prison called Gaza. I a

by mike simpson / 8h