Saturday, September 6, 2014

9-6-14 Saturday Matinée Double Feature "Eli's Clone Factory and $ing a $ong of $ixpence" News Breakout

Saturday Matinée Double Feature
News Breakout

Eli's Clone Factory

$ing a $ong of $ixpence

Parents United wins school closings disclosure case (again) but it’s not over yet | Parents United for Public Education

Parents United wins school closings disclosure case (again) but it’s not over yet | Parents United for Public Education: Parents United wins school closings disclosure case (again) but it’s not over yetSeptember 6, 2014 by HELENGYMLeave a comment(Cartoonist: Jim Borgman)This summer the Court of Common Pleas upheld our right to make public the list of 60 schools identified for closure by the Boston

by mike simpson / 19min

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com: So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... In 2008, shortly after Bill Gates stepped down from his executive role at Microsoft, he often awoke in his 66,000-square-foot home on the eastern bank of Lake Washington and walked downstairs to his private gym in a baggy T-shirt, shorts, sneakers and black socks yanked up to the

1 by mike simpson / 33min

SCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spent - Press Enterprise

SCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spent - Press Enterprise: SCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spentRiverside’s Poly High shows how all students are being prepared for success as the state’s top education official tours honors and college preparation classroomsState Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson tours an AVID class at Poly High Sc

1 by mike simpson / 1h

One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob. | Missouri Education Watchdog

One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob. | Missouri Education Watchdog: One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob.inShareCrazy Crawfish, a blogger from Louisiana who was previously employed by the Louisiana Department of Education, wrote an article on Co

1 by mike simpson / 2h

Sacramento’s 1% line up behind strong-mayor proposal - Our Region - The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento’s power players line up behind strong-mayor proposal - Our Region - The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento’s power players line up behind strong-mayor proposalBy Ryan Lillisrlillis@sacbee.comPublished: Friday, Sep. 5, 2014 - 8:29 pmLast Modified: Saturday, Sep. 6, 2014 - 12:28 amKevin Johnson strode into a midtown loft building Wednesday evening, an entourage of handlers by his side.Inside the

9 by mike simpson / 2h

2nd Banana 9-6-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform

BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANARECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POSTInside the Mammoth Backlash to Common Core | Mother JonesInside the Mammoth Backlash to Common Core | Mother Jones: Inside the Mammoth Backlash to Common CoreHow a bipartisan education reform effort became the biggest conservative bogeyman since Obamacare.—By Tim Murphy| September/October 2014 IssueEmail262Illustration: Chris BuzelliONE NIG

3 by mike simpson / 3h

Morning Wink 9-6-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTSQ&A: Dana Goldstein, Author, 'The Teacher Wars' : NPR Ed : NPRQ&A: Dana Goldstein, Author, 'The Teacher Wars' : NPR Ed : NPR: Q&A: Dana Goldstein, Author, 'The Teacher Wars'by ERIC WESTERVELTSeptember 06, 2014 8:43 AM ETI recently came to the education beat after spending the better part of a decade as a foreign correspondent, mainly reporting

3 by mike simpson / 4h

Q&A: Dana Goldstein, Author, 'The Teacher Wars' : NPR Ed : NPR

Q&A: Dana Goldstein, Author, 'The Teacher Wars' : NPR Ed : NPR: Q&A: Dana Goldstein, Author, 'The Teacher Wars'by ERIC WESTERVELTSeptember 06, 2014 8:43 AM ETI recently came to the education beat after spending the better part of a decade as a foreign correspondent, mainly reporting on conflicts in the Middle East.Shortly after turning in my Kevlar vest for chalk dust I was struck by how i

1 by mike simpson / 4h

Arguing Over What Public Schools Should Do?* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Arguing Over What Public Schools Should Do?* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Arguing Over What Public Schools Should Do?*“Why do people argue so much about education?”I heard this question as I pumped up Mt. Hamilton. Biking up a California mountain forces you to think about many things or else you note how goofy you are for taking five hours to climb nineteen miles just to

1 by mike simpson / 4h

Newark Parents Boycott School For POWER To Control Their Neighborhood Schools Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: Newark Parents Boycott School For POWER To Control Their Neighborhood Schools: Newark Parents Boycott School For POWER To Control Their Neighborhood SchoolsNewark Parents Want Local Control of Their Schools- Not Racist Corporate Takeover! Start a Boycott on Day OneA group of parents and students in Newark, New Jersey, boycotted the

1 by mike simpson / 4h

High marks for turnaround - Lowell Sun Online

High marks for turnaround - Lowell Sun Online: High marks for turnaroundNational teachers union leader hails progress at Lowell schoolsBy Alana Melanson, amelanson@lowellsun.comMAKING THE GRADE: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten watches fourth-graders Gabriel Rodriguez, rear, and Connor Mills, both 9, work at Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School in Lowell Thursday. Sh

1 by mike simpson / 4h

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 9-6-14

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:Ferguson Readings Photo: Scott Olson, GettyHere is a very incomplete list of thought-provoking articles on the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the protests as a result and the militarization of local policy forces.Mariame Kaba with a commentary in the Washington Post: For Blacks, America is Dangerous by Default Kare

2 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":Interesting Idea: “Digital Parent Volunteers”Here’s an interesting idea from George Couros: You might also be interested in The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d “A Checklist for Back to School Night”A Checklist for Back to School Night is a useful post for every teacher. It’s by

2 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 All NEW Living in Dialogue

Home | Living in Dialogue:End Suspensions, and Bring Play Back to KindergartenBy Sara Lahm. Is there a crack forming in the anti-child world we have been subjecting our children to for far too long? I ask this question on the heels of Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson’s announcement that, effective immediately, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders will no long

2 by mike simpson / 4h

Stephen Krashen Blog 9-6-14

SKrashen:My response to Bill Nye (The Science Guy"): Standards OK but not the Common Core StandardsResponse to Bill Nye (“Science Guy”), Posted Sept 2 at: Could Common Core be the antidote for Creationist teachers?Bill Nye: If I were king of the forest we would have math in the core curriculum. Science would be in the core curriculum. English in the core curriculum. Elementary science is wher

2 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 Hemlock on the Rocks (The Big Gulp)

Hemlock on the Rocks: LA Schools: Restoring The SUPER In Tendent by Sara Rooshttp://www.citywatchla.com/lead-stories-hidden/7465-la-schools-restoring-the-super-in-tendent -When my home town built a new school in the early '70′s, a whole era vanished in concert with the disappearance of gilded letters proclaiming the "Superintendent's Office" within. I never did figure out what a "Su

2 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 Wag The Dog Week

WagTheDog | Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart. ~ Rumi: Wag The Dog WeekCommon Core Bait and Switch“Selling” the Common Core State Standards to students, parents, and employers with promotional slogans such as “college and career readiness”, “critical thinking”, “constructivist learning”, “technology integration”, and “21st

1 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letters to the BATS

With A Brooklyn Accent:Why Charter School Leaders Are Behind Attacks on Teachers Unions and Public SchoolsIf you ever wonder why famous charter school leaders like Eva Moskowitz or Steve Perry don't just run their schools quietly and let the results speak for themselves and instead devote much of their time attacking teachers, teachers unions and public schools, consider this. When the hiring free

1 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Ed News Round-up Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekA Reply To A Reply from @tomamoranTom,Contrary to your beliefs, no one called you a racist. You know this: you put our other criticisms of you in quotes, but not the one where you allege we call you racist.What we said was that you support One Newark, a racist school reorganization policy. Which it is.You say:Maybe you folks should take a pill, and eng

1 by mike simpson / 4h

9-6-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:Curmudgucation WeekEfficiency Report Is Only Mostly That BadThe edublogonewsphere buzzed a bit this week about a report from GEMS Education Solutions regarding educational efficiency and the fact that it finds the US somewhat lacking. It is, however, a large report, and some reporters made the mistake of skipping through to just the shiny, sexy parts. I'm not sure that the report ha

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 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):Kashkari to Gov. Brown: ‘You should be ashamed of yourself’Kashkari to Gov. Brown: ‘You should be ashamed of yourself’ Brown (left), Kashkari (right) Governor Jerry Brown and his Republican challenger, Neel Kashkari, spent a few testy minutes in their debate last night talking about public education. Their

1 by mike simpson / 5h

All Week @ The Answer Sheet 9-6-14

The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetAmerica’s suburban schools facing new pressuresOne of the problems with many school reforms being implemented in schools today is that they are being done in isolation — from one another and from other policies that are necessary to actually allow the education changes to work. In the following post, two professors explain how housing policy affects Amer

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 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 SocietyOur neighborhood rally with Karen LewisKaren at El Cid. THE DELUGE...This afternoon's rally at the monument in Logan Square, was drowned by a deluge as a series of storms rolled across the city. Karen Lewis and some brave souls made a run for El Cid up the block and set up ca

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 Wait What? - All Week

Wait What?: Wait What? All WeekGovernor Malloy: Tell the truth about your position on teacher tenureAs we know, on-line petitions demanding politicians account for their actions have become all the rage. It is time for Governor Malloy to come clean and tell the truth about his position on tenure. Therefore we’ve started on an-line petition to do exactly that: Governor Dannel Malloy is the only D

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumSeattle Times, This One's For YouGuess what? According to a new Brookings study, teachers matter. Principals matter.Superintendents? Not so much.Findings:In this report, the authors examine the extent to which school district effects on student learning are due to the superintendent in charge, as compared to characteristics of distri

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineCongrats to John Elfrank-Dana who has now successfully battled two abusive principalsIf this were Atlanta, Almonte would be leaving in handcuffs..... Ed NotesBergtraum HS principal leaves after caught pushing kids into substandard online courses & violating sped rights; sadly she will now likely go and ruin some adult ed program. Congrats to John ElFrank-Dana wh

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 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 teacherRunning.If you are a member of IEA Retired you should have received your nomination form in the mail for IEA Retired delegate. The IEA Representative Assembly will be in April of 2015. We are back in Rosemont. This year we retiree

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekCuomo's Weakened Stature Gets The Politico TreatmentThe Politico article, Andrew Cuomo's Progressive Blues, that went up this morning and got prominent placement on the Politico website, is not going to make Andrew Cuomo or his campaign happy.The takeaway: Andrew Cuomo's political stature is diminished and his future as both governor and presidentia

1 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

THE BECOMING RADICALEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by Loadbang Concert & RecordingLoadbang Concert & Recording This will include music by my friend Peter Kay.1 by plthomasedd / 2h SEP 04Grade Retention ResearchGrade Retention Research Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., & Dauber, S.L. (1994). On the success of failure: A reassessment of the effect

1 by mike simpson / 5h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-6-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT Trials+Tribulations Of Opening School With Misisfrom the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update for the Week of 8 Sept 2014 | http://bit.ly/YihifD AALA thanks a secondary administrator, who wishes to remain anonymous, for providing this article. 4 September, 2014 ::For years, we heard it was

3 by mike simpson / 5h

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 9-6-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE WEEKDaily Show Does Great Segment On Child RefugeesI’m adding this great video segment to The Best Resources For Learning About The Children Refugee Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border: The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive7 by Lar

2 by mike simpson / 5h

This Week's Education Research Report 9-6-14 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Education Research ReportTHIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORTTeacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2012–13 Teacher Follow-up SurveyOf the 3,377,900 public school teachers who were teaching during the 2011–12 school year, 84 percent remained at the same school (“stayers”), 8 percent moved to a different school (“movers”), and 8 percent left the profession (“leavers”) during the followin

2 by mike simpson / 5h

9-6-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: Schools Matter All WeekKIPP: Waiting for the Marshmallow While Getting the FistEducators have jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to teach the skills of delaying gratification to inner-city kids. Dave Levin, co-founder of KIPP (a network of charter schools) employs teaching these cognitive tricks to all his students, who also each wear T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Don’t eat th

2 by mike simpson / 5h

All Week 9-6-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archiv

2 by mike simpson / 5h

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 9-6-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGOhio: Letter from a Teacher in a For-Profit SchoolThis came in my email from a teacher who gave me her/his name, email, school name, and phone number. I asked for permission to post the letter and received it. Do you have any suggestions for this teacher? Ms. Ravitch, I am writing to you because you are the first person I

1 by mike simpson / 5h

YESTERDAY

Indian Leader’s School Visit Draws Fire - NYTimes.com: Indian Leader’s School Visit Draws Fire NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday appeared before millions of India’s schoolchildren, answering respectful questions with an avuncular twinkle for an hour and a half, and telling stories about his own school days.Yet behind the seeming informality of the format was an elaborate, labor-in

2 by mike simpson / 12h

All Things Education: Pre-doctoral program warm-up: A look at high school teacher turnover in Hanover County, Virginia

All Things Education: Pre-doctoral program warm-up: A look at high school teacher turnover in Hanover County, Virginia: Pre-doctoral program warm-up: A look at high school teacher turnover in Hanover County, VirginiaThis past summer in conjunction with a local public education advocacy group, Friends of Hanover Schools, that I was a part of, I engaged in a little pre-doctoral program warm-up. At a

1 by mike simpson / 14h

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Progressive Lecture Series

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Progressive Lecture Series: Progressive Lecture Series BY DUANE CAMPBELLSACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Progressive Lecture Series:

1 by mike simpson / 14h

CTA Launches Back to School Ad Campaign- California Teachers Association

- California Teachers Association: CTA Launches Back to School Ad CampaignContact: Frank Wells (562) 708-5425 or Claudia Briggs (916) 325-1550.TV, Radio, Print Ads Focus on Teacher-Led Reforms and Well-Rounded Education that Ensures Student SuccessAs educators, we know what really works to improve student learning. It’s why we’ve led efforts to turn around hundreds of lower-performing schools. Wor

4 by mike simpson / 16h

Tim Slekar: Ask Scott Walker and Mary Burke meaningful questions about education : Ct

Tim Slekar: Ask Scott Walker and Mary Burke meaningful questions about education : Ct: Tim Slekar: Ask Scott Walker and Mary Burke meaningful questions about educationNews media are missing the point by covering the political back-and-forth over education policy between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and challenger Mary Burke, says blogger Tim Slekar.“Who cares?” writes Slekar, dean of the School of

1 by mike simpson / 17h hide // save

Nite Cap 9-5-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT

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 CAP9-5-14 Living in Dialogue - End Suspensions, and Bring Play Back to Kindergarten - Living in DialogueEnd Suspensions, and Bring Play Back to Kindergarten - Living in Dialogue: End Suspensions, and Bring Play Back to KindergartenBy Sara Lahm. Is t

3 by mike simpson / 17h

Parents United wins school closings disclosure case (again) but it’s not over yet | Parents United for Public Education

Parents United wins school closings disclosure case (again) but it’s not over yet | Parents United for Public Education:

Parents United wins school closings disclosure case (again) but it’s not over yet

September 6, 2014 by HELENGYM

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com:

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ...

In 2008, shortly after Bill Gates stepped down from his executive role at Microsoft, he often awoke in his 66,000-square-foot home on the eastern bank of Lake Washington and walked downstairs to his private gym in a baggy T-shirt, shorts, sneakers and black socks yanked up to the midcalf. Then, during an hour on the treadmill, Gates, a self-described nerd, would pass the time by watching DVDs from the Teaching Company’s “Great Courses” series. On some mornings, he would learn about geology or meteorology; on others, it would be oceanography or U.S. history.

As Gates was working his way through the series, he stumbled upon a set of DVDs titled “Big History” — an unusual college course taught by a jovial, gesticulating professor from Australia named David Christian. Unlike the previous DVDs, “Big History” did not confine itself to any particular topic, or even to a single academic discipline. Instead, it put forward a synthesis of history, biology, chemistry, astronomy and other disparate fields, which Christian wove together into nothing less than a unifying narrative of life on earth. Standing inside a small “Mr. Rogers"-style set, flanked by an imitation ivy-covered brick wall, Christian explained to the camera that he was influenced by the Annales School, a group of early-20th-century French historians who insisted that history be explored on multiple scales of time and space. Christian had subsequently divided the history of the world into eight separate “thresholds,” beginning with the Big Bang, 13 billion years ago (Threshold 1), moving through to the origin of Homo sapiens (Threshold 6), the appearance of agriculture (Threshold 7) and, finally, the forces that gave birth to our modern world (Threshold 8).

Christian’s aim was not to offer discrete accounts of each period so much as to integrate them all into vertiginous conceptual narratives, sweeping through billions of years in the span of a single semester. A lecture on the Big Bang, for instance, offered a complete history of cosmology, starting with the ancient God-centered view of the universe and proceeding through Ptolemy’s Earth-based model, through the heliocentric versions advanced by thinkers from Copernicus to Galileo and eventually arriving at Hubble’s idea of an expanding universe. In the worldview of “Big History,” a discussion about the formation of stars cannot help including Einstein and the hydrogen bomb; a lesson on the rise of life will find its way to Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. “I hope by the end of this course, you will also have a much better sense of the underlying unity of modern knowledge,” Christian said at the close of the first lecture. “There is a unified account.”

As Gates sweated away on his treadmill, he found himself marveling at the class’s ability to connect complex concepts. “I just loved it,” he said. “It was very clarifying for me. I thought, God, everybody should watch this thing!” At the time, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had donated hundreds of millions of dollars to educational initiatives, but many of these were high-level policy projects, like the Common Core Standards Initiative, which the foundation was instrumental in pushing through. And Gates, who had recently decided to become a full-time philanthropist, seemed to pine for a project that was a little more tangible. He was frustrated with the state ofSo Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com:

SCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spent - Press Enterprise

SCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spent - Press Enterprise:

SCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spent

Riverside’s Poly High shows how all students are being prepared for success as the state’s top education official tours honors and college preparation classrooms

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson tours an AVID class at Poly High School in Riverside on Thursday.

KURT MILLER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ensuring that all students – especially low-income and those learning to speak English – succeed in school was a focus of the state schools chief’s tour of Inland campuses.

“Our economy can’t succeed until we bring up all our students,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said Thursday at Riverside’s Poly High School.

After the Poly visit, he attended a town hall meeting at the Riverside County Office of Education with educators hosted by Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside.

“So much of our nation’s prosperity is wrapped up in this idea of education for all students,” Takano said as he described his decision to become a teacher instead of going to law school after earning his bachelor’s degree from Harvard.

Friday, Torlakson visited Citrus Valley High School classrooms in Redlands and then career technical academies at La Quinta and Palm Springs high schools.

Thursday, Torlakson and Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, visited honors chemistry, honors U.S. history, a 12th-grade expository reading and writing class that’s part of Poly’s Puente Program and an Advancement Via Individual Determination class. Torlakson said he was impressed with how teachers engage students.

Puente is a college-preparation program open to all students but targeted for Latino students.

Medina, a former Poly teacher, said it doesn’t matter whether students come from families that don’t speak English or are low-income: They still need to succeed.

“¿Cuantos hablan español?” or “How many speak Spanish?” Medina asked teacher Carley Soto’s AVID college preparation class. Most hands shot into the air. Then he asked how many were taking Advanced Placement and honors classes. About the same number, mostly the same hands, shot up again.

California’s new school funding formula – which gives districts extra money for students learning English as a second language, from low-income families and in foster care – is premised on providing better education for all.

Torlakson credited Medina as a leader in the Legislature who fought for the new funding, which is benefiting most Inland districts. It’s the first change in the way schools are funded in 30 or 40 years and is helping bring back arts, music, drama and sports, he said.

How to spend the additional money is a decision best left to local educators, Torlakson and other state officials said.

Schools such as Poly are going in the right direction, he said.

Riverside Unified School District has received about $45 million more so far, an amount expected to continue. Schools are using some of the money to fund more extracurricular activities and co-curricular programs, AVID and Puente, Superintendent David Hansen said. Some of the extra money is payingSCHOOLS: State superintendent sees how new money is being spent - Press Enterprise:

One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob. | Missouri Education Watchdog

One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob. | Missouri Education Watchdog:

One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob.

Crazy Crawfish, a blogger from Louisiana who was previously employed by the Louisiana Department of Education, wrote an article on Common Core aligned curriculum in November 2013. He explains the history of the adoption and implementation of the Initiative and its lack of transparency to the public.

He frames the argument that this is not a ‘right/left’ issue and presents a viewpoint of what Common Core looks like in the classroom by systematically explaining how a first grade math problem is expected to be answered via the Common Core standards methodology. It’s a bit long but if you want to read an outstanding experience to ‘first grade math hell’, read his article on this homework assignment. Ask yourself if anything is different in September 2014.

From My attempt at completing my first grader’s Common Core math homework – and a little historical CCSS context:

While John White and Chas Roemer claim CCSS give teacher more flexibility to design their own “curriculum” (which is really just the specific lesson plans, not a curriculum at all) this flexibility and freedom is an illusion. We are all free to fly to the moon, but that doesn’t mean we can do it. If it was easy to design a daily curriculum then textbook companies that were poised to make enormous profits on this endeavor would have already produced them, but in most, if not all schools, no new text books supporting Common Core have been issued. Louisiana implemented Common Core before we even had textbooks and have to rely on license free worksheets like the ones produced by EngageNY to teach our children. But my first grade child in East Baton Rouge parish is not learning anything from these worksheets. I am telling her what to fill in, after brainstorming with Facebook friends and family (some of whom are elementary teachers and mathematicians) to try and figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do. I and my daughter’s grandmothers have no idea what this “math” is, how to help my daughter, or what it’s supposed to be teaching her except to listen to us tell her what to fill in a box. There are many children that don’t have as many committed adults at home. How do you think they are faring?

This first sheet is a little blurry, so I apologize. (My completed version of it is clearer.)

The first worksheet question states “Draw the 5-group card to show a double. Write the number sentence to match the cards.” Despite the fact that I still have no idea what a 5-group card is, I count a set of three boxes that equals six total boxes, not 5, I also have no idea why a “double” is significant and do not recall ever needing to write a “number sentence.” This first problem was missing instructions which my daughter’s teacher thoughtfully provided and the third problem appears to have been incorrect and needed to be corrected by the teacher. I wonder how many kids tried working this worksheet out with incorrect examples?

To see the worksheets and read about this tortuous process, read more here. And be sure to read the reader comments who claim the only reason for the problems encountered by the writer were the teacher’s fault for not sending information home on how to solve them. Crazy Crawfish replies:

I pulled this as a random example but there are plenty more where this came from. Does it make sense to teach this way if parents are not aware of this terminology or how to help, even in first grade? Does this strike you as particularly rigorous, as CCSS supprters claim? How is this a “deeper understanding” off math. And what is a double fact that helped me solve a double +1. . . anyone?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Why the coloring? Why the matching of 5 cards, whatever those are. Why not call them boxes? How does one color all the remaining items. . . twice! What does that teach? I see people tackling a few little snippets of my critique without addressing it in its entirety or addressing that any of the core claims made by Common Core, that this is rigorous, and necessary to compete in a global marketplace and to get a science or technology job. I’ve One of the Best Explanations of First Grade Common Core Math. And it’s Not From a ‘Misinformed’ Right Wing Nutjob. | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Sacramento’s 1% line up behind strong-mayor proposal - Our Region - The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento’s power players line up behind strong-mayor proposal - Our Region - The Sacramento Bee:

Sacramento’s power players line up behind strong-mayor proposal

By Ryan Lillis

rlillis@sacbee.com

Published: Friday, Sep. 5, 2014 - 8:29 pm

Last Modified: Saturday, Sep. 6, 2014 - 12:28 am

Kevin Johnson strode into a midtown loft building Wednesday evening, an entourage of handlers by his side.

Inside the sparsely decorated room, the Sacramento mayor hugged and chatted with the 50 or so supporters who had come to celebrate the unofficial launch of the biggest political campaign this city has seen in years: Johnson’s proposal to boost the authority of the mayor’s office through a November strong-mayor ballot measure.

The president of the firefighters union stood in one corner, not far from a high-ranking officer in the police union. A handful of developers were there, along with the head of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce.

They snacked on small sandwiches as they mingled in a building on 16th Street owned by developer and Sacramento Kings minority owner Mark Friedman, who has contributed more than $14,000 to the strong-mayor campaign. The party was funded out of the $240,000 the campaign has already raised, including $100,000 from Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, the region’s leading land developer.

Sacramento’s power players are lining up to support Johnson’s proposal to consolidate more clout in the mayor’s office. In doing so, they’re seeking a cleaner, easier path to getting things done at City Hall.

“Most of the people that get involved in these things are players, they’re not just average people, and they are doing business with the city and are in tune with what’s going on at City Hall,” said Sacramento political consultant Andrew Acosta. “For a lot of these people, they want to have the ability to know exactly who they need to talk to to get something done. And they’d rather have one conversation (with the mayor) than eight (with the City Council).”

Opponents of Johnson’s plan, including City Councilman Steve Hansen, worry that the system would favor “the privileged and the wealthy.” Their campaign is likely to be outspent by a wide margin.

For years, the city’s business interests, developers and some unions have complained about having to maneuver through what they describe as a sluggish bureaucracy where a city manager appointed by the City Council calls most of the shots. To get something done, they often have to convince at least five City Council members, which can take a lot of time and money.

A strong-mayor government, such as the one Johnson is proposing, makes City Hall more of a one-stop shop. The mayor contends the new structure would give voters and interest groups alike aSacramento’s power players line up behind strong-mayor proposal - Our Region - The Sacramento Bee:

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/05/6683295/sacramentos-power-players-line.html#storylink=cpy

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