Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, September 13, 2014

9-13-14 Perdido Street School Week


Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School Week






College For All Once Again Exposed As Myth
The NY Times shows what's happened to the "American Dream" since 1989 - even for the college-educated:YOUNG families are better educated than ever before, but they are earning lower real incomes. The Federal Reserve Board’s newly released 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances indicates that the median family headed by someone under 35 years of age earned $35,509 in 2013 dollars. Adjusted for

YESTERDAY

Financial Genius Mayor Bloomberg Costs NYC Taxpayers $60 Million Extra On WTC Contract
Let us imagine Mayor de Blasio pulled some criminal act like this: In a deal worked out by ex-Mayor Bloomberg, taxpayers will pay nearly $60 million extra to move a city agency seven blocks into expensive office space at Four World Trade Center, a Daily News investigation has found. Back in 2008, Bloomberg signed off on an agreement to move the Human Resources Administration from its longtime head
Anti-Teacher Tenure Lawsuit In New York Starts Off Like A Circus
The Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal:Justice Philip Minardo in Richmond County Supreme Court agreed Thursday to merge two lawsuits seeking to challenge state tenure laws.The state attorney general's office had filed a motion to consolidate the two cases on grounds the issues were so similar, and the United Federation of Teachers had asked to intervene as a defendant.The court granted both request

SEP 11

Cuomo Still Thinks He's Running For President
Neo-liberal real estate magnate Mort Zuckerman has given Governor Andrew M. Cuomo space in his New York Daily News to wax hawkish about 9/11 today.Here's some: Security never comes from denial; security comes from recognizing reality and taking action. We may have pulled our troops out of Iraq and be drawing them down in Afghanistan, but the war against global terrorism is far from over. It’s sim
De Blasio Caves To Charter School Sector
If there was ever a time when Mayor de Blasio could tell Governor Cuomo to go @#$% himself, this is the time.Cuomo needed de Blasio's help in securing the Working Families Party ballot line last May, something that was very important to Cuomo since the woman who might have gotten that line had de Blasio not helped Cuomo out - Zephry Teachout - took 34% of the vote away from Cuomo in the Democratic

SEP 10

Tim Wu: De Blasio Is Big Reason A Conservative Will be Elected Lieutenant Governor
From Daily Politics: Tim Wu, whose insurgent challenge to Andrew Cuomo's political machine fell short in Tuesday's primary, says he is furious at fellow progressive Mayor de Blasio. “There was an effort to elect a progressive to the lieutenant governor office, and the greatest impediment to that was the Mayor Bill de Blasio,” Wu said in an interview Wednesday morning after he and running mate Zeph
Cuomo Will Be Governor But He Will No Longer Be King
Matt Stoller on what the primary results mean for Cuomo:Andrew Cuomo will be Governor, but his career is over. Cuomo will win in November. He will govern for another four years, or until he is indicted. But he will not hold another elected office, because he has proven himself a very good machine boss but a very bad candidate. The level of petty vindictiveness reflects a brilliant man who simply c

SEP 09

Cuomo Wins Primary, Loses Overall War
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo beat Zephyr Teachout in the Democratic Primary today but managed to lose the political war in the bargain.Cuomo, with a war chest of over $35 million dollars, with widespread union and political machine support, with campaign ads running and campaign mail filling mail boxes, should have beaten the underfunded Teachout by a wide margin.Instead, Cuomo won the primary with a
Chief Counsel To Andrew Cuomo, Tied Up In Moreland Mess, Resigns
From the Wall Street Journal:One of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's longest-serving senior aides, Mylan Denerstein, will leave her post with the administration on Friday, a spokeswoman for the governor's office confirmed Tuesday.Ms. Denerstein, who has worked as counsel to the governor since he took office, will depart for a job in the private sector, the spokeswoman, Melissa DeRosa, said. Ms. DeRosa
What's Wrong With Andrew Cuomo?
There is no better emblem of what's wrong with Andrew Cuomo then this past weekend's exhibition of petulance, arrogance and hubris at the Labor Day Parade.His opponent in the Democratic Primary, Zephyr Teachout, attempted to say hello to him at the parade.Cuomo, who has never once uttered her name in public, did everything he could to make believe like he didn't see her (see pictures below.)First,

SEP 08

Randi Weingarten Robocalls For Andrew Cuomo's Pro-Gun, Anti-Immigrants' Rights Running Mate
From Daily Politcs:Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, has done a last-minute robocall for former Buffalo-area Rep. Kathleen Hochul, Gov. Cuomo's preferred lieutenant governor candidate.Weingarten's call comes a day before the primary between Hochul and insurgent liberal Democratic candidate Tim Wu, a Columbia law professor. Political insiders say Wu has a shot at p
Cuomo, Worried About Primary, Increases Campaign Ad Buys
Will Brunelle at Capital NY:Governor Andrew Cuomo has purchased a reminder to Democratic voters about Tuesday's primary, in the form of $850,000 in broadcast television ads, according to F.C.C. filings reviewed by Capital. The latest buy, running from Sept. 1 until the close of polls on Tuesday, September 9, is part of the most significant ad campaign Cuomo has run since late July, and is more tha
Cuomo, De Blasio Threaten To Derail Pet Projects Of Any Democrats Who Endorse Teachout/Wu
Fred Dicker in today's Post:Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio used threats and intimidation in recent days to block prominent Democrats from backing leftist law professors Zephyr Teachout and her running mate, Tim Wu, in Tuesday’s primary, party insiders have told The Post. The largely successful pressure has been especially intense to stop endorsements for Wu, who is given a real chance of defeating
Tell Your Colleagues: Vote Teachout/Wu On Tuesday September 9th
We have two more days to try and get as many Democrats to vote for Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu in tomorrow's Democratic Primary.Try and talk to as many people at school today and tomorrow as you can about Teachout/Wu.Introduce those who don't know much about Teachout and Wu with this from the Teachout/Wu website:My name is Zephyr Teachout, and I am a constitutional law professor and organizer. I am

SEP 07

Andrew Cuomo Snub Of Opponent Zephyr Teachout At Parade Goes Viral
And now the rest of America gets to see what an arrogant little man-child our governor is.Here's Politico's coverage of the Cuomo/De Blasio snub of Teachout New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo greeted participants in New York City’s Labor Day Parade on Saturday, but one person didn’t get a warm welcome: his primary opponent.A video posted on NewYorkTrue.com shows Zephyr Teachout, who is challenging Cuomo i

SEP 06

Cuomo, Hochul, De Blasio Are All Class
Watch Governor Cuomo, Representative Kathy Hochul and Mayor Bill de Blasio all ignore Cuomo's Democratic Primary opponent Zephyr Teachout as she tries to say hello at today's Labor Day Parade:Lots of people have hammered Cuomo and Hochul on Twitter over this classless exhibition. Let's add Bill de Blasio to anvil for some hammering.He's as classless as Cuomo and Hochul.What the hell, shake her han
Cuomo's Weakened Stature Gets The Politico Treatment
The 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 presidential candidate are limited.Even more interestingly, de Blasio is depicted as Cuomo's political savior th

9-13-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD


THE BECOMING RADICAL

EMPATHYEDUCATES!


the becoming radical 
 A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness 
by 





High Noon: “Why Everyone (Almost) Is Wrong about Common Core”
High Noon at the Upcountry History Museum 2014 Fall Schedule All lectures begin at noon on Wednesdays and last one hour. The Upcountry History Museum/Furman University is located at 540 Buncombe Street in downtown Greenville’s Heritage Green area (near the Greenville County Main Library and Greenville Little Theatre). For more information, contact Furman’s Marketing and Public Relations office at
remnant 64: ‘Are we that warlike, that childish, that afraid?’
remnant 64: ‘Are we that warlike, that childish, that afraid?’.

SEP 11

Imagine: On Bravado and Humility, 11 September 2014
On the eve of 9/11 2014, President Obama admitted, “Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat,” adding: We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. That’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge…. Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrori

SEP 10

Adjectives and Video: The Willful Ignorance of a Violent Nation
Darkly humorous and deeply unsettling, “Rape Fantasies” by Margaret Atwood confronts the 1970s pop culture examination of date rape. As Atwood is apt to do, she forces readers to tread uncomfortably in the water of what constitutes rape, including details of women’s rape fantasies and the very real possibility that the narrator feels threatened by her date. That “date” qualifies rape in this story
Language Arts: Grading in a Perfect World
Language Arts: Grading in a Perfect World September 2014 See p. 34 for my response

SEP 09

Back-to-School Books at HuffPo
Back-to-School books
Authoritarian v. Authoritative: “With great power comes great responsibility”
The Peter Parker/Spider-Man myth—like most in the ever-reshaping and rebooting world of comic book super heroes—has spun a slightly inaccurate but powerful catch-phrase around Peter’s Uncle Ben: “With great power comes great responsibility.” The original wording—“AND A LEAN, SILENT FIGURE SLOWLY FADES INTO THE GATHERING DARKNESS, AWARE AT LAST THAT IN THIS WORLD, WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO C

SEP 08

Our Practice, Our Selves
In my undergraduate introductory education course, I read aloud the first or second class Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven.” The central character is Rachel, and the setting is her school day on her eleventh birthday. School that day strips all the shine from what should be a day of celebration and joy for this child because her math teacher, Mrs. Price, demands that Rachel not only claim but also wear a

SEP 07

DRAFT [Please email your support, allowing your name to be included, and any edits ASAP to paul.thomas@furman.edu] NCTE ...
DRAFT [Please email your support, allowing your name to be included, and any edits ASAP to paul.thomas@furman.edu] NCTE Resolution: Grade Retention as Flawed Education and Reading Policy Grade retention as a major element in education and reading policy has been adopted by at least 14 states, with 32+ states linking reading intervention to high-stakes testing (Rose, 2012). These policies ignore fo
The Answer Sheet: Does holding kids back a year help them academically? No. But schools still do it.
Does holding kids back a year help them academically? No. But schools still do it.
Cashing in on Journalism’s Neutral Pose
As I have highlighted several times about how often education journalism fails the democratic goals of both the free press and universal public education, this Tweet from Juana Summers at NPR represents the power of the neutral pose among journalists: @plthomasEdD I’m not sure it’s my place to say whether the study is credible, but we both note the significant criticism of the methods. — Juana Sum

SEP 06

Loadbang Concert & Recording
Loadbang Concert & Recording This will include music by my friend Peter Kay.


‘Chiraq’: Facts and Fictions – How These Affect Our Children
During a memorial service on July 20 in Chicago, Audry Miller mourns granddaughter Shamiya Adams, 11, who was killed by a stray bullet. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)By Salim Muwakkil | Originally Published at In These Times. August 28, 2014 Jamal, now 20, lives in Fuller Park, […]

SEP 08

An Open Letter To The White Teachers Who Wore NYPD T-Shirts To School, Despite Being Told Not To
It must have seemed like a fantastic idea when, despite warnings from the United Federation of Teachers, you all donned NYPD shirts and crowded in front of a camera for a smirking group portrait. Through this lens, which is conspicuously White, those matching gray shirts might either […]
Our Practice, Our Selves
By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D | Originally Published at The Becoming Radical. September 9, 2014 In my undergraduate introductory education course, I read aloud the first or second class Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven.” The central character is Rachel, and the setting is her school day on her eleventh […]

SEP 07

‘Helicopter Parenting’ Hysteria
Photograph Credit; Shutterstock _Film Grain By Alfie Kohn | Originally Published at Huffington Post. September 4, 2014 4:50 PM EDT Helicopter parents of college-age children are the folks we love to hate. A steady stream of articles and blog posts bristle with indignation over dads who phone […]