Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/17/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

CLICK HERE To GO To  The War Report on Public Education

Is Education a National Issue? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

Is Education a National Issue? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: Is Education a National Issue?Education is not mentioned in the Constitution…. We have heard how this argument goes.Because of no specific mention of education, the responsibility for educating the young people of our republic is deferred to the States in the 10th Amendment …. with the caveat “or to the people.”People, you need t

by mike simpson / 1h 

Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me! | Diane Ravitch's blog: Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me!Click Here To Go To Kristi Butkovich for DPS School Board SE WebsiteThis morning, I got a Google alert about a story mentioning me that appeared in Chalkbeat Colorado (funde

by mike simpson / 4h 

Economics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

Economics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing: Economics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans.Ronald Reagan’s policies (or those written for him) created the supply side, trickle down, ass backwards, form of “freestyle” capitalism we have had for 40 years. They have led to the downfall of the middle class and the

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Common Core System | Clemsy's Corner

The Common Core System | Clemsy's Corner: The Common Core System"The unexamined life is not worth living." ~SocratesYesterday morning, fellow ed activist Kevin Glynn shared an article titled, "Mineola teacher adds voice to Common Core discussions," in which third grade teacher, Janice Killelea, promotes and praises the Common Core Standards. Kevin writes,The children in this sc

by mike simpson / 6h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Student Poverty on the Map

CURMUDGUCATION: Student Poverty on the Map: Student Poverty on the MapYou may remember EdBuild as the outfit whose founder and boss declared that school district bankruptcy is super-awesome because it provides golden opportunities to do things like trash all your employees pensions and health care.But EdBuild, because they are focused on real estate and finance, came up with a cool little map. It

by mike simpson / 6h 

Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization. | Fred Klonsky

Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization. | Fred Klonsky: Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization.-By Bev JohnsWe are used to grandiose claims in special education and in education generally.Now, in Utah, Goldman Sachs Pay for Success claims a success rate of over 99 percent – reducing the need for special education by over 99 percent.PAY FOR SUCC

by mike simpson / 6h 

Classroom Furniture and How Teachers Teach | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Classroom Furniture and How Teachers Teach | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Classroom Furniture and How Teachers TeachDo photos of classrooms and the arrangement of furniture give observers a glimpse of how teachers teach?Yes, they do but only a hint. Here is my reasoning.Furniture arrangement is seldom mandated by a school board, superintendent, or principal. The teacher dec

by mike simpson / 7h 

Education Reform: Why America Needs a David Cameron - The Daily Beast

Education Reform: Why America Needs a David Cameron - The Daily Beast: Education Reform: Why America Needs a David CameronThe British PM is fixing his country’s schools, tackling an issue all of America’s presidential candidates are afraid to touch.The vision and courage needed to take on the crisis of failing schools has surfaced during our presidential campaign—just not in this country.Last week

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Gates & Feedback

CURMUDGUCATION: Gates & Feedback: Gates & FeedbackWhen Bill Gates says, "Give Teachers What They Deserve," I think many of us can be forgiven for flinching. But over at his blog, His Royal Gateness has done just that. It might seem redundant for me to respond, because the piece is a bit of a teaser for Gates' Big Talk about education, which I've already responded to. But I find t

by mike simpson / 7h 

Teachers, beware of the “specialists.” | @ THE CHALKFACE

Teachers, beware of the “specialists.” | @ THE CHALKFACE: Teachers, beware of the “specialists.”No, I’m not talking about the art, music, and PE teachers, who are, in my experience, typically referred to as teaching the “specials.” I’m not even talking about the special education teams.I’m referring to the other “specialists,” your behavior specialists, reading specialists, intervention specialist

by mike simpson / 7h 

I Get a Response From NEA | Live Long and Prosper

I Get a Response From NEA | Live Long and Prosper: I Get a Response From NEACANDIDATE INTERVIEWSEarlier this month I posted about the NEA’s Primary Election endorsement of Hillary Clinton for U.S. President. I included a comment I had written in response to a special ed teacher’s guest blog on Lily Eskelsen-Garcia’s blog.You can read the guest blog, Proud to Be an Educator for Hillary. Scroll down

by mike simpson / 7h 

HEMLOCK ON THE ROCKS: ELI BROAD WANTS LA SCHOOLS TO Say "UNCLE"

HEMLOCK ON THE ROCKS: ELI BROAD WANTS LA SCHOOLS TO Say "UNCLE": ELI BROAD WANTS LA SCHOOLS TO Say "UNCLE"GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEBATE-In my last post I promised to take a look at The Great Public Schools Now Initiative, and report on the results. Not being rich or politically useful to Eli Broad, I do not know him personally, and am unlikely to.  Growing up in Orange County in

by mike simpson / 7h 

Schools Matter: Child Labor to Build Charter Real Estate Empires

Schools Matter: Child Labor to Build Charter Real Estate Empires: Child Labor to Build Charter Real Estate EmpiresThe real estate part of charter scam has always been the germinating monstrosity underneath the self-serving do-gooderism of the billionaire tax-sheltering paternalists whose aim has been and remains to convert the children of the poor into productive robots in the multi-billion dollar

by mike simpson / 8h 

Letter From John Kline To Arne Duncan Surfaces, Raises Serious Questions About National Student Database | Exceptional Delaware

Letter From John Kline To Arne Duncan Surfaces, Raises Serious Questions About National Student Database | Exceptional Delaware: Letter From John Kline To Arne Duncan Surfaces, Raises Serious Questions About National Student DatabaseThe Department’s effort to shepherd states toward the creation of a de facto national student database raises serious legal and prudential questions.  Congress has nev

by mike simpson / 8h 

For You Michigan!—You Are WRONG about Retention!

For You Michigan!—You Are WRONG about Retention!: For You Michigan!—You Are WRONG about Retention!There are some issues, like the loss of recess and retention of third graders, that make no sense at all. I can sometimes understand mistakes, attribute them to people being clueless, but when it comes to retention the research is there. Anyone who knows how to read and puts some time into it will lea

by mike simpson / 8h 

Tracking the money funding conservative school boards’ anti-union lawsuits | The Colorado Independent

Tracking the money funding conservative school boards’ anti-union lawsuits | The Colorado Independent: Tracking the money funding conservative school boards’ anti-union lawsuitsNot all money funding the push to privatize public education and bust teachers unions is coming from the Koch brothers. Some of the money is from established and respected foundations.It’s not just Koch brother money fundin

by mike simpson / 8h 

Welcome Back! Week in the Classroom the First Month 2015 » Reflections on Teaching

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Welcome Back! Week in the Classroom the First Month 2015: Welcome Back! Week in the Classroom the First Month 2015My family life is still…complicated, but I am still working and I feel the need to try to write about what I’m doing in the classroom. I hope that it will prove interesting and intriguing to you too.I have moved to fifth grade (from sixth). The

by mike simpson / 8h 

Large share of grads from some high schools require remediation at Sacramento State | The Sacramento Bee

Large share of grads from some high schools require remediation at Sacramento State | The Sacramento Bee: Large share of grads from some high schools require remediation at Sacramento StateDiana Lambert: 916-321-1090, @dianalambertOn his first day this summer as Sacramento State president, Robert Nelsen singled out an unnamed local high school for its abysmally high share of graduates who need to

by mike simpson / 8h 

Fogelson Honors Forum speaker warns of dangers facing education system | TCU 360

Fogelson Honors Forum speaker warns of dangers facing education system | TCU 360: Fogelson Honors Forum speaker warns of dangers facing education systemDiane Ravitch with audience members at the Fogelson Honors Forum at TCU on Thursday Oct. 15, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Nick Pauszek/TCU360)The John V. Roach Honors College welcomed Diane Ravitch as the guest speaker of the Fogelson Honors Forum t

by mike simpson / 8h 

YESTERDAY

Protesters at SRC meeting angrily call for dramatic changes

Protesters at SRC meeting angrily call for dramatic changes: Protesters at SRC meeting angrily call for dramatic changesKenya Nation, who has two children in Wister Elementary, speaks abut her frustration with the school system in front of the Philadelphia School District headquarters on Broad Street. MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff PhotographerFor more than four restless hours Thursday, anger at Philadelp

by mike simpson / 18h 

"Donald're a pend * ^%" say the streets of New York - Univision

"Donald're a pend * ^%" say the streets of New York - Univision: "Donald're a pend * ^%" say the streets of New York"Donald eres un pend*^%", dicen las calles de Nueva YorkLa marca de licor mexicana “Ilegal Mezcal” lanzó una campaña contra el candidato presidencial que más ha dado de qué hablar este año: Donald Trump.“Ilegal Mezcal” dejó sellos por las calles de Nueva

by mike simpson / 19h 

Competency Based Learning, Online Education and Lamar Alexander’s ESEA Revisions - UNITED OPT OUT

Competency Based Learning, Online Education and Lamar Alexander’s ESEA Revisions - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform:Competency Based Learning, Online Education and Lamar Alexander’s ESEA RevisionsBy Morna McDermott(A special thanks to Allison McDowell for provoking me to this research and to an amazing blog by Emily Talmage  that had mad amounts of information on this

by mike simpson / 19h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/16/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMUNPARCC: Promote Learning, Not Test Prep: Seattle Police Chief Defends Officer Who Assulted Me With pepper spray | I AM AN EDUCATORSeattle Police Chief Defends Officer Who Assulted Me With pepper spray | I AM AN EDUCATOR: Seattle Police Chief Defends Officer Who Assulted Me With pepper sprayAt a Martin Luther King Day protests this year I was assaulted by a Seattle police office

by mike simpson / 23h 

CLICK HERE To GO To UNPARCC: Promote Learning, Not Test Prep:WEBSITE 

Is Education a National Issue? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

Is Education a National Issue? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:

Is Education a National Issue?

Education is not mentioned in the Constitution…. We have heard how this argument goes.

Because of no specific mention of education, the responsibility for educating the young people of our republic is deferred to the States in the 10th Amendment …. with the caveat “or to the people.”

People, you need to decide. Is public education a national issue?

If we never have that discussion, then we never examine the arguments that have been stalling our progress in education reform for the last three decades.

And, we must look back at the historical precedents surrounding the issue of federal support for public education.

How do we make informed decisions without this conversation?

State versus Federal: Are we sure we should be fighting that battle?

The Constitution doesn’t mention a whole lot of things — by design.

“The original Constitution of 1788 contained very few specific restrictions 

Is Education a National Issue? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:

Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me! | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me!

Click Here To Go To Kristi Butkovich for DPS School Board SE Website

This morning, I got a Google alert about a story mentioning me that appeared in Chalkbeat Colorado (funded by Gates and other generous foundations). The story criticized a candidate running for school board because her questionnaire included phrases from me and other anti-corporate reform writers without attributing the quotations.

I thought it odd to single out one candidate for condemnation, when she is running against a well-funded corporate machine that finances its candidates with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Denver currently has a school board in which every single member has been elected to support corporate reform, i.e., high-stakes testing and charters. As Jeannie Kaplan has written on this blog (see here andhere), ten years of these “reform” policies has not improved the performance of the District’s neediest students.

I sent a message to the reporter, and he advised me to post it as a comment on the Chalkbeat website. Every time I tried to post, the website said I had already signed up and couldn’t sign up again. No matter how I tried, having signed up without knowing about it, I could not post my comment. So I am sharing it here, and hope that it gets to readers in Denver.

Eric,

I saw your post about Kristi Butkovich this morning.

If she used my words in her campaign for school board, I am very pleased she did. Please tell your readers that I freely grant my Chalkbeat Colorado Criticizes Pro-Public School Candidate for Using My Words: I Say, It’s OK with Me! | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Economics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

Economics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:

Economics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans.

Ronald Reagan’s policies (or those written for him) created the supply side, trickle down, ass backwards, form of “freestyle” capitalism we have had for 40 years. They have led to the downfall of the middle class and the destruction of Public Education.

Obviously, economic policies have far-reaching effects.

Too many Americans have too little knowledge of economics other than the crap they are sold by mostly Republican and Democratic propagandists,  bought by corporate and financial world interests. 

And what do Americans know to combat that propaganda? Not much.

The basic course in economics given in High School (in those states that require it) is usually taught through textbooks with tables of content that look like this:

Fundamental EconomicsEconomics Education, Reaganomics Legacy, Public Policy, and Americans. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:

The Common Core System | Clemsy's Corner

The Common Core System | Clemsy's Corner:

The Common Core System

"The unexamined life is not worth living." ~Socrates

Yesterday morning, fellow ed activist Kevin Glynn shared an article titled, "Mineola teacher adds voice to Common Core discussions," in which third grade teacher, Janice Killelea, promotes and praises the Common Core Standards. Kevin writes,

The children in this school are on iPads 75% of the day. The teacher is paid to promote Common Core. The teacher also makes the claim these standards are helping the students to become college and career ready- without a shred of evidence ...If these paid shills continue to pop up, they should not be surprised if their paid for rhetoric is met with fact based resistance.  

We can no longer sit back and be bobble head dolls while colleagues make bizarre claims to promote secret sauce that not only tastes bad, but might very well be bad for children and simply does not work.

I thoroughly agree with Kevin. However, I also realize that my profession is not some monolith of consensus on Common Core or education reform. Ms. Killelea is perfectly free to support CC and fall in with the New York Educator Voice Fellowship and its parent, America Achieves, which is funded by all the usual suspects in the corporate education reform movement.

However, she really needs to be taken to task on a few points.

Some districts do spend too much time focused on test preparation, she said, and rules about the tests have been harmful to students with disabilities and those who do not speak English as their first language. 

But, she said, she tries to point out that the tests, teacher evaluations and classroom curriculum are three separate parts of the whole Common Core system. 

“I do respect the parents’ opinions,” Killelea said. “A lot of parents are concerned, but I think you can’t clump it all together.”

Oh yes you can, Ms. Killelea. Please note the use of the very interesting term, "Common Core system." It has been The Common Core System | Clemsy's Corner:

CURMUDGUCATION: Student Poverty on the Map

CURMUDGUCATION: Student Poverty on the Map:

Student Poverty on the Map

You may remember EdBuild as the outfit whose founder and boss declared that school district bankruptcy is super-awesome because it provides golden opportunities to do things like trash all your employees pensions and health care.

But EdBuild, because they are focused on real estate and finance, came up with a cool little map. It tracks student poverty school district by school district from 2006 through 2013. You might say, "Well, that doesn't seem like enough time to show much," and boy, I wish that were true, but it's not. Watch the map toggle through those years zoomed out to see the whole nation or closer to see your state or really close to see your district and the neighboring ones-- no matter how you cut it, we have been growing poverty like there's some huge demand for it somewhere.

If you want a real kick in the pants, just go directly from 2006 to 2013. Then ask yourself if you think anything has gotten better in the last two years. And then ask yourself why we've spent the last ten years talking about test scores and Common Core standards when we should be talking about the spreading mess that poverty is bringing into every corner of the country.

Most of all, consider that the increase is not because more children are being born into poor CURMUDGUCATION: Student Poverty on the Map:







Brown Calls for End of Public Education

Well, at least she just put it right out there.

In a piece at the Daily Beast, Campbell Brown calls for US politicians to follow the example of  the UK Prime Minister David Cameron. And what example is that?

Last week, addressing his party for the first time since re-election in May, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron called for an end to the country’s traditional public school system, endorsing instead a nationwide conversion to academies, which are essentially the British equivalent of charter schools—publicly funded, but with greater freedom over what they teach and how they are run.

And Brown includes this quote from Cameron:


“So my next ambition is this,” Cameron told a nationally televised audience, “five hundred new free schools. Every school an academy…and yes—local authorities running schools a thing of the past.”

And just in case you're wondering if I'm using context to make Brown seem more radical than she actually is, here are more of her own words;

In a rational world, hosannas might greet a head of state who used his power to reduce inequality.

There are several astonishing ideas folded into that sentence, but the most astonishing is that a Brown Calls for End of Public Education

Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization. | Fred Klonsky

Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization. | Fred Klonsky:

Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization.

-By Bev Johns

We are used to grandiose claims in special education and in education generally.

Now, in Utah, Goldman Sachs Pay for Success claims a success rate of over 99 percent – reducing the need for special education by over 99 percent.

PAY FOR SUCCESS IS NOW IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE ESEA BILLS.

On July 16, 2015, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) issued a news release stating:

• The Every Child Achieves Act, as passed by the Senate HELP Committee, includes language that would make Pay for Success initiatives an allowable use of funds through Title I, Part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk) and Title IV, which funds programs addressing student health and safety.
• On February 26, 2015, the House of Representatives approved a bipartisan amendment to H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, that would make Pay for Success initiatives an allowable use of state and local funds in Title II and in the Teacher and School Leader Flexible Grant, supporting states and school districts in improving student outcomes Get Goldman Sachs and Pay for Success out of ESEA reauthorization. | Fred Klonsky: