Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/10/16

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/10/16

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Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones?

Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children? - Lily's Blackboard

by mike simpson / 15min

Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children? - Lily's Blackboard : Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children? By Kim Irvine I believe the biggest problem we face in education is this: Our society does not understand the heart and mind of an educator. Educators are constantly running behind schedule because, for instance, we spend hours helping a frustrated kid understand multiplying fractions, and then

Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children

by mike simpson / 4min

Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children : Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children Earlier this week the Wharton Schoool of Business and the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management, both of which are at UPenn, hosted a two-day conference on transforming teacher education for the poor, specifically

Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 7min

Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. - The Washington Post : Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. The selection of Betsy DeVos by President-elect Donald Trump as his education secretary nominee has been attacked by public school advocates who see her longtime support for school “choice” and private

California School Districts Sue County for Approving a Charter Under Criminal Investigation - NPE Action

by mike simpson / 5h

California School Districts Sue County for Approving a Charter Under Criminal Investigation - NPE Action : California School Districts Sue County for Approving a Charter Under Criminal Investigation A Press release from:Two Anaheim School Districts Sue Orange County Board of Education Over Approval of ‘Educationally Unsound’ Charter Being Investigated for Fraud ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA — Anaheim Union

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Budget Deficit Revealed (Kinda)

by mike simpson / 5h

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Budget Deficit Revealed (Kinda) : Budget Deficit Revealed (Kinda) I spoke at the School Board meeting on Wednesday. One of my topics was the fact that in order to understand the raging budget deficit facing SPS, I was told to file a public disclosure request. I pointed out to the Superintendent and Board that this was not transparency at its best and if they want

Teacher Shortages Are Looming, but It Doesn't Need to Be This Way

by mike simpson / 6h

Teacher Shortages Are Looming, but It Doesn't Need to Be This Way : Teacher Shortages Are Looming, but It Doesn't Need to Be This Way Teacher Libby Garland vividly recalls the excitement she felt when she was accepted into the New York City Teaching Fellows Program in 2005. The program's mission, "preparing a group of exceptional teachers committed to a better future for the NYC students who need

Stop ignoring early education findings from the 1970s - NonDoc

by mike simpson / 6h

Stop ignoring early education findings from the 1970s - NonDoc : Stop ignoring early education findings from the 1970s A cross the nation , the post-election transition period has proven to be just as angry as our bitter election, which is likely to be followed by possibly the most divisive presidency in modern America. Today’s anxiety recalls that of the 1970s, when Watergate, the collapse of th

Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION: Bystanding Educators + Disrupting the Moral Center

by mike simpson / 7h

CURMUDGUCATION : Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION: Bystanding Educators + Disrupting the Moral Center Bystanding Educators 48 by Peter Greene / 3h Over at EdWeek, Peter DeWitt asks the question " Have educators been bystanders too long ?" I like the question because it doesn't even waste time asking if educators are bystanders, because, yes, that's what we do. This is probably one of the reasons we d

Culture Warrior Princess – EduShyster

by mike simpson / 7h

Culture Warrior Princess – EduShyster : Culture Warrior Princess Betsy DeVos’ support for anti-gay groups goes much deeper than the media has reported… Is there anything left to say about the awfulness of Betsy DeVos, President-Elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education? Alas, there is… Not nearly enough has been made of DeVos’ extreme closeness to the extreme fringes of the Christian right

Oregon Department of Education risked breach of private student data, audits find | OregonLive.com

by mike simpson / 7h

Oregon Department of Education risked breach of private student data, audits find | OregonLive.com : Oregon Department of Education risked breach of private student data, audits find Parent Coalition for Student Privacy - http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/ Two separate audits found the Oregon Department of Education didn't do enough to ensure that its huge cache of data on more than 600,000 st

Keeping retirement weird. My mother never asked permission to protest. | Fred Klonsky

by mike simpson / 7h

Keeping retirement weird. My mother never asked permission to protest. | Fred Klonsky : Keeping retirement weird. My mother never asked permission to protest. The March on Washington, 1963. Women Strike for Peace at the White House, 1961. I can hear my mother’s voice across decades, sitting across the table from her good friend Millie. “I don’t ask permission to march,” mom would probably say to

Measuring Proficient Teachers Codifies Bad Teaching | the becoming radical

by mike simpson / 7h

Measuring Proficient Teachers Codifies Bad Teaching | the becoming radical : Measuring Proficient Teachers Codifies Bad Teaching Maja Wilson and Alfie Kohn have found themselves in a problematic minority during the accountability era dedicated to standards, high-stakes testing, and the ever-present rubric. Rubrics, they argue, ultimately fail complex human behaviors such as writing. While rubrics

30 years later, Roosevelt High's controversial clinic sees protests turn to praise | OregonLive.com

by mike simpson / 7h

30 years later, Roosevelt High's controversial clinic sees protests turn to praise | OregonLive.com : 30 years later, Roosevelt High's controversial clinic sees protests turn to praise In the beginning, in an old bookroom in the basement of the North Portland's Roosevelt High School, it was hard imagine that someday the protests would turn into praise. It was 1986, and teen pregnancies were on th

Saturday Morning with Diane Ravitch

by mike simpson / 8h

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Saturday Morning with Diane Ravitch John Merrow: Revisiting the Brutal Trail of the Freedom Riders of the 1960s by dianeravitch / 55min John Merrow and his wife joined a group to tour historic sites of the civil rights movement in Mississippi. His post contains the stories and photographs of those frightening times when people pu

Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 8h

Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core - The Washington Post : Trump’s choice for education secretary vows to ‘end’ Common Core When Donald Trump was running for president, he said that should he win, he would “get rid” of the Common Core State Standards — as if the initiative had been mandated by the federal government. It actually was approved by individual state legis

What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 8h

What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson | deutsch29 : What DC Schools Won’t Report: Many NAEP Subgroup Gains Slowed under Rhee/Henderson On December 05, 2016, retired DC teacher Erich Martel sent an investigation request to DC’s Attorney General Karl Racine. In short, Martel is asking Racine to investigate two issues: 1) the failure of DC Mayor Muriel Bo

Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones?

by mike simpson / 9h

Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones? : Is Mónica García Using LAUSD Students as Stepping Stones? I’m not sure I can be a productive member of this group at this point. ” – Mónica García, 12/6/16 In the months leading up to the March 7, 2017, LAUSD election, incumbent Mónica García has made some questionable comments about the children that she is supposed to represent. For ex

Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils

by mike simpson / 9h

Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils : Trump and “higher national standards” “The President-elect and Vice President-elect then met with Ms. Michelle Rhee and enjoyed an in-depth discussion about the future of public education in our country. This included the possibility for increasing competition through charter and choice schools. They also brought the idea of merit pay for t

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington

by mike simpson / 10h

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington : Yay for Girl Scouts of Western Washington If you have ever wondered about the difference between the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts. I am very proud to have been a Brownie, Girl Scout and Cadette. Dear Girl Scouts, For the past month, I've struggled with what to say and do in the wake of the contentious election and all

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/9/16

by mike simpson / 1d

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/9/16 Featured Post Trump school voucher plan would face huge obstacles in California | EdSource Cory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D. by mike simpson / 6min Cory Booker Whiffs It. | Daniel Katz, Ph.D. : Cory Booker Whiffs It. Let’s not mince words: Betsy DeVos, the designated nominee for Secretary of Education, is a potential wrecking ball aimed

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Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children? - Lily's Blackboard

Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children? - Lily's Blackboard:

Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children?

By Kim Irvine

I believe the biggest problem we face in education is this: Our society does not understand the heart and mind of an educator.

Educators are constantly running behind schedule because, for instance, we spend hours helping a frustrated kid understand multiplying fractions, and then to save time, we secretly correct papers during faculty meeting or in church behind the hymnbook.

Educators hardly earn enough to run our own households, yet we engineer small miracles so that a new pair of shoes suddenly materializes in a student’s locker, the product of educators who noticed he was in need and gathered their pennies.  And when it is discovered at dress rehearsal for the school play that the costume wigs are infected with lice, educators stay up all night spraying and freezing wigs so the show will go on.

Educators are a peculiar bunch, mostly because we choose to spend our days with those in our society who are often ignored: the children. We understand our students because we choose to make them our priority.  Every day. We are experts on what motivates them and what makes them shut down. Educators have pure motivations: We simply want all our students to succeed. We know success looks different for each student, and we honor and celebrate those differences. We know a mere test score does not effectively communicate the talents, triumphs and trials of any student.

The answers to authentic education reform must come from those who understand the large and small issues that the individual children they serve face. The answers must come from the community. The caring professionals, parents and others who live locally are the only ones who truly understand the particular needs of the students in their communities. These tireless champions of education are the PTA members, the parents, the school bus drivers, the local librarians, the custodians, the local school board and the teachers, among many others. These supporters of education have not had a voice in national educational policy…until now.

December 10 marks the first anniversary of ESSA—the Every Student Succeeds Act. This is not another sound byte to be manipulated by politicians or vendors. ESSA marks an auspicious change. It gives voice to the educational Guest Blog: Who Speaks for the Children? - Lily's Blackboard:

Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children

Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children:

Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children

Earlier this week the Wharton Schoool of Business and the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management, both of which are at UPenn, hosted a two-day conference on transforming teacher education for the poor, specifically, and higher ed for the non-elite, generally, to conform to the human depersonalizing and dehumanizing model prescribed by the big money in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. 

Central to the new mission of human alienation and behavior control is the goal of character improvement of the working classes.  It is based on an amateur application of neuroscience and psychology, and itexploits the neural plasticity of children and their teachers to produce populations of compliant and culturally sterilized go-getters who always ask "how high?" when someone in authority says "jump."

This 21st version of eugenics comes packaged as social emotional learning (SEL), and it is being sold by people like Martin Seligman, Angela Duckworth, and Carol Dweck, all of whom have their own product lines to sell and their territories to protect.  

The conference at UPenn was co-organized by UPenn's Graduate School of Education, and UPenn's (and the CIA's) Professor Seligman offered a keynote.  

UPenn Announced KIPP Support in 2014

These prefatory remarks are offered to provide context for Chapter 15 of Work Hard, Be Hard: Journeys through "No Excuses" Teaching, which examines a little closer the emerging social-emotional learning Schools Matter: Understanding KIPP Model Charter Schools, Part 15: Neural Remapping of Children:

Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. - The Washington Post

Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. - The Washington Post:
Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you.

 The selection of Betsy DeVos by President-elect Donald Trump as his education secretary nominee has been attacked by public school advocates who see her longtime support for school “choice” and private Catholic education as evidence that she does not support America’s public education system. In this post, that sentiment is explained by an educator who has written an open letter to DeVos.

He is Patrick Kearney, facilitator for Teacher Leadership in the Johnston Community School District in Iowa. He spent 25 years as a band director in private and public schools of Iowa, and is a past-president of the Iowa Bandmasters Association and past co-chair of the Iowa Jazz Championships. He was also a founding board member of the Jazz Educators of Iowa.  His wife teaches in the Des Moines Public Schools and his son is studying education at Drake University.

Here’s the letter, which first appeared on Huffington Post. Kearney gave me permission to republish it.

Dear Ms. DeVos,

I don’t think we’ve really met yet; we are America’s public school teachers. There are about 3.1 million of us. We teach in large urban areas, we teach in the suburbs, we teach in small rural communities, and we teach in some really remote parts of our country. The most important thing to recognize is that we teach every kid who shows up. We don’t pick and choose the types of kids that we will teach, we teach ALL of them.

Because we haven’t really had much interaction, we thought it might be nice to share a little bit about the public schools we teach in. First of all, we are very proud of our schools. Public schools today have the highest graduation rate in 

Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. - The Washington Post:

 ExxonMobil’s Rex Tillerson was a big booster of Common Core

 ExxonMobil’s Rex Tillerson was a big booster of Common Core