This Week In Education: Video: Ravitch's Return To "The Daily Show"

This Week In Education: Video: Ravitch's Return To "The Daily Show"

Video: Ravitch's Return To "The Daily Show"

by Alexander Russo

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Diane Ravitch
www.thedailyshow.com
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Ravitch starts out talking about schools turning into testing factories. Stewart seems to be of the mind that at least some testing is necessary and reminds Ravitch that NCLB came from somewhere/ was a response to something. He also gently questions the notion that poverty is the cause or explanation of. They find common ground on the problem of "blaming the avarice of teachers." Says Stewart: "Those people [critics] have no idea." Ravitch says that she doesn't think America is "over-run with bad teachers," about which Stewart agrees: "There's bad everything." AM News: Layoffs An Opportunity, Not A Crisis, Says Duncan by Alexander Russo Obama to visit Miami school on hard road to reform AP: At the Miami high school that President Barack Obama will visit on Friday, neon-colored flyers taped to the walls quiz students on tough vocabulary words... Education Secretary Cautions Districts About Layoffs NYT: Arne Duncan, the federal secretary of education, urged state and local authorities to avoid short-sighted decisions as they cut school budgets... Wisconsin Education Faces Hard Lessons NPR: Meredith Clark of The Nation argues that among the hardest hit are teachers, and that the most talented and passionate educators may be driven away by Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget cuts... Downturn cost state fewer jobs than thought Boston Globe: The recent recession was milder in Massachusetts than first thought, as the unemployment rate peaked at a much lower level and the state shed fewer jobs than reported previously...TX Legislature Spotlights Bullying in Schools NYT: Fifteeen bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature to combat bullying in public schools, and they have drawn opposition from both ends of the political spectrum... Chicago Shools Are Merged, Then Unmerged NYT: Chicago Public Schools decided to merge two Austin schools and then reversed itself, leaving teachers and parents confused and nervous... Virginia struggles with teachers, students, and Facebook NPR: Should teachers and students be friends on Facebook? Should they be allowed to send each other private text messages? These are questions that parents, and the state of Virginia, are wrestling with... School Budget ABCs: Ads Plus Bus Equal Cash: More cities and states are turning to display ads on the sides of school buses for extra revenue. Colorado was one of the first states to allow it. Some parents are worried about the messages children receive from the ads.

Modern School: Wisconsin Struggle Continues

Modern School: Wisconsin Struggle Continues

Wisconsin Struggle Continues *Human Parasite--Make This Guy Obsolete!* While the mainstream unions continue to claim that it is not about wages and benefits, even offering to concede all monetary issues to Gov. Walker of Wisconsin (and in other states, too), most workers find ...

Bill Gates: Punish “Good” Teachers With Bigger Classes Overflow Classes of the Future (Image y ckaroli) In a speech to the National Governors’ Association yesterday, Bill Gates suggested that the best teachers could take on larger class sizes as a way to solve state budget crises (just as long as they ...

More eligible for free school meals since recession | California Watch

More eligible for free school meals since recession | California Watch

More eligible for free school meals since recession

by Joanna Lin

Joanna Lin

More than 3.4 million students were eligible for free or reduced-price meals at California public schools last year – a 9 percent increase from two years earlier – indicating the number of families whose incomes have been hit hard by the recession.

Nearly every county in the state saw an increase in the number of eligible students from the 2007-08 to 2009-10 school years, according to an analysis of new state education data released this week by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health. Statewide, 281,696 more public school students became eligible.

The National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs are federally funded and open to all K-12 students. To qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a student's family income must fall below 185 percent of the

Rep. Nick Milroy tackled while trying to enter Capitol - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Rep. Nick Milroy tackled while trying to enter Capitol - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Rep. Nick Milroy tackled while trying to enter Capitol

Posted: Mar 03, 2011 10:08 PM PST

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MADISON (WKOW) -- Representative Nick Milroy (D-South Range) had a confrontation with Capitol police as he tried to enter the building Thursday night.

Milroy was trying to get clothes from his office but police would not let him into the building. They tackled him as

The Answer Sheet - DFER’s achievement gap ‘bull’

The Answer Sheet - DFER’s achievement gap ‘bull’

DFER’s achievement gap ‘bull’

By Valerie Strauss

There’s nothing like having a little fun with the achievement gap when you can make some money out of it. Here's an announcement for a fund-raiser by the Democrats for Education Reform, a political action committee supported largely by hedge fund managers favoring charter schools, merit-pay tied to test scores and related reforms. It speaks for itself.

And now for Plan 9 | Firedoglake #WIunion

And now for Plan 9 | Firedoglake

And now for Plan 9

by Attaturk

pic via jima at flickr.com

In the past few days the GOP State Senators of Wisconsin have tried several different tactics to get their Democratic colleagues to return.

They’ve tried tricking them, which failed. They tried arresting them, it failed. They planted ringers, failed. The triedreassigning their staffers, failed. They then tried to deprive them of pay, again failure. And finally, the Republicans voted to hold them in contempt; sure it also failed, but at least the Republicans got to hold someone else in contempt for a change.

What will they try next?

Since the police won’t cooperate, is Scott Walker preparing Wisconsin National Guard Special Ops to infiltrate

Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: IN MY MAILBOX « Continuing Change

Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: IN MY MAILBOX « Continuing Change

Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: IN MY MAILBOX

by gatorbonbc

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Wear Red for Public Ed 1-4-11

IN MY MAILBOX

Wear Red For Ed

Mike,

We are a grassroots group of teachers and parents who use the Facebook Senate Bill 6 site to advocate public education We are looking for a way to raise awareness to the issues. Thus, the Wear Red for Ed day. We are urging people to get involved and informed. Here are some of our objections/positions:

Florida teachers and parents have joined again, as they did last Spring, to let our new Florida

A Draft Of My #TEDxRevolution Speech: A Kid’s Responsibility to Freedom | The Jose Vilson

A Draft Of My #TEDxRevolution Speech: A Kid’s Responsibility to Freedom | The Jose Vilson

A Draft Of My #TEDxRevolution Speech: A Kid’s Responsibility to Freedom

by JOSE on MARCH 3, 2011

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Prisons vs. Schools, In a List

I‘ll start by saying I’ve taught now for the better part of six years, all in public school. As an NYC Teaching Fellow, learning how to teach while teaching isn’t the best part of the job. Teaching, however, is. It’s a liberating experience because it’s the answer to the question of “What will you

#wearewi #wiunion #p2 Capitol Building Ordered Open During Business Hours, But Can Be Emptied at Night | FDL News Desk

Wisconsin: Capitol Building Ordered Open During Business Hours, But Can Be Emptied at Night | FDL News Desk

Wisconsin: Capitol Building Ordered Open During Business Hours, But Can Be Emptied at Night
By: David Dayen Thursday March 3, 2011 6:23 pm	Tweet Share

A dramatic few hours in the Capitol building in Madison. A Dane County court judge, John C. Albert, all Capitol access restrictions must be lifted by the Department of Administration. This allows open access to the Capitol for the public, including protesters, during business hours. Albert gave a deadline of March 8 at 8am (next Monday) for full implementation; if Gov. Walker and the DOA do not comply, they can be held in contempt of court. Albert also said in his ruling that there have been, based on his investigation, “no injuries or damage to personal or government property,” which is a direct shot at the bogus claim ofmillions of dollars in damages.

However, Albert’s ruling only applies to business hours. Therefore, the Capitol police moved to shut down the building today at 6:00pm. The DOA has the authority to clear out protesters in the Capitol after business hours.

The attorney in the case explained the ruling to the protesters in the Rotunda.

Just after the ruling, protesters found an opening at the State Street entrance to the Capitol. Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs then told them they had to leave after close of business hours or face arrest

Taking food out of the mouths of babes

THE POWER OF INFORMATION

Taking food out of the mouths of babes The budget legislation passed by House Republicans in the wee hours of February 19 (no Democrats voted for it) would slash $747 million -- about 10 percent -- from the 2011 budget for the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants and Children. It's commonly known as "WIC." Created in 1974, WIC provides very modest but crucial food assistance to low-income moms and little kids who are at "nutrition risk." To qualify, recipients must be poor -- very poor. Some 68 percent of WIC beneficiaries live at, or below, the poverty line. That's about $22,000 for a family of four. Cutting funding to WIC during the worst economy in 80 years is an unacceptably lopsided and wrong-headed approach to food and agriculture policy. The House Republicans' budget inflicts serious damage to a food program for poor kids and pregnant women, but it cut not one penny from the farm subsidies that go to big agribusinesses and wealthy landowners -- at a time when they are enjoying record-high crop prices and incomes. By cutting just a fraction of these subsidies we could have held WIC harmless. Because the budget process is ongoing, this isn't the last time your representative will vote on funding for food programs. Join EWG Action Fund in calling on members of Congress to do the right thing on future votes. Use the form below to tell your representative that you want a fair, equitable food system that begins to help the country heal its dietary and environmental woes. In order to address your message to the appropriate recipient, we need to identify where you are. Please enter your zip/postal code:

HEADQUARTERS 1436 U St. N.W., Suite 101 | Washington, DC 20009 | (202) 667-6982 | Contact Us | Privacy Policy CALIFORNIA OFFICE 2201 Broadway, Suite 308 | Oakland, CA 94612 | (510) 444-0973 | Contact Us MIDWEST OFFICE 103 E. 6th Street, Suite 201 Ames, IA 50010 | (515) 598-2221 | Contact Us SACRAMENTO OFFICE 1107 9th Street, Suite 340 | Sacramento, CA 95814 | (916) 333-0566 | Contact Us Copyri

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: IN MY MAILBOX -- Cutting WIC

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: IN MY MAILBOX -- Cutting WIC

IN MY MAILBOX -- Cutting WIC

by Mike Klonsky

Dear Mike ,

In case you missed it: The budget legislation passed by the House of Representatives would slash $747 million -- about 10 percent -- from the 2011 budget for the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants and Children. It's commonly known as "WIC."

WIC was created in 1974 to provide a very modest but crucial measure of food assistance to low-income moms and little kids who are at "nutrition risk." To qualify for this modest assistance, recipients must be poor -- very poor. Some 68 percent of WIC beneficiaries live at, or below, the poverty line.

Des Moines Education Association: Fight Back Against the Bashing of Public Employees #StateSOS #WIunion #SolidarityWI

Des Moines Education Association: Fight Back Against the Bashing of Public Employees

Fight Back Against the Bashing of Public Employees

by Mr. R

If you are talking to your neighbor, a relative, or some random citizen on the street and they begin to parrot some anti-public employee union propaganda that they have heard in the media don't let it pass take it as a teachable moment by using some of the information in the following articles...

DO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ENJOY BETTER PAY AND BENEFITS AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE?

According to a recently released report from the Iowa Policy Project public employees make less when compared with comparable private sector employees of the same education and age.

You can read the Des Moines Register article on this report HERE.

You can read the full report from the Iowa Policy Project HERE.

DON'T PUBLIC EMPLOYEES NEED TO CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THEIR OWN BENEFITS?

A huge misconception is that somehow public employees do not contribute to their health insurance benefits or

#StateSOS #WIunion #SolidarityWI Our Lawyer just got to the Capitol - News from Inside the Wisconsin Capitol Building

Our Lawyer just got to the Capitol - News from Inside the Wisconsin Capitol Building

Our Lawyer just got to the Capitol We are waiting to see both the court order for us to leave and court order for the building to be re-opened at 8 tomorrow before we will leave the capitol. It actually feels like we are getting somewhere. Movement has been made.

DOA Has Brokel Law!!! Walker will be held in COMTEMPT OF COURT! If he doesn't let us in a 8 tomorrow morning, Walker will be help in contempt of court. Can't confirm if that is an impeacheable offense. We will leave peacefully together. If Walker breaks law tomorrow, we will peacefully resist. We have a moral ...

This what happens It pretty ugly right now. This is what happens when you lie to the people

Jesus Its extremely volatile in here right now. Rep husley is going to speak now. He just said we have to leave. People are mad, they dont trust that it will be opened back up tomorrow

All hell just broke loose. A huge mass of protesters just got in somehow but are being blocked by a wall of cops, so insiders on one sude of the cops in a corridor and outsiders on the other side. But we are all in our house! I see a lot if faces I ...

In Wisconsin, Walker Looks For a Way Out | Firedoglake #WIunion

In Wisconsin, Walker Looks For a Way Out | Firedoglake

In Wisconsin, Walker Looks For a Way Out
By: David Dayen Thursday March 3, 2011 4:48 pm	Tweet Share

Can he talk his way out of this? (photo: WisPolitics.com via Flickr)

Scott Walker has been threatening public workers with layoff notices for a solid week, so another threat isn’t surprising. This time the deadline is tomorrow. Before it was last Friday. And then Tuesday.

So what is surprising? That there’s talk ofcompromise in the air.

Walker says he’s also negotiating with Senate Democrats to get them to return and vote on the bill. The 14 senators left town two weeks ago to avoid voting on the measure.

Walker says he won’t concede on the collective bargaining issue, but he may on others.

A tweet from the chief of the editorial board for the Wisconsin State Journal adds that union re-certification and dues in paychecks are “on the table.”

This is a significant pullback, actually, though I don’t think it’ll be enough for the unions. Let’s explain. The budget repair bill didn’t only strip collective bargaining rights from public employees. It set up a process where the unions would almost certainly be destroyed. Under the bill, the union would have to be re-

solidaridad: Thank you Matt Damon! Let's replace RTTT with the Zinn Education Project #WIunion

solidaridad: Thank you Matt Damon! Let's replace RTTT with the Zinn Education Project

Thank you Matt Damon! Let's replace RTTT with the Zinn Education Project

"...[T]he person who wants bold changes in the way our society is going is not going to find them represented by either the Democratic or Republican candidates, and that's still true with Obama and McCain." — Howard Zinn


Hollywood luminary and social justice minded Matt Damon is quoted in theHuffington Post saying some very profound things about this administration's corporate neoliberal education "reform" policies:

"He's [Obama] doubled down on a lot of things, going back to education... the idea that we're testing kids and we're tying teachers salaries to how kids are performing on tests, that kind of mechanized thinking has nothing to do with higher order. We're training them, not teaching them." — Matt Damon

Many HuffPost liberals and a handful of like minded teabaggers were

Firefighters denied access to Capitol during emergency call - JSOnline #WIunion #SolidarityWI

Firefighters denied access to Capitol during emergency call - JSOnline

Firefighters denied access to Capitol during emergency call

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By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel

March 3, 2011 2:59 p.m. |(38) COMMENTS

Madison -- Security is so restrictive at the state Capitol that firefighters were denied access to the building during an emergency call Tuesday, one of the firefighters said Thursday.

Dave Trainor, a Madison firefighter, said he was part of a crew dispatched to the Capitol on a call that someone was trapped in an elevator. Firefighters were denied access at one of the building's entrances that is being guarded by police.

Firefighters then had to make their way through a crowd of protesters outside the building and drive their 100-foot ladder truck to the other side of the Capitol to get inside.

As it turned out, a police officer was trapped in an elevator. But at the time of the call, firefighters did