Justin Tarte - Life of an Educator...: I am an Educational Blogger...

Justin Tarte - Life of an Educator...: I am an Educational Blogger...

I am an Educational Blogger...

I started my blogging journey in the summer of 2010, and I really wasn't sure what I expected to get out of blogging. Chris McGee (@cmcgee200) is an Educator for whom I have a great deal of respect, and since he was blogging and encouraging me to do the same, I figured there had to be some kind of benefit to blogging. At the time, I had no idea of the role that blogging would start to play in my life...

- blogging is now something that I look forward to...
- sharing my experiences & thoughts through blogging have been instrumental in my growth...
- blogging has improved my writing skills...
- blogging allows me to be a part of the larger educational discussion going on around the world
- blogging makes me think twice about some of the things I am doing as an Educator...
- blogging has given me a diverse and broad audience to communicate and share with...
- my blog posts have helped Educators from around the world to reflect and grow...(I hope)
- blogging has helped me be a more well-rounded Educator...

In an effort to share the power of blogging for Educators I asked members of my PLN and the Twitterverse to share what they think is their most influential and most important blog post. I would consider this list to be a "best of the best" kind of list, and I would encourage you to take some time to check out some of these awesome posts:

More than 50 Educators share their "best..."

Ackerman: Parents, help fight the budget cuts | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Ackerman: Parents, help fight the budget cuts | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Ackerman: Parents, help fight the budget cuts

by thenotebook on Apr 04 2011 Posted in Latest news

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Tags:

• Arlene Ackerman
• WHYY/NewsWorks
• District budget

by Patrick Cobbs

Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman called on parents for help March 31 with the massive education cuts proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett for next year, but she said there is one program she will try to keep safe - the district’s 31 turnaround schools.

“Those are our schools that are our lowest-performing, and have been low-performing for sometimes decades, and so we’ve made that a priority,” she said.

The Philadelphia School Reform Commission adopted a budget Wednesday that cuts $629 million in district spending in response to Corbett’s $1.1 billion in

Robert Reich (Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich)

Robert Reich (Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich)

Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich

It’s tax time. It’s also a time when right-wing Republicans are setting the agenda for massive spending cuts that will hurt most Americans.

Here’s the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain vital services, protect Social Security and Medicare, invest more in education and infrastructure, and not raise taxes on the working middle class is by raising taxes on the super rich.

Even if we got rid of corporate welfare subsidies for big oil, big agriculture, and big Pharma – even if we cut back on our bloated defense budget – it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

The vast majority of Americans can’t afford to pay more. Despite an economy that’s twice as large as it was thirty years ago, the bottom 90 percent are still stuck in the mud. If they’re employed they’re earningon average only about $280 more a year than thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation. That’s less than a 1 percent gain over

Renaissance schools a 'priority,' but at what price? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Renaissance schools a 'priority,' but at what price? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Renaissance schools a 'priority,' but at what price?

by Benjamin Herold on Apr 03 2011 Posted in Latest news

Photo: Benjamin Herold

"It's a calculated risk, but we'll figure it out," said District Associate Superintendent Diane Castelbuono of moving ahead with plans to convert eight more schools into Renaissance charters despite not knowing how much it will cost.

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Tags:

• Arlene Ackerman
• budget cuts
• Promise Academies
• District budget
• Imagine 2014
• Renaissance Schools
• School Reform Commission

School District officials are still hoping to shield Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s Renaissance Schools initiative from the massive budget cuts that have already begun – even though they aren’t sure how much the effort is going to cost.

“We are running the cost scenarios,” said Associate Superintendent Diane Castelbuono, who oversees the Renaissance schools under outside management, during a March 18 interview.

Castelbuono and other officials gave no insight as to why they thought they had the capacity to do the full Promise Academies internal turnaround model in 10 schools, including some big high schools, in a year when they are being forced to

From MLK, a dream for the middle class that cannot be allowed to die - The Washington Post

From MLK, a dream for the middle class that cannot be allowed to die - The Washington Post

From MLK, a dream for the middle class that cannot be allowed to die

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By Benjamin Todd Jealous and Mary Kay Henry, Sunday, April 3, 7:53 PM

“I Am a Man” read the sandwich board posters worn by public sanitation workers in Memphis. Their strike in 1968 came at a time when African American men were still called “boy” to their faces. Their fight for dignity, fair wages and the hope of a better future for their families drew the support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in that city 43 years ago today.

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The critical services that public employees provided in our communities then and now range from the most humble, such as garbage collectors, to the most dangerous (police officers and firefighters) to the most profoundly influential on the lives of our children.

Yet in state after state, the collective bargaining rights of dedicated teachers and other public employees have been denied or are in serious jeopardy just as they were in the civil rights era. The same politicians pushing these laws are attacking affirmative action, assailing voting rights and pushing laws to block any path to citizenship for millions of hardworking immigrants in this country.

King made clear connections between what he called “our glorious struggle for civil rights” and collective

Shanker Blog » Are Teachers Driving The Public/Private Sector Earnings Gap?

Shanker Blog » Are Teachers Driving The Public/Private Sector Earnings Gap?

Are Teachers Driving The Public/Private Sector Earnings Gap?

by Matthew Di Carlo

A great deal of the debate surrounding public sector unions focus on how much public employees earn versus private workers. Every credible analysis – those that account for huge differences between public and private workers in terms of characteristics like profession, education, and experience – find that public compensation is competitive or lower than that of private-sector workers (for recent examples, see here, here, and here, or a review here).

I have, however, heard a few thoughtful observers make the point that virtually all these analyses include education workers, and that this might be a little misleading. It’s a fair point. Roughly one in five state/local government employees are in fact K-12 teachers, while another five percent are professors at public colleges and universities. This is important because analyses of public/private sector compensation essentially compare

Democurmudgeon: The "Parent Trigger" to Transfer Public Schools to Private

Democurmudgeon: The "Parent Trigger" to Transfer Public Schools to Private the Next Chaotic Step for Ohio.

The "Parent Trigger" to Transfer Public Schools to Private the Next Chaotic Step for Ohio.

Let's turn school reform over to the parents and the lobbying groups representing private interests, who can advertise and create chaos, and reap the benefits of the ensuing chaos. Ohio's signed on:

edweek: Can't fix failing schools? Parents could get tough on Ohio's districts. Gov. John Kasich's budget plan would give parents the power to force radical changes on chronically underperforming schools.

That’s right, the know-it-all parent, put them in charge. Pretty soon we won’t need legislators. This is just the

The letter from the University of Wisconsin’s senior counsel to the Wisconsin Republican Party on their request for Professor Cronon’s emails. « Fred Klonsky's blog

The letter from the University of Wisconsin’s senior counsel to the Wisconsin Republican Party on their request for Professor Cronon’s emails. « Fred Klonsky's blog

The letter from the University of Wisconsin’s senior counsel to the Wisconsin Republican Party on their request for Professor Cronon’s emails.

by Fred Klonsky

April 1, 2011

Stephan Thompson
Republican Party of Wisconsin
148 East Johnson Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703

Dear Mr. Thompson:

I am writing on behalf of and as legal counsel for the University of Wisconsin-Madison in response to your records request e-mailed to me and dated March 17, 2011. By that request, you seek various e-mails written or received by UW-Madison Professor William Cronon through his university e-mail account beginning on January 1, 2011. You specifically seek e-mails that reference 20 words, terms and names of individuals that all appear to be related to current political events in Wisconsin.

At our request, Professor Cronon immediately undertook a search of all of his accumulated e-mails for the specific words, terms and names as you stated them in your request. The university’s legal staff then reviewed all of the identified e-mails to determine which ones must be made available to you pursuant to the Wisconsin

This Week In Education: Campaign 2012: Power Politics 101 #p2 #solidarity #wiunion

This Week In Education: Campaign 2012: Power Politics 101

Campaign 2012: Power Politics 101

by Alexander Russo

Still not entirely certain how we got to Scott Walker less than two years after Barack Obama and the Democrats won election? Wondering if and how Obama can get his mojo back in time for 2012? Mother Jones contributor Kevin Drum has a fascinating take in his cover story (Whaat Wisconsin Is Really About) noting among other things (a) the historic role of labor on middle class issues that had little to do with pay and working conditions (b) the many ways the late 1960's) split between labor and the Democratic party (I blame Mike Klonsky) hurt both of them (not just labor), and (c) the role big

US Labor Dept. wants Maine to reimburse gov't for taking down mural honoring workers

US Labor Dept. wants Maine to reimburse gov't for taking down mural honoring workers

WASHINGTON — If Maine Gov. Paul LePage doesn't wish to display a mural depicting the state's labor history, then the U.S. Department of Labor wants back the federal money used to create it.
The department said Monday that LePage violated the terms of a federal grant that paid for most of the mural's $60,000 cost when he removed the art work from state offices last month.
The request for reimbursement came in a letter to state labor officials from Gay Gilbert, administrator of the U.S. Labor

Conversation with TX Superintendent John Kuhn, 4/10 :: Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

Conversation with TX Superintendent John Kuhn, 4/10 :: Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

Conversation with TX Superintendent John Kuhn, 4/10

by TeacherSabrina

A few weeks ago a superintendent from the Perrin-Whitt School District in Texas took the mic at a Save Texas Schools rally at the Capitol building and issued a thundering call for justice for our students. You may have seen the video, or read his words here.

John Kuhn has spoken for so many of us, and his voice will be heard from the podium at the Save Our Schools March in Washington, DC, on July 30th.

Next Sunday evening, we will have a Save Our Schools conversation with Superintendent Kuhn. The webinar will

A teacher explains why she is offended - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

A teacher explains why she is offended - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

A teacher explains why she is offended

By Valerie Strauss

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My guest is Peggy Robertson, who taught kindergarten, first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth grade in Missouri and Kansas for 10 years. She was hired by Richard C. Owen Publishers in 2001 to serve as a Learning Network coordinator and spent the next three years training teacher leaders and administrators in educational theory and practice in various states. In 2004 she became literacy coordinator for the Adams 50 School District in Westminster, Colorado. A version of this appeared on her blog, Peg with Pen..

This is an open letter to President Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Bill Gates and other billionaires who have invested millions of dollars in support of business-driven education reforms.

A letter by Peggy Robertson

Dear President Obama, Mr. Duncan and The Billionaires’ Club:

We neglect children if we do not provide them with food, adequate clothing, and an environment which allows their health to thrive. We neglect them, too, if we starve them intellectually by depriving them of

CA Youth to Meet with Elected Officials for Protections vs Bullying and Discrimination - Lez Get Real

CA Youth to Meet with Elected Officials for Protections vs Bullying and Discrimination - Lez Get Real

CA Youth to Meet with Elected Officials for Protections vs Bullying and Discrimination

Tagged with: bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth Bullying California LGBT Youth California Schools Discrimination EQCAI Gay GLSA Lesbian Meet with Elected Officials for Protections teen suicide Transgender Law Center www.gsanetwork.org. The Trevor Project

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Melanie Nathan April 04, 2011-

Sacramento- Some seventy high school students are in Sacramento today where they will meet with lawmakers to discuss the need for greater protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. The students include LGBT and straight ally young people from small towns and cities across the state, many of whom traveled hundreds of miles to speak out about bullying and discrimination in their schools at the annual event known as Queer Youth Advocacy Day.

Students will rally at the State Capitol’s South Steps at 11:00 a.m. where they will be joined by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), and Assembly members Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and Rich Gordon (D-San Mateo). Following the rally, students will visit their representatives’ offices to discuss three new pieces of legislation that aim to decrease bullying and make California’s public schools more safe and inclusive of LGBT youth: Seth’s Law (AB9); the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: WikiLeaks and Gulen charter schools

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: WikiLeaks and Gulen charter schools

WikiLeaks and Gulen charter schools

by The Perimeter Primate

Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer took the lead on exposing the Gulen movement’s involvement in US charter schools by publishing a second article by Martha Woodall and Claudio Gatti, “WikiLeaks files detail U.S. unease over Turks and charter schools.”

Classified documents recently released by WikiLeaks recount U.S. officials' growing concern over large numbers of Turkish men seeking visas to work at American charter schools founded by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a powerful Turkish Muslim political figure who lives in the Poconos.

"Gulen supporters account for an increasing proportion of [the] . . . nonimmigrant visa applicant pool," a consular official in Istanbul, Turkey, wrote in 2006, according to one of the documents posted by WikiLeaks two weeks ago.

"Consular officials have noticed that most of these applicants share a common characteristic: They