Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Strapped schools seek easy cash in brand-name online contests - San Jose Mercury News

Strapped schools seek easy cash in brand-name online contests - San Jose Mercury News:

Strapped schools seek easy cash in brand-name online contests

By Sharon Noguchi

Posted: 09/05/2011 03:32:33 PM PDT

Updated: 09/06/2011 11:39:16 AM PDT

Field trips by Kleenex. Parks by Sprite. Library books from dd's Discounts.

As kids head back to school, parents head back to fundraising, and savvy marketers see schools as an inviting opportunity to profit while doing good. Many recognize families' desire to help schools as an entree into a lucrative market.

Schools long have run fundraisers by reaping a portion of proceeds from gift wrap, candy or cookie dough sales, or by selling discount coupon books from local businesses.

Now one increasingly popular strategy focuses on marketing, not sales, through online contests. The pitch

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “Response: The Best Ways To Use Tech In The Classroom”

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “Response: The Best Ways To Use Tech In The Classroom”:

“Young American Heroes” At “Young American Heroes,” students can learn about….young American heroes in United States history. In addition, after a teacher registers for a free account, his/her students can use the site materials to create their own multimedia ...

Two Pretty Interesting 9/11 Links Here are two pretty interesting additions to The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11: Ground Zero Now is an interactive from The New York Times. 9-11 Plus Me is a fascinating interactive from USA Today that’s hard to describe. Check it out.

“Response: The Best Ways To Use Tech In The Classroom” Response: The Best Ways To Use Tech In The Classroom is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. In includes responses from Richard Byrne and Marsha Ratzel, and I think is particularly timely in light of this Sunday’s New York Times article on ...

Missouri Education Watchdog: Opt-Out Campaign Announced on Protecting the Privacy of Students' School Records

Missouri Education Watchdog: Opt-Out Campaign Announced on Protecting the Privacy of Students' School Records:

Opt-Out Campaign Announced on Protecting the Privacy of Students' School Records

by stlgretchen

I was asked to retweet the following article. In addition to retweeting, I am reprinting this important information on how to protect your student's privacy even as the DOE is intent on gathering intrusive data so it can track your human capital from birth into the workforce.

Read the following from Education NY, take action, and spread the word to other taxpayers and parents. Learn how to protect the privacy of YOUR child's school record.Visit the website for other important information on how student data is being sold to third parties and other privacy information:

****************************************

National Opt-Out Campaign Informs Parents How to Protect the Privacy of their Children's School Records

Parents have rights under the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act to restrict access to their children's personal information.

New York, N.Y. -- As cases of identity theft, database hacking, and the sale of personal information increase

Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 9

#edreform "Bad To The Bone" George Thorogood & The Destroyers play "Bad To The Bone" LIVE in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the Juke Joint Jam. Visit George Thorogood & The Destroyers @ www.georgethorogood.com. Visit the Destroyers road crew @ www.tonightoncrew.com

If You Don’t Give Me Heaven, I Raise Hell | The Jose Vilson If You Don’t Give Me Heaven, I Raise Hell | The Jose Vilson: If You Don’t Give Me Heaven, I Raise Hell by Jose Heaven or Hell Did we cross the threshold of teacher complacency yet? Today, Pernille Ripp asked “How many of us blog about our philosophies ...

In Poll, New Yorkers Say Schools Aren’t Better Under Bloomberg - NYTimes.com In Poll, New Yorkers Say Schools Aren’t Better Under Bloomberg - NYTimes.com : New Yorkers Say Mayor Has Not Improved Schools Ruby Washington/The New York Times Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, has not yet made a strong ...

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech by Representative Kimble At this year's Heritage Valley Corn Dog Festival, Congressman Jack Kimble outlined his path forward for this ...

Corporate Education Reform’s Desperate Attempt to Spin Bad News | Scathing Purple MusingsCorporate Education Reform’s Desperate Attempt to Spin Bad News | Scathing Purple Musings: Corporate Education Reform’s Desperate Attempt to Spin Bad News by Bob Sikes The corporate education reform movement responded quickly to the Matt Ritchel’s ...

What does Will Guzzardi think? « Fred Klonsky's blog What does Will Guzzardi think? « Fred Klonsky's blog: What does Will Guzzardi think? by Fred Klonsky *Hi neighbors,* *I’d like to introduce myself to the list. My name is Will Guzzardi, and I’m running to be our next State Representative.* *Until ...

City Beat: Mayor Johnson, Michelle Rhee get married City Beat: Mayor Johnson, Michelle Rhee get married: Mayor Johnson, Michelle Rhee get married [image: bp kevin ring.JPG]Mayor Kevin Johnson and his fiancée, education reformer Michelle Rhee, were married over the weekend. The couple was married on ...

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Someone Appears to be Listening Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Someone Appears to be Listening: Someone Appears to be Listening by Melissa Westbrook I attended the Denny/Sealth press conference and ribbon-cutting for Denny today. The Superintendent had a press conference and I ...

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » “New ERA” or 90 more minutes of test prep?Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » “New ERA” or 90 more minutes of test prep?: “New ERA” or 90 more minutes of test prep? by admin Look out, parents – be careful what you wish for. First, Rahm gathered the Coalition of the ...

Kirst, Rucker and others confirmed | Thoughts on Public Education

Kirst, Rucker and others confirmed | Thoughts on Public Education:

Kirst, Rucker and others confirmed - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

With threatened Republican opposition evaporating as quickly as it appeared last week, the Senate on Tuesday separately confirmed the State Board of Education nominations of Michael Kirst, Patricia Rucker and collectively the other five nominees of Gov. Jerry Brown. Kirst, an emeritus education professor at Stanford who has served as Board president since January and has [...]

Career tech, arts supporters at odds - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

In the zero-sum game that is California school funding, advocates for career technical education and those favoring broadening college prep curriculum are battling over a bill that would modify graduation requirements. CTE’s gain would be foreign language and arts instruction’s loss; at least that’s how AB 1330 is being framed. The bill, by Assembly member Warren [...]

A common thread in education bills - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron

All three bills designed to put California on steady footing for the coming of Common Core standards are now in Gov. Brown’s hands. State lawmakers yesterday approved the last of those measures along with measures that would require a common placement exam at community colleges, provide smoother passage for foster youth at state colleges, and [...]

Competing visions of educational technology | Dangerously Irrelevant

Competing visions of educational technology | Dangerously Irrelevant:

Competing visions of educational technology

by dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod)

I just ran across this series of posts from Mickey Muldoon, in which he describes some competing visions of educational technology from the Aspen Ideas Festival:

Happy reading!

The Daring Librarian: Wikipedia is not wicked! - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The Daring Librarian: Wikipedia is not wicked! - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

The Daring Librarian: Wikipedia is not wicked!

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by The Daring Librarian, otherwise known as Gwyneth Anne Jones, who works as a teacher-librarian in Laurel, Md., and who writes The Daring Librarian blog. She was named a “mover and shaker” of 2011 by the Library Journal, and is on the board of directors of the International Society for Technology in Education.A version of this post about Wikipedia, the Internet’s free and open-access encyclopedia, appeared on her blog.

By Gwyneth Anne Jones

Read full article >>

EVIL ROTE MEMORIZATION , BE GONE ! « Teachers Fight Back

EVIL ROTE MEMORIZATION , BE GONE ! « Teachers Fight Back:

EVIL ROTE MEMORIZATION , BE GONE !

by alkleen

The Chicago Public School superintendent announced plans to improve student performance in key subjects such as math and reading by “favoring comprehension and analysis over rote memorization”.

Could someone please explain to me what that means ? How does rote memorization interfere with comprehension and analysis ? I taught math and reading for many years and can’t remember an instance where rote memorization interfered with comprehension and analysis. Please give me examples so I can then comment on it.

This superintendent announcement is just one of many regarding the concept of rote memorization. It’s beginning to sound like rote memorization is becoming the new scapegoat for low test scores. Teachers need to stop asking students to memorize ANYTHING. Memorization is an evil waste of time. Thank goodness my

NYC Public School Parents: As school begins: resources for families with children with disabilities from Parent to Parent

NYC Public School Parents: As school begins: resources for families with children with disabilities from Parent to Parent:

As school begins: resources for families with children with disabilities from Parent to Parent

by Leonie Haimson

Helpful information from Ellen McHugh of Parent to Parent NY State:

As school begins ………New lunch boxes, new clothes, back packs, bus schedules and drivers and new classrooms. These are all part of the start of a school year. For families who have a child with disabilities or special health care needs, fears and concerns seem to multiply as the `first day' comes closer.

Below are some resources provided by Parent to Parent of NYS that may be a help to families as they prepare for another year of special education services and school bus transportation.

Transportation:

As of July 1, 2009, NYS School Bus transporters are mandated under PJ's Law to train staff in disability

NYC Educator: Always Better the Devil You Know/Good Luck with All That

NYC Educator: Always Better the Devil You Know/Good Luck with All That:

Always Better the Devil You Know/Good Luck with All That

by Miss Eyre

For the first time in my teaching career, I'm looping this year. If you're unfamiliar with the term, "looping" refers to teaching the same group(s) of students for more than one academic year; e.g. teaching 7th and 8th grade English to the same group of middle-schoolers for two consecutive years. I was fully complicit with the looping plan, so I'm pretty much okay with it.

But I've spent so much time thinking about all the great things I can do with these same kids that I haven't really considered any of the unique challenges that might be posed by greeting the little devils I know on Thursday morning. (Just kidding! Mostly!) So, anyone who has looped before: Any pitfalls of which I should be aware? How much change is too much for kids who think they already know everything about how you roll? Is it easier or

Bias toward Numbers in Judging Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Bias toward Numbers in Judging Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Bias toward Numbers in Judging Teaching

by larrycuban

New fuel economy label in 2008 shows estimated...

Image via Wikipedia

In the U.S. people—yes, I include myself here—making decisions about important issues such as buying a home, picking a school for a five year-old or deciding on a college for a high school junior often give more weight to those features carrying numbers with them rather than qualitative features without numbers. Say, focusing on the square footage in the house vs. the feel of roominess. Or a teacher-student ratio in a kindergarten vs. sense of family that children and teacher communicate. From unemployment figures to batting averages and pass

The pendulum swings, and choices await | Taking Note

The pendulum swings, and choices await | Taking Note:

The pendulum swings, and choices await

by John Merrow

As always, remember that John’s book The Influence of Teachers is for sale at Amazon.

Time was, this country had about 130,000 school districts; today we have somewhere around 14,000. The pendulum has swung toward centralization.

No question that the pendulum swings. Not all that long ago about the only beers you could buy were Budweiser, Miller and Coors, but today you can choose from among thousands of microbrews. And that’s just the pendulum swinging back to the days before the Coors/Miller/Budweiser ‘beeropoly’ because in an earlier day, your parents could buy Schiltz, Schaefer, Piels, et cetera.

When I was a kid, there were thousands and thousands of radio stations; today Clear Channel owns about

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

#edreform "Bad To The Bone"

George Thorogood & The Destroyers play "Bad To The Bone" LIVE in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the Juke Joint Jam. Visit George Thorogood & The Destroyers @ www.georgethorogood.com. Visit the Destroyers road crew @ www.tonightoncrew.com

If You Don’t Give Me Heaven, I Raise Hell | The Jose Vilson

If You Don’t Give Me Heaven, I Raise Hell | The Jose Vilson:

If You Don’t Give Me Heaven, I Raise Hell

by Jose

Heaven or Hell

Did we cross the threshold of teacher complacency yet?

Today, Pernille Ripp asked “How many of us blog about our philosophies and classroom changes but are too afraid to tell our face to face colleagues?” to her followers. I responded, “I used to. This year, I’ve decided against it.” Some, including Mary Beth Hertz, were surprised. She said, “… was just suprised to hear that from someone who spoke his mind on YouTube :). It is sad how scared people are.” Sure is. Also, endemic of a system that crushes dissent far too readily.

I get who this comes from. First, let me say that my blog rantings over the last few years came from the burning desire to say something and make it count. For the first time, I had a vehicle where I could reflect on my personal and professional growth without interruption or courtesy. On a blog, I don’t have to wait for someone to readjust their face after I’ve shocked them or wait for them to get their interjection out before finishing a complete thought. Once I’m done, I hit “Publish” and let the opinions fall where they may. Almost every blogger would

In Poll, New Yorkers Say Schools Aren’t Better Under Bloomberg - NYTimes.com

In Poll, New Yorkers Say Schools Aren’t Better Under Bloomberg - NYTimes.com:

New Yorkers Say Mayor Has Not Improved Schools

Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, has not yet made a strong impression, with 53 percent of those polled having no opinion on his performance.

By SHARON OTTERMAN and ALLISON KOPICKI

Published: September 6, 2011

REPRINTS

New Yorkers are broadly dissatisfied with the quality of their public schools, and most say the city’s school system has stagnated or declined since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took control of it nine years ago, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.

Multimedia

Document

New York City Schools Poll

Coming soon: A new Web venture of news, data and conversation about schools in New York City.

How the Poll Was Conducted(September 7, 2011)

Readers’ Comments

Share your thoughts.

Mr. Bloomberg has made improving the schools a focus of his mayoralty, seizing authority over the bureaucracy, doubling the budget and opening hundreds of additional, small schools. Still, even as his overall approval rating, 45 percent, is at a six-year low, considerably fewer residents — 34 percent — approve of how the mayor is handling education.

“What had been a signature issue for Bloomberg may not be the legacy issue he hoped it would be,” said Bruce M. Gyory, a political consultant and adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Albany.

In follow-up interviews, poll respondents expressed various

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech:

Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech

by Representative Kimble

At this year's Heritage Valley Corn Dog Festival, Congressman Jack Kimble outlined his path forward for this country before Picture This took the stage. While Picture This is America's best Huey Lewis and the News Tribute Band, it was truly Jack Kimble who connected with the audience on that night.

I have built my Presidential campaign around moving American into the 21st Century, while retaining the strength

Corporate Education Reform’s Desperate Attempt to Spin Bad News | Scathing Purple Musings

Corporate Education Reform’s Desperate Attempt to Spin Bad News | Scathing Purple Musings:

Corporate Education Reform’s Desperate Attempt to Spin Bad News

by Bob Sikes

The corporate education reform movement responded quickly to the Matt Ritchel’s New York Times story which illustrated the shabby and incomplete performance of technology-based education. While not mentioning his own damning quote, Tom Vander Ark dismisses Ritchel’s piece as “rear-view mirror look.”

Matt Richtel wrote the rear view mirror storyof the last decade—technology layered on top of how we’ve always done school yielding meager results at least when measured in traditional ways. The story of this decade is that personal digital learning will change the world.
The Sunday feature in the NYTimes did a disservice to the field. It’s easy to make sweeping statements about the past and prop up critics. Richtel knows well the case for digital learning, he just chose to leave it out.

Latest News and Comment from Education