Monday, December 5, 2011

(62) K-12 News Network

(62) K-12 News Network:

When a school board member w/master’s degrees and plenty of successful work expe…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
When a school board member w/master's degrees and plenty of successful work experience fails the standardized test given to 10th graders, is it the adult who's a failure, or the test & its designers?When an adult took standardized tests forced on kidsw... more »

Now comes the jockeying for prominence in the numerous ballot initiatives seekin…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
Now comes the jockeying for prominence in the numerous ballot initiatives seeking to qualify for Nov 2012 in CA. There's too little revenue, that's for sure. See this Courage Campaign proposal to raise taxes on the top 1% of the state's earners -- the ... more »

A Washington, DC parent explains why "school choice" creates winners & losers, a…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
A Washington, DC parent explains why "school choice" creates winners & losers, and when combined w/school closures, leaves too many kids in the cold. Why School Choice Failswww.nytimes.comSchool reforms that promote choice and competition inevitably hu... more »

756 principals of NY schools rebel against the use of NY’s teacher evaluation sy…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
756 principals of NY schools rebel against the use of NY's teacher evaluation system tied to student standardized tests, a consequence of NY winning Race to the Top funds. H/T SUPPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS, cc Parents Across AmericaMore Principals Join Teache...more »

A teacher w/50 years of classroom experience criticizes the unrealistic standard…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
A teacher w/50 years of classroom experience criticizes the unrealistic standards of Common Core Standards -- burden for kids/teachers, boon to testing companies? Choking on the Common Core Standardswww.washingtonpost.com...in looking through the names... more »

Billionaires make education policy by fiat through their charitable foundations….

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
Billionaires make education policy by fiat through their charitable foundations. Knock it off -- you're undermining democracy & privatizing public schools.Joanne Barkan on How Billionaires Rule Our Schoolswww.youtube.comJoanne Barkan, writing in Dissen... more »

Gates Foundation donates $400,000 to ultra-right, corporatist group ALEC (Am Leg…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
Gates Foundation donates $400,000 to ultra-right, corporatist group ALEC (Am Legis Exchange Council) to push privatization of public ed in the states. So much for Gates' liberal/libertarian credibility. cc Parents Across America, Awake The State, SOS M... more »

Newt Gingrich’s stupid idea to hire poor children as school janitors gets the ro…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
Newt Gingrich's stupid idea to hire poor children as school janitors gets the roasting it deserves, via @ElonJames. Give kids hope & opportunity instead. cc MOMocrats Newt's remarks remind you of a lawmaker who once said that "hunger is motivating"? SH... more »

Gail Collins gets it: virtual homeschooling has no research supporting its effec…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
Gail Collins gets it: virtual homeschooling has no research supporting its effectiveness, & there's a double standard whereby online charters w/poor graduation rates are excused but the same results at a brick & mortar school labels that neighborhood s...more »

$24 million to Seminole County, FL charter schools that have disappeared due to…

K-12 News Network at K-12 News Network - 23 minutes ago
$24 million to Seminole County, FL charter schools that have disappeared due to "charter applicants that have no real education experience, no real financial backing, and no expertise in managing large budgets..." No accountability, and charter school ... more »
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Meet the 12 People Who Will Investigate the UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident - Davis, CA Patch #ows

Meet the 12 People Who Will Investigate the UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident - Davis, CA Patch:

Meet the 12 People Who Will Investigate the UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident

The task force will assign blame in the pepper spraying incident that took place on the UC Davis quad and quickly gained international attention.

A task force that will investigate the UC Davis pepper spraying incident was named today. It's purpose will be to investigate the events andassign blame accordingly.

It will be led by former Los Angeles Police Department Chief William Bratton.

Thousands have signed a petition demanding the resignation of Chancellor Linda P. B. Katehi, but she does not plan to resign. Meanwhile, the police chief and two officers have been placed on leave, including Lt. John Pike, whose image has gone viral.

47 percent of Davis Patch readers who voted in our poll have placed the blame on Lt. Pike. 29 percent have placed it on Katehi and 23 percent on Chief Annette Spicuzza.

The task force, which contains students, faculty and staff, was named on Monday. Here it is:

  • Patrick Blacklock, Yolo County administrator and immediate past-chair, Cal Aggie Alumni
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Jersey Jazzman: "Just a Blogger..."

Jersey Jazzman: "Just a Blogger...":

"Just a Blogger..."

by Duke
I love this one:

JACKSON — Some school board members want stated formally their prerogative to give the silent treatment to reporters they consider unethical.
A proposed policy would permit the members to decline to speak with reporters whom the Board of Education considers to be in violation of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
The proposal would give the board the power to “request
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Thinking about think tanks. « Fred Klonsky

Thinking about think tanks. « Fred Klonsky:

Thinking about think tanks.

by Fred Klonsky

“Is it really just two guys,” a colleague asks?

She was talking about Kyle Olson’s Education Action Group.

“Basically,” I say. “Plus a couple more staffers.”

“How do they get so much publicity?”

I explain that they’re backed by billionaires like the Koch brothers and the De Vos family. And they front for phony think tanks like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. They have Fox and Andrew Breitbart.

“Maybe that’s what I’ll do when I retire. Become a think tank,” I say.

“You need a millionaire.”

But actually I don’t need to be a think tank and I don’t need a

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NYC Public School Parents: free movie screening Thurs. Dec. 8, at 6 PM!

NYC Public School Parents: free movie screening Thurs. Dec. 8, at 6 PM!:

free movie screening Thurs. Dec. 8, at 6 PM!

by Leonie Haimson

Parents, Educators and Community Members You Are Invited To a Free Movie Screening and
Learn The Truth About Charter Schools

The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman
When: Thursday, December 8th at 6pm
Where: Emily Dickinson School, PS 75
735 West End Avenue (enter on 96th St) NY, NY 10025

Q & A Panel Discussion After Screening

With: Brian Jones and Julie Cavanagh, Teacher Activists;
Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters;
Noah Gotbaum, CEC3 Charter/Overcrowding Committee Chair

Four of the city’s most dynamic education activists discuss the current direction of DOE policies, the truth about charter schools, and what our children really need to succeed.

Sponsors, P.S.75 PTA, CEC 3 and Class Size Matters
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Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists - NYTimes.com

Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists - NYTimes.com:

Occupy Davis, as Covered by High School Journalists

By HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO

Courtesy of Blue Devil HUBVideo taken by Anna Sturla, a high school journalist, of the U.C. Davis chancellor’s “silent walk” amid student protesters in the aftermath of the pepper spray incident.

Readers learned of the pepper-spraying incident at the University of California-Davis by reading coverage on The Lede, The Times’s breaking news blog, in a post by Brian Stelter. The next day, Mr. Stelter reported that the university had responded by placing two officers on administrative leave, and Jennifer Medina followed up a day later with an article about the fallout from the incident, including how the chancellor, Linda P. B. Katehi, was responding to calls for her resignation.

Meanwhile, the student journalists at Davis Senior High School, less than a

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A Whole Child Approach to Education and the Common Core State Standards Initiative

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

A Whole Child Approach to Education and the Common Core State Standards Initiative

by Molly McCloskey

A whole child approach to education is defined by policies, practices, and relationships that ensure each child, in each school, in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. It engages all stakeholders—educators, families, policymakers, and community members—in defying the “percentage proficient” culture of too many school reform efforts, to focus on each child. And it further raises the bar of accountability beyond narrow, single-issue “improvement” strategies to efforts that reflect the broad array of factors influencing long-term success rather than short-term achievement.

Within a whole child approach, questions must be raised about school culture and curriculum; instructional strategies and family engagement; critical thinking and social-emotional wellness. We have an inherent

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Bullying: The reality of a child’s pain (video) | Being Latino Online Magazine

Bullying: The reality of a child’s pain (video) | Being Latino Online Magazine:

Bullying: The reality of a child’s pain (video)

by Libby Juliรก-Vรกzquez

He writes on the YouTube description, “IM NOT GOING TO KILL MYSELF. I JUST NEED TO GET THIS OUT HERE.” How many more children are hurting and not being heard. What can YOU do to help?

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Schools Matter: CALL FOR ACTION: EDUCATORS UNITE! #ows

Schools Matter: CALL FOR ACTION: EDUCATORS UNITE!:

CALL FOR ACTION: EDUCATORS UNITE!

by P. L. Thomas
CALL FOR ACTION: EDUCATORS UNITE!

As public educators committed to democratic principles, we are charged to:

Advocate for authentic reform initiatives that support public education to ensure PK-12 students develop the critical thinking and process skills necessary to become informed citizens capable of supporting an effective democracy,

And, in support of this goal, resist, and support resistance of, forces that seek to connect standardized testing to teacher evaluation.

The current political climate is marked by powerful attacks on public institutions, including schools, colleges,
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UCSD Reclaims Revelle’s CLICS Library « occupy california #OWS

UCSD Reclaims Revelle’s CLICS Library « occupy california:

UCSD Reclaims Revelle’s CLICS Library

by *

from RebelRadio:

Hello Community,

UCSD Student’s have RECLAIMED the Library known as CLICS located in Revelle College. The University shut it down earlier this year due to “budget cuts.” This has had a dramatic effect on all students and further illustrates the Universities Privatization. The school just placed a $1.3 Million Dollar installation on the Jacob’s School of Engineering but couldn’t afford to keep the Library open.

Students have spoken out and taken action into their own hands! They have reclaimed their library! But we need you support! We need our faculty and departments to stand in Solidarity with the Students, you all can come

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Washington D.C. Schools: Why School Choice Fails « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Washington D.C. Schools: Why School Choice Fails « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Washington D.C. Schools: Why School Choice Fails

by millerlf
By NATALIE HOPKINSON Published: December 4, 2011 NYTime Op-Ed

IF you want to see the direction that education reform is taking the country, pay a visit to my leafy, majority-black neighborhood in Washington. While we have lived in the same house since our 11-year-old son was born, he’s been assigned to three different elementary schools as one after the other has been shuttered. Now it’s time for middle school, and there’s been no neighborhood option available.

Meanwhile, across Rock Creek Park in a wealthy, majority-white community, there is a sparkling new neighborhood middle school, with rugby, fencing, an international baccalaureate curriculum and all the other amenities that make people pay top dollar to live there.

Such inequities are the perverse result of a “reform” process intended to bring choice and accountability to the

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Are Complaints About Student Loan Debt Overhyped? - Education - GOOD

Are Complaints About Student Loan Debt Overhyped? - Education - GOOD:

Are Complaints About Student Loan Debt Overhyped?

by Liz Dwyer

art.student
With total student loan debt approaching $1 trillion and two-thirds of 2010 graduates owing back loans that average $25,250—a 5 percent increase since 2009—plenty of people are condemning the amount of money students must borrow to earn college degrees. But one education expert is bucking that trend, saying that the furor over loans has been blown way out of proportion.

In a recent story in The New York Times, Judith Scott-Clayton, a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College, says the media has sensationalized the student debt conversation by spotlighting extreme examples of college graduates with $100,000 or more in loans. She cites data from a 2009 U.S. Department of Education survey that indicates "only one-10th of 1 percent of college entrants, and only three-10ths of 1 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients, accumulate more than $100,000 in undergraduate student debt." More than 50

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