Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts 1-16 #edreform #ows

Dead Poets Society: Contact Microsoft or the Gates Foundation for Free One-Time Membership « Living Behind the Gates

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Dead Poets Society: Contact Microsoft or the Gates Foundation for Free One-Time Membership « Living Behind the Gates:Dead Poets Society: Contact Microsoft or the Gates Foundation for Free One-Time MembershipBy livingbehindthegatesTruth like-like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.Y-Y-You push it, stretch it, it’ll never be enough.You kick at it, beat it, it’ll never cover any of us.From the moment we enter crying t-to the moment we leave dying,it’ll just cover your face as you wail and cry and ... more »

Bitter Politics of Envy? - NYTimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Bitter Politics of Envy? - NYTimes.com:Bitter Politics of Envy?By CHARLES M. BLOWPublished: January 13, 2012RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINCOMMENTS (421)E-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHAREYou’re just jealous. At least that’s how Mitt Romney sees it. The millionaire who posed for a picture with the boys at Bain Capital with the long green clinched between their teeth and poking out of their collars and jackets now says that people who question what he did there, and what rich people do now, are just green with envy.Enlarge This ImageDamon Winter/The New ... more »

Peg with Pen: Yelling from Who-ville. We Will Be Heard. Occupy the DOE in DC.

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Peg with Pen: Yelling from Who-ville. We Will Be Heard. Occupy the DOE in DC.:Yelling from Who-ville. We Will Be Heard. Occupy the DOE in DC.by PeggyYou’ve already heard the Whos in Who-ville haven’t you? The Whos were always there, while many of us basked inthe Jungle of Nool, In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool…Yet, it’s not so easy to bask these days, because once youhave heard them in Who-ville, you cannot turn away. ... more »

Some Ugly Details from the Daley/Duncan/Obama Connection | Dailycensored.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Some Ugly Details from the Daley/Duncan/Obama Connection | Dailycensored.com:Some Ugly Details from the Daley/Duncan/Obama Connectionby susanoIt is not my custom to spent time on an article from American Thinker, a conservative publication whose political editor brags about appearances on the Dennis Miller show, but Unsolved Mystery: D.C. Public Schools Cheating Scandal by M. Catharine Evans and Ann Kane is informative and important. I’m interested not so much in the D. C. cheating scandal as I am in the exposure of ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top late Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform 1-15

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Century-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-21 minutes agoCentury-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Century-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test?by Valerie StraussHere’s a copy of the eighth-grade exam used in schools in Bullitt County, Ky., in 1912. It was recently donated to the Bullitt County History Museum, which is a service ... more »

The Corporate Management Is An Unfit Model for Education | Miguel Angel Escotet

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

The Corporate Management Is An Unfit Model for Education | Miguel Angel Escotet:The Corporate Management Is An Unfit Model for Educationby Miguel Angel EscotetWhat are the bases of culture and society? What is the cultural and social context of education? How can the social forces that influence teaching and learning be adapted to enhance the educational process? What are the cultural and social foundations of education in America? What are the purposes of education in a global society? What higher ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Are TFA Teachers Superior? No.

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Are TFA Teachers Superior? No.:Are TFA Teachers Superior? No.by DukeReliably, Jay Matthews at the Washington Post tells us why Teach For American is so awesome:I understand why many NEA members are bothered by TFA. They feel it demeans their profession to give classroom responsibilities to young people with so little preparation. They know that novice U.S. teachers need even more training than what they are getting in regular education school programs. Experts say new teachers should be closely ... more »

Schools Matter: It's the Socioeconomic Segregation, Stupid

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Schools Matter: It's the Socioeconomic Segregation, Stupid:It's the Socioeconomic Segregation, Stupidby Jim HornIt’s theSocioeconomic Segregation, Stupid Jim HornIna piece for The Nation by a fewdays ago, Linda Darling-Hammond demolishes most of the remaining chunks of anysize within the crumbling structure of corporate education’s mostironically-titled reform ever—No Child Left Behind. NCLB is rubble, even though many unseen victims continue tobe buried beneath its mammoth pile. Darling-Hammond, who was recruited to get Team Obama up to speed oneducation issues following the 2008 ... more »

Occupy Zelig | California Father #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Occupy Zelig | California Father:Occupy Zeligby California FatherPopoutOne of the best things about Occupy? You get to meet a lot of great people.Here is ReFund California’s Jono Shaffer, legendary organizer, speaking at the January 1, 2012 Occupy the Rose Parade kick-off teach-in event. The guy to his (camera) right is my good friend blogger/agitator Marty Berg

Jersey Jazzman: High School Sr. Speaks Out on Charters

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: High School Sr. Speaks Out on Charters:High School Sr. Speaks Out on Chartersby DukeA reader at my Facebook page (you "like" me, don't you?) pointed me to this great letter in the Chicago Tribuneabout charters from a high school student:The charter school system is one of the biggest problems with our current education system. Charter schools are allowed to be privately operated yet publicly funded, which is a paradox. Instead of public tax dollars going solely to public ... more »

Century-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Century-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Century-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test?by Valerie StraussHere’s a copy of the eighth-grade exam used in schools in Bullitt County, Ky., in 1912. It was recently donated to the Bullitt County History Museum, which is a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society and which gave me permission to republish it.Read full article Tim Tebow’s unusual educationValerie Strauss at The Answer ... more »

The Innovative Educator: A Dream to Be Free At Last From State Standardized Tests

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

The Innovative Educator: A Dream to Be Free At Last From State Standardized Tests:A Dream to Be Free At Last From State Standardized Testsby noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)Parents across the nation are fed up with a government sucking data out of or students like a vampire who needs their blood to survive. Fortunately, the jig is up. Parents have caught on to the fact that not only does all this ineffective, inaccurate, and outdated testing and prepping do nothing to help ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: McLaren to Remove Amendment About Boren

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: McLaren to Remove Amendment About Boren:McLaren to Remove Amendment About Borenby Melissa WestbrookFrom the West Seattle Blog: Thank you to all the West Seattle (and other) people who have joined the dialogue about short term solutions for overcrowding in our elementary schools.Decision to move forward with the STEM option proposalFriday I made the decision not to go forward with my amendment to the current proposal: Thus, the Seattle School Board will vote next Wednesday, January 18th, ... more »

Cal Grants would be harder to get under Brown's proposed budget - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Cal Grants would be harder to get under Brown's proposed budget - latimes.com:Cal Grants would be harder to get under Brown's proposed budgetCal Grants, the state-funded financial aid for California higher education students, could become much harder to obtain for new students under restrictions proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown as part of his 2012-2013 budget.One of the most contentious of the restrictions would increase the minimum grade point average needed to qualify for the awards, which are a key part ... more »

Blue Jersey:: Charter School Debate Round Up

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Blue Jersey:: Charter School Debate Round Up:Charter School Debate Round Upby Jersey JazzmanYou probably don't know what to do with yourself until 4:30 today. If you're inclined to blow off your honey-do list, perhaps you'd care to join the growing debate about charter schools that's raging across the Garden State.Start with Tom Moran's piece in the Star-Ledger, which takes us to a "high performing" charter in Jersey City. Give Moran some credit for at least acknowledging the other side of ... more »

NCLB Waivers: The Details in the Devil's Bargain - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

NCLB Waivers: The Details in the Devil's Bargain - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:NCLB Waivers: The Details in the Devil's Bargainby Anthony CodyGuest post by Jack Hassard.The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) wants to insure that every teacher in the U.S. is evaluated on the basis on student progress on high-stakes achievement tests. To achieve this, the DOE will issues waivers on some aspects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in exchange for a state-wide system to evaluate ... more »

Rahm's bullying exposed - Substance News

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Rahm's bullying exposed - Substance News:Rahm's Rent-A-Preacher and Rent-A-Protest exposed, even to elected state officialsJohn Kugler - January 15, 2012In a reversal of fortunes, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's bullying and union busting tactics have been not only uncovered but challenged by state officials on the Illinois Educational Facilities Task Force and in other contexts. As a result of the January 6, 2012 hearings on the proposed closings of nine Chicago public schools, it was was established again by evidence and ... more »

America's Teachers See Growing Poverty Up Close

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

America's Teachers See Growing Poverty Up Close:America's Teachers See Growing Poverty Up CloseBy Mark Naison, LA Progressive14 January 12 If you want to know the human impact of the current recession, ask America's teachersne of the things I've discovered in recent years is that when it comes to education policy, the last people asked for input are America's teachers. We have a President who holds an "education summit" that includes the nation's top business leaders and foundation heads, but no ... more »

Sunday lists. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Sunday lists. « Fred Klonsky:Sunday lists.by Fred KlonskyOccupy Albuquerque.Peace activist Marv Davidov dies at the age of 80.Chicago teacher Katie Osgood says that merit pay may work for day traders but not classrooms. Say, wasn’t Rahm Emanuel a trader? Why, yes he was.Thank God we’re done with Tebow for the year.On the other hand, The Bulls have the best record in the NBA.Letter from a Teacher in a school designated for closing by the DOE in order to receive “Race ... more »

NJ Charter Data Round-up « School Finance 101

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

NJ Charter Data Round-up « School Finance 101:NJ Charter Data Round-upby schoolfinance101Note: I will be making updates to this post in the coming days/weeks.As we once again begin discussing debating the appropriate role for Charter schools in New Jersey’s education reform “mix,” here’s a round-up on the New Jersey charter school numbers, in terms of demographic comparisons to all other public and charter schools in the same ‘city’ and proficiency rates (across all grades) compared to all others in the ... more »

Daily Kos: of "quiet rooms" . . .

Daily Kos: of "quiet rooms" . . .:

of "quiet rooms" . . .

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Mitt Romney says that we should discuss income inequality, if at all, only in “quiet rooms.” There was a time when people said the same thing about racial inequality. Luckily, however, there were people like Martin Luther King who refused to stay quiet. And we should follow their example today. For the fact is that rising inequality threatens to make America a different and worse place — and we need to reverse that trend to preserve both our values and our dreams.

Those words are the concluding paragraph of a powerful column by Paul Krugman titled How Fares the Dream?which I strongly recommend.

This post is not about the column, except for the use of those words already quoted.

Rather it is about the immorality of "quiet rooms" with respect to the real issues that plague this country.

Immorality may seem too harsh a word.

This is a representative democracy. It is a nation in which the voices of the people should be heard on all issues, even if ultimately those we elect may exercise their independent judgment and go in a direction those

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: \WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: \WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

\WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Dr. King

“...The richest nation on Earth has never allocated enough resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers, and to surround them with the prestige our work justifies. We squander funds on highways, on the frenetic pursuit of recreation, on the overabundance of overkill armament, but we pauperize education.” -- Valerie Strauss, "MLK's prescient thinking on education reform."

Bill Moyers

In an era of gross inequality there’s both irony and relevance

State Board, CDE staff at odds on charter | Thoughts on Public Education

State Board, CDE staff at odds on charter | Thoughts on Public Education:

State Board, CDE staff at odds on charter - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Unanimously voting to disregard the recommendation of Department of Education staff, the State Board of Education last week granted Rocketship Education a charter in San Francisco, Rocketship’s first school outside of Santa Clara County. The Board’s approval for its 33rd charter reflected a sharp disagreement not only over the Department’s conclusions on Rocketship but also [...]

Original video source (accsmeeting20111130.asx)

Jersey Jazzman: The Best and The Brightest?

Jersey Jazzman: The Best and The Brightest?:

The Best and The Brightest?

by Duke

A little food for thought on a Monday morning:

According to this site at U.S. News and World report, the Top 50 national universities have a total enrollment - graduate and undergrad - of a little more than one million students. I'll take a ballpark guess that 2/3 of those are undergrads. Assume a somewhat even distribution over four years (yeah, because they all graduate on time... hee, hee); let's say it's roughly 150,000 graduates a year.

Now let's consider some information from the National Center for Education Information (p. viii):

There are 3.2 million public school teachers educating the nation’s 49.4 million children attending public PK-12 schools, according to the U.S. Department’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

NCES Schools and Staffing Surveys also show that, in 2007-08 (the latest year for which these data are

The Educated Reporter: Martin Luther King Day: Are Your Schools Open?

The Educated Reporter: Martin Luther King Day: Are Your Schools Open?:

Martin Luther King Day: Are Your Schools Open?

by Emily Richmond

Today is a federal holiday, which means schools -- and pretty much every office -- is closed here in D.C. However some districts nationwide opt not suspend classes for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Many schools use the day as an opportunity for special assemblies and workshops, while others simply continue with their regular schedules. Last year, two counties in northern Georgia were soundly criticized by civil rights groups when they scheduled classes to make up for "snow days."

There are many sides to this argument, and it's easy to see why some educators are conflicted about the decision to either hold classes or observe the holiday. The truth is that most people associate today (along with

Schools Matter: The trouble with Alexander Russo

Schools Matter: The trouble with Alexander Russo:

The trouble with Alexander Russo

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

The irony is that Russo suggests we critics have been successful because WE are coordinating ourselves! And the "reformers" ought to do the same! We are seeing the most coordinated, sustained and systematic campaign ever mounted in public education. Once again, if you have not done so yet, watch the video in which Stand For Children CEO Jonah Edelman drops the veil and reveals exactly how his group coordinated with other non-profits, with the Chamber of Commerce and major newspapers in Illinois to gain clout. But Russo slyly suggests that somehow those of us crying foul are the ones doing the coordinating. I think there is a term in magic for this - misdirection. — Anthony Cody

Photo courtesy of LS4C1.

Over the holiday break Beltway insider Alexander Russo launched a broadside against activists, community members, and educators

Detroit Library Commission: Reverse Your Vote or Step Down!

Detroit Library Commission: Reverse Your Vote or Step Down!:

Library Commissioners: RE-OPEN OUR LIBRARIES OR RESIGN!

Written on January 14, 2012 by BAMN in Occupy Movement, Public Education

Share15

inShare

Tuesday, January 17:

12 NOON Rally at the Main Library(Cass Side)

1:30 pm: Pack the Library Commission Meeting

This Tuesday, January 17, at noon, we have an opportunity to drive forward our fight to victory. If we turn out a large crowd for our rally and fill up the Library Commission meeting room and assert our will, we can make the commissioners vote to reverse their shameful decision to close the Lincoln, Monteith, Richard and Mark Twain branches.

Our fight to save the four branch libraries is gaining momentum. The libraries were supposed to be shuttered, stripped bare and boarded up in December, but the lights and heat are still on, and the vast majority of our books and computers are still inside. The community has made it overwhelmingly clear how important the libraries are to the safety and education of Detroit’s youth, and to the integrity and future of our neighborhoo

Dead Poets Society: Contact Microsoft or the Gates Foundation for Free One-Time Membership « Living Behind the Gates

Dead Poets Society: Contact Microsoft or the Gates Foundation for Free One-Time Membership « Living Behind the Gates:

Dead Poets Society: Contact Microsoft or the Gates Foundation for Free One-Time Membership

By livingbehindthegates

Truth like-like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.

Y-Y-You push it, stretch it, it’ll never be enough.

You kick at it, beat it, it’ll never cover any of us.

From the moment we enter crying t-to the moment we leave dying,

it’ll just cover your face as you wail and cry and scream.

~ Todd Anderson, The Dead Poets Society, IMBd quotes

Melinda and Bill Gates have attempted to cover the cold hard feet of truth with their blanket of propaganda in order to maintain their status as the richest couple in the world.

However, like in the poem from The Dead Poets Society, the cold

Bitter Politics of Envy? - NYTimes.com

Bitter Politics of Envy? - NYTimes.com:

Bitter Politics of Envy?

By CHARLES M. BLOW

Published: January 13, 2012

• RECOMMEND
• TWITTER
• LINKEDIN
• COMMENTS (421)
• E-MAIL
• PRINT
• REPRINTS
• SHARE

You’re just jealous. At least that’s how Mitt Romney sees it. The millionaire who posed for a picture with the boys at Bain Capital with the long green clinched between their teeth and poking out of their collars and jackets now says that people who question what he did there, and what rich people do now, are just green with envy.

Enlarge This Image

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Charles M. Blow

Go to Columnist Page »

Graphic

Related in Opinion

Gail Collins: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (January 14, 2012)

• The Loyal Opposition: Class Warfare (January 13, 2012)

Readers’ Comments

Readers shared their thoughts on this article.

• Read All Comments (421) »

In his New Hampshire victory speech on Tuesday, Romney lambasted his Republican opponents (who have raised real issues about his role at the private equity firm Bain Capital) for following the lead of President Obama, whom he described as a leader who divides us “with the bitter politics of envy.”

The next day on “Today” on NBC, Romney defended the statement, rejecting the notion that there were questions about Wall Street behavior, saying the whole discussion