Is you child left behind? - The Deming Headlight

Is you child left behind? - The Deming Headlight:

Is you child left behind?

Two Cents

Posted:   12/26/2012 11:50:49 AM MST

No Child Left Behind. What a great idea. Unfortunately, like the Super PACs, the great name hides the terrible intent behind this legislation. NCLB, as it is generally called, was passed in 2001 by a Republican Congress and signed by Republican President George Bush.

It represents the biggest federal intrusion into education since the founding of this country. The constitution clearly says that education is a state's right. So how did this happen?

The rationale behind it was that the states did not have to comply with the law. However, if they did not, they would lose all of their federal funding. It was a very clever way to bypass the constitution.

The law stated that by 2014 all students would master or be proficient in 100% of the curriculum tested. In reality, this means that all students will be above average by 2014. Only Congress could come up with such an impossible goal

Professor: Education and Human Rights, Social Justice Intrinsically Tied - Higher Education

Professor: Education and Human Rights, Social Justice Intrinsically Tied - Higher Education:

Professor: Education and Human Rights, Social Justice Intrinsically Tied

December 27, 2012 | Category: Subfeature | :

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by T.A. Copper

Dr. Richard Benson

When Dr. Richard D. Benson II talks about education, he quotes Malcolm X, saying “Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and our people rediscover their identity and thereby increase their self-respect. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today.”

Benson, 37, is currently an assistant professor and associate chair of the education studies program at Spelman College in Atlanta. He said it was his mother’s influence that has made such a large impact on his career.

“My mother’s thing was school. … It was not uncommon for an individual to take 3 to 4 years off to work and save for college with the intent to enroll at a later time and that is what my mother did.”

Dangerous slogans for education and life | Get Schooled

Dangerous slogans for education and life | Get Schooled:

Dangerous slogans for education and life

2:07 am December 27, 2012, by Maureen Downey

Janusz Maciuba teaches English as a Second Language at a technical college in the Atlanta area. He has written several pieces for the AJC. Here is his latest:

By Janusz Maciuba

In the service of instilling self-esteem in students, teachers and other cheerleaders of scholastic and personal achievement have promoted slogans that are potentially dangerous if taken at face value by students. In fact, some of these motivational mottoes can actually encourage students to drop out of school. I base my observations on teaching 7th and 9th graders and from reading thousands of GED essays, some of which explained why students left school before graduation and what their dreams for the future were.

Here are the top three lies some students believe:

You can be anything you want to be. Yes, you can! With hard work at school or on the 

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-27-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Where Are the Closing Schools?

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman connects the dots about school closings.
Do they close in white neighborhoods? No.
Do they close in affluent neighborhoods? No.
Guess where they close? In high-poverty neighborhoods.
My guess: the white and affluent neighborhoods are next.

An Armed Guard for Every School?

by dianerav

Eclectablog is one of my favorites. I don’t know the writer, but he or she is super smart and witty, which is a great combination.
Here is a post explaining that an armed guard in every school (132,000 schools of all kinds) would cost something north of $10 billion.
That’s lot of moola-boola on new weaponry.
It also means another 132,000 guns in the schools.
Eclectablog refers to this as “gun porn.”
Be sure to open this

No One Opposes Reading Non-Fiction

 

by dianerav

A reader posted a comment yesterday wondering why so many who read this blog are opposed to reading non-fiction, or in the jargon of the day, “informational text.”
This is a reference to the debate about the Common Core standards, which mandate a 50-50 split between literary/informational text in lower grades, and a 70-30 split in high school grades.
Let me clarify my own view, as well as what I have derived from hundreds of comments by parents and teachers. No one opposes reading non-fiction. You are reading an informational text right now! Teachers of science, history, and mathematics have always assigned informational texts. Few such classes read fiction. So the question comes down to what the English teacher assigns. Probably, if the English teacher assigned 100% 

An Interview with Todd Farley

by dianerav

This was sent by a reader of the blog. Todd Farley wrote a terrific book about the testing industry called “Making the Grades,” based on his many years on the inside of that industry. He knows the tricks of the trade. If you haven’t read his book, you should.
Interview with Todd Farley by Rebecca Rubenstein.
She writes:
In 2009, I had just graduated college and was part of a class fumbling its way into one of the worst economic climates in U.S. history. Our prospects were, to say the least, uncertain, though my class’s guest 

Please Arm These Teachers!

by dianerav

This elementary school teacher wants to be armed with smaller classes.
She also wants to be armed with after school clubs and resources for her special education students. Readmore about how she wants to be armed.
This education dean also wants to arm teachers.
He wants to arm them with passion, purpose, knowledge, understanding, and courage.
Anyone listening?

Teacher: Common Core Harms My Title I Students

by dianerav

One of the unsettled questions about the Common Core standards is whether they will widen or narrow the achievement gaps between children of different races and different income levels. In their first trial in Kentucky, the gap grew larger, and scores fell across the board. Some see this effect as a temporary adjustment to higher standards. Some suspect that it is intended to induce panic among parents about public education. Some see it as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to sell more stuff to schools.
This teacher read Stephen Krashen’s post last night about the Common Core and offered the following comments.
“From a teacher who has spent this year implementing CC I can tell everyone it has been a nightmare of epic 

The Belly of the Beast

by dianerav

This article, published in The Times Educational Supplement (London), is an in-depth explanation of how the Global Educational Reform Movement (GERM) took shape and became powerful. Here you will meet Sir Michael Barber, who coined the idea of “deliverology,” and learn about his rapid ascent from trade union activist to Tony Blair advisor to McKinsey guru to Pearson strategist.
You will learn about the fierce struggle among advanced nations to have the highest test scores and be #1 on 

Teacher: How Toxic Testing Drove Me Out of the Classroom

by dianerav

Carole Marshall, a former journalist, published the following in the Providence (R.I.) Journal on December 14, 2012:
TESTING MANIA LEAVES URBAN STUDENTS BEHIND
As a person who left a teaching position at Hope High School, in Providence, last June after almost two decades, I’d like to add my perspective to the discussion of high-stakes testing.
I left several years earlier than I’d planned to. I’m proud of my teaching record and of the role I played at Hope: I was the internal facilitator for school improvement when we broke down Hope into small learning communities. 

Diane in the Evening 12-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: A Literacy Expert Opposes the Common Core Standards by dianerav Stephen Krashen is a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, where he taught linguistics. He comments here in response to an earlier post about the Common Core standards: What this excessive detail also does is (1) dictate the order of presentation of aspects of literacy (2) encourage a direct teaching, skill-building approach to teaching. Both of these consequences run counter to a massive amount of research and experience. There is very good evidence from both first and sec... more »

Are Sleepy Students Learning? | toteachornototeach

Are Sleepy Students Learning? | toteachornototeach:

Are Sleepy Students Learning?

by aristotlethewise

Are Sleepy Students Learning?

How does the mind work—and especially how does it learn? Teachers’ instructional decisions are based on a mix of theories learned in teacher education, trial and error, craft knowledge, and gut instinct. Such knowledge often serves us well, but is there anything sturdier to rely on?
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field of researchers from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, computer science, and anthropology who seek to understand the mind. In this regular American Educator column, we consider findings from this field that are strong and clear enough to merit classroom application.
By Daniel T. Willingham
Question: Some of my students seem really sleepy—they stifle yawns and struggle to keep tired eyes open—especially in the morning. This can’t be good for their learning, right? Is there anything I can do to help these 

The ABC’s of Keeping Teachers (no apologies to the LA Times) « Classroom Struggle

The ABC’s of Keeping Teachers (no apologies to the LA Times) « Classroom Struggle:

The ABC’s of Keeping Teachers (no apologies to the LA Times)

by ClassroomStruggle

School reconstitution.  Last minute classroom reassignments.  Overbooked class-load assignments.  Constant turnover of the best teachers at your school.  Sounds familiar to you?  If so, this post from a teacher at Fremont High captures a lot of what you’re probably feeling.  And, note, that’s Fremont High in Los Angeles because unfortunately these problems are all too common.  Let us know below if this story resonates with you.

The original post can be found at:http://fremontwatch.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/the-abcs-of-keeping-teachers-no-apologies-to-the-la-times.

The ABC’s of Keeping Teachers (no apologies to the LA Times)

December 23, 2012

After a wonderful hike in Haines Canyon today, I arrived home, checked my email and found a letter to the editor written by Mat Taylor in response to yet another teacher- loving tome  from the LA Times titled The ABC’s of Firing Teachers.  (sarcasm intended). They never learn.  They just never do.  It’s no

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: T-Party's version of gun-control

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: T-Party's version of gun-control:

T-Party's version of gun-control

by Mike Klonsky

Aistov Alexey/ShutterStock

In case you were thinking that we ought to be more like the Tea Party...

Here's the way the tea-baggers handle policy debates within their D.C. group called FreedomWorks.

WaPo reports: 

Richard K. Armey, the group’s chairman and a former House majority leader, walked into the group’s Capitol Hill offices with his wife, Susan, and an aide holstering a handgun at his waist. The aim was to seize control of the group and expel Armey’s enemies: The gun-wielding assistant [later identified as former Capitol Hill cop, Beau Singleton -- M.K.]  escorted FreedomWorks’ top two employees off the premises, while Armey suspended several others who broke down in sobs at the 

Predictions about High-Tech in K-12 Schools in 2023 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Predictions about High-Tech in K-12 Schools in 2023 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Predictions about High-Tech in K-12 Schools in 2023

by larrycuban

For the past three years, I offered predictions (see December 26, 2009, December 30, 2010, and December 29, 2011 posts) of what I saw around the corner for high-tech in K-12 schools. With weekly reports of schools adopting  iPads  tablets for kindergartners as well as high schoolers, with vendors touting interactive whiteboards, clickers, and tablets engaging children and increasing academic achievement, with policymakers mandating online courses for high school graduation, with the spread of blended learning in mostly low-income and minority schools, and with more and more  teachers blogging about how they integrate the use of new devices into daily lessons, including English and math Common Core standards–with all of that one would think that by 2023, age-graded schools and the familiar teaching and learning that occurs in schools today would be, well, passe’. I do not think so.
For nearly three decades, I have written about teacher and student access to, and instructional use of, 

Ed Notes Online: PS 138 Eva Invasion: Speculation on going to court to question DOE giveaway to Success?

Ed Notes Online: PS 138 Eva Invasion: Speculation on going to court to question DOE giveaway to Success?:

PS 138 Eva Invasion: Speculation on going to court to question DOE giveaway to Success?

by ed notes online

the DOE specifically has earlier said that there would not be sufficient space for a similar projected enrollment - good evidence, though subject to argument. PS 138 would also have an advantage if they filed right now, before the SCN lottery takes place ---anon

After seeing the video of the PS 138 princpal at the PEP (see below), when the question in the title of this post was asked on the NYCEducationNews listserve, here was one response:

With a strong legal team, PS 138 would probably have a better case than anyone else right now. My understanding of prior co-location cases is that the plaintiffs, in the first instance, could not prove that the potential for overcrowding exists. Here the DOE specifically has earlier said that there would not be sufficient space for a similar projected enrollment - good evidence, though subject to argument. PS 138 would also have an advantage if they filed right now, before the SCN 

Oregon Save Our Schools: Oregon Reads: Left to Chance and Outsiders

Oregon Save Our Schools: Oregon Reads: Left to Chance and Outsiders:

Oregon Reads: Left to Chance and Outsiders

by Oregon SOS

 

by Joanne Yatvin

When wealthy individuals or foundations give grants to groups espousing new ideas in the public sector, no harm is done.  Even if those ideas fail miserably, the givers have plenty of money left to try again, and at least somebody got a job out of the venture.  But when a working person gambles his paycheck away, there’s nothing left to buy food for his family. Such is the case with Governor Kitzhaber’s Oregon Educational Investment Board (OEIB) bent on spending the money badly needed by Oregon’s schools on new bureaucracies, risky projects, and outside organizations.   

The latest iteration of this gambling obsession is the Oregon Reads proposal to offer grants to organizations and individuals to promote children’s reading.  No one claims that the goal is not worthy; it’s the means that are in 

Arizona plan would arm principals - CNN.com

Arizona plan would arm principals - CNN.com:

Arizona plan would arm principals

By Alan Duke, CNN

updated 7:02 PM EST, Wed December 26, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Arming principals is "next best solution" to police in schools, Attorney General Tom Horne says
• Schools could send the principal or a designee to gun, emergency training
• Those schools could keep on firearm "locked in a secure place" for when needed

(CNN) -- Arizona's attorney general proposed arming one principal or employee at each school to defend against attacks such as the recent Connecticut school massacre.

"The ideal solution would be to have an armed police officer in each school," Attorney General Tom Horne said in a news release Wednesday. But budget cuts have limited the number of Arizona schools with "school resource officers" on campus, he said.

The "next best solution," Horne said, "is to have one person in the school trained to handle firearms, to handle emergency situations, and possessing a firearm in a secure location."

A shooter, armed with a semiautomatic rifle and two other guns, on December 14 killed 26 people -- including six faculty members and 20 young students -- at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown.

Horne compared the plan to the FAA's program adopted after the 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: The "Charlie Brown" Syndrome:Cure with Video Supplements!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: The "Charlie Brown" Syndrome:Cure with Video Supplements!:

The "Charlie Brown" Syndrome:Cure with Video Supplements!

In "Charlie Brown" cartoons, the teacher was non-existent. All you heard was "Wah, wah,wah.  I believe that's what our students hear at times. Sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else. Sometimes you just have to see it. I have three  sources I use as my go-to's.

Learnzillion:  I am a recent convert to Learnzillion, but I have used it religiously since I learned about it.  Learnzillion describes itself as high quality lessons you can use today, I agree. The lessons have become an integral part of reinforcing the 

Diane in the Evening 12-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

A Literacy Expert Opposes the Common Core Standards

by dianerav

Stephen Krashen is a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, where he taught linguistics.
He comments here in response to an earlier post about the Common Core standards:
What this excessive detail also does is
(1) dictate the order of presentation of aspects of literacy
(2) encourage a direct teaching, skill-building approach to teaching.
Both of these consequences run counter to a massive amount of research and experience.
There is very good evidence from both first and second language acquisition that aspects of language and

How Standardized Testing Reinforces Inequity

by dianerav

Paul Thomas of Furman University in South Carolina says it is time for Southerners to recognize that testing is a way of reinforcing inequity. Tests reflect socioeconomic conditions. The haves dominate the top half of the bell curve, the have-nots dominate the bottom half. And the tests legitimate their status. Tests measure inequality of opportunity. They don’t change it.

Teacher: I Support the Common Core Standards

by dianerav

A teacher wrote this comment in response to the ongoing debate about the value of the Common Core standards:
“I was one of those who was very leary of the push for non-fiction in high school, but through nearly three years of working with the Common Core in St. Paul, Minnesota, I have come to understand the importance of forcing non-fiction into English classrooms as well as forcing social studies and science teachers to teach literacy related to their content. While the ratios, as you pointed out, are hard to enforce, they play an important role in pushing teachers out of the same old content. No one who has worked with the Core literacy standards sees them as anti-intellectual. In fact, we see them as rigorous and designed to foster critical thinking. What I have come to 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Why Does TFA Need Nearly $1 Billion? by dianerav To be exact, why does TFA need $907 million? That is the amount that TFA raised from 2006-2010. EduShyster has TFA and Other People’s Children by dianerav Mark Naison, professor of African-American Studies at Fordham University, asks whether Teach for America leaders are the Robert McNamaras of this generation? Parents: How to Support Your Public Schools by dianerav The best group now organizing and mobilizing to strengthen public education is Parents Acro... more »

Allergies, extra weight tied to bullying - LA Daily News

Allergies, extra weight tied to bullying - LA Daily News:

Allergies, extra weight tied to bullying

By Genevra Pittman, Reuters Health

Posted:   12/26/2012 11:17:33 AM PST

Updated:   12/26/2012 03:21:37 PM PST

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE

Kids who have food allergies or are overweight may be especially likely to get bullied by... (Stock)

Kids who have food allergies or are overweight may be especially likely to get bullied by their peers, two new studies suggest.Not surprisingly, researchers also found targets of bullying were more distressed and anxious and had a worse quality of life, in general, than those who weren't picked on.
Bullying has become a concern among parents, doctors and school administrators since research and news stories emerged linking bullying - including online "cyberbullying" - with depression and even suicide.
"There has been a shift and people are more and more recognizing that bullying has real consequences, it's not just something to be making jokes about," said Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of general pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, who wrote a commentary published with the new research.
Studies suggest between one in ten and one in three of all kids and teens are bullied - but those figures may vary by location and demographics, researchers noted.
The new findings come from two studies published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
In one, Dr. Eyal Shemesh from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and his colleagues surveyed 251