MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

My News for 2013

by dianerav

Faithful readers of the blog may recall that I started a new book last June.
I am pleased to announce that it will be published next fall by Knopf, the finest publishing house in the United States.
The title is under wraps for now.
If you have been reading the blog, you know what it’s about.

EduShyster’s Predictions for 2013

by dianerav

EduShyster, that merry prankster of edu-reform offers her predictions for the New Year.
She says 2013 will be the year of the edupreneur. 
This is a new genus american us, the ultimate result of turning the public education system into an emerging market.

The Best of 2012

by dianerav

2012 was a year in which supporters of public education–parents, educators and concerned citizens–won some huge victories against the privatization movement.
Let’s begin with the elections of 2012.
Reform idol Tony Bennett was booted out by the voters of Indiana, who elected veteran educator Glenda Ritz as State Superintendent of Education.
Idaho was a great victory for supporters of public education. Idaho voters decisively repealed the Luna laws, which would have committed the state to spend $180 million for laptops while imposing merit pay, crushing the 

The Worst of 2012

by dianerav

December 14, 2012, will be engraved in our hearts and memories forever as a dark and terrible day in our national history.
It was a day when the unthinkable, the unimaginable, happened in Newtown, Connecticut.
It was a day when every parent’s worst nightmare became a reality.
It was a day when educators heroically defended their children, making the ultimate sacrifice.
It was a day we will never forget.
It was the worst day of 2012.

Diane in the Evening 12-31-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog Noa Rosinplotz Speaks for Herself! by dianerav Earlier today, I published an essay about testing (“The Voice of a Data-Point”) by a sixth-grade student, Noa Rosinplotz. Her story was so thoughtful and well-written that some commenters could not believe it was written by a sixth grade student. I emailed Noa and asked her to read the comments and respond. This is what she wrote: “This is Noa, original writer of the letter. I’m responding to all the comments that I’m not actually in sixth grade or that someone else wrote my letter for me. While my mom did read w... more »

"May the Force be with you"

The power of school music programs: Students come for the music and stay for the math | Get Schooled

The power of school music programs: Students come for the music and stay for the math | Get Schooled:

The power of school music programs: Students come for the music and stay for the math

by Maureen Downey

Melissa Walker, a professional jazz vocalist and president and founder of Jazz House Kids in Montclair, N.J., and Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at the University of Georgia, joined forces to write a piece on the benefits of music education.
Here is their essay:

By Melissa Walker and Peter Smagorinsky
Public schools, in general, have become incriminated in the public mind for having failed society. They must be re-envisioned, restructured, reassessed, and refinanced if they are to serve the public good, according to commentators ranging from folks waiting in line at the post office to governors and national policymakers. Given that schools provide the one common experience that all Americans have, it’s easy to blame them for anything that might follow from attendance, no matter how tenuous the connection. If something’s wrong with society, it must be a problem that schools and teachers are responsible for.
One approach to

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: New Year's resolution: Ban the term, 'fiscal cliff'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: New Year's resolution: Ban the term, 'fiscal cliff':

New Year's resolution: Ban the term, 'fiscal cliff'

by Mike Klonsky

"No matter what happens, let’s agree never again to call anything a 'fiscal cliff.'' -- Gail Collins

Here's where I was at as we headed into 2012. I'm still there as we head into 2013.

Last year on New Year's eve, Obama was busy signing a $662 billion Defense Bill, while at the same time,complaining about certain provisions that supposedly regulated the "detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists."

The news that we intoxicated masses received last night was that we're not going over the fabricated fiscal cliff. Once again, I was not fazed. Did anyone really believe that the Pentagon was going to take a $20 billion hit while the pols played back-room beat-the-clock with the nation's economy? Once again, the "herd of rabid ferrets", as Collins calls them, saved Obama from himself (giving away Social Security) by settling for a $450,000 tax-increase floor (at least for now). The deal fails to bring in enough 

solidaridad: Precinct Walking Kickoff Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board

solidaridad: Precinct Walking Kickoff Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board:

Precinct Walking Kickoff Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board

Join with Student, Teacher, Family, and Community volunteers in getting the word out about School Board candidate Robert D. Skeels. We’ll be walking neighborhoods, talking to voters, and distributing literature. Campaign T-Shirt, light refreshments, and volunteer training provided.

Saturday, January 5, 2013 @ 12:30PM

Cafe in the Heights

3510 N Broadway Lincoln Heights, CA 90031

( across from Lincoln High School | map: http://g.co/maps/3xh7a )

Únase a los Estudiantes, Maestros, Padres de familia y Comunidad en hacer correr la voz acerca de Robert D. Skeels, el candidato corriendo para la junta escolar LAUSD. Vamos a caminar por los vecindarios para hablar con los votantes y la distribuir volantes. A los voluntarios se proporcionará una camiseta de la campaña, refrescos, y formación (training).
교육위원 후보, 로버트 디 스킬즈(Robert D. Skeels) 의 선거운동을 위해 학생, 선생님, 가족 그리고 지역사회인들의 참여를 부탁드립니다. 우리는 함께 이웃을 방문하여 투표인들과 함께 이야기하며, 정보를 제공하는 선거캠페인을 할 것입니다. 티셔츠, 간단한 음식, 그리고 자원 봉사 교육등이 무료로 제공됩니다. 많은 관심과 참여를 바랍니다. 감사합니다.
Precinct Walking Kickoff Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board

I love you Seattle. Happy New Year! | Seattle Education

I love you Seattle. Happy New Year! | Seattle Education:

I love you Seattle. Happy New Year!

by seattleducation2011

Well, I did it… my very first video. This one, my love song for Seattle.

There was so much more that I wanted to show but it couldn’t fit in one video.

Happy New Year Seattle.

Dora Taylor

HAPPY NEW YEAR - All You Need is Love

Love, Love, Love.
Love, Love, Love.
Love, Love, Love.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love (All together, now!)
All you need is love. (Everybody!)
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need (love is all you need)
(love is all you need) (love is all you need) 
(love is all you need) Yesterday (love is all you need)
(love is all you need) (love is all you need)

Yee-hai!
Oh yeah!
love is all you need, love is all you need,love is all you need, love is all you need, oh yeah oh hell yea! love is all you need love is all you need love is all you need.

Ohhh, Sometimes, I Get A Good Feeling. [Get A Feeling That I Never Ever Ever Had Before, No] | The Jose Vilson

Ohhh, Sometimes, I Get A Good Feeling. [Get A Feeling That I Never Ever Ever Had Before, No] | The Jose Vilson:

Ohhh, Sometimes, I Get A Good Feeling. [Get A Feeling That I Never Ever Ever Had Before, No]

by Jose Vilson

On the first day of 2012, I waited for the birth of my son, Alejandro. We tried everything to hasten the process: long walks, hot spicy foods, and … well, I’d rather not say here. Just know that he knew his parents loved each other very much. I had already prepared my vocals for the long nights singing him to sleep, and my body for a serious lack of sleep. Yet, nothing would prepare me for Three Kings Day, the actual last day of Christmas. No frankincense, no gold, no myrrh. Just an Epiphany that I had to live for a whole ‘nother person. So I had to become a better me.
In the earlier winter, the funniest commercial (and possibly creepiest) of the year played while I changed my son’s poopy diaper (Eww. Seriously? So gross.) The New York Giants won the championship in front of his 

Wisconsin 2012. Blue cheddar memories. : blue cheddar

Wisconsin 2012. Blue cheddar memories. : blue cheddar:

Wisconsin 2012. Blue cheddar memories.

by bluecheddar

Wisconsin politics from the last two years may be like childbirth for you: necessary for life but please – spare the details. If you’re not too squeamish to reflect on the highlights and lowlights, then welcome to a very non-comprehensive retrospective on the dirt kicked up by GOP, Koch, and Walker Incorporated and kicked back by the hearty citizens of Wisconsin. There’s no shortage of political drama in the dairy state, and thankfully, there’s now an overabundance of bloggers ready to document it. So I’ll be spending more time on another cool Wisconsin project in the year to come. Watch this space for more details. Well wishes to you and yours in the new year. May your ice always clink, may your beer stay fresh and local, and may your fellow Badgers remain ever fierce. - blue cheddar January 2 Watch the Rose Parade Occupation Online Monday Jan 2nd There was a 70 ft. octopus at the end of the parade made of recycled plastic bags and carried aloft by at least 40 occupy activists. I was pretty stoked about it. January 4 Court orders Wisconsin GOP to come clean on redistricting documents A three judge panel ordered attorneys hired more »

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt...:

Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt crisis (by...

Popout

Scholarslip: A documentary about the student debt crisis (by JAT3productions)
Many Occupy Education followers make cameos in this film! Share with your networks! Important film!

Lincoln, Obama & The Importance Of Compromise | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Lincoln, Obama & The Importance Of Compromise | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Lincoln, Obama & The Importance Of Compromise

by Larry Ferlazzo

I’ve written a lot about the importance of being willing to compromise. In fact, you might be interested in my previous post, The Best Posts & Articles About Compromise.
My interest comes out of my nineteen year career as a community organizer prior to becoming a teacher, and you can find more information about that history and perspective in that “The Best…” list.
I’ve just returned from seeing the movie Lincoln, and — for me — the key moment was a conversation “Lincoln” had with the radical abolitionist “Thaddeus Stevens.” Lincoln is trying to make Stevens see that being ideologically pure can feel good, but won’t necessarily get you what you want. He talks about a compass he had that always showed him the “true north,” but didn’t tell him the swamps and obstacles that would be in his way to get there. In other words, you couldn’t always get to where you wanted to go in a straight line.
I’m not sure how much this story is rooted in fact, but it’s certainly a good illustration of effective community 

Wait, What? It’s December 31, 2012? - Wait, What?

Wait, What? It’s December 31, 2012? - Wait, What?:

Wait, What? It’s December 31, 2012?

by jonpelto

“Every New Year is the direct Descendant, isn’t it, of a long line of proven criminals? – Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

Maybe it is me, but I am never quite sure what Ogden Nash was referring to half the time.

That said, here we are; at the end to another year… and it’s time to post an observation (with apologies for any typos).

Following the unimaginable horror and despair that enveloped us the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, it remains difficult to know how to move forward, let alone look back on 2012.

The notion of “fiscal cliffs” and “deficit mitigation bills” seem almost minor in scale and yet 

Four Resolutions from Pedagogy of the Oppressed « Cooperative Catalyst

Four Resolutions from Pedagogy of the Oppressed « Cooperative Catalyst:

Four Resolutions from Pedagogy of the Oppressed

by robinclane

Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed has been on my book list for years, and I finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago. It is chock full of lessons for my teaching in 2013, and I thought I’d share four of the most important ones with you all.

ONE: Radical education takes place in communities, with students, not for them.

“Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.”
Teachers cannot hold themselves above their students in any way, nor think they have nothing to learn from the kids they spend their days with. We both have lots to learn and lots to teach. Any classroom must begin from that perspective. If we go into the classroom to be teachers, not learners, if we think of ourselves as the end-all-be-all of knowledge, we do nothing but embody paternalism and maintain oppression. We must be a community 

Continuing Change

Continuing Change:

One Florida Teacher Rants - End the Stupidity.

by gatorbonbc

 Reblogged from Continuing Change:

• 
• 
• 

Yep. I teach all year for Tuesday’s Florida FCAT Writes Test.
I have about 150 eighth graders and over 90 percent must pass
for my school to qualify for an A.

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire:

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video

by Alexander Abad-Santos

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:
Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak boiled down the biggest stories of 2012 into four minutes. And, yes, Honey Boo Boo made it in there:
Popout
So, raise your hand if you knew Patrick Stewart and company were having this much fun behind the scenes at Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Presidential Proclamation -- 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation | The White House

Presidential Proclamation -- 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation | The White House:

Presidential Proclamation -- 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

I'm Lovin' It

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On December 31, 1862, our Nation marked the end of another year of civil war. At Shiloh and Seven Pines, Harpers Ferry and Antietam, brother had fought against brother. Sister had fought against sister. Blood and bitterness had deepened the divide that separated North from South, eroding the bonds of affection that once united 34 States under a single flag. Slavery still suspended the possibility of an America where life and liberty were the birthright of all, not the province of some.

Yet, even in those dark days, light persisted. Hope endured. As the weariness of an old year gave way to the promise of a new one, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation -- courageously declaring that on January 1, 1863, "all persons held as slaves" in rebellious areas "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." He opened the Union Army and Navy to African Americans, giving new strength to liberty's cause. And with that document, President Lincoln lent new moral force to the war by making it a fight not just to preserve, but also to empower. He sought to reunite our people not only in government, but also in freedom that knew no bounds of color or creed. Every battle became a battle for liberty itself. Every struggle became a struggle for equality.

Our 16th President also understood that while each of us is entitled to our individual rights and responsibilities, there are certain things we cannot accomplish on our own. Only a Union could serve the hopes of every citizen, knocking down the barriers to opportunity and giving each of us the chance to pursue our highest aspirations. He knew that in these United States, no dream could ever be beyond our reach when we affirm that individual liberty is served, not negated, by seeking the common good.

It is that spirit that made emancipation possible and codified it in our Constitution. It is that belief in what we can do together that moved millions to march for justice in the years that followed. And today, it is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to make our own. Let us begin this new year by renewing our bonds to one another and reinvesting in the work that lies ahead, confident that we can keep driving freedom's progress in our time.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 1, 2013, as the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and reaffirm the timeless principles it upheld.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA