James Baldwin said it best:
"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."
A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP
NYC Public School Parents: The Cathie Black Fiasco: Lessons for Confronting Entrenched Power
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 31 minutes ago
NYC Public School Parents: The Cathie Black Fiasco: Lessons for Confronting Entrenched Power: The Cathie Black Fiasco: Lessons for Confronting Entrenched Power from NYC Public School Parents by Leonie Haimson *She's BA-A-A-ACK!* *Just Visiting* Nearly 3 years have passed since that quiet afternoon in November 2010 when I glanced at my phone to see the newsflash: *SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR JOEL KLEIN STEPPING DOWN. BLOOMBERG TO APPOINT CATHLEEN P. BLACK, HEARST MAGAZINE, AS REPLACEMENT* The news is always presented so matter-of-factly, so unemotionally. The effect is predictable and com...more »
NYC Educator: The SBO--Make Them an Offer They Can Easily Refuse
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 51 minutes ago
NYC Educator: The SBO--Make Them an Offer They Can Easily Refuse: The SBO--Make Them an Offer They Can Easily Refuse by NYC Educator Last week, Ms. Teacher went to work, and noticed there was a ballot box in the check-in room. She had no idea there was going to be a vote, and neither did any of her colleagues. But there it was, and she was handed a ballot. There was an SBO, a proposal to increase the school day, already six hours and fifty minutes, by 37 minutes Monday to Thursday. Ms. Teacher saw nothing about getting paid for the extra time. Then she heard some of her colleagues... more »
Recognizing Exemplary Schools - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Recognizing Exemplary Schools - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Establishes Two New Areas for Recognizing Exemplary Schools SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today recognized 19 public schools, which are also 2013 Distinguished Schools, with two new state Exemplary Program Awards for their successful and innovative efforts to promote either the arts or physical activity and nutrition. 'If we want our students to succeed inside and outside the classroom, they need an education that takes the ‘whole child' into ... more »
Pedagogy vs. Andragog | My Island View
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Pedagogy vs. Andragog | My Island View: Pedagogy vs. Andragog by tomwhitby Over this last year I have been fortunate to have been sent to many education conferences on behalf of SmartBrief in pursuit of content and guest bloggers for *SmartBlog on Education*. It is a dream job for a retired educator and an education blogger. The intent is to always keep the educator’s voice on SmartBlog authentic and relevant. In that capacity, I have attended and conducted a multitude of workshops on various education topics. Since I am no longer in the classroom, and have no need to apply what... more »
Meet the 2013 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductees | NEA Today
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Meet the 2013 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductees | NEA Today: Meet the 2013 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductees by twalker *By Helen Yoshida* On June 14th, five teachers hailing from Maryland, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma will be inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame (NTHF). These members of the Class of 2013 were guests at the Department of Education on Friday, where they met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to discuss educational issues they face in their schools. Following the meeting they were honored at the National Education Association headqua... more »
Parents Across America Update | Seattle Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Parents Across America Update | Seattle Education: Parents Across America Update by seattleducation2011 [image: paa_logo] *Parents Across America Action News May 2, 2013* Welcome to PAA Action News, the information and action newsletter of *Parents Across America*. *PAA Action Alert* *[image: alert-icon-red-md]Help a student speak out against using tests to evaluate teachers* Here’s a quick action for the week: Please sign this *petition *posted by Miami University of Ohio student Aaron Shafer. Aaron explains: “Standardized tests are not a sound or fair way to evaluate teachers. T... more »
Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education Executive Director Wendy Katten walked the distance between Earl Elementary and Goodlow Elementary Magnet School in Chicago. Earl is being closed, and its students will be sent to Goodlow where the staff is being replaced by the Earl staff. | Fred Klonsky
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education Executive Director Wendy Katten walked the distance between Earl Elementary and Goodlow Elementary Magnet School in Chicago. Earl is being closed, and its students will be sent to Goodlow where the staff is being replaced by the Earl staff. | Fred Klonsky: Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education Executive Director Wendy Katten walked the distance between Earl Elementary and Goodlow Elementary Magnet School in Chicago. Earl is being closed, and its students will be sent to Goodlow where the staff is being replaced by the Earl staf...more »
Steve Cohen: From Closing the Achievement Gap to Closing the Opportunity Gap - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Steve Cohen: From Closing the Achievement Gap to Closing the Opportunity Gap - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Steve Cohen: From Closing the Achievement Gap to Closing the Opportunity Gap by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Steve Cohen.* On Monday, when teachers headed back to classrooms, 15,000 other educators descended on San Francisco's upscale Union Square hotels for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting. Feeling a tad overwhelmed by 2,400 sessions, I braved my way to the Westin St. Francis where an audience of about 250 gathered for a sess... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Computerized Testing Disaster Preview
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Computerized Testing Disaster Preview: Computerized Testing Disaster Preview by Duke It's going to be so feakin' awesome when we finally get all the kids taking all those Common Core and PARCC and state-level standardized tests on computers! Because - *considering they must all take them at the same time* - what could possibly go wrong? *School testing came to a halt statewide early Monday because the CTB/McGraw-Hill testing company servers in New Jersey crashed* around 9 a.m., state education officials said. In the last week of Oklahoma's April testing window, ... more »
Questions about the questions on new Common Core tests
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Questions about the questions on new Common Core tests: Questions about the questions on new Common Core tests Posted by Valerie Strauss on May 3, 2013 at 2:28 pm [image: question-mark]New York state students in several grades recently took new high-stakes accountability tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards (even though there is not yet a Core curriculum in New York schools), and a number of educators who saw the test reported problems with some of the questions. Some questions, they said, appeared to have more than one correct answer and no single obviously correct one;... more »
Ed Notes Online: Randi's "Mid-Course" Babble on Common Core: Who's doing more harm to public education, Glenn Beck or Randi Weingarten?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: Randi's "Mid-Course" Babble on Common Core: Who's doing more harm to public education, Glenn Beck or Randi Weingarten?: Randi's "Mid-Course" Babble on Common Core: Who's doing more harm to public education, Glenn Beck or Randi Weingarten? by ed notes online *Can we call for a moratorium on Randi Weingarten? -- Fred Smith* Susan Ohanian asked that intriguing question about Glenn Beck and Randi in the headline. The amount of damage Randi's AFT/UFT capitulation has done to public education is exposed as parents and teachers reacted to Weingarten's worthless words to ... more »
Follow up Question Guide for Ed Writers (on Teacher Evaluation) | School Finance 101
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Follow up Question Guide for Ed Writers (on Teacher Evaluation) | School Finance 101: Follow up Question Guide for Ed Writers (on Teacher Evaluation) by schoolfinance101 I was reviewing the past few days of news coverage on NJ teacher evaluations and came across the following quote, which was not-so-amazingly left unchallenged: Cerf said research shows test scores are “far and away” the best gauge of teacher effectiveness, and to not use test score data would be “very anti-child.” http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/state_board_of_education_adjus.html Here’s a reporters’ gu... more »
NPE Friends & Allies | The Network For Public Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
NPE Friends & Allies | The Network For Public Education: [image: The Network For Public Education -] NPE FRIENDS & ALLIES MAY 3, 2013 ------------------------------ Uncategorized **admin **0Comments ** ------------------------------ View NPE Friends & Allies in a full screen map Share this: - Facebook - Twitter - Google +1 - Reddit - Tumblr - Email - Print - Tagged with:
Diane in the Evening 5-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Will Common Core Make Kids Smarter? by dianerav Arthur Goldstein teaches high school in Queens, New York. Many of his students are English language learners. He blogs at NYC Educator. His blog is one of the best in the nation. He wrote the following for readers of this blog: How Smart Will Common Core Make Our Kids? Judging from the editorials in the papers, you’d think Common Core was the best thing since sliced bread. Actually, sliced bread is highly overrated, as anyone with fresh artisan bread and a good kn... more »
Louisiana Educator: Democracy Works!
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Democracy Works!: Democracy Works! by Michael Deshotels We live in a representative democracy. This means that while we do not get to vote on each individual law or regulation, we elect persons to represent us in making important laws and policies. Part of the process is the need for citizens to communicate with those elected representatives and tell them how we want them to vote.*Finally* *this communication part of the system seems to be working much better this year than it did last year for educators.* *HB 57* would have forced current educators to pay an... more »
How Parent Trigger Opponents Claimed #ParentEmpowerment As Their Own | StateImpact Florida
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
How Parent Trigger Opponents Claimed #ParentEmpowerment As Their Own | StateImpact Florida: How Parent Trigger Opponents Claimed #ParentEmpowerment As Their Own MAY 3, 2013 | 10:45 AMBY JOHN O'CONNOR - Comment - Email - - @GATORBONBC / TWITTER Just over 24 hours ago, the Tallahassee-based Foundation for Florida’s Future sent out an email asking parent trigger backers to tweet their support. The bill died in the Florida Senate earlier this week on a 20-20 tie vote — for the second year in a row. The bill would allow parents at schools earning a failing grade... more »
Breaking: Williams elementary and middle school students and parents hold sit-in this morning. No school closings. | Fred Klonsky
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Breaking: Williams elementary and middle school students and parents hold sit-in this morning. No school closings. | Fred Klonsky: Breaking: Williams elementary and middle school students and parents hold sit-in this morning. No school closings. by Fred Klonsky [image: 247144_442637495825964_656055087_n] BREAKING NEWS: Williams Elementary, Chicago — Middle School students, parents hold sit-in demonstration to protest school closing OccupyCPS facebook.com/occupyCPS @occupyCPS #occupycps Twitter hashtag: #WilliamsProtest Press contact: Jitu Brown, Greg Goodman At Williams Elementary, M...more »
Mother Crusader: How Do Education Foundations in New Jersey's Top Towns Stack Up To Billionaire Philanthropy? Not So Well.
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Mother Crusader: How Do Education Foundations in New Jersey's Top Towns Stack Up To Billionaire Philanthropy? Not So Well.: How Do Education Foundations in New Jersey's Top Towns Stack Up To Billionaire Philanthropy? Not So Well. by darciecima A comment I received on my post Hebrew Charters Hit The Broadway Stage kind of irked me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good debate, and have no problem being challenged. In fact, I welcome it. I just wish anonymous commenters that take the time to do some research and go toe to toe with me would let me know who I have the pleasure of debat... more »
UNO scandal #5: Firing whistleblower for exposing student sexual assault Parents United for Responsible Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » UNO scandal #5: Firing whistleblower for exposing student sexual assault: UNO scandal #5: Firing whistleblower for exposing student sexual assault by admin This one isn’t remotely humorous.[image: justice] Press release *** For Immediate Release May 3, 2013 Contact: Elaine K. B. Siegel, David Corral – 312-583-9970 *Teacher lawsuit v UNO Charter Inc to proceed* *Whistleblower exposed unsafe UNO policies that led to locker room sexual assault* Chicago, IL – In what amounts to a David v Goliath victory, the United States District ... more »
This Week In Education: Thompson: Diane Ravitch Is an Engaged and Bilingual Writer
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
This Week In Education: Thompson: Diane Ravitch Is an Engaged and Bilingual Writer: Thompson: Diane Ravitch Is an Engaged and Bilingual Writer by john thompson [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] I agree and disagree with Alexander’s take on David Brook’s New York Times’ Op Ed,Engaged, or Detached? Brooks argues that today we mostly have engaged writers who are less concerned about persuasion than mobilizing people who already agree with them. Engaged writers can be repetitive as they seek immediate political influence. A detached writer, however, is more like a ... more »
UPDATE: Kentucky’s Common Core Testing Program Hits Major Snag | Truth in American Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Kentucky’s Common Core Testing Program Hits Major Snag | Truth in American Education: Local School Board in Georgia Votes Down Buying Common Core Math Books by Shane Vander Hart This is interesting. From *The Marietta Daily Journal*: State Schools Superintendent John Barge is coming to Cobb County on Saturday to address concerns about the controversial Common Core standards. The announcement of Barge’s visit to Cobb comes on the heels of a 4-3 vote by the Cobb Board of Education last week to reject the purchase of $7.5 million in math textbooks aligned with Common Core. This reject... more »
Jake Frackson – How to be Ecstatic about Rejection Student Voice
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Student Voice: Jake Frackson – How to be Ecstatic about Rejection by Editor Admin That attempted sensitivity in the apology. That choking sound of nonacceptance. That guttural contraction of rejection. When a rejection letter is received, it’s never initially a calculated and reasoned response; more accurately, it’s a longing for ecstasy. Ecstasy, in this context, meaning its intended definition: an out of body experience. It’s flight in its purest form. When people are faced with things that appear subjectively insurmountable, they turn away — away from the rejection, and away f... more »
Market-Oriented Reforms Really Don’t Work. What Should We Do Instead? | Edwize
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Market-Oriented Reforms Really Don’t Work. What Should We Do Instead? | Edwize: Market-Oriented Reforms Really Don’t Work. What Should We Do Instead? by Elaine Weiss *[Editor's note: Guest blogger Elaine Weiss is the national coordinator of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education.]* [image: Elaine Weiss]As many of us have long suspected, the impacts of popular market-oriented reforms are not as positive as their proponents would have us believe. Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee, and then-CEO and now-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who ran the school systems in New York, Washington, ... more »
UPDATE: Girls and Women - Our Country Needs You Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread: Free Comic Book Day on Saturday by Melissa Westbrook In case you didn't know. From the Slog: If you don't know the routine: You can stop by any participating comic book store (Seattle has quite a few of them) and pick up some comics, for the low cost of absolutely nothing. And tomorrow's free comic book day is a special one, because *Seattle's newest comic book store will be opening *for business on Capitol Hill for the very first time at 10 am. Yesterday, I stopped by Phoenix Comics for a quick chat with owner Nick Nazar. The ... more »
Your Address, as Get-Into-School Card - NYTimes.com
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Your Address, as Get-Into-School Card - NYTimes.com: Your Address, as Get-Into-School Card by By MICHELLE HIGGINS Kelly Bare and her husband, Jonathan Cohen, live on the border of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with Lizzie, 2, and Drew, 5. They are delighted with Public School 705. Moving to a particular neighborhood in order to land a seat at a coveted public school has long been the middle-class modus operandi for obtaining a high-quality education in New York, where placement in many elementary schools is determined by home address. But navigating school zones has become much trick... more »
Rich Boyz 4 Reform | EduShyster
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Rich Boyz 4 Reform | EduShyster: Rich Boyz 4 Reform by edushyster2012 In their first official foray into Massachusetts politics, DFER spent big but came up short. Say you’re a young man who is all about *crushing* the achievement gap and you just happen to have a cool$20K of daddy’s money to plunk down in order to influence an important local election. But who do you support? Do you go with the first-generation Haitian-American who would be the first minority OR woman to represent a part of Boston still scarred from the busing wars of the 1970′s? Or do you go big and bold, backing ... more »
Take it from parents; teenagers are people, not data points - Wait, What?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Take it from parents; teenagers are people, not data points - Wait, What?: Take it from parents; teenagers are people, not data points by jonpelto *(A Blog Post by Wendy Lecker, Sarah Darer Littman and Jonathan Pelto)* Ask any parent, high school student or teacher- 11th grade is hell. Aside from the heavy course-load, juniors have to suffer through a litany of standardized tests- and these count: SATs, SAT subject tests, ACTs, APs. Could anyone make junior year any worse? Why yes! Thank President Obama, Secretary Duncan, Governor Malloy, Commissioner Pryor, the State Board of Educ... more »
Reformers: Stop accusing critics of wanting to ‘defend the status quo’
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Reformers: Stop accusing critics of wanting to ‘defend the status quo’: Reformers: Stop accusing critics of wanting to ‘defend the status quo’ by Valerie Strauss [image: (By Scott Olson/Getty Images)] (By Scott Olson/Getty Images) It’s rare to hear a school reformer speak these days without accusing someone of resisting change because they want to “defend the status quo.” No critic of school reform that I know is an actual status quo defender, but that doesn’t ever seem to matter. In this post veteran California teacher David B. Cohen makes the case that it is time — right now — to ... more »
Focusing on Equity and Excellence: The Finnish Experience — Whole Child Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Focusing on Equity and Excellence: The Finnish Experience — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Whole Child Virtual Conference]Focusing on Equity and Excellence: The Finnish Experience May 3, 2013 by Whole Child Virtual Conference [image: Whole Child Virtual Conference - 2013] *ASCD's third annual Whole Child Virtual Conference is a free, online event that provides a forum and tools for schools and districts working toward sustainability and changing school cultures to serve the whole child. Built on the theme, "Moving from Implementation to Sustainability to Culture... more »
UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, May 3, 2013
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Modern School: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown* Education Headlines *Friday, May 3, 2013* Santa Paula school board picks office, meeting locationSanta Paula Unified School District board members moved forward Thursday with plans to convert the current elementary school district office into the unified school district office and also voted to move their meeting location. Group targets some on CVU school boardA group of disgruntled parents and taxpayers will attempt to recall some members of the Coachella Valley Unified school ... more »
Modern School: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Modern School: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown by Michael Dunn The Los Angeles Times is referring to California Governor Jerry Brown as a “Robin Hood” for his plan to redistribute resources from “wealthy” suburban school districts to their poorer urban cousins. Brown has characterized himself as a civil rights hero since the poor urban districts serve predominantly low income communities of color, suggesting that inequitable school funding is the primary cause of the achievement gap. Both the Times and Brown are delusional. Robin Hood robbed ... more »
Parents! Students! Educators! Community Folks! Let's Start to Build the Alternative to Mayoral Control and Privatization of our Public Schools.
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: *Parents! Students! Educators! Community Folks! * *Let's Start to Build the Alternative to Mayoral Control and Privatization of our Public Schools. * *Remember: Mayoral Control Sunsets in June 2015. The NY State legislators can either vote to renew Mayoral Control or vote for a better alternative like the People's Board of Education.* * The Coalition for Public Education invites you, your family and friends to come to our first in a series of public forums where we hear from you about what YOU envision a great publ... more »
UPDATE: Missouri Education Watchdog: The Delphi Technique Did Not Work at the Lindbergh DESE Meeting. People Were "Mad As Hell and They Were Not Going to Take This Anymore".
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: The Delphi Technique Did Not Work at the Lindbergh DESE Meeting. People Were "Mad As Hell and They Were Not Going to Take This Anymore".: STL Today Article on DESE Common Core Meeting at Lindbergh School District by stlgretchen From stltoday and *Critics question Common Core education standards at St. Louis County meeting:* It didn’t take long for the crowd packed into a Lindbergh School District meeting room Thursday to become irritated with the woman giving them an overview of the Common Core Standards. Maureen Clancy-May, an area supervisor with Mi... more »
Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center: The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy Best of the Ed Blogs Diane Ravitch May 3, 2013 Best of the Ed Blogs *Best of the Ed Blogs* features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make *Best of the Ed Blogs* your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics. The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy Best of the Ed Blogs Diane Ravi... more »
Education “writers” are kind of annoying, or no? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Education “writers” are kind of annoying, or no? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Education “writers” are kind of annoying, or no? by Chalk Face, PhD I read a fluff piece on the Common Core at Inside Higher Ed. Pretty basic, hits most key players. I checked the author, just a 2009 journalism graduate. She quotes significantly folks from PARCC, SBAC, and other supporters. Mentions a lot about teacher preparation, but no one actually FROM teacher preparation. This has been an issue I’ve had for a while with so-called “Education Writers.”There’s actually a group of them, bu... more »
MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Spread the Word by dianerav The public has been sold a bill of goods about what is needed to improve our schools. We see misinformation on television. We hear it from our leaders in both parties. It is hard to explain the real issues in our schools when the media bombards the public with the corporate reform narrative. Once in a while, some insightful journalist breaks through the media blanket. Here is some good news: I just came across an article posted a whil... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: School closings: What's $122 million among friends?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: School closings: What's $122 million among friends?: School closings: What's $122 million among friends? by Mike Klonsky Wait! I thought closing 54 schools, mainly in Chicago black community was supposed to save CPS $560 million in "avoided costs" over 10 years (the figure they gave ABC News was $600 million).Of course, I never believed any of that. But that's because I never believe anything coming from Rahm's liar-in-chief, *Becky Carroll *or school-closing 'crat* Todd Babbitz. *They were born to lie.* * But now, WBEZ has given me one more reason... more »
Bill aims to help expelled and truant students get back on track | EdSource Today
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Bill aims to help expelled and truant students get back on track | EdSource Today: Bill aims to help expelled and truant students get back on track - by Susan Frey by Susan Frey The purpose of a complicated bill aimed at preventing students from languishing in alternative schools became much clearer after the testimony of a former student who got stuck in one. Jessie Camargo, now 18, was transferred to a community school two weeks before his eighth grade graduation. That summer he completed all the requirements set by his district, which included drug and alcohol counseling clas... more »
“We’re Number Umpteenth!”: The myth of lagging U.S. schools
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
“We’re Number Umpteenth!”: The myth of lagging U.S. schools: “We’re Number Umpteenth!”: The myth of lagging U.S. schools Posted by Valerie Strauss on May 3, 2013 at 6:00 am 1 Comments More [image: map1]How many times have you heard about how lousy American students perform on international assessments in comparison to their counterparts in other countries? Here to talk about why the comparisons are nonsense is Alfie Kohn, the author of 12 books about education and human behavior, including “The Schools Our Children Deserve,” “The Homework Myth,” and “Feel-Bad Education… And Other Co... more »
Are There Lessons from the History of School Reform? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Are There Lessons from the History of School Reform? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Are There Lessons from the History of School Reform? by larrycuban For some people, history lessons are clear. [image: images-4] For some, history lessons are ambiguous. [image: images-1] For some, history lessons are depressing. [image: images-3] These cartoons capture differences among historians and teachers over whether or not there are lessons for decision-makers seeking solutions to pressing problems. No clear lessons, however, can be drawn from the past because then and n... more »
UPDATE: The in box + Three Day March for Education Justice in Chicago + A word Rep Kelly Cassidy + Hall of fame and shame. | Fred Klonsky
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Hall of fame and shame. | Fred Klonsky: Breaking: Lincoln Park High School students walk out in support of fired teacher. by Fred Klonsky [image: 914037_10152421816197316_1877407231_o] *Student walkout this morning. Photo: Elly Greenspahn.* Ben Joravsky’s column in this week’s Chicago Reader. The in box. “Mr. Ritter. I’ve have not been dining on paint chips. Have you?” by Fred Klonsky *This comment is in reply to a column by Scott Reeder on May 1 of the Joliet Herald News on pension obligations. * Around 1939, pension plans were started for state workers, public school teachers, ... more »
Grading the teachers’ teachers | Hechinger Report
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Grading the teachers’ teachers | Hechinger Report: Grading the teachers’ teachers By Sarah Carr Gerald Carlson’s heart sank when he received word several years ago that a controversial statistical analysis had decreed his program one of Louisiana’s weakest in preparing educators to teach English language arts. “We thought we had a good program,” said Carlson, dean of the education school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “We were shocked when we saw the results.” Carlson has since worked with his staff to revamp the school’s curriculum: adding a new class in reading and E... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: A calm, rational discussion of Advanced Learning
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: A calm, rational discussion of Advanced Learning: A calm, rational discussion of Advanced Learning by Charlie Mas Let's try this one more time. Let's not devolve into a shouting match. Let's not extrapolate the small sample of our personal experience and presume it is representative of the whole. Let's not talk about other people's children or get personal in any way. Instead, let's consider two questions and discuss them just as calmly and rationally as we can. Question #1: Does the District need to develop a plan to address the academic need... more »
California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance | EdSource Today
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance | EdSource Today: California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald Michael Fullan may be coming soon to a school district near you. The man credited with transforming the Canadian province of Ontario into one of the world’s most effective school systems is ready to help California do the same. Fullan, though, would lead the state in a sharply different direction from the forced march that federal officials in Washington, D.C., have led over the past decade. [image: Michae... more »
US DOJ presses WI to stop voucher school discrimination against students with disabilities : blue cheddar
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
US DOJ presses WI to stop voucher school discrimination against students with disabilities : blue cheddar: US DOJ presses WI to stop voucher school discrimination against students with disabilities May 3, 2013 By bluecheddar Good news: The DOJ sent a letter to Wisconsin’s DPI ordering enforcement of Title II of the American Disabilities Act of 1990. This letter was prompted by a 2011 complaint from the ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin, and Disability Rights Wisconsin. From an ACLU statement: “Wisconsin has the oldest school voucher program in the country and the Milwaukee program s... more »
San Diego students suspended for making 'twerking' video - San Jose Mercury News
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
San Diego students suspended for making 'twerking' video - San Jose Mercury News: San Diego students suspended for making 'twerking' video Associated Press Posted: 05/02/2013 09:13:43 AM PDT Updated: 05/02/2013 09:13:50 AM PDT SAN DIEGO -- Dozens of students at a San Diego high school have been suspended for making a suggestive "twerking" dance video. U-T San Diego (http://bit.ly/11YKwvH ) reports the students from Scripps Ranch High School might not be able to attend prom or walk during commencement ceremonies. School board member Kevin Beiser says he was told that 31 st... more »
UPDATE: More Enlightened than Duncan + Would you sign this? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Would you sign this? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Tupac Shakur, 17, More Enlightened than Duncan MAY 3, 2013 BY PLTHOMASEDD LEAVE A COMMENT Thanks to Stephanie Rivera for posting; see some of the video below in transcript HERE. Tell it on the mountain: - Would you sign this? by Chris Cerrone [image: Screen shot 2013-05-02 at 8.18.15 PM] Teachers and administrators across New York State were told to sign this “Confidentiality Agreement” before scoring the recent ELA and Math State Assessments. Are the exams that are used to judge students, teachers, and schoo... more »
PAA AustinTX leader helps expose Parent Revolution fingerprints | Parents Across America
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
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PAA AustinTX leader helps expose Parent Revolution fingerprints | Parents Across America: PAA AustinTX leader helps expose Parent Revolution fingerprints by pureparents Lorie Barzano reports on an incident at the Texas House of Representatives: Ready for a good laugh folks? We don’t often get chances to laugh like this in our struggle…So yesterday I headed to the Capitol to testify against a “Trigger” bill in a House hearing. The bill is sponsored in the TX House by Representative Naomi Gonzalez. During my testimony, I made several good points about sham of trigger laws and the we... more »
Senators' Silence Dooms Teacher Evaluation Bill - LA School Report
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Senators' Silence Dooms Teacher Evaluation Bill - LA School Report: Senators’ Silence Dooms Teacher Evaluation Bill by Samantha Oltman [image: Get Adobe Flash player] To the surprise of almost no one, a bill that sought to make changes to California rules on how to evaluate teachers failed to pass the Senate Committee on Education during its second-chance hearing Wednesday. What was particularly notable about the bill’s failure was the absence of the majority of the Committee’s members during the hearing and the vote. Last week, the members had deadlocked 4-4 on the legislation, d... more »
Lorie Barzano’s testimony in Texas on parent trigger | Parents Across America
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Lorie Barzano’s testimony in Texas on parent trigger | Parents Across America: Lorie Barzano’s testimony in Texas on parent trigger by pureparents TX House Public Education Committee Hearing Public Testimony of Lorie Barzano Good afternoon/Evening, Committee members, guests. My name is Lorie Barzano, a public school parent, taxpayer and Chair of the Coalition to Strengthen Austin Urban Schools (SAUS), a local affiliate of Parents Across America. We are a parent led group committed to quality, accessible Public Education for all children. As parents, we actively work to support o... more »
BESE President Chas Roemer Knows Nothing. | deutsch29
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
BESE President Chas Roemer Knows Nothing. | deutsch29: BESE President Chas Roemer Knows Nothing. by deutsch29 It amazes me how many high-profile reformers know nothing regarding the deceptions occurring during their well-fed tenures. Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall supposedly knew nothing of the incredible cheating for which she has recently been indicted. Former DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee is innocent of any involvement in systematic test score erasures in DC’s schools, an issue that simply will not go away. And, though a lesser player than Hall and Rhee, Louisiana BESE Pre...more »
UPDATE: $20 a month Social Security? + The shame of Illinois House Representative | Fred Klonsky
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The shame of Illinois House Representative Robyn Gabel. | Fred Klonsky: $20 a month Social Security? “I’m stunned.” by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *I’m concerned when I read the following: “By the way, even though I paid into Social Security for 25 years before I began teaching, my Social Security benefit will be $20 a month.”* *What? How can that possibly be? I’m not questioning your veracity and I’m most definitely in strong agreement with your viewpoints. But I’m incredulous that this could really be accurate.* *How do you work at a job for 25 years and only receive $20 per month in So... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Cerf and NJDOE: In Way Over Their Heads
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Jersey Jazzman: Cerf and NJDOE: In Way Over Their Heads: Cerf and NJDOE: In Way Over Their Heads by Duke I'm searching around for a word that best describes my reaction to the latest bit of cant from NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf; my best response is "pathetic": After first proposing that scores would amount to 35 percent of a performance evaluation for math and language arts teachers in grades 4-8, *Cerf yesterday said that total would be trimmed to 30 percent for next year*. In addition, he said only the scores of students who had been enrolled with a given teacher 70 pe... more »
The Search for Gold | Deborah Meier on Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
The Search for Gold | Deborah Meier on Education: The Search for Gold by debmeier Dear friends, Perhaps it’s a good thing that we keep looking for someone, somewhere who has created the utopia we’e dreaming about. In my lifetime I’ve lived through a number of grandiose claims: Russian communism (for some Fascism), various third world utopias, then Cuba, and of course, China. And many in-between. Ditto for schools. We keep reinventing “success” rather than exploring the history of our past successes. Instead we let them die for lack of support whenever a new fad rolls in. Even th... more »
Tweet That: Bush’s Foundation Not Giving Up On Parent Trigger Bill | StateImpact Florida
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Tweet That: Bush’s Foundation Not Giving Up On Parent Trigger Bill | StateImpact Florida: Tweet That: Bush’s Foundation Not Giving Up On Parent Trigger Bill MAY 2, 2013 | 12:47 PMBY GINA JORDAN - Comment - Email - - FOUNDATION FOR FLORIDA'S FUTURE The Foundation for Florida's Future is out with a new video after the defeat of the parent trigger bill. A provision of the bill lives on after it was added to another piece of legislation. The Foundation for Florida’s Future isn’t giving up on the parent trigger bill. They’re asking people to announce their suppo... more »
Diane in the Evening 5-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Cathie Black Emails by dianerav For the past two years plus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg fought legal battles to try to avoid releasing a series of emails written about the time that he named publisher Cathie Black as chancellor of the New York City public schools. The mayor finally lost in court, and the emails were released. They are surprisingly banal. There is no bombshell, no smoking gun. Just a frenzied PR campaign to figure out how to build the appearance of public support for a person who had no qualific... more »
But opting out of testing is the wrong choice. By taking individual stands against testing, parents are reinforcing the corrosive belief that education is a consumer product. And they're making it easier for opponents to turn more citizens against their local schools.
initiative are increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables; increasing access to fresh, free drinking water; and increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity.