Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Wayne Au: Coring Social Studies within Corporate Education Reform
“Teachers could stop #CommonCore tomorrow—if they joined hands and said ‘Hell, No!’ The alternative is loss of profession—and soul.” — Susan Ohanian A local university professor I’m friends with through The Association of Raza Educators (ARE) wrote me yesterday with the following message: Hi Robert, I hope you are well… You might be familiar with […]
Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing
After months of protest, teachers, students and parents in Seattle, Washington, have won their campaign to reject standardized tests in reading and math. In January, teachers at Garfield High School began a boycott of the test, saying it was wasteful and being used unfairly to assess their performance. The boycott spread to other schools, with hundreds of teachers, students and parents participating. Last week, the school district backed down, announcing that the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP test, is now optional for high schools, but those refusing the test must find another way to gauge student performance. We speak with Jesse Hagopian, a high school history teacher and union representative at Garfield High School.
HB 2824: How is it fair for some schools to be part of Texas’ accountability system, but not others?
GOP Rep. Bennett Ratliff’s proposal would create a hole in the system that would be very hard to patch over in two years. In fact, … [visit site to read more]
Education Department gives 3 more states waivers
Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced on Monday that three more states would join the ranks of those given permission to ignore parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law in favor of their own school improvement plans.
Alabama Gov. Questions School Choice Bill He Signed, Seeks Delay, Fails
Just over two months ago, I wrote about a heavyweight fight in Alabama over a tax-credit scholarship plan that supporters said would provide new opportunities for students in struggling schools, but opponents said would do broad damage to the state's public schools. It was only passed using cloak-and-dagger tactics. Students in schools rated D or F or in a federal turnaround program will be eligible for public- or private- school choice, along with those at schools with particularly poor test scores. The state set a cap of $25 million in tax credits made available for businesses and individuals wishing to provide scholarships. At the time of the political furor over the legislation, called the Alabama Accountability Act, Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, expressed support for the
Gym class reduces probability of obesity
Little is known about the effect of physical education (PE) on child weight, but a new study from Cornell University finds that increasing the amount of time that elementary schoolchildren spent in gym class reduces the probability of obesity.
The study represents some of the first evidence of a causal effect of PE on youth obesity, and is forthcoming in
Wayne Au: Coring Social Studies within Corporate Education Reform
First published on @TCFKSM on May 20, 2013
"Teachers could stop #CommonCore tomorrow—if they joined hands and said 'Hell, No!' The alternative is loss of profession—and soul." — Susan OhanianA local university professor I'm friends with through The Association of Raza Educators (ARE) wrote me yesterday with the following message:
"Teachers could stop #CommonCore tomorrow—if they joined hands and said 'Hell, No!' The alternative is loss of profession—and soul." — Susan OhanianA local university professor I'm friends with through The Association of Raza Educators (ARE) wrote me yesterday with the following message:
Hi Robert,
I hope you are well... You might be familiar with the work of Wayne Au. He has developed solid
Celebrating the National Language Teacher of the Year and Foreign Language Partnerships
As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, Secretary Arne Duncan recognized Mr. Noah Geisel as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) National Language Teacher of the Year. Mr. Geisel, a Spanish teacher at East High School in Denver, said his enthusiasm for teaching Spanish “comes from my love of language and culture, and belief that language learning and understanding of cultures are essential to my students’ futures.”
Secretary Duncan and Noah Geisel, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
One in ten teens using “study drugs,” but parents aren't paying attention
As high schoolers prepare for final exams, teens nationwide may be tempted to use a “study drug” – a prescription stimulant or amphetamine – to gain an academic edge. But a new University of Michigan poll showsonly one in 100 parents of teens 13-17 years old believes that their teen has used a study drug.
Study drugs refer to stimulant medications typically prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity
A Couple of Interesting Items
There is a petition at Change.org, asking Superintendent Banda to end early dismissals at SPS. I have no info as to who started it (it only says F. Jacobs). It has over 200 signatures. It's fairly simple text:
To:
Jose Banda, Superintendent, Seattle Public Schools
Jonathan Knapp, President, Seattle Education Association
Phyllis Campano, Vice President, Seattle Education Association
Jose Banda, Superintendent, Seattle Public Schools
Jonathan Knapp, President, Seattle Education Association
Phyllis Campano, Vice President, Seattle Education Association
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Bloomberg Empire Strikes Back by dianerav This year the city of New York will pick a new Mayor, after 12 years of Michael Bloomberg. There were only supposed to be 8 years of Bloomberg, as the voters of New York City had twice endorsed term limits of only 2 terms. But Bloomberg decided he wanted a third term, refused to call for a referendum, and got his faithful friend City Council President Christine Quinn to twist a few arms, promise that the members ... more »
Alaska, Hawaii, W. Virginia get No Child Left Behind waivers
Three more states have received waivers from the U.S. Department of Education to free them from many of the requirements of No Child Left Behind, the Bush-era federal education law.
Alaska, Hawaii and West Virginia join 37 other states and D.C. in getting relief from No Child Left Behind, in exchange for agreeing to make changes in education policy endorsed by the Obama administration. The states have agreed to prepare students for college and career, better focus aid on the neediest students and boost effective teaching and school leadership, according to the administration.
Read full article >>
Alaska, Hawaii and West Virginia join 37 other states and D.C. in getting relief from No Child Left Behind, in exchange for agreeing to make changes in education policy endorsed by the Obama administration. The states have agreed to prepare students for college and career, better focus aid on the neediest students and boost effective teaching and school leadership, according to the administration.
Read full article >>
Evaluations for the rest of the workforce
As Colorado school districts get ready to roll out new evaluation methods for principals and teachers next year, the Department of Education is starting to put the details on a system for evaluating nearly 5,000 other school professionals.
That system needs to have some unique attributes, according to the State Council for Educator Effectiveness, which made recommendations to the State Board of Education last week.
The state’s landmark 2010 educator effectiveness law requires annual evaluations for “all licensed personnel.” The State Board of Education adopted rules for the principal and teacher evaluation system in November 2011,
That system needs to have some unique attributes, according to the State Council for Educator Effectiveness, which made recommendations to the State Board of Education last week.The state’s landmark 2010 educator effectiveness law requires annual evaluations for “all licensed personnel.” The State Board of Education adopted rules for the principal and teacher evaluation system in November 2011,
Demonstrators Arrested During
Anti-School Closings Sit-In At City Hall
CHICAGO –Twenty-three people who are against Rahm Emanuel’s school closing policies were arrested at City Hall today during a sit-in where they blocked elevators and sang protest songs made famous during the Civil Rights Movement. After delivering a number of petitions calling for a moratorium on school actions to the mayor’s office on the fifth floor the group headed to the first floor lobby and disrupted city business.
Among those arrested were Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) officer Kristine Mayle and a number of teachers, parents and community activists. The sit-in happened on the last day of a three-day march for education justice that moved hundreds of people through the South and West sides of the city.
CTU President Karen Lewis will address marchers during a rally at 4 p.m. At the conclusion people are expected to “circle City Hall” and call on the mayor to stop his abusive policies that will harm more than the 50,000 children as young as four-years of age who will be impacted by his closing plan.
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The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information please visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com.
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