UPDATE: Karen Lewis to the City Club of Chicago: On baseball and budgets. “When I was a kid, I used to dream that one day I’d play right along-side Minnie Minoso or Sandy Koufax.” | Fred Klonsky

Karen Lewis to the City Club of Chicago: On baseball and budgets. “When I was a kid, I used to dream that one day I’d play right along-side Minnie Minoso or Sandy Koufax.” | Fred Klonsky:

Here it goes. Occupy Lafayette.

by Fred Klonsky

“School occupation in progress at Lafayette Elementary! Parents and students are occupying, and students are blockading doors to prevent the removal of supplies, but they need back up. 2714 W Augusta.” – From Occupy Rogers Park.

Occupied’: Protesters blockade Chicago elementary school to protest closing [photos]

by Fred Klonsky

Parents and students have occupied Lafayette School, one of the CPS schools Rahm chose to close.
Micah Utrecht is Tweeting from inside.
‘Occupied’: Protesters blockade Chicago elementary school to protest closing [photos].

Ten minute drawing. There is something about these folks…

by Fred Klonsky

Click on image to enlarge.

If you’re going to take a poll, at least ask the right question.

by Fred Klonsky

My friend and retired teacher colleague Curtis writes, “And so called “Pension Reform” is still the only action being considered while all other “real” and effective means of generating revenue for the state are ignored. The allegiance of Rats and Fat Cats continues. They should be sent to prison with the other political crooks!”

The in box. TRS Trustee Bob Lyons: “Be prepared for the General Assembly to finally give Quinn something to sign.”

by Fred Klonsky

TRS board of trustee member Bob Lyons, elected to represent retirees on the board, is less confident that the stalemate in Springfield will continue past July. He adds that if something gets past it will set the stage for the next battle to protect what is ours. He writes:

Rich Miller in this morning’s CapitolFax said they are talking compromise on the pension.  I think that we all knew that at some point at some time they were going to finally pass a pension reduction bill and that we would be in it.  It will not be Wednesday, but maybe July.  It will be a compromise between Cullerton’s bill and Madigan’s more substantial cuts.  And it will be closer 

Will Illinois politicians watch as the house burns? It looks that way.

by Fred Klonsky

The game playing will continue until July.
Maybe until 2015.
Unemployment in Illinois remains high. In Chicago it is, shockingly, over 10%
Public services continue to be cut.
Schools closed.
Teachers fired.
And the political leadership in Springfield continues to fiddle.
The Madman has blocked any vote on the We Are One/Cullerton SB2404. That bill was doomed from the start 

Karen Lewis to the City Club of Chicago: On baseball and budgets. “When I was a kid, I used to dream that one day I’d play right along-side Minnie Minoso or Sandy Koufax.”

by Fred Klonsky

Here is the full text of CTU President Karen Lewis’s great speech to the City Club of Chicago.

“Let me say I told you in the beginning that I love baseball. But in 1969 I fell out of love with the sport after the Cubs lost to the raggedly Mets. I couldn’t believe it. I was done. And up until 2009 I wanted nothing more to do with the sport that as a little kid I once vowed to make history as the first female pitcher in the major leagues. I turned my sights to tennis and every now and then a good ole’ boxing match.
“Now I’m a huge White Sox fan. Going to the games now is bringing back all of those feel good memories I had with my Father—and I’m glad to be in love with the great 

UPDATE Perdido Street School: NYCDOE Loses State Tests, Punishes Students With Summer School

Perdido Street School: NYCDOE Loses State Tests, Punishes Students With Summer School:

Mark Dayton, Ravitch Honor Roll Member, Hits 57% Approval

by reality-based educator

Diane Ravitch on May 27:

Governor Mark Dayton vetoed an earmark (set-aside) of $1.5 million for Teach for America. The governor quite reasonably noted that TFA is a wealthy organization with $350 million in assets and saw no reason the state should pay to rent more of them. He suggested a competitive bidding process. Here is his veto message.

Weiner: UFT May Not Like Me, But My Mom The Teacher Does

by reality-based educator

Because he just won't go away, we have the latest stupid thing Anthony Weiner has said:

"I've been endorsed by Frances Weiner, 31-year-veteran and a member of the UFT," he said today after a transportation forum in Manhattan.

Weiner claimed he wasn't seeking the endorsement of the UFT, but was merely hoping for the 

The Bad News Is, The UFT Endorsed Thompson...

by reality-based educator

...the good news is, the UFT-endorsed candidate in a mayoral race hasn't won since 1989.

Given the abysmal turnout in the UFT elections, given that the UFT power base (the retirees) mostly resides in Florida and can't vote in a NYC election, and given that many teachers in the UFT couldn't care a whit who Mikey Mulgrew wants them to vote for in September, I don't think this endorsement helps Thompson all that much outside of the extra cash the UFT brings.

That's my initial take

NYCDOE Loses State Tests, Punishes Students With Summer School

by reality-based educator

This is outrageous:

A Brooklyn intermediate school flunked an entire eighth-grade class and told the kids they’d have to attend summer school — because bungling education officials lost their state English exams, The Post has learned.

Panicked 13- and 14-year-olds at IS 227 in Bensonhurst said their dreams of a fun summer were dashed yesterday when they were handed letters that barred them from attending their graduation this Friday.

The letters, written on school stationery, said students wouldn’t be promoted unless they attend 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

This Is a Great Organization, Good Video

by dianerav

The National Opportunity to Learn Campaign is funded largely by the Schott Foundation for Public Education.
Schott is one of the few national organizations that supports public education, not privatization.
This is a good video that it funded. Takes only a minute to watch.

NSBA: Dems Support Federal Control of Education

by dianerav

On a party-line vote, Democrats on the Senate committee reported out a bill that expands the role of the federal government in education and makes the Secretary of Education the national superintendent of schools. The National School Boards Association describes the legislation here, which NSBA opposes.
Summary of Senate HELP Mark-up of the Strengthening America’s Schools Act, S. 1094
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee approved a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. The Strengthening America’s Schools Act, S. 1094 was passed after two days of sometimes heated deliberation on a 12 Democrat – 10 Republican party line vote. Whether and when the bill will be considered by the full Senate is uncertain, but 

“A Danger to National Security: Mainstream Education Reporting”

by dianerav

Last night, I attended the 5th annual Skinny awards, hosted by Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters. A large and enthusiastic crowd cheered this year’s winners: teacher bloggers Gary Rubinstein and Arthur Goldstein.
Gary Rubinstein teaches at Stuyvesant High School. He was honored as a great blogger, with special mention of his deconstruction and demolition of NYC’s “teacher data reports.” Gary showed that they were random and 

Massachusetts: Will Common Core Dumb Down Our Students?

by dianerav

Tom Birmingham was president of the State Senate in 1993 when the state passed its landmark education reforms. From those reforms came a historic new investment in public education and new standards and assessments. Today, Massachusetts leads the nation on NAEP at both grades four and eight in reading and math.
However, the state abandoned its successful standards and assessments to qualify for Race to the Top funding. 

Is the Common Core “Literary Kudzu” or an “Empty Suit”?

by dianerav

In this post, Bill Korach calls Common Core an empty suit and Will Fitzhugh describes it as literary kudzu.
Korach writes:
“Remember when standards actually expected students to learn something like: “Why did the German’s decision in WWI to launch unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping, cause America to enter the war against the Germans?” In CCSS language arts you learn about a system or a method, but you don’t obtain knowledge, much less wisdom. Twenty or thirty years ago, students were taught to write, by learning grammar 

Good News from Florida (Sort Of)

by dianerav

Florida has an unusually nutty teacher evaluation program. Jeb Bush and Bill Gates determined some years ago that teachers cause low test scores, so the way to fix education is to fire teachers who don’t get high test scores from their students. There was this little problem: most teachers teach non-tested subjects. So Florida addressed the problem by assigning scores to teachers of students they had never taught.
I mean, really, if your goal is to punish and beat up on teachers, this method makes

EduShyster Offers Free Career Advice for Those Who Want an Excellent Job

by dianerav

EduShyster offers free career advice to those who worry about being unprepared for the new economy or being fired.
She takes her cues from the New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. The first tip is to make a point of 

Mark NAISON on the New BTA: Yes, You Too Can Join

by dianerav

Several people wrote to say that membership in the highly distinguished Badass Teachers Association was closed, that they applied and were turned down. This seemed unlikely to me, given the group’s desire to spread, so I contacted its founder Mark NAISON and asked him if there was a glitch. I also asked him if he could create a website for those who are not on Facebook. Here is his response (for some reason, whenever I write Mark’s last name on my iPad, it always turns into caps):
Hi Diane!
We now have six administrators on the site so anyone who applies gets In quickly!
As to how to create a non Facebook option for the group, I will have to

Ohio Charters Spend More on Administration than Public Schools

by dianerav

One of the claims of charter advocates is that could supply better education for less money.
These claims have not panned out. When charters enroll the same kids, they usually get the same results. Charters range in quality across a wide span, and some achieve “success” by high rates of attrition or excluding difficult kids.
Now we know that charters don’t save money

Diane in the Evening 6-18-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The New BTA Association: Are You One? by dianerav I received the following communication and think it will appeal to some readers of this blog. Your move. Dr. Ravitch – Dr. Mark Naison began a Facebook page as a “joke” a few weeks ago of Teachers he felt were “badasses” in fighting corporate reform. He invited me to join right away [image: :)] I did. When I joined we had 70 Badass Teachers. We did a recruiting day beginning on Sunday as a joke for Badass Teacher of the Month. We conducted the recruitin... more »

6-19-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:

Deborah Carter: The Reality of #Teaching

by Kris Nielsen

Maryland Teacher and member of the Badass Teacher Association, Deborah Carter, summarizes the reasons she teaches. This week, a girl called me a bitch. A mom emailed the same day, demanding that her 11th grade son receive full credit for an assignment that did not come close to following the directions (and was turned in […]

#Occupylafayette, happening now, shaking my head

by Chalk Face, PhD

Parents, students, and educators occupied Lafayette ES in Chicago, slated for closure. This is a brilliant form of protest, everyone there should be applauded for their courage. This is quite a beautiful building in the picture. I cannot imagine what the city is planning to do with it.  Below is an image from a friend […]

Chiefs for #butthurt?

by Chalk Face, PhD

I wanted to quickly follow-up with an image and a question based on Jim Horn’s post earlier today about Chiefs for Change. Sorry Jim, I had to do it. Chiefs, are you butthurt? It’s OK, you can tell us.

The End Might Be Near for Common Core

by John Thompson

Especially in the last few months, John Merrow has hit some tape-measure home runs. Merrow’s strike outs can be just as amazing.  His last whiff is a doozy. Merrow tried to use some humor and experimental prose to criticize the recent trend where, supposedly, “the arrival of the Common Core apparently means the end of the […]

Chiefs for Change Angered by Duncan’s Temporary Flirt with Sanity

by Jim Horn

As pressure mounts from parents, students, educators, and admininstrators against high stakes testing and Common Core Corporate Standards, Team Obama has finally blinked.  ED will offer a one year reprieve to those 37 states formerly bribed with RTTT money to adopt the CC and teacher eval based on Common Core national tests. Such a move […]

The End Might Be Near for Common Core

by John Thompson

Especially in the last few months, John Merrow has hit some tape-measure home runs. Merrow’s strike outs can be just as amazing.  His last whiff, is a doozy. Merrow tried to used some humor and experimental prose to criticize the recent trend where, supposedly, “the arrival of the Common Core apparently means the end of the […]

Chief Wonk tells a funny, interesting enough if it wasn’t also milquetoast

by Chalk Face, PhD

It’s this guy, Rotherham. Bellwether, or what have you. Some consulting firm. Some kind of professional love affair brewing between Duncan and Weingarten? M-haps. Although, I would have used the Tiffany version instead. Tagged: Duncan, rotherham, weingarten

Breaking Non-News! The Rise of Poverty and the Fall of the Middle Class Affect Schools

by Jim Horn

The next time you see the world’s richest corporation, Exxon Mobil,  trying to use school bashing to divert attention away from their obscene wealth, minimal tax rate, job export plan, and climate change denial positions, be reminded of the other facts that help us understand what may have contributed to our international test score positions–25th […]

Teaching in Dystopia: The Common Corpse

by plthomasedd

Offred (June) in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale examines a subtle distinction about words: “We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it” (p. 56). In the dystopia of Gilead, Handmaids gradually and then fully conform to their status: “That is what we are now. The […]

Speaking more truth to Parent Revolution plutocrat power

by rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels

“The resolution by board member Steve Zimmer requires the district to independently verify the signatures and how they’re gathered by Parent Revolution, the group that helps to organize parents in efforts to take over schools. The district will also increase the amount and types of information available, such as an analysis of five years of […]

Using the Los Angeles school privatization pushers’ own propaganda against themselves

by rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels

“Several studies of Los Angeles schools showed substantial gains from class size reduction. One found that smaller classes increased reading scores by 9.5%, math scores by 13.9% and language scores by 14.5%, with double these gains for “high need” students. Two other controlled studies also show significant gains in Los Angeles, with effect sizes that […]

6-18-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: [image: gears] I’ve visited @NCTQ, we should all be underwhelmed #teacherprep by Chalk Face, PhD Paul Thomas and Jim Horn have already warned us about NCTQ and its thoroughly biased “advocacy.” There are some updated links in there, here’s a few more on the new report specifically: From NPR; NCTQ’s chief hypocrisy; And MSNBC. and the Wall Street Journal. Kind of a mixed bag here. I’m not sure if there’s […] Microsoft No. 1–in Turning Over Data to NSA by Jim Horn You might say that Gates got the ball rolling. From the PRISM slide show rec... more »

Louisiana Educator: School Grading System a Farce

Louisiana Educator: School Grading System a Farce:

School Grading System a Farce

by Michael Deshotels

The school grading system in Louisiana is a farce. It results in the stigmatizing and unfair condemnation of professional educators, the constant uprooting of innocent children from educationally nurturing environments, transfers from one failed charter to another, the use of gifted and talented to boost grades, the shunning of students with disabilities to boost scores and generally all manner of manipulations that have nothing to do with education. There is no way to fix the grading system because it is based on the incorrect assumption that poverty is not really the overriding factor in student performance. It needs to be simply done away with and replaced by a system that allows educators to tackle the achievement gap in a logical professional way that does not drive dedicated educators away from low achieving communities.

The sad case of Delmont Elementary School in East Baton Rouge Parish is a perfect example of the vicious practices spawned by this insane system. To make a long story short, a new local superintendent misjudged the progress being made at this newly reorganized school in only its second year of a 3 year plan, and uprooted all 

National Council on Teacher Quality report is deeply flawed | EdSource Today

National Council on Teacher Quality report is deeply flawed | EdSource Today:

National Council on Teacher Quality report is deeply flawed - by Linda Darling-Hammond / commentary

by Linda Darling-Hammond / commentary

This week, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a report, NCTQ Teacher Prep Review. Billed as a consumer’s guide, the report rates teacher preparation programs on a list of criteria ranging from selection and content preparation to coursework and student teaching aimed at the development of teaching skills. While the report appropriately focuses on these aspects of teacher education, it does not, unfortunately, accurately reflect the work of teacher education programs in California or nationally.

NCTQ’s methodology is a paper review of published course requirements and course syllabi against a checklist that does not consider the actual quality of instruction that the programs offer, evidence of what their students learn or whether graduates can actually teach. Concerns about the organization’s methods led most schools of education nationally and in California to decline to participate in the data collection. (NCTQ’s website indicated that fewer than 1 percent of programs in the country “fully cooperated” with the study.) NCTQ collected documents through websites and public records requests. The ratings published in this report are, thus, based on partial and often inaccurate data, and fail to evaluate teacher education quality.

Related article

Critical report on teacher preparation programs sparks debate

The indicators used to measure the criteria often fail to identify the aspects of practice that are most important or 

A ‘reform-to-English’ dictionary:

A ‘reform-to-English’ dictionary

By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 19, 2013 at 6:00 amE-mail the writer

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(Merriam-Webster Inc. )

If it’s sometimes hard to understand the world of school  reform, it’s no wonder, given that things don’t always mean what their names or titles suggest. Here by way of explanation is a “reformy-to-English” glossary by Karen McKeegan Fraid, a public school parent and volunteer in Chicago. You can follow her on Twitter @KarenMFraid. The following is an edited version of her glossary, which you can find here, Part 1 and Part 2, on her That Way Madness blog.

By Karen M. Fraid

The late, great George Carlin had a bit that focused on the idea of euphemistic language, which is used to hide truth from plain sight.  Controlling language is a way to control the message.  So much of what plagues modern American society is a direct result of the fact that we are incapable of having a dialogue about anything.  Why can we not have a conversation?  Because political discussions in this country have been scripted and we have been given lines.  The scripts have been written by those with an economic stake in the outcome of the “dialogue.”

We have been left adrift in a sea of words that mean one thing to us and another to 

No Child Left Behind Act At Center Of House Hearing, Sparring Philosophies

No Child Left Behind Act At Center Of House Hearing, Sparring Philosophies:

No Child Left Behind Act At Center Of House Hearing, Sparring Philosophies

by Joy Resmovits

John Kline is frustrated.

The Republican representative from Minnesota and chair of the House Education Committee says his constituents have been telling him for years of the federal government's intrusion into their classrooms.

"I've been hearing ... for years now that the current system does not give them the ability to move money where they need it," he told The Huffington Post in an interview Tuesday. "You've got money for these 80-something federal programs, but you need it someplace else. We want to make sure they have the flexibility to do that."

That's why Kline's committee will hold a hearing Wednesday and likely vote on the Student Success Act, his rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush-era education law that Republicans and Democrats are looking to leave behind. Where NCLB increased the federal footprint in America's schools, Kline's bill reduces it dramatically.