10-13-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Common Core Madness - It's Time To Take Down Cuomo Over This Too

A teacher leaves a comment on the Poughkeespie Journal story about NYSED Commissioner King canceling his Common Core town hall tour after he got beaten up on Thursday by parents agnry over the state's reforms:It's about time the facts about Common Core have come to light. I'm all for educational reform ... it should be an on-going endeavor by every district in the state. But this national-wide, wh

by reality-based edu... / 16min 

Desperate John King Tries To Blame Teachers Unions For His Poughkeepsie Meltdown

The Buffalo News reports that NYSED Commissioner John King is blaming "special interests" for hijacking the PTA-sponsored town hall meeting on Common Core in Poughkeepsie and using this as an excuse for why he canceled the rest of the town hall series:State Education Commissioner John King on Saturday canceled appearances at four upcoming PTA-sponsored community meetings, following a bar

by reality-based edu... / 34min 

Does Commissioner John King Have SED Officials Monitoring The Internet For Education Reform Heresy?

Apparently the informational text reading police are unfamiliar with literary techniques like figurative language: The Niagara County Sheriff's Office was asked by Albany police on Friday to investigate a perceived threatening comment made on social media by a teacher at George Southard Elementary School. An Albany detective who contacted the sheriff's office said the teacher had posted "can'

by reality-based edu... / 6min

Is Commissioner John King Now A Liability To The Education Deform Movement?

CNY Teacher posts that NYSED Commissioner had a difficult week.On Thursday, he got beaten up pretty badly at a state PTA-sponsored town hall meeting on the Common Core in Poughkeepsie, as parents attacked him over his education reform agenda, problems with the Common Core standards, the inBloom data project and King's hypocrisy for sending his own kids to Montessori Unlimited, a private school wit

by reality-based edu... / 6min 

10-12-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street SchoolIn Which I Use The Danieslon Rubric To Evaluate John King's EffectivenessNYSED Commissioner John King has deemed the Danielson rubric the evaluator tool of choice for teacher observations in New York City.I have deemed the Danielson rubric the evaluator tool of choice for NYSED Commissioner observations in Poughkeepsie.On Thursday, NYSED Commissioner Kin

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

Report: In racially-diverse suburbs, charter schools getting whiter | Minnesota Public Radio News

Report: In racially-diverse suburbs, charter schools getting whiter | Minnesota Public Radio News:

Report: In racially-diverse suburbs, charter schools getting whiter

by Tim Post, Minnesota Public Radio

October 13, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A growing number of charter schools with mostly white students are opening in racially diverse Twin Cities suburbs, according to a new University of Minnesota report.

"In many of the first and second ring suburbs where the schools have become more diverse you have a disproportionate number of very white charter schools," said the report's author Myron Orfield.

The report says that since 2008 there's been a 40 percent increase in charters that serve mostly white students in first and second ring suburbs. It also shows charters overall continue to under-perform other public schools and are becoming increasingly segregated by race. Similar results were found in 

Diversity's delicate mix in Minnesotacharter schools

Minneapolis Star Tribune

- ‎Oct 11, 2013‎

Now an updated local study shows that the number ofcharter schools serving predominately white children is growing in the Twin Cities

Embattled charter chain fights to add schools in Orange County

Orlando Sentinel

- ‎5 hours ago‎

At stake is $27 million in taxpayer money that would go to Charter Schools USA, as Orange County and other school districts make persistent efforts to enforce local standards amid charter-friendly changes to the law by the Legislature.

MY TURN | Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee politicizing school reform | TuscaloosaNews.com

MY TURN | Michelle Rhee politicizing school reform | TuscaloosaNews.com:

MY TURN | Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee politicizing school reform

Sheila Hocutt Remington is an award-winning government and economics teacher with 42 years of experience at Brookwood High School in Tuscaloosa County

Published: Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 11, 2013 at 10:11 p.m.

THE ANN COULTER OF ED REFORM

Recently, Michelle Rhee, president of StudentsFirst came to Birmingham for what Rhee said was an event “that brought together 150 teachers and parents for an open, frank discussion about solutions to raise student achievement in this city and around the nation.”

First of all, there are more than 30,000 students, 3,000 teachers and 55 schools in the Birmingham City School System. It is telling that only 150 people attended Rhee’s meeting. Of those in attendance, less than a third were educators. The vast majority of the crowd was bused in by Rhee’s group.

Michelle Rhee is playing a con game. Years ago, it would have been called snake oil, but Michelle Rhee calls it education reform.

The Alabama Education Association, and apparently thousands of 

Diane Ravitch's 'Reign of Error': an in-your-face defense of public education - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Diane Ravitch's 'Reign of Error': an in-your-face defense of public education - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Diane Ravitch's 'Reign of Error': an in-your-face defense of public education

'The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools'

"Public education is not broken. It is not failing or declining. Our urban public schools are in trouble because of the concentrated poverty and racial segregation."

By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Education historian Diane Ravitch has produced a book that could make anyone from parents to policy wonks think twice about the direction American public schools are going.

Ms. Ravitch, 75, a former assistant secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush and now research professor of education at New York University, was once a proponent of testing and school choice, but she had an epiphany in 2006 when she realized the school choices she had been supporting didn't work.

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"REIGN OF ERROR: THE HOAX OF THE PRIVATIZATION MOVEMENT AND THE DANGER TO AMERICA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS"

By Diane Ravitch
Knopf ($27.95).

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That epiphany resulted in the 2010 book "Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education."

This time, Ms. Ravitch has written "Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools."

"Reign of Error" focuses on what she sees as hoaxes aimed at winning private control of education and suggests solutions, many of them addressing the challenges of racial segregation

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/book-reviews/diane-ravitchs-reign-of-error-an-in-your-face-defense-of-public-education-707394/#ixzz2hc9f8zNO

State education chief suspends LI Town Hall meeting:

State education chief suspends LI Town Hall meeting

Published: October 12, 2013 10:48 PM
By JOAN GRALLA  joan.gralla@newsday.com

Photo credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan | Dr. John B. King, Jr., State education commissioner, speaks at an event at Hofstra University. (Feb. 2, 2012)

New York's education commissioner said Saturday he had called off Long Island's only Town Hall meeting on the Common Core curriculum and state testing after "special interests" hijacked the first such forum.

The meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday in Garden City and was sponsored by the state PTA.

Commissioner John B. King Jr. also put on hold the other three Town Hall meetings planned across the state, which for the first time would have let parents and teachers ask him about testing and the Common Core.

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Hundreds of people attended a pair of at times adversarial and boisterous forums earlier this month -- a debut Town Hall in Poughkeepsie in the Hudson Valley and an event in Whitesboro, near Utica.

King, in a statement, said he had been looking forward to speaking with parents.

"The disruptions caused by the 'special interests' have deprived 

The Pursuit of a Just and Sustainable Place | Dissident Voice

The Pursuit of a Just and Sustainable Place | Dissident Voice:

The Pursuit of a Just and Sustainable Place

by Ron Jacobs / October 13th, 2013

Cities are where most humans live, with more people moving to them every day. As anyone who has lived in a big city knows, existence in urban environments is a challenge. This challenge is greater the less money one has. Like everything else, the advent and growth of the neoliberal economy has exacerbated the challenges associated with urban life in a multitude of ways. In response to these challenges, various movements have arisen. Perhaps the most important of those movements is the one involved with creating a just and sustainable existence. A multi-faceted movement, this movement has almost as many interpretations as it does participants.

Many of its most vocal proponents tend to emphasize an approach that fails to fairly address issues of race and class, focusing instead solely on environmental issues and solutions that are often expensive. As a result, many poor and working-class people do not see the movement as one for them, leaving them at the whims of corporations motivated by profit and governments that cater to them.

Julian Agyeman, director of the Department of Urban + Environmental Policy + Planning at Tufts University and co-founder of the Black 

10-13-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Solidarity to the Parents

This morning I sat in front of my computer determined – determined to answer every opt out question in my inbox – this is hard to accomplish because they just keep coming. But today I did it. At least until tomorrow morning or until I check my email again. I answered questions from distraught parents, […]

1 by peggyrobertson / 12min 

Sharing pears

Reblogged from Talking Math with Your Kids: I took the kids camping this weekend. Jay Cooke State Park is lovely. I recommend a visit if you have never been. We had the following conversation at the campsite on Saturday evening. Me: Griff, we have two pears and three people. What should we do about that? […]

by Michael Paul Gold... / 24min 

Teaching Reading and Children: Reading Programs as “Costume Parties”

Teaching Reading and Children: Reading Programs as \”Costume Parties\”. via Teaching Reading and Children: Reading Programs as “Costume Parties”.

by plthomasedd / 13min 

All Week 10-12-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Reformy NY Education Commish gets taken to the woodshed by parents.From a PTA Town Hall in Poughkeepsie. This event is one of several that the New York State PTA is sponsoring to spread Common Core propaganda across the Empire State. The NYS PTA’s plan looks to be backfiring as parents see the Common Core as damaging their children’s

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

10-13-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

The in box. John Dillon: “The specious argument that what will be given will be less, but at least there will be something.”

Responding to Sunday Reads, John Dillon writes: And such an opening statement should be followed by our historical and legal comprehension that in Illlinois (especially), there will be no safeguard constitutionally or morally to prevent the pilfering, misuse, or diversion of expected or even promised funding for workers’ retirements by future members of the General Assembly, the Governor’s Office,

by Fred Klonsky / 7min 

Ten minute drawing. It doesn’t cost YOU anything to vote him out.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 4min mark as read  //  save

Sunday reads.

  There is an insidious prejudice against older teachers. Don’t say Columbus discovered the Americas. It erases indigenous history. The messy link between slave owners and modern management. Dear Governor Cuomo. I’m writing to express my incredible displeasure at Commissioner John B. King, Jr.’s decision to cancel the state sponsored PTA town hall meetings. As parents, we have legitimate concerns

1 by Fred Klonsky / 5min 

Important updates on Illinois retiree health insurance and eligibility audits. Our message is breaking through.

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will be meeting in Springfield on October 23rd. The Commission has oversight over changes to Illinois state retiree health plans. The legislative members are listed here. Yesterday’s Springfield State Journal has a lengthy article addressing retiree concerns over insurance changes and dependent eligibility audits. With complaints

1 by Fred Klonsky / 3min 

10-12-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Fred Klonsky | Daily postsFrom Tim Furman. Byron Sigcho on UNO: Politics and corruption.Tim Furman is a friend, activist and master of technology. Hi Fred, I’m coordinating a series of talks by the UIC researcher and activist Byron Sigcho in UNO-impacted wards. He’s giving an updated talk about the UN

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

Does Student First deserve a seat at the policy table? | @mcleod

Does Student First deserve a seat at the policy table? | @mcleod:

Does Student First deserve a seat at the policy table?

OCTOBER 13, 2013 BY SCOTT MCLEOD 0 COMMENTS

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to this blog via e-mail or my RSS feed. I also am on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!

In August I blogged about the intersection of money, politics, and educator evaluation here in Iowa. Today, reporter Mike Wiser quotes me in his Sioux City Journal article about the growing presence of StudentsFirst, Michelle Rhee’s advocacy organization, in our state:

We have seen the rise of influence of outside advocacy groups that are essentially buying access to the political process. There are lots of good ideas out there in the marketplace of ideas, but what worries me is when those ideas come attached to a big donation check, well, we know money talks in politics. [this should not be read as me saying that StudentsFirst has good ideas!]

During my interview with Mike, he asked me if I thought StudentsFirst deserved a place at the policy table. Brain-fried from a long day of working with principals, I think I mumbled that I don’t know how organizations get selected for statewide committees or what the criteria are (or should be). But maybe it’s best to turn the question around…

If an outside advocacy organization

• pushes for educational reforms that result in smaller, not larger, student achievement 

Teaching Reading and Children: Reading Programs as “Costume Parties” | the becoming radical

Teaching Reading and Children: Reading Programs as “Costume Parties” | the becoming radical:

TEACHING READING AND CHILDREN: READING PROGRAMS AS “COSTUME PARTIES”

Well into my 30s and during my doctoral program, I was finally afforded the opportunity to read carefully the work of John Dewey. This late scholarship on my part is an indictment of teacher certification, but it is also a window into the historical and current misinformation about the state of reading and the teaching of reading in U.S. schools.

Dewey, the Father of Progressive Education, I discovered, believed that we do not need to teach reading; Dewey noted that reading just happened, basing this claim on his own inability to recall having been taught to read.

The first time I came across this—considering I was then and remain primarily a teacher of English—I was puzzled that Dewey could be so wrong about reading and so compelling* about education in general.

With time, however, I realized that my initial rejection of Dewey’s belief about reading sprang from my perspective as a teacher: Teachers are predisposed to seeing themselves as change agents, as causational in the learning of others.

As an avid reader and writer, if I am honest, my perspective on reading isn’t all that different from Dewey’s. It is likely that Dewey and I experienced similar conditions of privilege that allowed something like a natural learning

10-12-13 Radical Scholarship

Radical Scholarship: Common Core in the Real World: Destroying Literacy through Standardization (Again) | the becoming radicalCommon Core in the Real World: Destroying Literacy through Standardization (Again) | the becoming radical1 by P. L. Thomas / 2d OCT 09The Central Issue at the Heart of America's Growing Education GapThe Central Issue at the Heart of America's Growing Education Gap2 by P. L.

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

‘There’s an insidious prejudice against older teachers’:

‘There’s an insidious prejudice against older teachers’

• BY VALERIE STRAUSS

• October 13 at 10:09 am

Prnce Charles, patron of Teach First, at Georgetown University in 2011 (By Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post)

It’s not just in the United States where veteran teachers are feeling a bit unwanted in the push for young recruits from programs such as Teach For America.

The Guardian newspaper in England published a post in its Secret Teacher blog, written by teachers who write anonymously, with this headline: “There’s an insidious prejudice against older teachers.’ The piece refers to a program in England called “Teach First,” which, it turns out, is a founding partner with Wendy Kopp’s Teach For America in a growing network of dozens of organizations in countries around the world that try to change the teacher corps. It’s called Teach For All, which I wrote about in this post:

Teach for All is a network of like-minded school reform organizations in countries around the world that, as the website says, “all recruit outstanding university 

10-12-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: Girl dies after getting sick at school without nurseBY VALERIE STRAUSSOctober 12 at 9:45 amA 12-year-old girl got sick late last month while she was at her Philadelphia school — a school without a full-time nurse. She died later that day. Here’s a piece on what happened to Laporshia Massey from the website of the nonprofit Parents United for Public Education in Philadelphia. The

by mike simpson / 23min