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Sunday, April 27, 2014

Nite Cap 4-27-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2



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




Why We Chose to Opt Out | Jason Endacott
Why We Chose to Opt Out | Jason Endacott: Why We Chose to Opt OutPosted: 04/16/2014 5:01 pm EDT Updated: 04/16/2014 5:59 pm EDTunitedoptout.com/OPT OUT GUIDES BY STATE Thousands of children in our state are headed into schools today to take standardized tests mandated by the federal government under No Child Left Behind. Our fourth grade son won't be one of them.Opting your children out of standar
by mike simpson / 29min 
Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers. | Reclaim Reform
Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers. | Reclaim Reform: Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers.Posted on April 27, 2014by Ken PrevitiThe legislative mandate of taking money as deferred compensation to keep it safe as a future pension while promising that it will not be there when it is needed is wage theft. Active teachers across America have thi
by mike simpson / 1h 
Deeper Than Deep Learning | InterACT
Deeper Than Deep Learning | InterACT: Deeper Than Deep LearningAPRIL 27, 2014by David B. CohenA more philosophical post than usual – for what it’s worth.This morning I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Elane Geller, a Holocaust survivor originally from Poland, and now a resident of Southern California. I’ve heard Holocaust survivors speak a number of times in my life, and it’s always a pr
by mike simpson / 1h 
About the Book | A Fighting Chance By Elizabeth Warren
About the Book | A Fighting Chance By Elizabeth Warren: About the BookClick here to read the prologue for free (PDF)Listen to an excerpt or download:An unlikely political star tells the inspiring story of the two-decade journey that taught her how Washington really works—and really doesn’tAs a child in small-town Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren yearned to go to college and then become an elementary sch
by mike simpson / 4h 
Left-Right Alliance for Education: Multi-Partisan Opposition
Left-Right Alliance for Education: Multi-Partisan Opposition: Multi-Partisan OppositionThe Left-Right Alliance was formed as a spontaneous gathering of education advocates. Each of the participants volunteered their time to work toward our purpose and process, the effort received no funding. Our hope is that the work we have completed here will be a message that Stop Common Core efforts nationwide
by mike simpson / 4h 
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-27-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Photo: OBAMA & THE MARSHMALLOW GUNphoto from Getty Images by Sal Loeb I wonder we could get a grant from the National Rifle Association …or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Foundation – to mount one of these puppies in the balcony of the Beaudry Boardroom?by smf / 7min 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-26-144LAKids - some of the news that doesn
by mike simpson / 4h 
4-28-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin'
Jersey Jazzman: Two Questions For Arne DuncanSecretary of Education Arne Duncan gave an interview to Andrea Mitchell this past week that once again attempts to shift the blame for America's inequitable education outcomes on to everything and anything except the most obvious thing:Yeah, sure, that's the problem: the schools of education. I mean, what else could possibly explain this:Obviously, the
by mike simpson / 5h 
The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart | EduShyster
The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart | EduShyster: The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart The Walton family hearts America’s poor kids. Their parents? Not so much.When we last paid a call on our good friends the Waltons, we found them in a fine, beneficent fettle indeed. Armed with Walmart profits equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 42% of American families combined, the Waltons felt moved to wrap their arms a
by mike simpson / 5h 
States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds |
States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds |: States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds Since 2009, the US Department of Education via its Race to the Top initiative has given literally billions in federal, taxpayer funds to incentivize states to adopt its various educational policies, as based on many non-research-based or research-informed refor
by mike simpson / 5h 
Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea
Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea: Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and AndreaAPRIL 27, 2014 BY NANCY BAILEY LEAVE A COMMENTThe other day I watched  Andrea Mitchell interview Arne Duncan. It’s always difficult for me to listen to authorities on teaching who have never been teachers, or who have never even studied what it takes to be a teacher. When they blov
by mike simpson / 5h 
Sacrificing Our Children | educarenow
Sacrificing Our Children | educarenow: Sacrificing Our ChildrenPosted on April 27, 2014 | Leave a commentCan we finally move beyond the illusion that the privatization of public schools is for the benefit of kids?All of the empirical evidence says we should.Can we finally be honest about that fact that for profit charters simply move money from that which is set aside for the common good to corpor
by mike simpson / 6h 
Storified Charters and Traditional Schools Debate: Michelle Rhee vs. Julian Vasquez Heilig et al. | Cloaking Inequity
Storified Charters and Traditional Schools Debate: Michelle Rhee vs. Julian Vasquez Heilig et al. | Cloaking Inequity: Storified Charters and Traditional Schools Debate: Michelle Rhee vs. Julian Vasquez Heilig et al.A debate/conversation started Friday evening with my response to a @MichelleRhee tweet about her tiredness with the traditional school versus charter school debate. I tweeted that I wa
by mike simpson / 6h 
Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public Sphere
Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public Sphere: Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public SphereTuesday, 22 April 2014 09:44By Victoria Harper, Truthout | Interview79font size   Print EmailHenry A. Giroux. (Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout)This story wasn't funded by corporate advertising, but by readers like you. Can you help sustai
by mike simpson / 7h 
4-27-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: NY Post: Mulgrew, Farina Say Teachers "Should Embrace" New Evaluation SystemThis is buried at the bottom of a pierce about the city paying three leases for Eva Moskowitz and Success Academies:Meanwhile de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and teachers union boss Michael Mulgrew spoke of “unity” at the United Federation of Teachers spring conference Saturday
by mike simpson / 7h 
4-27-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELLI’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: Lizzie Pinard recounts a question/answer session with Sugatra Mitra at a recent language conference in this post. I’m ad
by mike simpson / 7h 
4-27-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Sunday reads.  The Clipper’s Donald Sterling joins with Supreme Court majority. He’s caught on TMZ audio tape saying, “Don’t let Black students into state universities. No more of that f—– affirmative action.” Gordon Lafer on Miwaukee’s Rocketship Charter scam. Koch brothers and others influence judge
by mike simpson / 7h 
Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids | Common Dreams
Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids | Common Dreams: Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kidsby Ruth Conniff(Credit: UCLA / public domain)Gordon Lafer, a political economist and University of Oregon professor who has advised Congress, state legislatures, and the New York City mayor's office, landed at the airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week bringing wi
by mike simpson / 7h 
Morning Wink 4-27-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Does Anyone Still Believe in VAM? The “Center for American Progress” Does.Despite the fact that major scholarly organizations have debunked value-added measurement as a way of identifying and qu
by mike simpson / 8h 
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Does Anyone Still Believe in VAM? The “Center for American Progress” Does.Despite the fact that major scholarly organizations have debunked value-added measurement as a way of identifying and quantifying teacher quality, there are still a few lonely defenders of VAM. There is the U.S. Department of Education, which bet nearly $5 bi
by mike simpson / 8h 
4-27-13 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: Brookings Research Reveals Teachers Are the ProblemBrookings will release a new book this week with the charming title Teachers versus the Public: What Americans Think about Schools and How To Fix Them.And yes-- that title tells us where we're going right off the bat-- teachers really are the problem. In fact, teachers aren't just the opposition-- teachers aren't even American. Per
by mike simpson / 8h 
All Week 4-27-14 @ THE CHALK FACE
@ THE CHALK FACE: Video: Bill Gates “Explains” Common CoreIn the following six-minute video at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in March 2014, Bill Gates demonstrates his privileged view of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Gates has contributed over $4.3 million to AEI, with over $1 million in 2012 for “exploring the challenges of Common Core,” among other issues, so it is only fitti
by mike simpson / 8h 
4-27-14 Wait What? All Week
Wait What?: Today it is Face the State and Fox61 Capital ReportTwo of Connecticut’s leading Sunday news shows will include segments on the 2014 race for governor in Connecticut. Fox61 Capital Report TV at 10:30am WFSB 3 Face the State at 11:00am From WFSB Dennis House’ Bloghttp://dennishouse.tv/: Democrat may challenge Malloy, saying he can’t win re-election It’s no secret Governor Malloy faces a
by mike simpson / 8h 
4-27-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Florida Senate Voucher Sponsor Earmarked $2.3 Million for Voucher Eligible Sports AcademyFrom Matt Dixon in the Tampa Tribune: TALLAHASSEE _ Powerful state Sen. Bill Galvano says he had nothing to do with a client of his private law firm securing millions during the 2013
by mike simpson / 8h 
NYC Educator: Taco Bell Is the Common Core of Fast Food
NYC Educator: Taco Bell Is the Common Core of Fast Food: Taco Bell Is the Common Core of Fast FoodI keep seeing commercials for Taco Bell breakfast, and while I watch them, from time to time, my mind says I should go try one of those things. Here's the problem. I'm actually quite fond of Mexican food, and every few years something tells me to go in and try one of those things. Actually, the last t
by mike simpson / 8h 
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gordon Lafer On EPI Milwaukee Private Charter Schools Report
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gordon Lafer On EPI Milwaukee Private Charter Schools Report: Gordon Lafer On EPI Milwaukee Private Charter Schools ReportDon't miss this excellent Wisconsin Public TV interview with EPI economist and ed researcher Gordon Lafer criticizing "blended learning" at Rocketship charters.Backers of these reforms are particularly enamored of a new type of char
by mike simpson / 8h 
empathyeducates – Is There an Alternative to Accountability-Based, Corporate Education Reform?
empathyeducates – Is There an Alternative to Accountability-Based, Corporate Education Reform?: Is There an Alternative to Accountability-Based, Corporate Education Reform?There is. Here’s what it might look like.By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published atThe Becoming Radical. August 20, 2013 and AlterNet. April 22, 2014During three decades of accountability based on standards and high-stak
by mike simpson / 8h 
Russ on Reading: Trouble in River City: The Manufactured Crisis in Education
Russ on Reading: Trouble in River City: The Manufactured Crisis in Education: Trouble in River City: The Manufactured Crisis in EducationPerhaps you remember Professor Harold Hill, the charming con man from The Music Man, the Tony Award winning musical and popular film. In this story, set the early 1900s, Phony Professor Hill hatches a scheme to convince the community to buy band instruments and u
by mike simpson / 8h 
Marie Corfield: #NJEdTruthSquad: Just Gimme Some Truth, Jersey! #NJEdTruth
Marie Corfield: #NJEdTruthSquad: Just Gimme Some Truth, Jersey!: #NJEdTruthSquad: Just Gimme Some Truth, Jersey!#NJEdTruthSquad  #NJEdTruthRemember these hash tags.Education 'reform' may be stifling creativity and collaboration in the classroom, but it's had an unintended consequence: it's made many of us stronger advocates for public education outside the classroom. All across the country educati
by mike simpson / 8h 
Video: Bill Gates “Explains” Common Core | deutsch29
Video: Bill Gates “Explains” Common Core | deutsch29: Video: Bill Gates “Explains” Common CoreApril 27, 2014In the following six-minute video at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in March 2014, Bill Gates demonstrates his privileged view of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).Gates has contributed over $4.3 million to AEI, with over $1 million in 2012 for “exploring the challenges of Comm
by mike simpson / 8h 
Another View: Withdrawing from federal waiver best for students - California Forum - The Sacramento Bee
Another View: Withdrawing from federal waiver best for students - California Forum - The Sacramento Bee: Another View: Withdrawing from federal waiver best for studentsBy Patrick KennedySpecial to The BeePublished: Sunday, Apr. 27, 2014 - 12:00 amIt’s disappointing that former Superintendent Jonathan Raymond, who resigned in December, has chosen to characterize the Sacramento City Unified School D
by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

The Weekly Update: No money for Common Core in Seattle, Broad left Seattle in the cover of darkness and has reappeared in Oregon, ACT for Kindergartners, Creationism in schools and the US as an Oligarchy. How much more fun can one have? | Seattle Education
The Weekly Update: No money for Common Core in Seattle, Broad left Seattle in the cover of darkness and has reappeared in Oregon, ACT for Kindergartners, Creationism in schools and the US as an Oligarchy. How much more fun can one have? | Seattle Education: The Weekly Update: No money for Common Core in Seattle, Broad left Seattle in the cover of darkness and has reappeared in Oregon, ACT for Kind
by mike simpson / 18h 
4-26-13 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Protecting Classrooms From Corporate Takeover: What Families Can Learn from Teachers’ Unions”Protecting Classrooms From Corporate Takeover: What Families Can Learn from Teachers’ Unions is a good article in YES Magazine that was written by Amy Dean. It’s gives a number of very good examples of teachers unions working with
by mike simpson / 18h 
A Most Repugnant Story of Teacher Abuse and Termination southbronxschool.com
http://www.southbronxschool.com: A Most Repugnant Story of Teacher Abuse and TerminationWhat I am about to share here I suggest that you read on an empty stomach. It is one of the most  revolting, repugnant, teacher abuse stories I have heard of in the 5 1/2 years I have been blogging. This story comes to SBSB courtesy ofFrancesco Portelos' new website; Don't Tread on Educators.So many of us belie
by mike simpson / 18h 
A Student-Data Collector Drops Out - NYTimes.com
A Student-Data Collector Drops Out - NYTimes.com: A Student-Data Collector Drops OutLily PadulaTo hear executives at inBloom tell it, their $100 million education technology start-up is shutting down after only 15 months of operation because it was too far ahead of its time.The seed money for this nonprofit corporation came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the Carnegie Corpor
by mike simpson / 18h 
Great Schools for America | Teachers United Against Teach for America
Great Schools for America | Teachers United Against Teach for America: Teachers United Against Teach for AmericaPosted on April 26, 2014 by dmayerTeach for America, Inc. is the flagship of the education reform movement. The organization replaces professional teachers with unqualified college grads in the classrooms of some of our nation’s most disadvantaged children. This practice harms students a
by mike simpson / 20h 
Billionaires influence judges to approve wage theft from teachers | Reclaim Reform
Billionaires influence judges to approve wage theft from teachers | Reclaim Reform: Billionaires influence judges to approve wage theft from teachersPosted on April 26, 2014by Ken PrevitiJudges are being openly influenced by major corporations and their billionaire owners to decide against constitutional protections. Openly influencing. Not secret plots and conspiracies. These are in-your-face inf
by mike simpson / 21h 
Nite Cap 4-26-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
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 CAPMonday, 4.28.14: Is STEM the Answer? Student Voice Live!: Connected ClassroomsStudent Voice Live!: Connected Classrooms: Student Voice Live!: Connected ClassroomsMonday, 4.28.14: Is STEM the Answer?Government programs, news reports, and televisio
by mike simpson / 23h 




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Why We Chose to Opt Out | Jason Endacott

Why We Chose to Opt Out | Jason Endacott:



Why We Chose to Opt Out

Posted: Updated: 
UOObanner-1
unitedoptout.com/

OPT OUT GUIDES BY STATE



 Thousands of children in our state are headed into schools today to take standardized tests mandated by the federal government under No Child Left Behind. Our fourth grade son won't be one of them.

Opting your children out of standardized tests is a very personal decision, and one that has been far more difficult to make than we originally thought it would be. There has been a lot of attention given in the media lately to children who won't be taking standardized tests and the parents who have chosen to opt them out. In response to this attention, those who have the most to gain from high stakes testing have begun to push back, even chastising parents for their personal choices.
Today's post is dedicated to explaining the personal decision we made to opt our son out of standardized testing. In writing this I don't hope to convince you to opt your own children out of future testing. In fact, that's why I waited until today to post this, to provide some food for future thought.
I'm an educator, an academic and a parent. In the current climate of education in the U.S. I have very little power over my kids' education in any of these three roles. As an educator I have watched politicians, corporations and wealthy philanthropists take more and more control over K-12 schools. No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and the Common Core State Standards are all examples of how education is guided by those with wealth and power rather than those with wealth of knowledge.
No Child Left Behind started us down this path in 2002 by tying federal money to standardized tests. Give the tests or lose out on millions in Title I funds that go to schools with the neediest children. President Obama used the billions of dollars that were part of his Race to the Top to program to double down on NCLB by enticing Why We Chose to Opt Out | Jason Endacott:
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Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers. | Reclaim Reform

Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers. | Reclaim Reform:



Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers.

Posted on April 27, 2014by 
img_2948
The legislative mandate of taking money as deferred compensation to keep it safe as a future pension while promising that it will not be there when it is needed is wage theft. Active teachers across America have this occur with every paycheck.
IL teachers pensions
Retired teachers are having their constitutionally and contractually protected payment agreements re-legislated after the legal agreement. Law suits are presently underway across America to stop both forms of wage theft. The main court battles are in Republican dominated New Jersey and Democrat dominated Illinois. To be perfectly clear, it’s not about political issues; it’s about corporate greed and control.
“The courts will decide,” according to same state legislatures who have systematically stolen from public pension funds for decades.
So, the Koch Brothers, Wal-Mart, Dow Chemical, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and other major corporations and billionaire owners are attempting to influence the judges who will make these and similar future interpretive decisions. Yes, it bought enough legislators from both political parties to pass the legislation violating the legislators’ oaths of office to protect Wage theft is wage theft regardless of the ages of the teachers. | Reclaim Reform:
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Deeper Than Deep Learning | InterACT

Deeper Than Deep Learning | InterACT:



Deeper Than Deep Learning

APRIL 27, 2014
by 


A more philosophical post than usual – for what it’s worth.
This morning I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Elane Geller, a Holocaust survivor originally from Poland, and now a resident of Southern California. I’ve heard Holocaust survivors speak a number of times in my life, and it’s always a profound experience, but there were two particular take-away ideas I thought would be worth sharing in this space. 
The first was an observation Geller offered about Holocaust education, particularly for Jewish children. She commented that any learning about the Holocaust should be considered in a wider context (my words, not hers), when she talked about a cycle, “from joy, to pain, and back to joy again.” In other words, Holocaust education would not be a starting point for Jewish education; instead, you should start with the positivity of traditions and living culture. Then, yes, it is necessary to understand the negative history of the Holocaust, to confront evil directly and name it. And finally, you wouldn’t want to neglect the importance of closure that brings the child back to a sense of joy and positivity about the future.
It struck me that this cycle could apply to any learning experience, within the span of  day, week, month or years. If academics are relevant to our students’ lives as members of a challenged society, then we must confront challenges openly, honestly, in ways that are sensitive to individuals and cultures while also academically focused. On the personal side, it makes sense to establish a sense of joy about learning, a degree of comfort among people in an academic community. Then, it should be safe to move into content that may be uncomfortable for some, but absolutely necessary. Such work can be done in an age-appropriate way that is still academically “honest” and true to the core of an academic discipline, and able to respect and honor the personal, emotional side of learning. The cycle is complete when our uncomfortable or challenging learning experiences are brought to a positive conclusion, with a sense of agency and purpose, and clear evidence of new learning.
The second observation that stuck with me this morning occurred when Geller talked about a sense of mutual responsibility, and even a sense of mutual peril in looking at world events. It’s a sentiment that has been expressed many times in many cultures, that a threat to human rights anywhere is a threat to human rights everywhere. The word ubuntu, found in multiple languages and dialects in southern Africa, identifies a similar concept – that my humanity is bound up in your humanity.
Given the scope of the humanitarian crises right now in places like Syria, South Sudan, central Africa, and North Korea, American education policy debates begin to look relatively minor. But on the other hand, the United States is not exactly leading the world in efforts to avoid a humanitarian crisis of its own (though of a different nature). The overall poverty rate in the United States is shameful, given our overall economic output. The childhood poverty rate is an embarrassment, and a blight that should speak to all of us on a personal, moral level. The Deeper Than Deep Learning | InterACT:

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About the Book | A Fighting Chance By Elizabeth Warren

About the Book | A Fighting Chance By Elizabeth Warren:





About the Book

Listen to an excerpt or download:
An unlikely political star tells the inspiring story of the two-decade journey that taught her how Washington really works—and really doesn’t
As a child in small-town Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren yearned to go to college and then become an elementary school teacher—an ambitious goal, given her family’s modest means. Early marriage and motherhood seemed to put even that dream out of reach, but fifteen years later she was a distinguished law professor with a deep understanding of why people go bankrupt. Then came the phone call that changed her life: could she come to Washington DC to help advise Congress on rewriting the bankruptcy laws?
Thus began an impolite education into the bare-knuckled, often dysfunctional ways of Washington. She fought for better bankruptcy laws for ten years and lost. She tried to hold the federal government accountable during the financial crisis but became a target of the big banks. She came up with the idea for a new agency designed to protect consumers from predatory bankers and was denied the opportunity to run it. Finally, at age 62, she decided to run for elective office and won the most competitive—and watched—Senate race in the country.
In this passionate, funny, rabble-rousing book, Warren shows why she has chosen to fight tooth and nail for the middle class—and why she has become a hero to all those who believe that America’s government can and must do better for working families.


A Fighting Chance

BY ELIZABETH WARREN

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Left-Right Alliance for Education: Multi-Partisan Opposition

Left-Right Alliance for Education: Multi-Partisan Opposition:



Multi-Partisan Opposition



The Left-Right Alliance was formed as a spontaneous gathering of education advocates. Each of the participants volunteered their time to work toward our purpose and process, the effort received no funding. Our hope is that the work we have completed here will be a message that Stop Common Core efforts nationwide can endorse and utilize. The report below is the result of our efforts. (For more on our purpose and process see our "About Us" and "Purpose and Process" tabs)
We oppose the CCSSI because it continues the failed education reforms of the past and violates privacy rights as it builds a system for centrally managed student training for the future workforce of the “Global Economy.” This central goal will dismantle liberal arts education, which most contributes to the development of mature thinkers who are prepared to thrive in any chosen life path and sustain a free civilization.

After weeks of deliberate, methodical discussions on key points of current education reforms in the U.S., the Left-Right Alliance for Education has concluded that there is a solid foundation for multi-partisan opposition to the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Below are our statements of opposition to the CCSSI and the rationales for them.
  1. We oppose the philosophy of standardization built into all federal education initiatives, including the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
  2. We oppose high-stakes testing.
  3. We oppose a national student data system.

Our Rationale:

1. We oppose the philosophy of standardization built into all federal education initiatives, including the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
  • The CCSSI will expand the failed philosophy of standardization in an attempt to build a workforce-oriented school system at the expense of the greater characteristics of sound education.
  • Education policies based on the philosophy of standardization lead to a hyper-focus on quantifiable skills that fail to provide students with the instructional supports that develop mature thinkers prepared to thrive in any chosen life path.
  • These policies ignore accepted scientific research on human development and correlate education with the processes applied in the manufacturing sector; deluge kids with test taking and assignment rubrics; bore and frustrate; squash the love of learning; impede quality teaching; pit schools against parents, and fail to develop creative, mature human beings.
  • The standardization intrinsic in the CCSSI, and others like it, causes great harm to the development of children and is especially detrimental to disadvantaged children.
  • Local decision making for education and educational choice serve both students and teachers better, facilitating individualized learning and teaching styles instead of putting every child and teacher in the same box.
2. We oppose high-stakes testing.
  • The CCSSI high-stakes assessments lead to a hyper-focus on a narrow set of quantifiable skills at the expense of the greater characteristics of education founded in a broad curriculum.
  • These assessments rely on computer-generated testing, excludes other ways students demonstrate proficiency and progress, and ignore the fact that teachers and parents are best able to judge a student's progress.
  • The infrastructure and technology demands divert school and classroom resources away from those components that most impact student success.
  • High-stakes testing has transformed schools into centers for test preparation and chip away at a child’s innate love of learning.
  • Federal and state mandated high-stakes tests lead to excessive pressure on students and teachers and to bullying and punitive actions when parents choose to opt their children out of testing.

3. We oppose national student data systems.
  • We oppose the CCSSI P-20 State Longitudinal Data Systems being integrated across state lines with some data available to government agencies and research organizations without parental consent via U.S. DOE regulatory change.
  • We are concerned that these databases are not secure and unnecessarily expose student data to hacking, misuse, and publication, and violate the intent of protecting student privacy provided under FERPA.
  • The rush to implementation is enticing for-profit companies to provide products and services without accountability to parents, individual students, and taxpayers.
  • When coupled with highly predictive computer testing and learning data, which includes physiological and behavioral profiles, the database will store a “learning profile” that will follow students into their adult lives and may negatively impact future opportunities.
  • When commercial interests are combined with the core vision of the CCSSI to build a system for centrally managed student training with the purpose of fitting the future generation in a managed workforce for the “Global Economy,” the data systems may be the component that most concerns parents.Left-Right Alliance for Education: Multi-Partisan Opposition:
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4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-27-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:






smf RADIO INTERVIEW RE: TEACHER JAIL
4LAKids’ Scott Folsom interviewed by KPFK host John Cromshow for a special report on Teacher Jail for “Politics or Pedagogy”, analysis of education, policy and practice affecting our public schools. LISTEN HERE Note: This interview was recorded on Thursday, April 24th before Greg Schiller was released – and was broadcast Saturday, April 26, 2014  at 10:57 am
by smf / 6min 
Greg Schiller Radio Interview
Interview with teacher Greg Schiller by John & Ken, KFI Talk Radio hosts on Friday April 25th, after his first day back to school from Deasy Jail. CLICK HERE  -  listen from 1:35-10:05
1 by smf / 35min 


Photo: OBAMA & THE MARSHMALLOW GUN
photo from Getty Images by Sal Loeb I wonder we could get a grant from the National Rifle Association …or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Foundation – to mount one of these puppies in the balcony of the Beaudry Boardroom?
by smf / 7min 


4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-26-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  Board District 3: TWO CANDIDATES FILE TO SEEK GALATZAN SCHOOL BOARD SEAT …AND THEN TAMAR DOES TOO!Two candidates file to seek Galatzan school board seat by Michael Janofsky, L.A.  School Report | http://bit.ly/1fBhfgN Posted on April 24, 2014 11:30 am Whether LA Unified board member Tamar Galatzan runs for ree
by mike simpson / 1h 


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4-27-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin'

Jersey Jazzman:







Two Questions For Arne Duncan
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave an interview to Andrea Mitchell this past week that once again attempts to shift the blame for America's inequitable education outcomes on to everything and anything except the most obvious thing:Yeah, sure, that's the problem: the schools of education. I mean, what else could possibly explain this:Obviously, the difference in student outcomes between afflue
by Duke / 13min 






4-26-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekCami Anderson's Rusty KnifeNewark's state-appointed superintendent, Cami Anderson, is so hard at work fighting against "adult interests" that she doesn't have time to attend public meetings of her elected school board. She doesn't even have time to explain herself to the NJ Legislature.But she apparently does have time to hobnob with a bunch
by mike simpson / 14min 
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The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart | EduShyster

The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart | EduShyster:



The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart



 The Walton family hearts America’s poor kids. Their parents? Not so much.

walheartWhen we last paid a call on our good friends the Waltons, we found them in a fine, beneficent fettle indeed. Armed with Walmart profits equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 42% of American families combined, the Waltons felt moved to wrap their arms around the nation’s burgeoning population of low-income children and hug them into college readiness and 21st century success. And I’ve got great, heartwarming news, reader. As thisNew York Times feature reveals, the Waltons’ great big lovin’ Walheart beats stronger than ever—and there is nary an education reform group nor a charter school that is not ententacled in the family’s tender embrace.
hugsA family affair  
Just how warm is that embrace? According to the New York Times, the Walton Family Foundation has hugged its extended family members in the education reform movement to the tune of $1 billion since 2000, including $163 million last year alone. Among the The Great Big Lovin’ Walheart | EduShyster:
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States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds |

States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds |:





States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds



 Since 2009, the US Department of Education via its Race to the Top initiative has given literally billions in federal, taxpayer funds to incentivize states to adopt its various educational policies, as based on many non-research-based or research-informed reforms. As pertinent here, the main “reform” being VAMs, with funding going to states that have them, are willing to adopt them, and are willing to use them for low- and preferably high-stakes decisions about teachers, schools, and districts.

Diane Ravitch recently posted a piece about the Education Law Center finding that there was an interesting pattern to the distribution of Race to the Top grants. The Education Law Center, in an Education Justice article, found that the states and districts with the least fair and equitable state school finance systems were the states that won a large share of RTTT grants.
Interesting, indeed, but not surprising. There is an underlying reason for this, as based on standard correlations anybody can run or calculate using state-level demographics and some basic descriptive statistics.
In this case, correlational analyses reveal that state-level policies that rely at least in part on VAMs are indeed more common in states that allocate less money than the national average for schooling as compared to the nation. More specifically, they are more likely found in states in which yearly per pupil expenditures are lower than the national average (as demonstrated in the aforementioned post). They are more likely found in states that have more centralized governments, rather than those with more powerful counties and districts as per local control. They are more likely to be found in more highly populated States on the VAMwagon Most Likely to Receive Race to the Top Funds |:
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Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea

Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea:



Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea

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The other day I watched  Andrea Mitchell interview Arne Duncan. It’s always difficult for me to listen to authorities on teaching who have never been teachers, or who have never even studied what it takes to be a teacher. When they bloviate what the government needs to do to make good teachers, I want to ask how do they know? Unless you have walked in their shoes….
I also don’t think Arne and the Obama administration are paying any attention to what really keeps parents up at night when it comes to their children’s schooling. They are focused on all the wrong things.
But I realized a long time ago that today’s reality concerning teaching and education is warped. So I just try to make sense of it, and this is my attempt to decipher Arne’s gibberish (it is critical) about teacher preparation and the colleges of education.
First and foremost…When they say they want to overhaul undergraduate teacher preparatory programs, my guess is they really want to get rid of these schools. They will do it like they get rid of teachers in real public schools—tying success to test scores.
A teacher’s success, they say, will be determined by the kind of future scores their students Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea:
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