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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Morning Wink 5-28-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



We will miss you Maya Angelou | Cloaking Inequity
We will miss you Maya Angelou | Cloaking Inequity: We will miss you Maya AngelouI don’t know how much longer I’ll be around. I’ll probably be writing when the Lord says, ‘Maya, Maya Angelou, it’s time.’It is with a sad heart that I learn today of the passing of Maya Angelou. Here are a few select Maya Angelou quotes:My task for today…I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will
by mike simpson / 3min 
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-28-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Help Sponsor Researchers to Study Failure of Vouchers in ChileProfessor Julian Vasquez Heilig of the University of Texas is trying to raise funding to take a research team to Chile to study the failure of the voucher progr. He needs your help. Tickets cost either $1,000 round trip or 30,000-60,000 frequent flyer miles. Please consi
by mike simpson / 6min 
5-28-14 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.: Moral Monday in North Carolina. The Tillis 15. “We shall not be moved.”. RALEIGH, NC – Hundreds of North Carolinians showed up yesterday to lobby their state legislators to repent for the harm they have caused, to repeal the flood of extreme policies passed last year and to restore confidence in our e
by mike simpson / 9min 
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: We need a living wage in Chicago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: We need a living wage in Chicago: We need a living wage in ChicagoR.I.P. Maya Angelou (1928-2014)Find a beautiful piece of art. If you fall in love with Van Gogh or Matisse or John Oliver Killens, or if you fall love with the music of Coltrane, the music of Aretha Franklin, or the music of Chopin - find some beautiful art and admire it, and realize that that was crea
by mike simpson / 11min 
5-28-14 Wait What? Pelto 2014 Exploratory Committee is up and running!
Wait What?: Pelto 2014 Exploratory Committee is up and running!Pelto 2014 Exploratory Committee is up and running!May 28, 2014 Friends, I want to thank all the people who have stepped forward with words of support and encouragement as I explore whether to run for governor in 2014 Your continued help is the vital building block in this developing effort. First, we hope to have the petitioning forms
by mike simpson / 12min 
The Answer Sheet 5-28-14
Answer Sheet: Jim Carrey gives commencement speech at Maharishi University of ManagementJim Carrey surprised graduates at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, with a funny, emotional commencement speech in which he told them a poignant story about his father and urged them to walk their own path in life and never settle. “The decisions we make in this moment are based in eith
by mike simpson / 15min 
5-28-14 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: Surrogates Beginning to Flack for Jeb Bush on Common CoreIts begun. Badly needing to talk about something else than Common Core Standards, Jeb Bush’s surrogates have begun to do it for him. Consider a Lloyd Brown piece in Sunshine State News. Brown is a former speechwrit
by mike simpson / 16min 
5-28-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: If The Onion Gets It … : “when the mist distorts the outline of the cypress trees”If The Onion Gets It … : “when the mist distorts the outline of the cypress trees”. via If The Onion Gets It … : “when the mist distorts the outline of the cypress trees”.1 by plthomasedd / 40min 5-27-14 @ The Chalk Face@ THE CHALK FACE: What’s Really Wrong with Advanced Placement Courses and Colleg
by mike simpson / 18min 
5-28-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): If The Onion Gets It … : “when the mist distorts the outline of the cypress trees”The power of ideology makes me think of those dewy mornings when the mist distorts the outline of the cypress trees and they become shadows of something we know is there but cannot really d
by mike simpson / 20min 
5-28-13 Curmudgucation
CURMUDGUCATION: #AskArne: Teach To Lead To Lead The Teaching LeadersBad news: Arne and the US DOE are back with another scrumdiliicious video interview with his royal Arneness.Good news: It's not all completely ridiculous. And as always, I'll watch it so that you don't have to. More times than usual, it turns out. I like to watch with the sound off to get a better non-verbal read, but the only cap
by mike simpson / 22min 
5-28-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: This News Will Make Bloomberg Very, Very SadBloomberg henchman Deputy Dan Doctoroff is still leading the charge to bring the Olympics to NYC and rectify one of Mayor Bloomberg's biggest setbacks - his failure to turn NYC into an Olympic Village.Mayor de Blasio says he's not interested, however:Mayor Bill de Blasio has ruled out any possibility that New York City will submit
by mike simpson / 23min 
solidaridad: Marshall Tuck's Dropout Factories
solidaridad: Marshall Tuck's Dropout Factories: Marshall Tuck's Dropout FactoriesMarshall Tuck's Dropout Factories by Robert D. SkeelsMarshall Tuck's Dropout FactoriesMarshall Tuck, who ran Mayor Villaraigosa's 15 schools and compiled a mediocre and unimpressive record. He has also been president of the Green Dot charter chain. — Professor Diane RavitchHaving to take remedial high school courses a
by mike simpson / 28min 
Seven things California public schools can't charge you for - and a few they can | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC
Seven things California public schools can't charge you for - and a few they can | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: Seven things California public schools can't charge you for - and a few they canAdolfo Guzman-Lopez | May 28th, 2014, 5:00amAdolfo Guzman-Lopez/KPCCRedondo High School principal Nicole Wesley says many school activities require suggested donations from parents to stay afloat.A year after Cal
by mike simpson / 50min 
NYC Educator: We Are the Real Reformers, Says Mulgrew
NYC Educator: We Are the Real Reformers, Says Mulgrew: We Are the Real Reformers, Says MulgrewIt's kind of surprising to hear Mike Mulgrew take up the mantra of those who've opposed UFT enabling of corporate reform, but he's absolutely correct that we're the real reformers. Pictured at left are a group of independent activist unionists, regularly excoriated by the elite invitation-only Unity Caucu
by mike simpson / 53min 
Louisiana Educator: Big Business Shenanigans
Louisiana Educator: Big Business Shenanigans: Big Business ShenanigansThe big business lobby in Louisiana loves to mess with education. They have not seen a deform or privatization scheme for public education that they did not like. LABI (The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry) wields its power over the Legislature because it commands big money control of the legislative process. It's
by mike simpson / 56min 
Kyle, and What I Learned about College Admissions (Michele Kerr) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Kyle, and What I Learned about College Admissions (Michele Kerr) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Kyle, and What I Learned about College Admissions (Michele Kerr)Michele Kerr is a math teacher at Kennedy High School in Fremont, CA. She also wrote about teaching English and higher standards in previous guest posts. This post comes from her blog.In the fall of his senior year,
by mike simpson / 58min 
K-12 News Network | Los Angeles Unified’s “Teacher Jail”
K-12 News Network | Los Angeles Unified’s “Teacher Jail”: Los Angeles Unified’s “Teacher Jail”admin May 27, 2014 Los Angeles, School Districts 0Brian Hayes is a veteran teacher in Southern California. His piece refers to how, after a child predator on staff was caught and removed from MIramonte Elementary School, hundreds of teachers who had no connection to the predator were also removed and kept
by mike simpson / 1h 
Libraries and Librarians are not Luxuries | InterACT
Libraries and Librarians are not Luxuries | InterACT: Libraries and Librarians are not LuxuriesMAY 28, 2014by David B. CohenThe library is the hub of academic life on campus (photo by the author).At EdSource Today, a recent headline caught my eye (actually, thanks to Educate Our State for pointing it out):School librarians a rare find in California public schoolsUnfortunately, this problem is one
by mike simpson / 1h 

YESTERDAY

Massive layoffs in Newark? Never mind. Cami was just joking. | Bob Braun's Ledger
Massive layoffs in Newark? Never mind. Cami was just joking. | Bob Braun's Ledger: Massive layoffs in Newark? Never mind. Cami was just joking.Fooled you, right?State-appointed Newark schools superintendent Cami Anderson sent out an email late yesterday saying she had all but miraculously found a way to prevent massive teacher layoffs that had been predicted earlier. She also promised to stay in h
by mike simpson / 10h 
John White’s Illegitimate 2013-to-2014 LEAP/iLEAP Comparisons | deutsch29
John White’s Illegitimate 2013-to-2014 LEAP/iLEAP Comparisons | deutsch29: John White’s Illegitimate 2013-to-2014 LEAP/iLEAP ComparisonsMay 27, 2014Whenever Louisiana State Superintendent John White gets his hands on test scores, there will be problems.He withheld release of the 2014 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) and Integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (iLEAP) sco
by mike simpson / 10h 
Trafficked Teachers: Neoliberalism’s Latest Labor Source - Working In These Times
Trafficked Teachers: Neoliberalism’s Latest Labor Source - Working In These Times: Trafficked Teachers: Neoliberalism’s Latest Labor SourceRecruiting companies in the U.S. are attracting some of Philippines' best teachers with one-year guest worker visas to teach in American public schools, saddling the teachers with hidden fees and furthering the Philippines' growing teacher shortage. (SuSanA Sec
by mike simpson / 11h 
The Study that Keeps on Giving…(Hopefully) in its Final Round |
The Study that Keeps on Giving…(Hopefully) in its Final Round |: The Study that Keeps on Giving…(Hopefully) in its Final Round In January I wrote a post about “The Study that Keeps on Giving…” Specifically, this post was about the study conducted and authored by Raj Chetty (Economics Professor at Harvard), John Friedman (Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard), and Jonah Rockoff (Associat
by mike simpson / 13h 
5-27-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “A Teacher-Counselor Partnership Is ‘Essential’ For Student Success”A Teacher-Counselor Partnership Is ‘Essential’ For Student Success is Part Two in my Ed Week Teacher series on teacher-counselor partnerships. Today’s post includes responses from Julie Hartline, the 2009 National Counselor Of The Year; and educator/authors
by mike simpson / 13h 
Why a “fair start” is so important for California’s kids | EdSource Today
Why a “fair start” is so important for California’s kids | EdSource Today: Why a “fair start” is so important for California’s kidsMay 27th, 2014 | Add a Comment | By Jim Steyer / commentaryShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on pinterest_shareMore Sharing Services6Jim SteyerNow that Gov. Jerry Brown has introduced his revised budget plan, a month-long negotiation over the state’s
by mike simpson / 13h 
Denver teachers have more classroom, less planning time than those overseas | Chalkbeat
Denver teachers have more classroom, less planning time than those overseas | Chalkbeat: Denver teachers have more classroom, less planning time than those overseas Denver teachers have less time to plan their lessons or collaborate with other teachers than those in high-performing overseas districts — or even others in the United States — a new report finds.The report, which was produced by the C
by mike simpson / 13h 
The Power of Parents to Reform a School System | Philly in Focus
The Power of Parents to Reform a School System | Philly in Focus: The Power of Parents to Reform a School SystemPHILLYACTIVE™ (NEWS THAT GETS PHILLY ACTIVE) Felicia Roche, mother an 8th grader, analyzes the School District of Philadelphia and asks: “Do parents care?”By Felicia Roche5.27.14: Philadelphia – (Politics/Education): If you mention the words “School District of Philadelphia” to an active
by mike simpson / 14h 
Nite Cap 5-27-14 #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 CAPPaul Tough Explains Why 'Rich Kids Graduate; Poor and Working-Class Kids Don't' | John ThompsonPaul Tough Explains Why 'Rich Kids Graduate; Poor and Working-Class Kids Don't' | John Thompson: Paul Tough Explains Why 'Rich Kids Graduate; Poor and
by mike simpson / 14h 
Paul Tough Explains Why 'Rich Kids Graduate; Poor and Working-Class Kids Don't' | John Thompson
Paul Tough Explains Why 'Rich Kids Graduate; Poor and Working-Class Kids Don't' | John Thompson: Paul Tough Explains Why 'Rich Kids Graduate; Poor and Working-Class Kids Don't'Regardless of his subject, Paul Tough's work is directly relevant to teaching and learning in high-poverty schools. Tough's New York Times Magazine article, "Who Gets to Graduate?," is no exception.When teaching hi
by mike simpson / 18h 
The Answer Sheet 5-27-14
Answer Sheet: Is Boston’s school district eliminating history department as part of Common Core?The Boston public schools district found itself in the position of having to issue a public statement denying that it was eliminating its history and social studies department after someone posted on the Web that it was and the news went viral in the education world. Historians assumed it was true and r
by mike simpson / 19h 
Shanker Blog » The Proportionality Principle In Teacher Evaluations
Shanker Blog » The Proportionality Principle In Teacher Evaluations: The Proportionality Principle In Teacher EvaluationsPosted by Cory Koedel on May 27, 2014Our guest author today is Cory Koedel, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri.In a 2012 post on this blog, Dr. Di Carlo reviewed an article that I coauthored with colleagues Mark Ehlert, Eric Parsons and Michael Podgur
by mike simpson / 19h 
Geaux Teacher!: Louisiana/Tennessee Embargoed Test Score Coincidence?
Geaux Teacher!: Louisiana/Tennessee Embargoed Test Score Coincidence?: Louisiana/Tennessee Embargoed Test Score Coincidence?So Supt. White has embargoed test scores.  Seems he is not the only superintendent with "that problem."  His Chiefs for Change comrade Kevin Huffman of Tennessee is following his lead.  And I thought White was the copy cat of all his Ed policy.  I guess I didn't giv
by mike simpson / 19h 
5-27-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Rent for Eva's 3 charters to cost city $5.4 million a year-- without a whimper from UFT or de BlasioIf rent for three of Eva’s charter schools will cost $5.4 M per year, can you imagine the hundreds of millions of dollars in future costs to the city and state as every existing co-located, new or expanded charter can demand free facilities and/or rent?... Leonie HaimsonREPORT: IBO’
by mike simpson / 19h 
True Leaders are not afraid to admit their mistakes and correct them | Crazy Crawfish's Blog
True Leaders are not afraid to admit their mistakes and correct them | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Crazy Crawfish's BlogZesty Louisiana Education PoliticsTrue Leaders are not afraid to admit their mistakes and correct themPosted on May 27, 20140It’s been a few thousand years since anyone was able to make a credible claim of being perfect. Anyone who expects perfection from our political leaders is sett
by mike simpson / 19h 
5-27-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: Battle for CA’s Ed Chief position heats upContentious battle brews for California’s K-12 chief The two leading candidates for California’s top K-12 spot in the June 3 primary both identify as Democrats in a technically non-partisan race. But the campaign between incumbent Superintendent of P
by mike simpson / 20h 
Commentary: The 21st century segregationists - TheStatehouseFile.com | TheStatehouseFile.com
Commentary: The 21st century segregationists - TheStatehouseFile.com | TheStatehouseFile.com: Commentary: The 21st century segregationistsMay 23, 2014  |   Filed under: Commentary  |   Posted by: jlkrull59By Abdul Hakim-ShabazzIndyPoltics.OrgAs we mark the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education which ended official government-sanctioned segregation in public schools (separate but equal),
by mike simpson / 20h 
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-27-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: School Librarians A Rare Find In California Public SchoolsBy Lillian Mongeau, Ed Source | http://bit.ly/1jXUGt9 School librarian Shannon Englebrecht reminds Tori Reese, 8, that she has several books overdue.Englebrecht allows students at Charles Drew Preparatory Academy, a public school in San Francisco, to check out as many books as they want. Credit:
by mike simpson / 20h 
A day of resistance in Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger
A day of resistance in Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger: A day of resistance in Newark More than 200 students burst out of beleaguered University High School  in Newark this morning to protest last Friday’s firing of the magnet school’s principal and six vice principals.Chanting “Save our school!” and “Cami must go!” the students marched around local blocks and then headed downtown toward 2 Cedar Stree
by mike simpson / 20h 
5-27-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open ThreadFrom SPS Communications:Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of two Seattle Public Schools students included in the second group of winners in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are:• Anthony L. Bencivengo from Nathan Hale High School, whose pr
by mike simpson / 21h 
5-27-14 The Whole Child Blog — Staying True to Our Roots — Whole Child Education
Staying True to Our Roots — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGStaying True to Our RootsMay 27, 2014 by Klea ScharbergSince 1943, ASCD has empowered educators by providing essential programs, products, and services that support the success of each student. Through the years, ASCD's focus has stayed the same: to improve the quality of learning for each student and to provide our leaders wit
by mike simpson / 21h 
Margaret Lavin: Study Proves Charter Schools Are No Silver Bullet - San Jose Mercury News
Margaret Lavin: Study Proves Charter Schools Are No Silver Bullet - San Jose Mercury News: Margaret Lavin: Study Proves Charter Schools Are No Silver BulletBy Margaret LavinSan Mateo County TimesPOSTED:   05/26/2014 07:32:46 PM PDT0 COMMENTS| UPDATED:   ABOUT 13 HOURS AGOStanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) recently released a comprehensive report, Charter School
by mike simpson / 22h 
5-27-14 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.: Springfield legislators get summers off. Nobody complains. Will Guzzardi and Michael Madigan.One of the talking points for teacher bashing is how teachers get paid for summers off. When I try to explain how this isn’t true – that teachers contracts are a per diem – that we are contracted (in my case)
by mike simpson / 22h 
There Are No Miracle Schools. But There Are Some Really Good Ones. | Gatsby In L.A.
There Are No Miracle Schools. But There Are Some Really Good Ones. | Gatsby In L.A.: There Are No Miracle Schools. But There Are Some Really Good Ones. Over this year, as I tell people about my project visiting schools across Los Angeles to try to understand education in real time, they often ask me if I could sum up what I’ve learned in a headline or two. What do I take away? What’s really surpri
by mike simpson / 22h 
5-27-14 Schools Matter - TFA Corps: Corporate America's Paris Island
Schools Matter: TFA Corps: Corporate America's Paris Island1 by Jim Horn / 20min  5-26-14 Schools Matter - Jim Crow Rides AgainSchools Matter: Jim Crow Rides AgainFrom Aljazeera America:by Daniel Denvir @danieldenvirThe Supreme Court ruled 60 years ago this May 17 in Brown v. Board of Education that “segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of ra
by mike simpson / 22h 
Teacher Education Leaders Speak Out: Tim Slekar: Educators Must Be Advocates For the Needs of Our Students - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Teacher Education Leaders Speak Out: Tim Slekar: Educators Must Be Advocates For the Needs of Our Students - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Teacher Education Leaders Speak Out: Tim Slekar: Educators Must Be Advocates For the Needs of Our StudentsBy Anthony Cody on May 27, 2014 9:48 AMToday I am sharing the third interview with a leader in teacher preparation. This week we have heard
by mike simpson / 23h 
Morning Wink 5-27-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: New Mexico: Another VAM DisasterThus far, the concept of VAM–or value-added measurement–has an unbroken record of failure. Wherever it has been tried, it has proven to be inaccurate and unstable
by mike simpson / 23h 





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We will miss you Maya Angelou | Cloaking Inequity

We will miss you Maya Angelou | Cloaking Inequity:



We will miss you Maya Angelou

Screen Shot 2014-05-28 at 6.52.37 AM

I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around. I’ll probably be writing when the Lord says, ‘Maya, Maya Angelou, it’s time.’
It is with a sad heart that I learn today of the passing of Maya Angelou. Here are a few select Maya Angelou quotes:
My task for today…
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
A lesson for faculty…
My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.
The pursuit of knowledge…
Nothing will work unless you do.
Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.
Will you say and do what needs to be done to protect public education…
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.
All of us knows, not what is expedient, not what is going to make us popular, not what the policy is, or the company policy – but in truth each of us knows what is the right thing to do. And that’s how I am guided.
Diversity…
It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
School segregation…
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders.
Until blacks and whites see each other as brother and sister, we will not have parity. It’s very clear.
In so many ways, segregation shaped me, and education liberated me.
Schools without libraries and literacy…
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.
Elimination of illiteracy is as serious an issue to our history as the abolition of slavery.
Social studies standards…
Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read or write or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important. It says: ‘I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.
Watch her story about meeting and mentoring Tupac (“six pack”).


and finally..
I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it.
I love a Hebrew National hot dog with an ice-cold Corona – no lime. If the phone rings, I won’t answer until I’m done.
We will see you again soon Maya.
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
Please Facebook Like, Tweet, etc below and/or reblog to share this discussion with others.
Want to know about Cloaking Inequity’s freshly pressed conversations about educational policy? Click the “Follow blog by email” button in the upper left hand corner of this page.

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LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-28-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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







Breaking News: Florida League of Women Voters Releases Bombshell Charter Study
The Florida League of Women Voters just released a bombshell study of charters across the state. The study shows that charter schools do not perform better than public schools; that charters are more segregated than public schools; that many charters funnel money to religious organizations; that a significant number of charters operate for profit; and that the charter industry has captured control
23 by dianeravitch / 37min 

Cleveland Elementary School: Why Close an Excellent School?
Cleveland Elementary School in upstate Cleveland, New York, was once designated a “failing school.” But with a united community and hard work, the school improved and was named a Blue Ribbon school of excellence in 2010. It was recognized again in 2013. It continues to enjoy strong community support, but the Central Square Board of Education decided to close the school because of declining enrollm
2 by dianeravitch / 52min 

Beardsley Reviews Huffman’s Claims About Tennessee
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, one of our nation’s pre-eminent experts on value-added assessment, here reviews a TED-X talk by Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, boasting of the tremendous growth in test scores as a result of his policies. Beardsley points out the curious fact that Tennessee started using VAM in the 1990s with little to show for it. But, there were those Tennessee NAEP s
by dianeravitch / 1min 

Heilig: A Tribute to Maya Angelou
Julian Vasquez Heilig here recalls some of the words of Maya Angelou, one of our nation’s greatest writers. She was born in 1928 in St. Louis, raised in Stamps, Arkansas, and died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I met this great woman once, when she spoke at the 100th anniversary dinner of the New York Public Library. She said that the beauty of the public library was that its great
4 by dianeravitch / 16min hide  //  save
A Hero in Los Angeles: Stuart Magruder
When I first learned that Superintendent John Deasy planned to spend as much as $1billion to equip everyone in theLos Angeles school district with iPads for Common Core testing, I was amazed that the district could afford such a large expenditure. Then I learned from reading Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times that TE district would pay for the iPads from a 25-year construction bond fund approve
3 by dianeravitch / 18min 
Help Sponsor Researchers to Study Failure of Vouchers in Chile
Professor Julian Vasquez Heilig of the University of Texas is trying to raise funding to take a research team to Chile to study the failure of the voucher progr. He needs your help. Tickets cost either $1,000 round trip or 30,000-60,000 frequent flyer miles. Please consider sponsoring a member of his research team. We can learn from what happened in Chile. With so many states adopting voucher plan
by dianeravitch / 0min hide  //  save
Thankful for John Ewing
John Ewing wrote a brilliant article called “Mathematical Intimidation.” If you haven’t read it, please do. It demolishes VAM. He calls on mathematicians to speak out. And at Brown, we read here, he spoke out: “John Ewing, Executive Director of the American Mathematical Society and President of Math for America, was the speaker at a Brown commencement forum today. He spoke to a packed audience on
6 by dianeravitch / 1h 
Jon Pelto Exploratory Committee for Governor of Connecticut Is Open
Jon Pelto has taken the first steps towards running for Governor of Connecticut. He has formed an exploratory committee to determine strategy and a course of action. If you want to help Jon, the information is available in this post. In a democracy, anyone should be able to run for office, but the process is so cumbersome and expensive that it discourages those like Jon who don’t have access to v
1 by dianeravitch / 2h 
Peter Greene: Don’t Blame Obama for Failure of CCSS
Conservatives who support the Common Core like to blame Obama for making it radioactive. They say that if he and Arne had stayed out, CC would have been non-controversial. Their involvement awakened the Tea Party and others who reflexively dismiss whatever Obama is for. Peter Greene says balderdash. “It’s Obama’s fault. “The state-led initiative was chugging right along, moving forward without a
17 by dianeravitch / 3h 


LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: New Mexico: Another VAM DisasterThus far, the concept of VAM–or value-added measurement–has an unbroken record of failure. Wherever it has been tried, it has proven to be inaccurate and unstable. Teacher and student records are erroneous. Teachers are judged based on students they never taught. VAM demoralizes teachers, who underst
by mike simpson / 9h 
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5-28-14 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.:







Carole L. Perlman. Using test scores to evaluate teachers creates problems.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR May 27, 2014 I was director of Chicago Public Schools testing programs for nearly 20 years. I’m all for accountability; I got a great education at CPS and feel strongly that the current students deserve the same. Using test scores to evaluate teachers seems like a great idea on the face of it, but it does not stand up to scrutiny. There are several basic problems, most having
by Fred Klonsky / 29min 


And still we rise.
The night has been long, The wound has been deep, The pit has been dark, And the walls have been steep. Under a dead blue sky on a distant beach, I was dragged by my braids just beyond your reach. Your hands were tied, your mouth was bound, You couldn’t even call out my name. You were helpless and so was I, But unfortunately throughout history You’ve worn a badge of shame. I say, the night has be
by Fred Klonsky / 0min 


The Senate passes SB 16 and Special Education funding is put at risk.
Yesterday the Illinois Senate passed SB16. The bill now goes to the House. It is claimed that SB16 will shift state funding to poor districts. No new funds will be made available in a state with the lowest state funding for education in the nation. The legislature is poised to cut education funding further. The IEA takes no position on SB16. This morning I asked Beverley Holden Jones about SB16. J
by Fred Klonsky / 7min 

One big union.
  What would have been the impact of the Chicago Teachers Union and its dynamic militant leadership on a single teacher union the state? In 1998 at the National Education Association Representative Assembly in New Orleans nearly sixty percent of the delegates voted to oppose the leadership’s merger proposal – a proposal that would have united the nation’s two teacher unions: the NEA and the Ameri
by Fred Klonsky / 24min 


Moral Monday in North Carolina. The Tillis 15. “We shall not be moved.”
. RALEIGH, NC – Hundreds of North Carolinians showed up yesterday to lobby their state legislators to repent for the harm they have caused, to repeal the flood of extreme policies passed last year and to restore confidence in our elected officials. Among them were 15 moral witnesses who visited Speaker Thom Tillis’ office at 3:30 pm yesterday and who staged a sit-in when the speaker chose not to
by Fred Klonsky / 17min 

5-27-14 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.: Springfield legislators get summers off. Nobody complains. Will Guzzardi and Michael Madigan.One of the talking points for teacher bashing is how teachers get paid for summers off. When I try to explain how this isn’t true – that teachers contracts are a per diem – that we are contracted (in my case)
by mike simpson / 8h 
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