Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, June 28, 2014

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 6-28-14


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

4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT


  




Attention All LAUSD Teachers: FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES & “THE CHILDREN OF WILLESDEN LANE”
from Councilmember Jose Huizar’s Downtown Community e-newsletter | http://bit.ly/Vugqmw 27 June 2014  ::  The Music Center is excited to partner with Mona Golabek and The Los Angeles Unified School District to present “The Children of Willesden Lane” project, a special series of performances for middle and high school students November 3-7, 2014.  The performances will take place at
DUST OFF THOSE SHELVES: 200 LIBRARY AIDES HEAD BACK TO LA SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢
  Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1lwBFOc Maya Sugarman/KPCC | Sada Mozer, the children's librarian for the Junipero Serra Branch, reads "Oh!" by Josse Goffin to Trinity Street Elementary School fifth graders. June 27th, 2014, 5:00amThe Los Angeles Unified school district is spending $6 million next school year to bring back 192 libraries aides, opening shuttered
Poll Finds Common Core Opposition Rising In California
By John Fensterwald |EdSource  | http://bit.ly/1jrLsAC Credit: John C. Osborn/EdSource Today June 26, 2014  ::  Here are some key results of the poll of Californians’ views on education conducted by the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education and Policy Analysis for California Education. For more details of the survey, see below. An annual poll of Californians
Including Teachers In The Student Mental-Health Continuum
Commentary By Thomas J. Cottle and Jennifer Greif Green | Education Week http://bit.ly/1qiI2HS Published Online: June 20, 2014  ::  The location changes, but the story is a familiar one: An angry young man*—sometimes a teenager—guns down others in a public place. Whether it's Troutdale, Ore.; Isla Vista, Calif.; or Newtown, Conn., questions soon arise about the mental health of the killer and

JUN 26

Sacramento Lawmakers in AB 2449: STUDENTS NEED 20 MINUTES TO EAT
by Alisha Kirby | SI&A Cabinet Report ::  http://bit.ly/UOBtQe June 26, 2014  ::  (Calif.) A bill headed for a final vote in the state Senate addresses a problem many kids and parents would like to see resolved: Students not having enough time to eat lunch at school. Twenty minutes, according to the California Department of Education, is considered the minimum “adequate time” to consume a
Retweeting Howard Blume: U.S. STUDENTS BEST AT………..oops, sorry, I dozed off…….. OUR KIDS ARE BEST IN THE WORLD AT BEING SLEEPY!
  U.S. Students Get Top Scores for Sleepiness By Holly Yettick , Education Week |  http://bit.ly/1qA69Qc Published Online: June 10, 2014, Published in Print: June 11, 2014  ::  While U.S. students often catch flak for their performance on large-scale international assessments, they may be approaching world dominance on one such indicator: sleepiness. In
CHICAGO SCHOOL LIBRARIANS CHALLENGE SCHOOL DISTRICT CLAIMS THAT LIBRARY CUTBACKS AREN’T BEING FORCED BY DISTRICT POLICIES + smf”s 2¢
Board members refuse to sign Declaration for the Right to School Libraries at June 25 meeting of the nation's third largest school system George N. Schmidt –Substance News Boardwatch | http://bit.ly/1wCVNlh June 26, 2014  ::  A group of Chicago Public Schools librarians surprised the five members of the Chicago Board of Education who showed up for the Board's June 25, 2014 meeting with
Standard & Poor’S Rates Outlook For Charter School Sector As ‘Negative’
By Valerie Strauss | The Washington Post Answer Sheet  | http://wapo.st/1o82oR6 June 26 at 6:00 AM  :: Standard & Poor’s has issued a new report that extends its “negative” outlook for the charter school sector. Of 214 public charter school ratings done by the agency, 41, or 19 percent, are negative while only 4 — or 2 percent — are positive. Furthermore, it says, funding has not generally “
Where Is The Charter Movement Heading?
by John Merrow  in his blog, Taking Note | http://bit.ly/1jp3V0H 26. Jun, 2014  ::  How much does a sign reading “CHARTER SCHOOL” reveal about the education being offered inside the building? My answer: About as much as a ’RESTAURANT’ sign reveals about the food it serves. That is, nothing at all. This sad state of affairs makes me wonder whether the charter school movement has been hijacked
Contingent Approval Of The 2014-15 Lausd Arts Education Budget
by smf for 4LAKidsNews, from the office of Boardmember Zimmer At last Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting the following “not an amendment” to the Arts and Music Education Budget detail was offered by Boardmember Steve Zimmer and accepted by the superintendent and the Board of Education without objection. Adoption of the Arts Education line item in the 2014-15 budget is contingent on the

JUN 23

Urgent Action Alert: THE LAUSD BOARD OF ED NEEDS TO HEAR YOUR SUPPORT FOR ARTS+MUSIC ED BY 3PM TUESDAY!
Ask your Board of Education representative to hold back his or her vote on the budget until LAUSD can ensure every student will have access to a complete education that includes the arts. by e-mail from Arts for LA: June 23, 2014 Dear 4LAKids Reader: I'm writing with an urgent request on behalf of the students in LAUSD. Tomorrow (June 24), the LAUSD Board of Education will vote on a

JUN 22

Op-Ed: WORLD WAR I, A WAR TOO EASY TO FORGET
In the rush to prepare kids 'to compete in the global economy',' current events and a lot of history get lost by Christopher L. Doyle, Op-Ed in the L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1uUeYEi United States Army troops stand in the trenches in France during World War I. (Associated Press) 22 June 2014  :: Commenting recently about seeing the play "War Horse," one of my 11th-grade students

JUN 21

Dr. Deasy explains it all for you: RECOMMENDATION TO INCLUDE A STUDENT MEMBER ON THE LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION + 2¢ here + 2¢ there
Board Informative from the Superintendent A Beaudry insider (name withheld to protect the innocent) opines: “Wowzer! Talk about bureaucratizing, politicizing and monetizing a molehill”. Oakland is a “surrounding” district to LAUSD?  Is this confusion semantic or geographic? “…at least one nonvoting pupil member” is  minimal compliance. Gosh forbid/heaven forefend LAUSD
Transcript Of Washington Post Reporter Lyndsey Layton’S March 2014 Interview With Bill Gates
Gates sees himself as a neutral benevolent who is outside of (above?) the political process, and he clearly resents the idea that anyone would question his motives in funding CCSS by deutsch29/Mercedes Schneider – from her blog | On June 7, 2014, Washington Post reporter Lyndsey Layton published a blockbuster article largely based on a 28-minute interview she had with Gates following

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 6-28-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF


Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY






June’s “The Best” Lists — There Are Now 1,322 Of Them!
Here’s my monthly round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 1,321 of them categorized here): The Best Science Sites Of 2014 – So Far The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2014 – So Far The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice & Resources To Teachers In 2014 – So Far The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers

JUN 26

Video: Experience A Little Bit Of What Someone With Autism Feels….
I’m adding this video to The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes:
More On Freedom Summer
Here are new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About Freedom Summer: Still Learning From The ‘Pearl Harbor’ Of The Civil Rights Movement is from NPR. In anniversary ceremony, historic church is center for Freedom Summer lessons is from The Hechinger Report. People came together 50 summers ago to transform education’s trajectory – let’s finish the job is also from The Hechinger Report.

JUN 24

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues: Aren’t California tenure policies in fact unreasonable? Plus 4 more Vergara questions asked and answered is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to California Court Rules It’s All The Teachers’ Fault, which is where I’ve collected a number of thoughtful reactions to a terrible decision. I’m also adding these three pos

JUN 23

Infographic: “Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy With Verbs”
Here’s a nice infographic I’m adding to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom. It comes from Mia MacMeekin, who creates lots of great infographics at An Ethical Island. And thanks to MindShift for the tip.
Scary Video: Irish Public Service Video On Speeding Good For Language Development & Public Safety
Northern Ireland’s DOE Road Safety has released a public service video on safety that is so disturbing that it can’t be shown until after 9:00 PM at night there. I wouldn’t use it with younger English Language Learners, but showing it to older students and having them describe what they see could be useful on a number of levels:
‘Teachers Know A Lot About Scaffolding’ For Complex Texts
‘Teachers Know A Lot About Scaffolding’ For Complex Texts is my latest post over at Education Week Teacher. It’s Part Two in a series on…scaffolding for complex texts. Part One featured responses from three educators: Wendi Pillars, Amy Benjamin, and Christopher Lehman. Today’s post includes three joint commentaries from Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher; Tammy Mulligan and Clare Landrigan; and Aaron
Washington Post Reprints My “Best & Worst” Ed News List
The Washington Post has just republished my The best and worst education news of 2014 — so far piece. Check it out if you missed it when I originally posted it on this blog.
Monday’s New World Cup Resources
Here are new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The 2014 World Cup In Brazil: The Curious History Of The World Cup Soccer Ball is a slideshow from Fast Company. 22 maps that explain the World Cup is from Vox. World Cup 2014 resources and activities is from TES Connect.

JUN 22

My Favorite Posts In 2014 — So Far
Every year I identify my personal favorite posts, and it’s time for my mid-year selection. You can see my choices for each of the past seven years here. Here are My Favorite Posts In 2014 — So Far: Here are some of my favorite “The Best…” lists from this year (by the way, the total lists I’ve published reached 1,300 this year): The Best Posts & Articles Highlighting Why We Need To Be Very Car
Tips On Taking Good Photographs
Here are new additions to The Best Sites For Learning Beginning Photography Tips: How to Take Better Pictures with Your Smartphone’s Camera is from Lifehacker. How To Take The Perfect Photo is from Shutterfly (thanks to Richard Byrne for the tip).
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’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: Welcome.us invites people to share their immigration stories and to celebrate June as Immigrant Heritage Month: I’m adding the link and video to The Best Sites For Learning About Immigration In The United States. David Pe
Sunday’s New World Cup Resources
Here are today’s additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The 2014 World Cup In Brazil: Let The Commercials Explain World Cup Passion is from NPR. The Clubs That Connect The World Cup is a NY Times interactive. Watch the Most Beautiful Free Kicks in World Cup History is from Slate. How We Play The Game is another neat interactive from the NY Times. What language does soccer speak? is from A
The Best and Worst Education News of 2014 — So Far
I always do a year-end “Best & Worst” round-up of ed news, and I also often do a preliminary mid-year summary. June is a good time for it, and here it is — not ranking in any order…. I hope readers will let me know if they agree or disagree, and also share what they think I missed. You might also be interested in lists from previous years: Best and worst education news of 2013 The best — and
Five Useful Ed Tech Articles & Posts
Here are some recent useful pieces on ed tech-related issues: From Apple II to Touchcast, the evolution of computers in the classroom is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology. Via Tablet or Smartphone, Learning With MOOCs is from The New York Times. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On MOOC’s — Help Me Find More. Three

JUN 21

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2014 — So Far
In addition to the thousands of posts I’ve written in this blog (and in my parent engagement blog) over the past seven years,  my six books, my weekly posts for Education Week Teacher and The New York Times, and my monthly posts for the British Council, I’ve also written well over one hundred articles for different publications. You can access all of them here. You can also see what I think are
Fun Infographic: “20 Movie Snacks Around the World Infographic”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures: Learn more about Movie Snacks Around the World and Infographic Design from Lemonly.
Fourth Of July Resources
July 4th is Independence Day in the United States. You might be interested in The Best Websites For Learning About The Fourth Of July.
June’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part Four
There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you