7-20-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":

All My Ed Week Posts On Parent Engagement In One Place!

Q & A Collections: Parent Engagement In Schools is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. It brings together all my Ed Week posts related to parent engagement from the past three years. Here’s an excerpt: I’m adding it to My Best Posts, Articles & Interviews On Parent Engagement.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1min 

Odd Question: Are Parents “Assets Or Liabilities”?

John Merrow, who produces education-related segments for the PBS News Hour, recently published a post about parent engagement titled Assets or Liabilities? Though certainly there are teachers who are not very positive about working with parents, my suspicion is that they are in the distinct minority. Merrow appears to think otherwise. His post is a prelude of sorts to a segment about a parent invo

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

“Engaging Immigrant Parents with Improved Systems of Interpretation & Translation”

Engaging Immigrant Parents with Improved Systems of Interpretation & Translation is a useful short explanation of how and why one school district makes it a priority to offer several different types of translation services available. The article includes research references and links for more details on how the system operates. Thanks to Edublogs for the tip!

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

“Talking to parents in 140 characters: how are schools using social media?”

Talking to parents in 140 characters: how are schools using social media? is a useful article in the British newspaper, The Guardian. I’m adding it to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Using Technology To Help Engage Parents.

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

“Teacher Repents for Going ‘Ghetto’ on a Parent”

Teacher Repents for Going ‘Ghetto’ on a Parent is post by Marilyn Rhames over at Ed Week. It’s a reminder that all of us, including teachers, are just human….

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

Parent Engagement Leader Elected Vice-President Of American Federation Of Teachers

Mary Cathryn Ricker, president of St. Paul’s teachers union, has just been elected executive vice-president of the American Federation of Teacher. Mary has been a leader in the St. Paul’s union parent engagement efforts, which have extraordinarily effective and which are national models. I’ve written a lot about their successes.

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

New Report: “The Strengths of Latina Mothers in Supporting Their Children’s Education: A Cultural Perspective”

The Strengths of Latina Mothers in Supporting Their Children’s Education: A Cultural Perspective is a new report from the Child Trends Hispanic Institute. I’m adding it to “The Best Research Available On Parent Engagement.” Thanks to Colorin Colorado for the tip.

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

PBS Report: “Coaching parents on toddler talk to address low-income word gap”

“Coaching parents on toddler talk to address low-income word gap” is a pretty interesting report from the PBS News Hour. I’ve embedded the video below, and you can see the transcript here. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap.”

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h hide  //  save

“Learning Walks…More Than a Tour of the School”

Learning Walks…More Than a Tour of the School is the title of a post at Edutopia by Gwen Pescatore, where she offers an idea for parent involvement called “Learning Walks.” Here’s an excerpt: What is a Learning Walk? It is an invitation to parents to come to the school for a set period of time (an hour or two), to go on a guided tour of the school/classrooms during the school day. Not to look at t

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

“Do these caring parents deserve to go to prison?” — Another Article About Ridiculous UK Parent Punishment Policy

I’ve written a fair amount about the ridiculous use of fines and threatening jail against parents in Britain who take their kids out of school for short vacations. The Telegraph has just published another article on the policy that’s worth checking out: Do these caring parents deserve to go to prison?

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 7-20-14

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

VERGARA RULING BECOMES A CAMPAIGN ISSUE …at least in Tuck’s mind + smf’s 2¢

By John Fensterwald | EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/1rdYjNb July 17, 2014 |State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Marshall Tuck this week launched a petition calling on his opponent, incumbent Superintendent Tom Torlakson, not to appeal a lawsuit ruling that struck down statutes giving California teachers firing protections and rights to tenure and seniority. The move indicates

by smf / 9h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 7-19-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  Because right-wing talk-radio hosts have all the answers: MAKE THE BORDER KIDS AMERICANS + smf’s 2¢By HUGH HEWITT, from Politico Magazine | http://politi.co/1mYCd0a July 17, 2014  ::  Approximately 90,000 minors have entered the country in the two years since President Obama, whether out of the best of intenti

by mike simpson / 8h 

7-20-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letters to the BATS

With A Brooklyn Accent:

New York Now Leads the Way in the Movement Against Common Core- At The Polls

  Something truly extraordinary has happened in the New York State Gubernatorial race-something with broad national implications.  A big money Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, who thought he was going to make himself a front runner in the 2016 Presidential Race by ramming through legislation requiring teacher evaluations based on Common Core aligned tests, has generated so much opposition among

by Mark Naison / 3h 

7-19-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letters to the BATS

7-12-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letters to the BATSWith A Brooklyn Accent:Teacher Temps and Computer Tenders Can't Move Children Out of PovertyOne of the things I am most worried about in the rush to on line learning and disposable teacher temps is the elimination of relationship building and mentoring, which in my experience, is key in having education move people out of poverty and promote

by mike simpson / 8h 

7-20-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

You Could Do A Lot Worse

More paeans to James Garner and the character he created on screen for so many years.The Guardian: Through many films and two influential television series, Maverick and The Rockford Files, James Garner, who has died aged 86, developed a persona with a subtly different appeal. It began as original and accrued familiarity over the course of four decades: a coward who was the soul of honour, a hero

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Another Banskter/Wall Street Mess

Gee, this story doesn't sound familiar at all:Rodney Durham stopped working in 1991, declared bankruptcy and lives on Social Security. Nonetheless, Wells Fargo lent him $15,197 to buy a used Mitsubishi sedan.“I am not sure how I got the loan,” Mr. Durham, age 60, said.Mr. Durham’s application said that he made $35,000 as a technician at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y., according to a copy of

by reality-based edu... / 7min 

Too Bad Bloomberg Didn't Run For President

From the NY Post:Georgina Bloomberg reveals she was relieved that her dad, Michael, didn’t make a run for president, “because it would have been so difficult on him,” she says. “I’ve seen the process of a campaign . . . I know how brutal it is.”If anybody could use a little brutality - in this case ego deflation - it's Michael "I Know Best About Everything!" Bloomberg.Nothing would have

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

James Garner

It has been announced that James Garner has died at the age of 86.Garner wrote one of my favorite pieces on actors and politics in 2011:James Garner's memoir "The Garner Files" was published today, and far from being a glossed over look at his career, it's very much matter of fact. Although he defends actors who express their political views, he is critical of those who run for office. &

by reality-based edu... / 28min 

7-19-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekIndependent Democrat Jeff Klein Is Mobbed UpOld timey corruption, Carlo Gambino-style!Development–formerly known as Hutch Realty Partners–kicked in the five figures in June. The donation brings the real estate group’s total contribution to Mr. Klein’s operation to a whopping $93,850 since 2006.Two principals of the company, Michael Contillo and Jose

by mike simpson / 8h 

It’s a bird…It’s a plane…It’s Superman! | WagTheDog

It’s a bird…It’s a plane…It’s Superman! | WagTheDog:

It’s a bird…It’s a plane…It’s Superman!

 “Kids make their mark in life by doing what they can do, not what they can’t… School is important, but life is more important. Being happy is using your skills productively, no matter what they are.”

~ Howard Gardner 

“The second concern is justifying the Common Core on the highly dubious notion that college and career skills are the same. On its face, the idea is absurd. After all, do chefs, policemen, welders, hotel managers, professional baseball players and health technicians all require college skills for their careers? 

Do college students all require learning occupational skills in a wide array of careers? In making the “same skills” claim, proponents are really saying that college skills are necessary for all careers and not that large numbers of career skills are necessary for college…

Nearly every study of employer needs over the past 20 years comes up with the same answers. Successful workers communicate effectively orally and in writing and have social and behavioral skills that make them responsible and good at teamwork. They are creative and techno-savvy, have a good command of fractions and basic statistics, anIt’s a bird…It’s a plane…It’s Superman! | WagTheDog:

7-19-14 WagTheDog - Data-Driven Common Core Does Not Compute

Data-Driven Common Core Does Not Compute | WagTheDog: Data-Driven Common Core Does Not ComputeMore and more it feels like the education leaders who are tasked with overseeing the data-driven Common Core implementation and assessment policies are “Lost in Space” and their data “does not compute”.  During the school year 100% of teachers are expected to “unpack” the standards, differentiate instruct

by mike simpson / 4h 

Teachers Union Conventions Reflect Common (Core) Frustrations | PopularResistance.Org

Teachers Union Conventions Reflect Common (Core) Frustrations | PopularResistance.Org:

Teachers Union Conventions Reflect Common (Core) Frustrations

ORGANIZE! EDUCATION 
By Bill Balderston, www.labornotes.org
July 20th, 2014

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At national conventions of the two major teacher unions this month, controversy flared over the Common Core, a standardized curriculum largely funded by the privatizers at the Gates Foundation.

Motions at the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers proposed to resist the program because of its link to standardized testing.

In the AFT, two militant locals, the Chicago Teachers Union and United Teachers Los Angeles, led the Common Core fight. There were competing motions, with the passage of the weaker one reflecting the position of AFT President Randi Weingarten that Common Core is viable if it’s not connected to standardized testing. While there were not equivalent motions at the NEA Assembly, the debate on Common Core was still very vigorous, especially concerning its funding by the Gates Foundation. (See also A Teacher Decodes Common Core.)

With 3 million members, the NEA is still the nation’s largest union, though its ranks have thinned in recent years because of layoffs and anti-union legislation. It drew 7,100 delegates to mile-high Denver, down from 10,000 a decade ago. The smaller AFT came together the following week in Los Angeles, with half as many delegates.

New NEA officers were selected: Vice President Lily Eskelsen Garcia will replace outgoing President Dennis Van Roekel, reflecting the usual stairway to power. There was only one other candidate on the ballot, and little threat of real competition. No change at the top in AFT, where Weingarten was reelected.

Weingarten also attended the NEA assembly. One reason for her dual attendance is overlapping membership: AFT’s largest local, New York City’s United Federation of Teachers, is in both unions. So are a number of state affiliates, such as Minnesota’s, and locals, including UTLA and United Educators of San Francisco.

Astute NEA members noted the union’s growing links to the Service Employees, which has an increasing number of members in the education sector. SEIU President Mary Kay Henry was the keynote speaker on the assembly’s final day. Photo: Rick Runion/NEA.

Ties to Democrats

Top issues at both conventions included the standardized testing regime, the impact of charter schools, the implementation of No Child Left Behind, and Race to the Top’s funding incentives for restructuring.

Several motions, mainly from California, called for transparency about NEA’s alliances, including teacher training Teachers Union Conventions Reflect Common (Core) Frustrations | PopularResistance.Org:

Common Core Fallacy: Students Need Expensive Technology to be Successful | Missouri Education Watchdog

Common Core Fallacy: Students Need Expensive Technology to be Successful | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Common Core Fallacy: Students Need Expensive Technology to be Successful

inShare

None allowed in this summer math camp.

The argument that each student needs an IPad or other technology to become a ‘global citizen’ and learn math might not be true.  Have you seen any research showing this to be a valid statement?  When Scott Joftus of Cross & Joftus stated five years ago that

“You know we’re in a new era when school turnaround firms in the U.S. are being funded out of the Middle East,” Joftus said. “To me, that says there’s money to be made. I call this period the Wild West in education.”

it’s a good bet that the reformers are in it for the money, not the children.  When children are referred to as human capital and viewed as workers for the workforce, it’s increasingly apparent to many that this ‘education reform’ is primarily for the venture capitalists and private corporations.

Can we educate students to become ‘college and career ready’ without the expense of computer infrastructure, computers and other cutting edge technology?  Is it possible, even thinkable,Common Core Fallacy: Students Need Expensive Technology to be Successful | Missouri Education Watchdog:

White Suburban Dads—Even Worse than Moms? | EduShyster

White Suburban Dads—Even Worse than Moms? | EduShyster:

White Suburban Dads—Even Worse than Moms?

 If you could ask Arne Duncan just one question, what would it be?

By Patrick Hayes
If you could ask Arne Duncan just one question, what would it be? That’s the dilemma I faced when I heard that my district would be hosting a live Q & A with Big Dunk.There was the obvious choice:

*Whaddya’ get Bill Gates for Boss’s Day?  The man has everything.*

Instead, I settled on this:

*Your own department found a 36% error rate for value-added. Your department’s merit pay brief says: ‘Texas, Nashville, and Chicago programs all showed no effect on student achievement.’ (I could have added NY, Denver and, more than likely, DC to that list but didn’t want to get carried away…) Why are you spending our money on policies that are unfair to teachers and have an extensive record of failure?*

Talking talking points
Dunk’s response is on video, but I’m going to save you one minute and forty-one seconds White Suburban Dads—Even Worse than Moms? | EduShyster:

Tea Party text books in Arizona charter school Heritage Academy | Seattle Education

Tea Party text books in Arizona charter school Heritage Academy | Seattle Education:

Tea Party text books in Arizona charter school Heritage Academy

Heritage Academy: “Learning Our Heritage, Creating Our Legacy”

One of Arizona’s oldest public charter schools is under fire from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State for using textbooks that actively promote religious interpretations of American history.

Heritage Academy uses two books by controversial anti-communist author Cleon Skousen — The 5,000 Year Leap and The Making of America — that “push ‘Christian nation’ propaganda and other religious teachings on impressionable, young students,” according to Alex Luchenitser, the associate legal director for Americans United.

“Our purpose is not to convert students to different religious views,” Heritage founder and Principal Earl Taylor told The Arizona Republic. “It is to show them that religion Tea Party text books in Arizona charter school Heritage Academy | Seattle Education:

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charles Schwab -- A core member of the 'charter cabal'

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charles Schwab -- A core member of the 'charter cabal':

Charles Schwab -- A core member of the 'charter cabal'

Brokerage firm founder Charles Schwab rode the emerging wave of online investing to amass client assets of over $2 trillion, and he now has a net worth of $6 billion. He's now become one of the biggest patrons of corporate-style school reform, investing millions in privately-run charters schools like KIPP, Teach for America, The New Teacher Project, and Michelle Rhee's operation, and Stand for Children. Schwab also helps bankroll right-wing ed think tanks like the Fordham Institute.    

From Inside Philanthropy...

We're not sure why charters and finance billionaires go together like peas and carrots, but we'll save the theorizing for another article. What's notable about Schwab is that he's deeper into this area than many of the more glitzy hedge fund donors who get so much attention.

A $1 million gift to the Charter School Growth Fund in 2011 stands out, not only because of the size of the gift but also because of its destination. Founded in 2005, the Charter School Growth Fund Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charles Schwab -- A core member of the 'charter cabal':