Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Morning Wink 7-22-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the public | The Hechinger Report
Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the public | The Hechinger Report: Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the publicBy Andre Perry“Why can’t New Orleans have a charter school for middle class blacks?” A black physician and parent of a teenage daughter unashamedly asked me this question as we deboarded a first class cabin from our flight
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-22-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Nevada Teacher to Senator Harry Reid: We Need Your Help!Angie Sullivan is a teacher-warrior who never gives up the fight for quality education in Nevada. She wants qualified teachers and adequate funding. She won’t back down. She wrote this letter to Senator Harry Reid: “@TeachForAmerica: “You’ve done so much to help our country.”
7-22-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Lee Sustar on #AFT14 Convention: Lots of Tough Talk - But Watch What They Do....to Randi Weingarten, "fighting forward" apparently means embracing the New York contract as a template for the entire union. The supposed benefits of the deal were hammered home throughout the convention. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose administration negotiated the agreement, spoke
7-22-14 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.: NBC’s Erin Carlson: “Karen Lewis for Eva Peron.” No. Madonna for Eva Peron. Lewis for mayor.“Lewis has been an Eva Peron-style champion for teachers facing layoffs, school closures and the loss of their pensions (along with police and fire unions).” NBC’s Erin Carlson. Ah. Chicago journalism. Here’s t
7-22-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Seven Good “Reads” On Ed Tech© 2010 Brad Flickinger, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are several recent good pieces related to educational technology: 10 Things Every Teacher Should Know How To Do With Google Docs is from Edudemic. Will Computers Ever Replace Teachers? appeared in The New Yorker. 3 Reasons Why Chromebook Be
7-22-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy
Wait What?: Wait What? The Beginning of the end for the Charter School Industry in ConnecticutGovernor Dannel “Dan” Malloy ushered in the Charter School Industry to Connecticut as part of his corporate education reform initiative in 2012.  As part of his “education reforms,”  Malloy become the only Democratic governor in the nation to propose doing away with teacher tenure and repealing collective
7-22-14 Answer Sheet
Answer Sheet: Educator: The many reasons ‘I am ashamed to be part of the system’Back in May I published a post by a veteran elementary school teacher named Ralph Ratto with this headline: ‘Today was the first day I was ever ashamed to be a teacher.’ What prompted him to write it was his experience administering controversial new Common Core-aligned standardized tests to his students in New York. I
7-21-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: UninformedTo the editor: Antonio Villaraigosa asks"Why are teachers unions so opposed to change?"(July 21). I would like to know why Mr. Villaraigosa is so opposed to learning the facts about American schools and the Common Core. Villaraigosa claims that American students do poorly compared to students in other countries on international tests and that the Common Core wil
7-22-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Four Reasons Why I Am Pumped Up About the BATS March on Washington
With A Brooklyn Accent: Four Reasons Why I Am Pumped Up About the BATS March on Washington1. It is a celebration of the creativity of public school teachers, parents and students as well as a protest with songs, plays, flash mobs, banners, poems and chants. What it is NOT, is a litany of boring speeches.2. It is a multiracial event which show cases our movement's growing strength in the inner city
7-22-14 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: The Hole in the Bucket of TeachersMany news outlets reported on a study from the Alliance for Excellent Education, which as you might guess from the buzzy name, is a DC based advocacy group that thinks CCSS is swell and aspires to have all students graduate with 21st century skills. Also, rigor.What does the study say? The study focuses on the attrition rate for teachers, and didn'
7-22-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Teachout And Astorino Make Joint Appearance To Hammer Cuomo On His Lack Of EthicsNick Reisman at State of Politics:Astorino, meanwhile, due to make a joint appearance with Zephyr Teachout this morning at the Tweed Courthouse — an eyebrow raising event that could garner both campaigns more attention during a relatively slow summer.Teachout, a Fordham law professor, is challen
GUEST: Ripoff “colleges”: Crushing debt and subprime education | Bob Braun's Ledger
GUEST: Ripoff “colleges”: Crushing debt and subprime education | Bob Braun's Ledger: GUEST: Ripoff “colleges”: Crushing debt and subprime educationPoliticians rain our money on ripoff schoolsBY LINDA STAMATOWe have been using public money to prop up private, for-profit colleges, while their students acquire crushing debt and questionable credentials.   And, more than half of the students default o
UARK Study Shamelessly (& Knowingly) Uses Bogus Measures to Make Charter Productivity Claims | School Finance 101
UARK Study Shamelessly (& Knowingly) Uses Bogus Measures to Make Charter Productivity Claims | School Finance 101: School Finance 101Data and thoughts on public and private school funding in the U.S.UARK Study Shamelessly (& Knowingly) Uses Bogus Measures to Make Charter Productivity ClaimsPosted on July 22, 2014      Rate ThisAny good study of the relative productivity and efficiency of c
On Charter Schools, Say This, Not That | EduShyster
On Charter Schools, Say This, Not That | EduShyster: On Charter Schools, Say This, Not ThatA new guide to charter messaging urges advocates to steer clear of corporate speakOnce every four minutes, a passionate charter advocate accidentally lapses into the kind of clinical corporate speak that can leave listeners cold—not to mention kids out of the equation. Would that there were a way to remedy t
SKrashen: Uninformed
SKrashen: Uninformed: UninformedSent to the Wall Street Journal, July 21Antonio Villaraigosa asks"Why are teachers unions so opposed to change?"(July 21). I would like to know why Mr. Villaraigosa is so opposed to learning the facts about American schools and the Common Core. Villaraigosa claims that American students do poorly compared to students in other countries on international tes
When Districts Create Selective High Schools, Students Segregate by Ability. Duh? | janresseger
When Districts Create Selective High Schools, Students Segregate by Ability. Duh? | janresseger: When Districts Create Selective High Schools, Students Segregate by Ability. Duh?Posted on July 22, 2014 by janressegerThe Hechinger Report and WBEZ Chicago just published a welcome expose by reporter Linda Lutton that confirms the obvious.  When you have school choice and when some high schools are co
In a Year, Child Protective Services Checked Up On 3.2 Million Children - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic
In a Year, Child Protective Services Checked Up On 3.2 Million Children - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic: In a Year, Child Protective Services Checked Up On 3.2 Million Children2.5 million of those kids were declared 'non-victims.' Another 686,000 were 'abused' or 'neglected.' And an estimated 1,640 kids died as a result. The stories of Debra Harrell, the working mother who was arrested for let
RACE COURSE: The Ancor of Race | Bill Ayers
RACE COURSE: The Ancor of Race | Bill Ayers:RACE COURSE: The Ancor of RaceThe recurrent U.S. story—dominant, habitual, profoundly functional—is a tale of democracy and freedom, uplift and forward motion, perpetual improvement and never-ending progress. It echoes in our consciousness until it achieves the exalted status of a truth beyond doubt, a plain American fact: “America is the greatest countr
Q&A: UC Berkeley prof on teacher collaboration and the future of LA schools | 89.3 KPCC
Q&A: UC Berkeley prof on teacher collaboration and the future of LA schools | 89.3 KPCC: Q&A: UC Berkeley prof on teacher collaboration and the future of LA schoolsTeachers in charter and pilot Los Angeles public schools collaborate with and trust each other significantly more than teachers in L.A. Unified's traditional large public high schools, according to a new report from University o
NYC Educator: Pay Up, Mayor de Blasio
NYC Educator: Pay Up, Mayor de Blasio: Pay Up, Mayor de BlasioTo my mind, the worst thing about the 2005 UFT Contract was giving up seniority transfers and the UFT transfer plan so that veteran teachers could become ATR teachers. Rendering them week to week wandering subs a few years back made that even worse. And the cherry on that cake was giving them second-tier due process rights, the very wor
Trib Talk: Chatting with Lily | Lily's Blackboard
Trib Talk: Chatting with Lily | Lily's Blackboard: Trib Talk: Chatting with LilyJul 22nd, 2014by Lily.Lily Eskelsen Garcรญa joined Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk about high-stakes testing, class sizes, immigration and other lessons she learned in Utah classrooms.Watch the conversation here:

YESTERDAY

Report: Higher education behind on Common Core | The Hechinger Report
Report: Higher education behind on Common Core | The Hechinger Report: Report: Higher education behind on Common CoreIt says universities and colleges aren’t ready for new standardsBy Jon MarcusAmerica’s primary and secondary schools may be busy preparing for the onset of the Common Core standards, meant to better prepare students for college, but one key partner isn’t even close to ready: college
Initiatives you won’t see on November ballot | EdSource
Initiatives you won’t see on November ballot | EdSource: Initiatives you won’t see on November ballotJuly 21, 2014 | By John Fensterwald | No CommentsEarlier this year, the secretary of state’s office gave sponsors of six proposed education-related ballot measures the go-ahead to collect the 505,000 signatures each needed to appear on the November  ballot. None qualified.Those that fell by the wa
A July 21, 2014, Update on Common Core, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced | deutsch29
A July 21, 2014, Update on Common Core, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced | deutsch29: A July 21, 2014, Update on Common Core, PARCC, and Smarter BalancedJuly 21, 2014On Sunday, July 20, 2014, I took the day off from writing. No book editing; no blogging.I think I have done so only for one other day since May.Instead, I read a book for the sheer enjoyment of reading. I chose my all-time favorite, a work
The Delusions Within Campbell Brown's Mind southbronxschool
http://www.southbronxschool.com: The Delusions Within Campbell Brown's MindEveryone's favorite ed deformer, Campbell Brown is back in the Daily News todaysharing her thoughts on the op-ed pages. This time she is attempting a new tact, claiming she is not attacking teachers at all but rather tenure. Yeah, sure. Let's have a looksee.Campbell blabbers; The tenacious New York parents who are challengi
Nite Cap 7-21-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT
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 CAPTea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study shows - Jonathan KantrowitzTea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study shows - Jonathan Kantrowitz: Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study s
Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study shows - Jonathan Kantrowitz
Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study shows - Jonathan Kantrowitz: Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study showsPosted on July 21, 2014 | By Jonathan KantrowitzPRINTSource: University of Notre DameIn January of 2009, Barack Obama assumed the U.S. presidency in the midst of the most severe recession since the great depression of the 1930s. While many
Are First-Year Teachers Ever Proficient? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Are First-Year Teachers Ever Proficient? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Are First-Year Teachers Ever Proficient?By Nancy Flanagan on July 21, 2014 4:53 PMI was enormously impressed with a recent blog by Tim Walker (Taught By Finland), an American teacher currently working in Finland. In this piece--a must-read, especially for novice teachers and policy-makers--Walker confess
Common Core Phrase: Teachers are ‘Guides on the Side’. Can Jibo Perform that Function? | Missouri Education Watchdog
Common Core Phrase: Teachers are ‘Guides on the Side’. Can Jibo Perform that Function? | Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Phrase: Teachers are ‘Guides on the Side’. Can Jibo Perform that Function?inShareCommon Core State Standards Initiative is dependent on technology for teaching material, assessing the material and then gathering the data from the assessments into state databases which t
7-21-14 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: POTUS gains support for minority educationMorning Read: POTUS gains support for minority education Obama to report widening of initiative for black and Latino boys President Obama will announce on Monday that 60 of the nation’s largest school districts are joining his initiative to improve t
7-21-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Want More Kids to Graduate? Report Suggests Starting with Mom and Dad”Want More Kids to Graduate? Report Suggests Starting with Mom and Dad is the headline of a post over at Education Week. Here are a some excerpts: A new report released today by the Foundation for Child Development and CLASP, a Washington think tank, find
7-21-14 The Whole Child Blog — What Advice Do You Have for New Principals?
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: What Advice Do You Have for New Principals?As the key players in developing the climate, culture, and processes in their schools, principals are critical to implementing meaningful and lasting change in the ongoing school-improvement process. Those who have a clear vision; inspire and engage others in embracing change for improvement; drive, facilitate
Conservative advocacy group pushes for charter funding :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet
Conservative advocacy group pushes for charter funding :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: Conservative advocacy group pushes for charter fundingby Alisha KirbyModel legislation aimed at improving the budgets of charter schools was released earlier this month by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which brings state lawmakers together wi
7-21-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Five Ways to Tell Whether the Charter School Near You Sucks
With A Brooklyn Accent: Five Ways to Tell Whether the Charter School Near You SucksThere are some excellent charter schools in NY and around the nation. I am not attacking them. However, all too many charter schools have the following characteristics1. Over paid "CEO's" who take pride in their dictatorial management style.2. Terrorized teacher temps who have no union protection 3. Studen
7-21-14 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.: Chicago politics. Magical thinking, perfect storms and bean bag.All weekend I have been asked the same question. “Is Karen going to run?” I consider Karen a friend. But let us be clear. I am not on her exploratory committee, an insider or political confidant. I don’t like sitting in on strategy meetin
Cartoons of Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Cartoons of Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons of Kids in SchoolYep, here’s another edition of monthly cartoons. The following cartoons of kids in school (and at home) have tickled me and I wanted to share them with readers. Enjoy!Cartoons of Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:
No Water, But Lots of Tests | educarenow
No Water, But Lots of Tests | educarenow: No Water, But Lots of TestsPosted on July 21, 2014 | Leave a commentI was recently at a social event when I mentioned to an educator friend that I was off to protest the Detroit water shut offs the following day.  I also added that every educator should be there.She paused and looked at me, and then asked, “Give me the nutshell explanation that connects wa
Morning Wink 7-21-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-21-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: South Carolina: State Vouchers Allow Profits at Expense of Public SchoolsThere is more than one way to harm public education. Several states have passed legislation to allow tax credits for scholarships to privat





Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the public | The Hechinger Report

Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the public | The Hechinger Report:



Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the public

By
“Why can’t New Orleans have a charter school for middle class blacks?” A black physician and parent of a teenage daughter unashamedly asked me this question as we deboarded a first class cabin from our flight to the Crescent City. If I weren’t bourgie (African American slang for Bourgeoisie – pronounced boo-zhee), I would have cringed.
Our affectations won’t allow us to admit, but black middle class families really do need quality public schools. Many middle-income families simply can’t afford their pretentious tastes for private and parochial schools, and we also don’t want to send our children to overwhelmingly white environments for fear of cultural isolation.
Click to read more columns.
Click to read more columns.
So, who is fighting for the Bourgie Charter Academy?
A school may assuage the pressure that middle class blacks are feeling in New Orleans. Black families make up about 60 percent of the total population and approximately 90 percent of the public school population. Since 1999, the share of New Orleans’s black middle and upper income households dipped from 35 percent to 31 percent while their white counterparts increased from 60 percent to 68 percent. In addition, post-Katrina structural changes to New Orleans Public Schools altered the student bodies of the traditional middle-, working-class havens. Eleanor McMain and McDonogh 35 lost some of their luster after changes in their entrance requirements and demographics. Consequently, those schools have yet to prove it was the school and not its demographics that brought acclaim and pride.
Enrollment and social struggles among the black parochial schools also reflect declining numbers and the difficulty that comes with inclusion. Unfortunately, schools’ reputations seem to be negatively correlated with the number of poor folk they educate.
While I’m sympathetic to the burden of Bourgie black folk, class struggles within individual ethnic groups are yet another set of barriers that keep schools and communities from reaching their democratic and educational ideals. The middle and upper middle classes’ perceptions and prejudices of poor black children are a primary reason New Orleans’ schools ended up in this systemic spaghetti bowl.
Public schools should look like the public. But public schools are the manifestations of the projected fears of the middle class – poor, black children.
We typically talk about white flight when describing the period when white families abandoned the public school system. However in New Orleans, we can easily describe the phenomenon as middle class flight. Whites represent approximately 35 percent of the total population but approximately 60 percent of the private/parochial schools. Blacks comprise about 35 percent of the private/parochial market. Whites alone didn’t exit public schools.
“The middle class should try to end poverty instead of shunning poor people. Maybe then our public schools would look like the public.”

Middle class parents of all stripes feel they’re risking their children’s educations by placing them in schools with high concentrations of students in poverty. I held my nose when I placed my three year-old child in a lottery for entry into a popular charter school. (Pardon the digression. The idea of placing your child in a lottery offends bourgie parents) After not getting in the school, I did the middle class rite of passage. I Imitating white privilege: Why our public schools don’t look like the public | The Hechinger Report:

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-22-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

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






Jon Pelto: Has the Charter Industry in Connecticut Lost Its Magic?
Jon Pelto speculates that the charter industry has lost its magic in Connecticut with the downfall of Michael Sharpe of Jumoke Academy and FUSE. Investigations multiply, and there’s the pesky fact that test scores tanked at one of the FUSE schools. And Pelto reports that the “reformer” selected to head the schools of New London is in more trouble. The vote by the board on whether to appoint him ha

FBI Seizes Records from Gulen Charter Schools in Chicago
Federal law enforcement agencies, armed with search warrants, raided the offices of Concept Schools in Illinois. The Chicago Sun-Times reports: “The recent FBI raid at the Des Plaines headquarters of Concept Schools focused on many of the politically connected charter-school operator’s top administrators and companies with close ties to Concept, according to federal documents obtained by the Chica


How Philanthropic Giving Has Changed in Past Decade
Sarah Reckhow and Jeffrey W. Snyder explain the new educational philanthropy–and how it intersects with federal priorities–in this valuable article. They spot three significant trends: “Our analysis proceeds in three parts. First, we examine phil- anthropic grant-making for political activities and demonstrate that funding for national policy advocacy grew from 2000 to 2010. Second, we analyze t

Nevada Teacher to Senator Harry Reid: We Need Your Help!
Angie Sullivan is a teacher-warrior who never gives up the fight for quality education in Nevada. She wants qualified teachers and adequate funding. She won’t back down. She wrote this letter to Senator Harry Reid: “@TeachForAmerica: “You’ve done so much to help our country.” – @SenatorReid via video to our alumni at #ECVegas14 I have a HUGE HUGE problem with this! BIG Gigantic! Senator Reid tha
Ira Shor: Why You Should Opt Out Your Children from State Testing
Ira Shor is a professor at the Coty University of New York, where he teaches composition and rhetoric. Shor understands that standardized testing is the foundation on which the entire “reform” project rests. Take away the test scores, and the data-driven teacher evaluation collapses, along with the ambitious plans for privatization. Shor writes: “Opt-Out: The REAL Parent Revolution” We parents c
Network for Public Education Seeking New Communications Director
I am happy to report that the Network for Public Education is growing and thriving. This is due in no small part to the excellent work of Rob Perry, who organized our website and wrote our newsletter. Rob did a superb job in building our Facebook presence, and after two years of dedicated service, has decided to move on to another opportunity. We found Rob by putting out an appeal on this blog and
Paul Horton: Will the Market Destroy Public Education?
Paul Horton, who teaches history at the University of Chicago Lab School, here analyzes the origins of neoliberalism and its attack on the public sector. The “rhetoric of economic freedom” has put a price tag everything. Self-interest and me-first have become the ideology of the day, and anyone who dares to think of what is in the best interest of society or how to raise up the poor is scorned as
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-21-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: South Carolina: State Vouchers Allow Profits at Expense of Public SchoolsThere is more than one way to harm public education. Several states have passed legislation to allow tax credits for scholarships to private and religious schools. This reduces the money available to support public schools. But it gets better! In South Carolin


7-22-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:







MORE Steering Committee: A Lesson in Democracy
You can't talk about democracy in the UFT unless your own group has established democratic procedures itself. And if done openly, so much the better. And boy is this tough, especially as you grow and try to scale up. If I was in a caucus in contention with Unity that was not practicing democracy, I would walk because we don't need a "new boss, same as old boss scenario." Democracy is not


Lee Sustar on #AFT14 Convention: Lots of Tough Talk - But Watch What They Do
....to Randi Weingarten, "fighting forward" apparently means embracing the New York contract as a template for the entire union. The supposed benefits of the deal were hammered home throughout the convention. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose administration negotiated the agreement, spoke to delegates through a recorded video message, following a breathless introduction by UFT Pr

7-21-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Rockaway Theatre Company's Gypsy: Weekend Sellout - Some PhotosIt's tough to have to spend less than 5 minutes on stage with no lines and basically nothing to do other than have the actors move you around and then spend the next 2 hours backstage until the curtain call trying to get out of everyone's way. When I'm done I'll share the column for The Wave I'm working on the total ex