8-30-14 Perdido Street School Week

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Perdido Street School Week

Anti-Tenure Lawsuit Groups Battle Each Other

The NY Post reports of dysfunction among the anti-tenure groups fighting to end teacher protections in New York State:The powerhouse law firm that was supposed to represent parent advocates suing to overturn the state’s teacher tenure laws has withdrawn from the case, The Post has learned. One of the parent advocates, Mona Davids, charged that the firm Gibson Dunn pulled out after “bullying” by ri

by reality-based edu... / 38min 

YESTERDAY

Joe Nocera Turns Against Test-Based Accountability

How often do you see something like this from a Times opinion page columnist?What should teacher accountability look like?We know what the current system of accountability looks like, and it’s not pretty. Ever since the passage of No Child Left Behind 12 years ago, teachers have been judged, far too simplistically, based on standardized tests given to their students — tests, as Marc S. Tucker poin

by reality-based edu... / 10h 

AUG 28

NYSED Releases District-By-District Principal/Teacher Evaluation Ratings Nine Months Late

Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY:ALBANY—Teachers and principals in New York's large, urban school districts received lower ratings on the first year of state-mandated evaluations than their counterparts in other districts, according to data released Thursday by the Education Department....The state education department released data in October 2013 showing statewide averages for teacher evaluations.

by reality-based edu... / 1d 

Quick Poll On UFT

This "Quick Poll" is on the UFT website: Which classic television show most accurately portrays the high school experience? Fame Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Wire (Season 4) Freaks and Geeks My So-Called LifeI don't really care about that poll, so I didn't respond to it, but it did give me the idea for our own little "Quick Poll" here at Perdido Street School blog:Which cl

by reality-based edu... / 1d 

Time To Send Tony Avella To The Political Trash Heap

I have nothing but disdain for the the Independent Democratic Caucus, the group of breakaway Dems that governed with Republicans and helped Governor Cuomo with much of his pro-Wall Street, pro-education reform agenda.The member of the IDC I have the most disdain for is Tony Avella, the "maverick" who stuck the knife into his fellow Dems earlier this year when he joined the IDC, allegedly

by reality-based edu... / 2d 

AUG 27

Eva Moskowitz Can't Pay Rent For Her Charter Schools But Can Afford $31 Million For New Offices

Eva Moskowitz criticized Mayor de Blasio as a hater of children in the latest issue of More Magazine (whatever that is): Controversial Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz attacked Mayor de Blasio in an interview with More magazine, calling him a "former operative of the teachers' union." "At best, we've prevented the mayor from acting on his hostility in the most dramatic, consequenti

3 by reality-based edu... / 2d 

AUG 26

Cuomo Signed NYSUT Leadership Pension Giveaway At Same Time Evaluation Deal Was In Works

When I first learned about Governor Cuomo signing the NYSUT leadership double pension giveaway, I figured there was some quid pro quo going on between the governor and the union leadership to get him to sign off on it.Tonight we learn from Jessica Bakeman that there was indeed a quid pro quo:ALBANY—Under a law approved in the final days of this year's legislative session, New York State United Tea

8 by reality-based edu... / 3d 

UFT Decides Not To Challenge The "Stop Common Core" Ballot Line

Looks like UFT President Michael Mulgrew wanted to punch GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino in the face over the "Stop Common Core" ballot line but decided not to:ALBANY – The major New York City teachers union considered challenging Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino’s attempt to create a Stop Common Core ballot line, but decided against it....“We challenge petitions

4 by reality-based edu... / 4d 

AUG 25

NYSED Looks To Make 40% of APPR Evaluations Based On State Tests

The APPR teacher evaluation system in New York is split so that 60% is based on "subjective" measures like classroom observations and (in some districts) student surveys while the other 40% is based on "student performance."The "student performance" APPR component is divided into 20% that is based on state tests and 20% that is based on "local assessments."T

43 by reality-based edu... / 5d 

AUG 24

Only State That Haven't Started Common Core Testing Are Eligible For Flexibility In Teacher Evaluations

Okay, here's an update on the late Friday post about New York not being eligible for the newly announced "flexibility" on teacher evaluations that Arne Duncan posted about on the USDOE website.First a recap. State of Politics linked to a Jessica Bakeman report at Capital NY on their Friday Extras round-up:New York is one of two states not eligible for new “flexibility” policies announced

29 by reality-based edu... / 5d 

Daily News: Cuomo Not Much National Stature For White House Run

From the Daily News: While Cuomo publicly dismisses talk of a candidacy, his people have hardly discouraged such speculation. A 2016 scenario goes like this: Hillary Clinton chooses not to run, blowing the Democratic field open. The problem for Cuomo, party activists and Democratic insiders say, is that he has done little to put himself in a position to be a national candidate, while other Democra

by reality-based edu... / 6d 

8-30-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

THE BECOMING RADICAL

EMPATHYEDUCATES!

the becoming radical 

 A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness 

by 

NPR Whitewashes Charter Schools and Disaster Capitalism in New Orelans

It was bad enough when NPR whitewashed the “grit” narrative, but now NPR is whitewashing charter schools and disaster capitalism in New Orleans. For context please see: Recommended: Hope Against Hope, Sarah Carr Endgame: Disaster Capitalism, New Orleans, and the Charter Scam More to come …

3 by plthomasedd / 1h 

AUG 28

remnant 61: “The right words always seemed to come too late”

remnant 61: “The right words always seemed to come too late”.

1 by plthomasedd / 1d 

The Great Media-Disciplines Divide

Posting at The South Lawn, Robert Reese, a PhD student in sociology at Duke University, confronts the marginalized role of the disciplines in the popular media: Like sports, nearly everyone has an opinion on race, but unlike sports, the training of race scholars is often meaningless in the public’s eye. Our knowledge is often attributed to mere opinion rather than theories and facts drawn from yea

13 by plthomasedd / 1d 

Denying White Privilege Has an Evidence Problem

If I had to guess, I suspect Bill O’Reilly fancies himself more akin to George Will, Newt Gingrich, or Cal Thomas than Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. But speculating on that self-delusion isn’t really necessary because the reality is that all of these white, male pundits share a single quality: privilege. And thus, it is all the more baffling when O’Reilly holds forth on denying privilege, prompting

51 by plthomasedd / 2d 

AUG 26

“Other People’s Children” v. “They’re All Our Children”

Optimism, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel—these are not my proclivities. And while I wallow in the self-delusion that I am a Skeptic, the truth is that I have long ago slipped over into the abyss of cynicism. There are moments, however, when I hope. One such moment was during the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy—when I wanted desperately to believe that President Obama’s call for seein

66 by plthomasedd / 3d 

Illinois School Bans Discussions of Michael Brown’s Death | Alternet

Illinois School Bans Discussions of Michael Brown’s Death | Alternet

1 by plthomasedd / 4d 

AUG 25

Confessions of an Outlier in the Aftershock of Ferguson

This is a reposting (slightly revised) from Daily Kos (16 December 2011), and offered in the context of the media and political demonizing of Michael Brown after he was shot, although unarmed, by a police officer. — Confessions of an Outlier in the Aftershock of Ferguson Megan McArdle has confronted Gene Marks’ “If I Were a Poor Black Kid” and drawn a much different conclusion: Sum it all up and

23 by plthomasedd / 4d hide  //  save

AUG 24

Diagramming Sentences and the Art of Misguided Nostalgia

Having been a serious competitive and recreational cyclist (not “biker”) for all but a handful of years over three decades, I cringe and must bite my tongue every time people refer to their bicycle “seat” (it is a “saddle”). During those years committed to cycling, I have also become well acquainted with the history of the professional sport and a fairly accomplished bicycle mechanic. I can take a

500+ by plthomasedd / 5d 

Truthout: The Gates Foundation Education Reform Hype Machine and Bizarre Inequality Theory, Adam Bessie and Dan Carino

The Gates Foundation Education Reform Hype Machine and Bizarre Inequality Theory, Adam Bessie and Dan Carino

18 by plthomasedd / 5d 

Howard Zinn: “education cannot be neutral on the critical issues of our time”

24 August 1922—Howard Zinn was born. His life and career spanned the twentieth century and into the first decade of the twenty-first. It is his memoir, You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times, for me, that speaks to the enduring power of Zinn’s metaphor, particularly for teachers. Historically and currently, teacher remain under the demand that their teaching—and ev

100+ by plthomasedd / 6d 

Here’s the New Meme for White People

One big happy family.Shutterstock By Christian Lander } Originally Published at Quartz. August 29, 2014 A few years ago, I wrote about white people and their love of “awareness” on my blog Stuff White People Like. The post talked about how white people loved awareness because it […]

by empathy / 9h 

AUG 28

Governor Bobby Jindal’s Commitment to Common Core Gone With The Wind

Remember when the National Governors Association told us that Common Core was our friend? It was not that long ago. The year was 2010. Way back then a states-led effort to develop the Common Core State Standards was adopted. For near a year, state leaders, including governors […]

60 by empathy / 1d 

AUG 27

I’m Black, My Brother’s White … and He’s a Cop Who Shot a Black Man on Duty

It’s one thing to have to ask this of the police. It’s another to ask it of your brother. Photograph: Steve Eberhardt/Demotix/Corbis By Zach Stafford | Originally Published at The Guardian. August 25, 2014 07.30 EDT My white brother loved black people more than I did when […]

100+ by empathy / 2d 

Illinois School Bans Discussions of Michael Brown’s Death

Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia via Shutterstock.com By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published at AlterNet. August 26, 2014 When faced with tragedies like the shooting of Michael Brown and the community unrest that followed, there are many hard questions to be asked. Why did this happen again? […]

by empathy / 2d 

Ferguson’s Schools Are Just as Troubling as Its Police Force

By Tracey Meares | Originally Published at The New Republic. August 22, 2014 A day after his visit to Ferguson, Missouri, Attorney General Eric H. Holder stated in a press conference that, “History simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson.” To what history was […]

by empathy / 3d 

AUG 26

Study; Police Often Provoke Protest Violence

Photograph; Demonstrators supporting protesters in Ferguson, Mo., hold up mirrors to police during a march Wednesday in Oakland. Photo Credit: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Beginning at birth we teach our children. We teach them how to talk, how to walk, and how to act with other children. […]

by empathy / 3d 

AUG 25

Back To Schools White People Cannot See

Failure to see race correlates to a failure to see the funding crisis. The School Reality White People Cannot See is that education is not equitably funded. (Image: flickr / cc / cortonflow)By Jeff Bryant | Originally Published at Our Future. August 21, 2014 As the season […]

100+ by empathy / 4d 

AUG 24

Wisdom from Ferguson’s Children

What is education? Is it testing? Teaching? Is it the Common Core Curriculum? Is it the possibility of opting-out? Is education the search for wisdom? And what about the children? Where might they be in this equation? Educators, reply; “A Whole Child education is essential.” But what […]

by empathy / 5d 

AUG 23

St. Louis Artists Respond To Ferguson With Chalk

What have we done to our children? We express distress over their education. All those tests, a standardized curriculum. Our schools are “failing,” or so some say and charter schools are scamming in countless ways. We try to opt out

by empathy / 6d