LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-31-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Pittsburgh was the First District to End Its Contract with TFA

Shortly after posting that the school board of Durham, North Carolina, voted not to renew its contract with Teach for America, I recalled that another major city had done the same, reversing the previous board’s decision to bring in 30 TFA recruits. Last December, the newly elected majority on the Pittsburgh school board voted 6-2 not to renew its contract with TFA. The issue was how to fill posit

by dianeravitch / 2min

Breaking News: Durham Public Schools Votes to End TFA Contract

The Durham public school board voted 6-1 to finish its current contract with Teach for America and then sever the relationship. “The Durham school district will honor its current contract with Teach For America, but the national teacher training program’s future with Durham Public Schools is up in the air. “The school board voted 6-1 last week to honor its commitment to TFA teachers, including fi

4 by dianeravitch / 11min 

Stephen Sawchuck Asks: Do Evaluations Punish Teachers of Needy Students?

Stephen Sawchuck notes in his blog at Education Week that a pattern is emerging from teacher evaluation programs: The highest ratings go disproportionately to teachers of advantaged students and the lowest ratings to teachers of students who are disadvantaged. He wonders whether this suggests that the ratings systems are biased against those who teach the neediest students or does it suggest that

5 by dianeravitch / 15min 

Schneider: The New Sales Technique for Common Core

Mercedes Schneider has discovered a new public relations campaign to sell the Common Core, especially in California, where the state has not jumped head first into testing, as New York did. Since public support, especially teacher support, for Common Core appears to be evaporating, it makes sense to hire a sophisticated group of communications experts to redesign the sales campaign. No more cris

4 by dianeravitch / 44min 

Ohio: When Does Public Money Turn into Private Assets?

Bill Phillis, a veteran warrior for public schools and equitable financing of them, wrote the following in response to a court case that will be heard on September 23. Does a for-profit private corporation own all the assets of the schools it manages? Who owns school facilities, equipment, technology, furniture and other assets purchased with taxpayer’s money? White Hat Management? The privately-o

4 by dianeravitch / 18min hide  //  save

Ohio: When Is Public Money Not Public Money?

Bill Phillis of the Ohio Equity and Adequacy Coalition asks, where is the outrage? He writes: “Charter school operators argue that public tax money becomes private when it reaches the borders of charterland “Real estate, facilities, equipment, education materials and all other assets purchased by public school districts, obviously, belong to those political subdivisions-not private individuals. D

18 by dianeravitch / 48min 

Susan Ochshorn: Play Is Necessary for Children’s Healthy Mental Development

Susan Ochshorn, a specialist in early childhood education, demonstrates in this post (as she has before, and will again) that play is crucial for the healthy mental development of young children. Ochshorn is the founder of ECE Policyworks and a tireless advocate for childhood. Ochshorn cites the research of Deborah Leong to explain the importance of play. “Self-regulation, as the non-neuroscient

22 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Chicago Public Schools Best Charters

Ra Rmanuel has not disguised his dislike for public education or his love for charter schools. After all, he closed more public schools at one time –50–than any other school district in U.S. history. Well, how about this? An independent report found that Chicago public schools outperformed Chicago charter schools, especially in reading, but in math as well. “Austin community activist Dwayne Trus

14 by dianeravitch / 2h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 8-30-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGRuth Conniff: The FBI Is Investigating Charter School MalfeasanceRuth Conniff of “The Progressive” reports that the FBI is becoming more assertive in its investigation of criminal behavior by charter schools. Charter schools receive millions of dollars of public money with minimal accountability. In some states, they have

by mike simpson / 9h 

UPDATE: Krugman on "The Medicare Miracle" + Ferguson - it is really about WHITE rage by teacherken

Ferguson - it is really about WHITE rage:

Krugman on "The Medicare Miracle"

... a funny thing has happened: Health spending has slowed sharply, and it’s already well below projections made just a few years ago. The falloff has been especially pronounced in Medicare, which is spending $1,000 less per beneficiary than the Congressional Budget Office projected just four years ago. That is one key paragraph from this Paul Krugman column in Monday's New York Times.  As is ofte

14 by rss@dailykos.com

Ferguson - it is really about WHITE rage

byteacherkenFollow

 
 
• 28 Comments / 28 New

White rage recurs in American history. It exploded after the Civil War, erupted again to undermine the Supreme Court’sBrown v. Board of Education decision and took on its latest incarnation with Barack Obama’s ascent to the White House. For every action of African American advancement, there’s a reaction, a backlash.

That is a key quote from Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress., an op ed in today's Washington Post by Carol Anderson, an associate professor of African American studies and history at Emory University and a public voices fellow with the Op-Ed Project.

My sole purpose in posting this diary is to draw attention to that op ed.

I have little to add to her analysis, which is superb, which reminds us how often this has happened after what appears to be advances for African-Americans:

- post-Reconstruction with Southern states restricting and diminishing rights of Blacks
- Post -Brown with the Southern Manifesto
- post-2012 election of Obama with new efforts at voter suppression

There is more, much more in the history.

There is the economic impact of the Great Recession, which has fallen far more heavily on minority communities.

To which I would add the attacks on public schools, largely those that serve minorities, especially African-Americans (think Detroit or DC or Philadelphia or Camden or Newark).

Had I any doubt about the importance of this op-ed, it ended when I read the final two paragraphs, one long, one very brief, so below the fold I will end with those:

So when you think of Ferguson, don’t just think of black resentment at a criminal justice system that allows a white police officer to put six bullets into an unarmed black teen. 

Yet again a Saturday morning teaching reflection by teacherken

Yet again a Saturday morning teaching reflection: Yet again a Saturday morning teaching reflectionbyteacherkenFollow    18 Comments / 18 NewStudents began classes on Wednesday, so I am getting back into the rhythm that has been so much of a part of my life for the past two decades or so.  And is my wont I take some time on a Saturday morning before returning to the tasks associated with being a hi

by mike simpson / 7h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 8-31-14

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

Editorial: CLASSROOMS KEY BATTLEFIELDS IN THE WAR ON POVERTY

LA Daily News Editorial | http://bit.ly/1ufrfUM ●●: This slipped through the 4LAKids cracks two weeks ago. It is no less timely. 8/15/14, 2:44 PM PDT   ::  Of the many battlefields where the half-century-old War on Poverty has been fought, there may be none so important — or difficult to conquer — as our public classrooms. Here in Southern California, the connection between education and

1 by smf / 6min hide  //  save

EARLY CHILDHOOD ED GETS FUNDING BOOST: LAUSD will restore funding for thousands of early childhood education student slots that had been cut + smf’s 2¢

By Sara Hayden, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1rHnISg Aug 30, 2014  ::  The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education passed a resolution Tuesday to increase funding by millions of dollars for the district's early education program. The resolution, which passed in a 6-1 vote, is intended to eventually restore funding over the next few years for thousands of slots for children in early childhood

1 by smf / 35min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 8-30-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  iPadGate: OFFICIALS ON BID COMMITTEE GOT FREE TABLETS, RESORT TRIPS + smf’s 2¢Annie Gilbertson | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/1qcmZpz L.A. Unified has already purchased 75,000 iPads, half with Pearson software. Here, second graders at Baldwin Hills Elementary swipe through their iPads for the first time and call

by mike simpson / 9h 

8-31-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:

PDK & Marketing for the Core

One of the features of Common Core has always been the ability to market materials on a national scale. A national set of standards should help edubizes get away from having to marker fifty different sets of materials, but it only partially solves the problem of millions of individual teachers who think they have the professional expertise to think and choose for themselves.We've already covered t

3 by Peter Greene / 4min 

7 Reasons To Send $$ To Teachout/Wu NY Campaign

Why contribute to a New York gubernatorial campaign when you don't live in New York?Zephyr Teachout is challenging Andrew Cuomo for the Democrat position on the ballot. While a victory is unlikely, it's not impossible. And you, dear reader, are probably not even a New York resident. Here's why you should support Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu anyway.Send a message to the Democratic PartyThe Democratic

45 by Peter Greene / 1h 

Why Aren't More Women in Tech? Here's One Thought...

If you need a reminder just how bad misogynistic behavior can be in our current culture, there is news this week to remind you.Anita Sarkeesian is someone you should know. Her vlog series "Tropes vs. Women" has over the last few years dissected and explained the sexism of the video gaming world. Her videos are thoughtful and scholarly. Based on the website Feminist Frequency, they provid

21 by Peter Greene / 40min 

8-30-14 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:Curmudgucation WeekFirst Loser in NY Anti-Tenure LawsuitIn the end, there can be only one.Even though it's all about the kids, according to the NY Post only one group gets to stand center stage for the big New York Tenure Takedown Lawsuit. Previously the Campbell Brown nameplate case was going to have to share the big Caring for Kids spotlight with Mona Davids (of New York Parents U

by mike simpson / 8h 

8-31-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

Carmen Farina Vows To Drain ATR Pool By Having Principals Target ATR's

Buried at the bottom of this Daily News story on Chancellor Farina's goals for the new school year is this:Fariña pledged to announce in the next two weeks a big reduction in the number of teachers getting paid despite not having steady classroom jobs. Earlier this month 114 of the roughly 1,100 teachers — known as the Absent Teacher Reserve — accepted $16,000 buyouts. Fariña said the numbers woul

by reality-based edu... / 13min 

8-30-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekAnti-Tenure Lawsuit Groups Battle Each OtherThe 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 paren

by mike simpson / 8h  

Education myth busters: Do criticisms of U.S. schools rely on... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Education myth busters: Do criticisms of U.S. schools rely on... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Education myth busters: Do criticisms of U.S. schools rely on bad information and distortions?  

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Education myths dispelled

Previous Posts

• Children will have better job choices if more of them have school choice
  August 30, 2014
• Brother, can you spare a pencil? Or a piece of paper? Or a calculator? 
  August 28, 2014
• Four young men. Four success stories. Someone believed in them. 
  August 27, 2014

By Maureen Downey

University of Georgia professor and frequent AJC Get Schooled contributor Peter Smagorinsky discusses an interesting new book exposing the misperceptions and distortions about America's schools. 

By Peter Smagorinsky

A years back there was a public service ad on TV that featured a teenaged boy discussing a major event of the day with his friends. He made his points convincingly because he understood the issues better than they did. At the end of the ad, he turned away, and the camera focused on his back pocket, in which he carried a book. The ad implicitly conveyed Thomas Jefferson’s belief that “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.”

I loved that ad.

If I were to pick one book that people should have in their back pockets when talking about education, it’d be 50 Myths & Lies that Threaten American’s Public Schools: The Real Crisis in Education by David C. Berliner and Gene V. Glass.

Berliner has, for decades, provided counter-arguments to deceits designed to undermine public education, including his coauthored 1995 book The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, And the Attack on America's Public Schools, written to counter the politicized rhetoric of decline surrounding the schools of two decades ago.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose:  The more things change, the more they remain the same.

My goal here is not to provide a comprehensive summary or review of 50 Myths & Lies; there’s one here if that’s what you’re looking for. Rather, in this brief space, I’ll provide a sample of what the authors achieve in this highly readable volume.

Berliner and Glass systematically dismantle a range of bogus beliefs surrounding schools, exposing the deceptions that have served to construct an image of education quite different from its realities. They do use test data to buttress claims, such as their conclusion that when factors such as poverty are controlled for, U.S. students’ test scores rank fairly high in international comparisons.

At the same time, they often question the manner in which test data are used in both innocently Education myth busters: Do criticisms of U.S. schools rely on... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Teacher to Parent | lacetothetop

Teacher to Parent | lacetothetop:

Teacher to Parent

Dear Parents:

As we begin another school year, we would like to set your minds at ease about a few things.  First and foremost, please know that we are not upset about going back to work.  We love teaching and consider it the most rewarding profession in the world.

We look forward to meeting your children.  We know that everyone has quirks.  Some people are cranky in the morning.  Some people are nervous to speak in front of people.  Some people need an extra smile of reassurance every now and again.  We promise to do our best to understand your children and make our classrooms places where they feel comfortable, appreciated, and happy.

It is the needs of the students in our classes that dictate the pace and content of our lessons. “One-size-fits-all” is for ponchos, not education.

We see you as teammates, not adversaries, and we hope that you see us the same way. We know that you know your children best, and we appreciate when you share your observations about how your children are managing the demands of our classes. An open dialogue between us is necessary for success.

We take cues from the students about what works and what doesn’t work and adjust our methods accordingly.  Our goal is not to simply get through a lesson.  Our goal is to make sure your children are engaged every step of the way.

We are concerned about the future of public education and we are taking active roles in preserving what we believe to be the right of all children to have high quality, meaningful education that will prepare them for their own unique long-term goals.

Take a deep breath, parents. Have faith in our ability to maintain our focus on educating your children in the face of the many obstacles being thrown in our way.  We have not given up.  We will continue to support your children in the classroom and fight for them outside of the classroom.  Most of all, we thank you for trusting us with your babies—whether they are in kindergarten or twelfth grade—and we promise to take good care of them.

Respectfully,

Teachers

Teacher to Parent | lacetothetop:

It’s Sunday–pray for the children of Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger

It’s Sunday–pray for the children of Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger:

It’s Sunday–pray for the children of Newark

Will ministers open their churches to children? The way one church welcomed Christie?

A state administrative law judge has postponed a hearing on the litigation brought by Newark residents  to block the state-imposed “One Newark” plan that has disrupted the lives of thousands of Newark families. Barring some last-minute effort in another court, the decision by Ellen Bass ends any chance of stopping the effort by state superintendent Cami Anderson to disperse children throughout the city and launch new charter schools.

Schools will open on Thursday with shuttle buses taking small children far from their homes, with special education children placed without regard to their Individual Educational Plans (IEPS) and parents worried about whether their children will come home safely.

But it’s Sunday–and, throughout the city and state, ministers and reverends and priests will be offering homilies. I wonder how many clergymen and clergywomen  will be preaching about the mistreatment of tens of thousands of Newark children and what they  might have done to alleviate that suffering.

Rev. William Howard

What they still could do–by opening up their churches to the children of parents who are afraid to send their kids to chaotic public schools. Earlier this year, 77 Newark religious leaders issued a letter It’s Sunday–pray for the children of Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger:

MORE Needs to Change southbronxschool

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

MORE Needs to Change

First let me share, for those who don't know, that I am a Jew. It seems important in this conversation, but from what I have been reading it is. I am not a Lower Eastside Jew, wait I am. My paternal grandfather and his family first lived on Ave C and 9th St when they first came over in 1903. Eventually they moved to the Bronx and my grandfather was quite active in Tammany Hall. Oh, and during prohibition ran booze down from Canada and after that sold Slivovitz out of the trunk of his Buick that my great grandfather had produced using my 6 year old father and his 8 year old cousin to smash the plums in the bathtub in his apartment on Walton Ave in the Bronx.


I also have some tried and blue Communists in my family. A cousin, the actor Howard Da Silva (He played Louis B Mayer in "Mommie Dearest" and Ben Franklin in "1776") was a Communist and blacklisted by Joe McCarthy.

When my dad's uncle went off to Berkeley in the mid 1920's, it was Howard Da Silva who turned him onto Communism. My great uncle was soon ushered out of the State Department just before WW II, moved to China after the war, fell out of favor with Mao in 1949, and moved to Rome where he lived until his death in 1977.

My great-aunt (My grandfathers sister) said to me about 20 years ago (This coming from a 91 year old short Jewish woman) "I'll kill anyone in the family that doesn't vote for a Democrat."

Oh, before I forget, I lost family in the Holocaust. My maternal grandmother's uncle (As well as her brother in law. He married her sister!) died in the Lødz Ghetto in 1941 along with his wife and his http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Young Poet Steals John Legend Show With Ferguson Tribute

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Young Poet Steals John Legend Show With Ferguson Tribute:

Young Poet Steals John Legend Show With Ferguson Tribute

by Mike Klonsky / 1h

8-30-14 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership Society All Week

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog:Schooling in the Ownership SocietyMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership SocietyNine years since Katrina. Maybe some justice for New Orleans teachers.On Sept. 4th, the State Supreme Court will hear the case of 7,000 teachers fired after Hurricane Katrina. "Katrina accomplished in a day ... what Louisiana school reformers couldn't do after years of tr

by mike simpson / 8h 

What’s Your Plan B? | Connected Principals

What’s Your Plan B? | Connected Principals:

What’s Your Plan B?

by Larry Fliegelman • August 31, 2014 • 0 Comments

While watching an observation training video, I noticed the teacher accidentally turned off the projector and then did not get it going again for a while. The technology failed (sort of), and the teacher kept on teaching with little disruption to the lesson.
While this shows a fairly strong set of classroom/lesson management skills, it also shows that the tech was not particularly important. As I watched the rest of the lesson, I hoped to see something more than failed Substitution (learn more about Substitution and SAMR).
Setting my critique of the level of technology integration aside, I was reminded of my first edtech lesson from the week-long SummerCore in 1997: always have a plan B. In other words, be prepared in case the technology fails. At the time (and still, unfortunately) tech failed pretty often.

In other other words, if the lesson is only about the tech, it might not be a great lesson.

As for having a plan B, in the fall after that summer course, I was trying an What’s Your Plan B? | Connected Principals: