8-31-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 

You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.

Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

EdNext and the “Promise” of “Charter Choice”–But Let’s Not Mention the FBI

I have written a couple of posts of late regarding the results of Education Next’s 2014 public opinion survey, especially as concerns EdNext’s and its editor-in-chief Paul Peterson’s attempts to sell the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to a public that is only half aware of CCSS– and with the half who are aware increasingly rejecting those […]

2 by deutsch29 / 13min 

The Soap Opera of Teacher “Tenure” in Louisiana and New York

I am a tenured, career public school teacher. As such, I realize I am Public Enemy Number One to the fiscally-well-backed, non-teaching finger-pointers who call themselves “education reformers.” If only I could be fired without recourse, American education would no longer be “failing”; the security of my country would be certain, and we would once […]

1 by deutsch29 / 56min 

A Respectful Revolution: Questioning Union Practice as an Act of Loyalty

The most revolutionary act one can engage in is to tell the truth. -Howard Zinn        Does loyalty to one’s union require blind faith? Must one eschew raising questions and concerns to demonstrate solidarity? Over the past few weeks, I have asked myself these questions. Certainly, any organization worth protecting is worth holding up to […]

31 by biancatanis / 39min 

To all the cynics out there about the “ice bucket challenge”

Yes, I’ve read the critiques. I get it. I actually never thought I’d actually do one, especially since I wasn’t nominated. But then school started, and I thought that this would set an interesting example for students. So, I did it, with a nomination of another staff member and a promise of a $100 donation […]

2 by Shaun Johnson / 26min  

All Week 8-30-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archiv

by mike simpson / 1h 

8-31-14 Answer Sheet

Answer Sheet:

SAT/ACT tutoring: $1,500 for 90 minutes. And 14 sessions are required. Really.

If you thought that paying a couple of hundred dollars for an hour of SAT/ACT tutoring for your child was outrageous, get this: A tutor named Anthony Green charges $1,500 for 90 minutes — and he insists that customers take a minimum of 14 sessions, all online. Why? Because rich people will pay, and because he […]

6 by Valerie Strauss / 1h 

All Week @ The Answer Sheet 8-30-14

The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetState education board slams Obama administration’s testing policiesVermont’s Board of Education recently passed a resolution on assessment and accountability in public education (see full text below) that slams some of the Obama administration’s key school reform policies. Adding its voice to the growing chorus of critics who have called on the Education

by mike simpson / 1h 

8-31-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Lee County Board Member, Mary Fischer, Wants to Change Her Vote at 8:30 AM Tuesday Morning

Clip from News-Press.com:Opt-out may be a thing of the past.Lee County School Board member Mary Fischer said Friday afternoon that she changed her mind about the benefits of opting out, calling for the board to rescind the motion at a special school board meeting.Fischer, who served as the tiebreaker at Wednesday's 3-2 vote, called for the meeting to discuss repealing the sweeping decision. The me

2 by Jim Horn / 3h 

KIPP Must Get "Municipal Solid Waste Development Permit" Before Opening New School

In 2013 KIPP San Antonio bought a former sewing factory that was located on a solid waste disposal site as the venue for its next San Antonio corporate reform school.  KIPP paid the company that owned the toxic site over $3 million in money that was funneled through a holding company in Delaware. Below are two pages from the agreement.  Noteworthy is the bolded language on the second page, which r

2 by Jim Horn / 37min 

Citizen Jack's compendium of teacher reviews of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Empire

"They don't tolerate what we tolerate," she said several times. What is it HSA doesn't tolerate? According to my co-worker: disruptive children and parents who don't play an active role in their child's education. — Brian Jones"Jack," a frequent commenter on Professor Diane Ravitch's site, sent me the following compendium of reviews from a website that allows employees to rate

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 52min

8-30-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekPBS Higher Ed Series Reeks of Gates and Luminafrom Pando DailyIt's easy to understand how PBS and NPR can remain commercial free, once you accept the fact that they are heavily sponsored by billionaires and their foundations who get their commercials worked into the news stories, themselves.  Call it the latest in product placement.Over the past 8 years, NPR

by mike simpson / 1h 

8-31-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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

New Theory Of Knowledge Resources: 2015 Essay Titles & A Cool Diagram

As regular readers know, I have been teaching International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge classes at our school for years, along with many other courses. This year, for the first time, I’m excited to be teaching two TOK classes that also include several of my former English Language Learner students. Thanks to TheoryofKnowledge.net, I just learned that IB released the May 2015 essay titles. Yo

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 5min 

In 24 Hours, Look For A Lengthy Interview With Dana Goldstein In My Ed Week Column

A lengthy and fascinating interview with Dana Goldstein about her new book, “The Teacher Wars,” will appear in my Ed Week Teacher column late on Monday night. Here’s how a recent NY Times review of her book concluded:

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 45min hide  //  save

Great “Animations & Explainers” From The Guardian

The British newspaper The Guardian publishes a neat series of video “animations and explainers” that you can find on their YouTube channel. I’m adding it to The Best Online “Explainer” Tools For Current Events. Here’s an example: I’m adding that example to The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World.

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 45min 

“12 million historic copyright-free images” Now Available For Free Online

I’m just going to quote from this new BBC article, Millions of historic images posted to Flickr: An American academic is creating a searchable database of 12 million historic copyright-free images. Kalev Leetaru has already uploaded 2.6 million pictures to Flickr, which are searchable thanks to tags that have been automatically added. The photos and drawings are sourced from more than 600 million

8 by Larry Ferlazzo / 45min 

This Weekend Is The Ninth Anniversary Of Hurricane Katrina — Here Are Related Resources

© 2005 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio This weekend is the ninth-anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. You might be interested in The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About New Orleans, where I have many Katrina resources, and in The Best Short Video Clips About Hurricane Katrina. Here are new resources published around this anniversary: Swipe the ph

7 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 8-30-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE WEEKGov. Jerry Brown Appeals Awful Vergara Court RulingCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown, with the encouragement of state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, has announced the State of California will appeal the awful Vergara court ruling, which blames teachers for all of education and s

by mike simpson / 1h 

8-31-14 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.:

TMD. Vallas.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 15min

William Greider. Happy Labor Day, Mom.

- William Greider’s column appears in The Nation. I know this sounds absurd—it is absurd—but for some odd reason Labor Day reminds me of my mother. She was a school teacher, and I think she would have a good laugh to learn that so-called “education reformers” are accusing school teachers of being too powerful and protected. My father, who was himself a long-time member of our local school board, w

1 by Fred Klonsky / 2min

One minute video. Karen Lewis. Union Maid. Happy Labor Day!

https://vimeo.com/104852432

by Fred Klonsky / 35min 

Sunday reads.

Art Spiegelman in The Nation. Feeling sorry for Terrence Carter? Not me. Did you get your loyalty scorecard from Rahm? Hinsdale community rallies to “86 the majority” on the board. Teacher asks students to split into two groups to simulate ideal class size. Democrats? Republicans? Who will win? Wall Street. From Glen Brown’s blog: We Need a “Fighting Opposition” by Fred Klonsky “I believe that th

3 by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

8-30-14 Fred All Week 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.: Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacherKeeping retirement weird. The color line.On our road trip we stopped at the boyhood home of W.E.B. du Bois. Naturally. There was no parking space in front of our house when we got home yesterday afternoon. We had to unload the car

by mike simpson / 1h 

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: 5 Ideas to Make Lectures and Presentations Interactive

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: 5 Ideas to Make Lectures and Presentations Interactive:

5 Ideas to Make Lectures and Presentations Interactive

When I was a student, I had a problem staying awake in class. I felt bad and teachers were mad. Today, as a teacher myself, I discovered the blame was misplaced. I was sleeping because of boring lesson delivery. When I teach a class or an auditorium with hundreds, there is never any sleeping going on because I have an interactive and engaging delivery. Whether delivering a lesson to school children or providing professional development to adults, in today’s fast-paced, digital world, your audience deserves to have an interactive presentation where they are engaged.

Incorporate some of the strategies below and leave behind the days of sit and git lectures or presentations.

1) Polling with Cel.ly

Use a free platform like Cel.ly to poll your audience. This is a great way to get a reaction to something folks might not feel comfortable raising their hand for publicly or it can be a good way to determine if your audience is knowledgeable about a topic.  It’s also a great “choose your own adventure” technique. Ask your audience what they are more interested in and discuss that.

2) Peer instruction

I LOVE this and have used it with audiences of hundreds to have the room teach the room. Here’s how it works. Pose a question to the audience to figure out. You might want to show a video and pose a question, have them think about a passage they have read or have them respond to a real world experience. Ask the audience to raise put fingers up corresponding to the answer i.e. 1 finger for the first answer, 2 for the second, 3 for third. Or thumbs up true, thumbs down false.  Next ask them to find someone with a different answer and try to change the other person’s mind or be convinced of the answer so that both people have agreed on the answer.  When you vote again, you’ll find many more people have moved toward an answer.  Do this one more time.  Usually by the third time, the room will agree and peers will have taught one another.  You can read more about this technique created by Harvard Professor Eric Mazur here.

3) Word Clouds with Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere isn’t just for polling. As explained in the Free Tech for Teachers blog, Poll Everywhere has a cool feature that enables you to create word clouds by integrating Wordle, Tagxedo, and Tagul.  To use this feature just create an open-ended response poll as you normally would. Then in your administrative panel select "word cloud" on the right hand side of the screen. From there you will be given the option to pick your favorite word cloud service.

I’ve used this as a visually pleasing ways to collect responses to questions like, “What is your favorite social media platform” or “Share something you are passionate about” or “Who is your favorite author.”

3) Selfie Collage and Albums with Flickr

Set up a Flickr account for participants to contribute photos or videos.  The collage below was made when museum editors took selfies like their favorite artwork. A fun follow up activity would be for students to identify what artworks were represented.

View the slideshow below in full screen and select “Show Info” from the top right. This was a group of librarians sharing Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: 5 Ideas to Make Lectures and Presentations Interactive:

Striving Towards Local Control of Public Schools—A Proposal for Lee County and Beyond!:

Striving Towards Local Control of Public Schools—A Proposal for Lee County and Beyond!

AUGUST 31, 2014 BY NANCY BAILEY 2 COMMENTS

I would like to put forth a proposal.  What could the Lee County School Board do to make everyone happy or at least happier? I have an idea.

Patricia Levesque, CEO of Tallahassee-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, Jeb Bush’s group, put out a long statement expressing “deep disappointment” in “abandoning” the tests. She mentioned accountability and resources and then she said something quite astonishing. She accused Lee County of administering “160 tests over and above state required assessments.”

Whoa! Rewind that tape! That is a lot of testing!

This is the time for Superintendent Graham to call for a task force of parents and teachers to delete the unnecessary tests! It will take some work, but here is your opening, parents! Insist upon it! You don’t have to be at the meeting Monday morning, although it might help to put this on the table. Politely visit the Superintendent and demand this “plan” she spoke of during last Thursday’s meeting. I think she may be amenable to working with parents who want total opt out, to come to some consensus. You may not get rid of all the tests, but some is better than none. For now.

In fact, parents in every district should request a task force on testing that includes teachers and parents. And school boards supportive of their constituents should not deny them this request. This is one way for parents to get back their school boards and their schools…maybe.

To be honest, it is rather out of the ordinary to not have any tests.  There were all kinds of concerns about graduation requirements, loss of grants, and this could hurt students in some very real ways. But getting a task force of parents together to push for eliminating the 160 tests that Levesque mentioned is, in my booksStriving Towards Local Control of Public Schools—A Proposal for Lee County and Beyond!:

Robo-teachers? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Robo-teachers? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Robo-teachers?

In the recent film “The Robot & Frank,” an elderly Dad, played by the fine actor Frank Langella, is slipping into dementia so his adult son and daughter debate how best to help him out: get him into an assisted care facility, says daughter. Get him a domestic robot, a caregiver that cooks, cleans up and converses with Frank, says son.

Son wins and brings a robot to his Dad’s home to start care-giving. The sharp tensions between Frank and the mechanical caregiver dissolve as Frank realizes that he can resume his previous career as a cat burglar with the aid of the robot. So with this comedic story-line dominating the film, the serious moments of Frank realizing that he will no longer be the person he was—-Langella captures those emotions without saying a word–are lost. Thus, what could have been an insightful film, a study of the crushing  consequences of dementia on a person and family get twisted in the writers’  failure to decide whether they were doing a comedy or serious film.

But that film is not the point of this post.

The point is that while there are tasks that robots can do to help infirm elderly, ill patients, and students the connection between a machine and human being cannot replicate the fundamental cognitive and emotional bonds between humans that sustains caregiving, doctor-patient and teacher-student relationships.

And robo-caregivers, robo-doctors, and robo-teachers have surely entered the world of elderly care, medicine, and education.

 

NYC Educator: Another Prospective Teacher Bites the Dust

NYC Educator: Another Prospective Teacher Bites the Dust:

Another Prospective Teacher Bites the Dust

Yesterday I was in a truck stop outside Albany, buying important supplies like the Oreo cookies my daughter demanded to make the last leg of our trip home. The young woman behind the counter started talking about how long the hours were at that particular job. I told her a good solution was to find a job she loved, and then she wouldn't think about the hours that way.

She revealed the not-very-well hidden secret that she didn't love her current job and went on to tell me she wanted to be a corrections officer. I was pretty surprised. I guess there are people who want that job but its allure eludes me utterly. She spoke of how you didn't know what would happen from one day to the next. Though I couldn't argue with that, that was a pretty strong reason I'd never want that job. I guess we should be grateful there are people who want jobs we don't, or there'd be a whole lot more of us doing jobs we didn't like.

I told her I was a teacher, and she said that involved doing the same thing every day. I told her she was wrong, and that you never know what kids are gonna do from one day to the next. I told her that was one of the things I really loved about this job. I didn't get to mention that kids do troublesome and difficult things all the time as well. Personally, I have a lot more patience for behavior like this from kids than I do for adults. Kids are supposed to test us. They're supposed to do all sorts of crazy nonsense and we're supposed to guide them to use their energies to find happiness, even if it doesn't earn us credit on VAM scorers.

Her next argument came pretty quickly. She told me she had a son in second grade, and that he struggled with math. She said there were complicated formulas he had to use to draw conclusions, and that he didn't have a textbook, that she NYC Educator: Another Prospective Teacher Bites the Dust: