Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows

Because I'm Worth It? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Because I'm Worth It? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:Because I'm Worth It?by Nancy FlanaganI worked for two years at a non-profit whose mission centered on improving teaching. The first and most important thing I learned there was that nobody--not the most supportive policy wonk, not the most effusive public education proponent--understands the sheer hard work and complexity of teaching, unless they've chosen classroom teaching as a long-term career.About a month after I started at the ... more »

THE STULL ACT & THE ED VOICE v. LAUSD LAWSUIT: Less than meets the eye, more than you wanted to know

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: THE STULL ACT THE ED VOICE v. LAUSD LAWSUIT: Less than meets the eye, more than you wanted to know:THE STULL ACT THE ED VOICE v. LAUSD LAWSUIT: Less than meets the eye, more than you wanted to know●● S M F N O T E S:The lawsuit it not really called Ed Voice v. LAUSD – that would make too much sense. It is JANE DOE, et al, v. JOHN ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cuts have been a disaster for public ed

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cuts have been a disaster for public ed:Cuts have been a disaster for public edby Mike KlonskyCuts have been a disaster for public edHuffington's Joy Resmovitz reports that a UFT survey of 900 New York City schools finds that three quarters of elementary schools, 61 percent of middle schools and 59 percent of high schools had increased class sizes. "What we know is what we feared was happening," [UFT Pres. Mike] Mulgrew says. "Now, all 1 ...more »

Advocates say they haven’t heard from the DOE’s “chief parent” | GothamSchools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Advocates say they haven’t heard from the DOE’s “chief parent” | GothamSchools:Advocates say they haven’t heard from the DOE’s “chief parent”by Gloria Medina/EDLPThis story originally appeared in Spanish in El Diario.The city’s school system has a new person in charge of helping the parents of the 1.1 million children in public schools. The problem is that many have not heard of him since he was appointed last July.After three months in his role as “chief parent” of the New York ... more »

Rocketship Responds to Issues Raised « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Rocketship Responds to Issues Raised « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:Rocketship Responds to Issues Raisedby millerlfFollowing the op-ed I wrote for the Journal Sentinel (see Journal Sentinel Op-Ed: Rocketship Charter Schools Need Scrutiny) on Rocketship’s 3 “model” schools in San Jose California I received a “Key Facts” response from them (view at Rocketship Provided Data). They address the issues of attrition and special education.I find it curious that the number of students with special needs, in all 3 schools, ... more »

HechingerEd Blog | With concentrated poverty on the rise, should ed reformers be worried?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

HechingerEd Blog | With concentrated poverty on the rise, should ed reformers be worried?:With concentrated poverty on the rise, should ed reformers be worried?by Sarah GarlandThe number of people living in concentrated poverty rose substantially over the past decade, according to a Brookings Institution report out today: ”After declining in the 1990s, the population in extreme-poverty neighborhoods—where at least 40 percent of individuals live below the poverty line—rose by one-third from 2000 to 2005–09.”Education reformers who ascribe to the No ... more »

Occupy Wall Street Adopts a Spokes Council | OccupyWallSt.org #OWS

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Occupy Wall Street Adopts a Spokes Council | OccupyWallSt.org:Occupy Wall Street Adopts a Spokes Councilby OccupyWallStThis past Friday, the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly voted to adopt an additional coordinating body called a Spokes Council.The proposal was put forth by the Structure Working Group, which was born out of numerous discussions in the GA on the need for a more accountable body for operational decisions around the occupation. The main challenges the Spokes Council aims to address are: effective coordination ... more »

Shanker Blog » The Impact Of The Principal In The Classroom

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Shanker Blog » The Impact Of The Principal In The Classroom:The Impact Of The Principal In The Classroomby Esther QuinteroDirect observation is way of gathering data by watching behavior or events as they occur; for example, a teacher teaching a lesson. This methodology is important to teacher induction and professional development, as well as teacher evaluation. Yet, direct observation has a major shortcoming: it is a rather obtrusive data gathering technique. In other words, we know the observer can influence ... more »

The convicted extortionist William Cellini, Jim Thompson and Ty Fahner. Connect the dots and follow the arrows to TRS. « Fred Klonsky's blog

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The convicted extortionist William Cellini, Jim Thompson and Ty Fahner. Connect the dots and follow the arrows to TRS. « Fred Klonsky's blog:The convicted extortionist William Cellini, Jim Thompson and Ty Fahner. Connect the dots follow the arrows to TRS.by Fred KlonskyConvicted felon William Cellini used our TRS to extort money.When the press reported the story of William Cellini, the convicted extortionist, they focused on the part of the story where he threatened a Hollywood producer in order to get ... more »

Radical Scholarship: CALL for proposals: De-Testing and De-Grading Schools (IAP)

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Radical Scholarship: CALL for proposals: De-Testing and De-Grading Schools (IAP):CALL for proposals: De-Testing and De-Grading Schools (IAP)by P. L. ThomasDe-Testing and De-Grading Schools: Authentic Alternatives to Accountability and StandardizationJoe Bower and P. L. Thomas, editorsInformation Age Publishing (IAP)Focus:The most recent century of education and education reform along with the last three decades of high-stakes testing and accountability reveals a disturbing paradox: Education has a steadfast commitment to testing and grading despite decades of research, theory, and p... more »

It Might Be Worth Checking-Out These English Language Development Standards | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 13 hours ago

It Might Be Worth Checking-Out These English Language Development Standards | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:It Might Be Worth Checking-Out These English Language Development Standardsby Larry FerlazzoIn September, WIDA released a draft version of the English Language Development Standards, 2012 Edition, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. Their comment period ends on November 11th.I’ve never paid much attention to WIDA’s standards in the past since California has not worked with them. However, a month ago WIDA won the grant to develop ... more »

All Education Matters: Indebted, Educated Occupiers Unite: Students Denounce Sallie Mae and Student Loan Debt #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 13 hours ago

All Education Matters: Indebted, Educated Occupiers Unite: Students Denounce Sallie Mae and Student Loan Debt:Indebted, Educated Occupiers Unite: Students Denounce Sallie Mae and Student Loan Debtby Cryn JohannsenStudents in Washington, DC have joined forces to protest Sallie Mae and student loan debt. This is great news, because these young people have not yet graduated from college and are already aware of the student lending crisis.I am currently in DC, and will be meeting with occupiers here. It is my hope ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: What Happened To Vouchers?

Jersey Jazzman: What Happened To Vouchers?:

What Happened To Vouchers?

by Duke

A while ago, I speculated that there may be some friction between the various factions in the New Jersey reformy world. I'm wondering if we're starting to see another rift emerge.

Yesterday, I offhandedly asked whether vouchers were part of the B4K agenda for "reform." Curious, I went to the B4K website and looked up their view on the matter:

... B4K supports the implementation of a targeted scholarship program that focuses on low-income children in the lowest performing of the former Abbott districts, such as Camden and Newark, or districts with similar conditions, as it would give children the option to attend a participating public school that opts into the program, or a private school approved

Last Stand for Children First: Think Tank Study Finds Think Tank Researchers Underpaid

Last Stand for Children First: Think Tank Study Finds Think Tank Researchers Underpaid:

Think Tank Study Finds Think Tank Researchers Underpaid

by Last Stand for Children

The release of today's study by The Ponds Institute for Statistical Research in conjunction with Last Stand for Children First is sending shock waves through the research establishment. The study, which took a comprehensive look at researcher salaries in comparison with a wide variety of both public and private occupations. The study concluded that think tank researchers performed one of the most important tasks in our economy, yet are not paid a corresponding wage.

"When you consider just how important the work of think tanks is, they are woefully underpaid by as much as 75%. The real problem is that in the future promising graduate may begin pursuing careers doing stuff rather than joining think tanks," said Martin Zale head researcher for the study, "then where will we be?"

Wisconsin Education Dept. Responds To DOJ Voucher Probe:

Joy ResmovitsJoy.resmovits@huffingtonpost.comBecome a fan of this reporter

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Wisconsin Education Dept. Responds To DOJ Voucher Probe

First Posted: 11/3/11 05:30 PM ET Updated: 11/3/11 06:37 PM ET

The Department of Justice has begun an investigation into Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, probing whether Milwaukee's state-administered voucher system is discriminating against students with disabilities. In response, the state is arguing that federal obligations don't apply to Wisconsin's voucher schools, according to a letter obtained by The Huffington Post Thursday.

Milwaukee's voucher system, which allows low-income students to attend private schools using tax dollars, came under fire in June for allegedlydiscriminating based on disability. The complaint ultimately led to the Department of Justice investigation.

Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction responded to the DOJ Sept. 27 in a letter that has not

Schools Matter: Save Diversity in Wake County Schools: Vote on Tuesday

Schools Matter: Save Diversity in Wake County Schools: Vote on Tuesday:

Save Diversity in Wake County Schools: Vote on Tuesday

by Jim Horn

From NPR:

Not long ago, I posted on the challenge North Carolina represents for President Obama who won the state in 2008 and badly needs it in his column again.

I mentioned a New Yorker piece by Jane Mayer on Art Pope, the conservative North Carolina businessman who has reshaped his state's politics more towards his GOP leanings by bankrolling a number of campaigns and think tanks.

A campaign he's put some emphasis on is a race for a seat on the Wake County school board. The county is home to the city of Raleigh.

The school board's bare GOP majority in 2009 discarded a policy that used family income to try

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: The Death and Life of the Great American School System: RAVITCH UPDATES BEST SELLING BOOK ON ED REFORM

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: The Death and Life of the Great American School System: RAVITCH UPDATES BEST SELLING BOOK ON ED REFORM:

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: RAVITCH UPDATES BEST SELLING BOOK ON ED REFORM

BY VALERIE STRAUSS | WASHINGTON POST/ANSWER SHEET BLOG | HTTP://WAPO.ST/SKBNRM

11/03/2011 6:30 AM ET - Critics of Diane Ravitch like to say that the education historian talks a lot about what is wrong with the modern school reform movement but doesn’t offer solutions about how to fix anything. Historians, of course, by definition spend their time looking to the past, not making policy pronouncements about what should be. That said, Ravitch, the leading voice in the country speaking out against standardized-test based school reform, does what her critics say she doesn’t in an important new chapter at the end of the new paperback edition of the best-selling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.”
No doubt those critics still won’t like what she has to say.
The subtitle of Ravitch’s book — selected as the most important education book of the last decade by readers of Education Next, a magazine

In Which I Cite My Sources in an Attempt to Deflate the Hot Air from the Teacher Quality Debate - Dana Goldstein

In Which I Cite My Sources in an Attempt to Deflate the Hot Air from the Teacher Quality Debate - Dana Goldstein:

In Which I Cite My Sources in an Attempt to Deflate the Hot Air from the Teacher Quality Debate

by Dana Goldstein

There is so much hot air in education reform, and it's extremely frustrating when one's arguments and supporting research are misconstrued.

RiShawn Biddle writes the following:

A penchant among far too many education writers who embrace the Poverty Myth of Education is to oversimplify the debate over the role of education in stemming the long-term effects of poverty. First, they argue that school reformers proclaim that education is the sole solution for economic development in poor communities — even though no one ever says this. Then they argue that education can’t possibly be either the long-term or short-term solution for poverty — and find some flimsy data or examples to back it up.

Dana Goldstein of the Nation weakly pulled this funny trick earlier this month in her review of Steven Brill’s Class Warfare, trotting out the famed Coleman study to argue that high-quality teachers cannot help

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LA UNIFIED HOLDS FIRST POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUM

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LA UNIFIED HOLDS FIRST POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUM:

LA UNIFIED HOLDS FIRST POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SYMPOSIUM

ADOLFO GUZMAN-LOPEZ | KPCC | HTTP://BIT.LY/RJNQRY

Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images - A student on his way to school walks past a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school bus.

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Nov. 2, 2011 | Some 350 Los Angeles Unified educators attended a first-of-its-kind symposium Wednesday on how schools can improve student behavior.

Discipline problems are frustrating to teachers and contribute to students’ poor academic performance and drop out rates.

At the symposium, one education scholar told participants why harsh discipline doesn’t compel students to behave. Another speaker, this one a public interest lawyer, said more people need to advocate on students’ behalf.

L.A. County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Groman told the group that time in juvenile hall doesn’t help all students who break school rules — so