NYC Public School Parents: My inBloom presentation at last night's Hudson Valley Community College Common Core forum

NYC Public School Parents: My inBloom presentation at last night's Hudson Valley Community College Common Core forum:

My inBloom presentation at last night's Hudson Valley Community College Common Core forum

credit:  Meredith Gavin via Twitter

Last night, there was a terrific forum on privacy and the Common Core at Hudson Valley Community. It was a pleasure and a privilege for me to be able to have time to brief legislators and those in the audience on what I have learned about inBloom over the last year, and to answer their questions.  

The forum was hosted by Assemblymember Steve McLaughlin, and  the panel also included Assemblymembers Al Graf, Jim Tedesco, Pete Lopez, Ed Ra and Patricia Fahey; the event was also moderated by principal Tim Farley. The powerpoint I delivered is below; below that is a YouTube video of the entire event.

InBloom Presentation-12 18 13-Hudson Valley Community College

On theYouTube video below, the forum starts at 11 minutes in.  My presentation starts at 22:50 minutes in, and I answer questions from legislators and the audience until 1 hour and 15 minutes in.

At about 1 hr 44 min, Dr. Sandra Stotsky speaks about the Common Core through Skype.  Dr. Stotsky is the designer of the highly esteemed Massachusetts standards in English Language Arts; and was a member of the expert panel that reviewed the Common Core standards.  She refused to sign onto them because of their poor quality. During the forum, she calls for civil disobedience for opting out of Common Core exams and field tests next spring, and asks the elected officials to pass legislation allowing parents to opt out.

At 1 hr: 55 min. Meredith Gavin, a parent of a a high-functioning autistic child, talks about how inappropriate and damaging the Common Core and its exams are for special education students.  Unfortunately, a subsequent speaker, Paul Snyder, repeats a common myth that the Common Core was developed by left-wing radicals -- though this is completely untrue.

One of the best testimonies is from Katie Zahedi, a principal for 12 years, at 2 hr:30 min in, who explains many of the flaws with the policies of the State Education Department, including how the privately funded Regents Fellows are "running the show" even though many of them have never been educators.

Texas Shuttering Campuses at Six Charter Schools | The Texas Tribune

Texas Shuttering Campuses at Six Charter Schools | The Texas Tribune:

Texas Shuttering Campuses at Six Charter Schools

• by Morgan Smith
• Dec. 19, 2013
• 1Comment

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Enlargegraphic by: Todd Wiseman / Chris Cole / Paul Sounders

Texas will shut down campuses at six charter schools under a new law that includes heightened financial and academic performance rules for charter operators in the state.

During the 2013 legislative session, the strengthened closure rules were a selling point for lawmakers who had otherwise opposed legislation that expanded the number of charter contracts the state can award. A provision in the new law requires the Texas Education Agency to revoke a school's charter if it failed to meet state academic or financial accountability ratings for three years. 

“Extraordinary charter schools greatly outnumber the struggling charter schools, but the strugglers receive more media attention," David Dunn, the executive director of the Texas Association of Charter Schools, said in a statement. "We are working hard to improve every charter school and will keep advocating for excellence and quality because students deserve it. Texas is, and will continue to be, a leader in public charter schools across the nation precisely because we insist upon quality.”

Dunn said his organization supported shuttering schools that "aren't meeting the needs of students, whether charter or traditional."

Identified for closure under the law are American Youthworks in Austin; Azleway Charter School in Tyler; Honors Academy in Farmers Branch; and Jamie's House Charter School, Koinonia Community Learning Academy, and the Richard Milburn Academy in Houston. 

“The Nation” Calls “Reign of Error” the Best Book of 2013 | janresseger

“The Nation” Calls “Reign of Error” the Best Book of 2013 | janresseger:

“The Nation” Calls “Reign of Error” the Best Book of 2013

Posted on December 19, 2013 by janresseger

In its Progressive Honor Roll of 2013, The Nation magazine has named Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error  the “most valuable” book of the year.

Here is the brief review:

“Yes, she really did serve as an assistant education secretary for George H.W. Bush, and yes, she once supported George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind.”  But Ravitch refuses to cling to failed strategies, as she explains in her groundbreaking new book, subtitled The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.  Driven by experience and data, she demolishes the argument that rigid requirements and punishments will make schools better.  Indeed, she argues, these schemes too frequently serve the interests of misguided foundations, ideologically driven billionaires and Wall Street speculators more interested in privatizing public education—-with some of them profiting in the process-—than in helping children, parents and communities.  Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis says, “Diane is a fierce warrior against the so-called reformers whose ideology exacerbates the problems of poverty and inequity.”

Math topics that need to be put out of their misery. Part 1: Writing algebraic expressions | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Math topics that need to be put out of their misery. Part 1: Writing algebraic expressions | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Math topics that need to be put out of their misery. Part 1: Writing algebraic expressions

by Gary Rubinstein

Last month I wrote a post called ‘The Death of math’ which got a lot of attention as I described how I’d improve math teaching in this country by significantly reducing the number of topics taught and by making math optional after 8th grade.  A line that got quoted a lot when people tweeted about this post was “If I were made ‘Math Czar’ I would gleefully chop at least forty percent of the topics that are currently taught from K to 12.”

The fact is that the original intent of the common core, was to address this very concern.  The problem, though, is that they didn’t actually cut anything, as far as I can tell.  Why this happened is tough to say.  One complaint that teachers have about the common core is that they were developed by a very small group of people without input from teachers.  Perhaps that small group didn’t have the heart to cut any topics.

Or maybe the committee, even if it was small, was unable to come to agreement on which topics should be cut.  You see, the issue isn’t so much the size of the group or whether or not they got input from teachers, the issue is that the ability of that group wasn’t up to the task.  Perhaps it would have been better if the task were left up to one very clever individual who understood the 

The Nation magazine names Seattle Eduction Association “Most Valuable Union” and credits Social Equality Educators for support of MAP test boycott | I AM AN EDUCATOR

The Nation magazine names Seattle Eduction Association “Most Valuable Union” and credits Social Equality Educators for support of MAP test boycott | I AM AN EDUCATOR:

The Nation magazine names Seattle Eduction Association “Most Valuable Union” and credits Social Equality Educators for support of MAP test boycott

By I AM AN EDUCATOR on December 19, 2013

The Nation magazine released its “Progressive Honor Roll of 2013″ where it names “heroes both for their accomplishments of the past year and their determination to do even more in 2014″–and they made some great picks!

Most valuable book went to Diane Ravitich for here masterpiece of truth-telling, Reign of Error. “Most Valuable Musical Partnership” went to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello for their relentless rocking for justice–including dedicating the song “American Skin (41 Shots)” to  Trayvon Martin at their live shows.  The Stranger received a well deserved “Most Valuable Newspaper” award for their support of Kshama Sawant, the Socialist Alternative candidate who defeated a corporate Democrat to win a seat on the Seattle City Council!

I am proud to say that The Nation picked the Seattle Education Association as “Most Valuable Union”, citing the importance of the MAP test boycott!  As well, the organization I helped found, theSocial Equality Educators (SEE), received recognition for the critical role we played in helping to spread the MAP test boycott to schools around Seattle, which ultimately helped ignite a national movement in opposition to high-stakes standardized testing. And of course, it was the courageous actions of the teachers at Garfield High School–especially the math, reading, and language arts teachers–who launched the whole effort.

This great struggle of the MAP test boycott that erupted in January of 2013 has forever changed my life 

Meet the new Boss | BCS in Context

Meet the new Boss | BCS in Context:

Meet the new Boss

Same as the old Boss

The Santa Clara County Board of Education has a new President: Leon Beauchman. Beauchman has been a member of SCCBOE for 13 years and previously served as SCCBOE President in 2002 and 2005. He was re-elected in Nov. 2012 in an uncontested race for the Area 3 seat—unfortunately, resembling a single-party election.*

Beauchman has been on SCCBOE continuously since it forged the BCS-LASD conflict in 2003. Prior to the county board’s approval of the Bullis charter, only one charter school operated in Santa Clara County. As of now, SCCBOE has approved 38 charters. Beauchman has been a driver of this aggressive pursuit of charters, an approach the county board calls “bold” and “courageous.” Others call it “reckless” and “privatization.”

I had an opportunity in May 2013 to speak in person with now-President Leon Beauchman and then-President Grace Mah after a public meeting on charter school issues in my community. The dialogue was intimate, including just Beauchman, Mah, one or two other people and myself.

Our conversation naturally, eventually turned to the BCS-LASD situation, and I mentioned the LASD community’s perception that SCCBOE didn’t perform proper oversight of BCS. I said the LASD 

12-19-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:

An Unequal Pledge

An anonymous family from Massachusetts is challenging the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance in the state's highest court. The family, though they will probably lose due to the stubbornness of people about how mention of God isn't religious at all and it's just a traditional and patriotic word (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) or how America is a Christian nation (it's not, just to clarify),

by Chayce Davis / 33min 

I Don't Spy With My Little Eye...

The NSA collection of phone data has been deemed unconstitutional by Judge Richard Leon. The judge says that the Fourth Amendment is being violated as the collecting is an example of unreasonable search and seizure. At the moment however, the ruling is pending due to appeal, sadly.As everyone knows, the NSA has been violating the privacy of people all around the world for some time now. At last, s

by Chayce Davis / 47min 

Pedophile Leg

Children evacuated from swimming pool after prosthetic leg mistaken for pedophile An enitre class of 60 students were evacuated from a swimming pool after a prosthetic leg was mistaken for a peeping tom. "Teachers from Kings Hill Primary School in Kent spotted the leg poking out from a cubicle whilst taking their class of year 4 children swimming at Larkfield Leisure Centre." Upon invest

by Dennis Wu / 2h hide  //  save

What Immigrants Have to Say

The Pew Research Center has conducted two new surveys questioning Hispanics and Asian-Americans about their views on immigration. According to their responses, Hispanics and Asian-Americans are more concerned about not getting deported than gaining citizenship, but a large majority support a pathway to gaining citizenship. Although Democratic and Republican parties have gained support by Hispanics

by Lorenzo Bustos / 4min 

Quack Quack Quack

     One of Americas most favorite shows is now under pressure. Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson is indefinatly suspended A &E due to his recent comments about homosexuals. In hopes to save the show, the network said,  "We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson's comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series 'Duck Dynasty'&quo

by Loni Pooi / 10min 

Change the Mascot

Change the Mascot is a national campaign to end the use of the racial slur “Redskins” as the mascot and name of the NFL team in Washington, D.C. Launched by the Oneida Indian Nation, the campaign calls upon the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell to do the right thing and bring an end the use of the racial epithet. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid has joined President Obama and House Minority Lea

1 by Ray LeBeau / 1h 

Transgender Student Law?

Have you heard about the Transgender Student Law? If not, KEEP READING!!!When students return from winter break, a new state transgender law is scheduled to go into effect and school leaders are training teachers on how to comply. Governor Jerry Brown signed AB12-66; giving transgender K through 12 students the choice of using whichever bathroom matches their gender identity and the option of pl

by Annedreah Santiag... / 1h 

Ukrainian Leader Tilts Toward Russia

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has complied to buy billions of government bonds and has cut the cost of gas sold to Ukraine. Many Ukrainians have protested over this new alliance with Russia, which has drawn them furthur with the European Union. Protesters have met in Kyiv's main square for almost a month. The Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych is under a great amount of suspicion involv

by Jane Wagner / 36min 

New Mexico Supreme Court Rules Gay Marriage Constitutional

">The New Mexico Supreme Court  : On Thursday, The New Mexico Supreme Court declared gay marriage consitutional based on it being unconstitutional to deny a marriage license to gay and lesbian couples. From the ruling: Prohibiting same-gender marriages is not substantially related to the governmental interests advanced by the parties opposing same-gender marriage or to the purposes we have identif

by Jane Wagner / 3min 

12-18-13 Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Handguns and 3D printershttp://www.longisland.com/news/12-17-13/for-the-first-time-a-fully-operational-plastic-handgun-was-legally-made-using-a-3d-printer.htmlJust published today this article  reports the opinions of  politicians on the the manufacturing of plastic weaponry via the use of home 3D printers and the  bill to make them illegal. For those that do not  know

by mike simpson / 26min 

12-19-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG Personalized Learning Starts with Personal Relationships — Whole Child Education

Personalized Learning Starts with Personal Relationships — Whole Child Education:

Personalized Learning Starts with Personal Relationships

December 19, 2013 by Whole Child Podcast

Download Podcast Now [Right-Click to Save]

How do we help each student succeed? One promising way is to personalize learning and put each student at the center of her learning experience. Broader than individualized or differentiated instruction, personalized learning is driven by the learner. Ensuring personalized learning for all students requires a shift in thinking about long-standing education practices, systems, and policies, as well as significant changes in the tools and resources. To address students' abilities, interests, styles, and performance, schools need to rethink curricula, instruction, and technology tools to support giving learners choices and schools flexibility.

In our last episode of the Whole Child Podcast, we discussed personalized learning in the 21st century global marketplace with professor Yong Zhao, author of the ASCD book Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization. In this episode, we take a look at personalizing learning on the ground and in schools and the importance of relationships in activating students to take charge of their learning. You'll hear from

• Jennifer Eldredge, a Spanish teacher at Oconomowoc High School whose district is a member of the regional Cooperative Educational Service Agency #1 which is committed to establishing personalized learning as the prevailing approach in southeastern Wisconsin.
• Andrew Miller, former classroom and online teacher and current educational consultant, ASCD Faculty member, National Faculty member at the Buck Institute for Education, and regular ASCD and Edutopiablogger.
• Beth Sanders, a high school social studies teacher at Tarrant High School in Alabama who is also the co-founder and co-director of Youth Converts Culture and was named an Apple Distinguished Educator Class of 2013 and 2013 Teacher of the Year for Tarrant City Schools.

How do you see the importance of personal relationships in engaging students? How does this method differ from differentiated instruction in the classroom?

12-18-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG ED Pulse Poll Results: Which Attributes Best Reflect Personalized Learning? — Whole Child Education

ED Pulse Poll Results: Which Attributes Best Reflect Personalized Learning? — Whole Child Education:   ED Pulse Poll Results: Which Attributes Best Reflect Personalized Learning?December 18, 2013 by Kit Harris, ASCD ResearchASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently, theASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers about the attributes o

by mike simpson / 21h 

12-19-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Ed Reform - Who Are These People? Part One

A reader asked a simple question - who are the ed reformers? That's a more complicated question than it seems.  But let's break it down by who's who nationally, at the state level and in our city. Let me just say that there are education bloggers out there who have done the lion's share of work to compile this information so credit goes to them. The real top gun is, of course, the Gates Foundation

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h

Seattle Times and OSPI Sign Deal for SPS Student Data

I learned of this yesterday but was waiting.  KUOW has done a good job showing the issues around student data privacy.To note: - To be clear, SPS did NOT know this was happening and was not asked. - No data has been released as of today.- OSPI said the data it planned to give the Times is not available through a public records request. From the KUOW story:KUOW obtained a copy of the two-year agree

by Melissa Westbrook / 47min 

Seattle School Board Operations Committee - Could Be Interesting

The agenda for the Board's Operations Committee meeting was finally posted yesterday and now, updated today.  I'm hoping to see the new Board members there as this is the last committee meeting for the year and a good way to get up-to-speed.  What will they be talking about?a contract modification for a company called Brainbox Consulting.* 2014-2015 Transportation Service Standards.  This could be

by Melissa Westbrook / 3min 

he Times and Their Charter School Push

The Times continues its march towards becoming less of a newspaper and more of an mouthpiece for ed reform.Folks, I have personally heard from a number of Times' editors/writers who continue to claim that there is a solid wall between editorial and reporting.  That may be true in some areas but that is not true for education reporting especially on ed reform. What do they do?- they lean the report

by Melissa Westbrook / 17min 

What Mayor Bloomberg Had To Say

I had posted a link to a 5-part series at the New York Times that followed a young girl and her homeless family living in NYC.  It is devastating reading.Mayor Bloomberg weighed in.  Now, he has the biggest city in the country to run and I absolutely don't expect everything to work well particularly for the poor if only because that's not the way of the world.  But a certain level of sanitation an

by Melissa Westbrook / 4min

12-18-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State and Transparency in Public Records/MeetingsFrom Representative Gerry Pollet:I will be prime sponsor in House of AG Bob Ferguson's open government agenda bill (HB 2121).We've spent the past year collaborating and refining the bill to require that public officials take an on-line training to learn their obligations to the public to meet in open publi

by mike simpson / 22h 

12-19-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:

Pittsburgh school board drops $750,000 Teach For America contract

Here’s some education news that you don’t hear every day: The Pittsburgh school board is rescinding a $750,000 contract with Teach For America, and keeping open an elementary school slated to be shuttered. The board’s four new members, taking a new reform tact, drove the decision to drop the contract by a 6-2  vote with […]    

6 by Valerie Strauss / 19min 

Maryland takes on new Common Core role as ‘favor’ to Obama, Gov. O’Malley says

How’s this for messy? Top Maryland officials approved a contract making the state the “fiscal agent”  for one of two multi-state consortia developing  standardized tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards despite objections that the contract has no minority business participation and concerns about testing obsession. Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) acknowledged the lack of […]    

2 by Valerie Strauss / 26min 

12-18-13 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: What’s wrong with this headline?The New York Times  published a story on Hanna Skandera, New Mexico’s highly controversial education secretary-designate (she’s been “designate” for three years because Democrats refuse to hold a hearing to confirm her)  under this online headline: “A Push for Teacher Accountability Meets Resistance in New Mexico.” What’s wrong with this headline s

by mike simpson / 8h