Black History Month Series: A Challenge!SF Public School Mom : Black History Month (BHM) Series #1: A Challenge! In honor of Black History Month , I’m reposting this previous blog. A few years ago, (2015 to be exact!) I challenged myself to write 28 posts highlighting African-American History . I made a dent in my original goal, but one year later I still had a way to go. This year I finally reac

Making things complicated or difficult for the sake of making things complicated or difficult, well, that’s just stupid writes NYC Educator. | Fred Klonsky : Making things complicated or difficult for the sake of making things complicated or difficult, well, that’s just stupid writes NYC Educator. -I stole this post from NYC Educator and I don’t he would mind. I’ve heard from various and sundry a

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Why are Democrats smearing peaceful anti-Trump protests? : Why are Democrats smearing peaceful anti-Trump protests? DeVos protest in D.C. “Nothing about a firm commitment to free expression obliges us open our doors to (much less to provide platforms for) those who incite hatred and violence against refugees, immigrants, and minorities—that is, against our students,

CURMUDGUCATION: Guest Post: Open Letter To Pat Toomey : Guest Post: Open Letter To Pat Toomey Barbara Ferman is a professor at the College of Liberal Arts, Temple University. She's also the Director of the University Community Collaborative. She passed along this letter to share. If you want to make sure Senator Toomey sees it, feel free to help direct it to him. February 13, 2017 An Open Letter

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Gifted Education, Part One : Gifted Education, Part One (You didn't think I'd be able to say everything in one post, did you? Part Two will have me talking about what I hear and saw at various events and what direction I think the district will take.) As I gather up my thoughts from the Work Session on Advanced Learning,the two-day Equity and Gifted Education Summ

How exactly did the Department of Defense end up in my child’s classroom? | Seattle Education : How exactly did the Department of Defense end up in my child’s classroom? You cannot fully understand what is happening with Future Ready school redesign, 1:1 device programs, embedded assessments, gamification, classroom management apps, and the push for students in neighborhood schools to supplement

The Next Big Thing – Have You Heard : The Next Big Thing Barely had Massachusetts voters cast the last *nay* vote on raising the charter cap, aka the Last Big Thing, than the Next Big Thing was sweeping the Bay State. I speak, of course of the zones of empowerment, that suddenly have everyone who is anyone talking. The experiment in school turn around-ing underway in Springfield, headed up by edu

Take Action NOW: Support Arab Students and Families in SFUSD - SF Public School MomSF Public School Mom : Take Action NOW: Support Arab Students and Families in SFUSD Our district says it cares about Arab students. Nonetheless, when it comes to resourcing schools to support them in meeting the needs of students and families… Lately, I’m hearing *crickets*. After the election, Arab students came t

Education Reform Musing | tultican : Education Reform Musing I have done a lot of whining about “corporate education reform” and the “test and punish” theory of education reform and “standards based” top down education. I am in full agreement with the conclusion Kristina Rizga’s reached after her four years’ study of Mission High in San Francisco, “The more time I spent in classrooms, the more I

Hip-hop group: DeVos is bad for the inner cities - CNNPolitics.com : Hip-hop group: Betsy DeVos is bad for the inner cities Washington (CNN) The Black Opera has a message for new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: There should be no poor schools. "We've seen what's going on with DeVos right now and what she stands for as far as education is definitely not going to be a positive for the inner cit

Protester arrested outside D.C. school is Afghan refugee - The Washington Post : The man arrested at Friday’s protest of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s visit The man arrested at Friday’s protest of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s visit to a middle school has been identified as a 32-year-old who lives in Northwest Washington and faces charges of assault on a police officer and failure to obey

Teacher plans to shame mayor, SRC, superintendent with I-95 billboard : Teacher plans to shame mayor, SRC, superintendent with I-95 billboard Coming soon to I-95, if a city teacher has anything to say about it: a billboard calling out Mayor Kenney and Philadelphia School District leaders. Donations are streaming in to crowd-fund a giant reminder that Philadelphia teachers have not had a contract

Washington State Lawmakers Attempt to Strip Powers From State Board - State EdWatch - Education Week : Washington State Lawmakers Attempt to Strip Powers From State Board One of the big hurdles to pushing for education change in states is that, oftentimes, it's not exactly clear who's in charge. This has become a big issue as states craft their accountability plans under the Every Student Succeed

Bullying remains a serious problem in Los Angeles schools - LA Times : Bullying remains a serious problem in Los Angeles schools Add fighting bullying to the long list of priorities for which the nation’s second-largest school system has good intentions but sluggish follow-through. One in 5 Los Angeles high school students and 1 in 4 elementary students said they had been bullied last school year

Support Betsy DeVos, shoot yourself in the foot - The Hechinger Report : Support Betsy DeVos, shoot yourself in the foot Education groups aimed at uplifting black students should not be the black face of her agenda There are some things that can get you uninvited to a black family reunion — and tap dancing to the news that Betsy DeVos is the next Secretary of Education is one of them. By the skin

Navigating Choice Reading with High-Stakes Accountability in Mind | radical eyes for equity : Navigating Choice Reading with High-Stakes Accountability in Mind BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Trumplandia: Unmasking Post-Truth America by NCTE George Orwell Award Winning Author P.L. Thomas - Garn Press - http://wp.me/p3I85u-3NG As long as we have had formal education in the U.S., we have had a fair amount of pu

We #LoveTeaching and quizzes :) - Lily's Blackboard : We #LoveTeaching and quizzes :) These days, who couldn’t use a healthy dose of love? Maybe love isn’t all we need , but it sure would be good to have more of it. Valentine’s Day is about giving and showing love, and it’s also the kickoff for the weeklong #LoveTeaching campaign . The campaign was launched by teachers, and NEA is a proud partner

Happy Valentine’s Day! | Diane Ravitch's blog : Happy Valentine’s Day! Let’s forget the Orange Menace in the zwhite House for the day and think positive thoughts. Hug your friends. Kiss your loved ones. Call those who are far away and tell them you miss them. Give flowers, sniff flowers. Spread joy. I love you all. Even those who are persistently annoying. RESIST by forgetting about HIM for the d

Ed Notes Online: Charters are cancers. There are no good cancers–and charter schools are metastasizing throughout education : Charters are cancers. There are no good cancers–and charter schools are metastasizing throughout education Has the public ed ship sailed? After rigthly declaring charters are cancers, Bob Braun asks a very pertinent question on his blog : Do public school advocates have th

Advocates of disabled students closely watching new ed chief - The Washington Post : Advocates of disabled students closely watching new ed chief Betsy DeVos got off to a rocky start with families of disabled children when she acknowledged being confused by a question at her confirmation hearing about a federal law that has governed special education since 1975. Now that DeVos is on the job at th

Charter schools pose financial risk to municipalities by James Mulholland - Wait What? : Charter schools pose financial risk to municipalities by James Mulholland The charter school industry is proposing a change to Connecticut’s school funding system to require that local communities hand over local funds to subsidize charter schools attended by local students. The “money follows the child” fund

Education Law Prof Blog : Trans Students' Bathroom Rights: Will DeVos & Sessions Follow Candidate Trump's Common Sense? Not Likely by Diane Klein The most challenging part of the school day shouldn't be figuring out where to go to the bathroom - or whether one can safely do so anywhere at all. But thanks to the first act of our new Attorney General, those states that would deprive trans students

In Fine, New Book, Steve Nelson Urges New Education Path that Is Less Dangerous for Children | janresseger : In Fine, New Book, Steve Nelson Urges New Education Path that Is Less Dangerous for Children Steve Nelson’s new book, First Do No Harm: Progressive Education in a Time of Existential Risk , is refreshing in the author’s declaration of privilege as he applies all that he has learned in nine

glen brown: Resistance : Resistance The following is a copy-paste "Resistance Declaration" on Facebook from my good friend and colleague, Ken Previti: “I take ownership of most, if not all, ideals listed here...I have left the piece in its entirety (aside from minor grammatical an d format edits, lol) so all may appreciate it as they discern to be fit: “Republicans have been whining about the mas

US Ed Sec Betsy DeVos’ Letter to State Superintendents Re: ESSA State Plans | deutsch29 : US Ed Sec Betsy DeVos’ Letter to State Superintendents Re: ESSA State Plans On Friday, February 10, 2017, US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sent to state superintendents a letter regarding the formulation of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans. In short, she notes that the ESSA guidance composed unde

CURMUDGUCATION: New Congressional Attack on Education : New Congressional Attack on Education You probably already heard about H.R. 899 , a bill elegant in its simplicity. Here's the whole text of the bill: The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018. Thanks to Rep. Thomas Massie (R) of Kentucky for this little zen koan of legislation. It raises many questions. Will the depar

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/13/17 Featured Post What To Make Of Bad News Betsy’s Letter About ESSA To Chief State School Officers – Exceptional Delaware 2017 Badass Teachers Association: Hey there! It’s Amy