Assorted images... they tickle me.

Get ready to say good bye to paid sick leave in Florida

ALEC-sponsored legislation has passed in Florida that prohibits local regs requiring employers to provide paid sick leave...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/06/paid-sick-leave-florida-disney-alec

The Ministry of Information

Yes, I am old enough to have read 1984, as well as Brave New world. Don't get me started on the parallels between their visions and our developing reality. I'll just say this: the BS coming from the CCSS/Charter/Broad/TFA/Gates/Walton/Duncan/Bloomberg/Klein/Walcott 'reform' crew reminds me of the Ministry of Information, which, as we all know (those of us who were required to read thought-provoking fiction, that is), was in the business of disseminating propaganda. They might just as well drop flyers from airplanes for all the value in their statements.
http://www.cato.org/blog/whos-misinforming-exactly

Ealum pushes School Bd. pay raise - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Ealum pushes School Bd. pay raise - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Just like our elected officials at other levels, wanting to increase their own pay while the rest of us struggle.
I would ordinarily agree that the stipend is not enough, but in an economy of furloughs, layoffs, pay cuts and school closings, it is utterly ridiculous to propose quadrupling the amount. It reflects a short-sighted and self-absorbed character. To quote those who respond to my comments on salary, if you don't like the pay, take your skills elsewhere...


UPDATE: The school board has already voted on this 4 to 3, and raised their stipend of 300%. All that's needed now is the stamp of the General Assembly. Upside: the General Assembly does not meet till Jan, so this can't go into effect till next July. Their is a slim possiblity that the GA could refuse approval on this, but somehow I doubt it.
http://www.walb.com/story/22697686/dougherty-county-school-board-members-approve-pay-raise

To their credit, "Carol Tharin, Lane Price and Robert Youngblood voted against the increase, saying it's not the right time.
"With the financial's in the condition that they're in and the multiple needs that we have in the school system, it seemed to me that the timing was not correct," said Price."

Too bad the other 4 board members didn't see it that way.

This resonates on so many levels...

From Susan Ohanian's blog :



Translation is given as: 'Despotic officials and shyster underofficials, may they feel ashamed!'

She saw it on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It dates to the time of the Monghol Khans. The man who wrote it, Yelu Chucai, was a Chinese survivor of Ghenghis Khan's seige of Beijing. He submitted to Monghol authority and became the Khan's soothsayer, and later Prime Minister of northern China under the Monghols.

Parents banned wholesale from school event- UK

It's not specific unruly or dangerous parents discussed in this article. It's all the parents. They've asked parents not to attend Sports Day (what we in this area know as Field Day, i guess), so as to minimize the stress of being watched by a large crowd. Apparently, the concern is that the kids can't enjoy themselves if their parents and the parents of their classmates are around. Uh, excuse me? What kids doesn't want to perform, or even show off, for parents? And those that don't care to participate shouldn't be required to. Simple. I'm with the parents who want to boycott and organize their own event.

Some comments on Common Core

This is Robert Shepherd on what is lacking in the Common Core.

“One could implement the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts perfectly and have students entirely miss what reading literature is about. They would not come away from their literature classes with the understanding that when they read a literary work well, they enter into an imaginative world and have an experience there, in all its concreteness and specificity, and it is then THAT experience that has significance, that matters, that has “meaning.”

Campaign to let Georgia girl play football goes worldwide

Campaign to let Georgia girl play football goes worldwide

She was good enough to make the team and play this year, but suddenly, it's not a good idea anymore. Tell you what, when she gets tired of taking shit from the boys on the team, either she'll give up playing or she'll kick their asses for being dummies. either way problem solved. He prayed on this, and he know's it's right. arrogant ass.

Another Day, Another Trashing of Teachers

Another Day, Another Trashing of Teachers

The New York Daily News has apparently declared open season on teachers, trumpeting every accusation with or without evidence, testimony, witnesses, or due process, as a foregone conclusion. Having been on the receiving end of what some folks can dream up, I'm more careful than I was about passing judgement on someone whose name comes up on the news. Aaron Hernandez comes to mind. I was willing to accept it might be coincidence, and then they found his gum and the shell casing, and the security video from inside the house. They've got something to work with. Before that, it was just words.

So, who attends those schools being closed?

Opportunity to learn has posted the following graphic:

Why wouldn't we wnat this?

Georgia scores low grade for content preparation of elementary...

More on the NCTQ report. I love the reader comment about how we shouldn't be taking the lowest scoring students for teacher prep. But, how to attract the 'best and brightest' to this dismal, failing, low-paid, low-prestige/respect profession? They have already decided they want to make a killing on Wall Street or some such.

Georgia scores low grade for content preparation of elementary...

Get your geek on. Support the library. | geekthelibrary.org

Get your geek on. Support the library. | geekthelibrary.org

The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction

The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction

Funny, I feel the same way as an educator. If I don't continually improve and evolve (or maybe, in some instance, devolve), I can't survive in the classroom.

Well, duh!

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/06/sunscreen-new-rules-uva-uvb

Is your sunscreen lying, says the headline. Silly question in this hands-off, free market environment.

Good advice

http://lctablog.wordpress.com/

Make sure to leave a mark.

Love it.

Geography could save you in the Zombie Apocalypse

Kids always ask, 'Why do we have to learn this?" Here's a possible response: If you learn geography, you might have a better chance of surviving when the zombies come after you... 

If we resolved all our disputes the same way...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BjexNXJYblQ

Maybe we'd be better off?

disconnect on policy

so if we aren't talking to each other, what are we doing?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/teachers-and-policy-makers-troubling-disconnect/

science on facebook

Rare whale spotted by Canadian Coast Guard

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/19/haida-gwaii-whale-watching-rare-species_n_3469244.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Evaluation of Next Generation Science Standards- final review by Fordham Institute

"In the final evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Thomas B. Fordham Institute grants the standards a C grade. The NGSS grade is clearly superior to grades we granted to the science standards of sixteen states and the PISA framework in the State of State Science Standards 2012 but clearly inferior to those of twelve states and the District of Columbia, as well as the NAEP and TIMSS frameworks."
http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/final-evaluation-of-NGSS.html?goback=%2Egde_1791816_member_250891980

For more details, the full report is available.

just like many of my students...

from I Fucking Love Science

on testing

from Save Our Schools

science teacher joke

The real status quo?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/29/how-school-reform-preserves-the-status-quo-and-what-real-change-would-look-like/

when parents don't do their job...

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/04/opinion_when_parents_do_their.html

Frank Breslin on demonizing teachers

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/03/opinion_why_america_demonizes.html

How would Commissioner King fare?

What if 20-25% of his rating were based upon factors beyond his control, such as successful and complete funding of all schools and programs? Would he get to keep his job, I wonder? It fascinates me that those who advocate these schemes for you and me wouldn't dream of abiding by the same expectations for themselves...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/opinion/better-teachers-for-new-york-city.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Lightning strikes twice

Another from Fox News. This time it's Judge Andrew Napolitano. Love his books.

In 30 years, from 1979 to 2009, the legal standard for searching and seizing private communications -- the bar that the Constitution requires the government to meet -- was lowered by Congress from probable cause of crime to probable cause of being an agent of a foreign power to probable cause of being a foreign person to probable cause of communicating with a foreign person.

The NSA says that Congress knew about all this, but its members were prohibited from telling the American people. What kind of a democracy is that?

The modern-day British soldiers -- our federal agents -- are not going from house to house; they are going from phone to phone and from computer to computer, enabling them to penetrate every aspect of our lives.

If anything violates the lessons of our history, the essence of our values and the letter of the Constitution, it is this.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/13/liberty-in-shambles/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2W6JtRbxd

I never would have thought I would be reposting something from Fox News, but here it is: Rand Paul on Constitutional protections.  He points out:

President Obama says, “You can't have 100 percent security and also then have 100 percent

privacy and zero inconvenience.” But we couldn’t have 100 percent security even if we

 turned America into a total police state—something too many seem eager for—because

 there’s no such thing as a risk free society.

He also says "Anytime we give up our liberty—we lose."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/12/sorry-mr-obama-constitution-is-not-negotiable/?cmpid=GoogleNewsEditorsPicks&google_editors_picks=true#ixzz2W6GxBBmk

What is wrong with people?

Local kid gives fantastic rendition of the National Anthem at the NBA finals in San Antonio. Better than most adult professionals, I might add. Video goes out, Twitter blows up, and bigots come out of the woodwork. Holy stupidity, batman! Who the hell are these troglodytes? Find their rock and stick them back under it, for heaven's sake!
Actually, they remind me of some of the narrow-minded folks I encounter around here. I'm just waiting for someone to go there with me; I'm so ready for it.

 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/watercooler/mexican-american-boy-sings-national-anthem-at-nba-finals-game-criticized-faced-racist-comments-sebastien-de-la-cruz-061313

https://www.facebook.com/sebastien.delacruz.3

http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/06/sebastian-de-la-cruz-racism-national-anthem/

University of Minnesota researchers control flying robot with only the mind : UMNews : University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota researchers control flying robot with only the mind : UMNews : University of Minnesota

A whole new category of drone...

Yertle meets the Common Core

" It was a plain, little turtle doing a plain, little thing that brought liberation to the turtle citizenry. "

http://kidsinthesystem.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/teachers-in-their-own-words-a-plain-little-thing-2/

trying to reach "noise-addicted, distraction-ridden, pumped-up poseurs and video-gamers"

According to Frank Breslin, these are the audience we are trying to bring on board. And we wonder why it doesn't always go as planned?

Most "super" supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 | Tonight | EarthSky

Most "super" supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 | Tonight | EarthSky

Hartsfield concourse evacuated following explosion in...

Hartsfield concourse evacuated following explosion in...

There's been an outrageous amount of energy spent on reporting this live, as if it were a terrorist act. In fact, it so far sounds like an electrical overload.
Add to that, there were a couple of bomb 'threats' in the Capitol area this morining,and two buildings were evacuated for police clearance. Seems like nothing significat there, also.

Gates Foundation looking to make nice with teachers | Education | The Seattle Times

Gates Foundation looking to make nice with teachers | Education | The Seattle Times

But it's too little, too late. Gates has already done more damage to education in this country, and teachers specifically, than he can possibly repair in a lifetime of make-nice events. Don't know what his personal beef is, but I wish he'd discuss it with a professional before going in front of the microphones.

Brave, stupid, or crazy?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance?CMP=twt_gu


Edward Snowden is holed up in Hong Kong, waiting to see what NSA,CIA, etc throw at him.

100 Clayton students intending to take ACT turned away

100 Clayton students intending to take ACT turned away

Can't wait to hear the "explanation". Why wasn't there even a custodian around? Someone would need to be there to open the building for the ACT folks, right? Rumor has it the exam was cancelled. If so, why, and shouldn't registered students have been notified?

take one for self-pity. repeat as needed

Bret dunlap nearly died as a child. It's been a rough road to carve out a life for himself. When feeling pitiful, this puts it back in perspective. http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/bret-dunlap-discovered-running-and-it-changed-his-life?page=single

get ready and be accountable?

http://edushyster.com/?p=2539

On the purpose of a college education

There's been a lot of hype about college. go to college and get a 'good' job. Go to college and you'll be assured of a high paying job. Get out of the minimum wage trap by going to college. Unemployed? Go to college and learn a new field to get a job. on and on. We sell it to our kids all the time. There is now discussion of whether colleges should offer courses of study that are not geared to current employment needs/targets. Should students major in something that doesn't guarantee them employment? Etc. Here comes a former student, who majored in drama, who is employed, to answer a remark by the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jun/01/chancellor-students-choosing-wrong-areas-study-inc/

ITHAKA

As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you. Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind— as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars. Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Translated by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard

(C.P. Cavafy, Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Edited by George Savidis. Revised Edition. Princeton University Press, 1992)

There Aren’t Happy Endings for Teachers in the Trenches | Teach4Real

There Aren’t Happy Endings for Teachers in the Trenches | Teach4Real

Having bbeen assured (I saw the schedule) that my assignment would remain the same for next year, I was resigned and almost optimistic about teaching math again. It was a nightmare this year; I'm not the caliber of math teacher my kids needed, deserved. I'm much stronger in almost any other area but math.

School let out, and when I returned for post-planning, I was looking forward to getting to stay in the same classroom for a change. In five years at thsi school, this was my 5th room. In the last 16 years, I've changed rooms or schools every year but one. I've only stayed in the same room once, and that was a last-minute change.

On the first day (of two) of post-planning, I learned that once again, things had changed, and I was not only being reassigned to a different grade(s) and subject, but had to relocate to another room. In a day and a half I had to move all of my shit to the new location. I've now put my energy into building rapport with the person I'll be coteaching with, but now there's an opportunity to interview for a different job at another school. Right now I'm not sure I even want it.

Such is the professional life of a teacher of students with disabilities.

Silicon Valley's 49%

Technology, the great equalizer. With 21st Century Technology, it doesn't matter who you are, because you can get the job done from anywhere. Right?

So why is Silicon Valley still a bastion of white males, where women earn 49 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts?
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/06/silicon-valley-race-gender-problem-income-inequality

cloaking inequity on early childhood education

http://cloakinginequity.com/2013/04/09/cis-first-infographic-perks-of-preschool/

Teaching machine, or Zombie Apocalypse?

Way back when, as early as the turn of the 20th century, there was a dream that one day we could develop a machine that would replace teachers and make learning painless, effortless, and efficient, as depicted below:

From Taylor, Thorndike, and Pressey, to Skinner, and now, the Dreambox, the idea has resurfaced multiple times over the past 100-plus years. Now, the dream is revived, like a zombie that keeps coming back. It takes the form of computers, filled with data, that will 'deliver instruction', assess progress, record and analyze results, and ultimately, replace the live teacher in the room.

I wish...

Finally, someone has opened their eyes!

Charter school are notorious for being unwilling or unprepared to serve students with disabilities. Some actively discourage enrollment of such students. In Milwaukee, the schools have gotten their hand slapped for their shenanigans. Diane Ravitch picked this up recently. The ACLU filed a complaint in 2011, and the USDOE responded in May:

"The state cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place students beyond the reach of the federal laws that require Wisconsin to eliminate disability discrimination in its administration of public programs," DOJ officials wrote in the letter to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Tony Evers.
In the letter, the DOJ firmly establishes that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to voucher programs, with potentially far-reaching impact across the country. Twenty states and the District of Columbia currently offer taxpayer-funded voucher programs or tax credits permitting students to use public funds for private school education.
"The Department of Justice has affirmed that private schools that receive taxpayer dollars do not operate in a civil rights vacuum," said Courtney Bowie, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Racial Justice Program.

Hallelujah!!!

Here is why teachers aren't speaking up

If even someone at Peter DeWitt's level can be subjected to intimidation, what about the rest of us?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/02/the-story-of-an-offending-blog-post/

Our governors at work

attempting to extricate their feet from their mouths...  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/04/mississippi-governor-educational-troubles-began-when-mom-got-in-the-workplace/

Maybe we should be more like Ontario

http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/california-looks-to-ontario-schools-reformer-for-guidance/30644#.UYZjUsu9KSP


http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/what-america-can-learn-from-ontarios-education-success/256654/

http://www.edsource.org/today/wp-content/uploads/Fullan-Wrong-Drivers1.pdf

Here's what's wrong with Race to the Top

Turley hits the nail on the head. I'm grateful to Diane Ravitch for linking this.

This is what it was like teaching common core math this year

My students lacked the foundation skills to be successful with grade level material, and now under common core they are expected to master linear equations, direct variation, etc. They are struggling with basic math facts, so many days our lessons sounded like the philosophy class in this article. Using textbooks written (and not corrected/updated) by the College board complicated matters.