ADMS707

An aspect I had not considered much this week is the role of unions in micropolitics. The seniority issues and power of union forces are addressed in this sound clip/article.

This article fits well with our topic this week. It reviews how the Myths that society accepts is doing away with accessing the American Dream- stability, education and access to wealth. "To paraphrase the words of the late Clifford Geertz, one of the great anthropologists of the 20th century, myths are stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Powerful narratives based upon fiction -- not fact -- myths shape our perception of the world. They create frameworks for our behavior. They are impervious to logical or factual critique. As such, myths are powerful political tools that the powers-that-be have long used in their attempt to control social behavior."

Latest research from Harvard indicates that pay-for-performance did not effect student achievement or other measures. Questions about the effectiveness of the design of the bonuses still linger.

Duncan said that 82% of the schools were on track to fail this year.

Seems like a great idea, but it might not be the best use of funds in a school district that has to cut back on programs that impact classrooms during normal school hours.

I don't know if the New York Times regularly does this for certain topics, but this link has articles from various op-ed columnists about the testing/evaluating culture in our schools.

Krugman argues that technological innovations actually hurt certain types of middle-class white collar positions the most, not lower paying blue collar jobs like many assume. He doesn't provide numbers to back up his claims, but he just might not of had the space.

"five factors as either a moderate or great barrier in their pursuit of the superintendency: (a) absence of "old-boy network," support systems, or sponsorship; (b) lack of awareness of political maneuvers; (c) lack of role models; (d) societal attitudes that Blacks lack competency in leadership positions; and (e) no formal or informal method for identifying Black aspirants to administrative positions. "

A very positive view of Teach for America and the ability of that organization to improve educational outcomes. George Will makes some bold claims and doesn't substantiate them. "Until recently...it seemed that we simply did not know how to teach children handicapped by poverty and its accompaniments - family disintegration and destructive community cultures. Now we know exactly what to do."

The study assessed a public school principals in terms of their attraction to the job of district superintendent. The reasearchers assumed "participant self-reported capability to become a superintendent impacts participant attraction to the job, and participant satisfaction with facets of their current jobs and their expected satisfaction with those same job facets in the job of superintendent give an indication of participant likelihood of pursuing the job of superintendent." Method: This was a field survey "designed and implemented according to procedures established by Dillman" (2000). The study was "a combination of the quasi-experimental and correlation designs, as explicated byCampbell and Stanley (1963), and involved three analytical procedures: Winter, Rinehart Keedy, Björk 38 Planning and Changingpaired-samples t-tests, two-group discriminant analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis."   The study shows that the superintendents were on average 46.9 years-old and were fairly even gender, predominantly caucasian, and 85% were married. Most participants were not superintendentcertified (87.7%), and most of those who were not certified did not intend to become certified (79.0%), suggesting relatively low interest in pursuing the job of superintendent. Most of the participants who were superintendent-certified had held their certification for five years or more (65.3%), suggesting a modest degree of intent to transition from the job of principal to the job of superintendent. People tend to see the reality of the workload and time commitment.

The school board and superintendent set up the groundwork for instructional reforms. They turned to the Council of the Great City Schools to look at how well the district's instructional program was meeting the academic needs of these English-language learners and newcomers. The study shows how a program considered excellent that performs very well, can still miss students with limited English speaking skills. The report shows how the school district missed the fact that many of these folks even existed, let alone began building programming to meet their needs. Most important are the strategies that offer the students a chance to join mainstream and improve their achievement. 

The school board and superintendent set up the groundwork for instructional reforms. They turned to the Council of the Great City Schools to look at how well the district's instructional program was meeting the academic needs of these English-language learners and newcomers. The study shows how a program considered excellent that performs very well, can still miss students with limited English speaking skills. The report shows how the school district missed the fact that many of these folks even existed, let alone began building programming to meet their needs. Most important are the strategies that offer the students a chance to join mainstream and improve their achievement. 

A young man who attempts the gap of dreaming and have your dream become a reality.

The article introduces teacher who have made a difference and who demonstrated compassion, "care" and a genuine concern for children.

The author questions Cathie Black new role as NYC chancellor. Raises argument of who is better suited to lead schools based on previous career experiences. Perhaps the most objectionable aspect of the corporate takeover of public education is the implicit assumption that business leaders know what they're doing and the rest of us don't.

Yet another educational documentary...

This is organized by National Board Certified Teachers among others; Diane Ravitch speaks on 7/29, ...check out the "Guiding Principles" section.

My first take on this is that the overhaul might be "NCLB Lite." There is talk here of relaxing some constraints on subgroups (in particular exceptional ed). The so-called "turn around models" which include school closings survive so far.

Reading Was Fundamental.....The 8% that comprises the federal part looks like a lot of money right now...