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Lindsay Andreas

D.C. Lays Off 229 Teachers to Help Close Budget Gap - washingtonpost.com - 1 views

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    When I was there on Wednesday, the firings were supposed to happen. I can't even imagine what the last two days were like, waiting and waiting. No matter what you feel about the firings, the way in which they were done, were completely inappropriate and there was far more disruption than needed to happen. I hope my teacher is still there this week.
Maria Mahon

The Washington Teacher - 2 views

  • Two days of protests by DC students in response to unfair teacher layoffs. Students held protests on September 28 at the DCPS central office and at Duke Ellington High School for the arts on September 29 at lunch time. These videos say it all. Our students are following the lead of the rank and file teacher rally held on last Thursday, September 24. What a tribute to DC teachers. You have taught them well !
    • Maria Mahon
       
      The teachers at Takoma Education Center told me about the protests and I think it really emphasizes how much of an impact the lay-offs have on the students themselves and the level of personal investment they must feel in their education.
  • McKinley Technology Senior High School located in NE DC was disrupted today as students unexpectedly protested teacher layoffs at the DCPS central headquarters near the Capitol today.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      I thought our classmates doing their placements at McKinley would be interested in this!
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    I thought this might be interesting to share in light of what is happening with DCPS. Yesterday was my first day at my practicum placement and during lunch a few teachers were talking about the "buzz on the blogs" and the firings. All of them mentioned the students protestes by the students at the Duke Ellington School.
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    The kids protesting in the videos, most of them were my kids! They are so wonderful. :)
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    THis is fantastic! Thanks for posting it. Interesting that Fenty says no teachers will be taken out of classrooms . . . John, maybe you should call him . . . ;-)
Debbie Moore

New Deal Network - 2 views

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    The New Deal Network is a site that I am using in preparing my curricular unit. The site has an archive with documents such as the Fire Side Chats with President F. Roosevelt, photographs, and audio tapes. I like this site because it really takes you to that place in time so that you can see and hear what was going on in the culture as well as in the government. The site also has lesson plans and resource links for educators.
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    Alan, that is so funny I just posted and noticed that you too had posted this site. It's great, don't you think? I am actually using a Fire Side Chat from FDR for one of my socratic seminars in my curricular unit. There is also a lesson plan about arts and the depression that I am going to adapt for the unit.
Lindsay Andreas

Students Skip Classes to Protest D.C. Teacher Layoffs - washingtonpost.com - 0 views

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    Video of the McKinley student protest outside Rhee's office building. Notice that they are chanting, "No teachers, no peace"--a play on words from a popular civil rights era chant "No justice, no peace." Tomorrow is going to be utter chaos, my cooperating teacher is there but no more Mr. Hawkins who was a wonderful man. :(
Maria Mahon

Au Contraire! Rhee Disses Layoff Claims | NBC Washington - 1 views

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    I happened to see this clip on TV this morning while having my cereal and getting ready to head off to my practicum placement. In it, Rhee addresses the security issues and says that the security company "went under" and that is why police were called in. This was a big topic among my teachers today at school.... they feel that the story about the security company "going under" is false and are pretty angry that they had NO security last Friday and that teachers had to take turns outside the school acting as security.
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    Oh good gravy. What next?!
Laura Wood

First In the Family - 2 views

    • Laura Wood
       
      There are videos to watch so that students can know that they are not alone and learn from the experiences of others.
    • Laura Wood
       
      There are many resources collected on this site, from financial aid and scholarship options to programs that might give students an admissions boost to checklists on what to do before you go.
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    A spin off cite of the What Kids Can Do site, this site offers advice for teens through college age students who are the first in their families to go to college. There is also a publication that you can print. There is also a portion of the site for college aged students.
  • ...2 more comments...
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    Again, the Diigo isn't working so . . . There is a "planning checklist" on the site that has printable checklists of things students can do every year starting in 9th grade to prepared themselves for college. Teachers should explain to students that these are not absolutely necessary so that kids don't hyperventilate, but for kids needing to see progress towards a goal, these might be useful
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    There is a "hard facts" tab that has some of the facts about parental income, race, and expected income. If students don't think it's important to go to college, some of these facts might shake them up and make them realize how important and how difficult it may be for them to go. This might inspire a school project where students determine how many of their classmates plan to go to college and where they want to go and why or some such thing.
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    The "inspiration" tab has great quotes that teachers might consider putting up around the room and great books that teachers might consider assigning to their students.
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    Thanks for posting this article, it came at just the right time for me because my students need so much help and now that their counselors were fired, they are screwed. I've been thinking of ways I can help with guiding them through the college acceptance process and this website looks like a great start.
Laura Wood

What Kids Can Do - 4 views

  • stay informed
    • Laura Wood
       
      From the website: "Based in Providence, R.I., What Kids Can Do (WKCD) is a national nonprofit founded in January 2001 by an educator and journalist . . . they felt an urgent need to promote perceptions of young people as valued resources, not problems, and to advocate for learning that engages students as knowledge creators and not simply test takers. Just as urgent, they believed, was the need to bring youth voices to policy debates about school, society, and world affairs. Using the Internet, print, and broadcast media, WKCD presses before the broadest audience possible a dual message: the power of what young people can accomplish when given the opportunities and supports they need and what they can contribute when we take their voices and ideas seriously. The youth who concern WKCD most are those marginalized by poverty, race, and language. On this website, WKCD presents young people's lives, learning, and work, and their partnerships with adults both in and out of school. Our community of readers stretches from youth organizers in some of this country's toughest urban areas to policy makers at the national level. We believe that a good story well told crosses geographies, generations, class and race, and position. Our publishing arm, Next Generation Press, honors the power of youth as social documenters, knowledge creators, and advisors to educators, peers, and parents. WKCD is a grant maker, too, collaborating with youth on multimedia, curricula, and research that expand current views of what constitutes challenging learning and achievement. Starting in 2006, WKCD began working with youth worldwide. WKCD has become an international leader in bringing the promise of young people to the attention of the adults whose encouragement can make all the difference."
  • Youth in Policy: Civics2
    • Laura Wood
       
      Here they have collected various articles about how youth around the country and around the globe have been actively involved in policy making and shaping. This may be great to get teachers and students started thinking about project ideas or to inspire students (and teachers!) that students really can make a difference.
  • Want to bring public attentionto your work? WKCD invitessubmissions from youth andeducators worldwide.
    • Laura Wood
       
      ARG! My diigo isn't working at all. Very frustrating. I have to highlight stuff four times and then add the comments in on this page. Technology is not my friend this week.
    • Laura Wood
       
      So if you do a rad civics project with your students, students can then write an article about what they did and send it in to WKCD. They will then put it up on this cite and your students will have something to be uber proud of. This is another reason to make sure you photo document rad projects.
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    • Laura Wood
       
      Similarly, one of the links on this page is to news articles from around the country where kids are making a difference. A teacher might assign students to check out some of the ways that students are getting things done and getting noticed in order to inspire kids, get their creative juices flowing, etc.
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    Articles on what kids in the US have done politically, with pictures! Collected by a journalist and an educator.
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    This is the organization run by the author of "Fires in the High School Bathroom." As the only permanent staff are journalists and web designers (and the staff is tiny!). I believe they just collect and make available student stories (as well as apparently offering grants!) rather than actually participating or spearheading any projects themselves. They do publish works every so often - I believe collections of the things students have done.
James Leslie

30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified" | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth - 2 views

  • Updated 1:15 PM CDT, Thu, Oct 22, 2009 var partnerID=522927; var _hb=1; window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; Print var partnerID=522927; var _hb=1; window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; Email function position(o) { var pos = Position.get(o); Position.set('share_box',pos); } Share yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified""; nbc_dallasfor814:http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/30000-Teachers-May-Not-Be-Highly-Qualified-65580922.htmlBuzz up! TWITTER .postToFBArticlePage { background:transparent url(http://media.nbclocalmedia.com/designimages/facebook.gif) no-repeat scroll 0 0; display:block; float:left; height:14px; padding-right:5px; width:70px; text-align:right; } .postToFBArticlePage span { padding-top:0px; margin-top:3px; display:block; } #slideshow .showcase #slideCount { /* THIS DOES NOT BELONG HERE */ padding-left:140px; } #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage span, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage span { margin-top: 0px; } #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a:link, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a:visited, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a:link, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a:visited { color:#C3C7C7; } // also publish comment to Facebook nbc.fbparamshare = { contentTitle: "30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified"", contentUrl: "http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/30000-Teachers-May-Not-Be-Highly-Qualified-65580922.html?__source=Facebook", contentThumbUrl: "http://media.nbcdfw.com/images/100*75/090209+classroom.jpg", bundleId: "104938618682", contentType: "article", summary: "Tens of thousands of Texas teachers could be in jeopardy of losing their jobs if they aren't certified as "highly qualified."" }; FACEBOOK $(document).ready(function(){ $('#jqm_wrp_1') .jqDrag('.jqDrag') .jqm({ trigger: '#jqm_trg_1', ajax: 'http://www.nbcdfw.com/i/dispatcher/?command=LoadImage&id=22644077&caption=Gay+slurs+don%27t+%3D+firing.', target: '#jqm_cont_1', overlay: 0, onShow: function(h) { h.w.css('opacity',1).fadeIn("fast"); G.doPixelTracking(83); }, onHide: function(h) { h.w.fadeOut("fast",function() { if(h.o) h.o.remove(); }); } }); });
  • According to those requirements, teachers must be "highly qualified" in reading, math, writing, education and social studies.  Most new teachers hired this year passed only a certification exam in a specific subject, according to the Dallas Morning News. 
  • The Morning News reports that as many as 30,000 new teachers may now have to take a competency test in order to keep their jobs under the new interpretation of the No Child Left Behind law.
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    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
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    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
Maria Mahon

Report Questions Duncan's Policy of Closing Failing Schools - NYTimes.com - 2 views

  • Furthermore, the disruptions of routines in schools scheduled to be closed appeared to hurt student learning in the months after the closing was announced, the researchers found.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      The study has shown that the disruption in schools appeared to hurt student learning in the months after the closing was announced. This makes me wonder, of course, about the recent layoffs in DC. While schools have not been closed, there obviously has been a lot of disruption and many classes are most likely behind schedule.
  • Instead of closing schools permanently, or for a year, and then reopening with a new staff, he shifted to the turnaround approach, in which the staff of failing schools was replaced over the summer but the same students returned in the fall. The new report focused only on the elementary schools closed permanently from 2001 to 2006, and thus offers no conclusions about the effectiveness of the turnaround strategy.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Because of the disruption caused by the school closing, Duncan switchd to a strategy in which the staff was changed over the summer but the same students returned to the school. There are no conclusive studies about the effectiveness of this strategy. But, it does seem to show the danger of mass firings in the middle of the school year.
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    When Arne Duncan presided over Chicago public schools, he closed failings schools. Recent studies show that this did not actually help the students at those schools.
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