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Linda Garcia

The Answer Sheet - What 'Superman' got wrong, point by point - 6 views

voices.washingtonpost.com/...-superman-got-wrong-point.html

shared by Linda Garcia on 03 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Promise Academy is in many ways an excellent school, but it is dishonest for the filmmakers to say nothing about the funds it took to create it and the extensive social supports including free medical care and counseling provided by the zone
  • Two-thirds of Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone funding comes from private sources
  • In New Jersey, where court decisions mandated similar programs, such as high quality pre-kindergarten classes and extended school days and social services in the poorest urban districts, achievement and graduation rates increased while gaps started to close. But public funding for those programs is now being cut and progress is being eroded.
  • ...18 more annotations...
  • Most test score differences stubbornly continue to reflect parental income and neighborhood/zip codes, not what schools do. As opportunity, health and family wealth increase, so do test scores.
  • they reduce teachers to test-prep clerks, ignore important subject areas and critical thinking skills
  • But schools and teachers take the blame for huge social inequities in housing, health care, and income.
  • Unions have historically played leading roles in improving public education, and most nations with strong public educational systems have strong teacher unions.
  • The movie touts the benefits of fast track and direct entry to teaching programs such as Teach for America, but the country with the highest achieving students, Finland, also has highly educated teachers.
  • Charters were first proposed by the teachers’ unions to allow committed parents and teachers to create schools that were free of administrative bureaucracy and open to experimentation and innovation, and some excellent charters have set examples. But thousands of hustlers and snake oil salesmen have also jumped in.
  • And the Education Report, "The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts, concludes, “On average, charter middle schools that hold lotteries are neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement, behavior, and school progress.”
  • The Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University, concludes that only 17% of charter schools have better test scores than traditional public schools, 46% had gains that were no different than their public counterparts, and 37% were significantly worse. While a better measure of school success is needed
  • While a better measure of school success is needed
  • While a better measure of school success is needed
  • It is not a sustainable public policy to allow more and more public school funding to be diverted to privately subsidized charters while public schools become the schools of last resort for children with the greatest educational needs.
  • In spite of the many millions of dollars poured into expounding the theory of paying teachers for higher student test scores (sometimes mislabeled as ‘merit pay’), a new study by Vanderbilt University’s National Center on Performance Incentives found that the use of merit pay for teachers in the Nashville school district produced no difference even according to their measure, test outcomes for students.
  • approximately a third of America’s new teachers leave teaching sometime during their first three years of teaching; almost half leave during the first five years.
  • many of the top students have been lured to careers in finance and consulting.” It’s the market, and the disproportionately high salaries paid to finance specialists, that is misdirecting human resources, not schools.
  • They ignore the social construction of knowledge, the difference between deep learning and rote memorization.
  • This is a common theme of the so-called reformers: We are at war with India and China and we have to out-math them and crush them so that we can remain rich and they can stay in the sweatshops. But really, who declared this war? When did I as a teacher sign up as an officer in this war? And when did that 4th grade girl become a soldier in it? Instead of this new educational Cold War, perhaps we should be helping kids imagine a world of global cooperation, sustainable economies, and equity.
  • So the outcome of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top has been more funding for schools that are doing well and more discipline and narrow test-preparation for the poorest schools.
  • Waiting for Superman has ignored deep historical and systemic problems in education such as segregation, property-tax based funding formulas, centralized textbook production, lack of local autonomy and shared governance, de-professionalization, inadequate special education supports, differential discipline patterns, and the list goes on and on.
  • anonymous on 03 Oct 10
     
    This post corrects the misinformation in Waiting for Superman.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Benjamin Caulder on 22 Oct 10
     
    This is a good read. I don't know if its only me but "documentary" somehow implicitly means "true story". There really ought to be some sort of rating system, like G-NC17, for the accuracy of a documentary so the public doesn't buy the misinformation.
  • Evonne Villagomez on 18 Nov 10
     
    This is article is particularly helpful for me since my essay is on charter schools. I found this read interesting because it hihglights the areas in education which charter schools seem to be disregarding.
  • Kyle Dodson on 18 Nov 10
     
    I love the criticism if offers on the poster/ text alone. Many professors in the credential program are irate over the film and it's nice to see point-by-point what is wrong with the "documentary." I just love this article in general. It helps to be able to combat certain statistics in conversation too :)
Jacob Eckrich

Back in Black - Education Crisis - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 10/05/10 - Video C... - 4 views

www.thedailyshow.com/...ck-in-black---education-crisis

Education Funding

shared by Jacob Eckrich on 19 Nov 10 - No Cached
    • Jacob Eckrich
      Jacob Eckrich on 19 Nov 10
       
      While this is a comedy show, its political and social relevence is great. While I don't agree with a ll the views presented on this show, it does force people to think.
  • Jacob Eckrich on 19 Nov 10
     
    While this is funny, it is also depressing. It goes to show you how poorly education is being reformed, and how little many of us know how to go about fixing it.
  • Jennifer Flores on 19 Nov 10
     
    Jacob this was really funny, but like you said very sad at the same time. Our education system is crap and everyone knows it. There are so many people saying they have the answers, but no one is stepping up to the plate to fix it. I'm not saying I have the answers, but there has to be something we can do to make it better.
Linda Garcia

ASCD Infobrief:Examining Charter Schools:Examining Charter Schools - 1 views

www.ascd.org/...Examining-Charter-Schools.aspx

shared by Linda Garcia on 28 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • By definition, the common link among these 5,000-plus schools is their acceptance of increased accountability in exchange for increased autonomy, but the schools themselves may have little in common
  • More than three-quarters of charter schools nationwide are freestanding, started by educators, parents, activists, and others
  • Although Americans' approval of charter schools has increased 15 percent in the last five years and reached a two-thirds favorable rating, half of the respondents to a recent Phi Delta Kappan poll mistakenly believe that charters are not public schools and are allowed to teach religion.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • saying that charter schools are vital to promoting innovation in American schools (Obama, 2009)
  • With so much variation among charter schools, however, significant questions exist regarding how well they are educating students, how they manage their financial responsibilities, and whether creating more charter schools will be better for the nation's schoolchildren.
  • In 2009, Secretary Duncan made lifting charter caps a key component of qualifying for education funding under the $4.35 billion Race to the Top (RTTT) program. Originally, to qualify for RTTT money, Duncan said states must eliminate any caps on charter schools. In November 2009, Duncan changed the requirement so that states with caps could still receive money if they had other kinds of innovative public schools and as long as the caps were generous enough (The Wall Street Journal, 2009).
  • Parents' demand for charter schools is outpacing their availability in many locations, with an estimated 365,000 students on waitlists—enough to fill more than 1,100 average-sized charter schools
  • In Montana, where there are no charter schools and where more than half of the state's school districts have enrollments of fewer than 100 students, Superintendent of Schools Denise Juneau objected to the RTTT focus on charter schools in a July 28 letter to Secretary Duncan. "Montana's rural context and economic status has made it challenging for many communities and the state to support the public schools we currently have," Juneau wrote in the letter, "much less encourage the duplication of infrastructure a charter school would mean in most communities" (McNeil, 2009).
  • "The charter movement is putting itself at risk by allowing too many second-rate and third-rate schools to exist," he said, in reference to a recent study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University that found that more than 80 percent of charter schools were performing the same as or worse than their local public schools (2009).
  • The comparison found that only 17 percent of charter schools were producing gains that were significantly better than their traditional public school counterparts, while 46 percent were similar to their local public schools and 37 percent performed significantly worse (Center for Research on Education Outcomes, 2009).
  • In contrast, another recent study by Stanford economics professor Caroline Hoxby found that students who entered lotteries and gained admission to New York City charter schools performed better on state assessments than students who entered the same lotteries and were not admitted to the charter schools.
  • The findings of both studies have been disputed. Critics of the Hoxby study point out that it relies on extrapolations of data, comparing statistical projections of student achievement as opposed to actual student achievement (Ravitch, 2009). Critics of the CREDO study raise doubts about its seemingly contradictory findings that charter schools provided gains for English language learners and poor students while having negative effects on Hispanic and black students (Anderson, 2009).
  • For middle and high school charters that did have baseline scores, that study found charter schools in five of the seven locations it examined were on average no better or worse than local traditional public schools (Zimmer et al., 2009).
  • Of the more than 5,250 charter schools that have ever opened, 657 have closed since 1992. Of those, 41 percent closed because of financial deficiencies caused by either low enrollment or inequitable funding; 27 percent for mismanagement; and only 14 percent for poor academic performance (Allen et al., 2009).
  • A 2005 analysis by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) found that 90 percent of authorizers were local school districts, and two-thirds lacked a dedicated office or staff to oversee the authorizing process (Vanourek, 2005). NAPCS, which has described quality authorizing as an intensive, data-driven process that requires dedicating substantial resources to the task, has called for stricter accountability for local school boards and other entities that authorize charter schools
  • anonymous on 28 Oct 10
     
    An examination of charter schools
Benjamin Caulder

Standardized Testing: A Race to Nowhere | Dailycensored.com - 2 views

dailycensored.com/...ized-testing-a-race-to-nowhere

standardized tests

shared by Benjamin Caulder on 17 Nov 10 - No Cached
    • Benjamin Caulder
      Benjamin Caulder on 17 Nov 10
       
      This right here, is scary. When the group think has permeated so deep into our cultural perception that standardized testing as they are today are beneficial that even a teacher has bought in... shudder.
    • Ashley Muniz
      Ashley Muniz on 17 Nov 10
       
      This teachers view of testing is contradictory to most educators that I have encountered. In fact many educators vehemently disagree with mandated testing and its consequences. It is a scary thought when educators believe their is benefit for students in high stakes testing.
    • Elvira Ledezma
      Elvira Ledezma on 18 Nov 10
       
      I agree Ashley; I have not heard many teachers say that standerdized testing is good. Standardized testing is lowering down the curriculum I believe.
  • Jacob Eckrich on 19 Nov 10
     
    Standardized testing cripples cirriculum. It greatly limits the scope and breadth of knowledge. In fact, true knowledge isn't even really gained from this form of education. Not to mention, the idea of a standard in nearly all other areas of society is looked down upon. For instance, say that everyone should be held to the "Christian" standard. This would cause a frenzy, as"Chrsitian" ethics are not held in esteem by all. Yet when dealing with education, the opposite is assumed.
Eric Wheeler

APPitic - 1,300+ EDUapps - 0 views

appitic.com

iPad apps resources Apple ipod Teaching English Education

shared by Eric Wheeler on 15 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • Eric Wheeler on 15 Nov 11
     
    Apps for Education
anonymous

The overblown crisis in American education : The New Yorker - 1 views

www.newyorker.com/...100927taco_talk_lemann

Education Crisis

shared by anonymous on 05 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 05 Oct 10
     
    Crisis in American Education? This writer doesn't think so.
Justin Norris

CAHSEE Summary Reports 2004-2009 (CA Dept of Education) - 0 views

cahsee.cde.ca.gov/summaryreports2010.asp

CAHSEE Reports Education Ethnicity

shared by Justin Norris on 28 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Justin Norris on 28 Oct 10
     
    Through this CA Dept of Education website, one can view the statistics of the CAHSEE (separated by ethnicity) and the percentage changes from 2004 to 2010.
anonymous

8 Ways Technology Is Improving Education - 1 views

mashable.com/...technology-in-education

EdTech Web2.0

shared by anonymous on 05 Dec 10 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 05 Dec 10
     
    Article about how technology has improved education.
Michelle Arce

Scripted Curriculum: Is It a Prescription for Success? | Childhood Education | Find Art... - 1 views

findarticles.com/...ai_n17189994

shared by Michelle Arce on 13 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • commercially prepared
    • Michelle Arce
      Michelle Arce on 13 Nov 10
       
      education= "commercial." Aren't we just SOOO proud of our education system =/
    • Michelle Arce
      Michelle Arce on 18 Nov 10
       
      Reminds me of the foundations of literacy.
anonymous

California Governor Puts the Testing Juggernaut On Ice - Living in Dialogue - Education... - 1 views

blogs.edweek.org/...ornia_governor_puts_the_t.html

Testing CA Education

shared by anonymous on 18 May 11 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 18 May 11
     
    Interesting article about Gov. Brown's vision for education.
anonymous

Skype for Educators - 0 views

www.skypeforeducators.com/educators.htm

Skype TeacherResources Teachers

shared by anonymous on 26 Sep 10 - Cached
  • anonymous on 26 Sep 10
     
    List of teachers willing to Skype into your classrooms.
anonymous

Making Student Blogs Pay Off with Blog Audits - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Ed... - 0 views

chronicle.com/...27559

Blogging Education

shared by anonymous on 12 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 12 Oct 10
     
    Assignment which encourages writing and reflection on blogging.
Justin Norris

The Education Wonks: The CAHSEE fight continues - Thoughts And Ideas Freely Exchanged - 0 views

educationwonk.blogspot.com/...cahsee-fight-continues.html

CAHSEE Standardized Test High School Diploma Education

shared by Justin Norris on 26 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Justin Norris on 26 Oct 10
     
    It's a little old, but it provides a brief explanation of some issues that arose when the CAHSEE became a requirement to graduate high school.
Michael Horder

Abandoning Age-Tracking - Unwrapping the Gifted - Education Week Teacher - 3 views

blogs.edweek.org/...abandoning_age-tracking.html

Track students by learning readiness rather than age.

shared by Michael Horder on 25 Oct 10 - Cached
  • A very small but growing number of school districts around the country are converting to the educational practice of grouping students by readiness (or ability or skill or mastery, depending on how you want to describe it) rather than by age.
Shannon George

Teachers agree: Bad teachers with tenure too tough to fire - USATODAY.com - 6 views

www.usatoday.com/...08-05-06-teachers-tenure_n.htm

shared by Shannon George on 02 Nov 10 - No Cached
    • Anthony Logan
      Anthony Logan on 02 Nov 10
       
      Are the lack of evaluations to blame for ineffective teachers getting tenured status?  If so, what can we do to fix it? 
    • Benjamin Caulder
      Benjamin Caulder on 02 Nov 10
       
      I don't have evidence to back this up as it was from the mouth of one of my credential program profs. but what he said was that for the first couple of years teachers have to play a political game to make sure they get tenure then once they have it, its a different game they play with the school and the union. Not all "bad" teachers are really "bad" teachers, but for those that really are my prof. argued that the system works if the admin is actually willing to follow through to the end, which can be as long as 2 years. Most admins aren't willing. Sorry I can't provide evidence to back that up.
    • ameia sarkisian
      ameia sarkisian on 03 Nov 10
       
      Yeah, that's really sad that administrators aren't willing to go through the process, however long and arduous it may be, to make the learning environment a better place.
    • Michael Horder
      Michael Horder on 08 Nov 10
       
      I have heard that as well, Ben. Admins rarely put in the effort to reprimand teachers. The teacher's union protects all teachers, good or bad. Admins are afraid to go up against the union because they have so much power. I think teacher's union might be the problem with the whole tenure thing. Another interesting note. If you look at the leadership of teacher's unions i.e. the reps. They are some of the "bad" teachers. I know this is true in Madera, and I have been told the same thing occurs in other districts. I find that fascinating. Bad teachers protecting bad teachers. Hhhmmm. Bad system maybe?
  • Tenure provides teachers with job security and generally is awarded a few years after educators enter the profession
    • Shannon George
      Shannon George on 15 Nov 10
       
      Sadly, tenure is being mis-used. The original intention of tenure was for teachers to have due-process if they were being fired; it was an effort to help. Now it has turned into a "job for life," and many districts have to treat it like that or they will have to pay big money to the Unions.
    • Ryan Williams
      Ryan Williams on 19 Nov 10
       
      yeah I have read this statement time and time again. I guess it would make a huge difference to students and the administrations if the tenure teachers were ineffective, but I just don't see a negative trend among teachers that have earned their tenure. I have had quite a few tenure teachers at Fresno State and they are not all old burned out senile geezers that need to be fired.
  • Anthony Logan on 02 Nov 10
     
    Tenured teachers are hard to get rid of, even other teachers acknowledge this.
  • ameia sarkisian on 03 Nov 10
     
    There is a section towards the middle of this article where they talk about principals not wanting to "deal with" the ensuing process after they discover a less-than-effective tenure teacher... I find that to be kind of a scary thought... The PRINCIPALS, the administration in charge of ensuring the best for our students, don't want to deal with the problems that they were hired to face if necessary?! I think that evaluating the teachers and giving them feedback is important for the teachers (especially the "bad" ones) but what happens when the people in charge of evaluating them feel like it''s "pointless?"
Shannon George

YouTube - CNN: Rhee: I don't care about being popular - 2 views

www.youtube.com/watch

cnn Teaching Education teachers

shared by Shannon George on 09 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Shannon George on 09 Nov 10
     
    Rhee discusses her proactive approach on weeding out bad teachers and improving the quality of education.
ameia sarkisian

District Selection Policies - Recommended Literature (K-12) (CA Dept of Education) - 4 views

www.cde.ca.gov/...litrlppolicies.asp

shared by ameia sarkisian on 03 Nov 10 - Cached
  • If a book is challenged, does the person who raises the issue have an opportunity to talk with the teacher or teacher librarian informally before any further steps are taken?
Ashley Muniz

Is Your Child Being Taught From a Script? | Education.com - 2 views

www.education.com/...Scripted_Teaching

scripted lessons

shared by Ashley Muniz on 04 Nov 10 - Cached
  • Ashley Muniz on 04 Nov 10
     
    This article looks at why scripted lessons are used, if they are actually effective, and whether teachers are employing scripted lessons in the classroom
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