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Education news nuggets
Even if you've had a breakfast for champions, be wary of being too spontaneous because your best practices may fly ou
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Quotable & notable
?A number of people are frustrated at the pace of change for improving education for low income families. There's more support from Republicans of public funds going to private schools.'' * ?Joe Nathan, Director, Center for School Change
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First, kill all the textbooks
William Shakespeare penned the famous line in Henry the Sixth: ?The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers,? setting off a wave of lawyer jokes that continues 400 years later. Had Shakespeare had the opportunity to witness the infighting and special interest politics of state textbook adoption processes, he might have found a better target for his ire.
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Field notes: Round 2 goes to the public
I'm not sure how many of the 200-plus people who packed our cafeteria last night had read Rick Hess' How Supes and P
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Truthiness, adequacy, and the New Jersey way
New Jersey's Supreme Court ordered Chris Christie to cough up another $500 million in funding for the state's schools in a 3-2 ruling today.
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Curriculum & Instruction
The South will embarrass itself again
Tennessee is determined, it seems, to sully its reputation when it comes to matters educational. The state that in the 1920s began the anti-evolution battles by bringing?teacher John Scopes to trial for allegedly?speaking of?evolution in his high-school biology class has moved the so-called ?Don't Say Gay? bill along the path from notion to law.
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Quotable & notable
?The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views.'' *
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Don't keep it too simple!
Albert Einstein once famously noted that we should ?make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.?
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Minnesota inches closer to banning Common Core
According to the Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now (MinnCAN), the Minnesota House and Senate just passed a sweeping education policy bill that included, among other things, a provision that would prohibit the Commissioner of Education from adoption "common standards." (Click
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Teacher Evaluations: The Alternatives to Nothing?
In a lengthy essay for the Washington Post New York State Regent Roger Tilles provides more evidence for why the Empire State has slipped so badly educationally in the last couple of decades: the tendency to fiddle while Rome burns.?
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Quotable & notable
?Education is not a partisan issue. Not everybody in one party is completely sold on one approach.'' * ?Rob Eissler, Texas House Representative
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Education news nuggets
In this time of great financial crisis, have we really gotten to a point where we need to rely on 4-day weeks and
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Podcast: Fordham women lead the way
With Mike and Rick away this week, Janie and Daniela hold down the fort, discussing college rigor, the future of Georgia's charter schools, and a new take on ESEA reauthorization. Amber digs into the weeds of Common Core and state-standards alignment, and Chris gets mad that no one asked him to the prom. [powerpress]
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Quotable & notable
?By lifting up those who need us and by tearing down the walls that divide us, we can truly honor the legacy of Brown versus the Board of Education.'' * ?Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General
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Education news nuggets
As students redshirt kindergarten and parental involvement is questioned, others ask, ?
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Quotable & notable
?Having gone to New York City public schools, that quite literally saved my life. I feel an incredible devotion to make that possible for more kids.'' * ?John B. King Jr., New York's next Education Commissioner
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Field notes: Vote early, vote often
It's school budget voting day in New York. And in my little district, with fewer than 2,000 K?12 students, voters are being asked to approve a $41,249,180 budget, which is a remarkably lean one, considering that it is just .77 more than last year's budget (that's less than one percent).
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Quotable & notable
?Instead of cutting what students need most, cut things that students don't need. Music is something that is very influential for students, but having 10 secretaries isn't. Save our music.'' *
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King appointed commissioner in New York
In another major sign of how far the school reform movement has traveled, New York's Board of Regents today appointed John King, an African American and former managing director of Uncommon Schools, Commissioner of Education.
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More New York news: Teacher evaluation quarrels
Andrew Cuomo is not considered an education reform governor, but the Democratic leader of the Empire State has taken some bold stands in reining in education spending (by a billion bucks) ? even if it was courage born of necessity.?
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Shuffle off to (a School Boycott in) Buffalo
Last week the lefties staged a protest against millionaires in New York City.?
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Education news nuggets
Is your curriculum a coal curriculum? If not, maybe a Russian billionaire could be of service.
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Curriculum & Instruction
A war of words: "Nationalize" versus "Privatize"
One of the more interesting characteristics of the recent curriculum counter-manifesto was its lead sentence, which had this lovely turn of phrase: we ?oppose the call for a nationalized curriculum.??
Commentary
Education news nuggets
Three cheers for Booker T. Washington! But, that is just about the only thing to be cheering for?what is the education world coming to?
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Podcast: The honeymoon is over?
Smile. The magnanimous Dave DeSchryver guest hosts this week; he and Mike hash out the big takeaways from the common curriculum counter-manifesto and the Chamber of Commerce's ESEA proposal before explaining what exactly is going down in Illinois. Amber dissects the branding of Catholic schools, and Marena is no slave to poor teacher judgment. [powerpress]
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Quotable & notable
?I'm all for high standards. I'm all for excellent curriculum. Kids should be pushed. But you have to recognize the population'' * ?Skip McCoy, Member of the D.C. Public Charter School Board
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Limerick Day!
So apparently today was Limerick Day and we were having some fun in the office, sending our own limericks around. Mike wanted to share a few of our laughs with you all. First, Mike sent around this one: There once was a man from Ohio. Whose prose was full of much style. He said with a grin.
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Spring Cleaning: new evidence that off-cycle school board elections are bad for democracy
In a fascinating study of interest group influence on school board elections, Stanford political scientist Sarah Anzia offers new reasons for dropping special spring school district elections.