NYTimes Op-Ed Contributor: Let Kids Rule the School

Let kids be in charce of their own learning and curriculum?
Op-Ed Contributor: Let Kids Rule the School: "Eight teens were given the chance to create their own curriculum, and the results have been transformative."

NYTimes: Essay: No Face, but Plants Like Life Too

Is it more "right" to kill and eat plants than it is to kill and eat animals? Essay: No Face, but Plants Like Life Too: "Vegetable behavior, and other ruminations on what we kill so we can eat. "

Sitomer: My blog was hacked!

My blog was hacked!: "Hi, my name is Whit Little and I have hacked Alan's blog today to talk to you about this most important of seasons.

The season of data.

See, as we all know it's coming up on testing time and in my role as the DDVP (Data-Driven Vice Principal) I want to make sure that you are properly placing all of your energy into the singularly most important area of a child's education: their standardized test scores.

• Are your students prepared for the tests?
• Have you pre-tested the test material in order to make sure that your students are test ready?
• Have you generated data which can give an indication as to the data that will ultimately be generated from your students' test data?
• Have you had the requisite amount of conversations about the importance of these tests to your students? (i.e. Twice a day on M,T,F and and three times per day on Tu, Th as per Ed Code Section 6ZL9TH.90L87M-B)
• Has your faculty engaged in enough meetings about the importance about upcoming tests?
• Have you done your 'How to properly administer this test' workshop? (And don't give me any of that, 'But I've done this for years, why must I attend the same ol' meeting yet again?' nonsense. It shows a lack of respect for the tests and of the importance of the data that these tests will generate.)

This time of year is no joke and we hope you understand the gravity of these tests. Please report all suspicious peers who display a cavalier attitude about the importance of these tests - or the data - to me, Whit Little. (You can just leave a comment below.)

And if you think it's unethical for me to hack into Alan's blog in order to relay the importance of the upcoming tests, might I remind you that the powers being granted to me, the DDVP, are currently growing in scale and scope to an unprecedented level.

Rightfully so, too. It's a new era and this is but one of many changes to come in the near future so get over yourselves.

And yes, there will be a test.

"

WashPo - Ravitch: Jon Stewart and other education heroes

Ravitch: Jon Stewart and other education heroes: "This was written by education historian Diane Ravitch for her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is the author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” an important critique of the flaws in the modern school reform movement."

Huffington Post - Sam Chaltain: Time for Obama to Become Our Teacher-in-Chief

Sam Chaltain: Time for Obama to Become Our Teacher-in-Chief: "On March 4, during an appearance in Miami with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, President Obama announced he will spend the month of March conducting a listening tour across the country, and 'talking to parents and students and educators about what we need to do to achieve reform, promote responsibility, and deliver results when it comes to education.'

I think it's a great idea -- and the clock is ticking. So without further delay, I'd like to recommend three core questions Mr. Obama should ask at every stop:
1. What do we know about how people learn -- and how can we apply that wisdom to education policies and practices?
2. What does the ideal learning environment actually look like -- and how can we create more such places for kids, both in and out of school?
3. What other metrics of success can we use to gauge student learning -- and how can we apply them in ways that will continually improve both our schools and our teaching?

Washington Post Answer Sheet: The ed report that all 'reformers' should read

The ed report that all 'reformers' should read: "Here are two take-away messages for school reformers around the country that are embedded in an important new report about how the D.C. public school system is faring under the 2007 law that gave the mayor control. * The standardized test scores that have been trumpeted to show improvement in the schools cannot legitimately be used to show progress in student learning. This is true, the report says, not only for D.C. schools but for any and all other school systems that use standardized tests as a measure of achievement."

NYTimes: Bipartisan Group Backs Common School Curriculum

Bipartisan Group Backs Common School Curriculum: "The proposal goes beyond the common academic standards in English and mathematics that about 40 states adopted last year, by providing specific guidelines about what should be taught in each grade."

Ferlazzo: A “Round-Up” Of Recent Posts, Videos & Articles On School Reform & Union Issues

A “Round-Up” Of Recent Posts, Videos & Articles On School Reform & Union Issues: "There have been quite a few good and useful posts and articles on school reform issues over the past few days. Here they are, along with links to “The Best…” lists I’m adding them to:

* There have been some good posts challenging comments by some “school reformers” that the experience of having many years in the classroom is over-rated. They say that after the first few years, it has no impact on student achievement. Here are some posts rebutting that claim:
The Teaching Experience at the Shanker Blog
Teaching experience matters! is from NYC Public School Parents
Firing Teachers with Due Process is a good piece from Forbes that rebuts a different claim — that it takes many years to get rid of a bad teacher.
I’m adding those posts to The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Both Why Teacher Tenure Is Important & The Reasons Behind Seniority-Based Layoffs.

* I’m embedding this “must-watch” thirty minute video of a talk by one of my favorite education writers and researchers, Richard Rothstein. Here’s how the Education Testing Service describes it:
Rothstein, a former New York Times national education columnist, discusses the false narrative about public education — especially urban schools — that currently exists. Rothstein maintains that many education reform proposals, especially those that focus on teacher accountability, are based on a misinterpretation and misuse of data. He stresses the direct correlation between poverty and educational failure.
Rothstein makes many important points but, because of some of the key ones he makes, I’m adding the video to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

* Teach for America 20th Anniversary Alumni Summit: Conclusions, Questions, and other Ruminations comes from Education Notes Online, and I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Raising Concerns About Teach For America.

* The relationship between education spending and test scores is an important piece that I’m adding to The Best Sites For Learning That Money Does Matter For Schools.

* The “three great teachers in a row” myth is a piece by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation.

* Why politicians should spend time at school is another piece from Valerie Strauss’ blog. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

* Here are some useful pieces related to what’s going on in Wisconsin, and that I’m adding to The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin:

Unions Hope States’ Attacks Nurture a Comeback comes from The New York Times.
Both Sides Begin Efforts for Recalls in Wisconsin is also from The New York Times.
How To Make A Misleading Public/Private Earnings Gap Disappear is from The Shanker Blog.
The Budget: Who’s Really to Blame? is a cartoon from The Atlantic."

The Learning Network: Briefly Noted: Practicing Useful Annotation Strategies

The Learning Network: Briefly Noted: Practicing Useful Annotation Strategies: "Lesson Plan | Practicing note-taking methods and reflecting on the value of marginalia."

NYTimes On Education: Evaluating New York Teachers, Perhaps the Numbers Do Lie

On Education: Evaluating New York Teachers, Perhaps the Numbers Do Lie: "A teacher in Manhattan earns effusive praise from her principal, colleagues and students. But the school system’s formula pan her performance?"