Blogs: Time To Get Out Of The School Reform Bubble

Those inside the school reform bubble are pretty much solely focused on things like Race to the Top, mayoral control, and the like.  But everybody else out there -- teachers, principals, parents -- is probably focusing on more mundane (immediate) issues like H1N1 and the gang rape of a teenage girl in Richmond, California.

In Richmond Rape, One Teen Did The Right Thing Jezebel
"I'm like 'We should call the cops because that's the right thing to do.' I didn't think about it twice."

Richmond rape survivor speaks out Jezebel
School officials are planning to improve security with cameras, improved lighting, and fences. According to West Contra Costa School District superintendent Bruce Harter, these measures have been in the works for a long time, but administrators "couldn't find the money until now."

Proper Loading and Unloading The Bus Driver
Aren't all students, including those in wheelchairs supposed to be ready for pickup and not sitting inside the house waiting for the bus to come?

How Discrimination Creeps Into Grading Practices Inside Research
An innovative study shows how discrimination toward students from low social castes plays out in teachers' test-grading practices.

Are you inside the reform bubble, or outside?

Blogs: Grading Obama, Abolishing Arne, Debunking Canada

One year after his election, what has Obama achieved? Christian Science Monitor
Obama got off to a quick start. But almost one year after winning the presidency, his deeds are at risk of paling next to his aspirations.

A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis NYT
It is one of the most intriguing labels in psychiatry.

Performance Pay for Pundits Claus Von Z
First up for evaluation: Jonathan Alter.

Why we don't need an education secretary Jay Mathews
Let's abolish the office and get that talent back where it belongs, where school change really happens, in our states and cities.

High stakes testing arrives in PA
This month the state Board of Education approved new state graduation exams for all high school students in Pennsylvania.

Canada: not the educational mecca we've been led to believe  KDeRosa
Canadian edu-pundits have been leading us to believe that Canada's lefty social policy programs have nearly eradicated both income and racial inequality and have lead to an educational mecca in which achievement gaps are no more.

Some People Wear Two Hats in Common Standards Process Curriculum Matters
Some of the individuals who have been selected to provide feedback on mathematics or English/language arts standards for college- and career-readiness are also part of the group of people charged with "validation" of the standards.

High school girls’ MySpace photos lead to sports suspension True/Slant
That’s, like, so not fair.

Blogs: Feuding, Furloughing, Teachers, Starlets

The Answer Sheet: The feuding is getting in the way Valerie Strauss 
I just might scream if I hear one more person invoke what is "best for the kids" in the growing conflict between D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and her critics.

Hawaii’s Children, Left Behind NYT
Every state has sacrificed. But Hawaii has sacrificed its own schoolchildren.

Teachers: inspired, exhausted and poor Learning Matters
Last week, GOOD magazine published “The GOOD 100″ a sort of Martha Stewart ‘good things’ for the non-profit world. One of the list’s education-related highlights is the Teacher Salary Project.

Online Grading: Treat--or Trick? Nancy Flanagan
My estimable teacher-blogger colleague, Ms. Bluebird, is sputtering about the parent-accessible online grading system in her district.

Picture:  Guess the celeb.  Guess the kid-related costume.

Ready-made dissertation topic on local school politics Sherman Dorn
Anyone looking for a dissertation topic on school policy or politics can now rest easy: read the Palm Beach Post's description of a local reform effort that blew up in the face of a superintendent.

Op-Ed Contributor Teach Your Teachers Well NYT
Arne Duncan the secretary of education, recently called for sweeping changes to the way we select and train teachers. He's right.

Evaluating D.C. teachers a confusing job Jay Mathews
In the last half of the 19th century, many inventors pursued the dream of building an airplane.

The R.O.T.C. Dilemma Michael Winerip
Is it time to bring R.O.T.C. back?

Blogs: State Ed Agency Fail, Faith, Percentages, Cheating

State Ed. Bureaucracies Fail the Test  Peter Murphy 
Can education bureaucrats spell "I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y"?

Education Secretary Not Mad, Just Disappointed ProPublica Blog
Oh, for shame. Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania aren’t following the rules when it comes to spending stimulus dollars on education. And the Department of Education’s inspector general isn’t happy about it.

In School Reform, Faith Is Not Enough Claus von Zastrow
Don't ever pin your reformy hopes on any single strategy.

Easier To Get Into Than You Think The Wire
Stanford economist Caroline Hoxby has published a new study showing that the conventional wisdom about rising competitiveness in university admissions is a myth. But that isn't the only interesting tidbit in Hoxby's grab-bag of provocative conclusions.

Do Times reporters know the difference between percentages and raw numbers? Sherman Dorn
I suspect the following is an unfortunate placement by the reporter on a story about record high percentages of young adults in college (with an emphasis on percentages).

Quotables Mike Klonsky
"Why don't they Trust me?"

Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater Inside Research
A new survey shows that kids who cheat in high school are more likely than non-cheaters to lie to their spouses, bosses, and employees when they become adults.

Blogs: Sneaky States, Chicago Closings, Data Worries

I Am Shocked, SHOCKED  Robert Pondiscio 
Researchers at the National Center for Education Statistics have found evidence that “a majority of states may have lowered student-proficiency standards on state tests in recent years.”

Idiocy in paradise: Hawaii handles school budget cuts badly Jay Mathews
It is a fascinating state, the birthplace of our president, and its education policymakers have just taken a step that is a good example for the rest of the states of what NOT to do when you get into budget trouble---cut back the time kids are in school.

My comments at Edweek blog Mike Klonsky
No, the arbitrary closing of dozens of schools in Chicago wasn't a "wash." Yes, the closings did have an affect on academics and learning.

More Schools, Not Troops Nicholas Kristof
A compelling argument against more troops in Afghanistan rests on this trade-off: For the cost of an additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for a year, nearly 20 schools could be built.

Study: State Data Warehouses a Privacy Concern Inside Research
States are ignoring privacy protections while building data warehouses, a new study says.

From The Mouth Of A Test Scorer...  TFT
"After two days of training, nearly half the 100 people applying for the job failed the tests and were fired. Our unemployment lasted only about 12 hours."

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Baby Einstein: No Sh*t, Sherlock TFT 
It is this lack of early interaction that early childhood education aims to supplement. The lack is the leading cause, IMHO, of the achievement gap, and it is manifested mostly in impoverished neighborhoods.

Interactive Map: Profiles of Community Schools CAP
Community School Projects Across the Nation

I'm reading... Mike Klonsky
I think the problem is they've become too big, ill-purposed, and anti-democratic. But Billions of Drops is still worth the read.

Is homework necessary?  Uncle Jay Mathews
Now I am wondering if my faith in homework for middle and high schoolers has been misplaced.

Message to Educonomists: You Can't Ignore the Important Stuff LFA
The Hassels, like so many of their ideological brethren, seem to believe that great teachers are born, not made. Hence their relatively dim view of staff development.

Hechinger Announces Josh Benton
It’ll be fascinating to see what they come up with — not to mention many resumes they see from the nation’s top education reporters in, say, the next 24 hours.

Blogs: Hawaii Leads The Way, Turnaround Terror, Etc.

Waiting for the punchline RPOA [new blog!]
I’m always searching for new ways to motivate my students, and last week I thought I finally found something.

Hawaii Schools to Close on Most Fridays Mother Jones
California, Florida, and New Mexico have also asked teachers to take unpaid furlough days, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Putting the Brakes on Turnarounds Smarick
Though the inclination to fix our worst schools is understandable and is often the result of the best intentions, it is misguided.

Duncan attacks Hawaii for being broke, cutting school year Mike Klonsky
But offers little in way of solutions

As aid shrinks, more 'stuck' for day care USA Today
As budget problems worsen, states are tightening rules for subsidies, eliminating enriched child care programs, raising fees that parents and providers pay, and halting new subsidies.

Schools often don't budget wisely Detroit News
This is a bogus argument. Schools have known for a year or more of the state's distressed financial condition.

Looking for Good Ideas to Reduce Teen Shootings Freakonomics
I had a number of ideas, but after spending some time talking with a group of Black Soul gang members with the help of one of my heroes, Arloa Sutter, I’m not convinced that any of my approaches can work.

Blogs: Slam AACTE, Question New Haven, Worry About CMOs

Let's Keep it Real Charlie Barone (Hates AACTE)
Some of the strongest criticisms of teacher prep have, and continue to, come from within the field. Change, however, largely has not.

New Haven Contract = Trojan Horse? Mike Antonucci
We shouldn’t be too optimistic about reforms in AFT districts spreading to other AFT districts (see Cincinnati performance pay, Toledo peer review, Rochester “living contract,” et al.).

Education secretary may be giving up on school reform David Ellison (SJ Mercury News)
I would rather Duncan emulate Frederick Douglass, who boldly assailed the entire immoral institution that made Tubman necessary.

Laughed Out of the Room GothamSchools (Aaron Pallas)
To be a good prospect for scaling up in a Goal Four project, an intervention must previously have been shown to be effective in at least one site, using rigorous methods for assessing cause-and-effect relationships.

Today's Quote D-Ed Reckoning
"Why the belief that SES is causal is so deep and wide is perplexing and astounding. The only explanation I can come up with is that it lets publishers, professors and other "authorities", who ARE causally responsible, off the hook." (Dick Schultz)

CMOs:  Expansion, Survival, and Impact Tom Toch
Many of these organizations are going to be hard-pressed to deliver the many schools that Duncan wants from them.

Plans Unveiled for 'Bracey Memorial Fellowship' Inside Research
Friends of the late Gerald W. Bracey are looking to start a doctoral fellowship in his name.

Should Private Money Fund Public Schools? National Journal
Private donations are covering $18,000 of the $225,000 annual salary paid to a school superintendent in Indiana. In Boston, public schools worked with corporations, along with pro and collegiate sports teams, to boost school athletic budgets by more than 60 percent over the next three years ($4 million to $6.5 million).

FTC Forces Baby Einstein Refund Slate
The unusual move from Disney comes under the threat of a class-action lawsuit from parents who say they were conned into buying Baby Einstein because the products purported to be good for babies' development.

Blogs: They'll Talk About ANYThing

What the First Round of Stimulus Data Tells Us NAF
Hopefully these limitations will not completely undermine what could have otherwise been an invaluable tool for evaluating the success of the stimulus.

The Quiet Revolution David Brooks
The Obama administration is using its competitive Race to the Top fund to push states to embrace real education reform.

Mediocre? Not Us! Inside Higher Ed
Education secretary's sharp critique of teacher ed leaves many programs saying he's right, just not about their campuses.

Test scores should be traced to ed schools GothamSchools
Plans are already underway to link student data back to teachers and their training programs, Tisch added.

Duncan's talk at Teachers College Sherman Dorn
Some quick impressions of the text of Arne Duncan's speech at Teachers College today:

Ackerman has learned lessons from 2002 Dale Mezzacappa
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and her team have apparently learned something from the myriad mistakes made during the city's ill-starred foray into school privatization in 2002.

What Works for Rich Kids Works for All Kids Deborah Meier
Dear Diane, We've got to stop agreeing so much! I can't wait to read your new book so I can go into "attack mode" again.

Who Took Fenger Video (& Why Fox Paid, Delayed Airing It) D299
The owner said that he  "wanted to document the violence his sister and others had to endure just to walk to and from school."

Yelling Is The New Spanking Jezebel
Oh dear. Oh no. It seems today's anti-spanking, "pregnancy-flaunting, soccer-cheering, organic-snack-proffering generation of parents" have a dark secret: sometimes they yell at their kids.

Blogs: Needy Prep Schools, Duncan Contradictions, Curriculum Vs. Governance

Goldman Sachs' Neediest Cases Gawker
CityFile rummaged through the past recipients of Goldman's largesse. Guess what they found? Tony, preposterously expensive private prep schools, that's what!

Duncan to Reiterate Criticisms of Teacher Education Teacher Beat
Am I the only one that sees a little bit of tension between the thrust of this speech and the proposed Race to the Top criteria?

Early Obama adviser waiting to see Elizabeth Green
Obama’s strategy has to stretch beyond simply, “Be like Joel.”

The Roger Ebert of Science Teachers Curriculum Matters
A big science teachers association offers reviews of the scientific accuracy of Hollywood flicks.

A gadfly remembered Sherman Dorn
I only met him a handful of times in the past 20 years of his persistent, indefatigable efforts to poke holes in every public report or news story he saw as an effort to demonize public schooling.

Least Undesirable Edition TAPPED
Rather than have “governance people” in the administration take over the education agenda, the author proposes to prioritize the evaluation of curriculum effectiveness among teachers and local agencies.

Making Physics Fun [Weird Science] Jezebel
A musing about the state of science in children's lives; chemistry sets have given way to "boogerology" kits, emphasizing gross stuff in an effort to lure kids.

According to ProPublica's stimulus tracking site, the USDE has only spent 22 percent of its stimulus funding.

Blogs: Superintendents, Bracey, RttT, & Maya Angelou

Superintendent Smackdown LFA
The Baltimore Sun compares Baltimore's and Washington DC's school reforms, and it finds DC's wanting.

Gerald Bracey RIP Ed Notes Online
I didn't know much about Jerry Bracey and had little contact with him, but the work he did in battling the Ed Deformers was immense.

States' Race to the Top: Where Are They Now? Charlie Barone
The list here is not comprehensive, but it does reflect action in states where reform efforts have been pursued or spotlighted in the public sphere.

Pontiac v. Spellings Goes the Way of the Pontiac Mike Antonucci
Now you know why NEA was trying to negotiate a settlement.

Colorado Supreme Court Jumps into the Abyss of School Finance Firefly
Colorado’s state Supreme Court defied national trends on Monday, handing down a decision in Lobato v. State that thrusts the judiciary into the middle of the state’s educational finance disputes.

Fixing Detroit Public Schools & The “Cosby Effect” John Merrow
Secretary Arne Duncan referred to Detroit as "New Orleans without Katrina," and we’ve seen pictures of some truly awful schools.

Censors Try To Silence Caged Bird Jezebel
School officials read aloud the child rape scene from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting — in order to shock council members into banning it.

Blogs: Weingarten, Veterans Day, Homeroom, and More

Weingarten Playa Manchurian Candidate as She Brokers Deal in New Haven EdNotes
Weingarten is there to sell the as much as the ed deform program to teachers as she can get away with. The new Manchurian Candidate.

Attacks on Jennings intensify Political Animal
By all indications, the White House is ignoring the far-right cries, and Jennings' job is secure. Here's hoping it stays that way.

Test that makes U.S. look bad may not be so good Class Struggle (Jay Mathews)
There are other problems with PISA, such as an ideological bias and a tendency to assume cause-and-effect relationships. But the American results on those exams — we are below average in both math and science literacy — are often cited as a national disgrace.

Nonprofit EMOs Growing Even as For-Profit Sector Slows, Report Says Inside Research
A new report documents steady growth over the last school year in the number of nonprofit organizations hired to manage charters and other public schools.

Blowing Up Homeroom Voice of San Diego
A Clairemont middle school is using the first class of the day as academic triage, with extra help for struggling kids and opportunities for others.

Queen Bees, Wannabes & How Technology Has Changed Teens Forever Jezebel
Rosalind Wiseman is the author of Queen Bees & Wannabes, the 2002 book that inspired the movie Mean Girls. A new edition comes out today—and pretty much scares the shit out of me.

Quotes: Concerned About Schools Over-Promising

"What if these schools admitted they didn't have all the answers, and instead had to admit that...they haven't figured out how to get to a significant percentage of their population, despite Herculean efforts?"  (The Other Thirteen)

Blogs: Everyone Is Wrong About Everything (Today)

Nick Kristof Strikes Again, and Gets It Wrong Again ed notes online 
Not the first time Kristof has ventured into territory he knows nothing about.

Assault on Online Learning? Not Really Bill Tucker
If it’s done well, the $500 million courseware project could actually be used to address many of the market failures that Hess outlines.

Has the Dismal Science Cast a Pall Over Education? LFA
According to two articles published yesterday, the answer so far has been yes and no.

Alt. routes to teaching.... Amy Fagan
This NY Times article highlights some folks who took alternative routes to become teachers, leaving their primary careers or retirement to complete fast-track programs into the classroom.

The Pros and Cons of Squelching Gifted Students Uncle Jay Mathews
Some of the many people who wrote to me about my Oct. 5 column on Howard County’s reluctance to accelerate a gifted student shocked the heck out of me.

Police Escort, The Rodeo, and Screamer Boy Bus Driver
Screamer Boy is an obnoxious middle schooler who insists on making every bus drivers life a living hell.

Streaking Is All Fun And Games Until Someone Commits A Felony Deadspin
One high school student is facing criminal sexual conduct charges after his streaking across the field caused a near-riot.

Roundup: A Daily Look At The Best Blog Posts & Articles

Not to be confused with the morning roundup of education news:

The Invisible Hand in Education Policy Harvard Education Letter
Although economists are by no means unified in their positions on education reform, their influence is broad and growing.

More, better care Philly Notebook
The city and District still largely operate in parallel worlds, rarely working across agencies to direct services where they are most needed.

How a Controversial Rule Played Out in Other Schools
Voice Of SD
The teachers union is pulling for a new rule to limit workloads. Principals say it will handcuff them. How did it work elsewhere?

Obama in LA public schools  Joanne Jacobs
At two of LA’s lowest scoring high schools, Crenshaw and Dorsey, a former Obama campaign manager has organized the Barack Obama Digital Media Team and the Obama Chefs, reports NBC Los Angeles.

Reinventing the Wheel Rick Hess
While seeking to make college more accessible, the Obama administration has launched a largely unnoticed assault upon the nation's vibrant market in online learning.

Artsy Smartsy  Nancy Flanagan
First, read this--Claus von Zastrow's brilliant, poignantly hilarious treatise on why public schools and teachers just can't win, posted last week on the Public School Insights blog. It encompasses the entire range of criticisms--building yurts with tongue depressors

Blogs: The Best Posts Of The Day

The comparability fly in the Ouchi/principal-autonomy ointment Sherman Dorn
We may not want principals to have complete autonomy in a task where they have relatively weak skills: knowing which novice teachers are going to be great teachers.

Course outline for the LAUSD Richard Riordan
The Public School Choice Resolution is a big step in the right direction. Past experience, however, makes me skeptical as to whether the LAUSD will take full advantage of this window for change.

When I Wish Upon A Star… Eduwonk
Richard Rothstein lays out all the reasons Ed Sec. Arne Duncan is really poised to radically change the direction of federal education policy and throw-out the No Child Left Behind policy.

California too Focused on the Canary in the Coal Mine Quick And The Ed
Here is the problem. That linkage is largely meaningless.

Tween Summit Reveals The Kids Are (Mostly) Alright Jezebel
When Monica Hesse from WaPo asked about sexting, a 14-year-old named Angelique Gaston said, "Ew," and then proclaimed: "That isn't what we're doing. The media bases ev-er-y-thing on sexuality."

Why D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee Has to Play Tough Richard Whitmire
Running a hurry-up education offense is the only way Rhee can maintain a viable-sized school district that has dwindled to a mere 44,000 students, while the city's charter school population is expected to grow to 28,000 this year.

Video Game-Crazed Kids Reach New Levels of Violence Gawker
Kids these days sure know how to keep us horrified. Just when we think the little bastards can't get any more psychotic, five middle school boys have been arrested for setting a classmate alight.  Why?

Blogs: A Quick Search For Interesting Blog Posts

Zero Tolerance: Texas Style Transparent Christina
Texas sees the light. Modifications are beginning to ease the constraints put upon the nation as a result of the tragedy of Columbine.

Kevin Jennings Is Not Roman Polanski Seyward Darby
One could argue that Jennings should have done more to protect the student, by asking him more questions, calling the police, involving his school's administration, or even telling the student to discuss the health risks of unprotected sex with a doctor. But linking Jennings with Polanski is nothing short of ridiculous.

Suri Cruise is going to Catholic school? The Superficial [warning: may be NSFW]
In Boston, apparently.

Dylan Klebold's Mother "Haunted By Horror And Anguish" Her Son Caused Jezebel
In an essay written about her son Dylan and his role in the Columbine massacre that will appear in next month's Oprah magazine, Susan Klebold admits that she had "no inkling of the battle Dylan was waging in his mind."

Understanding Title I Funding Distributions Jennifer Cohen
Why Long Beach gets $3k per poor pupil and Spencerport gets $1200.

Nevada Says No Dice to Race to the Top Funding Politics K12
As California moves to eliminate its data firewall, Nevada isn't budging.

Blogs: Around The Blogosphere & Then Some

Columbus would definitely have blogged, no?:

Another Misleading Report About High School Dropouts and Income  Aaron Schutz
Reports like these simply feed the "Education Gospel" in America, the myth that education is a solution for economic and social problems. There is little or no evidence that this is the case.

Early hybrids show the way: the PLC story Tom Vander Ark
Neil Shorthouse co-founded Communities in Schools, the most respected dropout prevention network in America.  After three decades of working in and with public schools in Atlanta, Neil identified the need for an alternative setting and approach and created Performance Learning Centers.

What Are the Best Moves Your Schools Ever Made? Jay Mathews
I am suggesting we take a short break from our usual (but always useful) wallowing in what is wrong with our schools and their leaders, and briefly accentuate the positive. I pick the eight best moves I have ever seen Virginia educators make.

Some Good Can Come From Swine Flu Freakonomics
The H1N1 virus has created a positive externality in Korea.

Blogs: Prize-Winning Posts From Around The Internet

If only fixing education was (were?) as easy as winning a Nobel Prize:

The Uneducated American NYT Paul Krugman
Education in America, suffering for years, is about to get much worse thanks to cuts caused by the financial crisis.

Turnaround Group Aims to Help States, Districts District Dossier
Heading up the Mass Insight effort is Justin Cohen, who most recently worked for Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee in the District of Columbia public schools.

The Brief, Rocky Life of a Star School Sign On Voice Of San Diego
One year after San Diego Unified created a program to nurture children who were held back in middle school, budget problems and poor planning ended it.

Much Ado About State Education Spending and the SFSF Jennifer Cohen New America
This trend will surely undermine any reform efforts currently afoot at the state and local level and work in opposition to the SFSF's reform ideals.

Debunking Standards Issue #1 Gotham Schools
It is ridiculous to think that they can be a meaningful lever of broad educational improvement. In fact, I do not think that they can have any significant impact at all.

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

What About Segregation? Dana Goldstein
So far, the Obama administration's commitment to lessening school segregation is no commitment at all -- it's just talk. And by the way, it's not "many" American kids who are segregated, it's nearly half. Forty percent of black children, for example, sit each day in classrooms that are 90 to 100 percent black.

Increasing the Number of Great Teachers Instead of Moving the Great Teachers Around EdNext
Great teachers make a big difference, but there aren’t enough great teachers to go around. So which students and schools should get them?

Breaking the Tragic Chain LFA
School reformers take heed: We ignore communities at our own risk.

Teen Kicked Out Of School For Cross-Dressing Jezebel
A 16-year-old boy withdrew from his school in Georgia after school officials told him to stop wearing his "feminine" clothes. They claim his outfit caused a fight, and told him to either dress more manly or get out.

"What would you like it to say?"  KDeRosa
One of the faqs asked "what should you do when your child, while reading, stops and says 'what's this word'?"  According to the faq I'm supposed to say "What would you like it to say?"

Blogs: Best Of The Day [updated / corrected]

Not everyone panned last night's Colbert interview with Duncan.  But there's suspiciously consistent use of the word "softball" among descriptions from some bloggers on the left. 

Episode 5127 (10/5/2009) No Fact Zone
Arne came in prepared, with a great excuse of why people should care about education. Very nice preparation, sir!

Colbert plays softball with Duncan Mike Klonsky
Colbert softballs Duncan, who spouts every ed cliché known to man.

Arne Duncan on the Colbert Report  Ed Policy Thoughts
I've never seen such softball questions from Colbert.

Colbert Softballs Duncan The Frustrated Teacher
A disappointing spectacle. Stephen, you blew it.

Anyone know who's in this green room picture with Duncan from the event --- I mean besides Sandy and Cunningham? [Update/correction:  According to USDE those pictured are Hillary Liepa, Arne Duncan, Peter Cunningham, Sima Cunningham, and Roger Mason.]

Blogs: The Best Of The Bunch (IMHO)

Bloggers are all so bright and cheery on a Monday morning: 

Standardization is Not a Four-Letter Word Charlie Barone
It’s important that we not return to a system that relies solely on determining student achievement via a system in which the grade a student receives has more to do with the idiosyncratic grading practices of his or her teacher than with the student’s actual academic progress.

ESEA + ARRA = Big LeverTom Vander Ark
I still think it should wait for another year to let ARRA reshape the landscape. 

Stop Bullying the Anti-Bullying Czar The Nation
Given the tragic suicides of two young boys perceived to be gay this past spring, one in Georgia and one in Massachusetts, Jennings is just the right person to head in the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.

Education in Sweden Matt Yglesias
It’s not really clear to me, however, if Swedish schools are actually performing at a higher level than ours. If our child poverty level were where Sweden’s is, our kids’ test scores would be way higher.

Death comes to YouTube Salon
Rob (Ezra Miller), a sophomore at a fictional East Coast boarding school called Bryton, the protagonist of "Afterschool," even though he remains unreadable to us, and to the other people at Bryton, for most of the film.

Blogs: All The Blog Posts You Need To Read

Long week.  Short day.

First Draft of History Rachael Brown Atlantic
Just two days after being named to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) spoke passionately to NPR's Michele Norris about the need to "change the politics" around the issue of education reform.

Whitmire and Rotherham fall prey to faux-trend fallacy Sherman Dorn
I'd be cautious of making much of a handful of stories in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Washington Post.

One Reason Why Risky D.C. Teacher Evaluation Might Work Jay Mathews
Rhee's plan to evaluate each teacher's class at the beginning of the year, based on prior test scores and other factors, and set a reasonable mark for their improvement, has not, as far as I can tell, ever been tried before on this scale.

Is Legislation The Way To Stop Cyberbullying? Jezebel
Part of the No Child Left Behind Act does require schools to institute anti-bullying efforts, but no federal law currently prohibits cyberbullying. The Megan Meier Act would change that.

Leave Them Kids Alone Lisa Snell Reason
The government is not a baby-sitting service. Not yet. Let's hope not ever.

An Untraditional Approach Linda Perlstein EWA
Public policy meets real life in telling detail, such as the results of a new program, confusing at best and misleading at worst, to give letter grades to city schools, or the teachers who were too busy, lazy, untrained or ill-equipped to ever access the city’s new $80 million data system on student achievement.

Who Is America's Next Top Model Education Blogger?

Inspired by this Washington Post pundit contest, let's see if we can figure out who should be (or already is) America's Next Top Education Blogger.  

Between now and midnight on October 15th, submit a short (400 word) post that highlights your skills at analysis, opportunism, reader engagement, and link-making. It can be a new (original) post or something you've already published on another blog or even as a comment.  You can nominate someone else's work just make sure to indicate clearly that you're not submitting it as your own.  

The winner gets the chance to write a weekly column on this site (or help setting up or promoting your own site). I'll give you a byline and pay you $100 per column -- not that much, but the Post is only paying $200. Nominate the winning blogger and -- assuming he's not someone I and everyone else have already heard about -- I'll pay a $200 finder's fee. Submit to thisweekineducation at gmail.com with the phrase "America's Next Top Edu-Blogger" in the subject line.  

Blogs: The Best Of The Best Of The Blogosphere

The best blogs, the best blog posts, all in one place:

Right Hones Latest Gayest Czar Attack Gawker
Demonizing Jennings — and his gayness — will only teach younger readers and viewers that same-sex loving's nothing but trouble.

NCLB's Downward Spiral Uncle Jay Mathews
I like most of NCLB, but not that 2014 deadline.

Crossroads or Another Blind Alley? Charlie Barone
Hopefully Van Roekel is sincere, and this would be a significant change from his predecessors who, frankly, have not been in the past.

Teach Your Teachers Well Freakonomics Blog
A teacher’s students have larger achievement gains in math and reading when she has more effective colleagues.

Reunion prompts diversity questions Schools For Tomorrow

People with lower incomes, educational levels, and professional status are far less likely to attend their high school reunions.trate why his understanding is off.

NurtureShock in the news Ashley Merryman
Rush Limbaugh and other conservative Republicans falsely claimed that we'd written a liberal attack on anti-Obama Republicans.

Introducing "The Broad Report" Perimeter Primate (via KM)
I’m not the only one who is extremely bothered by what Eli Broad has been up to over the last several years.

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September 30, 2009 | Posted At: 12:50 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Posts Of The Day

You're halfway there!

Work Hard, Be Good  Robert Pondiscio
Schools should stop telling children to be nice and start teaching them to be good. So writes Diana Senechal at DoubleX.

Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword? Liam Goldrick
The problem with Jay Mathews' defense of a Washington, DC school principal  is that the principal operates within an accountability system that demands such a result.

Ga. Cuts National-Board Certification  Stephen Sawchuk
Here's a story that could be a portent of things to come.

"School districts felt pressured to teach to the test..."  Mike Klonsky
I'm re-posting this short clip from Barack Obama's campaign speech in Wallingford, Pa. on April 2, 2008 as a way of reminding the president and his secretary of education of the hopefulness he inspired back then.

School Bus Radio Program Plays Its Last Tune
A company that broadcast music and commercials in thousands of school buses is shutting down.

Sign of the Times? School-Improvement Center to Close its Doors Inside Research
Word comes via Twitter that the work of the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement is winding down.

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September 29, 2009 | Posted At: 12:46 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Internet

What's going on inside the Internets today:

Gingrich and Sharpton – Not The Original Odd Couple Jeanne Allen
The first real Odd Couples of education led some of the nation’s most fundamental shifts in education, shifts that had once been considered radical.

Scoring the tests Dana Goldstein
I only hope that we learn from past testing mistakes and create a more consistent, humane system, driven by deep respect for the critical thinking and writing skills necessary for success in higher education and on the job market.

Quibbles With Trimming Summer Vacation Atlantic Wire
While nearly everyone admits that schools are in need of reform, many argue that American kids already devote plenty of hours to school--it's just that those hours are ineffective.

Looking Beyond the Numbers for Progress
Washington Post:
On July 11, Brian Betts, principal of the District's Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, was at Dulles International Airport about to leave for a vacation in Spain. He was feeling good.

A School's Organic Farm Inspires Documentary TIME
Two Dutch filmmakers created Grown in Detroit, a documentary about a Detroit school that helps pregnant and parenting teens learn to garden.

The Sophisticated Side of Elementary Mathematics American Educator
Here's an idea that is rarely discussed: starting no later than fourth grade, math should be taught by math teachers (who teach only math).

After Derrion Albert's Video Taped Beating Death Gawker
If you don't believe in Kitty Genovese — girl stabbed on the street, disputed newspaper stories say no one helped, social scientists had a field day — maybe you should now.

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September 28, 2009 | Posted At: 01:42 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Posts Of The Day (Besides Yours?)

Fear not, brave blog reader -- the daily roundup is here, along with the random picture:

In Support of Kevin Jennings LFA
If anything, the hostility leveled at Jennings proves that we have much work to do.

The Good Old Days Mike Antonucci
Remember way back in the misty past when the teachers’ unions and President Obama were on the same page? 

Phantom School Districts Tagged for Stimulus DollarsProPublica

Hillcrest Rural Schools in north-central Kansas is set to get nearly $7,000 in federal stimulus money to help its disadvantaged students. Only one glitch: The district doesn’t exist anymore.

Nine Myths About Public Schools TeacherKen
All these statements are a common part of the current discussion on education and schools.  And all are wrong, very wrong.

Did Pencils Make Us Dumber? Techdirt
Forgive me for being skeptical about each new fear about each new communications technology that comes about.

New Film About Darwin Finds U.S. Distributor Curriculum Matters
"Creation," stars Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin and Jennifer Connelly as his wife, Emma.

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September 25, 2009 | Posted At: 12:10 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Friday blogging!

Duncan on the Future of NCLB Ed-Reckoning
I don't believe we're relying on the altruism of others to solve our self-inflicted education woes.

Department Kicks off NCLB Discussion at Packed Forum PK12
More than 200 advocates from a wide range of groups packed the U.S. Department of Education today.

Bad Title, Mind-Changing Book Uncle Jay
We education writers receive many books in the mail with terrible titles, real slumber-time stuff.

Good Class In a Not So Good Neighborhood… Just A Substitute
The last time I was here, the police had just nabbed a guy that lived in the apartments bordering the school for murdering his girlfriend and dumping the body at the city landfill.

Think-tanks & class size Small Talk
With class sizes in L.A. high schools soaring to 50 per class and Brooklyn kids being squeezed into classrooms with a shoehorn, Finn and his crew have suddenly grown quiet on the topic.

Post Magazine Writer Tries to Figure Out D.C. Chancellor District Dossier
The Washington Post's Marc Fisher tells District Dossier that when it comes to Michelle A. Rhee, "what you see is what you get."

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September 24, 2009 | Posted At: 03:16 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Imagine if the education bloggers met every year like they do at the UN, in costumes and stuff.  I would wear my Little Devil onesie:

Ed. Dept.: 4 States Are Ripe for Stimulus Slip-Ups PK12
Those identified as "high risk" for possible stimulus spending problems are California, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. D.C. and Puerto Rico also made the list.

One round of RttT and fast reauthorization? Tom Vander Ark
AP is speculating on 2010 attempted ESEA reauthorization.  Related rumors that RttT may be one round.  Both bad ideas.

Arne Duncan on NCLB: “We are lying to parents and children” GS
Next step: a bunch of “stakeholder meetings” to take the temperature of the field.

A Rock and a Hard Place LFA
Moral clarity often gives way to moral quandaries as you get closer to the classroom.

Do we need a longer school day? Philly Notebook
I don’t know about you, but when that last bell rings my tank is pretty much empty. And my 8th graders, who suffered from post-lunch attention deficit syndrome, weren’t exactly in high learning mode either

Czar Inflation Kevin Carey
The headline at Fox News right now says “Critics Assail Obama’s ‘Safe Schools’ Czar, Say He’s the Wrong Man for the Job.” What? There’s no such thing as a “Safe Schools Czar.”

I Hope You're Sitting Down... Ms. Mimi
I considered titling this post "Can't We All Just Get Along?" because I'm quickly finding out that the answer is no. No, we can't. Not all the time.

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September 24, 2009 | Posted At: 08:21 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Media: Hot For Education -- The Blog

Speaking of questionable new blogs to check out (or avoid), here's one called Hot For Education that seems to have sprouted up in recent days, a sometimes-NSFW picture blog about TV shows (Glee, Mad Men), celebrity parents (SJP, Will Smith, Angelina) and Cabinet officials (Arne, Kathleen) with connections to education that are, at times, paper thin.  Read at your own risk.  Send ideas to hotfored at gmail dot com.  Follow on twitter at @hotfored

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September 23, 2009 | Posted At: 01:44 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Of The Day (Some Days Are Better Than Others)

Bloggity blog blogger bloggy:

Testing Vet Reveals How to Fix Standardized Tests Uncle Jay Mathews 
He had dramatized the weaknesses in the many tests he graded, but did not explain to us poor realists what we should put in their places. 

"Quiet" Success Knowledge Alliance
Perhaps those of us who are immersed in these efforts on a daily basis need to pay more attention to what the outsiders think.

Pressure for more RttT winners Tom Vander Ark
There won’t be 35-40 winners as Eduflack predicts, but there may be closer to 20 than the 6 in phase 1 and 10 in phase 2 I’ve been predicting.  

UPDATED: Gates Spreading 'Race to the Top' Help to All States  PK12
After getting feedback from NGA and CCSSO, the Gates Foundation changes course.

Way More than Bake Sales LFA

The national PTA organization has been moving aggressively in recent years to bring more urban families into the fold. It has been getting more fathers involved.

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September 22, 2009 | Posted At: 12:19 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

This fancy new Typepad text editor is killing me, but I won't let it stop me from sharing these with you:

“The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes” Larry Ferlazzo
The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes is an excellent post by by Richard M. Felder, North Carolina State University and Rebecca Brent, Education Designs, Inc.

Dear Mr. President TFT
Aim high! Higher!Possibilities are endless, as long as you work.  That's what you're preaching to the kids with your bball buddy and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  Or is that just more hot air?

Attacking the dropout crisis with ‘restarts’ Vander Ark
A strong push by local and national advocacy groups could result in more than 200 restarts per year.  In 4-5 years we could replace most of the dropout factories and make a substantial contribution to improving the national graduation rate.

“Education theorists are great forgetters...” Stafford Palmieri 
In an excerpt from his soon-to-be-released We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism, he explains how education policy has nothing new under the sun.

STEM Guru Steve Robinson Moves to White House PK12
The former high school science teacher will have the same gig, just a different office--in the White House's Domestic Policy Council.

Shanker Fellowship Leo Casey
The American Federation of Teachers in conjunction with the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University seek applicants for The Albert Shanker Fellowship for Research In Education.

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September 21, 2009 | Posted At: 01:37 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Check it out:

Teachers find Obama not the friend they had expected McClatchey
"The only place the NAACP can be is with this governor," Huffman said. "If the teacher unions put a better proposal on the table, we would stand with them."

Adjudicating School Reform CAP
Philadelphia uses a new strategy to solve an old problem, observes Saba Bireda.

Another Kind of Widget Effect LFA
Are good teachers good no matter where they go? Or do a school's working conditions have a big impact on teachers' performance?

Study Examines Fla. ABCTE Impact on Achievement Teacher Beat
Students taught by these teachers held their own in English language-arts, but were weaker in math.

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September 18, 2009 | Posted At: 01:44 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Edu-blogo-pundit-sphere

Friday!

Top 20 Teacher Blogs Instructor
New, memorable, classroom-focused education blogs. [via Lucy Gray]

Fixing the Teacher Certification Mess Uncle Jay Mathews
The acidic frustrations expressed by people who contacted me are, thankfully, corroding the resistance to innovation.

Putting Poverty in Its Place. TAPPED
Any neighborhood-based approach, including the HCZ, must be nested in a far broader strategy to revitalize urban America -- including everything from the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to changes in transportation funding to targeted training.

Teachers and Cocaine: The Best of Friends Gawker
Our educational and judicial system would wise up and appreciate the difficulty of cultivating our nation's future. Let's have a tea party and yell about it!

The Danger of "Cute" Is Our Children Learning
I may be a grown man, but I'm not afraid to drop a c-bomb. These kids are just plain cute. [Via GothamSchools]

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September 17, 2009 | Posted At: 02:13 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them

The Colbert Report is back this week -- and back at education issues last night.  But -- I usually like his stuff -- this time it wasn't funny.  Could be a long school year if that continues.

Advancing Newspaper Media for the 21st Century Jay Mathews

The one education topic that American families, particularly middle-class families, are really passionate about is college admissions.

An Absurd Definition of Achievement Debbie Meier

Yes, the ways in which standardized bubble-in tests are open to abuse are rampant—and gaming of test scores has increasingly important repercussions.

Can Separate Be Equal? Richard Kahlenberg

Generally speaking, integrationists have had stronger social-science research on their side, while community organizers have claimed to be more politically realistic.

Recession Kids Freakonomics

We recently blogged about how recessions might affect the mentality of people growing up in them.

Jimmy Carter Won't Stop Calling Out Racists Gawker

Despite the fact that Democrats and the White House are distancing themselves from him, Jimmy Carter refuses to budge on his assertion that many of Barack Obama's opponents are racists.

NEA to Spend $6 Million for Teachers in High-Needs Schools Stephen Sawchuk

The National Education Association plans to put $6 million over six years into "comprehensive strategies and policies to increase teacher effectiveness in high-needs schools."

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September 16, 2009 | Posted At: 02:12 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: I Read Them So You Don't Have To

Bloggy blogs and their blogging blogness:

Chicago's 'miracle' up in smoke--poooof Mike Klonsky
"Sometime over the past week, CPS officials quietly posted the 2009 Prairie State and ACT test scores."

“We Expected Better From Obama’s Education Reforms” Larry Ferlazzo
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a pretty good op-ed piece today from Marty Hittelman, the President of the California Federation of Teachers.

Letter to President Obama Edna Lee [new blog]
After attending a five-day training on a new math adoption, I think you should consider using school district trainings on newly adopted curriculums as a method of gleaning information from those "enemy combatants" we've been detaining.

Teachers Walk the Halls of Power Curriculum Matters
The Einstein fellows program invites teachers to Washington to serve as policy advisers to Congress and federal agencies.

Two Criers and a Khan Man…Just A Substitute {new blog]
She didn’t warn me about little Khan.

Darwin Flick Degraded by Backward American Ways Gawker
The flick, which chronicles scientist Charles Darwin's crusade to bring modern science, common sense and progress into all of our lives.

Science Is Real TFT
Cartoon song by They Might Be Giants.

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September 15, 2009 | Posted At: 01:06 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: All The Best Commentary Of The Day (So Far)

Now things are really heating up:

And now, Harvard digs deep in the public interest--NOT! Sherman Dorn
If there's a (reputational) market for a tuition-free, glitzy finishing school for superintendents, why shouldn't Harvard get in the game? ...

Hidden Outrages in Overseas Teacher Recruitment Uncle Jay Mathews
A new report released by the American Federation of Teachers reminds us of a topic education writers like me almost never address---the unseemly side of the recruitment of teachers abroad for U.S. schools.

Video - Did You Know? 4.0 Scott McLeod
Three years, 20+ million online views, and many, many face-to-face showings later, the Did You Know?(Shift Happens) video still is going strong. Just this week it was mentioned in TIME magazine.

New models Mike Klonsky
Can models like New Tech and Project-Based Learning replace the traditional factory-model high school? [Whatever happened to Big Picture/]

Obscure database is key to U.S. educational funds for California LA Times
California's chance to receive hundreds of millions of federal educational dollars may rest heavily on an obscure and long-neglected piece of education infrastructure: a statewide data system that tracks students, teachers and administrators year to year.

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September 14, 2009 | Posted At: 01:27 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Blog Posts Of The Day

Please be interesting.  That's all I ask:

Colorado school goes radical, asks teachers union to lead reform. Colo Independent
Do the “lead teachers” hold their peers accountable to “best practices”—or will “flexibility” mean too many fun things for teachers, in ways that may not always benefit students?

Bloomberg Acquires Naming Rights to City Schools. NYC Parent
Henceforth, each city school will be called “Bloomberg School” followed by the school number. For example, PS 221 will now be known as “Bloomberg School 221”.

The Twenty Blogs I Read First Larry Ferlazzo
Here are The Twenty Blogs I Read First (not in order of preference, just in alphabetical order):

Hot topics show party's divisions Alan Borsuk
On some level, everyone is in favor of education reform.  But where does that lead? [via AR]

Message to Technocrats LFA
Teacher Nancy Schnog has a message for education technocrats: Give us time and space to teach!

Rhee vs. Teachers' Union: Who Comes out on Top? Rick Hess
Bill Turque reports in today's Washington Post that the long-stalled contract negotiations between the D.C. Public Schools and the Washington Teachers' Union may finally reach an endpoint.

Are Teacher Absences Worth Worrying about in the U.S.? Urban Institute
Our estimates suggest that a policy intervention that simultaneously raised teacher base salaries and broadened financial penalties for absences could both raise teachers’ expected income and lower districts’ expected costs.

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September 11, 2009 | Posted At: 02:18 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Of The Day

Best blog posts of the day, including some about 9/11 and others about the busy week behind:

The 9/11 Curriculum. Dana Goldstein (Tapped)
I downloaded a few of the lesson plans, and I have to say, I'm cautiously impressed.

Biden, Duncan and Geithner Honor an Inspring Reform Model LFA
Will this event catapult Say Yes into the national consciousness? Early signs aren't good. The event has been covered, well, almost nowhere. Not in the education press. Not in the blogosphere.

Harsh Reality Mike Antonucci
I’m fascinated by how performance pay for teachers has entered the mainstream of education policy thought.

Republican Gomorrah Mike Klonsky
"Obedience is listening attentively, Obedience will take instructions joyfully, Obedience heeds wishes of authorities, Obedience will follow orders instantly."

How to Survive Our Worst Schools Jay Mathews (Washington Post)
As far as I can tell, no Ballou student has ever passed an Advanced Placement test.

Ohio scraps social studies testing Fordham
Our friends at the State of Ohio Education blog rightly call Ohio’s recent move to eliminate social studies tests in grades five and eight a “short-sighted decision,” not just because a basic understanding of history, geography, civics, and current events is critical, but because Ohio students happen to be doing poorly in these subjects.

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September 10, 2009 | Posted At: 01:17 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Ones Of The Day

Best blog posts of the day, as usual around this time:

Boston's First Union-Run Public School Ready for Business Stephen Sawchuk
A teacher-run public school (take note: not a public charter school) is poised to open its doors in Boston this year as one of the few such schools in the nation. .

The Case Against the Case Against Affirmative Action Kevin Carey
Crossing the Finish Line, the new book from former Princeton president William Bowen, former Macalaster College president Michael McPherson, and Matthew Chingos, is getting a lot of coverage  today.

EdWeek Edition Matthew K. Tabor
Sometimes ed writers don’t know enough about a subject or practice to write a complete story. Sometimes they turn to tabloid-style baiting, partly because it’s easy, partly because it can be entertaining.

A Tale of Two Queens High Schools GothamSchools
Imagine there are two high schools in the same borough. One school can’t enroll enough kids to stay open, and the other is filled to 250% of capacity. What would you do?

Spending Disparities Among Charter and Regular Districts Inside Research
A federal report finds there is just as much—or more—variation in spending among charter school districts as there is among more typical ones.
Ask Your Child About Content, Not Grades Robert Pondiscio
Don’t ask your kids about grades, test scores or homework, advises Kerry Dickinson of the East Bay Homework Blog.

Egad! School Research Has Power Uncle Jay Mathews
Here comes Harvard political scientist Paul Peterson, a well-known trouble maker, saying that in at least one recent instance, my faith in the intentional ignorance of pols has been mistaken.

The Start of an Interesting and Dangerous School Year Bridging Differences
Dear Deborah, School is open, and it is time to talk!

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September 9, 2009 | Posted At: 12:48 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: The Best Posts Of The Day

Lots of good things to read today, most of them NOT about the speech:

Obama Harangues Students, Still Clueless on Ed Policy KDeRosa
The consensus seems to be that the President's speech was mostly innocuous, perhaps a little uplifting, and by golly them youngsters needed to be reminded about the value of hard work. Nuts to that. At best it was a waste of our time.

The Meaning of Merit Pay Kevin Carey
To recruit and retain good teachers, schools need a lot more than merit pay–they need strong leadership, good facilities, safe working conditions, and the right kind of organizational culture.

Dodd Likely to Decline Education Panel Chairmanship PK12
This means that the Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the second ranking Democrat on the committee, has a chance to step in.

The Majority of Education Stimulus Funds Haven't Left the Bank CAP New America Foundation
This could be the result of internal state bureaucracy preventing the expenditure of funds or a lack of approved spending opportunities at the local level. Either way, we know that more than two-thirds of these funds have yet to see the light of day.

Unschooling: the worst education idea... ever? Checker Finn
The worst education idea of the year turns out not to be a new idea at all.

Education Researchers in the Media Inside Research
Former Institute of Education Sciences director Grover "Russ" Whitehurst reveals his stances on key education issues in a new Q&A and a Washington Post story tells us what one well-known researcher makes.

A War On Christian Homeschooling? (You Wish.) Jezebel
The case of Amanda Kurowski, a New Hampshire 10-year-old whom the courts have ordered out of home-schooling and into her local public schools, is making serious waves.

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September 8, 2009 | Posted At: 01:15 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Of The Day (Not About The Speech)

Blog posts and commentary about things OTHER than the President's back to school speech:

Duncan on "Face the Nation" John Cosby
He gets a lot of it dead right, I think, and says a lot of the things that a Secretary of Education ought to say.

After School I Get To Go To School! TFT
Here's another brilliant example of grown-ups ruining people's childhoods. Ever notice that it is grown-ups who ruin things and almost never kids? Kids deserve better than a bunch of grown-ups. Seriously

Civil disobedience at ED Andy Smarick
Washington, D.C. (September 8, 2009)—In the first-ever act of school choice-related civil disobedience, prominent education reform leaders will block entrance to the U.S. Department of Education building today at 9:30 A.M.

Raising color-kind kids Joanne Jacobs
In one study, six-month-old babies spotted skin-color differences in photos of faces. By the age of three, children preferred friends of the same race.

Heard about how rap legend Roxanne Shanté forced her label to pay for her Cornell Ph.D.? Slate
Virtually everything about the Daily News' heartwarming "projects-to-Ph.D." story appears to be false.

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September 4, 2009 | Posted At: 01:28 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Mid-Day Roundup Of Blog Posts

Friday blog roundup to help you make it to happy hour (or bedtime):

Officials Move to Quell Furor Over Obama Speech EdWeek
The 49,000-student Atlanta public school system has encouraged its teachers to show the president’s address in their classes and incorporate it into social studies lessons.

A personal statement teacherken
Perhaps it is because I am worn out with too many AP students - 109 in 3 sections, 38,33,38, and I view my responsibility towards them as inspiring them to care about our politics and government so that they will participate and make a difference.

Philly Teachers Quit Days Before School Starts Stephen Sawchuk
According to this AP story, a whole bunch of teachers in Philadelphia are quitting or planning not to show up for their first week of school.

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime PK12
The stimulus slowpokes are Alaska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and New Mexico.

Undermining Arne Duncan Andy Smarick
Without question, the lack of reform being generated by these funds says much about the bent of state and local education leaders.

Obama School Speech Furor: The Dangers of Groupthink Rick Hess
If this incident rattles the complacent insularity that has settled over Arne Duncan’s Department of Education, their efforts will have been worthwhile indeed.

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September 2, 2009 | Posted At: 02:58 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Best Posts Of The Day

All the bloggery that's fit to print:

Recovery Act Helps Schools, but Not Enough US News
School administrators want more flexibility from the stimulus bill, a new survey says.

Authorizer data Andy Smarick on charter schools
For example, did you know that there are 820 charter school authorizers in the US and that 42 [...]

The Obama Administration's Back-to-School Message: Personal Responsibility PK12
Obama's Sept. 8 speech will echo many themes from his campaign, and kick off a $1,000 contest for students.

Racially Offensive Term Shows Up on Florida District's Form Curriculum Matters
A Florida district says a form using the term "negro," was based on descriptions from the state. The state points to the feds.

Cookie Monster Eats Sesame Street's Lifetime Achievement Emmy Jezebel
Last night at the Daytime Emmy Awards the cast of Sesame Street performed a song in honor of the show's 40th anniversary. Sandra Oh presented a lifetime achievement award, which Cookie Monster found delicious.

You can also find me -- still -- on Twitter at @alexanderrusso

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September 1, 2009 | Posted At: 12:01 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: All The Best Blog Posts All In One Place

Bloggers like teachers and students are now getting back in the saddle -- and even taking each other on here and there:

Wanna Impress the Kids? Don’t Do Any of This Mathew Tabor
School’s upon us - and so is the terrible professional advice doled out by ‘expert’ speakers and teachers that pocks the path to success like errant dog-doo in the park.

Core Knowledge Etc.  Kevin Carey
At the Core Knowledge Blog, Robert Pondisco tries to parody the New York Times article on teaching reading that I enjoyed.

Taking Things Personally LFA
Granger High School in Washington State has garnered national attention for its remarkable journey from bad to great. Granger principal Paul Chartrand recently spoke with me about the critical work of sustaining the trend.

Race to the Top Comments Are In  PK12
Hundreds of good questions showcase just how difficult it is try to apply one set of criteria to 50 different states.

'Education' misspelled on CMS teacher coaster Detention Slip
They distributed 1800 coasters as a teacher gift and misspelled the one word we hope they get right- Education.

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August 31, 2009 | Posted At: 12:43 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Blogs: Once Around The Blogosphere

The best of the day's education blog posts and commentaries, all in one place:

The New York Times Works For Arne Duncan Now TFT
I think every teacher should make a commitment to never again buy the New York Times (we don't anyway; can't afford it).

NCLB on crack in Massachusetts Mike Klonsky
A 17-year-old statewide test used to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law will be replaced with a broader approach to judging how well Wisconsin students are performing.

Defining NCLB’s Value  Chad Aldeman
Mike Petrilli and Tom Loveless take to the pages of the NY Times to argue, yet again, that No Child Left Behind has been harmful to gifted students.

A Glut of Substitute Teachers in Texas  Stephen Sawchuk
Here's a fascinating story out of Texas about districts gradually getting choosier in who they will accept as substitute teachers.

Read What You Love  Kevin Carey
Motoko Rich reports on a new approach to teaching reading: letting kids read books they actually want to read, rather than having them all read the same book. This strikes me as an excellent idea.

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August 14, 2009 | Posted At: 09:57 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION: Gone Twittering

I'm not going to shut down the blog this summer like I usually do around now, but I am going to post most of what I have to say via Twitter over the next couple of weeks. Not to worry, though.  You can read all those updates here --just hit "reload" to get new content.

Twitter Updates

Each bullet is a Twitter post.  Links are shortened for space reasons -- that's why they look so strange.  Posts that start with "@" are me responding to someone else on Twitter -- you can click those to find out what's going on.  Posts that start with or include RT are other peoples' posts that I'm passing along, with or without comment. 

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August 6, 2009 | Posted At: 05:23 PM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Thursday Twitters

Twitter Updates

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August 4, 2009 | Posted At: 10:32 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Best of the Blogs

Tuesday Twitters

Here's the best of what I've found so far today -- sorry it looks so messy:

Twitter Updates

Remember that you don't have to join Twitter or follow someone -- just click on the links.

Hit 'reload' if you don't see anything new.

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You're halfway there!

Work Hard, Be Good  Robert Pondiscio
Schools should stop telling children to be nice and start teaching them to be good. So writes Diana Senechal at DoubleX.

Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword? Liam Goldrick
The problem with Jay Mathews' defense of a Washington, DC school principal  is that the principal operates within an accountability system that demands such a result.

Ga. Cuts National-Board Certification  Stephen Sawchuk
Here's a story that could be a portent of things to come.

"School districts felt pressured to teach to the test..."  Mike Klonsky
I'm re-posting this short clip from Barack Obama's campaign speech in Wallingford, Pa. on April 2, 2008 as a way of reminding the president and his secretary of education of the hopefulness he inspired back then.

School Bus Radio Program Plays Its Last Tune
A company that broadcast music and commercials in thousands of school buses is shutting down.

Sign of the Times? School-Improvement Center to Close its Doors Inside Research
Word comes via Twitter that the work of the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement is winding down.

What's going on inside the Internets today:

Gingrich and Sharpton – Not The Original Odd Couple Jeanne Allen
The first real Odd Couples of education led some of the nation’s most fundamental shifts in education, shifts that had once been considered radical.

Scoring the tests Dana Goldstein
I only hope that we learn from past testing mistakes and create a more consistent, humane system, driven by deep respect for the critical thinking and writing skills necessary for success in higher education and on the job market.

Quibbles With Trimming Summer Vacation Atlantic Wire
While nearly everyone admits that schools are in need of reform, many argue that American kids already devote plenty of hours to school--it's just that those hours are ineffective.

Looking Beyond the Numbers for Progress
Washington Post:
On July 11, Brian Betts, principal of the District's Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, was at Dulles International Airport about to leave for a vacation in Spain. He was feeling good.

A School's Organic Farm Inspires Documentary TIME
Two Dutch filmmakers created Grown in Detroit, a documentary about a Detroit school that helps pregnant and parenting teens learn to garden.

The Sophisticated Side of Elementary Mathematics American Educator
Here's an idea that is rarely discussed: starting no later than fourth grade, math should be taught by math teachers (who teach only math).

After Derrion Albert's Video Taped Beating Death Gawker
If you don't believe in Kitty Genovese — girl stabbed on the street, disputed newspaper stories say no one helped, social scientists had a field day — maybe you should now.

Fear not, brave blog reader -- the daily roundup is here, along with the random picture:

In Support of Kevin Jennings LFA
If anything, the hostility leveled at Jennings proves that we have much work to do.

The Good Old Days Mike Antonucci
Remember way back in the misty past when the teachers’ unions and President Obama were on the same page? 

Phantom School Districts Tagged for Stimulus DollarsProPublica

Hillcrest Rural Schools in north-central Kansas is set to get nearly $7,000 in federal stimulus money to help its disadvantaged students. Only one glitch: The district doesn’t exist anymore.

Nine Myths About Public Schools TeacherKen
All these statements are a common part of the current discussion on education and schools.  And all are wrong, very wrong.

Did Pencils Make Us Dumber? Techdirt
Forgive me for being skeptical about each new fear about each new communications technology that comes about.

New Film About Darwin Finds U.S. Distributor Curriculum Matters
"Creation," stars Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin and Jennifer Connelly as his wife, Emma.

Friday blogging!

Duncan on the Future of NCLB Ed-Reckoning
I don't believe we're relying on the altruism of others to solve our self-inflicted education woes.

Department Kicks off NCLB Discussion at Packed Forum PK12
More than 200 advocates from a wide range of groups packed the U.S. Department of Education today.

Bad Title, Mind-Changing Book Uncle Jay
We education writers receive many books in the mail with terrible titles, real slumber-time stuff.

Good Class In a Not So Good Neighborhood… Just A Substitute
The last time I was here, the police had just nabbed a guy that lived in the apartments bordering the school for murdering his girlfriend and dumping the body at the city landfill.

Think-tanks & class size Small Talk
With class sizes in L.A. high schools soaring to 50 per class and Brooklyn kids being squeezed into classrooms with a shoehorn, Finn and his crew have suddenly grown quiet on the topic.

Post Magazine Writer Tries to Figure Out D.C. Chancellor District Dossier
The Washington Post's Marc Fisher tells District Dossier that when it comes to Michelle A. Rhee, "what you see is what you get."

Imagine if the education bloggers met every year like they do at the UN, in costumes and stuff.  I would wear my Little Devil onesie:

Ed. Dept.: 4 States Are Ripe for Stimulus Slip-Ups PK12
Those identified as "high risk" for possible stimulus spending problems are California, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. D.C. and Puerto Rico also made the list.

One round of RttT and fast reauthorization? Tom Vander Ark
AP is speculating on 2010 attempted ESEA reauthorization.  Related rumors that RttT may be one round.  Both bad ideas.

Arne Duncan on NCLB: “We are lying to parents and children” GS
Next step: a bunch of “stakeholder meetings” to take the temperature of the field.

A Rock and a Hard Place LFA
Moral clarity often gives way to moral quandaries as you get closer to the classroom.

Do we need a longer school day? Philly Notebook
I don’t know about you, but when that last bell rings my tank is pretty much empty. And my 8th graders, who suffered from post-lunch attention deficit syndrome, weren’t exactly in high learning mode either

Czar Inflation Kevin Carey
The headline at Fox News right now says “Critics Assail Obama’s ‘Safe Schools’ Czar, Say He’s the Wrong Man for the Job.” What? There’s no such thing as a “Safe Schools Czar.”

I Hope You're Sitting Down... Ms. Mimi
I considered titling this post "Can't We All Just Get Along?" because I'm quickly finding out that the answer is no. No, we can't. Not all the time.

Speaking of questionable new blogs to check out (or avoid), here's one called Hot For Education that seems to have sprouted up in recent days, a sometimes-NSFW picture blog about TV shows (Glee, Mad Men), celebrity parents (SJP, Will Smith, Angelina) and Cabinet officials (Arne, Kathleen) with connections to education that are, at times, paper thin.  Read at your own risk.  Send ideas to hotfored at gmail dot com.  Follow on twitter at @hotfored

Bloggity blog blogger bloggy:

Testing Vet Reveals How to Fix Standardized Tests Uncle Jay Mathews 
He had dramatized the weaknesses in the many tests he graded, but did not explain to us poor realists what we should put in their places. 

"Quiet" Success Knowledge Alliance
Perhaps those of us who are immersed in these efforts on a daily basis need to pay more attention to what the outsiders think.

Pressure for more RttT winners Tom Vander Ark
There won’t be 35-40 winners as Eduflack predicts, but there may be closer to 20 than the 6 in phase 1 and 10 in phase 2 I’ve been predicting.  

UPDATED: Gates Spreading 'Race to the Top' Help to All States  PK12
After getting feedback from NGA and CCSSO, the Gates Foundation changes course.

Way More than Bake Sales LFA

The national PTA organization has been moving aggressively in recent years to bring more urban families into the fold. It has been getting more fathers involved.

This fancy new Typepad text editor is killing me, but I won't let it stop me from sharing these with you:

“The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes” Larry Ferlazzo
The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes is an excellent post by by Richard M. Felder, North Carolina State University and Rebecca Brent, Education Designs, Inc.

Dear Mr. President TFT
Aim high! Higher!Possibilities are endless, as long as you work.  That's what you're preaching to the kids with your bball buddy and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  Or is that just more hot air?

Attacking the dropout crisis with ‘restarts’ Vander Ark
A strong push by local and national advocacy groups could result in more than 200 restarts per year.  In 4-5 years we could replace most of the dropout factories and make a substantial contribution to improving the national graduation rate.

“Education theorists are great forgetters...” Stafford Palmieri 
In an excerpt from his soon-to-be-released We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism, he explains how education policy has nothing new under the sun.

STEM Guru Steve Robinson Moves to White House PK12
The former high school science teacher will have the same gig, just a different office--in the White House's Domestic Policy Council.

Shanker Fellowship Leo Casey
The American Federation of Teachers in conjunction with the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University seek applicants for The Albert Shanker Fellowship for Research In Education.

Check it out:

Teachers find Obama not the friend they had expected McClatchey
"The only place the NAACP can be is with this governor," Huffman said. "If the teacher unions put a better proposal on the table, we would stand with them."

Adjudicating School Reform CAP
Philadelphia uses a new strategy to solve an old problem, observes Saba Bireda.

Another Kind of Widget Effect LFA
Are good teachers good no matter where they go? Or do a school's working conditions have a big impact on teachers' performance?

Study Examines Fla. ABCTE Impact on Achievement Teacher Beat
Students taught by these teachers held their own in English language-arts, but were weaker in math.

Friday!

Top 20 Teacher Blogs Instructor
New, memorable, classroom-focused education blogs. [via Lucy Gray]

Fixing the Teacher Certification Mess Uncle Jay Mathews
The acidic frustrations expressed by people who contacted me are, thankfully, corroding the resistance to innovation.

Putting Poverty in Its Place. TAPPED
Any neighborhood-based approach, including the HCZ, must be nested in a far broader strategy to revitalize urban America -- including everything from the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to changes in transportation funding to targeted training.

Teachers and Cocaine: The Best of Friends Gawker
Our educational and judicial system would wise up and appreciate the difficulty of cultivating our nation's future. Let's have a tea party and yell about it!

The Danger of "Cute" Is Our Children Learning
I may be a grown man, but I'm not afraid to drop a c-bomb. These kids are just plain cute. [Via GothamSchools]

The Colbert Report is back this week -- and back at education issues last night.  But -- I usually like his stuff -- this time it wasn't funny.  Could be a long school year if that continues.

Advancing Newspaper Media for the 21st Century Jay Mathews

The one education topic that American families, particularly middle-class families, are really passionate about is college admissions.

An Absurd Definition of Achievement Debbie Meier

Yes, the ways in which standardized bubble-in tests are open to abuse are rampant—and gaming of test scores has increasingly important repercussions.

Can Separate Be Equal? Richard Kahlenberg

Generally speaking, integrationists have had stronger social-science research on their side, while community organizers have claimed to be more politically realistic.

Recession Kids Freakonomics

We recently blogged about how recessions might affect the mentality of people growing up in them.

Jimmy Carter Won't Stop Calling Out Racists Gawker

Despite the fact that Democrats and the White House are distancing themselves from him, Jimmy Carter refuses to budge on his assertion that many of Barack Obama's opponents are racists.

NEA to Spend $6 Million for Teachers in High-Needs Schools Stephen Sawchuk

The National Education Association plans to put $6 million over six years into "comprehensive strategies and policies to increase teacher effectiveness in high-needs schools."

Bloggy blogs and their blogging blogness:

Chicago's 'miracle' up in smoke--poooof Mike Klonsky
"Sometime over the past week, CPS officials quietly posted the 2009 Prairie State and ACT test scores."

“We Expected Better From Obama’s Education Reforms” Larry Ferlazzo
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a pretty good op-ed piece today from Marty Hittelman, the President of the California Federation of Teachers.

Letter to President Obama Edna Lee [new blog]
After attending a five-day training on a new math adoption, I think you should consider using school district trainings on newly adopted curriculums as a method of gleaning information from those "enemy combatants" we've been detaining.

Teachers Walk the Halls of Power Curriculum Matters
The Einstein fellows program invites teachers to Washington to serve as policy advisers to Congress and federal agencies.

Two Criers and a Khan Man…Just A Substitute {new blog]
She didn’t warn me about little Khan.

Darwin Flick Degraded by Backward American Ways Gawker
The flick, which chronicles scientist Charles Darwin's crusade to bring modern science, common sense and progress into all of our lives.

Science Is Real TFT
Cartoon song by They Might Be Giants.

Now things are really heating up:

And now, Harvard digs deep in the public interest--NOT! Sherman Dorn
If there's a (reputational) market for a tuition-free, glitzy finishing school for superintendents, why shouldn't Harvard get in the game? ...

Hidden Outrages in Overseas Teacher Recruitment Uncle Jay Mathews
A new report released by the American Federation of Teachers reminds us of a topic education writers like me almost never address---the unseemly side of the recruitment of teachers abroad for U.S. schools.

Video - Did You Know? 4.0 Scott McLeod
Three years, 20+ million online views, and many, many face-to-face showings later, the Did You Know?(Shift Happens) video still is going strong. Just this week it was mentioned in TIME magazine.

New models Mike Klonsky
Can models like New Tech and Project-Based Learning replace the traditional factory-model high school? [Whatever happened to Big Picture/]

Obscure database is key to U.S. educational funds for California LA Times
California's chance to receive hundreds of millions of federal educational dollars may rest heavily on an obscure and long-neglected piece of education infrastructure: a statewide data system that tracks students, teachers and administrators year to year.

Please be interesting.  That's all I ask:

Colorado school goes radical, asks teachers union to lead reform. Colo Independent
Do the “lead teachers” hold their peers accountable to “best practices”—or will “flexibility” mean too many fun things for teachers, in ways that may not always benefit students?

Bloomberg Acquires Naming Rights to City Schools. NYC Parent
Henceforth, each city school will be called “Bloomberg School” followed by the school number. For example, PS 221 will now be known as “Bloomberg School 221”.

The Twenty Blogs I Read First Larry Ferlazzo
Here are The Twenty Blogs I Read First (not in order of preference, just in alphabetical order):

Hot topics show party's divisions Alan Borsuk
On some level, everyone is in favor of education reform.  But where does that lead? [via AR]

Message to Technocrats LFA
Teacher Nancy Schnog has a message for education technocrats: Give us time and space to teach!

Rhee vs. Teachers' Union: Who Comes out on Top? Rick Hess
Bill Turque reports in today's Washington Post that the long-stalled contract negotiations between the D.C. Public Schools and the Washington Teachers' Union may finally reach an endpoint.

Are Teacher Absences Worth Worrying about in the U.S.? Urban Institute
Our estimates suggest that a policy intervention that simultaneously raised teacher base salaries and broadened financial penalties for absences could both raise teachers’ expected income and lower districts’ expected costs.

Best blog posts of the day, including some about 9/11 and others about the busy week behind:

The 9/11 Curriculum. Dana Goldstein (Tapped)
I downloaded a few of the lesson plans, and I have to say, I'm cautiously impressed.

Biden, Duncan and Geithner Honor an Inspring Reform Model LFA
Will this event catapult Say Yes into the national consciousness? Early signs aren't good. The event has been covered, well, almost nowhere. Not in the education press. Not in the blogosphere.

Harsh Reality Mike Antonucci
I’m fascinated by how performance pay for teachers has entered the mainstream of education policy thought.

Republican Gomorrah Mike Klonsky
"Obedience is listening attentively, Obedience will take instructions joyfully, Obedience heeds wishes of authorities, Obedience will follow orders instantly."

How to Survive Our Worst Schools Jay Mathews (Washington Post)
As far as I can tell, no Ballou student has ever passed an Advanced Placement test.

Ohio scraps social studies testing Fordham
Our friends at the State of Ohio Education blog rightly call Ohio’s recent move to eliminate social studies tests in grades five and eight a “short-sighted decision,” not just because a basic understanding of history, geography, civics, and current events is critical, but because Ohio students happen to be doing poorly in these subjects.

Best blog posts of the day, as usual around this time:

Boston's First Union-Run Public School Ready for Business Stephen Sawchuk
A teacher-run public school (take note: not a public charter school) is poised to open its doors in Boston this year as one of the few such schools in the nation. .

The Case Against the Case Against Affirmative Action Kevin Carey
Crossing the Finish Line, the new book from former Princeton president William Bowen, former Macalaster College president Michael McPherson, and Matthew Chingos, is getting a lot of coverage  today.

EdWeek Edition Matthew K. Tabor
Sometimes ed writers don’t know enough about a subject or practice to write a complete story. Sometimes they turn to tabloid-style baiting, partly because it’s easy, partly because it can be entertaining.

A Tale of Two Queens High Schools GothamSchools
Imagine there are two high schools in the same borough. One school can’t enroll enough kids to stay open, and the other is filled to 250% of capacity. What would you do?

Spending Disparities Among Charter and Regular Districts Inside Research
A federal report finds there is just as much—or more—variation in spending among charter school districts as there is among more typical ones.
Ask Your Child About Content, Not Grades Robert Pondiscio
Don’t ask your kids about grades, test scores or homework, advises Kerry Dickinson of the East Bay Homework Blog.

Egad! School Research Has Power Uncle Jay Mathews
Here comes Harvard political scientist Paul Peterson, a well-known trouble maker, saying that in at least one recent instance, my faith in the intentional ignorance of pols has been mistaken.

The Start of an Interesting and Dangerous School Year Bridging Differences
Dear Deborah, School is open, and it is time to talk!

Lots of good things to read today, most of them NOT about the speech:

Obama Harangues Students, Still Clueless on Ed Policy KDeRosa
The consensus seems to be that the President's speech was mostly innocuous, perhaps a little uplifting, and by golly them youngsters needed to be reminded about the value of hard work. Nuts to that. At best it was a waste of our time.

The Meaning of Merit Pay Kevin Carey
To recruit and retain good teachers, schools need a lot more than merit pay–they need strong leadership, good facilities, safe working conditions, and the right kind of organizational culture.

Dodd Likely to Decline Education Panel Chairmanship PK12
This means that the Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the second ranking Democrat on the committee, has a chance to step in.

The Majority of Education Stimulus Funds Haven't Left the Bank CAP New America Foundation
This could be the result of internal state bureaucracy preventing the expenditure of funds or a lack of approved spending opportunities at the local level. Either way, we know that more than two-thirds of these funds have yet to see the light of day.

Unschooling: the worst education idea... ever? Checker Finn
The worst education idea of the year turns out not to be a new idea at all.

Education Researchers in the Media Inside Research
Former Institute of Education Sciences director Grover "Russ" Whitehurst reveals his stances on key education issues in a new Q&A and a Washington Post story tells us what one well-known researcher makes.

A War On Christian Homeschooling? (You Wish.) Jezebel
The case of Amanda Kurowski, a New Hampshire 10-year-old whom the courts have ordered out of home-schooling and into her local public schools, is making serious waves.

Blog posts and commentary about things OTHER than the President's back to school speech:

Duncan on "Face the Nation" John Cosby
He gets a lot of it dead right, I think, and says a lot of the things that a Secretary of Education ought to say.

After School I Get To Go To School! TFT
Here's another brilliant example of grown-ups ruining people's childhoods. Ever notice that it is grown-ups who ruin things and almost never kids? Kids deserve better than a bunch of grown-ups. Seriously

Civil disobedience at ED Andy Smarick
Washington, D.C. (September 8, 2009)—In the first-ever act of school choice-related civil disobedience, prominent education reform leaders will block entrance to the U.S. Department of Education building today at 9:30 A.M.

Raising color-kind kids Joanne Jacobs
In one study, six-month-old babies spotted skin-color differences in photos of faces. By the age of three, children preferred friends of the same race.

Heard about how rap legend Roxanne Shanté forced her label to pay for her Cornell Ph.D.? Slate
Virtually everything about the Daily News' heartwarming "projects-to-Ph.D." story appears to be false.

Friday blog roundup to help you make it to happy hour (or bedtime):

Officials Move to Quell Furor Over Obama Speech EdWeek
The 49,000-student Atlanta public school system has encouraged its teachers to show the president’s address in their classes and incorporate it into social studies lessons.

A personal statement teacherken
Perhaps it is because I am worn out with too many AP students - 109 in 3 sections, 38,33,38, and I view my responsibility towards them as inspiring them to care about our politics and government so that they will participate and make a difference.

Philly Teachers Quit Days Before School Starts Stephen Sawchuk
According to this AP story, a whole bunch of teachers in Philadelphia are quitting or planning not to show up for their first week of school.

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime PK12
The stimulus slowpokes are Alaska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and New Mexico.

Undermining Arne Duncan Andy Smarick
Without question, the lack of reform being generated by these funds says much about the bent of state and local education leaders.

Obama School Speech Furor: The Dangers of Groupthink Rick Hess
If this incident rattles the complacent insularity that has settled over Arne Duncan’s Department of Education, their efforts will have been worthwhile indeed.

All the bloggery that's fit to print:

Recovery Act Helps Schools, but Not Enough US News
School administrators want more flexibility from the stimulus bill, a new survey says.

Authorizer data Andy Smarick on charter schools
For example, did you know that there are 820 charter school authorizers in the US and that 42 [...]

The Obama Administration's Back-to-School Message: Personal Responsibility PK12
Obama's Sept. 8 speech will echo many themes from his campaign, and kick off a $1,000 contest for students.

Racially Offensive Term Shows Up on Florida District's Form Curriculum Matters
A Florida district says a form using the term "negro," was based on descriptions from the state. The state points to the feds.

Cookie Monster Eats Sesame Street's Lifetime Achievement Emmy Jezebel
Last night at the Daytime Emmy Awards the cast of Sesame Street performed a song in honor of the show's 40th anniversary. Sandra Oh presented a lifetime achievement award, which Cookie Monster found delicious.

You can also find me -- still -- on Twitter at @alexanderrusso

Bloggers like teachers and students are now getting back in the saddle -- and even taking each other on here and there:

Wanna Impress the Kids? Don’t Do Any of This Mathew Tabor
School’s upon us - and so is the terrible professional advice doled out by ‘expert’ speakers and teachers that pocks the path to success like errant dog-doo in the park.

Core Knowledge Etc.  Kevin Carey
At the Core Knowledge Blog, Robert Pondisco tries to parody the New York Times article on teaching reading that I enjoyed.

Taking Things Personally LFA
Granger High School in Washington State has garnered national attention for its remarkable journey from bad to great. Granger principal Paul Chartrand recently spoke with me about the critical work of sustaining the trend.

Race to the Top Comments Are In  PK12
Hundreds of good questions showcase just how difficult it is try to apply one set of criteria to 50 different states.

'Education' misspelled on CMS teacher coaster Detention Slip
They distributed 1800 coasters as a teacher gift and misspelled the one word we hope they get right- Education.

The best of the day's education blog posts and commentaries, all in one place:

The New York Times Works For Arne Duncan Now TFT
I think every teacher should make a commitment to never again buy the New York Times (we don't anyway; can't afford it).

NCLB on crack in Massachusetts Mike Klonsky
A 17-year-old statewide test used to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law will be replaced with a broader approach to judging how well Wisconsin students are performing.

Defining NCLB’s Value  Chad Aldeman
Mike Petrilli and Tom Loveless take to the pages of the NY Times to argue, yet again, that No Child Left Behind has been harmful to gifted students.

A Glut of Substitute Teachers in Texas  Stephen Sawchuk
Here's a fascinating story out of Texas about districts gradually getting choosier in who they will accept as substitute teachers.

Read What You Love  Kevin Carey
Motoko Rich reports on a new approach to teaching reading: letting kids read books they actually want to read, rather than having them all read the same book. This strikes me as an excellent idea.

I'm not going to shut down the blog this summer like I usually do around now, but I am going to post most of what I have to say via Twitter over the next couple of weeks. Not to worry, though.  You can read all those updates here --just hit "reload" to get new content.

Twitter Updates

Each bullet is a Twitter post.  Links are shortened for space reasons -- that's why they look so strange.  Posts that start with "@" are me responding to someone else on Twitter -- you can click those to find out what's going on.  Posts that start with or include RT are other peoples' posts that I'm passing along, with or without comment. 

Twitter Updates

Here's the best of what I've found so far today -- sorry it looks so messy:

Twitter Updates

Remember that you don't have to join Twitter or follow someone -- just click on the links.

Hit 'reload' if you don't see anything new.

Blogs: Best Posts Of The Day

You're halfway there!

Work Hard, Be Good  Robert Pondiscio
Schools should stop telling children to be nice and start teaching them to be good. So writes Diana Senechal at DoubleX.

Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword? Liam Goldrick
The problem with Jay Mathews' defense of a Washington, DC school principal  is that the principal operates within an accountability system that demands such a result.

Ga. Cuts National-Board Certification  Stephen Sawchuk
Here's a story that could be a portent of things to come.

"School districts felt pressured to teach to the test..."  Mike Klonsky
I'm re-posting this short clip from Barack Obama's campaign speech in Wallingford, Pa. on April 2, 2008 as a way of reminding the president and his secretary of education of the hopefulness he inspired back then.

School Bus Radio Program Plays Its Last Tune
A company that broadcast music and commercials in thousands of school buses is shutting down.

Sign of the Times? School-Improvement Center to Close its Doors Inside Research
Word comes via Twitter that the work of the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement is winding down.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Internet

What's going on inside the Internets today:

Gingrich and Sharpton – Not The Original Odd Couple Jeanne Allen
The first real Odd Couples of education led some of the nation’s most fundamental shifts in education, shifts that had once been considered radical.

Scoring the tests Dana Goldstein
I only hope that we learn from past testing mistakes and create a more consistent, humane system, driven by deep respect for the critical thinking and writing skills necessary for success in higher education and on the job market.

Quibbles With Trimming Summer Vacation Atlantic Wire
While nearly everyone admits that schools are in need of reform, many argue that American kids already devote plenty of hours to school--it's just that those hours are ineffective.

Looking Beyond the Numbers for Progress
Washington Post:
On July 11, Brian Betts, principal of the District's Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, was at Dulles International Airport about to leave for a vacation in Spain. He was feeling good.

A School's Organic Farm Inspires Documentary TIME
Two Dutch filmmakers created Grown in Detroit, a documentary about a Detroit school that helps pregnant and parenting teens learn to garden.

The Sophisticated Side of Elementary Mathematics American Educator
Here's an idea that is rarely discussed: starting no later than fourth grade, math should be taught by math teachers (who teach only math).

After Derrion Albert's Video Taped Beating Death Gawker
If you don't believe in Kitty Genovese — girl stabbed on the street, disputed newspaper stories say no one helped, social scientists had a field day — maybe you should now.

Blogs: Best Posts Of The Day (Besides Yours?)

Fear not, brave blog reader -- the daily roundup is here, along with the random picture:

In Support of Kevin Jennings LFA
If anything, the hostility leveled at Jennings proves that we have much work to do.

The Good Old Days Mike Antonucci
Remember way back in the misty past when the teachers’ unions and President Obama were on the same page? 

Phantom School Districts Tagged for Stimulus DollarsProPublica

Hillcrest Rural Schools in north-central Kansas is set to get nearly $7,000 in federal stimulus money to help its disadvantaged students. Only one glitch: The district doesn’t exist anymore.

Nine Myths About Public Schools TeacherKen
All these statements are a common part of the current discussion on education and schools.  And all are wrong, very wrong.

Did Pencils Make Us Dumber? Techdirt
Forgive me for being skeptical about each new fear about each new communications technology that comes about.

New Film About Darwin Finds U.S. Distributor Curriculum Matters
"Creation," stars Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin and Jennifer Connelly as his wife, Emma.

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Friday blogging!

Duncan on the Future of NCLB Ed-Reckoning
I don't believe we're relying on the altruism of others to solve our self-inflicted education woes.

Department Kicks off NCLB Discussion at Packed Forum PK12
More than 200 advocates from a wide range of groups packed the U.S. Department of Education today.

Bad Title, Mind-Changing Book Uncle Jay
We education writers receive many books in the mail with terrible titles, real slumber-time stuff.

Good Class In a Not So Good Neighborhood… Just A Substitute
The last time I was here, the police had just nabbed a guy that lived in the apartments bordering the school for murdering his girlfriend and dumping the body at the city landfill.

Think-tanks & class size Small Talk
With class sizes in L.A. high schools soaring to 50 per class and Brooklyn kids being squeezed into classrooms with a shoehorn, Finn and his crew have suddenly grown quiet on the topic.

Post Magazine Writer Tries to Figure Out D.C. Chancellor District Dossier
The Washington Post's Marc Fisher tells District Dossier that when it comes to Michelle A. Rhee, "what you see is what you get."

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Imagine if the education bloggers met every year like they do at the UN, in costumes and stuff.  I would wear my Little Devil onesie:

Ed. Dept.: 4 States Are Ripe for Stimulus Slip-Ups PK12
Those identified as "high risk" for possible stimulus spending problems are California, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. D.C. and Puerto Rico also made the list.

One round of RttT and fast reauthorization? Tom Vander Ark
AP is speculating on 2010 attempted ESEA reauthorization.  Related rumors that RttT may be one round.  Both bad ideas.

Arne Duncan on NCLB: “We are lying to parents and children” GS
Next step: a bunch of “stakeholder meetings” to take the temperature of the field.

A Rock and a Hard Place LFA
Moral clarity often gives way to moral quandaries as you get closer to the classroom.

Do we need a longer school day? Philly Notebook
I don’t know about you, but when that last bell rings my tank is pretty much empty. And my 8th graders, who suffered from post-lunch attention deficit syndrome, weren’t exactly in high learning mode either

Czar Inflation Kevin Carey
The headline at Fox News right now says “Critics Assail Obama’s ‘Safe Schools’ Czar, Say He’s the Wrong Man for the Job.” What? There’s no such thing as a “Safe Schools Czar.”

I Hope You're Sitting Down... Ms. Mimi
I considered titling this post "Can't We All Just Get Along?" because I'm quickly finding out that the answer is no. No, we can't. Not all the time.

Media: Hot For Education -- The Blog

Speaking of questionable new blogs to check out (or avoid), here's one called Hot For Education that seems to have sprouted up in recent days, a sometimes-NSFW picture blog about TV shows (Glee, Mad Men), celebrity parents (SJP, Will Smith, Angelina) and Cabinet officials (Arne, Kathleen) with connections to education that are, at times, paper thin.  Read at your own risk.  Send ideas to hotfored at gmail dot com.  Follow on twitter at @hotfored

Blogs: Best Of The Day (Some Days Are Better Than Others)

Bloggity blog blogger bloggy:

Testing Vet Reveals How to Fix Standardized Tests Uncle Jay Mathews 
He had dramatized the weaknesses in the many tests he graded, but did not explain to us poor realists what we should put in their places. 

"Quiet" Success Knowledge Alliance
Perhaps those of us who are immersed in these efforts on a daily basis need to pay more attention to what the outsiders think.

Pressure for more RttT winners Tom Vander Ark
There won’t be 35-40 winners as Eduflack predicts, but there may be closer to 20 than the 6 in phase 1 and 10 in phase 2 I’ve been predicting.  

UPDATED: Gates Spreading 'Race to the Top' Help to All States  PK12
After getting feedback from NGA and CCSSO, the Gates Foundation changes course.

Way More than Bake Sales LFA

The national PTA organization has been moving aggressively in recent years to bring more urban families into the fold. It has been getting more fathers involved.

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

This fancy new Typepad text editor is killing me, but I won't let it stop me from sharing these with you:

“The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes” Larry Ferlazzo
The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes is an excellent post by by Richard M. Felder, North Carolina State University and Rebecca Brent, Education Designs, Inc.

Dear Mr. President TFT
Aim high! Higher!Possibilities are endless, as long as you work.  That's what you're preaching to the kids with your bball buddy and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  Or is that just more hot air?

Attacking the dropout crisis with ‘restarts’ Vander Ark
A strong push by local and national advocacy groups could result in more than 200 restarts per year.  In 4-5 years we could replace most of the dropout factories and make a substantial contribution to improving the national graduation rate.

“Education theorists are great forgetters...” Stafford Palmieri 
In an excerpt from his soon-to-be-released We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism, he explains how education policy has nothing new under the sun.

STEM Guru Steve Robinson Moves to White House PK12
The former high school science teacher will have the same gig, just a different office--in the White House's Domestic Policy Council.

Shanker Fellowship Leo Casey
The American Federation of Teachers in conjunction with the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University seek applicants for The Albert Shanker Fellowship for Research In Education.

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Check it out:

Teachers find Obama not the friend they had expected McClatchey
"The only place the NAACP can be is with this governor," Huffman said. "If the teacher unions put a better proposal on the table, we would stand with them."

Adjudicating School Reform CAP
Philadelphia uses a new strategy to solve an old problem, observes Saba Bireda.

Another Kind of Widget Effect LFA
Are good teachers good no matter where they go? Or do a school's working conditions have a big impact on teachers' performance?

Study Examines Fla. ABCTE Impact on Achievement Teacher Beat
Students taught by these teachers held their own in English language-arts, but were weaker in math.

Blogs: A Quick Spin Around The Edu-blogo-pundit-sphere

Friday!

Top 20 Teacher Blogs Instructor
New, memorable, classroom-focused education blogs. [via Lucy Gray]

Fixing the Teacher Certification Mess Uncle Jay Mathews
The acidic frustrations expressed by people who contacted me are, thankfully, corroding the resistance to innovation.

Putting Poverty in Its Place. TAPPED
Any neighborhood-based approach, including the HCZ, must be nested in a far broader strategy to revitalize urban America -- including everything from the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to changes in transportation funding to targeted training.

Teachers and Cocaine: The Best of Friends Gawker
Our educational and judicial system would wise up and appreciate the difficulty of cultivating our nation's future. Let's have a tea party and yell about it!

The Danger of "Cute" Is Our Children Learning
I may be a grown man, but I'm not afraid to drop a c-bomb. These kids are just plain cute. [Via GothamSchools]

Blogs: Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them

The Colbert Report is back this week -- and back at education issues last night.  But -- I usually like his stuff -- this time it wasn't funny.  Could be a long school year if that continues.

Advancing Newspaper Media for the 21st Century Jay Mathews

The one education topic that American families, particularly middle-class families, are really passionate about is college admissions.

An Absurd Definition of Achievement Debbie Meier

Yes, the ways in which standardized bubble-in tests are open to abuse are rampant—and gaming of test scores has increasingly important repercussions.

Can Separate Be Equal? Richard Kahlenberg

Generally speaking, integrationists have had stronger social-science research on their side, while community organizers have claimed to be more politically realistic.

Recession Kids Freakonomics

We recently blogged about how recessions might affect the mentality of people growing up in them.

Jimmy Carter Won't Stop Calling Out Racists Gawker

Despite the fact that Democrats and the White House are distancing themselves from him, Jimmy Carter refuses to budge on his assertion that many of Barack Obama's opponents are racists.

NEA to Spend $6 Million for Teachers in High-Needs Schools Stephen Sawchuk

The National Education Association plans to put $6 million over six years into "comprehensive strategies and policies to increase teacher effectiveness in high-needs schools."

Blogs: I Read Them So You Don't Have To

Bloggy blogs and their blogging blogness:

Chicago's 'miracle' up in smoke--poooof Mike Klonsky
"Sometime over the past week, CPS officials quietly posted the 2009 Prairie State and ACT test scores."

“We Expected Better From Obama’s Education Reforms” Larry Ferlazzo
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a pretty good op-ed piece today from Marty Hittelman, the President of the California Federation of Teachers.

Letter to President Obama Edna Lee [new blog]
After attending a five-day training on a new math adoption, I think you should consider using school district trainings on newly adopted curriculums as a method of gleaning information from those "enemy combatants" we've been detaining.

Teachers Walk the Halls of Power Curriculum Matters
The Einstein fellows program invites teachers to Washington to serve as policy advisers to Congress and federal agencies.

Two Criers and a Khan Man…Just A Substitute {new blog]
She didn’t warn me about little Khan.

Darwin Flick Degraded by Backward American Ways Gawker
The flick, which chronicles scientist Charles Darwin's crusade to bring modern science, common sense and progress into all of our lives.

Science Is Real TFT
Cartoon song by They Might Be Giants.

Blogs: All The Best Commentary Of The Day (So Far)

Now things are really heating up:

And now, Harvard digs deep in the public interest--NOT! Sherman Dorn
If there's a (reputational) market for a tuition-free, glitzy finishing school for superintendents, why shouldn't Harvard get in the game? ...

Hidden Outrages in Overseas Teacher Recruitment Uncle Jay Mathews
A new report released by the American Federation of Teachers reminds us of a topic education writers like me almost never address---the unseemly side of the recruitment of teachers abroad for U.S. schools.

Video - Did You Know? 4.0 Scott McLeod
Three years, 20+ million online views, and many, many face-to-face showings later, the Did You Know?(Shift Happens) video still is going strong. Just this week it was mentioned in TIME magazine.

New models Mike Klonsky
Can models like New Tech and Project-Based Learning replace the traditional factory-model high school? [Whatever happened to Big Picture/]

Obscure database is key to U.S. educational funds for California LA Times
California's chance to receive hundreds of millions of federal educational dollars may rest heavily on an obscure and long-neglected piece of education infrastructure: a statewide data system that tracks students, teachers and administrators year to year.

Blogs: Best Blog Posts Of The Day

Please be interesting.  That's all I ask:

Colorado school goes radical, asks teachers union to lead reform. Colo Independent
Do the “lead teachers” hold their peers accountable to “best practices”—or will “flexibility” mean too many fun things for teachers, in ways that may not always benefit students?

Bloomberg Acquires Naming Rights to City Schools. NYC Parent
Henceforth, each city school will be called “Bloomberg School” followed by the school number. For example, PS 221 will now be known as “Bloomberg School 221”.

The Twenty Blogs I Read First Larry Ferlazzo
Here are The Twenty Blogs I Read First (not in order of preference, just in alphabetical order):

Hot topics show party's divisions Alan Borsuk
On some level, everyone is in favor of education reform.  But where does that lead? [via AR]

Message to Technocrats LFA
Teacher Nancy Schnog has a message for education technocrats: Give us time and space to teach!

Rhee vs. Teachers' Union: Who Comes out on Top? Rick Hess
Bill Turque reports in today's Washington Post that the long-stalled contract negotiations between the D.C. Public Schools and the Washington Teachers' Union may finally reach an endpoint.

Are Teacher Absences Worth Worrying about in the U.S.? Urban Institute
Our estimates suggest that a policy intervention that simultaneously raised teacher base salaries and broadened financial penalties for absences could both raise teachers’ expected income and lower districts’ expected costs.

Blogs: Best Of The Day

Best blog posts of the day, including some about 9/11 and others about the busy week behind:

The 9/11 Curriculum. Dana Goldstein (Tapped)
I downloaded a few of the lesson plans, and I have to say, I'm cautiously impressed.

Biden, Duncan and Geithner Honor an Inspring Reform Model LFA
Will this event catapult Say Yes into the national consciousness? Early signs aren't good. The event has been covered, well, almost nowhere. Not in the education press. Not in the blogosphere.

Harsh Reality Mike Antonucci
I’m fascinated by how performance pay for teachers has entered the mainstream of education policy thought.

Republican Gomorrah Mike Klonsky
"Obedience is listening attentively, Obedience will take instructions joyfully, Obedience heeds wishes of authorities, Obedience will follow orders instantly."

How to Survive Our Worst Schools Jay Mathews (Washington Post)
As far as I can tell, no Ballou student has ever passed an Advanced Placement test.

Ohio scraps social studies testing Fordham
Our friends at the State of Ohio Education blog rightly call Ohio’s recent move to eliminate social studies tests in grades five and eight a “short-sighted decision,” not just because a basic understanding of history, geography, civics, and current events is critical, but because Ohio students happen to be doing poorly in these subjects.

Blogs: Best Ones Of The Day

Best blog posts of the day, as usual around this time:

Boston's First Union-Run Public School Ready for Business Stephen Sawchuk
A teacher-run public school (take note: not a public charter school) is poised to open its doors in Boston this year as one of the few such schools in the nation. .

The Case Against the Case Against Affirmative Action Kevin Carey
Crossing the Finish Line, the new book from former Princeton president William Bowen, former Macalaster College president Michael McPherson, and Matthew Chingos, is getting a lot of coverage  today.

EdWeek Edition Matthew K. Tabor
Sometimes ed writers don’t know enough about a subject or practice to write a complete story. Sometimes they turn to tabloid-style baiting, partly because it’s easy, partly because it can be entertaining.

A Tale of Two Queens High Schools GothamSchools
Imagine there are two high schools in the same borough. One school can’t enroll enough kids to stay open, and the other is filled to 250% of capacity. What would you do?

Spending Disparities Among Charter and Regular Districts Inside Research
A federal report finds there is just as much—or more—variation in spending among charter school districts as there is among more typical ones.
Ask Your Child About Content, Not Grades Robert Pondiscio
Don’t ask your kids about grades, test scores or homework, advises Kerry Dickinson of the East Bay Homework Blog.

Egad! School Research Has Power Uncle Jay Mathews
Here comes Harvard political scientist Paul Peterson, a well-known trouble maker, saying that in at least one recent instance, my faith in the intentional ignorance of pols has been mistaken.

The Start of an Interesting and Dangerous School Year Bridging Differences
Dear Deborah, School is open, and it is time to talk!

Blogs: The Best Posts Of The Day

Lots of good things to read today, most of them NOT about the speech:

Obama Harangues Students, Still Clueless on Ed Policy KDeRosa
The consensus seems to be that the President's speech was mostly innocuous, perhaps a little uplifting, and by golly them youngsters needed to be reminded about the value of hard work. Nuts to that. At best it was a waste of our time.

The Meaning of Merit Pay Kevin Carey
To recruit and retain good teachers, schools need a lot more than merit pay–they need strong leadership, good facilities, safe working conditions, and the right kind of organizational culture.

Dodd Likely to Decline Education Panel Chairmanship PK12
This means that the Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the second ranking Democrat on the committee, has a chance to step in.

The Majority of Education Stimulus Funds Haven't Left the Bank CAP New America Foundation
This could be the result of internal state bureaucracy preventing the expenditure of funds or a lack of approved spending opportunities at the local level. Either way, we know that more than two-thirds of these funds have yet to see the light of day.

Unschooling: the worst education idea... ever? Checker Finn
The worst education idea of the year turns out not to be a new idea at all.

Education Researchers in the Media Inside Research
Former Institute of Education Sciences director Grover "Russ" Whitehurst reveals his stances on key education issues in a new Q&A and a Washington Post story tells us what one well-known researcher makes.

A War On Christian Homeschooling? (You Wish.) Jezebel
The case of Amanda Kurowski, a New Hampshire 10-year-old whom the courts have ordered out of home-schooling and into her local public schools, is making serious waves.

Blogs: Best Of The Day (Not About The Speech)

Blog posts and commentary about things OTHER than the President's back to school speech:

Duncan on "Face the Nation" John Cosby
He gets a lot of it dead right, I think, and says a lot of the things that a Secretary of Education ought to say.

After School I Get To Go To School! TFT
Here's another brilliant example of grown-ups ruining people's childhoods. Ever notice that it is grown-ups who ruin things and almost never kids? Kids deserve better than a bunch of grown-ups. Seriously

Civil disobedience at ED Andy Smarick
Washington, D.C. (September 8, 2009)—In the first-ever act of school choice-related civil disobedience, prominent education reform leaders will block entrance to the U.S. Department of Education building today at 9:30 A.M.

Raising color-kind kids Joanne Jacobs
In one study, six-month-old babies spotted skin-color differences in photos of faces. By the age of three, children preferred friends of the same race.

Heard about how rap legend Roxanne Shanté forced her label to pay for her Cornell Ph.D.? Slate
Virtually everything about the Daily News' heartwarming "projects-to-Ph.D." story appears to be false.

Blogs: Mid-Day Roundup Of Blog Posts

Friday blog roundup to help you make it to happy hour (or bedtime):

Officials Move to Quell Furor Over Obama Speech EdWeek
The 49,000-student Atlanta public school system has encouraged its teachers to show the president’s address in their classes and incorporate it into social studies lessons.

A personal statement teacherken
Perhaps it is because I am worn out with too many AP students - 109 in 3 sections, 38,33,38, and I view my responsibility towards them as inspiring them to care about our politics and government so that they will participate and make a difference.

Philly Teachers Quit Days Before School Starts Stephen Sawchuk
According to this AP story, a whole bunch of teachers in Philadelphia are quitting or planning not to show up for their first week of school.

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime PK12
The stimulus slowpokes are Alaska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and New Mexico.

Undermining Arne Duncan Andy Smarick
Without question, the lack of reform being generated by these funds says much about the bent of state and local education leaders.

Obama School Speech Furor: The Dangers of Groupthink Rick Hess
If this incident rattles the complacent insularity that has settled over Arne Duncan’s Department of Education, their efforts will have been worthwhile indeed.

Blogs: Best Posts Of The Day

All the bloggery that's fit to print:

Recovery Act Helps Schools, but Not Enough US News
School administrators want more flexibility from the stimulus bill, a new survey says.

Authorizer data Andy Smarick on charter schools
For example, did you know that there are 820 charter school authorizers in the US and that 42 [...]

The Obama Administration's Back-to-School Message: Personal Responsibility PK12
Obama's Sept. 8 speech will echo many themes from his campaign, and kick off a $1,000 contest for students.

Racially Offensive Term Shows Up on Florida District's Form Curriculum Matters
A Florida district says a form using the term "negro," was based on descriptions from the state. The state points to the feds.

Cookie Monster Eats Sesame Street's Lifetime Achievement Emmy Jezebel
Last night at the Daytime Emmy Awards the cast of Sesame Street performed a song in honor of the show's 40th anniversary. Sandra Oh presented a lifetime achievement award, which Cookie Monster found delicious.

You can also find me -- still -- on Twitter at @alexanderrusso

Blogs: All The Best Blog Posts All In One Place

Bloggers like teachers and students are now getting back in the saddle -- and even taking each other on here and there:

Wanna Impress the Kids? Don’t Do Any of This Mathew Tabor
School’s upon us - and so is the terrible professional advice doled out by ‘expert’ speakers and teachers that pocks the path to success like errant dog-doo in the park.

Core Knowledge Etc.  Kevin Carey
At the Core Knowledge Blog, Robert Pondisco tries to parody the New York Times article on teaching reading that I enjoyed.

Taking Things Personally LFA
Granger High School in Washington State has garnered national attention for its remarkable journey from bad to great. Granger principal Paul Chartrand recently spoke with me about the critical work of sustaining the trend.

Race to the Top Comments Are In  PK12
Hundreds of good questions showcase just how difficult it is try to apply one set of criteria to 50 different states.

'Education' misspelled on CMS teacher coaster Detention Slip
They distributed 1800 coasters as a teacher gift and misspelled the one word we hope they get right- Education.

Blogs: Once Around The Blogosphere

The best of the day's education blog posts and commentaries, all in one place:

The New York Times Works For Arne Duncan Now TFT
I think every teacher should make a commitment to never again buy the New York Times (we don't anyway; can't afford it).

NCLB on crack in Massachusetts Mike Klonsky
A 17-year-old statewide test used to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law will be replaced with a broader approach to judging how well Wisconsin students are performing.

Defining NCLB’s Value  Chad Aldeman
Mike Petrilli and Tom Loveless take to the pages of the NY Times to argue, yet again, that No Child Left Behind has been harmful to gifted students.

A Glut of Substitute Teachers in Texas  Stephen Sawchuk
Here's a fascinating story out of Texas about districts gradually getting choosier in who they will accept as substitute teachers.

Read What You Love  Kevin Carey
Motoko Rich reports on a new approach to teaching reading: letting kids read books they actually want to read, rather than having them all read the same book. This strikes me as an excellent idea.

THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION: Gone Twittering

I'm not going to shut down the blog this summer like I usually do around now, but I am going to post most of what I have to say via Twitter over the next couple of weeks. Not to worry, though.  You can read all those updates here --just hit "reload" to get new content.

Twitter Updates

Each bullet is a Twitter post.  Links are shortened for space reasons -- that's why they look so strange.  Posts that start with "@" are me responding to someone else on Twitter -- you can click those to find out what's going on.  Posts that start with or include RT are other peoples' posts that I'm passing along, with or without comment. 

Thursday Twitters

Twitter Updates

Tuesday Twitters

Here's the best of what I've found so far today -- sorry it looks so messy:

Twitter Updates

Remember that you don't have to join Twitter or follow someone -- just click on the links.

Hit 'reload' if you don't see anything new.