BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Happy holiday weekend to everyone.

What should be done with the stimulus money for education? Teacher Ken
"Matches can be purchased to burn all standardized tests, ending the absurd notion that these exams have anything to do with educating a child and preparing him or her for life."

New Idea for Stemming Summer Learning Loss? LFA
"Hunger can be a positive motivator." -- Missouri State Representative Cynthia Smith, who opposes free school lunches for children during summer months.

Studies Show Pupils Benefit from Tutoring--A Little Inside Research
A trio of recent studies evaluating the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act's tutoring provision show that students in some districts are making small, but not great, learning gains.

Boy Banned From School For Moustache Detention Slip

Everyone knows that moustaches lead teen boys down a destructive path of drugs and violence.

BLOGS: The Best Part Of The Day

All Stimulus, (nearly) all the time:

Stimulus Spending, Breakdown by States WSJ via ProPublica
Mouse over a state for details, or sort the rows in the chart below the map.

Another Year, Another NEA Convention Intercepts
The signature media event appears to be U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s “town hall” meeting with the delegates tomorrow morning.

Women on Par With Men in Principalship, Says Report Inside Research
More than half the nation's principals are now women, according to one of five statistical reports released yesterday by the National Center for Education Statistics.

State Budget Troubles Worsen CBPP via TAPPED
Federal stimulus funding is closing 30 to 40 percent of state budget shortfalls, thanks to its timing and flexibility.

States Get $2.7 Billion in Early Stimulus Aid PK12
This chunk of the stabilization fund is meant to help out states as they face increasing budget pressures.

Hidden curriculum Joanne Jacobs
Parents can’t check out Baltimore County Public Schools curriculum, complains BaltoNorth. It’s password protected on an intranet.

National Journal’s Ed Insider Petting Zoo TCKB
National Journal…tear down this wall!

BLOGS: The Vuvuzelas Of School Reform

Civic Committee stabs Duncan in the back Small Talk
A flabbergasted Duncan, who rode the myth of the Chicago turnaround miracle all the way to Washington, tried to defend his record. But, well, 8th grade test scores did rise by a few points, was the best he could do.

Grading reports that grade states, which have schools that grade Sherman Dorn
C'mon folks: can't you figure out a more substantive way of evaluating states?

U.S. Ed Secretary Refining Postion on Charters? Peter Murphy
Richard Iannuzzi, the head of the state teachers union, NYSUT, told the School Boards Association blog, On Board, that Arne Duncan "may be refining his position" on tying charter caps to a state's chances of being awarded "Race to the Top" funds.

In the Same Boat LFA
The education “establishment” and education “reformers” are not so different from one another after all. Just ask the Fordham Foundation’s Mike Petrilli.

What's Missing from National Journal's New Education Blog? Sara Mead
Mainstream outlets tend to treat early childhood education as a sub-component of the lifestyle/parenting/mommy wars/let's-debate-feminism genre, while more policy-oriented outlets tend to view it from a childcare or even welfare reform lens.

Glasnost Big Charlie
Believe it or not, several states including New York, Wisconsin, and California, have laws that create a firewall between students and teacher data.

BLOGS: "Back In Five Minutes."

The Revolving Door of Teachers In Chicago Liam Goldrick 
While these statistics are slightly worse than Illinois as a state and the nation as a whole, CPS is not a huge outlier with regard to teacher mobility. It is a problem across the board.

The Firefighters' Case and the Schools Mark Walsh
What are the lessons for schools and school employees in the decision today in favor of white and Hispanic firefighters in New Haven?

Find the typo! and other national-stage blogging Sherman Dorn
The National Journal unveiled its new education policy blog yesterday. My first response has an embarrassing writing goof; see if you can spot it!...

Simple Math Change.org
"Everyone knows," he said, "that the subject matter itself isn't that hard. What's hard...is beating it into the heads of youngsters who hate every step.

Can teachers have lives outside of school? Get Schooled
A Gwinnett County teacher was named Miss Georgia Saturday, but Kristina Higgins turned down the honor the next day, saying she was worried about balancing her duties.

BLOGS: New Blog Options To Liven Things Up

Thanks to Dana Truby at Scholastic Professional Media for passing along this favorite education blogs list, which includes a number that  are new to me (10 education blogs I've been reading).  It's easy to let things get stale, and high time for some new voices and ideas.  Some of the new names on the list:

2.  Prone to Laughter
Should the teacher dance to the raunchy song?

3.  Line 46:
Intimacy and honesty from inside a classroom.

4. Change.org's Education Blog:
Straight out of Eugene, OR.

6.  Learn Me Good:
A male teacher in primary school, teaching math.

8. Wicked Teacher of the West:
How teachers misinterpret kids, and other classroom realities.

Are any of these any good?  Let me know. Or maybe your blog, or someone you know, has an even better one. 

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Stim 2: The Stimulus Strikes Back? PK12
Another stimulus package could very possibly be Coming Soon to a Congress Near You, at least if Warren Buffett has his way.

Never Can Say Goodbye Charlie B.
No one booed when Arne Duncan said: The "charter movement is putting itself at risk by allowing too many second-rate and third-rate schools to exist."

Don't Mess With Success at This High-Achieving Charter Middle School Uncle Jay Mathews
Sometime last year, while negotiating a teacher contract for the KIPP Ujima Village charter middle school in Baltimore, founder Jason Botel pointed out that his students, mostly from low- income families, had earned the city's highest public school test scores three years in a row.

You want coverage of Malcolm Gladwell? We got it. Dangerously Irrelevant
If you can’t figure out what Gladwell talked about after looking at all of these, there’s no helping you! The Twitter hashtag for Gladwell’s talk was #necc09mg...

High School Secretary Uses School Computers To Change Her Daughter's Grades Jezebel
Perhaps this case speaks to the weird competitiveness of high school, the push for that ever-important class rank and the scholarships it may bring.

BLOGS: The Best You've Ever Read

States Should Decide How Tests Work Under NCLB PK12
The brand-new top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, said this morning that he's not wedded to the idea that states should test their students in reading and math once a year...

The Mod Squad Eduwonk
Dem moderates in the Senate weigh-in on the Obama education agenda with a letter to the President (pdf).  Depending on how all this goes down they could prove to be a key voting block for reform. 

What School Choice Looks Like Dana Goldstein
Doing away with school choice entirely seems like a bad idea...And yet, through both "choice" enrollment and neighborhood sorting, we are creating segregated mini-systems within larger school districts.

The Trouble With School Choice Ezra Klein
It's crucial not to leave behind the schools with little potential for excellence. Those, after all, are where the children will need the most help, and where we can't rely on their parents to give it.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Peer-Assistance and -Review...But Were Afraid to Ask Sawchuk
That could have been the title, anyway, of this Web site on peer-assistance and -review programs.

Better organized free stuff  Tom Vander Ark
Just a few years ago we had to rely on our weekly fix from EdWeek and now our inboxes and twitter boxes are full of news and views—a storm of info.

Vikky and Deoine, a Mott Haven high school’s “best couple” GothamSchools
Victoria Cruz and her girlfriend of two and a half years, Deoine, were voted “best couple” at their high school, Mott Haven Village Prep.

BLOGS: The Best Of The Day (So Far)

Assessing the Common Core Bill Tucker
If there's one thing that my assessment friends have taught me, it's about the co-dependencies and linkages between the two.

The Legacy Of Columbine Continues Jezebel
For the past 10 years, Jason has believed that he, in part, caused the Columbine massacre, and used intravenous drugs as a way to escape.

Mayo Clinic for Education Knowledge Alliance
In the future perhaps Duncan might give some acknowledgment that our understanding about specific solutions in education is far from complete.

One for the Community Dale Mezzacappa
A remarkable thing happened at the School Reform Commission Wednesday -- impassioned community pleas actually had an impact.

Pioneer Days Jezebel
Former tennis champion Billie Jean King (R) speaks during an event to mark the 37th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX. Also attending the event were Education Secretary Arne Duncan (L) and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett (2nd L).

BLOGS: Good For Cocktail Party Conversation

Charters risk flexibility, freedom Joanne Jacobs
Bureaucratic, union-dominated public schools are the future of charters.

The Data Game Bridging Differences
Ah, data.

At long last, Bronx Green Dot finalizes (tenure-free) contract Elizabeth Green
Teachers union president Randi Weingarten today signed her name to a work contract free of the word “tenure” — and then heralded the contract as a model for American schools.

Going Green! Eduwonk
TBD:  Big winner Randi Weingarten who can now sport a new reform cred?

“The Year of the Bad Teacher” Core Knowledge Blog
Wall Street Journal blogger Sue Shellenbarger asks what’s a parent supposed to do when a child’s teacher is a rotten apple? 

BLOGS: Momentary Distraction From Your Soul-Crushing Job

Duncan's "ton of bricks" quote Small Talk
The ton of bricks quote is all over the media. But no one seems to carry the exact quote beyond the words "ton of bricks." It would be nice to know what exactly we have to do before the bricks fall on us.

Tough Choices in Tough Times LFA
A Las Vegas Sun article about Nevada's use of stimulus funds highlights the challenges many states and districts feel as they balance the desire for innovation against the need to fill budget holes:

In defense of conferences  Andy Smarick
Years ago, when I was just entering the education reform world, an old hand heard that I had registered for a big conference and dismissively replied, “Conferences are for the uninitiated.”

Are we really passing kids? Philly Notebook
The pressures of passing underperforming or de facto, failing students in the school district of Philadelphia.

Green Dot Founder Eyes D.C. Charters PK12
Steve Barr says he'll be talking with Chancellor Michelle Rhee about bringing his model for small high schools to the District of Columbia.

One more reason not to use Elsevier Sherman Dorn
If fake journals created at the whim of pharmaceutical companies weren't bad enough, how about paying people to assign five stars to textbooks in Amazon's review system?...

Turnaround Jumper Chad Adelman
This process will not be clean, and Duncan may have overreached with the five percent figure (why not start with the five worst schools in each state, or some other definable, achievable number?), but he's set the right goals.

BLOGS: A Quick Roundup Of Opinions & Updates

Duncan: Charters Have Role in Turnarounds PK12
Education Secretary Arne Duncan challenged charter school operators to play a hands-on role in turning around the nation's 5,000 lowest-performing schools.

Doctors Quality, Teacher Quality: A Double Standard Ed Notes Online
There's all this hysteria about teacher quality and the claims that this is the most important factor in education. But when it comes to people who can seriously damage or actually kill you, there is an amazing lack of concern.

ESEA and common core standards Rich Long
Development of common core standards is going to change the nation's education focus.

Bullish on turnarounds? Andy Smarick
For those of you optimistic about our ability to fix broken schools via “turnarounds,” please consider the following.

Glasses Help School Go From F To A DetentionSlip
If only we had known sooner that LensCrafters had the solution!

BLOGS: The Best Of Them.

Dads and Schools: Not Strangers Anymore ISR
A survey out this morning picks up some double-digit increases over the last 10 years in the percentages of fathers who participate in their children's education.

'The Today Show' Hosts Discussion on Bilingual Education LTL
Personally, I'm not convinced that the debate was left behind in the 20th century.

USA vs. The World Kevin Carey
New Jersey isn't an autocratic city-state on the tip of the Malay peninsula or a Nordic socialist paradise or anything like that. Nor is Massachusetts (well, maybe the socialist part) or Minnesota or New Hampshire or Kansas.

How Do I Help Students Handle Information Overload on Social Media Sites? Poynter
How do you help students strike a balance between wanting to feel connected, but not overly distracted by flurries of Tweets, Facebook status updates, links distributed on social media sites, etc.?

"You Can Read Whatever You Like" ASCD
As part of the school-wide celebration, the ridiculously talented and energetic teaching staff created and performed "Read Whatever You Like" a riff on T.I.'s hit song and roll call of some of the students' favorite young adult fiction.

Ohio yearbook has hidden F-word on cover DetentionSlip
Well played Shaker Heights, well played.

BLOGS: Best Blog Posts Of The Day

The "Congressionalist" White House Ezra Klein
Arguments over whether the Obama administration is liberal or conservative, neoclassical or behavioralist, have always struck me as misguided. The evidence suggests that they're Congressionalist.

Study Bites Man? Eduwonk
Today must have been an especially busy news day because so far there is surprisingly little interest in a new CEP analysis showing some good news for the No Child Left Behind policy.

Duncan at the Govs' Conference Small Talk
Since many (including myself) have been focusing on the negatives--and there are plenty--I picked out a few areas where there appears to be a break from the past 8 years or where there's at least some room to struggle.

Revisiting Reading First Curriculum Matters
MDRC has just put out a policy brief summarizing the impact of Reading First, the flagship reading program under the No Child Left Behind Act for which funding was eliminated in fiscal 2009.

Finding the Right Words in Parent-Teacher Conferences ASCD
Syracuse University's semesterlong Parent/Caregiver Conferencing Model program helps pre-and inservice teachers move beyond winging it and develop strong communication skills to connect school and home.

Is Assessment Literacy the "Magic Bullet"? HEPG
Assessment literacy for educators may be no magic bullet. But it’s a magic BB that we most desperately need.

BLOGS: The Best That They Have To Offer

Weingarten to Leave UFT August 1? Ed Notes Online
I won't believe it until I see it, but here is a report from Newsday:

On 'Comparability' and Teacher Transfers Stephen Sawchuk
I'm told there was a bit of pushback on the concept of "comparability" in Title I schools at a recent New America Foundation event.

The New Charter School Study TQATE
In the end, the study (as most good research does) raises more questions than it answers.

Sen. Coburn's 100 Top Wasteful Stimulus Projects Include School Spending PK12
The Republican singles out a Rhode Island school's new skate park, a Wisconsin district's school lunch equipment, and Detroit Public Schools in general for questionable stimulus spending.

Ma and Pa Kettle Prepare for Math Portion of Teacher Certification Exam Matthew K. Tabor
Enjoy!

Girls In Urban Areas Face Unique Challenges In Playing Sports Jezebel
One thing Thomas highlights in both of her pieces is the difficulty faced by coaches and coordinators with girls assigned childcare duties by their families. 

BLOGS: All Of Today's Best -- All In One Place

The Obama Agenda is the GOP Agenda Diane Ravitch
I took some heat from readers when I said some while back that the Obama administration was adopting the same policies as the Bush administration.

Underworked American students Joanne Jacobs
U.S. students are underworked compared to Europeans, writes The Economist.

The Least Experienced Teach the Neediest Kids MaryEllen McGuire
Congress must amend current law. It must remove the seniority exception from federal calculations meant to ensure comparable resources across low-poverty and high-poverty schools.

New Report: NCLB Did Not Narrow Arts Curriculum TQATE
Does this mean the NCLB-negatively-impacted-arts-curriculum meme is done? Perception feeds reality, except when facts rear their ugly head.

Principal Discretion in N.C. Layoffs? Stephen Sawchuk
This story seems to be generating a bit of pushback from a bunch of different sides.

BLOGS: A Daily Roundup To Spare You The Bother

My favorite weekend of the school year teacherken
Yesterday my students had to turn in their final "fun" projects.

They also serve who only sit in class Joanne Jacobs
Mandatory volunteerism is now optional in Baltimore public schools, writes Dave Greene at BaltoNorth. He calls it “oxymoron squared.”

RANDI, RHEE, AND KLEIN: WE DON'T TRUST STATE-LED STANDARDS PUSH. Dana Goldstein
Three of the most influential education leaders in the country, all supporters of national standards, but all raising their eyebrows at the current state and testing-industry-led effort to get there. 6/8

Starting Over Thomas Toch
Radio station WAMU in Washington, DC, today aired the final installment of journalist Dan Charles's impressive four-part series on a year in the life of an urban school trying to leave its dismal history behind.

Nachos rule Chicago Public Schools Tribune Blog
When did nachos become an entree, much less an acceptable entree to serve daily to some of the most obese kids in the nation?

Two Years Later, Rhee Still Viewed as Hailing From Outside the Beltway Teacher Beat
Though the news media have been merciful—OK, even fawned and groveled at times—Rhee struggles to gain headway with those education players who’ve been entrenched in the D.C. game for years.

BLOGS: Everyone's Got Something To Say

Time Changes How Teachers See Students—Literally Inside Research
Using new technology to study what teachers see in their classrooms, a University of Michigan professor is finding that novice and experienced teachers look at their students in very different ways.

More ED staffing  Andy Smarick
David Whitman, all-around smart and nice guy and author of Sweating the Small Stuff, a stellar tale of great urban schools (published by Fordham), is joining the US Dept of Education in the communications office.

After Duncan, Bloomberg nudged, group revised control stance GothamSchools
Duncan also weighed in during that period, writing a personal letter urging the group to preserve the mayor’s power over the schools, sources said.

Jonathan Alter Joins the Teacher-Scapegoating Chorus Dan Brown
I welcome reform and genuine accountability in my classroom, but to do that right it needs to come from more than a single, reductive standardized test.

Jonathan Alter Found the Easy Button LFA
Newsweek's Jonathan Alter lives in a world of delightful simplicity.

Common Standards: Size Isn't Everything Charlie
The most important question about the NGA/CCSSO common standards initiative is not whether it will be 3000 miles wide, but whether it will be more than an inch deep.

BLOGS: Best Of The Day

Capitol Notebook Swift and Changeable 
A helpful roundup, though Charlie's post font size is TOO BIG.

Court-ordered funding doesn’t boost achievement  Joanne Jacobs
Court-ordered school funding hasn’t helped disadvantaged students write Eric Hanushek and Alfred Lindseth.

Testing the Tests Learning Insights
It’s great news that administration intends to improve the quality and relevance of education research. I hope they’ll also make good on their vow to improve the quality of assessments.

A Fast Start, But Where To? ASCD Inservice
Charters, while often great at providing structure for learning, may not necessarily teach for deep understanding.

What Do You Want to Be?  Robert Pondiscio
When I grow up, I want to be a curriculum deliverer in a managed learning environment!

Teachers and school demographics Sherman Dorn
The punchline from the abstract: beyond a relatively small threshold of racial diversity among the teaching staff, "young White teachers are more likely to stay in their original schools when the proportion of minority teachers is smaller."

BLOGS: For Lack Of Anything Better To Do

 Drug education is NOT working... at least not at ED in '08 Sherman Dorn
When you flop on a big stage and then claim an Academy Award? Sheesh.

In the Wee Small Hours Robert Pondiscio
“Teens whose parents let them stay up after midnight on weeknights have a much higher chance of being depressed or suicidal than teens whose parents enforce an earlier bedtime,” notes USA Today’s Greg Toppo.

And the Sequel to Reading First? Curriculum Matters
Alyson Klein reports over at Politics K-12 that members of the U.S. House of Representatives are writing a bill that could replace the federal Reading First program under the No Child Left Behind Act. Our colleague Kathleen Kennedy Manzo already...

Rep. McKeon to Leave GOP Top Spot on Ed. Panel. Politics K12
First up in seniority is Rep. Thomas E. Petri of Wisconsin, a moderate who has bucked his party on student lending and other issues.

Ariz. Teacher Callbacks Bring Relief for Some, Vindication for Others
Teacher Beat
Less than two months after Arizona school districts issued 7,000 pinks slips, in compliance with state regulations to notify employees whose contracts were not being renewed, some teachers are reclaiming their jobs.

New Challenge Index Twist: Catching Up Jay Mathews
This year’s Newsweek list for the first time has its No. 1 and No. 2 schools housed in the same building.

Wisconsin discovers cure for educational ills Mike Petrilli
Wisconsin has figured it out. It has virtually no failing schools!

Pushing out the low-scoring kids Small Talked
Now that testing rules the roost, the name of the game in Chicago is push out the low-scoring kids to save the school from sanctions.

BLOGS: What Folks Are Saying Today

Incentive peanut butter Tom Vander Ark
The skeptical side of me worries that it [the Incentive fund] will be used to procure health care votes. 

Sotomayor and Education Mark Walsh
The Supreme Court nominee has confronted a wide range of school law issues during her 17 years on the federal bench.

No one ever accused Arne Duncan of impersonating an education researcher Sherman Dorn
Tying an individual teacher to student performance...is more wishful thinking than anything else.

The Math Behind 135,000 Education Jobs Saved Politics K12
Here's how the Education Department estimated the jobs impact of the stimulus.

Up Against the Wall John Merrow
First we’d take off our shoes and stand—as tall as we could—up against the wall by the kitchen door. Then Mom or Pop would mark our height and write our name and the date next to the mark.

Squabbles tearing the "bedfellows" apart Small Talk
There appears to be trouble brewing in EEP land.

Boys Have It Worse, Says Psychologist Jezebel
Can't we get away from who has it "worse" and focus on helping kids?

BLOGS: Only The Best Posts Make The Daily Roundup

New Columbus Contract Includes Pay Program  Stephen Sawchuk 
Columbus has inked a new teacher contract with a pay program that's designed to move highly effective teachers into challenging schools, according to this story (hat tip to Emmy over at Flypaper.)

KIPP gets grant to expand. Is this the solution? Philly Notebook
At what point do we start to take what is working in charter schools and other places and apply it to our public schools? I thought that was the point.

Don’t prop up failing schools Joanne Jacobs
There is great danger in the sudden and massive amount of funding — nearly $100 billion — that the federal government is throwing at the nation’s schools.

A set-back for charter school teachers M. Klonsky
For years, the charter school lobbyists and management companies have been fending off charges of "privatization" by arguing that charter schools were "public schools."

Eyebrows Arch Over 46-State Common-Standards Pact Politics K12
The blogsphere reacts with a healthy dose of skepticism and realism to the news that 46 states want to adopt the same set of academic standards.

Green Dot's Barr: 'Make Private Schools Illegal' Politics K12
The colorful charter school founder offered members of Congress some unconventional notions about how the feds can help the cause.

BLOGS: For A Rainy Thursday

Federal Performance Pay Gets Pushback at Senate Hearing  Stephen Sawchuk
The Obama administration just ran into its first major roadblock in its attempts to more than quadruple the $97 million Teacher Incentive Fund program: Soccer-mom-turned-Senator Patty Murray, of Washington.

COMING SOON: THE AL SHARPTON/ARNE DUNCAN SHOW. Dana Goldstein
Given the Obama administration's constant desire to appeal to moderates across the aisle, it's no surprise that on school reform, they are publicly favoring a coalition that promotes itself as both "big tent" and social justice-oriented.

Better Teachers, Not Smaller Classes, Says Gates ASCD
Last week's most-clicked Smartbrief article had the new Gates Foundation CEO, Jeff Raikes, talking about teacher quality, or more precisely, teacher effectivenes, as the number one variable in student achievement. Millions of dollars of Gates research has shown class size...

More Standards? Andy Rotherham
Speaking of incentives, isn’t there an enormous perverse incentive built into this current common standards push? 

New York Rich Kids' Reality Show to Make the Case for Being Old and Poor Gawker
It's called NYC Prep and it premieres later this month and judging by just-released preview clips... whoooo boy.

BLOGS: You Can't Live Without Them.

Stimulus App Secrecy Bugs Advocacy Groups.  Politics K12
The U.S. Department of Education is refusing to make available the applications states submit for the state stabilization fund part of the stimulus package.

The Evolution of Randi Weingarten, Part 2 Jay Mathews
All that Weingarten can find to criticize in the report is its characterization of teacher evaluations in the big city of Toledo. Does this mean her contract negotiations with Rhee have taken a turn for the better? Stay tuned.

Another Chicago "miracle" -- Orr High School Mike Klonsky
I'm remembering how the old Continental Bank (now Bank of America) and the big foundations bankrolled the Orr Network back in the '90s.

Declaring Educational Bankruptcy Checker Finn
State and local officials have had plenty of opportunity to close, reopen, and otherwise turn around their failing schools, and they have a lot more levers, starting with direct authority over budgets, personnel, etc.

The New York Times Misses the Story Stephen Burd
The Times certainly deserves credit for putting the spotlight on these teachers who have been left heavily indebted with student loans that they took out in good faith -- with the promise that they would have help paying them off in exchange for their public service.

Teachers and unions Kevin Carey
That doesn't mean we can't have it all--without it all, the odds of really making a dent in the achievement gap are long. But that means engaging teachers unions, not pursuing futile dreams of tearing them down.

BLOGS: You Know You Want Them.

The Procrustean bed of teacher tests Sherman Dorn 
Several former teachers have sued the state (and Pearson) for what they claim is a discriminatory impact of teacher tests given the disproportionate failure rate of minority teachers.

Fluff development Joanne Jacobs
To earn points toward certification, Massachusetts teachers can take classes in balloon twisting, tie-dye, making paper snowflakes and folk dancing offered by the state teachers’ union, reports the Boston Herald.

Lifting Charter School Caps: C'est la mode. Charlie Barone
Back here apparently charter school caps became a pivotal issue in the debate over the use of stimulus dollars and the ramp up to the "race to the top." [nb IL just became the first state to have raised its cap]

Communications Guy Heading To Denver District 299
Word is that longtime communication guy Mike Vaughn is heading [from Chicago] to Denver to be their communications guru.

State officials put pin in ballooning test scores Hall Monitor
“Just because scores have gone up dramatically does not mean that our youngsters are ready to go to college,” she said.

Politics and education Scott Elliot
I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard somebody complain that if they could just depoliticize schools things would be better.

An Angsty Anonymous Edublogger’s Lament Open Educator
Rise and fall of an education blogger, in cartoon form.

BLOGS: Around The Blogs

Serious Labor Troubles at NEA HQ  Mike Antonucci
I’m working this story hard this morning, but right now all I have are unconfirmed reports that one of NEA’s staff unions took a strike authorization vote and could walk out as early as this week.

Charter Schools Provide Good Model on Teacher Pay Jay Mathews
Merit pay for teachers has been a bust in many places. It won't help anyone if it becomes in the District, as many educators fear, even worse: not just a failure, but a very expensive one.

Textbook for Failure Washington Post (editorial)
If the vested interests of the education establishment succeed in their bid to kill off mayoral control in the nation's largest school system, it will make it harder for other cities to sustain the oversight of schools by mayors.

Alabama Drops Some Standardized Tests  Stephen Sawchuk
Alabama teachers must be cheering.

Arne Busts A Cap In TN Eduwonk
How do you turn a $600 billion industry on $5 billion? 

Take, take, take your test . . .  Joanne Jacobs
Kids are learning a test-prep version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, writes Patti Hartigan, who got the lyrics from Ed Miller of the Alliance For Childhood.

BLOGS: Comments And Criticism From Around The Internet

An Attack on Preschool for All Jay Mathews
This report will inspire much more, both positive and negative, and help those of us overwhelmed by conflicting data to figure out the essentials, and see the weaknesses on both sides of the debate.

Help Me Help You Politics K12
From reportedly giving out his personal cell phone number to rural school superintendents to hearing concerns about the NLCB Act in school districts across the country, it's pretty clear Duncan is (or wants to be perceived as) The Nice Guy Who Listens.

A look at  Chicago schools under Duncan Daily Kos
The track record of both is not particularly sanguine.

Funding for Education in the ARRA  (PL 111-5) Open CRS Blog
This report provides a brief overview of the key provisions related to education programs that are or will be administered by ED that were included in the ARRA under Division A, Title VIII, Department of Education, and under Title XIV, State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

Robert Gibbs a High School Joker Washington Whispers
Novelist Ace Atkins recalls Gibbs in Auburn, Ala.

BLOGS: "An Evil Plot To Destroy The World."

How to Miss School Even When You're in School Jay Mathews
What do we do about students who are forced to miss school when they are in school? Many people assume that if the kid shows up before the first bell and stays until the final bell, he has gotten a good education that day.

The Power Of One Student's Story Linda Perlstein
The piece, when you think about it, is fairly bare-boned: no quotes from literacy experts , no “across the nation” context. But the skeleton Diette built, on a year's worth of hard work, could not be stronger.

Rules For The Eduroad! Andywonk
Here are the three most common assertions related to the debate that I’ve heard and some basic rules for non-eduwonks.

Why States Aren't Rushing to the Stimulus Stabilization Fund Politics K12
The deadline for applying for stabilization funds is July 1. So far, 19 states have been approved. At least 30 applications have been received. [ED:  uh, isn't that almost everyone?]

BLOGS: "An Evil Plot To Destroy The World."

Sometimes It’s Better to Get Caught John Merrow
My 12-year-old niece looked at me as she asked the question, then turned to her father, my younger brother.

What Makes The Spelling Bee So Special? Jezebel
Finals will be televised Thursday.

Speaking of advertising Joanne Jacobs
It seems much of education is turning into a PR campaign.

Determined Teachers and Social Services Jay Mathews
Only a deft mix of great teaching and energetic social services can do the job, particularly for children in the deepest trouble.

Shop Class as Soul Craft Slate
When Matthew Crawford finished his doctorate in political philosophy at the University of Chicago, he took a job at a Washington think tank. He quit after five months and started doing motorcycle repair in a decaying factory in Richmond, Va

10 Awesome Moments From Sesame Street Jezebel
Although the children's show changed the world it's now number 15 in ratings.

See also the earlier roundup of Facebook-found posts.
Enjoy!

MEDIA: Facebook "Share" Makes Everyone An Education Blogger

I pride myself on finding great stuff to share, but no way I can find everything that all of you on Facebook find.  The Facebook "share" button makes everyone into a blogger. It allows allows any of Facebook's 200 million users to post an article of interest (with or without a little bit of your own commentary). And that makes my job a lot easier, especially since I'm friends with lots of education types like Lisa Snell and Kimberly Reeves.  Thanks!

Educators Suffering From Teaching Disabilities | The Onion.

Texting May Be Taking a Toll on Teenagers - NYTimes.com.

Effects of High School Assessments Questioned - washingtonpost.com.

Education Week: Chicago Group Promotes Links Between Districts, Researchers.

BLOGS: In No Particular Order

Sometimes a simple picture says a lot teacherken
Teacherken recommends a sweet picture that's been going around of late.

Bad Rap EIA
The New York Post misses the mark in this story, emphasizing the union charter school’s test scores relative to other charters.

Six Reasons Merit Pay is Unfair Robert Pondiscio
Dan Willingham wanders into the fray with his latest video, “Merit Pay, Teacher Pay and Value-Added Measures,” and offers six reasons why “value added [...]

Battering BloomKlein ed notes online
There are three current articles that take BloomKlein to the woodshed on a number of issues.

Wither Education? Andywonk
Education is always just one crisis away from irrelevance on the policy agenda…

Update on school lunches Notebook
The Inquirer reported Sunday that the Obama adminstration's Department of Agriculture supports the Bush administration's plan to end the universal feeding program.

The three-year degree already exists The Dornado
There already is a three-year degree, and I don't mean the small number of three-year degree options that have largely failed to attract students. 

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

An Intriguing Alternative to No Child Left Behind Jay Mathews (Washington Post)
If the No Child Left Behind law, focused on raising test scores, proves to be a dead end, what do we do next? I rarely read or hear intelligent discussion of this question.

Has the Research on Formative Assessment Been Oversold?  Stephen Sawchuk 
Though called assessments, in practice they're more like exercises teachers use to gather immediate feedback on whether a student is responding to...

Pity the state superintendents  Mike Petrilli
Maybe if [the Duncan team] had an state education agency (SEA) person on their team they’d know that the state agencies are hemorrhaging staff right now, thanks to state budget cuts, which makes even relatively simple tasks like this one more difficult.

Stimulus Funds Can't Rescue California Now Politics K12
Now that voters have rejected several budget fixes, the $4 billion in state fiscal stabilization fund money headed to California is barely going to make a dent in the state's deficit.

Like A Bad Penny… Eduwonk
…teacher testing in Massachusetts is back!

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Into Thin Air Swift and Big
"Who's ready for a race to the top?"

A blogger to USDOE? Sherman Dorn
Peter Orszag is being joined by Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, the newly-announced assistant secretary of education nominee, who has maintained a blog while running the Pomona school district....

The Burbs Kevin Drum
Even on a purely voluntary basis, I suspect that fostering "regional partnerships between urban and suburban districts" will never have more than a tiny impact.

Aspen Institute's Wurtzel To Join Permanent Ed. Dept. Ranks Politics K12
Judy Wurtzel is in line to take a full-time position under Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

State Budgets Vary Chad Aldeman 
Reform efforts should be focused on the places that actually have the capacity to do so, as opposed to the places focused on just digging themselves out of giant financial holes.

Philly Culinary Arts Teacher aka 'Drill Sergeant' NPR
Wilma Stephenson's culinary arts course at Philadelphia's Frankford High School is not your mother's home-economics class.

BLOGS: Best Blog Posts Of The Day

Shuttering dealerships or schools?  Knowledge Alliance
Is there a meaningful analogy here.

How to Spend $100 Billion to Fix Schools (Cont.) Uncle Jay Mathews
The top five ideas, ranked in the order of reader approval, were...

What does the Massachusetts Miracle teach us about teachers unions?  Mike Petrilli
A few weeks ago I was at a conference when Diane Ravitch made the point that if teachers unions are such obstacles to reform, how can we explain Massachusetts, a “strong union” state that boasts highest-in-the-country NAEP scores and dramatic gains for poor and minority kids over the past decade?

SmallTalk: We're public! No we're private!.
In an attempt to block teachers from unionizing, charter operators around the country are now claiming that they are private.

Stephen Colbert Calls Tom Brokaw His "Personal Assistant" - Caught On Tape
Tom Brokaw spoke at Fordham University's commencement in the Bronx on Saturday, where he read an underminery note from Stephen Colbert.

Michelle Obama Sets a Good Example Sara Mead
Seems like everyone these days wants to be like Michelle Obama--even a little, furry, red muppet!

BLOGS: Today's Best Commentary

The Next Step Toward School Integration Dana Goldstein
"School choice" does not have to be code speak for privatizing public education.

'Union started sounding good....' Small Talk
A union started sounding good to Eric Levy about a year ago. That’s when he and other teachers at Chicago International Charter School’s Northtown campus were told they’d be teaching an additional class.

Philanthrocapitalists Speak, Duncan Listens Schools Matter
Markets are a great way to do some things - but not a way to provide equitable, high-quality public services to everyone.

55 Years Later, Doesn't Every Child Deserve a Quality Education? Politics Daily
What if we made, as our nation's 28th Constitutional Amendment, the guarantee of an equal opportunity to learn?

I Think Maybe It's Both Chad Adelman
Canada doesn't fit neatly into either camp. Let's keep arguing about it though.

Failure is not an option  Joanne Jacobs
In The Great Grade Bailout, Gently Hew Stone proposes federal action to ensure that failing students don’t fail.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Merit Pay does NOT work teacherken

Perhaps in light of the release of a new study by the Economic Policy Institute, the administration can persuaded not to go down this track. 

Weingarten Wants TIF Grants to Be Bargained  Stephen Sawchuk
AFT leader Randi Weingarten is calling the bluff of President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan, who say incentive-pay programs should be developed with teachers.

Put an End to In-School Fundraising EdWeek (commentary)
What I was doing was coercive, exploitative, and economically discriminating, to the children and their families. Not to mention the fact that it was blatantly commercial.

Catcher in the Rye Sequel Gawker
The sequel, horribly titled 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, was written by Swedish-American first time writer John David California.

Mom arrested after assaulting Sims Elementary teacher DetentionSlip
A good rule of thumb is that anytime a parent/teacher conference ends with a pregnant mom punching a teacher in the side of the head, you can usually bet some follow-up communication needs to occur.

BLOGS: Best Blog Posts Of The Day

Musical Chairs in Colorado Politicks K12
Michael Johnston, a charter school principal and a former education adviser for the Obama campaign, will fill the Colorado State Senate seat vacated by Peter Groff, who has a new job with the feds.

The Pointless DC Voucher Debate Matt Yglesias
The DC voucher program does not represent serious public policy.

Gates ed chief says less is more when it comes to national standards GothamSchools
She said a strong set of national standards would bear little resemblance to the ever-expanding lists of skills and content that most states require students to master:

Administration's NCLB Goal: A Framework by Early Fall Politics K12
The goal is for Arne Duncan and President Obama to be able to outline their plans in early fall for overhauling federal education policy.

"Okay, let me have it." School Of Blog
I would have definitely given him detention.

BLOGS: Best Posts Of The Day

Never Let The Facts Get In the Way Of A Good Story TCKB 
I can’t help but wonder what the New York Times’ Paul Tough thinks of his colleague David Brooks’ column about the Harlem Children’s Zone.

Just How Gullible Is David Brooks? GothamSchools
It would be embarrassing to admit that students didn’t take some aspect of their schoolwork and school accountability plan seriously.

AFT Affiliates, Districts Do "Mad Men" Teacher Beat
Various AFT affiliates, as well as districts, are investing in advertising their services these days, especially in big cities where union and management alike have had their fair share of critics.

Rethinking 'Restructuring'
In schools that raised student achievement enough to exit restructuring, district and school staff members reported using multiple, coordinated restructuring strategies over many years...Some were official NCLB strategies; others were not.

Lori Drew Might Have To Finally Listen To Her Victims (Or Not) Jezebel
The prosecutors who successfully convicted Lori Drew under an anti-hacking law are arguing that the parents of Megan Meier should be allowed to give a victim impact statement at Drew's sentencing next week.

BLOGS: Best Of The Blogosphere (So Far Today)

Tell Mama  Nancy Flanagan 
My cumulative student roster, after 30 years in the classroom, includes more than 4000 students.

Roland Fryer Makes Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential List Freakonomics
Some first-grade classrooms perform "Acknowledgments," wherein children sit in a circle and take turns publicly praising a classmate for some good or wise act. Bloggers can do this too.

No turnarounds; close and start new Andy Smarick
’m convinced that turnarounds are not a scalable strategy for fixing America’s struggling urban school systems. PLUS: Closures, con’t

T-shaped people  Joanne Jacobs
This means people with a great depth of knowledge in at least one discipline, like chemical engineering or biology, and a breadth of knowledge across many skills.

What 'The Harlem Miracle' Really Teaches  Diane Ravitch
There are lessons for American education, but not necessarily the ones that Brooks points to.

A Plan for Parents to Shut Down Schools US News
L.A. charter school operators launch a parent campaign to improve L.A.'s worst schools.

Obama Aide Melody Barnes on the Sex Talk Washington Whispers
The White House domestic policy adviser admitted to reading Oprah's O magazine.

Pragmatists and ideologues Small Talk
Newark's Mayor Cory Booker has drunk some of David Brooks' "Harlem Miracle" kool-Aid. But here at Huffington he sounds more like a small-schools pragmatist than he does a neocon ideologue:

BLOGS: Best Blog Posts Of The Day

Dianne Piche to be Ed. Dept. Civil Rights Deputy Politics K12
Dianne Piche the executive director of the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights who has represented students in desegregation cases, will be the deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Civil Rights.

Does Duncan need a program-closing commission? Sherman Dorn
I suspect that the like the F-22, most of the dozen education programs Obama is trying to kill...will instead survive.

The Economist Needs To Learn More About Arne Duncan The New Ledger
I like the Economist, and while I am shamefully behind in reading it, it remains one of my favorite magazines. But its profile of Arne Duncan is just awful.

I Was Mere Seconds From Poking Myself In The Eye When... Flowers and Sausages
...I got the most lovely and thoughtful gift I have ever received as a teacher.

Massachusetts Mojo Eduwonk
Arne Duncan once tried out for the Boston Celtics. Didn’t make it. But he’s got a chance to sink a clutch shut for us Bostonians.

A $100 Billion Question: How Best to Fix the Nation's Schools? Jay Mathews
A surprisingly smart list of suggestions for the education portion of the federal stimulus money is circulating in the education policy world.

Education Critic to Obama: Tell the Truth Jay Mathews
Bracey added to his list of non-truthtellers President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Pa. high school orders shot glasses as prom favors Detention Slip
The school says the class didn't have the funds to buy picture frames or money clips like in year past.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin

The Unions and the Teacher Incentive Fund Stephen Sawchuk 
I keep bugging Duncan's peeps about whether they're going to require these incentive-pay plans to be collectively bargained.

Arne Duncan's Hot Date Politics K12
Katie Couric is taking the education world's big celebrity as her date.

Journalism Associations Forced to Re-examine Role as Membership Declines Poynter
It's not enough to be a fraternity of people with similar jobs who get together once a year to trade war stories at a hotel bar.

Obama leaves door open to endorsing Bloomberg GothamSchools
Barack Obama is not endorsing Bloomberg for mayor — not yet, anyway.

BLOGS: A Daily Roundup

Is a Bachelor's Degree Really Worth $1 Million? Inside Research
A new paper from the American Enterprise Institute suggests that the lifetime payoff for a four-year college degree falls short of the $1 million figure that's often quoted in the field.

14 Education Entrepreneurs that Are Making a Difference  CAP
Profiles of charter schools, human capital builders, and service providers that are changing the way we look at education.

What Not to Wear School of Blog
This afternoon a student told me he wanted to nominate me for the TV show "What Not to Wear." When I asked why, he said "All you wear is brown. And your hair, it's just, blah."

Drug dog sniffs out school security guard DS
This is like finding your dentist curled up in a back alley with Pixie sticks and Red Bulls scattered around him.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

What NAEP Long-Term Trend Scores Tell Us About NCLB Diane R
I watched with some amusement as the media tried to figure out how to report the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

From high school B’s to college F’s Joanne Jacobs
Students who’ve glided through high school with inflated grades are ending up in remedial English and math in college, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Voted Off the Island By Robert Pondiscio
Would teacher quality improve if every year the worst teacher in the building was voted off the island, a la Survivor? 

Teacher Effectiveness Debate in L.A. Heats Up Stephen Sawchuk
Questions about teacher tenure and the removal of ineffective teachers in Los Angeles are heating up, following this weekend's Los Angeles Times story.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around Today's Best Blog Posts

Two Birds, One Stone Stephen Sawchuk
Arne Duncan weighs in on unions and charter schools.

Passing algebra, flunking middle-school math Joanne Jacobs
New Jersey students who’ve passed algebra, geometry and even advanced algebra are flunking the graduation exam’s math test.

Paul Tough NAPC (video)
New York Times Magazine editor and author Paul Tough addresses a luncheon at the Education Writers Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 2009

Charter Schools Panel NAPC (video)
Panel discussion on public charter schools at the annual Education Writers Association meeting May 3, 2009 in Washington DC.

Never work harder than your students, Cha. 4 JohnCosby
Having remediation plans without intervening during instruction is tantamount to planning on our students' failure. This, of course, leads to frustration all around.

Man in the Arena Andy Smarick
Back in 2006, I ran for the state legislature in Maryland.  It’s hard to explain how much I learned about issues, my district, people’s hopes and concerns, and so much more.

TFA Induction Model ASCD Inservice
"We can't build a profession by training and retraining a corps every two years."

The Prodigal Wonk Returns EdWonk
After a very prolonged absence, we're coming back.Stay tuned to this same Wonk Channel.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

It’s All About The Schools! Eduwonk
The idea that an off-committee senator [CO's Bennet] putting together an education bill is really novel isn’t quite accurate. 

The Stimulus and Investing in Education Reform
Unless ED provides them with more support and guidance to undertake some of the hefty reforms recommended in the document, it is likely that states and districts will lean towards saving jobs and the status quo. 

The Realities of Disruptive Innovation
But it's not at all good if researchers and advocates just use virtual schooling as a new venue to play out old ideological or political battles.

More time on task — or just more time?  Joanne Jacobs
Massachusetts pays 15 percent more to 26 schools for 30 percent more time.

WWC Takes the Stuffing Out of an Asian Tiger Inside Research
The What Works Clearinghouse gives an inconclusive review of the research on the effectiveness of the popular Singapore Math textbook series.

Keep accountability in No Child Left Behind program Virginia Pilot
US Education Secretary Arne Duncan has promised to champion stronger standards as well as incentives to get the best teachers in struggling schools, ...

100 Days of Education Rhetoric RealClearPolitics.com
But he and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, haven't just turned on the money hose. They've poured on the rhetoric as well.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Best Blog Posts

State Stabilization Fund Update Ed.gov
To date, over $7 billion in Recovery Act funding under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund has been approved for eight states:

#1,958,125 with a Bullet Mike Antonucci
Since this seems to be a week for educators and self-published novels, let’s take a look at Crazy Fortunes, the romance novel penned by Lawrence, Massachusetts, school principal Beth Gannon.

ED's Lobbying Disclosures Now Online Politics K12
Props to agency officials for the level of detail in their first report.

AFT (and Four Foundations!) Flesh Out the Innovation Fund Teacher Beat
I asked Weingarten who will have the final say over which projects get financed.

Precious moments School of Blog
Student 1: [burps loudly]
Me: Wow!

A part of teaching I hate teacherken

On Monday my students in the 3 Advanced Placement classes sit for their AP exam. 

BLOGS: Around Them.

Authorities Scour Schools for Swine Flu Cases USNews
No one should panic, authorities say. 

Conventional Wisdom Watch Charlie Barone
A few items came over the transom while we were away, all of which go against conventional school reform wisdom.

What's Missing in Obama's Education Plan?  Koretz
Make it broad.  Confront score inflation. Experiment and evaluate.

Schools Need Energy More than Experience Uncle Jay Mathews
Offering more experienced teachers big bonuses to teach in the inner city is not likely to have much effect on learning.

But Mommy, Why Do I Still Get Report Cards? Jim Moulton 
It seems that certain traditions are going to be harder to put away than others.

Freire Is Foul and Foul is Freire Robert Pondiscio
Mention the name Paolo Freire at a gathering of educated people and you’re likely to get blank stares. 

Nice Homework, if You Can Get It. Nancy Flanagan
Things Teachers Relish: Quiet. Order. Denim skirts. Lounge arguments about homework.

$3 million for not-very-matic pizza Joanne Jacobs
Let’s make our own low-cost, healthy pizza, San Jose Unified officials thought in 2003.

Lazy boy that I am, I'm going to save the NAEP long-term assessment results that just came out for tomorrow.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Duncan's gain is reporters' loss Politico
Massie Ritsch is leaving the center for an appointment at the U.S. Department of Education, where he'll be overseeing outreach to education associations, foundations and think-tanks. [a little old but...]

Using czars in W.H. to focus on policy Politico
Gary Andres,Patrick J. Griffin say Obama's choice to use policy "czars" is complicated and bold.

Lessons of the McKinsey Report LFA
Business champions of school reform have admittedly lost some of their luster in the current economic environment. Still, let's not ignore some of the report's most critical conclusions.

Swine Flu and Laptops  Jim Moulton
Several years back, at a conference held in Boston by the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation (AALF), I was introduced to a school leader from rural Québec who was advocating for 1:1 laptop distribution.

Ode to Joy Andy Smarick
We DC-based policy types are susceptible to getting dangerously far removed from the quotidian thrills and struggles of real schools. So I visited four schools earlier this week while in NYC. It was a complete delight

Topless Teachers Pose For Calendar DetentionSlip
Sex sells.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Internet

Charter Schools’ Secret Weapon: Ivy Grads Uncle Jay
I am ignorant of many things, but I think I know charter schools, particularly what makes the best ones successful.

The Economic Impact of Achievement Gaps Yglesias
To make a long story short, having a high- performing school system is extremely valuable.

Oklahoma Adopts ABCTE Program Teacher Beat
Nine states now support the credential, which is granted after candidates pass content-area and...

The Ed. Dept.'s NCLB Strategy Politics K12
An adviser to Arne Duncan says political strategy is behind the decision not to make more significant changes to Title I regulations.

Jay Mathews Yields to Persuasion LFA
You have to admire Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews for his openness to persuasion.  Unlike so many education commentators, he is willing to budge an inch or two in the face of compelling arguments.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

Overhyping Teach For America, Undercutting Millions of Students Huffington Post 
It's heartening and important that many Yalies want to teach in the Bronx, but even those best and brightest can't salvage this thing on their own. 

Quotables Mike Klonsky
"Friedman has been wrong on so many issues. He is mighty lucky the NY Times doesn’t use a pay-for-performance model."

Another Piece of Evidence for Mayoral Control Chad Adelman
Instead of evaluating a district leader solely on the basis of student test scores, it would be nice to know more information like this, on the quality of the work force.

Realigning Resources for District Transformation CAP
Report from CAP and Education Resource Strategies provides recommendations for using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to advance a strategic education reform agenda.

Stress-Induced Poverty Freakonomics
Makes you wonder how poverty might be fought in the future. Perhaps more focus on mental-health [...]

More of the Same is Not Reform  Assorted Stuff
You won’t find much “reform” for American schools in what he [Duncan] has to say.

Is there a benefit to allowing internal teacher transfers? Dallas Blog
I have to say that I've never understood this process and wonder why DISD does it.

Effective Dissemination or Shameless Self-Promotion? The Ed Optimists
Getting quoted in the paper frequently can have unintended consequences, including making others think you want it to be all about you.

BLOGS: A Quick Spin Around The Blogosphere

School Construction Bond Distributions New America
Turns out, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance and allocations for the program to states and LEAs in mid April.

Swimming Without A Suit Tom Friedman NYT
If America had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998 and had raised its performance to the level of such nations as Finland and South Korea, United States G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher.

Reform's faulty assumptions  Mike Klonsky
Wolk holds up as a model the very system that most embodies the faulty assumptions he is attacking.

Will the Unions Have A Say on the Stimulus  Sawchuk 
Just what kind of say will teachers and teachers' unions have on how the various stimulus dollars are spent?

In Russia, Homework Procrastinates On You! Videogum
I hope those guys got whatever the Russian equivalent of an A is for their AP Death Metal Thesis class.