Five Best Blogs: Busted Bonus Plan Bombs In NYC

Bonuses dead. Kids didn't win. Where's Randi? Mike Klonsky:  I was disappointed ,but not shocked, to find that EdWize, the UFT website, contained no mention of the failed bonus plan. 

Do Principals Make Good Firing Decisions? Education Next: Principals are more likely to dismiss teachers who are frequently absent and who have previously received poor evaluations. They dismiss elementary school teachers who are less effective in raising student achievement… 

Not the Moment for Growing Suburban Charters Tom Hoffman:  All things being equal, there is no reason to think that, say, a Mandarin-immersion charter school is going to have better value-added ELA and math scores than their sending districts. 

How long did Weingarten teach? Joanne Jacobs: An education reformer with two years as a Teach for America teacher apparently has more classroom experience than the AFT leader.

Why Jonathan Kozol is Marching teacherken:  "I'm sick of begging members of the Senate, even those among them who have been my friends for years, to move two inches in the right direction." 

30 Million in Poverty Aren't as Poor as You Think, Says Heritage: Tens of millions of Americans are uninsured and 50 million suffer from insecure access to food. But nearly all poor households own a refrigerator, television, and microwave. 

Take Obese Children from Their Parents? Megan McArdle: The foster system is already overstretched without adding obesity to catalogue of child abuse and neglect.  It's also kind of creepy--the sort of thing that gives paternalism a very, very bad name. 

The Overtaxed Brain 11D: People are poor...because they must use up brain space remembering that beans are on sale, then they can't remember to do the bigger stuff that would actually help them get out of poverty. 

The Art & Importance Of Compromise Larry Ferlazzo  The White House recently released a video of President Obama talking about the value of compromise. I think it’s a good, short analysis that’s worth watching. Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s been very good in applying his beliefs on compromise to the world of education…

The Internet Will Reduce Teachers Union Power Terry Moe (WSJ):  The unions' hegemony is not going to end soon. Eventually Democrats will regain control, and many of the recent reforms may be undone. The financial crisis will pass, too, taking pressure off states and giving Republicans less political cover.