Over at the Huffington Post, comedian Bill Maher rips on President Bush for always making sure that his policy ideas benefit his friends and allies financially: "In the next fifteen months, President Bush has to perform at least one act that doesn't make money for someone he knows. Take "No Child Left Behind." At first it just looked like gentle empty bullshit, a way to neutralize the Democrats edge with voters on education issues...It made Lady Bird Johnson's wild-flowers-by-the-highways project look like the fucking Marshall Plan. Except, like all Bush ideas, there was more to it." (No Crony Left Behind)

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Comply, Or Perish, Says NEA To Congress

The newsiest of recent blog posts is Joe Williams' revelation that the NEA wants politicos to sign a pledge against NCLB (NEA to Congress: Comply or Perish). Nice. Overwhelmed with all the Shanker coverage, EIA Mike wonders whether Rick Kahlenberg is channeling the dead union leader (Shanker Seance). Creepy. Out in the real world, Wake County is threatening to take money back from schools because of an error calculating bonuses (Taking money away from teachers). Doh! Speaking of errors and bonuses, Andywonk covers the Ravitch Vs. NYC back and forth with relish but little reflection (Ravitch Responds!). At the very least, it's a big gaffe for Bloomberg's folks (and a lot of fun for the rest of us). Last but not least, the folks at TAPPED are vexed by conservatarian views on vouchers (VOUCHERS FOR WHAT?). They do their headlines in caps cuz they're so angry.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brittanic Blogs

The folks at Encyclopedia Brittanic are taking a shot at a blog that includes several names you may already know: Karin Chenowith (of "It's Being Done"), Joanne Jacobs, etc. As with the Hufington Post, the idea seems to be to invite a variety of voices in one place to give different perspectives. Check it out here.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 1, 2007

Blogosphere Blitz

Has anyone noticed I just can't stop blogging lately? Over at the Education Election blog, Cathy Grimes notes a part of the recent Democratic debate that included TIMSS, of all things (TIMSS makes the debate "lightning round"). I must have been sleeping by then. The NSBA blog pushes back on the notion of "dropout factories" that was popularized in a recent AP story. Meanwhile, the NCLB blog compares conservative views on vouchers and the SCHIP (SCHIP's Rationale vs. Vouchers'). Joanne J digs out some standardized misdeeds in Washington State (Sham standards). And The Hoff shares tutoring news (Demand Doesn't Keep up With SES Supply, Civil Rights Project Says). Charlie Barone picks up on the issue with his post (Supplemental Educational Services: End 'em or Mend 'em?). Eduwonkette finishes off her Halloween Edu-Parade with a flourish.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vivid Writing About Urban Education

Much as I love the New York Times' weekly Sam Freedman column on education, or the Post's Jay Mathews, what I'm really liking right now is Will Okun's weekly posts about teaching high school on Chicago's rough West Side. Published on Nick Kristoff's New York Times blogsite, Okun's posts (and their accompanying pictures) are at their best like little scenes from "The Wire" -- vivid, unsentimental, and complex.

Last week's profile of a smart, independent student has generated 200 comments so far and the creation of a scholarship fund (Nicholas, pictured). This week's post is about a different student who dropped out of Okun's school despite all attempts and ended up dead (one of 54 Chicago students who have been killed this year):

"Our school’s faculty tried everything to reach Gregory Dugar...We tried tough love, then unconditional love. We kicked him off the basketball team then allowed him to rejoin. We made him read books by rehabilitated gang members. We had higher-ranking gang members speak to him about the importance of education. We found him legal employment. We initiated counseling. We visited colleges and took him on weekend retreats to the country. Our school’s mentors talked with him on a daily basis. And still, Gregory just disappeared one day."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 31, 2007

Knocking On Edu-Neighbors' Doors

A quick spin around the block before I head out in my Reading First costume to get as many razor-filled apples as I can find:

Over at Early Stories, RLC digs out an overview of Where the Democratic Candidates Stand on Child Care and Preschool. Meanwhile, Charlie Barone writes from his hidden lair about educational triage and NCLB: Is the NCLB "Bubble Kids" Theory About To Burst? The AFTies win the best headline of the day award for their post about how NCLB is affecting Chicago area schools: Give Us Growth Models...Or The Nation Will Explode. EIA Mike keeps tabs on the NEA's anti-voucher budget in Utah (NEA Contribution to Anti-Voucher Campaign Is... $3 Million). Speaking of vouchers, Joanne Jacobs links to a story about progressive parents who send their kids to private schools (Voucher hypocrites). And, as you know, it's Halloween. What a good day for the Carnival (Let's Carnival!).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peas In A Pod? We Wouldn't Last A Minute.

Eduwonkette is at it again -- and I love it. She's got mad Photoshop skills (or at least knows how to cut and paste), and has me and Andywonk dressed up as peas in a pod. It isn't pretty. I'm not sure how that would work, since co-existence is required. I was hoping for me as K-Fed and Andy as Britney. But this will do. Check it out.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 30, 2007

A Quick Spin Around The Edusphere

Not that much is catching my eye this morning: Web Watch riffs off of yesterday's NYT story about de-stressing schools (8th Period Stress Relief). EIA Mike asks if the NEA is stalling on its endorsement to help Obama (The October 29 Communique' Is Up!). The conversation between Ravitch and Meiers is heating up (This Is Not Good Education). The Washington Monthly's uber-blogger Kevin Drum opines on gaps in the voucher argument (School Vouchers). And Joe Williams apparently forgot to invite me to one of those DFER shindigs where I get to drink beer on his tab (Talking About Ed Reform).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 29, 2007

Around The Blogs

A quick spin around the edusphere to see what looks interesting: Scott Elliott from Dayton says that there's a Big Obama education plan coming in November.I can't wait, though I'm not particularly hopeful. It's going to take lots more than a new education plan for Obama to catch up to Clinton. The New York Times' newest blog cracks wise about schools' efforts to de-fang Halloween celebrations: "The parade included a devil with no pitchfork, a Power Ranger without a laser blaster and a pint-size Batman who had been told to leave his utility belt at home." (Are We Having Fun Yet?). Reacting to a post I made last week, Kevin Carey from the Ed Sector says that Time writer Cloud's characterization of education research is exaggerated and, frankly, kind of obnoxious: "What a shame that education research doesn't enjoy the pristinely empirical, de-politicized, consensus-rich environment that characterizes debates over tax policy, entitlement reform, and other issues studied by economists like Martin Feldstein."Meanwhile, In These Times has a piece about how a two year-old split within the labor movement has affected union organizing not nearly as much as predicted: Has the Change Led to Wins? Last but not least, the Times has a fun article about parents being asked to pay for kids' Internet games: Pay Up, Kid, or Your Igloo Melts.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 24, 2007

Around The Blogs, Noontime Edition

On Deadline tells us that "sudents" are giving $2M to presidential candidates so far, assuming most of it comes from parents (Toddlers giving to Obama). Eduwonkette says she's on the KIPP bandwagon, at least when it comes to extended learning (What lessons does KIPP offer for urban education reform?). The folks at TLN give kudos to the LA Times for including classroom voices (LA Times Featuring Teacher Bloggers). The AFTies highlight the news that childcare workers are going to be unionized now, along with paras in NYC (Today, She Has A Union). Does that make UPK more or less costly, I wonder? The Wonks remind us it's carnival time (Carnival-Carnival). Elena Silva from TQATE posts about the NTC report on teacher turnover costs (Money's Worth for New Teachers). Jenny D. is happy to be included in a new report on covering classrooms (Hechinger's New Publication).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Best Of The Education Blogs, Early Edition

Media watchdog Jim Romenesko reports about what happens when satire seems too real in high school (Principal confiscates papers). He also points to a recent headline saying that 25 percent of South Carolina teachers are sexual predators (Paper apologizes for hed on AP's bad teachers story). Oops! EIA Mike says that the California teachers union has its own problems (Labor Challenge).

On a related note, The Hoff says they're going viral on NCLB (CTA Goes Multimedia). USA Today's Richard Whitmire makes the case that preschool is the new NCLB for presidential candidates (Preschool vs. NCLB). I'm not buying it, but it's an interesting idea. The Hechinger Institute's Liz Willen is blogging about her son and more (Middle School Muddle). At least it's not another EdWeek blog. Last but not least, from The Onion: Diabetic Child's Survival Hinges On Contents Of Piñata.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 22, 2007

A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Because you have better things to do than read them all: It's not just teachers who get staph infections, says EdWeek's web watch (States Report Teacher Staph Infections). Good to know. Fighting against the inevitable Clinton win, says Scott Elliott, Obama stands and delivers in LA (Obama's "in your face" move). Meanwhile, Mary Ann Zehr has the ELL provisions of the new Kennedy draft (Senate Draft of Title III of NCLB). And the AFTies note that acceptance of gay teachers is on the rise (Good News for Dumbledore). EIA Mike makes fun of the notion that performance pay is sweeping the nation just because NYC is going to do it (It's a Performance Pay Tsunami!). Speaking of which: Merit Pay Mania (Quick And Ed). There's also lots about merit pay and NCLB in Swift & Changeable (Kahlenberg on Al Shanker, Tough Liberals, and Teacher Merit Pay). Though I have to admit I'm a little sick of Shanker and Kahlenberg. Sorry!. Meanwhile, Dana Goldstein of TAPPED writes hopefully about progressive parents choosing public schools (ANOTHER LOOK AT EDUCATION AND INEQUALITY).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Honk If You Have An EdWeek Blog"

The ever-amusing folks over at the AFT blog have a little fun at EdWeek's expense, pointing out the seeming proliferation of blogs that have sprouted up on the site:AFT NCLBlog. It's true, there are an awful lot of blogs around here these days, creating a fair amount of overlap (as well as some helpful new coverage). But it's EdWeek's site, so they get to add as many separate blogs as they want. Whether it's NCLB news, politics, or media criticism, you can still find pretty much everything you need here.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 18, 2007

Best Of The Blogs

Over at EIA, Mike is not jumping on the PFP bandwagon (Sorry, I Can't Join the Party). Meanwhile, Joanne Jacobs tells us about how some districts are gaming the AYP ratings system by transferring students (The ‘alternative’ dodge).

About the flawed NCLB story in the NYT, Eduwonk makes many of the same points Charlie Barone and I made a day before (Hustle And Flow...). The carnival is up at the Education Wonks (The Carnival Of Education: Week 141). AFT Michele slams me for wanting folks to link back to me when I link to them all the time (Blog Minutiae). Show some class, my good woman! Links are about credit and community, not traffic. The Hoff says there's a Senate discussion draft out there, but not about the juicy parts (Senate Distributes Partial Draft). Eduwonkette is lining up costumes for her Halloween edu-parade (Costume Nominations!). I call dibs on K-Fed.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 17, 2007

Mad Crushes, Hypocritical Teachers, Carey Vs. Rothstein, & More

The Post's Jay Mathews is crushing madly on the Edwards education plan, and making mean fun of Richardson's. Charlie Barone points out that, that despite all the complaints about too much testing, teachers in at least one California school still aren't using results to inform instruction. He also agrees that the NYT story was off. Next up, Kevin Carey, who riffs off of an American Prospect article to say that those like Richard Rothstein who think economic reforms are more important than school reforms, over all, still shouldn't attack school reform efforts. Or at least I think that's what he's saying. Last but not least, the BoardBuzz from NSBA has put out a side-by-side (PDF) comparing current law and Miller (and, ugh, their proposals). I love side by sides, but I don't know if this one is any good. Seen a better one? Let us know.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 16, 2007

A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

Conspiracy theorists are ignoring NCLB's lefty origins and labor union funding sources, says EIA. Eduwonk is still selling Spellings for governor. I'm not buying, but what do I know. Press coverage keeps suggesting that NCLB won't get reauthorized anytime soon, observes the AFT blog. That means it will [not] happen soon.

Meantime, Slate blogger Mickey Kaus doesn't think much about district efforts to reorganize low performing schools as LA is planning (and NYC and Miami have done). This is what happens when smart but not necessarily knowledgeable folks play education pundit. Via AFT. Meanwhile, Sherman Dorn says that the Bush veto threat is petulant and irrelevant. Charlie Barone goes all psychological on us and says that how we view NCLB is a snapshot of ...how we view ourselves? Diane and Deborah are also deep into their discussion, talking about the uncertainty of knowledge, whether it be in education or medicine.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 15, 2007

Once Around The Blogosphere

Newbie blogger Charles Barone annotates (eviscerates?) a Mike Smith-Bruce Fuller op-ed (Smith & Fuller Automatic Revolver). Joanne Jacobs passes us a secret note that there's a girl's version of The Dangerous Book For Boys out (The girly book for girls). I'm not sure she's a fan of either. TeacherKen says that Barack Obama's education plan is ok (Decent, not spectacular), which is probably as much as Obama can ask for. Make Mike Goldstein happy and watch this ABC News segment on his charter school in Boston (via Eduwonk). From the picture, it looks like they make the teachers work in the cafeteria, too. Excellent. Meanwhile, Yale undergrad Zach Marks ambushes NCLB on the Huffington Post. The arguments are pretty basic, but I'm jealous of his comments (14!). My screed against Wendy Kopp has zero. Want a cute story? Check out Web-Logged's Will Richardson: How to Fix a Monarch Butterfly’s Wing (and Other Random Tales).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 11, 2007

Blog Roundup

Forget about Obama not wearing that lapel pin -- now he's gone completely crazy, according to Scott Elliott (Obama: Let illegals get aid for college). The AFTies, too, apparently. They poke at the President for claiming to have invented NAEP (Pres. Bush Invented NAEP) but seem to forget that taking the test was voluntary for states before NCLB. Now, we do have NAEP scores for every state. Meanwhile, Joanne Jacobs is calling for votes (The 2007 Weblog Awards). Vote for her blog, then vote for mine. That is, if I'm even nominated. Over at WakEd, they combine 'cafeteria' and 'auditorium' and get Cafetorium. Education Election introduces a new blogger and a new candidate (Fred Thompson on NCLB, and an introduction).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 10, 2007

The Best Of The Carnival

This week's Carnival of Education is up ("with no further adieu"). Some of the most eye-catching contributions include The Red Pencil on blogs that Carnival Goers read regularly, John from the Teacher Leaders Network tackles the difference between "best practices" and "what works in schools," Great College Advice on why increased accountability won't work at the college level but is perfectly fine for K-12 education, Friends of Dave posts about how badly education news is reported by the press, Scheiss Weekly on the joys of living in the neighborhood where you teach. And many, many more.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Around The Blogs

I blog about them, even though they never blog about me...EIA notes that public education employees now number 10.3 million (3rd behind health care and service industries), including 2.4 million state education employees. And they say SEAs are understaffed. Over at Early Learning, Richard Lee Colvin says "This blogging business is harder than it looks." Amen to that. Then Colvin goes on to say -- no surprise given his sponsor -- that UPK is going strong. Kevin Carey joins a small but merry band of folks who didn't like Linda Perlstein's new book, Tested. Any pub is good pub. There's a Latino version of Brown, says Dana Goldstein at TAPPED. Who knew? Charlie Barone's new blog, Swift And Changeable, takes on the Miller-CTA debate. I interviewed him yesterday (see below) and got some background on the history of this relationship. The Hoff wraps up on the Rose Garden speech from yesterday, with some excellent personal tidbits.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

October 9, 2007

Best Of The Blogs

Over at the DFER Blog, Joe Williams writes about a recent article following high school graduates out into the world. Foolish teachers are getting fired for their racy MySpace pages, notes Joanne Jacobs here. On a more serious note, Kevin at D-Ed Reckoning has some pointed things to say about educators complaining about NCLB. The Intelligencer points out that SEIU didn't endorse Edwards despite all his pandering. Over at Education Election, Jeff Solocheck highlights a new site that is checking Clinton and Edwards' claims about education.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 4, 2007

ASCD SmartBlogs

Thanks to the folks at ASCD's SmartBrief for including me on their list of SmartBlogs, and welcome to all of you SmartBrief readers. Bookmark the SmartBlog page or click on the right to get a daily or weekly email summary.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SuperTutors, School Closings, Less NOLA, USDE Blog

Edwards' education plan is a good one, says the Ed Sector's Kevin Carey, except for just one crazy idea (Super Tutors). Denver can learn some lessons about closing schools from what other cities have done, says Schools For Tomorrow's Van Schoales (Closure lessons from other districts). TFA is a great place to start a career, says BusinessWeek via EdWize (Teacher News of the Day). Exactly. Refomers should stop making such a big deal out of New Orleans, says Eduwonk (A Little Less New Orleans?). Jenny D says that it won't be long before there's a US Department Of Education "blog" (Been Gone Too Long).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 3, 2007

Women's Soccer Player Of The Year (Marta) Loves The Carnival

This week's Carnival of Education is up, including promising posts such as Bellringers' comparison of NCLB and "My Rather Large Behind," Right On The Left Coast on teachers and free speech, What It's Like on the pros and cons of teaching to the test, and Scheiss Weekly on the food stash for kids who forget their lunch.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday Blog Roundup

I read them... so you don't have to:

About the Ravitch op-ed (see below), Eduwonk asks "didn't we try this already?" (States Right?). The AFT blog is concerned about the NYT piece on New Orleans from a couple of weeks ago (Predictable Sign Of The Times) -- namely whether the focus should be on poverty or school reform. School closings are getting too much coverage, says Sari Levy at Schools For Tomorrow (School closures bring out the drama queens). Educators and researchers don't usually get along, writes Eduwonkette -- except in one case (Cool people you should know). EdWize lets us all know that Ms. Frizzle is back to blogging and has some things to say (Ms. Frizzle on TFA).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 2, 2007

Best Of The Blogs -- Tuesday Edition

Three Raleigh schools have won the national Blue Ribbon School Award, but none are from the school system. (Winning the Blue Ribbon award WakEd)

Last week was exhausting -- I didn't feel good about any of my classes. (Discipline part II School Of Blog)

If you’re shopping around for lesson plans, look no further than FactCheckEd.org. (Teaching the Art of Persuasion Learning Now PBS)

Sure, Miller and Spellings don't always agree, but he's hardly out to gut NCLB... he's taking a lot of heat for defending it! (Mixed Message Eduwonk)

As proof that leftovers can be delicious, here's the rest of the advice. (Delicious Leftovers Teacher Leaders Network)

The road to NCLB's reauthorization in the House goes through California. (CA Legislators Cite NCLB's Flaws NCLB II)

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How Schools Are Like Sweatshops

The rhetoric surrounding "children first" is powerful and needed stuff, I'd argue, but not to the point of disregarding the needs of classroom teachers whose needs are often not being met by schools, either. Sherman Dorn makes this point eloquently in a recent post: "Elementary and secondary schools are environments that are about the least adult-friendly you can imagine, outside sweatshops," writes Dorn (The adults v. children meme). "Where else can adults be vulnerable to being hit by children, be told when they can go to the bathroom, and be told that their own intellectual development does not serve the organization's interests?" I guess that leaves only administrators to gang up on. Yeah, it's all the administrators' fault. Faceless bureaucrats, etc. Get 'em!

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

October 1, 2007

Best Of The Blogs

I read them (so you don't have to):

Local control sucks! Schools For Tomorrow
There, I said it.

The kids love Obama Education Election
Obama and John Edwards said in last week's New Hampshire debate that they would be comfortable reading the book "King and King," which has same-sex relationships as a theme, to their young children and would support its use as part of a school curriculum.

Evolution of Complexity AFT Blog
It seems that NCLB 2.0 is adhering to the principles of evolution--it's getting more complex, but I'm not sure it's a higher level organism.

Teachers vs. performance pay Joanne Jacobs
Teachers strongly oppose linking pay to performance, concludes a survey of teachers in Washington state.

Are you as smart as a 8th grader? D-Ed Reckoning
Take this test and find out.

NCLB Lawbreakers TQATE
Via Eduwonk, a story of what appears to be a widespread conspiracy within the Missouri Department of Education to systematically violate the No Child Left Behind law.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 26, 2007

Stephen Colbert Is The Perfect Teach For America Candidate

Check out this week's Carnival Of Education at Global Citizenship, a roundup of education blogs that includes tasty posts of all kinds. Some favorites: Education Notes Online doubts that teacher quality is really the single most important factor in education. Learn Me Good recounts a student who claimed to have temporary blindness, brought on by a science assignment. Joanne Jacobs tells us the disturbing story of a cheating ring, and the reactions of parents and educators, at Hanover High in New Hampshire. Shrewdness of Apes finds that some people use co-teaching as a cover for slacking off. Last but not least, Blog and Deliver thinks Stephen Colbert might be the perfect candidate for a Teach for America post.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)