Kara Kane

http://statepolitics.lohudblogs.com/2012/10/18/cuomo-appoints-new...

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 18:13:32 -0400

http://statepolitics.lohudblogs.com/2012/10/18/cuomo-appoints-new-deputy-secretary-of-education/

NYS’s new deputy secretary of education has four years’ teaching experience, but doesn’t seem to have an actual, permanent teaching certification in the great state of New York.

I guess this is an improvement from the previous deputy secretary, David Wakelyn, another Teach for America whiz kid who resigned in April 2012 to join the “private sector."

Just what part of the private sector was that?

David Wakelyn, Senior Director of Strategy and Development: Democracy Prep Public Schools

A growing charter school network in NYC.

Lovely.

Paul Ryan's War on Left-Handed Irishmen

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:27:24 -0400

“Now it’s a war on women; tomorrow it’s going to be a war on left-handed Irishmen or something like that,”

Goodness! Please, someone come up with a left-handed irishmen meme. Compared with binders full of women the possibilities for this one are endless.

Ingenuity! Creativity! Love it!

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:02:39 -0400

Ingenuity! Creativity! Love it!:

School girl wears different historical costume every day to school

Draft Resolution for My Local School Board: On Mitigating the Harm Caused by High-Stakes Assessments

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:58:00 -0400

I wrote this after reading through a ton of material on what high-stakes tests are and what they’re doing to our students, teachers, and schools.

I introduced this on the agenda of my board of education (I am a newly elected member) and it generated a lengthy and interesting discussion. It expect that we will be discussing this resolution in some form at our next meeting (Springville-Griffith Institute, south of Buffalo) on October 23.

Comments are generously welcomed. I anticipate a spirited debate on many of these points, and am open to positive and negative opinions on what I’ve written.

PROPOSED RESOLUTION: Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District

On Mitigating the Harm Caused by High-Stakes Assessments

Whereas: the Board of Education affirms its commitment to supporting the district’s students, parents, and professional educators in critical, reflective, and creative thinking, and to developing our students into 21st century learners.

Whereas: the Board recognizes that the federal government and the New York State Education Department have instituted conflicting, unfunded, and ill-conceived mandates related to high-stakes assessments (e.g., pre-tests, “field tests,” and tests) that represent threat to the duty of the District to educate in a manner it deems most beneficial.

Whereas: the Board asserts that high-stakes assessments have the potential to harm our students’ educational progress, as they take valuable time away from meaningful instruction, and teachers’ attention away from our approved curricula.

Whereas: the Board further recognizes that high-stakes assessments represent a threat to the ability of our teachers to innovate in the classroom, and forces these professional educators to teach to tests created by corporations and implemented by political appointees with negligible teaching experience.

Whereas: the Board also recognizes that emphasizing high-stakes assessments forces the District to place the whims of the New York State Education Department over the best interests of the District.

Whereas: the Board still further recognizes that these high-stakes assessments threaten the financial stability and long-term viability of our district, as expenses for said assessments, data collection, and teacher evaluations strain budgets and reduce the resources available for electives, extracurricular activities, and capital expenses.

Whereas: the intent of S-GI board policy 7210 Student Evaluation (adopted 2010, revised 2005) provides for a comprehensive suite of testing and assessment tools designed to monitor student progress, and S-GI board policy 8110 Curriculum Development, Resources and Evaluation (adopted 2010, revised 2006) “supports and encourages development of a District-wide, articulated curriculum that conforms to state mandates and is responsive to the needs of children in a rapidly changing society.”

Be it resolved that the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School Board questions the assertion by the New York State Education Department that high-stakes tests contribute in any capacity to the academic success and educational development of our students.

Be it resolved that the Board supports parents who choose to prioritize learning and instruction for their children over high-stakes assessment, and absent an explicit directive from the New York State Department of Education to the contrary, will provide alternatives for these children that have meaningful educational value.

Be it also resolved that the Board expresses its opinion that the District should communicate the dates of high-stakes assessments through the District web site, so that parents and the community are aware of the extent to which these assessments detract from classroom instruction.

Be it further resolved that the Board strongly urges the New York State Education Department to suspend its high-stakes assessments and to develop assessments that are based on proven research and input from classroom teachers, administrators, and parents, and that further will provide data that can be used to support teaching and learning.

http://www.springvillegi.org/

My board email address: kkane@springvillegi.org

Absurdist reading "interventions" coming to a school near you

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:33:00 -0400

Via @ruralteacherny on the twitter. http://t.co/VY0bDGSe These examples need to be told to newspapers, ptas and school boards.

Haley Marketing's New Website Featuring the One and Only...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:56:23 -0400

Bob Eisman!

Their new website is outstanding!

A robust vocabulary is priceless

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:12:03 -0400

Before a test, a poverty of words. Via the nytimes and nyscoss

Art's Cafe for the Springville Center for the Arts

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:56:02 -0400

Join me in helping make it happen for Art’s Cafe Springville on @indiegogo http://igg.me/p/220951?i=cstw

"Your brain on Jane Austen"

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:00:00 -0400

NPR had a great segment on about reading and neuroscience, and how focused, uninterrupted reading of novels causes “global activation across a number of different regions” of the brain.

What put this story in perspective for me was hearing, during a discussion at the Springville-Griffith Institute School Board meeting, that the reading curricula now is nearly exclusively short passages and segments.

I’d rather get lost in a book.

'Ask Not What Your School Can Do For You. Ask What You Can Do For Your School'

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:51:03 -0400

http://auburnpub.com/blogs/nie_blog/ask-not-what-your-school-can-do-for-you-ask/article_1f3f5da6-1153-11e2-952d-001a4bcf887a.html

Great letter from a parent in Auburn about contributing time and talent to your local schools.

It reminds me of a great quote that I saw on a Facebook post at one point - it was something along the lines of, spend twice as much time and half as much money on your kids. True words