One of the "Electronic" sources of information that I scan periodically is an "Industry" E-Newsletter that calls itself E-School News. I characterize them as being an "Industry" publication because they stay afloat by selling advertising to the private sector businesses that the sell hardware, software and services required for online and blended courses and schools.

Last Friday (July 17, 2009) they published a piece titled:

Layoffs prompt teachers to move online 
Virtual schools are seeing a dramatic rise in job applications as state officials cut education budgets to battle declining tax revenues
By Laura Devaney, Senior Editor

I've attempted to share a comment below that piece. but since I'm implicitly critical in my comment about some of their big advertisers, I thought it might be worth posting publicly here for my friends, family and fellow Democrats.

Because there are actually two different stories in the E-School News piece cited, in the spirit of fairness I've offered two caveats.

The first caveat is guardedly critical of some "unnamed" elearning vendors who continue to offer online educational services, but seem consistently "unwilling" to say very much about the specialized training that their newly hired online teachers do or don't get before going to work online.

The second caveat isn't exactly critical (yet), but it poses a metaphorical question to our Secretary of Education (Arne Duncan) about whether or not that rabbit he's trying to influence with 100 Billion $$'s worth of Congressionally authorized carrots is liable to be be dead before he catches up with it.

If you want  the good stuff, read all about it in my extended posting.

As always,

BobBl

The last time I posted something in BobBl’s Blog was way back before the elections. At that time I "engaged" in a rant against the old Secratary of Education's attempt to pull over a "fast one" and stick whoever the new Secretary would be with some bad policy apples.

A number of other blogs picked up on it and I achieved some measure of visibility for my "colorful position." That's a hard act to follow, but I'll give it a shot.

Back in December of '08, I went on record in my Obama blog saying that I though Arne Duncan was a “pragmatic” choice to become the new Secretary of Education and expressed my hope that he would reconsider and carefully weigh the “meaning” of the  No Child Left Behind Education Act of 2001 (PL 107-110) in terms of it’s actual “social consequences.”

 Last month (May, 2009) the Department of Education announced that Secretary Duncan was starting out on a “Listening Tour” to visit selected schools all across the US for the purpose of listening to what America’s teachers have to day about the “impact” of NCLB on teaching and learning out in the trenches.

Readers who are interested in learning more about the tour and following the conversations it has created can start here:

NCLB : listening tour  (@ Blogspot) Saturday, May 09, 2009
 

Listening and Learning: A Conversation About Education Reform (@ Ed.Gov Blog):  Postings include videos of Duncan’s stops on the tour w. summaries written by Duncan & his staff. Some of the discussion threadss are still open for comment.

More “official information” about the “Listening and Learning” tour:

http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/05/05052009.html

 This seems like a good start. Secretary Duncan should be applauded for employing the full power of Web 2.0 technologies (Blogs, discussion forums, etc.) to provide a “transparency” to his re-examination of national educational policy that is unprecedented.

(See extended posting on ED Budget and Priorities )

I've written a lot of Blogs this election year about educational policy and practice in this space. But NONE of them is as critically important as this one.

The long and the short of it is that the Secretary of Education has published her "New Rules" for implementing NCLB in the Federal Register. The implementation of these new rules MUST BE STOPPED.

I've blogged about this already today in my "My.Barackobama" blog. 

BobBl's My Obama Blog -  Oct 28th, 2008 at 3:20 pm EDT

Everyone who cares about education in America should go there, read it, and contact their Representatives in the House and Senate to DEMAND that the implementation of these new rules be stopped immediately.

This is a waste of time and precious Federal Educational $$'s that our country's educational system can't afford.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!! 

This battle isn't over till President Obama is inagurated. Then we all need to be prepared to go to work on undoing the damage done during the last eight years.

God bless Senator Obama, his campaign staff and his beautiful family. Protect and support them from now till election say. 

VOTE AND WORK TO ASSURE THAT EVERY REGISTERED VOTER IN AMERICA DOES SO TOO!!

As always,

 BobBl 

Friends:

By now, everyone is surely aware that the NCLB Education act "mandates" annual standardized, "high-stakes" tests be developed and administered in all our States to nominally increase "accountability" in public education.

I want to raise another question. What agency has responsibility for oversight of the "testing companies" that are building and administering the States' standardized tests? 

The obvious answer is that the USDOE has "statutory responsibility" for oversight and final "approval" of the State's testing systems.

But recent developments in Illinois seemingly call the "efficacy" of the DFederal Department of Education's oversight system into question.

Here's the link to a story in today's Chicago Tribune that started me examining the issue and related facts:

Errors may snarl state testing                                        Officials hire auditor, worry state test scores may show failure of system (By Stephanie Banchero - Chicago Tribune reporter August 2, 2008)

Here are some links to the "official correspondence" between the US Department of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education about the "review and approval" of the Illinois Statewide Assessment and Accountability system.

(June 23, 2006)
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbfinalassess/il.html

(September 8, 2006)
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbfinalassess/il2.html

(June 29, 2007)
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbfinalassess/il3.html

(January 4, 2008)
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbfinalassess/il4.html

The apparent problems with "validity and reliability" of the ISAT were resolved; according to USDOE's standards for oversight of state assessment systems.

 These are the facts; as reported by the Chicago Tribune today and from the US Department of Education's "official correspondence" with the Illinois State Board of Education.

Does anyone besides me see a discrepancy here? Could it be either the Illinois statewide assessment system is flawed, or the Federal oversight of that system is flawed.... OR BOTH?

I'm very temped to offer my "interpretation"  of what this might mean and the situation's underlying causes. But I'll hold off on that and monitor the posting to see if anyone besides me thinks this subject is worth talking about.

If appropriate, I'll conntribute my views to subsequent discussions.

BobBl 

Democrats, Friends & Colleagues: 

In my last posting, I said some critical things about the potentially negative influence of instructional technology-related  businesses and their "surrogates" on advocacy for instructional technology use in America's schools.

In that posting I didn't say much about the sources for instructional applications of educational technologies that might be better for our schools than the "private sector."

In this morning's N.Y. times I found one heck of a good example. The article describes a remarkable application of educational technology to improving the teaching of Civics and American Government in America's high schools.

The two universites collaborating to bring this about are Georgetown University and Arizona State University, in collaboration with Retired Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Sandra day O'Conner.

“One unintended effect of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is intended to help fund teaching of science and math to young people, is that it has effectively squeezed out civics education because there is no testing for that anymore and no funding for that,” she said. “And at least half of the states no longer make the teaching of civics and government a requirement for high school graduation. This leaves a huge gap, and we can’t forget that the primary purpose of public schools in America has always been to help produce citizens who have the knowledge and the skills and the values to sustain our republic as a nation, our democratic form of government.” 

I won’t comment here on her inference that the described effect was “unintentional.” (No kooky conpiracy theorists here!)  

BobBl

(portions reposed from my My.BarackObama blog)

Friends:

I, for one, am glad that we finally have two "presumptive" nominees.

Now maybe our Nominee and his representatives can finally begin atriculating and defining where our candiates stands on important issues; like for instance... EDUCATION!

There is limited evidence supporting the notion that "Education" is surfacing again as a national issue: 

From eSchool News (6/6/2008):  McCain, Obama reps discuss education

In the piece from eSchool News, some good ideas are attributed to Jeanne Century, director of science research at the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education,

Unfortunately her ideas are presented "third hand" and probably lost lots in translation. I'd like to hear more from Ms. Century, but in her own words!

Unfortunately, eSchool News is a venue supporting (and supported by) large, "corporate" interests, with much to gain financially  from increasing broadband access to all the schools.

 I don't and WOULDN'T EVER argue against increasing broadband access for the "have not" schools as a policy objective. The "Digital Divide" is alive and well; paricularly in the "Great City Schools" in cities like Chicago; despite good ongoing efforts by the CPS Chief E-Learning Officer, Sharnell Jackson. 

However, the message needs to be spread through information channels that are less alligned with corporate "vested interests" than this one. Letting a source like eSchool News promote the message is functional equivalent to taking donations from an eLearning industy PAC!

Can't the DNC and Obama campaign staff do a better job controlling the venue for information releases relating to Education and Educators?

BobBl

(I'm back!) 

Friends & fellow Democrats: 

I've been thinking lately about Texas; for multiple reasons. Thinking about Texas started me remembering one of our truly "great" education Presidents, Lyndon Baynes Johnson.

 For an American history lesson borrowed from LBJ, continue on to the extended posting.

It includes a link to a U-Tube video for those of you who are "audio-visual" learners.

BobBl

Senator Barack Obama On: A World Class Education (click link to review Obama website)

Let me begin by being clear I believe Senator Barack Obama is the best available candidate, from either party, to become the next nationally elected President of the United States of America.  I'm stating that up-front, because some of my “critical” comments later on might otherwise suggest I don’t fully support his candidacy.  

In fact I do support support Senator Obama to become the next Democratic President. Additionally, I am becoming more and more confident that increasing numbers of American voters (in BOTH PARTIES) agree and that there will most surely surely be an Obama family gracing the White House sometime shortly after the election this coming November, 2008! 

On the “Educational Issues” Senator Obama’s plans for “reforming” American educational policy, and orchestrating a turn-around to improve American educational practice (managed and supported by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Federal Government) offers, in my opinion, a compelling vision and plan for education in 21st Century America’s K-20 schools. 

For starters, Senator Obama’s educational web pages offer 1293 words, 40 paragraphs and 131 lines.  

By comparison, Senator John McCain’s educational platform, as presented on his campaign’s website consists of 482 words, 9 paragraphs (click here to view McCain ed platform) 21 sentences.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign website offers 746 words, 29 paragraphs and 73 lines describing her proposed educational platform. (click here to view Clinton ed platform)

Based only on a rudimentary content analysis (done using the Microsoft Word Spell Checker), it appears that Senator Obama has devoted considerably more time and effort to detailing and articulating his emerging “educational platform,” than either Senator McCain or Senator Clinton.

Although the various candidates’ website presentations on “Educational Issues” don’t include texts from all their related speeches and public appearances, website summaries could offer insights into their respective priorities.  

If so, Senator Obama's website content clearly devoted more time and energy into articulating his educational platform than either of the other remaining national candidates.

For a more "fine grained" and informative summary of Senator Obama's emerging "educational platform," and for my own "critical commentary" of his positions on educational policy and practice, continue reading the EXTENDED POSTING.

ENJOY! 

BobBl

(Continued Extended Posting)