NSA using phone apps like Angry Birds to gather personal info

Well, I wish I could say I’m surprised, but no…nobody is going to design a game and give it away for free…ain’t gonna happen without some benefit for themselves.  No free lunches, folks.

Here we have another case of taxation without representation…since a majority of people want this invasion of privacy to stop.

 

 

Teacher’s experience in Gulen Charter school

Diane Ravitch has an account of a teacher’s experience in a Gulen charter school.  Unreal.

No books.  And teachers with 100 students limited to 25 copies per day.  Money missing from their paychecks unaccounted for.  Seriously?

All of this is flying under the radar because the mainstream media is not only not covering the Newark 5, they’re not covering the criminal and unethical activities of people running charter schools.

…but they’ll be more than happy to run story after story of bad teachers in public schools…

 

 

The Newark Five: Being heard

The Chalk Face has a video up of the Newark principals who were put on indefinite layoff (fired) for exercising their right to Free Speech. (hat tip GF Brandenburg)

This is probably the only place you’ll hear them…because no one in the mainstream media is covering this.  It is a hot topic going by the amount of activity my blog has received.  This should be a top story on the networks…and yet…*crickets*.

Why?

The Law and Louisiana Teachers

This is why I love the law….if it is working properly (i.e., judges apply it fairly), then the “little guy” wins out even when being bullied by those bigger with $$ bank accounts.  Woot.

The Octopus of inBloom…

Mercedes Schneider has an excellent blog up on all the twists and turns of school profiteering–who is involved, who’s making the $$ off of our kids.  It’s an in-depth blog well worth the time of the read.

The comments are intelligent, as well.  One of them links to this article.  Bill and Melinda Gates are freaking insane.  How detached from the real world does one have to be to think this is okay??  It’s not a true measurement of engagement in the lesson–it only measures arousal.  The student could be thinking of something else, as one comment in the article illustrates, not what is being taught.  Creepy doesn’t *begin* to describe this electronic gadget.

Note the very last paragraph where National Council on Teacher Quality, which receives funding from the Gates Foundation promotes this insanity.  Remember, folks, Gates is now part of the Billionaires Media Message….gotta keep that in mind when reading anything positive on Gates, et al., because they’ve probably written it themselves or had any number of people they support financially do their dirty work for them.

Also, in the link Mercedes provided for her former post on this, is this gem:

First of all, it was Gates money that funded the inBloom data “cloud.”

Next, the sponsor of the webinar, EWA, has taken $2.7 million in Gates money since 2003.

Third, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has taken $13.5 million in Gates money. (In November 2013, I wrote this post on Aimee Guidera and DQC. Enlightening reading.)

Fourth, USDOE Assistant Secretary for Innovation and Improvement Jim Shelton used to work for Gates as the Gates Foundation director of its education division. Shelton is also a partner with the charter-market-creating New Schools Venture Fund (a connection to Education Undersecretary nominee Ted Mitchell) AND was a senior management consultant for McKinsey and Company (former employer of Common Core “lead architect” David Coleman).

Fifth, Fordham University professor Joel Reidenberg and others conducted a study on privacy issues and “cloud computing”… funded by Microsoft.

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Yep, it’s the revolving door with Jim Shelton…like the FDA.  Anyone wanna bet Shelton will go back to Gates once his work to destroy public education is done?

Finally, another person posted this link of a group of Carbondale, Colorado parents getting together to fight for our public schools.

 

Newark Principals fired for protesting school closings

Diane Ravitch has this up on the latest in taxation without representation and punishing an American citizen for exercising their right to Freedom of Speech.

One of the links was so compelling I want to put it here.  So much for inept educators being disciplined for non-performance…you’re punished even if you’re doing well, apparently.  Good Grief, what a nazi!!

Gov. Christie must have a “Bully’s Playbook” that all in his inner circle go by…

And Michele Brown and the Economic Development Authority should be investigated, also, while they’re at it…

Under fire? Attack the teachers and unions

Jersey Jazzman has this up on the “shiny thing” defense of Gov. Christie for bridgegate….when you’re under fire, create a distraction, and Christie’s favorite is bashing teachers.  Be sure to click on the link for the deplorable conditions of the schools.

Education: Throwing kids into the deep end

Seamus McCarville has a thoughtful post up on the nonsensical approach of Common Core and its proponents.

I went to the NYSUT website and briefly looked over the cheerleading of Common Core.  It states that up until now, there has been a wide variation of standards from place to place…like that indicates failure…

…and as I’m reading that, I’m thinking of all the contributions to America that have happened by people who came from different areas of the country with different educational systems–Neil Armstrong pops into my head as I type–he was not educated under Common Core…

What about the artists? What about the musicians?  What about culinary endeavors or farming?  This is just sooo short-sighted and myopic in that it has such a narrow focus of what these self-appointed education gurus have deemed important.

They seem to want robots teaching class…instructing them which side of the classroom to be on? Seriously??  Micro-manage much?

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More on Education:

Mercedes Schneider has this up on Arne Duncan blaming everyone else but himself.