Some Updates

Occupy
Its spreading! Wash State occupiers actually tried to issue a "citizens arrest" of the state legislature because of its violation of the constitution guaranteeing a right to education. It looks as though the teacher who led the mic check was instead arrested. Outrageous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODBNCYRQdyk&feature=youtu.be

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 Common CoreThis is a top-down agenda devised by Coleman/Gates in two ways and that “distort early learning” acc. to early childhood expert quoted below.

Coleman, who never taught a day in his life, started at what he believed should be demanded of college students and worked downwards to Kindergarten – which resulted in the requirement that that all Kindergarteners be able to read, among other things, which simply is not developmentally appropriate acc. to many experts.

Common Core standards pose dilemmas for early childhood
Valerie Strauss
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/common-core-standards-pose-dilemmas-for-early-childhood/2011/11/28/gIQAPs1X6N_blog.html
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Class Size Does Matter

Lots of research showing how class size narrows the achievement gap on Leonie's website at http://www.classsizematters.org/research-and-links-2 

Here are some:Spyros Konstantopoulos and Vicki Chun, “What Are the Long-Term Effects of Small Classes on the Achievement Gap?

Evidence from the Lasting Benefits Study,” American Journal of Education 116, November 2009.  Peter Blatchford  et.al.

“Do low attaining and younger students benefit most from small classes? Results from a systematic observation study of class size effects on pupil classroom engagement and teacher pupil interaction Philip Babcock and Julian R. Betts, “Reduced-class Distinctions: Effort, Ability and the Education Production Function,” NBER Working paper 14777, March 2009. Results indicate that small classes elicit enhanced effort and engagement by disadvantaged students.

Thomas Dee and Martin West, “The Non-Cognitive Returns to Class Size, ” NBER Working Paper 13994, 2008. “Alan B. Krueger, Economic Considerations and Class Size, The Economic Journal, 113 (February 2003). 

Jeremy D. Finn et.al., “Small Classes in the Early Grades, Academic Achievement, and Graduating From High School,” Journal of Educational Psychology, 2005.

Alan B. Krueger and Diane M. Whitmore, “Would Smaller Classes Help Close the Black-White Achievement Gap?” from :Bridging