Conquering Wonkette Withdrawal

Noticing that Robert Pondiscio had some suggestions for those suffering from Eduwonkette withdrawal, I decided to go straight to the horse's mouth to get my daily data dose.

There were only a few stares at the cape and mask, not a biggie in the Manhattan mix. But I knew I should have taken them off before I got there.

'Wonkette appears to be in great health and spirits and looking forward to new adventures. I was prepared with a bunch of topics so as to get my head screwed on straight. But there is just too much to talk about. And the there were all those guys hiding behind newspapers. Looked like Tweedles to me.

Was that David Cantor lurking behind that potted plant? And was that Andy Rotherham with him?

Russo Thoughts on Ed Blogger Summit

Here.
Russo says teacher bloggers were a big hit, as opposed I guess, to ed policy wonk types and quasi reform politicos.
Does anyone get the message that teachers are the keys in this whole ed reform thing?
Those that can or those that can't do whatever or something like that. Roy Romer? Jeez.

Like how about some real power for teachers as part of ed reform? Like let them choose the principal. Yikes! How radical an ed reform idea! But they do it in Europe. Way too radical for our namby pamby teacher unions, who might even ask for a trial - I bet our teacher-run schools kick the corporate reform model schools' asses.

Wait 'til the NYC Ed Blogger Masked Summit which will be held at a top secret location to protect all the people who must remain anonymous due to witch hunts by Tweed and Ed Sector wonks.

I'm making my Eduwonkette mask as we speak.

Anyone know where I can get a good buy on that dress?

Blogger Summit - I Registered But I Ain't A-Goin'

Given a choice of heading down to Washington to join in the Ed Bogger Summit or attend today's UFT Delegate Assembly, I am choosing the DA. No, it's not going to the bar afterward. The Summit is having a cocktail party at 6pm later today. Followed by a film.

Could it be Newt Gingrich, the keynote speaker?
Or that they feature Gov. Roy Romer's blog?
Or that the event is being sponsored by Ed in '08, (supported by the Broads and Gates Foundations) where enough anti-teacher bias for the entire so-called ed reform movement can be found? (Click here for Ed '08 steering committee - try to find one sign of a public school teacher.)

Or maybe it was this from Ms. Frizzle:
"Don’t carelessly exclude us from the conversation!"

So there’s this summit in DC…
called Ed in ‘08, which sounds like it would be interesting, at a minimum an opportunity for networking and debate, and I went right ahead and sent out an email to a couple of folks I thought might agree (turns out one of them is not only going, he’s speaking) but then, luckily, before passing it along to another half-dozen NYC education bloggers whom I know, I stopped and took a closer look. Most of the people I know who blog about education also happen to be teachers… and this summit is on a Wednesday-Thursday. It makes me a little sad & irritated that a summit intended to be about education reform would occur at a time that is virtually impossible for any actual working educators to attend. We have an obligation to our kids to be present pretty much every weekday between now and the end of June. That doesn’t mean we don’t have opinions or experience relevant to education policy - on the contrary, what is policy without the voices of practitioners? We’ve put our voices out there through our blogs - some more overtly political, some more personal, but each trying to share stories because we think someone can learn something from them. Don’t carelessly exclude us from the conversation!

Sorry, ms. Frizzle, it wasn't careless, but intentional. They only want to hear the voices of teachers who agree with them.

I just love that category of "Blogging from the Trenches." I'd love to see that trench.
Ed in '08 would be the first to trash teachers for leaving the kiddies to go to a blogger summit in mid-week.

I did vote for my favorite blogs amongst the finalists for best ed blog, NYC Educator and Eduwonkette – both of whom are not going to be there to accept an award, multiple times.

New Blog from NYC Schools

Updated March 27

At the new blog The Chancellor's New Clothes, bloggers A Voice Cries Out and Learners Inherit come at us from 2 distinct directions right out of the NYC schools.

Today, Learners Inherit, a former Teaching Fellow who has crossed over and is now a vet, exposes the fault line in the newbie/veteran teacher divide in today's post. A brief excerpt (make sure to read the whole piece):

...according to the welcoming committee at the NYCTF New Teacher Ceremony, the reason [for th divide] is because “older teachers don’t like you. And they shouldn’t. They are afraid of you because you have the power to do what they can’t. You can change the schools. You are young, fresh, and full of ideas.” That was the speech that echoed throughout the large auditorium housing over 1,850 newly inducted NYCTF. But this was not the first time I heard it. In fact, this was actually a tame version of what I had been hearing all summer from my Fellows Advisor...

Why did these Fellows Advisors have to play-up our importance in the system? Why did they consistently and conveniently alienate us newbies from the experienced teachers?