Twelve Days of Christmas

It's my last pre-Christmas blogging day, so I offer you the edu-version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas."

Next week, I'll be taking a blogging break from Monday-Thursday, and my colleague skoolboy will take the reigns and write about class size. I'll be back on Friday to comment on his posts.

Enjoy the holidays, everyone!



On the twelfth day of Christmas
eduwonkette gave to me
12 spinners* humming (NYC DOE)
11 schools* I'm wiping (Jim Liebman)
10 lords a leaping (Ms. Frizzle)
9 bloggers blogging (see list below)
8 classes shrinking (Leonie Haimson)
7 days of swimming (KIPP)
6 years not paying (Michael Rebell)
5 golden rings! (Roland Fryer)
4 fighting words (Whitney Tilson)
3 loaded pens (Elizabeth Green)
2 boxing gloves (Diane Ravitch)
And a session in ther-a-py. (Randi Weingarten and Joel Klein)

KEY:
1) Klein/Weingarten relations have chilled since the announcement of the "Teacher Performance Unit." See her NY Sun op-ed here.
2) After the Kathy Wylde attack, Dave Bellel offered this graphic.
3) Elizabeth Green is bringing investigative reporting back to NYC. You go, girl.
4) Whitney Tilson is angry. I am not sure why.
5) Roland Fryer is gifting ring (tones) to NYC kids.
6) Michael Rebell has been waiting for payment since a 2001 decision.
7) Lots of recent internet chatter over the KIPP trips. Some links here.
8) See Class Size Matters.
9) 9 great NYC edu-blogs: NYC Educator, Edwize, Ednotes, NYC Parents, NYC Students, insideschools, Dave Bellel, Ms. Frizzle, jd2718.
10) Ms. Frizzle is my favorite lady blogger, and per this post, she deserves many leaping lords. (Sidenote: A-Rus is my favorite manly blogger, but he is currently mad at me.)
11) 14 schools are closing, not 11 - but there are not 14 days of Xmas.
12) We actually need 15 days of Xmas here - at the Panel for Education Policy meeting, we learned that the NYC Dept of Ed press office employs 15 spinners. (5 of 15 make $115,000 or more; head spinner David Cantor makes $158,603 a year.

PS - Also check out NYC Parents' remix of "The Night Before Christmas" and edspresso's grinch poem.