Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Roxanna Elden: Your Friend and Mine | Mr. Teachbad's Blog of Teacher Disgruntlement

Roxanna Elden: Your Friend and Mine

by mrteachbad

There is a magical book called See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers, by Teachers.

The author is Roxanna Elden. (Disclosure: I do not know Ms. Elden personally. I receive no commissions, etc. I just like her book.) Elden has been teaching for a long time. She is an experienced and highly accomplished teacher. You can read about Roxanna and her work and BUY THE BOOK on her website.

Reading this book, I immediately felt I had a sense of the author and that, as a teacher, she was on my side. She knows this job inside and out, and she has thought hard about it. (And she provides many anecdotes from other teachers that will make you feel a whole lot less inadequate.) But rather than just bitching and moaning, like me, she offers a fresh set of eyes on ordinary problems and recommends realistic ideas to deal with real classroom issues. She readily admits that there are no magic bullets not every idea works with every teacher’s personality. She just offers the fruits of experience and smarts to address the shit-storms that naturally occur in our classrooms every day in grade school, middle school (bless you people), and high school. It speaks to all of

solidaridad: Readers speak out on Ben Austin, Parent Revolution, and Green Dot Public Schools

Readers speak out on Ben Austin, Parent Revolution, and Green Dot Public Schools

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

"This is a legitimate threat to the school district. And this is how we have to play to be heard. This is going to steamroll." — Mary Najera (hostile takeover specialist, Parent Revolution/Green Dot Corporation)

Report Green Dot's Ben Austin on the City Ethics Commission Complaint Form Online

We get a lot of comments and emails on the foppish millionaire from Benedict Canyon, school privatization pusher and poverty pimp Ben Austin. Here are a few of interest, demonstrating how much of a pariah he is in our communities:

CarolineSF said...

An underdog with an array of billionaires, checkbooks at the ready, to fund its every move, and with the avid support of the president of the U.S., the governor of California, and so on? That really is an interesting new definition of "underdog."

This is a good piece, though there's one erroneous notion behind it: the assumption that Rose and Austin actually believe in the principles they extol. Both are paid

"I Pay Taxes" Part 2 featuring National Priorities Project's Jo Comerford

coffeepartyusa on Apr 5, 2011

http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/facts
http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/survivor
http://nationalpriorities.org/publications/2011/taxday-2011/revenues/
http://nationalpriorities.org/en/resources/federal-budget-101/budget-briefs/f...

Please note the rapid increase in the national debt starting in 1980, once we began allowing large corporations to contribute a smaller and smaller share of our tax revenue. Corporations rigging the system so they contributed less, coupled with the fact income levels for We the People were stagnant, or (after taxes) decreased during the same period, and it's little wonder why our deficit and our debt have grown.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Facebook profile

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Basic Information

Hometown	Weston, FL
Country	United States
Current Office	Office: Congresswoman State: Florida District: 20 Party: Democratic Party
About	Please note: Comments that contain profanity or inappropriate content will be removed. Vice-Chair Democratic National Committee (DNC) National Chair for Member and Candidate Services Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)

Biography	For more than eighteen years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to working on behalf of the people of South Florida. On January 4, 2005, she was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Rep. Wasserman Schultz represents Florida's 20th Congressional district, which encompasses parts of Florida as far north as Fort Lauderdale, and as far south as Miami Beach. Before joining the U.S. Congress, she was first a Representative and later a Senator in... (read more)
Favorite Books	Profiles in Courage
Relationship Status	Married to Steven Schultz
Religious Views	Jewish
Activities	Spending time with my kids, leading my daughter's Girl Scout troop, scrapbooking, watching movies and eating popcorn.
Interests	My kids, my husband, my three dogs and cat, my job, the Florida Gators (GO GATORS!), chocolate.
Favorite Music	James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett
Favorite Quotations	"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” -FDR
About Me	For more than seventeen years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to working on behalf of the people of South Florida. On January 4, 2005, she was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Rep. Wasserman Schultz represents Florida's 20th Congressional district, which encompasses parts of Florida as far north as Fort Lauderdale, and as far south as Miami Beach. Before joining the U.S. Congress, she was first a Representative and later a Senator in the Florida State legislature. Rep. Wasserman Schultz serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, which, in conjunction with its Senate counterpart, makes funding decisions on every discretionary program in the federal budget. She serves as a “Cardinal,” chairing the Legislative Branch subcommittee. She also serves on the House Judiciary Committee, which handles issue ranging from terrorism to protection of civil liberties. As a Chief Deputy Whip, Rep. Wasserman Schultz works to help advance important legislation. This role places her on the leadership team of the House of Representatives. In her first term, Rep. Wasserman Schultz served as a Senior Whip, the only freshman chosen to serve on the Whip team. In March 2009, after she announced her own battle with breast cancer, Rep. Wasserman Schultz introduced the Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or EARLY Act (H.R. 1740), a piece of legislation that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a national education campaign about the threat breast cancer poses to all young women, and the particular heightened risks of certain ethnic, cultural and racial groups. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) currently serves as a Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) where she works to ensure we maintain a strong Democratic majority in Congress. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) overseeing incumbent protection. Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz's work has been featured nationally in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, among others. She is a frequent guest on national television shows, including CBS's Face the Nation, CBS Evening News, NBC's Today Show, ABC's Good Morning America, MTV News, MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Rachel Maddow Show, CNN's Larry King Live and The Situation Room. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was born in 1966 on Long Island, NY. She attended the University of Florida and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1988 and with a Master’s Degree in 1990. She has been married to Steve Schultz for 17 years and together they have three children. The Congresswoman is proud to call South Florida home where she resides with her family in Weston.
Work Info	Work Info Employer: United States Congress Position: Member of Congress
Education Info	Education Info Grad School: University of Florida '90 Masters of Business Administration, Political Science College: University of Florida '88 Political Science
Gender	Female

Website	http://www.dwsforcongress.com http://www.democratswinseats.com

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: District Administration Magazine - That's Their Story and They're Sticking To It

District Administration Magazine - That's Their Story and They're Sticking To It

by Melissa Westbrook

When we last left the discussion of District Administration magazine, they had published an article by former Boston schools' superintendent, Tom Payzant, about how urban superintendents are not being given a long enough tenure to see real results. Professor Payzant used our district as an example and wrote a revisionist history of Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's stay here in Seattle. (And mind you, there are more than a few Board members who agreed that the article was off the mark. They, too, do not want to see themselves painted as being bullied and weak.)

Charlie and I (and at least a few other readers) wrote to the editor to complain. One of our main complaints was that Professor Payzant did not disclose in his article that (1) he knows Dr. Goodloe-Johnson, (2) was brought out to conduct her Board evaluation and (3) that he and Dr. Goodloe-Johnson are both professionally affiliated with the Broad Foundation. That might have given some readers pause had they known those facts. The editor,

News Flash - TIF Consultant Contract Action Deferred

by Charlie Mas

I just had a call from the School Board office. Action on the TIF consultant contract has been deferred to the May 4 meeting.

Here is a link to the updated agenda for the April 6 meeting.

This is a positive sign for the Board and their effectiveness as a governance and oversight body.

Compare and contrast: The IEA and the NEA responses to FOIA abuse. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Compare and contrast: The IEA and the NEA responses to FOIA abuse.

by Fred Klonsky

On April 1, President of the NEA Dennis Van Roekel issued the following public statement in support of those victims of right-wing abuse of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

“The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) should not be used to intimidate or promote political agendas. These fishing expeditions create a climate that chills academic inquiry and threatens academic freedom. How is our society served by putting tape over the mouths of the very people who ensure an open dialogue? Higher education faculty members have the First Amendment right to speak out on matters of public concern, and that includes voicing their opinions about political activities and pending legislation. Everyone benefits when scholars explore ideas, find facts and discuss different points of view.
“The preservation of free speech and academic freedom is also supported by

What’s Next for the 34 Schools? « EdVox

What’s Next for the 34 Schools?

by edvoxny

By Carol Boyd

Everyone knows that last Friday, Supreme Court Judge Joan Lobis ruled against the NYC Department of Education (DoE) for noncompliance with the terms of the new mayoral control laws in order to schedule closure of 19 city public schools. So far, so good but far too early to celebrate this cause célèbre

What you probably do not know is that less than 18 hours before the judges ruling, frustrated parents, students, teachers, clergy and communities at large from across the city gathered at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan to seek answers, to organize and to strategize on behalf of fixing and not closing the 34 schools identified by NY state as “persistently lowest-achieving” schools.

It was at this meeting that the people who should be viewed as key partners in such a process learned for the first time that due to the federal School Improvement Grants (SIG), the DOE is going to receive $500,000 to $2 million a year for three years to implement improvement programs in their school. They also heard for the first time that federal guidelines provide alternatives to school closure: restart, transformation and turnaround. At first,

Momentum Builds to Reform ESEA

Congressional Members and Organizations Want an Improved Education Law

SOURCE: AP/Dawn Villella

Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chair of the House Education Committee, has scheduled five hearings on education since February 10. The topics focused on limiting federal involvement in education, but the actual discussion at the hearings was about how to improve the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

By Cynthia G. Brown, Jeremy Ayers | April 5, 2011

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Momentum is building for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, the largest federal program designed to improve education, particularly for disadvantaged students. Just last week a broad range of groups urged Congress to reform

Broad Prize for Urban Education Finalists Announced - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Broad Prize for Urban Education Finalists Announced

By JASON KOEBLER

Posted: April 5, 2011

Four school districts, including two in Florida, will vie for $1 million in college scholarships from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

The annual Broad Prize for Urban Education honors a school district that demonstrates the "best overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students." One district will win $550,000 in scholarships for seniors who will graduate in 2012; the other three finalists will win $150,000 each.

The finalists announced today are Broward County Public Schools in Florida, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, and Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, Texas. All four districts have been finalists in the past, with Miami-Dade County being nominated in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

KOCH BLOWS News | www.kochwatch.org

News | www.kochwatch.org

Miami Herald: Gov. Rick Scott's policies could benefit his family's $62M investment *April 2, 2011-* If you have a $62 million investment, representing the biggest single chunk of your $218 million in wealth, and you put it in a trust under your wife's name, does that mean you're no longer involved in the company? Florida Gov. Rick ...

The Hill: House Dem: Change title of EPA bill to 'Koch Brothers Appreciation Act' *April 5, 2011-* Rep. Gerry Connollly (D-Va.) wants to change the title of a bill that would permanently block Environmental Protection Agency climate regulations to the "Koch Brothers Appreciation Act," a reference to the billionaire brothers who ...

RAW Story: Obama threatens to veto anti-EPA bill derided as ‘Koch Brothers Appreciation Act’ *April 5 ,2011-* The White House threatened Tuesday to veto a Republican-led measure that would block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating certain forms of pollution. "The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 910, ...

Anna Nicole Smith - Her secret connection to the Bush and the Inner Cabal of power in America today. You probably think that the hysteria over the Anna Nicole Smith case is all media hype. Most of it is, naturally. Gorgeous, blond, nubile woman, married creaky, aged billionaire, inherits unimaginably enormous slug of cash and is done wrong by his ...

TampaBay.Com: Florida prison privatization proposals open door for politically connected GEO Group *April 3, 2011-* The Legislature's push to privatize many more prisons, its most far-reaching cost-cutting plan in years, opens a lucrative door to politically connected vendors who stand to profit. Senate and House budgets require the state to ...

Salon: Salaries for Florida's child care officials are out of control, lawmakers say Since state privatized child welfare, pay for top executives has climbed *April 2, 2011-* Florida's privatization of child welfare services was supposed to be good for kids and taxpayers. But in the decade since the state began making private ...

Rachel Maddow: GOP Betrayal Alienates Police Constituents WATCH ON MSNBC:

Incorporate My Uterus | A Project of the ACLU-Florida

…before some politician gets between you and your M.D.

Of course, you can’t legally Incorporate Your Uterus, but you can online. And by doing so, you can send a message to the Florida Legislature that less regulation and government intrusion begins with a woman’s uterus. So “Incorporate Your Uterus” below, sign-up to receive updates about the important fight going on in Tallahassee and utilize our social networking tools to spread the word about this critical effort. After all, no politician should get between a woman and her doctor.