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Saturday, April 7, 2012

Scott Walker Wages War on Women « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Scott Walker Wages War on Women « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:


Scott Walker Wages War on Women

Amanda Terkel
Scott Walker Quietly Repeals Wisconsin Equal Pay Law
Huffington Post                 Posted: 04/ 6/2012 / Updated: 04/ 6/2012
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WASHINGTON — A Wisconsin law that made it easier for victims of wage discrimination to have their day in court was repealed on Thursday, after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) quietly signed the bill.
The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act was meant to deter employers from discriminating against certain groups by giving workers more avenues via which to press charges. Among other provisions, it allows individuals to plead their cases in the less costly, more accessible state circuit court system, rather than just in federal court.
In November, the state Senate approved SB 202, which rolled back this provision. On February,


Bradley and Walton Foundation Fund a Study of Milwaukee Vouchers

Bog Posting on Public education: this is What Democracy Looks Like
By Bob Peterson February 27, 2012
New Voucher Study Shows Need for Public Accountability and Transparency
new report on the nation’s largest voucher program demonstrates why Milwaukee voucher schools should adhere to the accountability and transparency laws followed by the public schools.
The 225-page report was a longitudinal study that compared samples of voucher and public school students using “value-added” achievement data in reading and math. The authors – many of whom have made a career out of researching voucher and charter schools – concluded “in some grades” students who attended voucher schools from 2006 to 2010 “exhibited greater growth in reading achievement than a group of matched Milwaukee Public Schools students.” The differences in math were not statistically significant.
While voucher proponents hailed the study, a closer look at report shows inconsistencies and raises many


Diane Revitch: How, and How Not, to Improve the Schools

Diane Ravitch  March 22, 2012 The New York Review of Books
The article by Ravitch refers to the following two books:
Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? 
by Pasi Sahlberg
Teachers College Press, 167 pp., $34.95 (paper)
A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t in Providing an Excellent Education for All 
by Wendy Kopp with Steven Farr
PublicAffairs, 229 pp., $25.99
David Donaldson, a high school teacher in the Teach for America program, with his students at the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Sciences, Baltimore, December 2009
In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama proposed that teachers should “stop teaching to the test” and that the nation should “reward the best ones” and “replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.” This all sounds sensible, but it is in fact a contradictory message. The president’s signature education program, called Race to the Top, encourages states to award bonuses to teachers whose students get higher test scores (they are, presumably “the best ones”) and to fire teachers if their students get lower test scores


NRA and ALEC Behind “Stand Your Ground” Law

NRA expands its role from fight for gun rights to conservative causes
By Libby Lewis, CNN Fri April 6, 2012
In late March, protesters gather at the Georgia State Capitol to protest the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
In late March, protesters gather at the Georgia State Capitol to protest the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • American Legislative Executive Council getting attention for pushing conservative legislation
  • Group was behind the spread of “stand your ground” laws
  • This week, Coca-Cola and Kraft say they are pulling corporate memberships from group
  • The group has ties to the NRA, which has extended its reach beyond gun rights advocacy
Washington (CNN) — This week, Coca-Cola and Kraft announced they are pulling their corporate memberships from a conservative group that was behind the spread of “stand your ground” laws like the one highlighted in Florida by the Trayvon Martin case.
The American Legislative Executive Council, also known as ALEC, is getting attention lately for its behind the