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TSJ's Stephanie Hicks on the CTU Strike: Interview by Kevin Powell
How do you respond to those who say teachers are asking for too much?To those who say that teachers are asking for too much, I’d say that the conditions under which teachers teach, and students learn, make a world of difference in the educational process. If teachers aren’t compensated fairly, if they don’t have adequate affordable healthcare, and time to attend to their families, or the resources they need in the classroom to teach effectively, their students are going to suffer. Just as students should be able to go to school in healthy, safe, supportive environments, teachers should be able to work in them.How do you respond to those who say teachers’ strike is affecting the children?I’d say that the strike is affecting them in the best way possible: they’re learning the most
New poll: California tax measures are touch-and-go
San Gabriel Valley Tribune -
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A labor-backed advertising blitz in recent weeks appears to be turning voters against Proposition 32, the ballot measure that would bar unions, corporations and government contractors from using payroll deductions for political purposes, according to a new poll.
The Public Policy Institute of California survey, conducted Sept. 9 through 16, also found that slightly more than half of California's likely voters support Gov. Jerry Brown's ballot measure to raise income taxes on the rich and sales taxes for all, while fewer support a competing measure that would raise income taxes across the board. But with less than seven weeks to go before Election Day, those numbers mean it's touch-and-go, even for the governor's Proposition 30.
Skeptical unions pose challenge to districts' Race to the Top
EdSource -
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Nearly 900 districts nationwide, including 76 districts and charter schools in California, have told the federal government that they plan to compete for the final $400 million Race to the Top district competition. But with local unions having in effect a veto over their districts’ application, that number could dwindle.
It’s already starting. The executive board of Sacramento City Teachers Association voted last week to decline to participate, putting the kibosh on the district’s hope to join with Oakland Unified, San Francisco Unified, and two other districts on a plan to improve middle school math. The U.S. Department of Education is requiring that an application include the signature of the local union president as a sign that all parties will meet their commitments.
Eli Broad’s inverted vision
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Many years ago, Eli Broad was the very model of the modern enlightened art collector. InDecember 1988, he opened a 22,600-square-foot “lending library for art”, complete with soaring rhetoric:
Broad believes that the new facility is part of the solution to museums’ financial woes and a pointed example of how a collector can demonstrate social responsibility…In the first place, he said, this center is not a museum. It’s a lending library. “We never wanted to have a building with our name on it that would compete with museums,” he said. “We loan works to museums and make them available to scholars.”
Broad explained that his foundation had already loaned art to more than 100 different museums, and that at any given point in time a good third of his collection was on loan somewhere. You don’t need to have your own museum for the public to see your art; in fact, if you do it the other way, by lending out your art to other museums, everybody wins. More of your collection can be shown at once; more of the global public can see your collection; and you get to support hundreds of great cultural institutions, rather than just your own.
The point here is that although museums lend out works too, it’s rarely a priority for them, and they never consider themselves a failure if they don’t lend out works. A foundation devoted to lending
What Romney Said That The Media Is Not Talking About
By Barbara MinerSept. 20, 2012 ( Barbara Miner’s blog is part of our Purple Wisconsin project. Miner is an award-winning journalist and photographer.)
Strikingly absent from mainstream commentaries is Romney’s attitude toward the African American vote.
In an aside during remarks about Hispanics, Romney said: “If the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to
What's With That: Women's work, standardized tests, & a supersized ban
What’s with the news: Last week, “Good Morning America” picked up a piece on Treds Tire and Wheel, an all-female tire shop located in San Antonio, Texas.
The shop is run by Margaret Rodriguez and her 19-year-old daughter Andrea. It was Andrea’s idea to make the shop all-female, a business strategy resulting from the fact that several tire businesses had already failed at the same location.
Despite the occasional naysayer, the shop now employs six workers and one intern, and business is thriving. Given their work ethic, mix of male and female patrons, and a lack of low-cut tops, I think it’s safe to assume their success is about something more than their boobs.
What’s with us: Kelly Rivas is the president of Fem Dems of the Sacramento Region, an organization that
“Writing Rules! Advice From The Times on Writing Well”
Writing Rules! Advice From The Times on Writing Well is from The New York Times Learning Network.
It’s a great list!
It isn’t an exact fit with The Best Writing Advice From Famous Authors, but it’s close enough that I’m adding it there.
I Can Think Of So Many People Who Should See “Nice White Lady” Parody
I am SO tired of seeing movies about white teachers “rescuing” inner-city youth, and have posted links to some excellent commentaries on the topic at The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies.
Thanks to Roxanna Elden, who has got to be one of, if not THE, most insightful teacher writer around, I’ve learned about this “Nice White Lady” parody on the genre:
Embedding is disabled, so I can’t post it here, but you can check out the short clip on YouTube.
Thanks to Roxanna Elden, who has got to be one of, if not THE, most insightful teacher writer around, I’ve learned about this “Nice White Lady” parody on the genre:
“@smithdl: Teachers: “Nice White Lady” spoof from MAD TV: ://t.co/EGHEqgdc #wjeajday2012” funniest take on teacher hero movies – ever.
— Roxanna Elden (@RoxannaElden) September 20, 2012
Embedding is disabled, so I can’t post it here, but you can check out the short clip on YouTube.
