A Postmortem on the Strike
We will see many discussions of what the strike accomplished, who won, who lost. This one takes a balancedview and sees the strike as a lesson about working with teachers and de-emphasizing test scores.
As another reader pointed out, it is interesting that the anti-union forces usually keep hands off police and firefighters, the male-dominated unions, but go after teaching, nursing and social work. Wonder why?
As another reader pointed out, it is interesting that the anti-union forces usually keep hands off police and firefighters, the male-dominated unions, but go after teaching, nursing and social work. Wonder why?
What the Strike Taught Teachers
Kipp Dawson, a teacher in Pittsburgh, reflects on the lessons of the Chicago strike for teachers everywhere:
This strike, and the democratic and solidarity-packed way the CTU led it, has transformed ALL teachers EVERYWHERE from powerless to having now a sense of how to become powerful. Eyes on what our children need, involvement in the communities in which they live to support their struggles and have the communities see us as part of what they are struggling for, democratic functioning which aims to have ALL members feel and become leaders, clear messages (“The Schools Chicago’s Children Deserve” and a great Facebook campaign), and people “at the top” who are not looking for personal glory but who truly truly represent their membership. WE CAN DO THIS!!!
This strike, and the democratic and solidarity-packed way the CTU led it, has transformed ALL teachers EVERYWHERE from powerless to having now a sense of how to become powerful. Eyes on what our children need, involvement in the communities in which they live to support their struggles and have the communities see us as part of what they are struggling for, democratic functioning which aims to have ALL members feel and become leaders, clear messages (“The Schools Chicago’s Children Deserve” and a great Facebook campaign), and people “at the top” who are not looking for personal glory but who truly truly represent their membership. WE CAN DO THIS!!!
This Is the Candidate We Want
A reader sent this, commenting on post that asked whether the President would oppose Wisconsin’s Act 10:
Submitted on 2012/09/18 at 1:02 pm
“Don’t label a school as failing one day and then throw your hands up and walk away from it the next. Don’t tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend too much of a year preparing him to fill out a few bubbles in a standardized test…You didn’t devote your lives to testing. You devoted it to teaching, and teaching is what you should be allowed to do.” — Candidate Barack Obama, Summer 2007
Submitted on 2012/09/18 at 1:02 pm
“Don’t label a school as failing one day and then throw your hands up and walk away from it the next. Don’t tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend too much of a year preparing him to fill out a few bubbles in a standardized test…You didn’t devote your lives to testing. You devoted it to teaching, and teaching is what you should be allowed to do.” — Candidate Barack Obama, Summer 2007
Parent Review of “Won’t Back Down”
A New York City parent went to a screening of the new movie “Won’t Back Down,” which promotes the parent trigger idea. Various privatization advocates are pushing parent trigger laws that enable parents to “seize control” of their public school and hand it over to private corporations.
The parent stayed afterward for a panel discussion involving Leonie Haimson, leader of the pro-public school group Class Size Matters (I am one of her board members), and two others who are not public school parents.
Here is the report:
From: nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com [mailto:nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
The parent stayed afterward for a panel discussion involving Leonie Haimson, leader of the pro-public school group Class Size Matters (I am one of her board members), and two others who are not public school parents.
Here is the report:
From: nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com [mailto:nyceducationnews@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
The Real Story Behind “Won’t Back Down”
The Center for Media and Democracy keeps a careful watch on the activities of ALEC, the ultra-conservative organization of state legislators. One of ALEC’s model law is a “parent trigger” bill.
The new film “Won’t Back Down” pulls together the threads of corporate backing for the privatization of public education.
Read about it here.
Kevin Lee Is Still Worried
The new film “Won’t Back Down” pulls together the threads of corporate backing for the privatization of public education.
Read about it here.
Kevin Lee Is Still Worried
During the strike, I printed a letter from Kevin Lee, a teacher in Chicago, to explain why he was striking. The letter was read by thousands and reprinted widely. The editors of the Guardian, a publication in London, read Kevin’s post and asked for his email address. He wrote this wonderful article for them about the strike and about conditions in the Chicago schools.
A Personal Note from Karen Lewis
Karen Lewis stood up to the national media. She stood up to the mayor. She could do it because she knew she had the support of 98% of the teachers in the Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU had a strategy to build parent and community support. And that support meant more than the screeching from the editorial boards of the newspapers and the commentators on FOX and CNN.
I told Karen how much the readers of this blog admire what CTU did and what she did. Here is her response, which she said I could share with you:
I do not understand why people think what we did was special. I do not understand why people think I’m a leader.
I told Karen how much the readers of this blog admire what CTU did and what she did. Here is her response, which she said I could share with you:
I do not understand why people think what we did was special. I do not understand why people think I’m a leader.
A Great Story about the Strike
Harold Meyerson wrote a great story about the strike in the Washington Post. Please read it.
The mainstream media, the pundits and the editorial writers were so hostile to the strike that it is refreshing to read someone who really understands what happened in Chicago. Meyerson sees the strike not just as a job action, but as a strike against the national faux-reform movement, which demands incessant testing and pushes privatization.
He gets it.
And as you would expect, someone writes in response and says the teachers are not the union, the union is not the teachers. Oh, please. Who were the 98% of teachers who voted to authorize the strike? Who was it that
The mainstream media, the pundits and the editorial writers were so hostile to the strike that it is refreshing to read someone who really understands what happened in Chicago. Meyerson sees the strike not just as a job action, but as a strike against the national faux-reform movement, which demands incessant testing and pushes privatization.
He gets it.
And as you would expect, someone writes in response and says the teachers are not the union, the union is not the teachers. Oh, please. Who were the 98% of teachers who voted to authorize the strike? Who was it that
How Cyber Charters Make Big Profits
No surprise here. The biggest of the for-profit virtual school corporations, K12, has as many as 275 students to one teacher, according to this report in Florida.
This is what is described by promoters of the “Ten Elements” of digital learning as personalized, customized learning for the 21st century. Others might call it a profitable scam.
Remember P.T. Barnum said that there is a sucker born every minute. Someone else said that no one ever went
No, You Are Not Paranoid
This is what is described by promoters of the “Ten Elements” of digital learning as personalized, customized learning for the 21st century. Others might call it a profitable scam.
Remember P.T. Barnum said that there is a sucker born every minute. Someone else said that no one ever went
No, You Are Not Paranoid
A reader from Maine writes:
I think you’re right to feel paranoid–Sometimes they really are out to get you!
One thing that is starting to get some notice, but is still too far below the radar, is that while the state’s pile on more and more restrictive and demanding requirements for public schools, simultaneously they are pushing for reducing or eliminating those requirements for charters and virtual charters. As the Portland Press Herald noted
I think you’re right to feel paranoid–Sometimes they really are out to get you!
One thing that is starting to get some notice, but is still too far below the radar, is that while the state’s pile on more and more restrictive and demanding requirements for public schools, simultaneously they are pushing for reducing or eliminating those requirements for charters and virtual charters. As the Portland Press Herald noted
Some People Never Learn
Here is an article written by a Texas businessman and former legislator complaining that young people in Texas are woefully underprepared for college or the workplace.
The answer: more testing and accountability.
He fails to note that Texas has been pushing that testing and accountability thing for at least 20 years. Remember Ross Perot? Remember the Texas miracle? The whole country is stuck with NCLB because of all the
The answer: more testing and accountability.
He fails to note that Texas has been pushing that testing and accountability thing for at least 20 years. Remember Ross Perot? Remember the Texas miracle? The whole country is stuck with NCLB because of all the
A Teacher Explains How to Fix the Schools
Bruce Adams, a veteran teacher and artist in Buffalo, explains how to fix the schools in nine not-so-easy steps.
His recipe does not involve firing teachers or closing schools. It does not rely on standardized testing. It takes time.
Wall Street hedge fund managers, Eli Broad, and the Gates Foundation won’t like his plan, because he warns
His recipe does not involve firing teachers or closing schools. It does not rely on standardized testing. It takes time.
Wall Street hedge fund managers, Eli Broad, and the Gates Foundation won’t like his plan, because he warns
Jeb Bush: There Should Be No Public Sector Unions
Jonathan Pelto reports on Jeb Bush’s recent visit to Connecticut. While there, he saluted the “reforms” pushed through the legislature by Governor Dannell Malloy, especially his efforts to curb teachers’ tenure and seniority. And he boasted about Florida’s achievement (he didn’t mention the class size reduction initiative, which voters approved and he tried to roll back). And choice, choice, choice!
Funny that no one mentioned that Connecticut is one of the top two or three states in the nation on NAEP, even though it has strong teachers’ unions, seniority and tenure. It is far ahead of Florida. Since when does a state
Funny that no one mentioned that Connecticut is one of the top two or three states in the nation on NAEP, even though it has strong teachers’ unions, seniority and tenure. It is far ahead of Florida. Since when does a state
Still No Miracle in New Orleans
We have felt the full court press of the faux reform movement for more than a decade. Chicago has been burdened with it for nearly 20 years, New York City for 11 years, Washington, D.C., for five years.
The one city that reformers love to cite as their victory is New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina, in their narrative, was a blessing in disguise (and Arne Duncan said it was the best thing ever to happen to education in New Orleans).
New Orleans now has more of its students in charters (about 80%) than any other city, so it is the paradigm of the reform movement, the model for all other cities, which–if reform continues to advance–will one day have no
Who Looks Down on Teachers?
The Inside Story of Great Hearts Charter in Nashville
The one city that reformers love to cite as their victory is New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina, in their narrative, was a blessing in disguise (and Arne Duncan said it was the best thing ever to happen to education in New Orleans).
New Orleans now has more of its students in charters (about 80%) than any other city, so it is the paradigm of the reform movement, the model for all other cities, which–if reform continues to advance–will one day have no
Who Looks Down on Teachers?
This is an excellent piece reblogged by Valerie Strauss.
The author Corey Robin asks the reasonable question, why do so many well-educated, seemingly liberal people look askance at unions.
New State Tests=”Total Garbage”=Opt Out
The author Corey Robin asks the reasonable question, why do so many well-educated, seemingly liberal people look askance at unions.
New State Tests=”Total Garbage”=Opt Out
This Ed school Professor, Tom Slekar, is not silent. He blogs, makes satirical videos, has a radio program (The Chalkface). He even ran for school board in his town in Pennsylvania. And he is leading the fight against high-stakes testing.
Slekar has called on his colleagues to join him on the barricades.
Read this post for more information about Tim.
Slekar writes:
Parents get ready for new tests this schoo
Slekar has called on his colleagues to join him on the barricades.
Read this post for more information about Tim.
Slekar writes:
Parents get ready for new tests this schoo
The Inside Story of Great Hearts Charter in Nashville
We have been following the unfolding saga of the Metro Nashville school board’s refusal to approve a charter for the Great Hearts charter school in Arizona. The school board voted four times to deny the charter. The state board and the education commissioner Kevin Huffman ordered the Metro Nashville school board to approve the charter but it refused. The state is punishing Nashville by withholding $3.4 million from the district. So far, what we know about this affair is what we have read in the local Nashville newspapers. But here is an insider’s report
How Chicago’s Children Were Educated by the Strike
How Chicago’s Children Were Educated by the Strike
This reader commented about how the strike enhanced her grandchild’s education:
The strike taught my grandchild and so many more children like her that people should stand up for what they believe in; to thoroughly read any document you sign; to join with people who have the same causes because many things can’t be done alone and that democracy is messy and hard to achieve, but worth it in the end. Not
The strike taught my grandchild and so many more children like her that people should stand up for what they believe in; to thoroughly read any document you sign; to join with people who have the same causes because many things can’t be done alone and that democracy is messy and hard to achieve, but worth it in the end. Not
Salman Rushdie Said: Don’t Be Afraid
The novelist Salman Rushdie lived under a death threat for many years after the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini ordered his death in 1989. He was interviewed by the New York Times.
Something he said struck a chord:
Q. What advice do you have for someone who might find himself under a similar threat?
A. Two bits of advice, really. One has to do with the head and the other is practical. The thing in the head is:
Something he said struck a chord:
Q. What advice do you have for someone who might find himself under a similar threat?
A. Two bits of advice, really. One has to do with the head and the other is practical. The thing in the head is: