Ladies and gents, I’ve arrived at my 900th post.
I should dedicate this one to the fact that George Zimmerman, Trayvon Miller’s murderer, was caught unbloodied and unbruised on video during his trip to the Sanford Police Department with police, dispelling his account almost assuredly. I could also dedicated to the lesser known Shaima Al-Awadi, a mother of four was who brutally murdered for her Muslim faith I presume. I could talk about my sincerest trepidation over the latest iteration of the New York State math test coming in seven school days (not including ELA test days), but I might do that much better in another blog.
I should remind you as my readers that racism, sexism, ageism, and other social biases haven’t really waned in effect, just changed shape, and that privilege plays a large role in even my most progressive colleagues. Yet,
One of the tropes most often used by the right-wing and often blatantly racist defenders of George Zimmerman, the man who shot an unarmed Trayvon Martin to death in a Florida gated community last month, was that Zimmerman was allegedly beaten to a bloody pulp by the 17-year-old boy he killed: Punched in the nose hard enough for it to break, knocked down, head slammed into the ground, dripping blood from his various wounds.
The tale of Zimmerman’s many serious wounds was already in question: For one thing, he refused medical attention when it was offered to him. And now, thanks to the release of this police surveillance video, we can now see that the tale of the bloodily-beaten Zimmerman is just so much nonsense:
A police surveillance video taken the night that Trayvon Martin was shot dead shows no blood or bruises on George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who says he shot Martin after he
Huey Long was a Progressive Senator during the Great Depression who believed in wealth redistribution. He organized upwards of seven million Americans to see this dream of wealth redistribution come true. He wanted the wealthy in America to "give back" to the country, or else. He not only called for an even playing field, but he called for an even result. The following is a speech he made on December 11, 1934:
"According to the tables which we have assembled, it is our estimate that 4 percent of the American people own 85 percent of the wealth of America, and that over 70 percent of the people of America don't own enough to pay for the debts that they owe.
Any man with a thimble-full of sense ought to know that if you take 85 percent off of that table and give it to one man that you are bound to have 2/3 the people starving because they haven't got enough to eat.
How many men ever went to a barbecue and would let one man take off the table what's intended for 9/10th of the people to eat? The only way to be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back and bring back some of that grub that he ain't got no business with! [Laughter and applause]
Now we got a barbecue. We have been praying to the Almighty to send us to a feast. We have knelt on our knees morning and nighttime. The Lord has answered the prayer. He has called the barbecue. "Come to my feast," He said to 125 million American people. But Morgan and Rockefeller and Mellon and Baruch have walked up and took 85 percent of the victuals off the table!
Now, how are you going to feed the balance of the people? What's Morgan and Baruch and Rockefeller and Mellon going to do with all that grub? They can't eat it, they can't wear the clothes, they can't live in the houses.
Giv'em a yacht! Giv'em a Palace! Send 'em to Reno and give them a new wife when they want it, if that's what they want. [Laughter] But when they've got everything on God's loving earth that they can eat and they can wear and they can live in, and all that their children can live in and wear and eat, and all of their children's children can use, then we've got to call Mr. Morgan and Mr. Mellon an Mr. Rockefeller back and say, come back here, put that stuff back on this table here that you took away from here that you don't need. Leave something else for the American people to consume. And that's the program. [Applause]
We will call in Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Mellon....Dear Mr. Mellon, We're not going to destroy the capitalistic system, but we're going to put in a limit, you can have up to 4- to 5-million dollars and that's all. We're not going to destroy the Gulf Refining Company; we're not going to destroy the Standard Oil Company, but we're going to say that the limit of any one man's stock ownership in the Standard Oil company is from 3- to 5-million dollars for that individual and the balance to the people of America who own the balance of what the Standard Oil company is worth! [applause]
Then, we start from the bottom. That the 25 or more million American families shall have a homestead. Up to $5,000....a home and the comforts of a home, including an automobile and a radio, the things it takes in that house to live on...
We say to America, 125 million, none shall be too big, none shall be too poor, none shall work too much, none shall be idle. No luxurious mansions empty, none walking the streets, none impoverished, none in pestilence, none in want, but in the land blessed by the smile of the Creator with everything to be consumed, to be eaten, to be worn, that America will become a land, sharing the fruits of the land, not for the favored few, not to satisfy greed, but that all may live in the land in which the Lord has provided an abundance sufficient for the luxury and convenience of the people in general! I thank you.
-Senator Huey Long
The three Democrats on the Senate State Affairs Committee outvoted their two GOP colleagues Wednesday afternoon and killed House Bill 12-1149, this year’s mild version of a parent trigger proposal.
The vote didn’t come as a major surprise, given that State Affairs is known as the “kill committee” where leadership sends bills it doesn’t like.
Sen. Mike Johnston (center) was smiling even when flanked by two opponents, Bruce Caughey of CASE (left) and Jane Urschel of CASB.
The bill originated in the House with Republican Rep. Don Beezley of Broomfield, and in the Senate it was carried by Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver and a leading figure on education reform legislation.
Given all the changes to the measure in the House, Johnston said, “This bill is not, for better or worse, a parent
An award-winning English and Social Studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif., Larry Ferlazzo is the author of Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Challenges, English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work, and Building Parent Engagement In Schools.He also maintains the popular Websites of the Day blog. In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, he will address readers' questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. And offer your own thoughts and responses in the comments section.
Though I'm receiving plenty of reader questions (but could always use more!), I periodically instead decide to respond to a "Question That's Been On My Mind."
This is another one of those times (I'll be returning to reader questions next week)....
My question relates to the major report and "new action agenda" announced by the National Education Association in December. The report, developed by a NEA-initiated group of teachers called the Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, made a number of recommendations.
My question is:
What were the most important aspects of the Commission report, and what might be its practical effects?
I've invited several guests will be responding to this question, including Commission member Renee Moore and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel.
I hope readers will share their responses, too.
Please share your thoughts in the comments, or, if you prefer, feel free to email them to me.
From the CTU:
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have settled a long-running dispute over CPS’s unlawful implementation of a longer school day at 13 neighborhood schools without properly compensating the teachers for the extra hours of work. The agreement was signed by both parties following today’s Board of Education meeting.
CPS unilaterally implemented the Longer School Day Pioneer Program beginning on September 26, 2011, with the last implementation date in January 2012, at a total of 13 schools. To induce teacher cooperation, CPS paid teachers up to $750 stipends and up to $150,000 to each school that participated in the program. The CTU filed Labor Board charges, alleging that the Longer School Day violated its bargaining rights, and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board unanimously voted on October 20, 2011 to seek injunctive relief blocking CPS from implementing the program at any of other 600+ public schools whose staff is represented by the CTU, and referring the initial 13 schools to a hearing before an Administrative Law judge. Rather than face a court
citypaper.net - A flyer attacking State Rep. James Roebuck for opposing school vouchers is hitting mailboxes throughout his West Philadelphia district. “James Roebuck blocked kids from attending the schools of the...
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washingtonpost.com - This was written by Lance Hill, executive director of the Southern Institute for Education and Research in New Orleans and a member of the New Orleans Education Equity Roundtable . In this post Hi...
educationnews.org - A study by the Royal Economic Society, to be presented this week, finds that parental effect on test results is five times that of teachers’ influence. This comes in the wake of warnings by Sir Mic...
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latimes.com - Mojave Desert school officials are expected to settle weeks of controversy Wednesday over what could be the first successful effort by California parents to petition for dramatic changes in their f...
preaprez.wordpress.com - BY ADRIENNE RICHThere’s a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted who ...
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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - LAUSD TEACHER WITCH HUNT GOES INTO HIGH GEAR - Perdaily.com: LAUSD TEACHER WITCH HUNT GOES INTO HIGH GEARby Leonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education r...
preaprez.wordpress.com - Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush gave a speech on the US House floor today. It was moving message about the murdered teenager Trayvon Martin. As he neared the end of his talk, he pulled a hoodie over...
nytimes.com - WASHINGTON — Memo to Congress: Not all American Jews support a military strike on Iran, either by Israel or by the United States. Members of J Street, the dovish pro-Israel group formed...
nytimes.com - ALBANY — Highlighting a shift in the way money is spent to influence government, the group that spent the most on lobbying in New York last year was a coalition of business leaders allied with Gov....
tasanet.org - The following is a list of school districts that have adopted the Resolution Concerning High Stakes, Standardized Testing of Texas Public School Students. As of March 27, 2012, 192 districts have n...
democraticunderground.com - Source: Palm Beach NewsSANFORD — The Trayvon Martin case is bringing more scrutiny on the Sanford Police Department. The Department of Justice will now investigate all cases handled by the police d...
dallasisdblog.dallasnews.com - A Dallas ISD elementary school teacher has been placed on paid leave after he filed a complaint with the Texas Education Agency this month over concerns at his school.Elliot Monteverde-Torres, a th...
online.wsj.com - BY MELODIE WARNER Princeton Review Inc. agreed to sell its test-preparation business and the "Princeton Review" brand to private-equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners for $33 million in cash as ...
preaprez.wordpress.com - Rockford Education Association members picket board of ed meeting yesterday. It would be the first teacher strike in Rockford in 30 years. Over 95% of the members of the Rockford Education Associat...
democraticunderground.com - Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review An Army deserter from East Liberty needed just two phone calls to gain access to a Citibank account belonging to one of the world's richest men, federal investigat...
theassailedteacher.com - The warm weather is rapidly approaching, which means the possibility of a resurgence of protests across the country. The Occupy movement has been scattered thanks to the evictions by the corporatis...
occupytogether.org - This week in Occupy, the arrival of Spring brought everyone back into the streets, thousands rallied for Trayvon Martin, Union Square was #occupied and Occupy UC Davis permanently closed a bank bra...
sacbee.com - The feuding parties over how to release the UC Davis pepper spray report return to court this morning for a hearing that may allow it to be unveiled in some fashion as early as next week.Lawyers fo...
ctnewsjunkie.com - by Sarah Darer Littman | Mar 23, 2012 11:21am(25) Comments | Log in to Post a Comment Posted to: Opinion (Updated 4:39 p.m. Sunday) Wednesday’s Where We Live with John Dankosky featured three membe...
