Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

8-7-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

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The in box. Micah Uetricht on ALEC in The Nation.
  Demonstrators protest the fortieth annual ALEC convention at the Palmer Hotel in Chicago (Flickr/Mikasi) My friend Micah Uetricht sends me his article on the Chicago ALEC protest that he wrote for The Nation. A coalition of labor, community and environmental groups from throughout the Midwest will gather to protest the group’s three-day conference throughout the week, with organizers expecting

Guest post. Common Core-uption? Uncommon conflict of interest!
By H.D. Worth Educator on the front lines. Cross posted at Teacher/Poet/Musician Glen Brown.   Last month, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave $6,309,100 in grants to the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education. The money is earmarked to help implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Wait a second!  NEA members are in a collaborative partnership with the same Gates Foundatio


Breaking. 50 protesters hold sit-in in front of Palmer House protesting ALEC and stand-your-ground laws.
  Wednesday morning. Thousands tomorrow at noon. 17 East Monroe.


Ten minute drawing. Ty Fahner. I broke Illinois.
  Click on image to enlarge.


Illinois will pay an extra $130 million in interest on a bond issue this week. Thank the Civic Committee.
. By his own admission, Civic Committee head Ty Fahner met with the bond rating agencies and told them to lower Illinois’ ratings. They did what he asked. As the question and the answer in the video shows, the intent was to create political pressure on the state legislature to cut constitutionally guaranteed state pension benefits. It will also cost the state and taxpayers millions of dollars. Ir
Illinois. Land of Lincoln and inequality. Worst in the U.S. for poor kids.
Every Illinois school kid knows that Illinois is the Land of Lincoln. We have schools, highways and even a little town south of Bloomington named for him. Oddly it is the statue of anti-abolitionist Stephen Douglas that stands in front of the state Capitol building. Maybe not do odd. It is hard to imagine that Lincoln would take much pride in the current inequalities of the state where he started
8-6-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: ALEC protests begin. Banner drop and arrests at the Palmer House. More to come.The Chicago Moral Monday Coalition, an alliance of Chicago clergy, lay people, unions and community organizations protested yesterday, Monday, at the Palmer House, 17 E. Monroe. The American Legislative Exchange Council (AL