A letter to the President: 'Teachers work in fear.' | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

A letter to the President: 'Teachers work in fear.' | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

A letter to the President: 'Teachers work in fear.' 

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By Maureen Downey

Here is a letter to President Obama by one of the founders of the Badass Teachers Association, Mark D. Naison, a professor at Fordham University in New York.

I received several emails last week asking me to post the essay from Naison's blog "With a Brooklyn Accent."  I set it aside as we had a lot of local education news to discuss last week.

However, the piece inadvertently posted over the weekend -- without all the necessary coding. When I took it down to add the coding, several of you sent me notes asking what happened and wondering if complaints led to the letter being pulled from my blog.

Somehow, a lot of readers found their way to this posting even though it was not coded to appear on the AJC Get Schooled index or on the AJC Get Schooled Facebook page. And nearly 100 comments were made, all of which have reposted.

So, here we go again -- with coding and a headline. This is an excerpt. Please go to Dr. Naison's blog to read the entire piece:

Dear President Obama:

As a scholar in African American History and a teacher and coach for more than 45 years, it is my unhappy duty to inform you that your education policies have contributed to the lowest morale among teachers that I have seen in my lifetime, while failing to narrow gaps in opportunity or achievement based on race or class.

You may not believe me, but if you were, as I am, in daily contact with thousands of teachers from inner city to suburb to small town, you would be as worried as I am. Judging teachers on the basis of student test scores, as your Race to the Top policy requires, has been an unmitigated disaster; so has closing allegedly failing schools on the basis of such scores. Teachers everywhere now feel they have to teach to the test; in poor neighborhoods, they fear they will lose their jobs if they don't make this their sole priority.

The joy and creative learning that your own children experience in one of the nation's top private schools are being driven out of public schools throughout the nation with 

OH THE HUMANITY – OUR STUDENTS AREN ‘T CHALLENGED ! | Teachers Fight Back

OH THE HUMANITY – OUR STUDENTS AREN ‘T CHALLENGED ! | Teachers Fight Back:

OH THE HUMANITY – OUR STUDENTS AREN ‘T CHALLENGED !

leave a comment »

Chicago Tribune, you are hilarious. The Tribune is now boasting on page one how they obtained last year’s state school survey that was, “so provocative that the state withheld a full analysis of it from the public”.

Here is an excerpt from the Tribune article. “Across Illinois, sixth through 12th-graders were asked some simple but revealing questions on a statewide survey: Does your teacher ask difficult questions in class?  What about on tests ?  Their answers were an eye-opener, with nearly 50 percent – almost 360,000 students – disclosing that they never or seldom are asked hard questions in their main academic classes.”

“As for exams, 42 percent said they never or only occasionally are given challenging test questions, raising concerns about the rigors of instruction at a time when students are supposed to be preparing for tougher state exams.”

After reporting the above results, the Tribune writes this conclusion, “Not only do students not feel challenged —”.

There you have it folks, those lazy, incompetent teachers, especially unionized ones), AREN’T CHALLENGING OUR KIDS! Way to go Tribune, now there’s a foolproof scientific conclusion if I ever saw one! Does the Tribune 

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Patrick Kennedy, Welcome to the website for my Campaign for Sacramento County Supervisor, District 2.

Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education, Area 7:

Welcome to the website for my Campaign for Sacramento County Supervisor, District 2.

For 23 years, I have committed myself to the service of my community, first as a neighborhood leader and volunteer parent of four wonderful daughters, then as a planning commissioner. And for the past five as a member of the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education. These experiences have fostered in me a growing desire to serve our neighbors, particularly those whose lives have seen, and continue to see, great challenges.

District 2, and Sacramento County as a whole, is a wonderful place to live for many of us. For others, the difficult times of the past six years have taken a tremendous toll. I understand this adversity. Raised by a single mother whose alcoholism and drug addiction led to her death when I was just a boy, I know what it means to be on public assistance, not knowing one day to the next if my family would lose our home.

Now, many years later, I am blessed with a wonderful family and many opportunities. In many ways, I am the product of the community I now run to represent.

I am running for Supervisor because I believe I can make a difference. Whether it’s economic development and job creation, safer neighborhoods, more equitable county services, improved physical and mental health care delivery, opportunities for our youth, or protecting our rivers and parkways, my candidacy is based on the conviction that we can do better. I hope you will join me.

Please call me at 916-743-0876, or email me at patrick@patrick-kennedy.com if you have any questions.

Patrick

Nite Cap 12-10-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

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Counselors as Leaders – Being “Called to the Table” | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Counselors as Leaders – Being “Called to the Table”By American School Counselor Association on December 9, 2013By Shelley Klaas, American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Elementary PIN Facilitator*As the PIN (Professional Interest Network) Facilitator for Elementary Counselors for the ASC

by mike simpson / 23h 

Nite Cap 12-9-13 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

James Baldwin said it best: "For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP mark as readWhy Education in Finland Works | Continuing ChangeWhy Education in Finland Works | Continuing Change: Why Education in Finland Works      Rate ThisReal relationships – real trust.AFT President Randi Weingarten visits schools in Finla

by mike simpson / 23h 

2nd Banana 12-7-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 
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2nd Banana 11-23-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 11-16-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 11-9-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 2nd Banana 11-2-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

Nite Cap 12-9-13

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