NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates Funding | deutsch29

NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates Funding | deutsch29:

NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates Funding

On April 26, 2015, education historian Diane Ravitch moderated an hour-long discussion between National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen Garcia and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten at the second annual conference of the Network for Public Education (NPE).

Only minutes prior to the conclusion of the session, Ravitch “Barbara Waltered” Garcia and Weingarten with the following question:

The Walton, Gates and Broad Foundations are at the forefront of the  privatization movement. Will you commit not to accept funding from them and not to collaborate with them? [56:56]

She then asked for their “yes or no” answers:

Lily?

Garcia: Yes.

Randi?

Weingarten: Yes.

A beautiful moment. The audience stood and applauded first Ravitch’s question then the Garcia-Weingarten response.

The session soon ended, and Garcia wasted no time backing out of that one.

In fact, in a blog post dated three days prior to her conference appearance (??), Garcia defended her right to say “yes” and mean “no.”

In her oddly-dated post, Garcia attempts to set Gates apart from Walton and Broad. In reality, NEA has no problem with refusing money from Walton because the Waltons hate unions.

As for the Broad Foundation, Garcia criticizes it as “all charters all the time.”

But when it comes to taking cash from the Gates Foundation, Garcia states that Gates is “complicated.”

She might as well have noted that with “all charters all the time” Broad, it is also “complicated” since some NEA locals have accepted Broad funding in the past. But let’s just set that aside for now.

As supposed evidence that Gates can be trusted (and that accepting his money is fine), Garcia cites part of the Gates Foundation website that offers a brochured Gates sell:

We are focused on results. Those that can be measured. And those measured in ways beyond numbers. We see individuals, not issues. We are inspired by passion, and compassion for the wellbeing of people. Our methods are based on logic, driven by rigor, results, issues, and outcomes. Our innovation means trying new things, learning from our mistakes, and consistently refining our approach. Our strategies help us define our path to success, but our effectiveness is based in the aggregate power of our initiatives to impact holistic change.

That is enough for Garcia. She considers Gates trustworthiness as established.

She does not add that the Gates Foundation is clear about making grants “according to our funding priorities” and by directly contacting organizations to invite them to apply for grants under those Gates-determined priorities.

As evidence of Gates’ goodness, Garcia notes that Gates funds “the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (which the NEA helped found).”

Let’s talk about Gates money and National Board.

In March 2014, Gates shelled out $200,000 to help pay for National Board’s conference. Coincidentally, in March 2014, Bill Gates gave a keynote at that same NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates Funding | deutsch29:

The Common Core “Deep Learning” Message that All Students are Gifted is Wrong:

The Common Core “Deep Learning” Message that All Students are Gifted is Wrong

MAY 18, 2015 BY NANCY BAILEY 2 COMMENTS

…in the ordinary elementary school situation, children of 140 IQ waste half their time. Those of 170 IQ waste practically all their time.

— gifted education pioneer Leta Hollingworth, found in Genius Denied, by Jan and Bob Davidson

A recent report implied that with the right kind of environment and “deep learning” everyone can be gifted. The belief is that students have these capabilities just waiting to be actualized with the right curriculum. The idea is that if the right projects and innovations are used, all students will be enlighten and giftedness will, I guess, cease to be. I mean, if everyone is gifted, no one is gifted. This kind of thinking causes harm to both the gifted population and those who are not gifted.

Deep learning appears to be a spinoff of Common Core State Standards indicating that students can finally be provided deeper thinking about what matters because…well, after all, how many first graders have you known who understood Mesopotamia?

This train of thought jumped out at me recently in a description of one of the High Tech High (HTH) schools in California. I have written about High Tech High before (Bill Gates loves them) and I am not sure what they are doing with Common Core. They appear to push for curriculum unlike the current one-size-fits-all being foisted on traditional public schools.

But they criticize gifted education by describing some of the worst practices that have been used by public schools to address the needs of gifted students. Let’s face it, few public schools have ever done gifted education right.

Many elementary schools have once-a-week pull-out programs where gifted children do activities all students would love—a fact that HTH likes to highlight. Of course, this evokes envy by other children, and many teachers resent the disruption.

In high school, most gifted students are relegated to advanced placement classes (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB), never designed for gifted students in mind. Both AP and IB are better than nothing but not good enough. While HTH may do their The Common Core “Deep Learning” Message that All Students are Gifted is Wrong:

Action Alert for Milwaukee | BustED Pencils

Action Alert for Milwaukee | BustED Pencils:

Action Alert for Milwaukee

Last week Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) decided that their vast experience as suburban Wisconsin legislators qualified them to introduce a bill that would literally take away Milwaukee Public Schools from the people of Milwaukee.  Yes, they proposed a “public school take over bill.”  These bills have been passed in many urban areas across the country and have been proven to simply be a private take over of urban poor and minority populated schools.  Later in the week it was announced that the bill was killed.  However, the movement to privatize urban public schools has been way too lucrative to just let die.  Instead of a bill, the Milwaukee School Take over Bill  has been simply slated to be passed as part of the state budget process—truly undermining the political and social capital of the citizens of Milwaukee.

ACTION ALERT

PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY AND FORWARD LINK TO FAMILY/FRIENDS

Attempts to stick privatization into state budget this Tuesday…

WE CAN NOT LOSE ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS!

Remember Act 10 was just about public workers, then came Right to Work…

This could be looked at as it’s just MPS, then it spreads everywhere…

TAKE ACTION NOW (really easy with this link)

 http://capwiz.com/nea/wi/state/main/?state=WI

Listen to the BustED Pencils show below.  I talk with an assortment of guests from Milwaukee about what’s happening on the ground and what you can do to help.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bustedpencils/2015/05/16/suburban-republicans-assault-on-milwaukee-public-schools

Action Alert for Milwaukee | BustED Pencils:

Michael Mulgrew: The better tests N.Y. kids deserve - NY Daily News

Michael Mulgrew: The better tests N.Y. kids deserve - NY Daily News:

The better tests N.Y. kids deserve

It’s time to ring down the curtain on a long-running farce: New York’s current statewide standardized tests. These exams — administered last month — give parents misleading information, encourage schools to focus on test-prep rather than real learning and are all but useless to teachers, the people who need them the most.

Let’s look at the tests’ recent history. Are 80% of the New York State students proficient in reading (the 2009 tests) or fewer than 27% (the 2014 tests)?

And who bears the responsibility for progress or the lack thereof? When city scores on the state tests rose, despite the fact that teachers and other observers said the exams were too easy, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg took credit for the gain. When scores fell dramatically because of a new test and a political decision to set a very demanding passing score, Gov. Cuomo blamed teachers.

Meantime, independent of Bloomberg’s boasting and Cuomo’s alarmist jeremiads, the most reliable and consistent testing instrument in the nation — the National Assessment of Educational Progress — has shown modest but generally consistent gains in reading and math by New York City students.

This spring, hundreds of thousands of New York families demonstrated their unhappiness with the state’s testing regimen when they refused to let their children sit for these wasteful and wrong-headed state exams — having watched as weeks of their children’s regular class time and enrichment courses like art and music were lost to cramming for tests that provide such little value.

Parent unhappiness with the tests has reached unprecedented levels. On Long Island, Comsewogue reportedly had an opt-out rate of 82%, and Plainedge Middle School 74%. In New York City nearly three-quarters of the eligible children at the Earth School in Manhattan reportedly didn’t take the test, while more than one-third opted out at PS 321 in Brooklyn’s Park Slope.

While the UFT supported parents in their decision, we also know that there is a place for tests in our schools — but not the current tests provided under a $32-million contract with Pearson.

As a teacher, I relied on tests — but shorter, periodic assessments that I used to identify the areas where each of my students needed more instruction. If the state Department of Education really wants to help students, it must develop the capacity to create and manage its own array of tests that comply with federal mandates and state curriculum standards, yet are actually useful to teachers.

Unlike the current tests, which provide only a single score for each child in reading and math, these new tests must be able to identify each child’s strengths and weaknesses.

Also, unlike current exams, which are not returned until the school year is over, these new tests must be administered and scored in time for teachers to help kids in the areas where they are falling short.

In addition, if the state is to restore the confidence of both parents and teachers in the testing process, it must be transparent. Every question and its alternate answers must be publicly available when the test is complete, unlike today’s “gag order” that relieves Pearson from the necessity of releasing — and forbids teachers from even publicly discussing — most test questions, and subjects the state to a financial penalty if the questions get out.

A testing program that met these standards — and offered the opportunity to actually help students rather than just measure them by an artificial standard — could regain the support of both teachers and parents.

Would it be expensive? It would almost certainly cost more than the current annual average of $6.4 million the state pays Pearson, particularly considering that all-new questions would have to be created every year.

But in a state that invests more than $20 billion on aid to education, spending a few million more per year to provide teachers with a better tool to help their students is an investment worth making.

Mulgrew is president of the United Federation of Teachers.Michael Mulgrew: The better tests N.Y. kids deserve - NY Daily News:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/18/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Chair of the Education Committee of the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP Statement on the Attack Public Education in Milwaukee | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Chair of the Education Committee of the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP Statement on the Attack Public Education in Milwaukee | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Chair of the Education Committee of the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP Statement on the Attack Public Education in MilwaukeeAttack on public educationMay 18, 2015 by Jamaal SmithJamaal E. Smith, a community activist and chair of th

by mike simpson / 3min 

Seattle Educators Set To Strike For The School Our Children Deserve: Video Jesse Hagopian I AM AN EDUCATOR

Seattle Educators Set To Strike For The School Our Children Deserve: Video interview with Jesse Hagopian on the rolling strike wave in Washington State | I AM AN EDUCATOR: Seattle Educators Set To Strike For The School Our Children Deserve: Video interview with Jesse Hagopian on the rolling strike wave in Washington StateEducators are walking out of the public schools in Seattle on Tuesday, May 18

by mike simpson / 7min 

Lily Eskelsen García - Improving education is a cooperative process

Improving education is a cooperative process: Caveat EmptorI’ve talked a lot about testing, because the testing monster eats through everything in education these days: third graders don’t get to be fourth graders; seniors don’t get to graduate; teachers are labeled ineffective; schools are labeled failing to make adequate progress… all based on hitting a number on a standardized test.But just as

1 by mike simpson / 16min 

Zimmer 'damns' Rodriguez and his supporters for attacks on Kayser - LA School Report

Zimmer 'damns' Rodriguez and his supporters for attacks on Kayser - LA School Report: Zimmer 'damns' Rodriguez and his supporters for attacks on Kayser LA Unified board member Steve ZimmerIf Ref Rodriguezwins election tomorrow, he’s got no friend in Steve Zimmer.Rodriguez is the challenger in the race for LA Unified school board District 5 against Bennett Kayser, easily themost heated of the three

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

61 Years After Brown v. Board Of Education, Many Schools Remain Separate And Unequal

61 Years After Brown v. Board Of Education, Many Schools Remain Separate And Unequal: 61 Years After Brown v. Board Of Education, Many Schools Remain Separate And Unequal Decades after the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling declared segregated schooling of black students unconstitutional, many American schools with high minority populations continue to receive fewer resources

1 by mike simpson / 3h 

Anti-union groups target California teachers » peoplesworld

Anti-union groups target California teachers » peoplesworld: Anti-union groups target California teachersSAN FRANCISCO - Pro-corporate education anti-union groups have taken aim at California teachers unions with two separate lawsuits - one of which would strip away the right for unions to collect "fair pay" or "agency fees" from non-members; and another which  argues the right

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

This Week In Education: Thompson: Robert Putnam and Ending the Education Civil War

This Week In Education: Thompson: Robert Putnam and Ending the Education Civil War: Thompson: Robert Putnam and Ending the Education Civil WarThe conservative Fordham Institute's A Conversation with Robert Putnam foreshadows the way that our education civil war could end. Fresh from his conversation with President Barack Obama, Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, and E.J. Dionne, R

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Video: How PACs are impacting school board elections in LA | 89.3 KPCC

Video: How PACs are impacting school board elections in LA | 89.3 KPCC: Video: How PACs are impacting school board elections in LA  Political action committees are spending 15 times the cash they did six years ago ahead of the Los Angeles Unified school board election on Tuesday.Just this spring, more than $4.5 million flowed to PACs for glossy mail fliers, robocalls and ads on Spanish language ra

6 by mike simpson / 4h 

WE DIDN’T NEED A SURVEY TO TELL US THIS!! OH YES WE DID!! Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association: WE DIDN’T NEED A SURVEY TO TELL US THIS!! OH YES WE DID!!So many have responded to the surveys findings that they are not surprised!  Well of course not we are teachers!! We are living this everyday! It is obvious to anyone who has lobbied politicians that many are out of touch with the reality of what is happening in public education today. When is the last time a sch

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

4LAKids - URBAN SPATIAL SEGREGATION IN SAN FRANCISCO: Living together. Learning apart.

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: URBAN SPATIAL SEGREGATION IN SAN FRANCISCO: Living together. Learning apart.: URBAN SPATIAL SEGREGATION IN SAN FRANCISCO: Living together. Learning apartLESSONS IN DESEGREGATION:  Other cities have much to teach San Francisco on how to diversifySTORY BY JILL TUCKER, HEATHER KNIGHT AND GRETA KAUL | SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE | HTTP://BIT.LY/1HQ72WD“Spatial

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Fed Issues New Standards for School Nutrition Personnel CA Dept of Education

Education Roundup for 5-15-15 - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education): Fed Issues New Standards for School Nutrition PersonnelStarting July 1, 2015, school nutrition programs participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs will have to meet higher professional standards to ensure their employees have the knowledge and skills to administer federal school nutrition programs. Thes

by mike simpson / 8h 

America Closed the Opportunity Gap Once and 'We Can Do It Again', Says 'Our Kids' Author - NEA Today

America Closed the Opportunity Gap Once and 'We Can Do It Again', Says 'Our Kids' Author - NEA Today: America Closed the Opportunity Gap Once and ‘We Can Do It Again’, Says ‘Our Kids’ AuthorBY TIM WALKERWhen Harvard Professor Robert Putnam began working on his new book, “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis,” five years ago, his goal was to make income inequality and the opportunity gap the domi

by mike simpson / 9h 

Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain Future — The Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain Future — The Civil Rights Project at UCLA: Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain FutureMarking the 60th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education, the UCLA’s Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles assessed the nation's progress in addressing school segregation, and f

by mike simpson / 10h 

Connecticut Makes Rare Progress On School Segregation As America Moves Backwards

Connecticut Makes Rare Progress On School Segregation As America Moves Backwards: Connecticut Makes Rare Progress On School Segregation As America Moves BackwardsWhen Connecticut high school senior Akbar Maliki looks back on his high school experience, he can think of only one negative: his school has made him so open to and accepting of diversity, he says, that he worries about his ability to mak

by mike simpson / 10h 

Spending in race for three LAUSD board seats reaches nearly $4.6 million - LA Times

Spending in race for three LAUSD board seats reaches nearly $4.6 million - LA Times: Spending in race for three LAUSD board seats reaches nearly $4.6 millionTotal spending in the battle for three spots on the Los Angeles Board of Education has increased sharply since the March primary, reaching nearly $4.6 million, as interest groups vie to influence the nation's second-largest school system.The t

by mike simpson / 10h 

To fight for education, vote for Helen Gym

To fight for education, vote for Helen Gym: To fight for education, vote for Helen GymTOMORROW we will head to the polls to vote in an election in which, for the first time in recent memory, education is seen as the most important issue in the city. Because of the growing importance of public education, over the course of the election season almost every candidate has laid out a vision for the fut

by mike simpson / 10h 

Weingarten stumps for Helen Gym

Weingarten stumps for Helen Gym: Weingarten stumps for Helen GymHelen Gym's City Council campaign got early momentum from an endorsement from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. On Friday, it was bolstered by the effusive support of Randi Weingarten, the president of the national teachers' union."If we had more people like Helen in public office, we'd be solving more problems across the

by mike simpson / 10h 

California State Pta Supports Local Initiative Seeking To Include Lgbtq Perspective In Health Education:

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: CALIFORNIA STATE PTA SUPPORTS LOCAL INITIATIVE SEEKING TO INCLUDE LGBTQ PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH EDUCATION: Burbank PTA resolution on sex-ed inclusion wins approval at state PTA convention.: CALIFORNIA STATE PTA SUPPORTS LOCAL INITIATIVE SEEKING TO INCLUDE LGBTQ PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH EDUCATION Burbank PTA resolution on sex-ed inclusion wins approval at sta

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

NYC Educator: The Professor Tells Us How Things Are

NYC Educator: The Professor Tells Us How Things Are: The Professor Tells Us How Things AreI was a little upset by this piece, written by a college professor. I know he's a professor because he announces it. He's not a teacher, he says, and I agree. However, I'm a little surprised he so absolutely accepts every one-dimensional stereotype spouted by Bill Gates, Arne Duncan, and everyone else spewing

by mike simpson / 10h 

Is There a Doctor in the Education House? - Lily Eskelsen García

Is There a Doctor in the Education House? - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week: Is There a Doctor in the Education House? Note: Rick is taking a hiatus while he's off talking about his new book, The Cage-Busting Teacher. Meanwhile, this week's guest posts will be written by Lily Eskelsen García (@Lily_NEA), president of the National Education Association.I want to thank my friend, Rick Hess, f

by mike simpson / 10h 

The big business of charter schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The big business of charter schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: The big business of charter schoolsBy Valerie StraussIf you are wondering why you should add charter schools to your investment portfolios, here’s David Brain, head of a major investment concern called Entertainment Properties Trust, to tell you.This isn’t a joke.You may think charter schools are just one option for pare

by mike simpson / 11h 

Our Turn - Change The LAUSD

Our Turn - Change The LAUSD: Our Turnscott4lausd.comLike athletes, politicians are expected to declare victory in advance of their contest. The standard stump speech is expected to include the words “when I win this election, I will…” because the first job of the candidate is to get voters to contemplate them sitting in office. Using the words “if I win election” does not inspire that same confide

by mike simpson / 11h 

A Personal Word on the BAT-AFT Teacher Stress Survey | deutsch29

A Personal Word on the BAT-AFT Teacher Stress Survey | deutsch29: A Personal Word on the BAT-AFT Teacher Stress SurveyOn May 12, 2015, the Badass Association of Teachers (BATs) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) produced the first of what will likely be many reports on information collected as part of an online survey on teacher stress.The report linked above is posted on the AFT websit

by mike simpson / 17h 

YESTERDAY

Cuomo Promotes Tax Credits for Families of Students at Private Schools - NYTimes.com

Cuomo Promotes Tax Credits for Families of Students at Private Schools - NYTimes.com: Cuomo Promotes Tax Credits for Families of Students at Private SchoolsIn a campaign-style tour meant to put pressure on lawmakers, Gov.Andrew M. Cuomo visited churches and a yeshiva on Sunday to promote a bill to give tax credits to families of students at private schools, including religious ones.Mr. Cuomo’s vis

10 by mike simpson / 22h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/17/15

Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMStare Them In The Eyes | The Jose VilsonStare Them In The Eyes | The Jose Vilson: Stare Them In The EyesBefore I continue, I’ve been nominated for the National Education Association’s Social Justice Award. If you’re an NEA / UFT member, please consider voting for me. Thank you! Voting ends on May 18th, 2015.When John Norton, editor and writing guru, was having l

1 by mike simpson / 1d