Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/11/16
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Culture Warrior Princess – EduShyster
Sunday, December 11, 2016
CURMUDGUCATION: Why Honor Diane Ravitch?
CURMUDGUCATION: Why Honor Diane Ravitch?:
Why Honor Diane Ravitch?
Tonight the Network for Public Education is throwing a shindig in New York to honor Diane Ravitch. In truth, it is also to help raise money for NPE, an organization for which Ravitch is a co-founder.
If you are at all concerned about public education, you are familiar with Ravitch's name, and the general arc of her story that has provided a sort of third-act apostasy-fueled career for her as a public figure. She has plenty of detractors from all sides of the education debates, and some of them are pretty worked up about her. Some of the arguments are the same old purity crusades, resting on the notion that if someone only says The Right Thing 98% of the time, they're ruined goods. I've never been a fan of that theory, but then I'm not much of labels guy, either. Human beings are generally complex and always non-uniform. If I ever meet someone who tells me that they agree with me 100% of the time, I assume they are lying to me.
Ravitch is important because she is the closest thing we have to a central figure in the public education side of the debates. While the reformster movement has manufactured big-time cover-photo public figures (She Who Will Not Be Named, former DC chancellor), won innumerable public posts (Arne Duncan), joined a plethora of billionaires (Eli Broad), and congealed around already-famous figures (Bill Gates), the defenders of public education have no such roster. If I showed a list of prominent reformsters to an average civilian, she would know many of the names. I don't think I could pull off a similar trick with public education advocates. Ravitch is about as close as we get to such a central, recognizable figure.
Part of that is her story. Hanging out with the architects of education reform, then defecting upon the realization that they were following the wrong past. But it is also her relentless attention to the movement and the many people it touches. She blogs endlessly, and a large part of that blogging is amplifying hundreds of voices of people who are invested in all of this. Reading Ravitch's blog not only keeps you informed about what is going out there, but it provides an undeniable sense that you have lots of company, lots of people who care about public education, too. You're not crazy, and you're not alone.
Ravitch has not tried to be a Great Leader, has not enforced an orthodoxy, and has not been getting rich from her activities. Her defection was arguably the worst career move ever, leaving people who write multi-million-dollar checks to fund websites, advocacy groups and think tanks to keep their CURMUDGUCATION: Why Honor Diane Ravitch?:
Why Honor Diane Ravitch?
Tonight the Network for Public Education is throwing a shindig in New York to honor Diane Ravitch. In truth, it is also to help raise money for NPE, an organization for which Ravitch is a co-founder.
If you are at all concerned about public education, you are familiar with Ravitch's name, and the general arc of her story that has provided a sort of third-act apostasy-fueled career for her as a public figure. She has plenty of detractors from all sides of the education debates, and some of them are pretty worked up about her. Some of the arguments are the same old purity crusades, resting on the notion that if someone only says The Right Thing 98% of the time, they're ruined goods. I've never been a fan of that theory, but then I'm not much of labels guy, either. Human beings are generally complex and always non-uniform. If I ever meet someone who tells me that they agree with me 100% of the time, I assume they are lying to me.
Ravitch is important because she is the closest thing we have to a central figure in the public education side of the debates. While the reformster movement has manufactured big-time cover-photo public figures (She Who Will Not Be Named, former DC chancellor), won innumerable public posts (Arne Duncan), joined a plethora of billionaires (Eli Broad), and congealed around already-famous figures (Bill Gates), the defenders of public education have no such roster. If I showed a list of prominent reformsters to an average civilian, she would know many of the names. I don't think I could pull off a similar trick with public education advocates. Ravitch is about as close as we get to such a central, recognizable figure.
Part of that is her story. Hanging out with the architects of education reform, then defecting upon the realization that they were following the wrong past. But it is also her relentless attention to the movement and the many people it touches. She blogs endlessly, and a large part of that blogging is amplifying hundreds of voices of people who are invested in all of this. Reading Ravitch's blog not only keeps you informed about what is going out there, but it provides an undeniable sense that you have lots of company, lots of people who care about public education, too. You're not crazy, and you're not alone.
Ravitch has not tried to be a Great Leader, has not enforced an orthodoxy, and has not been getting rich from her activities. Her defection was arguably the worst career move ever, leaving people who write multi-million-dollar checks to fund websites, advocacy groups and think tanks to keep their CURMUDGUCATION: Why Honor Diane Ravitch?:
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Speaks (Sort of)
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Speaks (Sort of):
DeVos Speaks (Sort of)
Poor Betsy DeVos. She has recently spent time on the Donald Trump "Thank You These rallies Are The Only Part I Liked About Running for President" Tour, complaining that the media is spreading "false news" about her. I suppose that she could address that by actually, you know, speaking to the press directly, but apparently she is spending time prepping for her confirmation hearing. Her appearances at Herr Trump's rallies haven't been covered in great detail, but thanks to the faux journalist power I call "Making It Up," I'm prepared to present the full text of one of her most recent tour speeches.
Thank you! Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to see all my friends and neighbors out to greet me here in my hometown of Grand Rapids. Just keep right on applauding. Remember, my family and I can ruin you at any moment. That's it! Cheer, fellow citizens and peasants!!
There has been a lot of speculation about what kind of Education Secretary I will be. Let me clear that up. I will be a great one!
For one thing, we will be bringing the benefits of school choice. I think all Americans agree that it's important that all businesses, no matter what their zip codes, have an opportunity to get their hands on a piece of the giant mountain of money that funds education in this country. Choice will let us do that. Cheer!!
But we want to do better than that. Everyone should have a chance to grab some of those public tax dollars, including all of the private schools which already exist. Vouchers should be an important part of an education money payout plan because every private school, whether its CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Speaks (Sort of):
DeVos Speaks (Sort of)
Thank you! Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to see all my friends and neighbors out to greet me here in my hometown of Grand Rapids. Just keep right on applauding. Remember, my family and I can ruin you at any moment. That's it! Cheer, fellow citizens and peasants!!
For one thing, we will be bringing the benefits of school choice. I think all Americans agree that it's important that all businesses, no matter what their zip codes, have an opportunity to get their hands on a piece of the giant mountain of money that funds education in this country. Choice will let us do that. Cheer!!
But we want to do better than that. Everyone should have a chance to grab some of those public tax dollars, including all of the private schools which already exist. Vouchers should be an important part of an education money payout plan because every private school, whether its CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Speaks (Sort of):
School privatization is a pyramid scheme and Other Scary Tales from Trumplandia
Smith: School privatization is a pyramid scheme:
School privatization is a pyramid scheme
Want to know why today’s Trumpian Republicans — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick among them — think public education is a waste of money? Just listen to President-elect Donald Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes. She cuts to the heart of it. There’s no such thing as facts, Hughes said.
School privatization is a pyramid scheme
Want to know why today’s Trumpian Republicans — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick among them — think public education is a waste of money? Just listen to President-elect Donald Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes. She cuts to the heart of it. There’s no such thing as facts, Hughes said.
In the Trump era, a Pinocchio nose is the new Washington Monument. It’s growing out of the swamp of corruption Trump once claimed he wanted to drain. Trump & Co. make up their own truths and facts as the circumstances of their power and pocketbooks require. Nice work — if you can get it.
So, the GOP reasons in that context, why in the world would they use taxpayer money to fill our children’s heads full of “facts” that could one day put at risk the fact-free, truth-free plans of the powerful?
As we near the start of the 2017 session of the Texas Legislature, the fate of public education once again hangs in the balance. Patrick — especially Patrick — has long had his sights trained on public ed.
The right’s school-voucher schemes have nothing to do with improving the actual education of children. There are many weapons in the anti-education voucher arsenal, such as vouchers backed with taxpayer money to send kids to private schools and so-called “education savings accounts.” Whatever it’s Smith: School privatization is a pyramid scheme:
Romano: Be prepared to fight if you believe in public schools | Tampa Bay Times - http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/romano-be-prepared-to-fight-if-you-believe-in-public-schools/2305847
Catherine Brown: Trump's plan is to defund, devalue and privatize our schools - Tulsa World: Opinionfeatured - http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/opinionfeatured/catherine-brown-trump-s-plan-is-to-defund-devalue-and/article_fca0b9cd-52da-53fb-a847-79d19194bcf6.html
Trump's choice for education secretary raises fears in Detroit | US news | The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/11/betsy-devos-trump-education-secretary-michigan-charter-schools
Stephen Henderson: Betsy DeVos' trouble with data - http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/stephen-henderson/2016/12/10/betsy-devos-trouble-data/95207844/
The Tragic Consequences of Placing Professors on Watchlists - Badass Teachers Association
Badass Teachers Association:
The Tragic Consequences of Placing Professors on Watchlists
by Dr. Michael Flanagan
I recently scrolled by an article discussing a “professor watchlist” created by a conservative group (Flarety, 2016). There have been other sites over the years designed to identify “problem” professors and their leftist viewpoints. The administrators of the watchlist sites often contact the students of these professors and encourage them to write anecdotal reports about alleged bias towards conservative ideologies. The creators of these watchlists feel that the professors are promoting a liberal agenda, while attacking conservative values.
In the past I would have kept scrolling by an article like this, writing it off as just another extremist website. But we are now living in a different America. Since the Presidential election hate crimes have spiked (Balingit, 2016). We have white nationalists taking key roles in the next presidential administration (NYT, 2016). Our President-elect, among many other authoritarian missives, has expressed plans to register Muslim citizens (Trip, 2015), and disregard First Amendment rights (Wright, 2016). The next logical target is college professors, because they educate and develop critical thinking and research skills in our next generation. A repressive government controlled by Wall Street, with a militarized police force, does not want free thinkers and political activists. Professors who are identified as liberals, progressives or leftists, might produce educated citizens Badass Teachers Association:
The Tragic Consequences of Placing Professors on Watchlists
by Dr. Michael Flanagan
I recently scrolled by an article discussing a “professor watchlist” created by a conservative group (Flarety, 2016). There have been other sites over the years designed to identify “problem” professors and their leftist viewpoints. The administrators of the watchlist sites often contact the students of these professors and encourage them to write anecdotal reports about alleged bias towards conservative ideologies. The creators of these watchlists feel that the professors are promoting a liberal agenda, while attacking conservative values.
In the past I would have kept scrolling by an article like this, writing it off as just another extremist website. But we are now living in a different America. Since the Presidential election hate crimes have spiked (Balingit, 2016). We have white nationalists taking key roles in the next presidential administration (NYT, 2016). Our President-elect, among many other authoritarian missives, has expressed plans to register Muslim citizens (Trip, 2015), and disregard First Amendment rights (Wright, 2016). The next logical target is college professors, because they educate and develop critical thinking and research skills in our next generation. A repressive government controlled by Wall Street, with a militarized police force, does not want free thinkers and political activists. Professors who are identified as liberals, progressives or leftists, might produce educated citizens Badass Teachers Association:
SacBee Last Dance with KJ: Johnson leaves Sacramento on upswing | The Sacramento Bee
Johnson leaves Sacramento on upswing | The Sacramento Bee:
Kevin Johnson’s legacy as Sacramento mayor
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Kevin Johnson’s legacy as Sacramento mayor
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm
Tired of this town again
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm
Tired of this town again
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
After eight years as mayor, Kevin Johnson leaves Sacramento in much better shape than he found it. On Tuesday, he hands off to Mayor-elect Darrell Steinberg a more confident city on the rise.
As Sacramento’s first celebrity mayor, Johnson brought charisma and connections he used to boost his city’s national stature, as well as his own. He called on all those skills to keep the Kings in town, open the new Golden 1 Center and jump-start development downtown.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson listens to speeches during his farewell reception at City Hall on Tuesday. Jose Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com
As the city’s first black mayor, he expanded racial inclusiveness and championed the now-thriving Oak Park neighborhood, where he grew up. As an outsider, he helped further expand local politics beyond the old guard of unions, neighborhood groups and the Democratic Party to include a younger, more diverse group of stakeholders.
He attracted strong and loyal supporters, but partly because Johnson did the job of mayor in his own way, he also fueled tenacious detractors. There is no denying he was a polarizing figure.
As it is in trying to assess any politician’s time in office, it isn’t easy to always draw a direct line from Johnson’s actions to successes and failures. Timing matters, a lot. He took office in December 2008, in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression, which forced painful budget cuts. He departs during a strengthening economic recovery, which allows the city to do more.
Still, there were crucial choices to make. And along with just-retired City Manager John Shirey and allies on the City Council, Johnson made mostly the right decisions to stabilize city finances, start pension reform, catch up on water and sewer infrastructure, and much more.
Two years ago, Johnson took the lead in bringing together the police department and community leaders after the riots in Ferguson, Mo. While police reform in Sacramento is a work in progress, the fact that it is being done without violence is no small matter. Johnson deserves a lot of the credit.
With his wife Michelle Rhee, he also used the mayor’s office to promote education, including public charter schools, though that unfairly drew the wrath of teachers unions.
Significant parts of his legacy are yet to be written. He and the rest of the council paved the way for construction at the downtown railyard, which could include a soccer stadium if Republic FC succeeds in winning a Major League Soccer franchise. Johnson also set a goal of 10,000 housing units in the central city and started a $10 million innovation fund to empower young entrepreneurs and lure high-tech jobs. It’ll be years before we can fairly judge those initiatives.
Despite the city’s progress, there will be a nagging sense that he could have accomplished even more.
Would he have made a difference on a wider range of issues if he had been a little more interested in policy and better at following through? What would be his impact if he had spent a little less time and energy trying to win more powers and focused more on fully using those he had? Or if he had been a little more of a team player and didn’t sow suspicion by bringing in his own “shadow” staff at City Hall and soliciting big-dollar donations for his own network of nonprofits?
His biggest victory came in May 2014 when the City Council approved the arena financing deal with the Kings (though the team is resisting calls to hang a “Mayor KJ” jersey from the rafters with other legends).
Johnson’s upward trajectory as mayor was cut short in November 2014 when voters decisively rejected a “strong mayor” plan. He decided not to resign, but also not to seek a third term this year.
Last year, he faced accusations of sexual harassment by a former aide in the city manager’s office. The city rejected her claim for damages. But then the sports website Deadspin resurrected 20-year-old allegations (aired during Johnson’s first campaign) by interviewing a woman who accused Johnson of sexual misconduct while she was a teenager in Phoenix.
That cloud may help explain why he retreated from public view in his final months in office. While Steinberg won’t be sworn in until Tuesday, he has been holding meetings with key players for months and has already weighed in to delay the selection of a new city manager and a final decision on a bigger convention center.
In his farewell remarks, Johnson called his two terms a roller-coaster ride. That’s certainly true, but there were plenty more ups than downs. He didn’t achieve everything he wanted, but he got a lot done. His city owes him its gratitude.Johnson leaves Sacramento on upswing | The Sacramento Bee:
