KOCH BREAK News | www.kochwatch.org

News | www.kochwatch.org

Wisconsin Protests: Dennis Kucinich at the Barrymore Speak-Out WATCH ON YOUTUBE:

Dick Morris Tells Tea Party What GOP Plans Next @ 3/31 Rally *Dick Morris sings the praises of Scott Walker, Rick Scott, et al, and makes what appear to be some attempts at Teabag humor at a sparcely attended Tea Party rally in Washington DC, 3/31/2011* WATCH ON YOUTUBE:

Talking Points Memo: House Defeats Effort to Remove Anti-Union Provisions of FAA Bill *April 1, 2011-* The House GOP weathered a number of defections to defeat attempts to remove anti-labor language from a bill reauthorizing the FAA on Friday. An amendment to strip the bill of a provision requiring workers to be present for votes on ...

Monbiot Goes Nuclear on Student | Dailycensored.com

Monbiot Goes Nuclear on Student | Dailycensored.com

Monbiot Goes Nuclear on Student

Written by HurricaneDeanDaily Journal (Opinion), Green, Media, Politics, World NewsApr 3, 2011

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Skinny George

I owe George Monbiot an apology. Last week, I published an article for Project Censored in which I included a few choice snippets of a debate aired on DemocracyNow! The debate was between world renowned anti-Nuclear activist and co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Dr. Helen Caldicott, and famous author and The Guardian columnist George Monbiot. I will not reprint the entire segment of the article, in which I quoted and commented on the two sides. However, here is the one paragraph, or shall I say sentence, that Monbiot took exception to:

“Monbiot started off the debate by stating, “coal is hundreds of times more dangerous than nuclear power, not just because of climate change, though, of course, climate change is a big one, but also because of industrial

Why is Milwaukee the nation's top segregated metro? One reason: Scott W. | Uppity Wisconsin

Why is Milwaukee the nation's top segregated metro? One reason: Scott W. | Uppity Wisconsin

Why is Milwaukee the nation's top segregated metro? One reason: Scott W.

by Man MKE

In an article for Salon.com, Philadelphia journalist Daniel Denvir examines recent US Census data and reports that on a scale of 1 to 100 where 100 is complete segregation, Milwaukee's number is highest among all larger US urban areas, with a tally of 81.52. And former Milwaukee County Executive Walker is one of the factors, according to a UWM professor interviewed for the piece.

Excerpt:

Nationwide, blacks have been concentrated in the inner city, far away from where new jobs are created. Yet the case of Milwaukee is extreme: 90 percent of the metro area's black population lives in the city. Making matters worse, suburban whites are notably hostile to building any form of public transit to connect city people to suburban jobs, further exacerbating segregation's ill effects.

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Technology and Schools

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Technology and Schools

Technology and Schools

by Melissa Westbrook

Two thing prompted me to want to write this thread. One was from the thread "This or That" about what readers think are important in the budget. Here's what "Joanie" had to say (and I believe this person is a teacher):

Sorry I didn't say it all in one post. Teachers' plates are getting fuller and fuller. I watch the board meetings fairly often and the teachers and parents who appear seem to be ignored most of the time. I agree with much of what I hear. Now Dr. Enfield is creating another way for teachers to communicate with parents: turning the school website into a potential blog site that will be monitored by teachers. Good Lord! That's not what we need. How

School Tech Connect: 20 Weird Things In My House

School Tech Connect: 20 Weird Things In My House

20 Weird Things In My House

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Setting aside politics and policy for a moment---- I was doing a little thinking about basic "digital storytelling" today, and as usual, I came up with more questions than answers. I work with a lot of kids who are usingPhotoStory for Windows, and pretty much my goal today was to find the closest 2.0 tool that does the same kinds of things.

So, what I did was take 20 pictures of weird things in my house to see how PhotoPeach works, and if I could weave together some kind of narrative using it. PhotoPeach is a snap to use, but I'm pretty much limited to captions only. If I wanted to narrate the photos, I'm not sure I can do that with PhotoPeach.

“We Are One” A Day of Solidarity” April 4, 2011 « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

“We Are One” A Day of Solidarity” April 4, 2011 « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

“We Are One” A Day of Solidarity” April 4, 2011

They thought we were sleeping. They thought we were lulled into complacency with reality TV, cable television, DVR, fast food, and the latest tech gadgets. They were wrong! Gov. Scott Walker thought no one was paying attention. He thought he could scale back collective bargaining rights of state workers, and no one would notice. Shhhh!

However, the sleeping giant awakened, and proved that America was still the land of the free. I am proud of the teachers in Wisconsin. Taking over the capital? Who would have thought? Hundreds of thousands of protestors filled the halls, and stayed there! Others tried to guilt them. Why aren’t they teaching? What more do they want? The Union has too much power! They stayed. Gov.Walker blocked new

Trying to Balance Coercion, Inspiration & Facilitation | Lefty Parent

Trying to Balance Coercion, Inspiration & Facilitation | Lefty Parent

Trying to Balance Coercion, Inspiration & Facilitation

by Cooper Zale

Derry, another member of our Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) forum, has worked in the state (public) school system in the UK for 21 years. He joined into our current discussion about the compulsory nature of our public school systems and whether we have reached a point in our social evolution that we don’t have to compel kids to go to school. He considers himself a progressive educator who has spent his years in the system working to make state schools more democratic (less authoritarian). Trying to imagine what is possible within the current educational context (of compulsory

I’m looking for a new brat supplier. Johnsonville supports Scott Walker. « Fred Klonsky's blog

I’m looking for a new brat supplier. Johnsonville supports Scott Walker. « Fred Klonsky's blog

I’m looking for a new brat supplier. Johnsonville supports Scott Walker.

by Fred Klonsky

For over a dozen years we have had a tradition at my school.

We do it on the last records/planning day in June. The kids are off and the teachers are doing report cards and getting ready for the end of the year.

The guys in the building (and as in a typical elementary school, there are not many guys) prepare lunch for the staff. The custodian pulls out the old Weber grills from the basement. We fire ‘em up and char up about a hundred bratwurst.

Although we guys always argue about it, there is a standard traditional recipe. You cook the brats in beer and onions. We usually do that the night before, since the idea of bringing a case of beer into the school kitchen

Beach Sounds: Calafia Beach

Beach Sounds: Calafia Beach

Beach Sounds: Calafia Beach

by admin

Every time we visit a California beach, I try to record it. Reason: to create aural postcards of our beautiful coast.

On the way back from Grammy’s. Wanted to go to San Onofre but couldn’t figure out how. Lots of military, border patrol, nuclear power. Thoughts of Japan. Your Mama found this little beach. Big gray boulders embanking the Surfliner tracks. Here it comes now! Beautiful sparkling spring day. (Equipment: Stereo, Sound Devices 702, Rode NT4)

Calafia Beach by California Father

For more beach sounds click here.

Labor unions to rally for solidarity | Press & Sun-Bulletin | pressconnects.com

Labor unions to rally for solidarity | Press & Sun-Bulletin | pressconnects.com

Labor unions to rally for solidarity

Workers' rights at issue

4:31 PM, Apr. 1, 2011 |

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Written by

G. Jeffrey Aaron
jgaaron@gannett.com

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Two organized labor groups representing workers across the Southern Tier are planning to hold rallies in Elmira and Binghamton as part of a national campaign to highlight recent legislative attacks on collective bargaining rights.

On Monday, more than 600 events will be held across the country as union and non-union groups take part in what is billed as We Are One: Solidarity Day of Action.

The events also will also commemorate the April 4, 1968, assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The illogic of paying teachers based on test scores - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The illogic of paying teachers based on test scores - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The illogic of paying teachers based on test scores

By Valerie Strauss

Schools are identified as failures under No Child Left Behind. Turning around a school may include firing the staff or even closing the school. In short, the school is the unit for punishing failure.

And that is smart because when it comes to determining failure policymakers understand that schools are collectives of adults and children where structures and group cultures have an enormous influence on what individual teachers and students do. They also recognize that schools are interdependent units of teachers–the 4th grade teacher depends upon the kindergarten through third grade

Parents and Teachers, Is This What We Want in Our State? | Seattle Education 2011

Parents and Teachers, Is This What We Want in Our State? | Seattle Education 2011

Parents and Teachers, Is This What We Want in Our State?

by seattleducation2011

Florida Governor Charles Crist

In the state of Florida there have been some wild and crazy things happening during their legislative session.

The “Student Success” bill was passed by the state legislature and, gleefully, signed by the governor.

Below is a description by a Parents Across America-Florida member about what has happened in the last three weeks.

We’ve been playing whack-a-mole in Seattle and in Olympia with much of this coming up during the legislative

Teacher Leadership Webcast « InterACT

Teacher Leadership Webcast « InterACT

Teacher Leadership Webcast

APRIL 3, 2011

by David B. Cohen

Last Sunday, in the exhibit hall at the ASCD 2011 Annual Conference, teacher and blogger Alice Mercer put her technological skills to work by providing live webcasts of conversations with a number of teacher leaders and other educators in attendance.

In this recording of one of those webcasts, you can hear Alice’s interview with Larry Ferlazzo, talking about Larry’s teaching practices and his soon-to-be-published book, Helping Students Motivate Themselves. Then, part way through the interview, they pulled me into the interview and the focus shifted to a broader look at teacher leadership efforts.

Alice and Larry are both teachers in Sacramento, and both are members of Accomplished

The Washington Teacher: DC Politicians Don't Care About DCPS Cheating Scandal

The Washington Teacher: DC Politicians Don't Care About DCPS Cheating Scandal

DC Politicians Don't Care About DCPS Cheating Scandal

by Candi Peterson

Featuring Candi Peterson, WTU General VP

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Remember back in 2008, OSSE ( Office of the State Superintendent of Education in DC) requested that McGraw Hill Testing Company conduct an erasure analysis due to abnormally high (statistically improbable) proficiency rates on standardized tests conducted in Washington, DC during April 2008. This computerized analysis revealed some disturbing results that occurred when 103 public schools in the District of Columbia and some charter schools were flagged for having statistically high rates of wrong answers that were erased and replaced by correct answers on standardized tests during years 2008 to 2010. Deborah Gist, former DC State Superintendent of Education recommended an investigation into why DC public schools erasure rates were so high but her recommendation to investigate met a roadblock by the Rhee/Henderson administration. USA Today – through the use of Freedom Of