The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education:

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance

I find it disturbing how quickly basic facts are flushed down the memory hole.

Yes, Betsy Devos is the extreme example of the type of privatizer destroying public education, but the Democrats – with Obama at the helm – opened the door.

Don’t believe me?

Take a look at Obama’s Digital Promise Initiative, whose purpose was to break open the education market for companies to sell personalized learning products to school districts. Why employ actual teachers, when computers and software can do the job.

How about the ESSA’s inclusion of “innovative assessments” – which edutech predators like iNACOL can’t wait to leverage into more online learning software and continuous testing in the classroom.

The ESSA also gave the charter lobby everything they wanted, and then some.

How can financially stressed public schools, always under the threat of being labeled “failures” based on test scores, compete with flush and unaccountable charter schools? Answer: They can’t.

I believe facts still matter and will fight alongside anyone who wants to protect our public schools, but I refuse to be a cog in anyone’s machine.

I won’t be participating in the partisan blame game, where public education plays the pawn. I’m over the constant maneuvering to score political points – while our schools The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education:

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky:

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win.

A major win in court yesterday. From Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Since becoming Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner has made local right-to-work laws and state no-union zones a cornerstone of his turnaround agenda.

Yesterday, Saturday, January 7th, Federal Judge Kennelly ruled that Lincolnshire’s attempt to establish a Rauner no-union right-to-work zone was unconstitutional.

A win.

In a decision issued on January 7th, United States District Judge Matthew Kennelly found that the local “right to work” law passed by the Village of Lincolnshire, Illinois in 2015 is pre-empted by federal law, and that only states and territories have the authority to such laws. Local 150 and three other plaintiffs were granted summary judgment, with the court ruling on the merits without need for a full trial.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) permits States and Territories the authority to regulate union security agreements via “right to work” laws. Arguing that local units of government have no authority to pass such laws, four unions filed a federal lawsuit against Lincolnshire in early 2016. The plaintiffs were the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Locals 150 and 399, the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and the Laborers District Council of Chicago and Vicinity.

Judge Kennelly concluded that the NLRA “does not permit local subdivisions to regulate union security agreements.” Additionally, Kennelly found that Lincolnshire has no authority under federal law to regulate 

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky:

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

Pleas e join Internet radio host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. as he reports live from Buffalo on the antics of billionaire school board member Carl Paladino who is notorious for his recent offensive remarks about President Obama and Michele Obama.

Were school board member Paladino's latest racist remarks and actions the straw that broke the camel's back? Is Paladino too big and rich for the people ? Who will win this war in Buffalo?

Dr. Miller will be looking at what is happening in Buffalo and at the current status of the war on public education led by this influential businessman.

Here is the ArtVoice interview piece that started the firestorm -http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-2017-lot-different-opinions/#.WHAfyCTwRu

Here is a report from the NY Times on Paladino's remarks about the Obamas - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/nyregion/carl-paladino-trump-ally-wishes-obama-dead-and-aims-racial-insults-at-michelle-obama.html?_r=0

Here is Mr. Paladino's latest attack piece on Barbara Evergold and the Buffalo School Board - http://www.carlpaladino.com/how-union-president-rumore-co-opted-the-buffalo-school-board-and-rigged-the-teachers-contract/#more-6488

Please join us on Sunday.
Knowledge is power !

RESISTANCE MATTERS
RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE
RESISTANCE IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF EXPRESSION OF DEMOCRACY
RESISTANCE IS SURVIVAL
Please click on the website below to listen live:
http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport
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Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

Big Education Ape: Should the NYS Commissioner Remove Carl Paladino from the Buffalo School Board? | Ed In The Apple - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/01/should-nys-commissioner-remove-carl.html

SUNDAY THE WAR REPORT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION WITH DR JAMES AVINGTON MILLER JR

On Sunday, please click on the website below to listen to the rebroadcast.

http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport

2:00 PM PDT
4:00 PM CDT
5:00 PM EDT

A direct listen-in line only
Station 1 - 716-748-0150

The War Report on Public Education with Dr James Avington Miller Jr

http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport

CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos

CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos:

Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos

Mitt Romney's willingness to prostrate himself has been one of the many unpleasant surprises of the last year. At first, he was one of the GOP voices of reason, calling Trump a phony and a fraud who was “playing members of the American public for suckers.” Then Herr Trump waved the Secretary of State job, and Mittens set himself up for this:



Perhaps this was the very moment when he realized that he was never even going to be on the short list for Secretary, that Trump was exactly a very Trumpian revenge. Mittens took back all the mean things he said and made the trip to kiss the ring, only to be rejected and ignored. Give Herr Trump credit-- no politician has ever executed a more perfect F#@! You to a former rival.

And yet, this week, here comes Romney in the pages of the Washington Post to stick up for Trump's USED nomination, Betsy DeVos. There could be any number of reasons-- DeVos was a Romney supporter, and she circulates in the same circles of rarified richness where Trump aspires to visit, but Romney and DeVos actually live.

At any rate, Romney's defense of DeVos is really an indictment of his own failure to understand CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos:

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium:

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege

Political leaders and the mainstream media feed two enduring claims to the public, who nearly universally embraces both: Doing well in school and attaining advanced education are essential to overcoming any obstacles, and the key to succeeding in school is grit, effort and perseverance.

However, education appears significant within race, but not the avenue to overcoming racism. Well-educated blacks earn more than less educated blacks, but blacks and whites with the same education reflect significant race disparities favoring whites (Bruenig, 24 October 2014):

Rarely do we admit stunning data on race/education inequity. Blacks with some college have similar employment opportunities as whites with no high school diploma (Closing the Race Gap):

But certainly effort (grit and perseverance) matters more than simple accidents of a person’s birth? Actually, no (Bruenig, 13 June 2013):

We are left, then, with having to admit that the evidence is overwhelming that these are baseless cultural myths (possibly ideals we should aspire to, but certainly not the state of our society): Doing well in school and attaining advanced education are essential to overcoming any obstacles, and the key Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium:

How To Leak To ProPublica | PopularResistance.Org

How To Leak To ProPublica | PopularResistance.Org:

How To Leak To ProPublica 

We are a team of investigative journalists devoted to exposing abuse of power.

If you’ve got evidence showing powerful people doing the wrong thing, here’s how to let us know while protecting your identity.

Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. And it requires evidence. Documents are a crucial part of that. We are always on the lookout for them — especially, now.

Have you seen something that troubles you or that you think should be a story? Do you have a tip about something we should be investigating? Do you have documents or other materials that we should see? We want to hear from you.

Here are a few ways to contact us or send us documents and other materials, safely, securely and anonymously as possible.

Here is our staff list, which links to each of our bios and email addresses. Of course, email is convenient, but if your information is sensitive, there are better options.

Encrypted Messages and Calls

Many ProPublica staffers use the free Signal app (iPhone, Android) to send and receive encrypted messages and phone calls. Signal communicates over an encrypted data connection, so your messages and calls do not appear in your phone provider’s logs. Cell phone numbers aren’t always shown in our staff list, but if you’re already in touch with a reporter it’s an easy way to add security.

Note that while Signal encrypts the contents of messages and calls within the app, it does display your cell phone number — something you may wish to avoid if you don’t want to be identifiable when contacting us.

• Julia Angwin (0xC664D201) and Jeff Larson (0×54119264) report on digital privacy, surveillance, and the role of algorithms in society.
• Jesse Eisinger, who covers the Trump administration and businesses, can be reached on Signal at (718) 496-5233.
• Justin Elliott (0x2C353E48) often reports on money and influence in politics.
• Robert Faturechi, who reports on money in politics, sends and receives encrypted messages on Signal at (213) 271-7217.
• Ryan Gabrielson, who reports on the justice system, can be reached on Signal at (917) 455-1713.
• A.C. Thompson, who reports on hate crimes and extremist groups, can be reached on Signal at (347) 563-8121.
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• Heather Vogell and Annie Waldman (0xE841874) report on all things education (from K-12 to higher ed). Both can be reached on Signal: Heather at (404) 270-0303 and Annie at (347) 549-0332.
• Megan Rose (formerly McCloskey), who covers the military, veterans, and criminal justice, can be reached on Signal at (202) 805-4865.

Encrypted Email

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One important caveat: PGP only protects the message body of your email. Metadata — information about who you are communicating with and when — is not protected and can be seen by anyone with access to your e-mail. (Like a mailed envelope, this unprotected information is used by email providers to make sure your message gets sent to the right place.) If your identity is sensitive, consider using a new, anonymous email address in combination with PGP, or try one of our other options.

The Low-Tech, but Secure Option: Postal Mail

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If you can identify a reporter you want to reach, it’s worth noting that on the outside or inside of your package or envelope. You can also simply address it to ProPublica.

Super Hi-Tech, Time-Consuming but Maximum Security: SecureDrop

ProPublica uses a system called SecureDrop so you can share information and files with us with maximum security — far more than is possible with conventional email or other electronic means. Used properly, SecureDrop allows you to correspond with us in a way that shields your identity even from us.

Our SecureDrop server is only accessible using Tor, a special browser that masks information about your internet connection and the computer you are using. Although you How To Leak To ProPublica | PopularResistance.Org:

AFT President Weingarten to Give Major Education Speech Livestreamed On Facebook

AFT President Weingarten to Give Major Education Speech:

AFT President Weingarten to Give Major Education Speech

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education, President-elect Donald Trump has signaled that the one bipartisan consensus on public education—the Every Student Succeeds Act—should be ignored, choosing instead the most anti-public education nominee ever appointed to that office, evidently wishing to reignite the education wars of the last two decades.

AFT President Randi Weingarten will give a major address next Monday on what America's students need to succeed and the destructive pitfalls of an anti-public education agenda. The speech comes two days before DeVos' scheduled confirmation hearing.

WHAT: Major speech by AFT President Randi Weingarten

WHEN: Monday, Jan. 9, 11 a.m.

WHERE: National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge

529 14th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 

RSVP: Email Janet Bass at jbass@aft.org

The speech will be livestreamed: www.facebook.com/aftunion

Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten

Contact:Janet Bass202-879-4554jbass@aft.orgwww.aft.org

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8):

ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8)

Some readings from the week. Share what speaks to you, so that it can speak to other folks. 

10 New Years Resolutions for Those Taking Charge at US Department of Education

Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute is reformster through and through, and Betsy DeVos has contributed to AEI, but this still makes for an interesting list of suggestions for the new regime

We Know What Works in Teaching

I found this by way of a former student who now teaches on the college level. Here's what we do and don't know about how to teach composition. maybe we could, you know, use the working stuff and stop doing the other foolishness.

Need for Cash Puts Charter Schools in Questionable Company

A look at how the need to generate revenue is making mess out of Ohio charter schools

I Can't Answer These Questions About My Own Poems

The blogging highlight of my last couple of weeks? I got to see this before the rest of y'all because Sara Holbrook is friend of this blog. This piece has traveled far and wide, but if you haven't seen it yet, you must. This is how inarguably nuts the Big Standardized Test biz has gotten.

How To Teach a Middle School Class in 49 Easy Steps

I used to teach in middle school. This seems close to what I remember.

Garrison Keillor Is Done

Keillor has not taken the Trump election well. This piece is worth reading for the last line alone.

Ten Questions for Betsy DeVos

Fellow Pennsylvania Russ Walsh would like our Senator Casey (who serves on HELP) to ask DeVos these questions. It's nice to dream, anyway.

Good Business Models for Education

We don't talk enough about the fact that reformsters don't just want to schools to be run with business practices, but with bad disproven business practices. Here's Sam Abrams in the LA Times suggesting some better business practices to use. CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8):

 

Big Education Ape: Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION: How Privatization Works (Part 2,351,142) + The DeVos in the Details - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/01/catch-up-with-curmudgucation-how.html

Teachers union boss slams Trump’s pick for Education Secretary - NY Daily News

Teachers union boss slams Trump’s pick for Education Secretary - NY Daily News:

Teachers union boss slams President–elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Education Secretary

The head of the nation’s largest teachers union ripped President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Education Department, saying the selection could harm public schools.

The Senate has scheduled a Wednesday confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, a philanthropist, businesswoman and education activist. She’s been a longtime advocate for charter schools and vouchers — and an opponent of teachers unions.

That puts DeVos firmly at odds with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

“She is really out of the mainstream,” Weingarten said of DeVos. “And the things that she promotes have been tried over the last 20 years and they haven’t worked.”

GOP plans expedited hearings to confirm Trump cabinet picks

Weingarten will deliver Monday what her union is calling a major education speech, where she will provide a detailed argument for how DeVos’ pro-school-choice agenda could harm public school kids.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to execute a $20 billion voucher plan, a program that would give families money to pay for private schools if they Teachers union boss slams Trump’s pick for Education Secretary - NY Daily News:

Who's in Donald Trump's Cabinet? - The Atlantic

Who's in Donald Trump's Cabinet? - The Atlantic:

The Donald Trump Cabinet Tracker

A guide to the business tycoons, generals, and conservative politicians the president-elect has nominated to run his administration as they navigate the Senate confirmation process

Billionaire’s Row. All the President’s Generals. The Congressional Cabinet.

President-elect Donald Trump has assembled a government-in-waiting that has plenty of money, plenty of military expertise, and plenty of time in politics—but not much experience in the sprawling federal departments they have been tapped to run. Trump has, thus far, chosen five wealthy business leaders, two generals, and four Republican politicians for his Cabinet. All but two are white, all but two are men, and just one—Elaine Chao—has run a federal agency before.

Now they all must navigate the gauntlet of the U.S. Senate, where a slim Republican majority and an aggressive Democratic opposition will determine whether they get the jobs for which they’ve been nominated. The Senate hasn’t formally rejected a Cabinet pick since it voted down President George H.W. Bush’s nomination of John Tower for defense secretary in 1989. But no new president has gotten all of their nominees confirmed in the last 30 years; those that become enmeshed in controversy or partisan brinkmanship (it’s often both) usually withdraw before a vote.

Trump may have more luck with the Senate than his immediate predecessors, and he has Democrats to thank. When they held the majority in 2013, they changed the rules so that executive-branch nominations are no longer subject to the 60-vote threshold for filibusters. That means Trump could conceivably win Senate approval of his entire Cabinet without a single Democratic vote. But even without the filibuster threat, Republicans have just a 52-48 majority, and three GOP defectors could join unified Democrats in thwarting a nominee.

The confirmation process begins in earnest this week, as seven of Trump’s top nominees are scheduled to testify in Senate hearings. They include two of the most important Cabinet posts: Senator Jeff Sessions, the nominee for attorney general, and Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of state. The mere scheduling of hearings has sparked a fight between the parties. Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to rush Trump’s Cabinet into office without proper vetting, particularly in the case of the wealthy executives who have slim public records and a greater potential for conflicts of interest. Just three of the nominees have completed financial disclosure forms and signed ethics agreements—traditionally a prerequisite for confirmation hearings. Democrats are also upset that Republicans have scheduled six hearings for a single day, Wednesday; they believe it’s an attempt to dilute media coverage of the hearings and make it easier for the nominees to avoid a major controversy.Who's in Donald Trump's Cabinet? - The Atlantic:

Department of Education

Trump’s pick: Betsy DeVos

Background: DeVos is a longtime philanthropist and Republican donor and the former chairwoman of the state party in Michigan. She’s been a major advocate for education reform centered on expanding charter schools and private-school vouchers. She led the advocacy group, American Federation for Children, that pushes for increased school choice for parents. The New York Times reported on her successful effort to kill legislation in Detroit that would have imposed tougher accountability standards on charter schools.

Government experience: None.

Why Trump likes her: Trump has shown that he favors plucking people from the private sector who will come in and shake up a government agency, and DeVos fits that bill. She has strong support among Republican school reformers, especially those who favor both expanding charter schools and vouchers. (Democrats favor the former but not the latter.) She is further to the right on education than two other women Trump interviewed: Eva Moskowitz, a charter school leader in New York, and Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of the Washington D.C. public schools.

Liabilities: Teacher unions will aggressively oppose DeVos over her support for unfettered and largely unregulated expansion of charter schools and vouchers. That likely won’t matter much to Republicans, but it will hurt her chances of winning broad bipartisan support. Conservatives who favor reduced federal power over education will question her previous support for Common Core standards and her affiliation with organizations that have championed Common Core. Anticipating that issue, DeVos has said that while she supports “high standards and strong accountability” for schools, Common Core “got turned into a federalized boondoggle.”

Chances at Senate confirmation: Very good. Key Republicans have already come out in support of DeVos, including the chairman of the relevant committee in the Senate, Lamar Alexander. Most Democrats will likely oppose the pick, but barring a controversy that erupts during her confirmation hearings, she should win approval.

Status of nomination: Hearing scheduled for January 11 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee

Who's in Donald Trump's Cabinet? - The Atlantic:

2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!! | Bill Ayers

2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!! | Bill Ayers:

2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!!

I’ve been on book tour for months, and it’s not done yet. Going to Cuba this week, then Washington DC, Ohio, Boston, NOLA, and more. I call it the “DEMAND the IMPOSSIBLE Rainbow Queer Insurgent Road Trip Toward a Future Worth Having.” Onward!!!

It’s been heartening these last months to gather together with people in city after city across the country, folks who came out in large numbers—not so much for the book, but driven by the felt-need to assemble in an available public space, to face one another without masks, and to consider the fundamental questions once again—and with accelerating urgency: who are we? Where are we going? What time is it on the clock of the world? What is to be done? There’s a common and compelling feeling from north to south, from east and west that we must somehow muster and unite the disparate forces for peace and justice and liberation into an unstoppable mass force—a love army. Uprising!

There’s a wonderful bumper sticker I see now and then, sometimes in the form of a banner or a poster: “If you’re not pissed off,” it reads, “you’re not paying attention.”

It’s true. Opening our eyes, paying attention, staying alert—when we see the horrors and the injustices, it ignites indignation; when we notice the unnecessary suffering in all directions, it stirs a sense of outrage and urgency. That emotion is essential—but it’s also insufficient. Anger alone  cannot create the society we need and deserve; fury by itself will not take us to the place we need to be.

So there needs to be another bumper sticker, right next to that first one: “If you’re only pissed off—if you’re not guided by deep feelings of love and empathy—you’ll be lost in the wilderness.”

Anger and love. Rage and generosity. Fury and tenderness.

Humanity—and the possibility of a humane future—asks us to get it right.

It’s our duty to fight; it’s our responsibility to win.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ~~~Charles Dickens

The US empire is in steady and irreversible decline, but it’s unlikely to exit the world stage, or to relinquish its self-designated role as the “world’s only superpower” easily or painlessly—this is where we begin to name this political moment, honestly and unsparingly, a moment unique in 2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!! | Bill Ayers: