Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Web video takes shots at teachers union | APP.com | Asbury Park Press

Web video takes shots at teachers union

BY JASON METHOD • STATEHOUSE BUREAU • OCTOBER 25, 2010

TRENTON — An undercover video made by the same conservative activist who ripped apart the ACORN community organization purportedly records teachers chanting slogans against Gov. Chris Christie while attending a conference sponsored by the state's largest teachers union.

The video, called "Teacher's Union Gone Wild," is posted on a website run by James O'Keefe, the 26-year-old conservative and controversial film maker who surreptitiously recorded ACORN activists giving tax and money-laundering advice to actors who posed as a pimp and a prostitute.

The teachers video, also posted on YouTube.com, claims to be hidden audio and camera footage from the New Jersey Education Association's summer leadership conference at the New Brunswick Hilton. The video claims to record teachers chanting that they will kick Christie, who has feuded with the union since

School Boards Battle Teachers Union on Amendment 8 | Sunshine State News

School Boards Battle Teachers Union on Amendment 8

Amid concern over $1 billion in new costs, South Florida braces for ad blitz on class-size proposal

BY: KENRIC WARD | POSTED: OCTOBER 26, 2010 4:05 AM

TAGS:

ALEX SINK, AMENDMENT 8, AMERICA'S FAMILIES FIRST, CLASS-SIZE REDUCTION, FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, FLORIDA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, NEWS, PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION, VOTE NO ON 8, WAYNE BLANTON, POLITICS

Who's "for the kids"? The battle over Amendment 8 pits the Florida School Boards Association against the Florida Education Association.

One represents the taxpayers; the other fronts for the teachers. And they're taking opposite sides on Amendment 8, which would maintain class-size formulas at school-level averages.

The FEA wants school districts to take the next step and lock in pupil-teacher ratios at each individual classroom. That's what the original 2002 class-size amendment ultimately called for, and reneging on that promise will shortchange academics, the FEA argues.

But, after eight years of successive tightening, nearly every school board in the state says taking that final step doesn't pass the cost-benefit test. The elected boards voted twice in the past year to suppor

D.C. Schools Insider - Rhee's tough advice falls flat with some in Tampa

Rhee's tough advice falls flat with some in Tampa

It was only a week ago that Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee co-authored anOutlook piece with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty that expressed pride in their accomplishments but also acknowledged that they "fell short" in building broad community support for school reform.

"The lessons learned from that weakness, however, can become a strength. We reach out today to ask the entire community to embrace the school reform efforts in the months and years ahead," they wrote.

Maybe that note of regret made it into Rhee's comments to an audience of urban school administrators in Tampa Friday at a conference of the Council of the Great City Schools. But it didn't make it into an account of the session in The St. Petersburg Times, which called her "a one-woman wrecking crew, a miracle worker or the quintessential 'mean girl' in American education reform." Rhee described her turbulent three and-a-half-year tenure, which included the firing and lay offs of hundreds of teachers, some for poor performance.

"Be prepared to be Ms. or Mr. Unpopular. I am really good at this one

NationalJournal.com - Education Department Takes Aim at Gay Bullying - Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Education Department Takes Aim at Gay Bullying

The administration is putting more teeth behind bullying and harassment policies when they involve gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered students.

By Fawn Johnson

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 | 6:10 p.m.

The Education Department is taking an aggressive stance on gay-bashing, telling schools that they could be in violation of civil rights laws and anti-bullying policies if their students tease or harass their peers based on their sexual orientation.

The agency is digging deep into case law that prohibits gender-based harassment. There isn’t a federal civil rights statute that explicitly protects people based on their sexual orientation, but the courts have held that same-sex harassment based on gender stereotypes is unlawful.

The department is adopting a similar tactic on religious bullying, saying it is illegal to harass students on the basis of shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Religious discrimination is prohibited in the workplace, but other civil rights statutes don’t mention religion. In schools, the agency wants to

Daily Bruin :: Candidates differ in approach to education

Candidates differ in approach to education

By JAKE GREENBERG

Updated: 2:06 AM

Tools

Barbara Boxer

• Political party: Democrat
• Age: 69
• Education history: Attended Brooklyn College for B.A.
• Job history: California state senator: 1993-present U.S. representative from California’s 6th District: 1983-1993 Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: 2007-present Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics: 2007-present

Carly Fiorina

• Political party: Republican
• Age: 56
• Education history: Attended Stanford University for her B.A., attended University of Maryland, College Park for her M.B.A., attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her M.S., attended UCLA school of Law for one semester in 1976
• Job history: CEO at HP from 1999 to 2005 Employee at AT&T for 20 years

Possibly Related

Only 2.5 points separate California candidates, Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican Carly Fiorina, in the most recent Real Clear Politics poll. The U.S. Senate hopefuls have reached the final push to win over California voters.

With only a week left to make their choice,UCLA students are interested in how each candidate will help the public university system.

“We haven’t heard anything about how either candidate is going to solve this budget crisis, and they neglect a huge block of voters when they don’t address those issues that are most important to college students,” said Alexandra Schulz, a third-year psychology student.

Both candidates have said education and college students’ futures are some of their top

Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, October 26, 2010