Overview Schedule for Netroots Nation 2012.| Netroots Nation

Overview Schedule | Netroots Nation:

Overview Schedule

STREAMING @ NN12

WATCH LIVE!

Below is an overview schedule for Netroots Nation 2012. To view the individual panels, trainings and screening sessions, check out our full agenda.

Planning your own event? Submit it to be included in AFT’s AFTer Party list. You can also view the list as it comes together.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	Netroots Connect events
Noon to 6 p.m.	Community and Exhibit Hall move-in
2 to 6 p.m.	Registration desk open

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Thursday, June 7, 2012

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.	Registration desk open
8 to 9:30 a.m.	Community and Exhibit Hall move-in continues
8:15 to 9 a.m.	Morning News Dump with Lizz Winstead, Shannyn Moore and Cliff Schecter (Rotunda)
10 a.m. to 7 p.m.	Community and Exhibit Hall open
9 to 10:15 a.m.	Session 1
10:30 to 11:45 a.m.	Session 2
11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.	Break (lunch on your own)
12:00 to 2 p.m.	Screening: “The Invisible War“
2 to 2:50 p.m.	Battleground state caucuses
3 to 4:15 p.m.	Session 3
4:30 to 5:45 p.m.	Session 4
6 to 7 p.m.	Opening reception, sponsored by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (Community and Exhibit Hall)
7 to 9 p.m.	Opening keynote
9:15 to 11 p.m.	Laughing Liberally comedy show (Rotunda)
9:30 p.m. until late	Karaoke party sponsored by SEIU (The Dorrance)

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Friday, June 8, 2012

9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.	Registration desk open
9 to 10 a.m.	Morning News Dump with Lizz Winstead, Shannyn Moore and Cliff Schecter (Exhibit Hall Sponsored Stage)
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.	Community and Exhibit Hall open
10:30 to 11:45 a.m.	Session 1
Noon to 1:15 p.m.	Lunch keynote. Lunch generously sponsored by Buy4.
1:15 to 3 p.m.	Break
1:30 to 2:45 p.m.	Screening: “At the River I Stand”
1:30 to 2:30 p.m.	Staffer / blogger mixer
3 to 4:15 p.m.	Session 2
4:30 to 5:45 p.m.	Session 3
4:30 to 6:00 p.m.	DFA Netroots Candidate Event
6 to 8 p.m.	Chairman’s Pub Quiz, sponsored by DLCC (Ballroom A)
6 to 7:30 p.m.	Ignite: NN12 (Room 552)
6 to 7:30 p.m.	Art Exhibit Reception (Rotunda)
6 to 8 p.m.	Screening: “American Teacher“
7 to 10 p.m.	Raise a Glass for the Working Class, Sponsored by AFL-CIO (Rí Rá Irish Pub)
8 p.m.	Welcome to Providence Block Party with Mayor Angel Taveras, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and other guests (Local 121)

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Saturday, June 9, 2012

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.	Registration desk open
8:15 to 9 a.m.	Morning News Dump with Lizz Winstead, Shannyn Moore and Cliff Schecter (Exhibit Hall Sponsored Stage)
8:15 to 4 p.m.	Community and Exhibit Hall open
9 to 10:15 a.m.	Morning keynote
10:30 to 11:45 a.m.	Session 1
Noon to 1:15 p.m.	Lunch keynote. Lunch generously sponsored by DCCC.
1:30 to 2:45 p.m.	Session 2
3 to 4:15 p.m.	Session 3
4:30 to 6 p.m.	Closing keynote
4 p.m. onward	Community and Exhibit Hall teardown
7 to 8 p.m.	Screening: “Laughter Against the Machine”
8:24 p.m. (sunset)	WaterFire Celebration along the waterfront
9:30 p.m. until late	Closing party presented by Daily Kos (The Whiskey Republic)

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Sunday, June 10, 2011

8 to 9 a.m.	Interfaith Service
9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.	Day of Service (details here)

Schools Matter: Will UN Be Able to Close MA Torture School Known as the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center?

Schools Matter: Will UN Be Able to Close MA Torture School Known as the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center?:

Will UN Be Able to Close MA Torture School Known as the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center?

by Jim Horn

This story has to be the greatest of all local shames to any Massachusetts citizen who is not accepting some of the millions in hush money from the torture center known as the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center.  At left is a photo of a child wearing the torture device.

Here are some of the details of this horrendous procedure of manually shocking students who misbehave: 

The Center makes use of aversives as part of their intensive, 24/7 behavior modification program. Until the late 1980s, aversion therapy was administered in the form of spanking with a spatula, pinching the feet, and forced inhaling of ammonia.^[5]

The Center administers 2-second electric skin shocks to residents using a Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED), which was invented to administer the skin-shocks by remote control through 

California primaries show Democratic divide on education | Reuters

California primaries show Democratic divide on education | Reuters:

California primaries show Democratic divide on education

 
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER! 

(Reuters) - Democratic candidates backed by teachers unions narrowly lost on Tuesday in two California state assembly primary races that highlighted a bitter split in the Democratic Party over education policy.

The most contentious race was in Assembly District 46, a heavily Democratic swath of Los Angeles suburbs.

Wealthy philanthropists, hedge-fund managers and internet entrepreneurs - bound together by a common goal of overhauling public education - spent an eye-popping $1.4 million to bolster the candidacy of Brian Johnson, a Democrat who until recently ran a network of charter schools.

The California Teachers Association fought back with nearly $500,000 in spending to attack Johnson and support a rival Democrat, Andrew Lachman.

The union help was not enough, however, to boost Lachman to victory. A third Democrat in the primary race, Adrin Nazarian, comfortably captured first place. Second place remained too close to call late Wednesday afternoon, with Johnson just 83 votes ahead of a Republican candidate, Jay 

When Policymakers Are Clueless « Diane Ravitch's blog

When Policymakers Are Clueless « Diane Ravitch's blog:

When Policymakers Are Clueless

by dianerav

Over the past decade of mayor control in New York City, the newly established Department of Education has had a free hand to do whatever it wanted with the city’s 1.1 million students, free of any concern about the reaction of parents, teachers, principals, or the public.
One reform after another has rolled out of City Hall, after Mayor Bloomberg or Chancellor Klein or someone else got a new idea or had a conversation at a dinner party. Sometimes these ideas are announced with great fanfare, and almost always they are announced as the solution to some problem, trumpets blaring, success preceding implementation.
The state scores went up and up, evidence of the New York City “miracle,” until 2010, when the New York State Education Department acknowledged that the state scores were a hoax. Someone at the SED had decided to help raise test scores by lowering the passing mark, and had done the same year after year, creating the illusion

The High Cost of Privatizing Special Education

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago

As the movement to privatize public schools grows stronger, we should pay attention to the costs of privatization. Those who push for privatization also claim that private business operates more efficiently than government and will thus save taxpayers’ dollars. If only it were true. The latest example in the privatization sage was a story in [...]

Pearsonizing Our Children

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago

On Tuesday, I posted a blog at Bridging Differences (Education Week) called “The Pearsonizing of the American Mind.” The title was a reference to Allan Bloom’s bestselling book of the 1980s, The Closing of the American Mind. His book referred to the insidious ways that popular culture interferes with the goals of liberal education. My [...]

Parents Vs. Goliath

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago

This morning, parent groups in New York City are leading a protest against high-stakes testing at the headquarters of Pearson. They call their action “a field trip against field trips.” It happens to be a professional development day, so many parents plan to bring their children. Half a dozen different parent groups are coordinating their [...]

The Obama Campaign Wants to Know

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago

A reader told me that she received an email from the Obama campaign asking her how the administration’s education policies have affected her. I received the same email, as have, I assume, thousands or millions of others. So, yes, please tell the campaign how Race to the Top has affected you. Let them know how [...]

After Wisconsin

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago

The question before the June 5 recall election in Wisconsin was whether big money would be enough to carry Governor Scott Walker to victory. Now we know. Money was more than enough. When I heard the results last night, I was disappointed but not surprised. The polls were discouraging, and they were right. People power [...]

Will Technology Cut the Budget?

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

The answer to this question, says this reader, is no. Libertarians and folks on the right believe that technology will make it possible to replace teachers with machines. Machines don’t need health care or pensions. And their salaries don’t go up in a step schedule. When the machines get obsolete, you junk them. With teachers, [...]

What Are Our Priorities?

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

A reader on my Education Week blog Bridging Differences sent the following comment: Examining the PA governor’s budget for 2012-2013, testing monies have increased from $32 million to $52 million, while dual enrollment payments have gone from $7 million to 0 (funds that enable talented high school students to take community college courses). Elementary science [...]

A Tireless Advocate for Public Education and Equity

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

One of the wonderful rewards of my travels is that I have met people in every community who are staunch defenders of public education. Most want to help but they don’t know how. In part, this is because there is no national organization leading the charge to stop privatization. But nonetheless, there are many people [...]

Don’t Trust the Lists of “Best” Anything

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

I enjoy reading Michael Winerip in the New York Times every Monday. He always finds a way of writing about education issues that avoids jargon and goes to the heart of the matter. He demonstrates every week that a probing intellect is of greater value than any sort of metrics one can devise when judging [...]

Is Blended Learning a Silver Bullet?

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

I just read that Indianapolis has okayed the opening of 19 new charter schools based on the concept of “blended learning.” The schools will lean heavily on technology to reduce the teaching staff and save money while promising higher test scores. Embedded in this approach is the belief that computers do a better job of [...]

Should Duncan Apologize?

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

Secretary Arne Duncan has been on the road selling his idea of “RESPECT” for teachers, but teachers don’t feel any respect from the U.S. Department of Education. Teacher John Thompson has called on Secretary Duncan to apologize for the ways he has encouraged and promoted the currently hostile environment surrounding teachers. The Metlife Survey of [...]

The Florida Flip-Flop Undermines Test Credibility - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

The Florida Flip-Flop Undermines Test Credibility - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

The Florida Flip-Flop Undermines Test Credibility

by Anthony Cody

Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
We are relying on the results of standardized tests for ever more consequential decisions. Students are promoted or held back, teachers are hired or fired, public schools are closed, and soon our schools of education will rated, ranked and have their funding depend on the scores of the students taught by their graduates. Since the tests have so much riding on them, they are getting greater scrutiny than ever - and their limitations are beginning to show.
In Florida, the State Board of Education acted hastily last month to "lower the bar" on the FCAT, which tests writing proficiency in grades 4, 8 and 10. The Board decided that a score of 3 on a scale of 1 to 6 would be 

Travels in Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Travels in Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Travels in Education

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,
When you read this, I'll be in South Africa; maybe already at the university in Bloemfontein. That wonderful evening in your honor will be over. Did you enjoy it?
I have done very little research about education in South Africa. Mostly I prepare for trips by reading novels and recalling stories from history—including myths—that I read over the years. Naturally, that led me to traveling mostly in England and Western Europe. Then South America. But in the last decade I've been catching up with the "rest" (!) of the world and have visited China, Russia, Japan, and now South Africa. That leaves two continents to go. I may not make Antarctica, but Australia. Maybe.
Does it matter to travel? My grandmother, who came to the United States from the Ukraine in the 1880s (at age 17) had one big regret in life, she explained to my cousin in an interview before she died in 1968. She said she was still mad that she never had the opportunities her children did to get educated. My cousin Jeremy asked her what she imagines she'd have done if she had had more schooling. She said: "I'd have traveled." (I still have the tape.)
She doesn't explore what that meant to her, and I'm truly not sure. But it's worth exploring. Education, perhaps, 

The Innovative Educator: Parents & Teachers Tell Pearson What They Think About Their Attempt to Demystify Testing

The Innovative Educator: Parents & Teachers Tell Pearson What They Think About Their Attempt to Demystify Testing:

Parents & Teachers Tell Pearson What They Think About Their Attempt to Demystify Testing

by noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)

Upset by what they claimed was misinformation and misperceptions permeated by media coverage, Pearson made a botched attempt to launch a social media campaign (see the internal memo) to “demystify testing for parents.” 

Pearson employees spent the day censoring comments but as the 9 - 5ers left the office, parents and teachers came on duty to send a loud and clear message to Pearson: “We’re not mystified. We don’t want your tests.” 

Ironically, the voices of parents and teachers who are opposed to standardized testing are being brought together on Pearson’s page as word of their existence spreads among the opt out of testing groups that exist

The ‘Wild Wild West’ of D.C. schools: A charter school parent’s view - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The ‘Wild Wild West’ of D.C. schools: A charter school parent’s view - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

The ‘Wild Wild West’ of D.C. schools: A charter school parent’s view

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Allison Brown, a former trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division’s Educational Opportunities Section, and a parent. She founded an education consulting firm that works with school districts and schools to focus on federal compliance through equity and collaboration with students, parents, and communities. Her email address is allison@allisonbrownconsulting.com.
Read full article >>

Charter renewed for controversial school but questions remain

by Valerie Strauss

The Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School has won a four-year extension of its charter from the Anne Arundel Board of Education, but it has been ordered to make a number of major operational changes.
Read full article >>

‘Flipping’ classrooms: Does it make sense?

by Valerie Strauss

One of the biggest trends in classroom teaching is the “flipped classroom,” which lives up to its name: Students learn lessons at home — with the help of videos and/or other materials their teachers provide — and then do their “homework” in class, getting individualized help from the teacher and working with other students.
Read full article >>

Netroots Nation 2012: Lily, Livestreaming and so much more! - Lily's Blackboard | Lily's Blackboard

Netroots Nation 2012: Lily, Livestreaming and so much more! - Lily's Blackboard | Lily's Blackboard:

Netroots Nation 2012: Lily, Livestreaming and so much more!

Jun 6th, 2012 

by LilysBlackboard.

We are back at Netroots Nation! And this year we have more great coverage that you can follow on the blog, conversations you can join and topics where we need your voice to be heard. You can also follow live and join the discussion atEducation Votes.

Lily will be part of the opening keynote.

Netroots Nation will kick off with an opening keynote from New York’s Attorney General and the man the American Prospectcalls The Man Banks Fear Most, Eric Schneiderman.

Other speakers will include: Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, environmentalist Bill McKibben, Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards,  Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and our very own, Lily Eskelsen.

Starts: Thursday, Jun. 7 7:00 PM

Ends: Thursday, Jun. 7 9:00 PM

Watch it live!

Watch live streaming video from fstv1 at livestream.com

We will also be livestreaming our  compelling panel on bullying.

Bully: From Movie to Movement

The new movie Bully has captured national attention and given a voice to youth pushed into the shadows and the families that fight for them. Join Lily Eskelsen, online activist Katie Butler, and Christie Marchese to discuss next steps in the Bully-Free movement.

Katy Butler, the 17-year-old openly lesbian Michigan high school student who led a national campaign to get the Motion Picture Association of America to change the ‘R’ rating of the film Bully to ‘PG-13.’

She created and publicized a Change.org petition, then hand-delivered over a half-million signatures to to the MPAA, causing them to change the rating. Butler is an outspoken activist on anti-bullying and LGBT issues and is the youth producer for “The Bully Chronicles,” an upcoming film from the perspective of bullies.

Watch it live

Starts:Thursday, Jun. 7 1:30 PM

Ends: Thursday, Jun. 7 2:45 PM

Whose Law Is It Anyway? ALEC’s Influence on State Legislatures and What We Can Do About It

The American Legislative Exchange Council has been behind virtually every major right-wing state law in the past two years, including union-busting, teacher-bashing, voter suppression, attacks on immigrants, privatizing basic public services and gutting environmental and health regulations. Learn more about ALEC, who backs them and what you can do to stand in their way.

One of the panelists will be Kim Anderson who currently serves as Director of the Center for Advocacy at the National Education Association (NEA). In this role, Ms. Anderson oversees the organization’s Collective Bargaining and Member Advocacy Department, Government Relations Department, and Human and Civil Rights Department. The Center is responsible for advancing the NEA’s mission, vision, and core values through federal and intergovernmental advocacy, collective bargaining and representational advocacy, and social justice advocacy.

Starts: Thursday, Jun. 7 3:00 PM

Ends: Thursday, Jun. 7 4:15 PM

Watch it live!

Watch live streaming video from fstv1 at livestream.com

Three Ways of Integrating Technology in Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Three Ways of Integrating Technology in Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Three Ways of Integrating Technology in Schools

by larrycuban

“There won’t be schools in the future …. I think the computer will blow up the school. That is, the school defined as something where there are classes, teachers running exams, people structured in groups by age, following a curriculum—all of that…. But this will happen only in communities of children who have access to computers on a sufficient scale.”
That’s Seymour Papert, cognitive scientist and designer of software application Logo, writing in 1984 about dramatic changes in schooling with the advent of the desktop computer. Nearly 30 years later, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, spoke at the Association of American Publishers Annual Meeting in 2010 on the national plan for technology.
“We have the opportunity to completely reform our nation’s schools. We’re not talking about tinkering around the edges here. We’re talking about a fundamental re-thinking of how our schools function and placing a focus on 

Jersey Jazzman: Here Come the Flunkies

Jersey Jazzman: Here Come the Flunkies:

Here Come the Flunkies

by Duke

Well, old Eli did it: for less than half-a-mil, he bought the New Jersey school system. Now all he has to do is fill it with his flunkies:

With little discussion in public session, the state Board of Education today accepted donations totalling more than $600,000 from two private foundations.

After the Newark-based Education Law Center wrote a letter to the board requesting that they defer accepting the funds, citing the "need for transparency, accountability and public confidence," the board asked the state Attorney General's Office if their objections had any merit, board members said.

The matter was discussed in closed session, citing the "legal letter." But board member Ron Butcher said "in their (the AG's) mind, there are no issues."

LAUSD'S HUMAN RESOURCES HEAD VIVIAN EKCHIAN IN MY MEMORY - Perdaily.com

LAUSD'S HUMAN RESOURCES HEAD VIVIAN EKCHIAN IN MY MEMORY - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD'S HUMAN RESOURCES HEAD VIVIAN EKCHIAN IN MY MEMORY

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

Since the regrettable Miramonte child molestation scandal, the numbers of teachers that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is targeting, harassing, and summarily removing on bogus charges has exploded as Superintendent John Deasy and others in charge at LAUSD try to use this administratively allowed scandal as a pretext for removing as many high priced teachers as possible. This has created a culture of fear at LAUSD where t\hose attacked tend to allow LAUSD to frame the conversation while trying to defend themselves against trumped up charges. This is a big mistake.

Yesterday, when I appeared at the LAUSD Board meeting to speak against theproposed settlement of the Scot Graham - Ramon Cortines sexual harassment 

School Tech Connect: The Final Analysis

School Tech Connect: The Final Analysis:

The Final Analysis

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I know you're all waiting for my weigh-in on Wisconsin, so here it is:

1. Rahm's endorsement means nothing to anyone; in fact, it may be a net negative. Rahm is perceived as powerful, and he is powerful, but he does not have the stuff that coattails are made of. His election here in Chicago was achieved with 23% of the registered voters. When people start to see the actual costs of NATO, the actual costs of the new building going up downtown, financed by TIF money and poaching tenants from other buildings, and the actual costs of draining the public school system, they'll wake up. The instant Kathleen Falk lost to Barrett, I wrote the recall off because I'd rather see the Republican id play out in technicolor than see a Rahmish Democratic party drift to the right. I know that makes me "retarded" to the Rahm point of view, but I'm just not into the guy.

2. Remember the permanent Republican majority? I do. I didn't last. These things go in cycles.

3. Josh Marshall's commenter is right. People's lives in America suck so badly that the unionized sector-- the 

The Washington Teacher: The Cardozo Experiment: DC Public School Gets Race To The Top Funds

The Washington Teacher: The Cardozo Experiment: DC Public School Gets Race To The Top Funds:

The Cardozo Experiment: DC Public School Gets Race To The Top Funds

by Candi Peterson

Written by Candi Peterson

So it seems that DC Public Schools will be using Race to The Top (RTTT) Dollars to create more school administrators and educrats which according to the Urban Dictionary is an officer, administrator or other bureaucrats in a school district. Similar stories are taking shape around the country as districts race to the top for funds under President Obama's signature 2009 reform effort for education. 

The last two weeks have been a helluva adjustment for Cardozo Senior High school staff, of which I am a part. We just learned that Cardozo Senior High beloved principal and the administrative team will be dismantled. Principal Grant of Cardozo Senior High in NW Washington, DC announced in our May staff meeting last week that she has not been re-appointed (after 5 years as principal) by DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Grant in her 'Swan Song' to staff, chimed "Don't cry for me." Not unlike her predecessor, Henderson is no different than former DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee in terms of firing