When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins

by Cheryl S. Williams

It seems everyone has an opinion about the teacher strike currently taking place in Chicago.  I do too, but it’s not about who’s to blame.  There’s plenty of that to go around.  What I do know is that regardless of how this strike ends, nobody will have won—

• Students will have missed valuable learning time
• Teachers and their union will be vilified for selfishness
• The mayor and school board’s judgment will be suspect
• Parents will be disappointed and frazzled with child care challenges
• The President’s “reform” agenda will be questioned
• The citizens of Chicago will be embarrassed and dismayed for their city

While I have followed the events as they’ve unfolded in Chicago between the mayor, the school board he appointed, and the teachers’ union, the facts I’m able to glean from public sources only raise questions in my mind as to what’s really going on.  I do know that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are under-resourced and that
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Schools Matter: The MythBusters at OECD

Schools Matter: The MythBusters at OECD:

The MythBusters at OECD

by Jim Horn

The next time you see one the series of teacher bashing TV ads from the global warming skeptics at Exxon-Mobil, please refer mentally to the myth busting summary shared below.  It was posted at AlterNet, and it offers a link to the OECD report for skeptics, of global warming or otherwise.

A new international report demolishes several deeply held myths about our educational system. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, which compares the 

11 parcel taxes, 44 school bonds on November ballot | EdSource Today

11 parcel taxes, 44 school bonds on November ballot | EdSource Today:

11 parcel taxes, 44 school bonds on November ballot

September 18th, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald

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Gov. Jerry Brown and attorney Molly Munger aren’t the only ones asking voters for more money for schools in November.

Eleven districts are asking for parcel taxes and 44 districts have put school construction bonds on the ballot, according to Mike McMahon, a school consultant and Alameda Unified trustee who tracks local ballots. Six are new parcel tax requests, four are renewals, and one proposal asks for an additional parcel tax, McMahon says. They range from a low of $39 per parcel to $199 per parcel in the San Bruno Park School District.

Parcel taxes have been common in the Bay Area – not only in wealthy communities, but in less posh places like Martinez Unified, which is asking $50 per parcel, and San Leandro Unified ($39 per parcel).

In this round, however, five of the 11 districts are in Central or Southern California: Santa Barbara Unified, Ventura Unified, and three in Los Angeles County – Centinela Valley Union High School 

Residue of once-promising finance reform bill in Brown’s hands - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

Introduced as a comprehensive plan for K-12 finance reform, Assembly Bill 18 is a shell of its former self. The bill that the Legislature ended up passing last month would merely create a 21-member task force to explore various options and formulas for fairer and simpler school funding and make recommendations to the Legislature by April 1. But even this seemingly non-controversial rewrite of the...

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A rough start for Oakland’s special education students - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

A rough start for Oakland’s special education students - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

A rough start for Oakland’s special education students

Monday, September 17th, 2012 at 5:20 pm in 1 Comment

Stacey Smith is an Oakland school district parent and volunteer who has served on the District GATE Advisory Committee, the school board’s Special Committee on School Based Management, and the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education. What she writes about does not reflect the view of any group.
The 2012-13 school year did not begin well for Oakland’s 5,000-plus special education students.
Last June, after a united protest by teachers, families and community members, the school board directed Superintendent Tony Smith and staff to hold off on special education budget cuts and program changes. The original proposal sent teachers and special day classes to different schools while cutting key staff. It also 

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time

By Valerie Strauss

We hear a lot about the problem of bullying but less about programs that actually help curb the insidious problem. Here are some that have helped in different communities, written by John Gomperts, president and chief executive officer of America's Promise, a nonprofit network of organizations that helps promote volunteer action for young people.

By John Gomperts

As the school year starts, young people settle into unfamiliar classrooms with new classmates. Sadly, at some point in the school year, far too many of these kids will be confronted by a bully. A recent SAFE survey found that one in four kids in the United States is bullied on a regular basis, making it one of the most common forms of violence young people experience. And people know about the problem and 

Schools Matter: Vancouver Sun gives me too much credit

Schools Matter: Vancouver Sun gives me too much credit:

Vancouver Sun gives me too much credit

by skrashen

Credit where credit is due.

I am quoted in “Raise a Reader” (Vancouver Sun, Sept 17) as follows:
“University of Southern California linguist, professor emeritus and literacy activist Stephen Krashen said … research suggests that a single “home run” book or series can create a voluntary reader.
A study done by Krashen involving 214 fourth graders from three Los Angeles elementary schools found that over half of the students could identify the particular book that first interested them in reading.”

Jim Trelease, the author of the Read Aloud Handbook, came up with the idea of the “home run book,” the idea 

Jerry Brown and Molly Munger both want to raise taxes to help schools - - but differ on approach - Gov. Jerry Brown - The Sacramento Bee

Jerry Brown and Molly Munger both want to raise taxes to help schools - - but differ on approach - Gov. Jerry Brown - The Sacramento Bee:

Jerry Brown and Molly Munger both want to raise taxes to help schools - - but differ on approach

By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com

Published: Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 1A

If Gov. Jerry Brown and civil rights attorney Molly Munger agree on one thing, it's that California needs to raise taxes to give schools more money.

Voters who share that view now have to consider two distinctly different paths devised to accomplish the goal.

On the November ballot, the tax hike with the most votes should prevail if both succeed, though courts would likely have to sort out which parts of each initiative survive.

Munger's initiative, Proposition 38, would radically upend a school-financing approach that state officials and local districts have long practiced. The measure would generate $10 billion annually

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/18/4829448/jerry-brown-and-molly-munger-both.html#mi_rss=Education#storylink=cpy

Is Poverty Destiny?: Ideology v. Evidence in Education Reform | Voices on the Square | National Education Policy Center

Is Poverty Destiny?: Ideology v. Evidence in Education Reform | Voices on the Square | National Education Policy Center:

Is Poverty Destiny?: Ideology v. Evidence in Education Reform | Voices on the Square

 

P.L. Thomas

September 17, 2012

• Gates Foundation [Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]
 
• Anthony Cody
 
• Radical Scholarship Blog
 
• Foundation Involvement in School Reform
• Neo-Liberal Reform(s)
 
• Poverty
 
• School Reform and Restructuring

In the spirit of his Education Week blog, Living in Dialogue, science educator and activist Anthony Cody entered into a five-part exchange with the Gates Foundation (GF) about education reform.

These point-counterpoint posts serve well to illustrate the essential difference between Social Context Reformers, represented by Cody, and "No Excuses" Reformers, represented by the GF:

“No Excuses” Reformers insist that the source of success and failure lies in each child and each teacher, requiring only the adequate level of effort to rise out of the circumstances not of her/his making. As 

NYC Educator: ATR Opportunity of a Lifetime!

NYC Educator: ATR Opportunity of a Lifetime!:

ATR Opportunity of a Lifetime!

by NYC Educator

 By special guest blogger Suddenly ATR

I was invited to a "Teacher Recruitment Fair." I spent the better part of the previous night printing out copies of my resume, recent observations, and fiddling with my portfolio. I got a rather troubling email though from the DOE, which said (and I quote): "Thank you again for registering for tomorrow’s Teacher Recruitment Fair at 4PM ET. As a reminder, this event will take place at Citi Field, located at 123-01 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, NY 11368. Additionally, we would like to take this time to let you know that we expect a relatively limited number of schools to be in attendance."

 At a little before 4 PM I arrived at Citi Field along with a 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Do Home Schoolers "Belong to the Government"?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Do Home Schoolers "Belong to the Government"?:

Do Home Schoolers "Belong to the Government"?

by stlgretchen

Does being "missional" or "democratic" mean home schooling should be discouraged?  Whose idea of "social contract" should apply in your childrens' education?

A recent article (adapted from a blog Strange Figures) in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about home schooling raised interesting questions about the role of home schoolers in society, both from a religious and secular standpoint.  The author, Sharon Autenrieth, questions the premise of a "societal compact" in 

UTLA TEACHERS: THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON AT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION - Perdaily.com

UTLA TEACHERS: THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON AT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION - Perdaily.com:

UTLA TEACHERS: THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON AT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

by Leonard Isenberg

Imagine union leadership that truly represents rank-and-file interests and those of students...instead of themselves and the school district. 

Strike Continues as Chicago Teachers Mull Contract's Gains and Losses

Theresa Moran

|  September 17, 2012

Striking Chicago teachers will remain out of the classroom until Wednesday at least, as union members debate their tentative contract. The agreement makes gains on key issues while accepting concessions on health care and job security. Photo: CTU.

http://labornotes.org/2012/09/strike-continues-chicago-teachers-mull-contracts-gains-and-losses

Striking Chicago teachers will remain out of the classroom until Wednesday at least, after delegates decided to give union members time to debate the tentative contract negotiators brought to them on Sunday.

Delegates said that all members of the union--not just elected representatives--should get a chance to review and weigh in on the proposed agreement before a decision was made to go back to work.

Big Education Ape Nite Cap UPDATE 9-17-12 #SOSCHAT #CTUSTRIKE

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Today’s Update On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike

by Larry Ferlazzo

Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike:
Hearing Set in Chicago’s Bid to End Teachers Strike is from The New York Times.
Rahm is suing to end the Chicago teachers’ strike. Does he have a case? is from The Washington Post.
Standing up for teachers is from The Washington Post.
The Chicago Teachers’ Balancing Act is from The American Prospect.

Will President Obama Speak Out Against Act 10?

by dianerav

Four years ago, candidate Obama promised to break out his walking shoes and join the picket line if anyone threatened the collective bargaining rights of workers.
He forgot that promise when Governor Scott Walker stripped most public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights two years ago. He did not join the people who protested Act 10 in Madison.
And most people understand his unwillingness to inject himself into the Chicago teachers’ strike (which does not 

How Are You Behaving?

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

G'nite.

Grotesque

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Could the Republicans have chosen a more vile candidate?  The thing that really irks me about Romney is that he's so bound-to-lose that it makes it difficult to get the message to the President that this Arne Duncan guy is a base-suppressor, and that Rahm Emanuel should be exiled.

Popout

What's This Lying Around Shit?????

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

In the fall of 1962 Faber College senior and pre-med student Eric "Otter"Stratton received a phone call to from Babs Jansen that Mandy Peperidge wished to meet him at the Rainbow Hotel late in the afternoon. Sadly, Doug Niedermyer, Greg Marmalard, and the rest of Omega House were waiting for him and subsequently beat him, and the dozen roses, to a pulp.

Meanwhile across town in Dean Wormer's office, Flounder, Bluto, D-Day, Hoover, and Larry were being told that they, and all of Delta House, were bei

Chicago Teachers Refuse to Return to Work

by Last Stand for Children

A funny thing happened on the way to ending the strike.  The Chicago Teachers Union refused to vote on a tentative agreement and instead demanded to be able to read the agreement before voting.  This unreasonable demand meant that school children would be unable to return until Wednesday and earned the ire of several Chicago alderman.  The alderman had set a great example for the untrusting teachers by agreeing to several contracts like selling off Chicago's parking meters without reading the contracts.

Obviously, the greedy teachers are striking over pay and their own cushy jobs.  Mayor Emanuel attempted to get an injunction today, because the greedy teachers refused to negotiate over pay and instead attempted to 

Harvard Education Newsletter Covers Opt Out Movement in Colorado

by Jim Horn

Read the story here in the Harvard Education Newsletter. 

Andrew Sullivan: Did Romney Just Lose the Election? ctd

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

is the title of this blog post which has a lot of quotes from right wingers, and which went up before Romney's disastrous presser
.
Here's the beginning:

A consensus is forming. From the most right-wing columnist in the Tory paper, the Telegraph:

Romney video: I think Obama just won the election. When was the last time a president fighting for re-election was handed such a gift? Remind me, someone: how did the GOP end up with this idiot as their candidate?

In presser, Romney doubled down, tries to say he was talking about the political process about winning the 

Sneaky Evaluators: Who Sent You, and Why are You Disrupting My Class?

by educatedtodeath

Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com
There is a constant stream of evaluators and academic “coaches” streaming through the classrooms at my school. They come in driving unreasonably nice cars, and always look like they just came from a designer boutique and then a full service salon. They look like blooming movie star hopefuls or just well kept wives of the wealthy, noses pointed to the heavens and all. They’re interactions with us lowly teachers come in the form of a note in our box or a message through the principal that we need more of this or that or to put our objectives on a 

Harvard Education Letter: Opt-Out Movement Gains Steam

by admin

Opt Out coverage in The Harvard Education Letter.   The Coalition for Better Education is using billboards to encourage parents to opt-out of the Colorado state test, called the TCAP. Volume 28, Number 5 September/October 2012 Opt-Out Movement Gains Steam … MORE

Late Night: ‘You’re Not Supposed to Support the Strike’

by Allison Hantschel

Popout

Look, I see where Miller’s going with this:

My friend, a widely known pundit, wanted to tell me that he didn’t believe the poll, which was conducted by We Ask America.
After some back and forth about what the pollster could’ve or should’ve asked, I finally told him that as an older, white person with no kids in the public school system, he’s not supposed to support the strike.
The poll, taken after three full days of no school, found that a 52 percent majority of whites 

Arrogance, The Gates Foundation & The “Remembering Self” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Arrogance, The Gates Foundation & The “Remembering Self” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Arrogance, The Gates Foundation & The “Remembering Self”

by Larry Ferlazzo

I’ve certainly been critical of the Gates Foundation and Bill Gates on many occasions. However, recently, I had been developing some response for both — Gates staff has been engaging in what appeared to me a productiveonline dialogue with my Education Week and Teacher Leaders Network colleague Anthony Cody and Bill Gates recently gave a surprisingly open-minded interview to The New York Times.
But in the last part of the dialogue with Anthony, Gates staff wrote an angry and ill-advised post that, at least for me — and I suspect for many other educators — lost them most, if not all, of the good will they had recently gained. If I were them, I’d go into damage control mode right away to ensure that their post is not what people