UPDATE: Rejection of “education reform” proposal in Bridgeport will have repercussions - Wait, What?

Rejection of “education reform” proposal in Bridgeport will have repercussions - Wait, What?:

You know those “just run government like a business” guys…

by jonpelto

One of the larger individual donors to Residents for a Better Bridgeport, the Political Action Committee behind Mayor Bill Finch’s anti-democracy initiative that went down to defeat in Bridgeport yesterday, is a hedge fund manager named Zachary Zeitlin, a Westport resident who is or was a partner with Silver Point Capital in Greenwich.

In the “small world department,” Zachary Zeitlin is also one of Governor Malloy’s appointees to the Connecticut Board of Regents.  Those are the individuals that didn’t realize that only they had the authority to set compensation for the employees at the 

Rejection of “education reform” proposal in Bridgeport will have repercussions

by jonpelto

The defeat of Mayor Finch’s charter revision proposal that would have done away with an elected board of education and replace it with one appointed by himself will have significant repercussions within Bridgeport and across the State of Connecticut.

While the move toward mayoral control of boards of education has been far more limited than the Finch operation claimed during the recent campaign, the national “education reformers” have made it a high priority and have had a string of successes.  Bridgeport was widely expected to be their next big win.

But the “education reformers” were wall0pped yesterday as the voters of Bridgeport rejected their mayor and the City’s incumbent democratic apparatus.

The defeat was especially relevant since this year Connecticut found itself as one of the 

Daily Kos: A Mormon impact - on the election & the future of the Republican party?

Daily Kos: A Mormon impact - on the election & the future of the Republican party?:

A Mormon impact - on the election & the future of the Republican party?

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Let me posit something for sake of discussion -  had Mitt Romney not been a Mormon he might have won, and it is possible that therefore Evangelicals within the Republican base will argue there is no reason for them to dial back on the social issue rhetoric.
Le's take the first.  We have been told that the Evangelical participation in the electorate dropped 7%.  Remember that something over 30% of Americans consider themselves Evangelicals.  Further, some Evangelicals who voted down ballot for Republicans who matched them on issues wound up voting perhaps for one of the minor candidates.
Recognizing that Evangelicals are not evenly distributed across the country, I would like you to consider that Evangelical rejection of Romney because he was a Mormon could have cost him 4 states:   FL (29), OH (20), VA 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers:

An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers

by Mike Klonsky

Dear President Obama: Congratulations!

I’m sure this is a moment you want to savor, a time to take a deep breath, get some rest, hydrate, regain your balance, and take a long walk in the sunshine. It might be as well a good time to reflect, rethink, recharge, and perhaps reignite. I sincerely hope that it is, and I urge you to put education on your reflective agenda.

The landscape of “educational reform” is currently littered with rubble and ruin and wreckage on all sides. Sadly, your administration has contributed significantly to the mounting catastrophe. You’re not alone: The toxic materials have been assembled as a bipartisan endeavor over many years, and the efforts of the last several administrations are now organized into a coherent push mobilized and led by a merry band of billionaires including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Sam Walton, and Eli Broad.

Whether inept or clueless or malevolent—who’s to say?—these titans have worked relentlessly to take up all the available space, preaching, persuading, promoting, and, when all else fails ...READ THE ENTIRE LETTER HERE. 

One lesson from Milwaukee: efforts to suppress the vote backfired « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

One lesson from Milwaukee: efforts to suppress the vote backfired « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

One lesson from Milwaukee: efforts to suppress the vote backfired

by millerlf

From Barbara Miner’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog: View from the Heartland Nov. 7, 2012

One lesson from the City of Milwaukee results: people don’t like efforts to suppress the right to vote; it only makes them more determined.

Or, to put it another way, the Republican game-plan backfired.
In the 2008 presidential election, 275,042 ballots were cast in the City of Milwaukee, for an 80.33 percent voter turnout. Obama/Biden won 77.82 percent of the vote, McCain/Palin won 21.03 percent.
In 2012, 288,459 ballots were cast in the City of Milwaukee, for an 87.24 percent turnout. Obama/Biden won 79.27 percent, Romney/Ryan won 19.72 percent.
U.S. Postage Stamp commemorating the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibited Jim Crow-era attempts to suppress the black vote

Anybody want a used Tea Party? « Fred Klonsky

Anybody want a used Tea Party? « Fred Klonsky:

Anybody want a used Tea Party?

by Fred Klonsky

538 blogger Nate Silver.
I received a comment this morning:

This is probably not the right spot for this comment, but I want to thank Fred for keeping everyone informed regarding HJRCA49. I am sure that the continuous information supplied by this blog was instrumental in defeating this self-serving change to the Illinois Constitution. Thanks to the postings in this blog, both active and retired employees will continue to have their pensions protected by the Constitution, which is a major benefit in light of the possible legislation which is due to be voted on shortly.
- Richc46

I don’t know about how instrumental I was. A lot of public employees contacted a lot of their friends. Bloggers like John Dillon, Glen Brown and Tim Furman spent a lot of time blogging on the issue of public employee pensions. So we were able to keep Mike Madigan from getting his 60% vote on the Constitutional Amendm

Nationwide education update on ballot issues re: education | Seattle Education

Nationwide education update on ballot issues re: education | Seattle Education:

Nationwide education update on ballot issues re: education

by seattleducation2011

Diane Ravitch has been churning out election results on her blog and I just received this recap from a list serv source.

Voters defeated Michigan’s 2011 emergency manager law that allowed the state to appoint managers for municipalities and school districts deemed to be in fiscal emergencies and then allowed those emergency managers summarily to throw out previously agreed-upon collective bargaining agreements and unilaterally impose policy. There is some disagreement about whether a previous 1990 statute which established emergency managers will now be in effect. This earlier law did not permit the nullification of collective bargaining.

California’s voters passed Proposition 30, an initiative backed by Governor Jerry Brown to increase personal income taxes for seven years on those earning over $250,000. The tax issue, that will raise $6 billion annually, passed by a large margin—54 percent to 46 percent. The new revenues will 

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727:

Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727

In August 2010, USA Today’s Greg Toppo wrote that Gulen movement-associated charter schools“educate as many as 35,000 students — taken together they'd make up the largest charter school network in the USA — and have imported thousands of Turkish educators over the past decade.”

At long last, the actual enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year has been tallied. The total is44,727, nearly 10,000 students greater than the figure suggested by USA Today.

It is important to note that eleven new charter schools were added

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Didn't Read The Fine Print

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Didn't Read The Fine Print

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Election hangover

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Election hangover:

Election hangover

by Mike Klonsky

I'm feeling a little hung-over this morning but still trying to get some of my election-night notes down on the blog. First and most importantly, I lost my $5 bet by badly underestimating the number of electoral votes for Obama. As you all know, I predicted 290 and it appears that he got (with the late addition of Florida) 332. Sorry Nate Silver, I should have kept the faith.

Second, Obama owes his victory to his well-positioned field workers,  an abysmal cast of Limbaugh Party opponents, and to an amazing turnout of his ever-forgiving base, particularly African-American, Latino, women (thanks Akin, Murdock, Ryan, etc...) and youth voters, in the key battleground states. Black vote was 93% for 

UPDATE: A real miss at Ole Miss: Students protest Obama re-election with racial epithets | Get Schooled

A real miss at Ole Miss: Students protest Obama re-election with racial epithets | Get Schooled:

Ole Miss chancellor on Obama protest: “Very immature and uncivil approach” to election results

by Maureen Downey

Here is the official statement from the University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones on the reaction last night of some Ole Miss students to President Obama’s victory over Gov. Mitt Romney.

University police were notified by students shortly before midnight Tuesday that Twitter chatter was indicating students were gathering near the student union to protest the results of the election. The officers found 30-40 students gathered in front of the union, and over the next 20 minutes the gathering had grown to more than 400 students, many of whom were chanting political slogans. The crowd was ordered to disperse by university police, and after about 25 minutes students had returned to residence halls. About 100 students gathered again at one hall, and university police dispersed the group and made two arrests for disorderly conduct, including one for public intoxication and one for failure to comply with police orders.
“While we are grateful that there were no injuries and …

A real miss at Ole Miss: Students protest Obama re-election with racial epithets

from Get Schooled by Maureen Downey

"What a maroon, what an ignoranimus."

Expect a lot of unfortunate attention to Ole Miss as a result of a rabble of immature students reacting badly and crudely to President Obama’s re-election last night. They shouted racial epithets and burned Obama signs until University of Mississippi police arrived and dispersed them.
While some news accounts appear to exaggerate the late-night event as a riot, the Daily Mississippian reported it with greater temperance:

Hundreds of Ole Miss students exchanged racial epithets and violent, politicized chants in response to the announcement of the re-election of President Barack Obama.
What began as an argument around midnight quickly spread across campus.
UPD responded to a fire alarm being pulled in Brown Hall as crowds gathered near Kincannon and Stockard (dorms).

I think the best comment in response to this ugly protest appears on the school newspaper site from an Ole Miss alum named Tyler. He wrote:

Protesting what?
It’s called democracy. This sounds like a bunch of …

UPDATE: Diane Diane in the Evening 11-7-12 Election Reviews Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Maureen Reedy Loses in Ohio

by dianerav

I am sorry to say that veteran educator Maureen Reedy narrowly lost in her bid for a seat in the Ohio Legislature to another contender, who was funded by (among others) Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst.
Count on StudentsFirst to place its bets against an experienced educator.
With so many crucial education issues before the legislature, it would have been wonderful to have someone with 

ALERT! Washington State Results Have Not Been Finalized!

by dianerav

I promise this is the last thing I will post about the charter referendum in Washington State until there really is a final tally.
Someone sent me what she thought was a final tally but it was NOT a final tally.
The votes are still being counted.
The election is close. The charter advocates were ahead but there are still hundreds of thousands of uncounted 

Privatization Leaders Praise President Obama

by dianerav

I received the following news release from the National Alliance for Charter Schools.
They of course were crowing about the passage of the ALEC-inspired initiative in Georgia, where the governor will be free to open charter schools everywhere across the state without consulting any local school board.
I knew Nina Rees when I worked in the George H.W. Bush administration. She is smart and personable and 

Washington Charter Proposal Passed in Close Election

by dianerav

This just in from the Washington State Secretary of State:

November 06, 2012 General Election Results

•  

Initiative Measure No. 1240 Concerns creation of a public charter school system

Georgia Charter Referendum Passes Easily

by dianerav

Voters in Georgia passed an amendment to the state constitution enabling the governor to set up a commission to approve charter schools over the objection of local school boards.
The margin of victory was 58-42.
This is an ALEC-inspired model law, meant to strip away the powers

California: Prop 30 Passes, Prop 32 Loses

by dianerav

Governor Jerry Brown led a successful campaign to raise taxes to fund the state’s public schools and universities.
His Proposition 30 passed with heavy support from Los Angeles County.
Had it not passed, the cuts to education would have been devastating.
Hats off to Governor Brown and Superintendent Tom Torlakson for fighting to increase taxes to pay for educating the state’s children.
Due to prior anti-tax activism, California is now 47th in the nation in education spending.
Proposition 32, which was intended to hobble labor unions’ political activities by eliminating automatic dues checkoff for political contributions, was defeated.

Usdin Wins in New Orleans

by dianerav

Sarah Usdin won a school board seat in New Orleans, unfortunately.
She is a major advocate for privatization of public education.
Her background is Teach for America, the New Teacher Project (founded by Michelle Rhee), and New Schools for New Orleans (which opens charters).
She had the advantage of more than $110,000 in contributions from Wall Street hedge fund managers (“Democrats for Education Reform”), and others committed to wiping out public education in New 

Bill Ayers Writes a Letter to the President

by dianerav

I won’t go into the baggage associated with Bill Ayers. During the campaign of 2008, his name came up again and again and was hurled as an accusation against candidate Barack Obama.
I recall Sarah Palin saying that Obama was guilty of “palling around with terrorists,” or words to that effect.
I did not approve of or condone what he did in the 1960s.
Bill Ayers is not the same person he was forty years ago. Today, he is a respected education thinker. But then, none of us is the same person we were 40 or 20 or even 10 years ago.
People grow and change. If they are willing, they learn.
Ayers has written a letter to President Obama that expresses the views of many educators today.

Charter Cash Loses in Santa Clara County

by dianerav

Charter school advocates and operators poured big money into Santa Clara County, California, to defeat Anna Song, a school board member who had dared to vote against a charter school.
Song was outspent overwhelmingly, by 25-1, yet she won.
This is a victory for parents and citizens against privatization.
A reader sends this update:
On a positive note, the huge investment in Santa Clara failed miserably. The Charter Industry spent something like $250k (against the incumbent’s $10k or so) to launch a smear campaign against a woman who voted against the renewal of one charter school. They even went after her husband. She still won in a landslide.
In another encouraging election here in Los Altos, CA, a charter-backed candidate who was the biggest single 

UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-7-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Teacher: Stop the Scripting! by dianerav A frustrated teacher writes: *I am in my 21st year of teaching and have been close to quitting every year for the last six years. The pressures to conform and follow a script even when I know it’s bad for kids have been really, really stressful. I am a creative teacher, and I feel like I’m fighting for the right to work 3 times harder than I have to. We now have teachers who are “script followers” telling those of us who aren’t standardized that we are sub-par bec... more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Which side are you on?

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Which side are you on?:

Which side are you on?

by alicemercer

This was a long, hard, slog of a campaign in California, even without there being a contest at the top of the ticket. Winning on 30 and defeating 32 was not done by magic, or by throwing money into a media campaign, it was done one phone call at a time. If you were one of the 500-700 teachers and education supporters that I called (and I was not even one of the most productive callers at my local), I’m sorry I interrupted your dinner, but phone calls are how elections like this are won. People glance at mailers, and toss them in the recycling.  DVR/TIVO technology is making tv less important. Human contact is how we get the job done. Just as it was on the top of the ticket.

Why am I sharing this? Proposition 32, The Special Exemptions Act, a wolf-in-sheeps-clothing initiative that sought to choke-off teachers’ ability to participate in policy and politics discussions (money being the mother’s milk of that), while letting out-of-state millionaires hide behind the “beard” of so-called “public-benefit corporations”. But it’s not just a California problem. Wisconsin and Indiana show how far folks are willing to go to a California problem. Wisconsin and Indiana show how far folks are willing to go to 

Save CCSF's Diversity Departments**! Save Ethnic Studies, Women's Studies, LGBT Studies, Labor Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies!

Save CCSF's Diversity Departments**! Save Ethnic Studies, Women's Studies, LGBT Studies, Labor Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies!:

Save CCSF’s Diversity Departments**! Save Ethnic Studies, Women’s Studies, LGBT Studies, Labor Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies!

by Danny Weil

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/interim-chancellor-support-the-diversity-collaborative-departments-don-t-eliminate-us

Check out our event page:https://www.facebook.com/events/296869550418731/

Screenings of “Precious Knowledge”

Thursday, November 8^th 12pm, Ocean Campus Diego Rivera Theatre

AND

Thursday, November 8^th 7pm Mission Campus Auditorium rm. 109

1125 Valencia Street

                    Defend Diversity Departments, Defend CCSF Rally                                        Thursday, November 15th at 12pm. Meet at Ram Plaza on CCSF Ocean Campus.

The diversity departments are the best solution to student drop-outs and non-completion of college. So much research shows that once students discover in the academic environment a full acceptance and true understanding of their identity and culture, they can go on to take-up the challenges of any learning situation. Social-cognitive research shows that learning can only happen for human beings when their core of knowledge and experience has been motivated. These are the classes, these are the instructors who have proven this to be true!”
-Mary La Mattery

The Diversity Departments are the product of generations of hard and ongoing civil and human rights struggles. They must not be eliminated or compromised using the excuses of budgetary or accreditation challenges. Their autonomy as separate departments must be maintained.

These departments are a unique resource for the college and the wider Bay Area community, enriching students’ learning experiences immeasurably and drawing large numbers of students to the school who would otherwise pursue their educations elsewhere. These departments educate and empower our communities. We insist that college leaders now stand by them.

Schools Matter: Eye of Education Storm in New Jersey

Schools Matter: Eye of Education Storm in New Jersey:

Eye of Education Storm in New Jersey

by Judy Rabin

As Chris Christie and Bruce Springsteen continue their love fest here in New Jersey, more than 60 percent of school districts in the state are still closed and many have no heat or are in dangerous and precarious conditions. What's next for education reform and RTTT in NJ? Before NJ goes the way of NOLA, time to get ahead of the next tsunami of closures, privatization and union busting that no Springsteen song can stop. Christie might be happy he finally got to meet Bruce, but he is still the same bully who finally got to hang out with the cool kids for a while.

Like with any bullies, you have to stand up to them and that is what New Jersey will have to do as corporate education reformers try to capitalize on the situation by adhering to the shock doctrine. Only this time, as Susan O'Hanian says, it will be the shock doctrine in reverse. New Jersey's strong public school advocates and diverse, 

High stakes testing and what that means in Seattle | Seattle Education

High stakes testing and what that means in Seattle | Seattle Education:

High stakes testing and what that means in Seattle

by seattleducation2011

No one is calling the Initiative 1240 race yet but this is not the time to stop and wait to see what happens.

We must move on. There is much to do.

Starting in January, Parents Across America will begin offering bi-monthly webinars on various subjects related to education.

The first topic will be on high stakes testing and opting out. Our guests will beMonty Neil with Fair Test as well as Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar founders ofUnited Opt Out and hosts of the radio talk show “Chalk Face”.

Details on the webinar wil

Missouri Education Watchdog: How Did We Get Here?

Missouri Education Watchdog: How Did We Get Here?:

How Did We Get Here?

by Anngie

Half the country today is thrilled with yesterday's results. The other half is shaking their heads wondering, "How did we get here?" The answer is surprisingly simple and obvious to probably 95% of the people who read this blog. We carefully trained people in our classrooms to vote this way.

If you read Charlotte Iserbyt The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America or John Gotto The Underground History of American Education, you already know the history. From B.F. Skinner to outcome based education, we have been working to make the American citizen one who is trained to respond to certain stimuli in a predictable way. Then those in power who want us to approve what they are doing merely need to invoke the appropriate stimuli. If you do it right, that stimuli can be reduced to a 30 second sound bite.

We decided that Prussian military training was an appropriate model for the classroom. Follow your leader without question. The collective is what's important. Uniformity equals efficiency which is the most desirable state.

We taught generations to idolize Edward Bernays who felt that  manipulation of society was necessary, because