4-19-14 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership Society All Week

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog:
Schooling in the Ownership Society

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk 

Schooling in the Ownership Society

Sun-Times editors know exactly what's wrong with 'turnaround' strategy

The Sun-Times editorial board has things all figured out. They know exactly why Byrd-Bennett's "radical" plan to turn more schools over to the private turnaround operators at AUSL will be a disaster. They say so themselves:Radical, indeed. This treatment rips a community apart, including many teachers who sought out the toughest assignments only then to be unfairly blamed for the conditi

38 by Mike Klonsky / 1d 

Saving Gresham

Tuesday's protest to save Gresham        (Sun-Times)DIEDRUS BROWN...the principal of embattled Gresham Elementary on Chicago's south side, continued her very vocal fight Tuesday to save her school from undergoing a so-called “turnaround” — but this time with about 40 teachers, parents and students marching with her.SUSPENIONS...Dozens of students marched from Chicago Public Schools headquarters to

2 by Mike Klonsky / 2d 

APR 16

New study on teacher "effectiveness" misses the mark

Yes, there's lots of evidence to show poor kids and children of color are generally being taught by teachers with less experience (or no experience) which puts them at a severe disadvantage. The Huffington headline calling schools "racist" is one-sided and misleading however. Thanks to Race To The Top. Thanks to TFA. Thanks to re-segregationists and private charter operators. You all con

1 by Mike Klonsky / 3d 

APR 15

WHITENING THE CITIES [Update]

Following up on this morning's Jackie Robinson post where I pointed out that Jackie's family had been part of the great black migration from the plantation South. They migrated in the 1930s to southern California and settled in Pasadena where there were lots of jobs in a booming defense industry as well as a burgeoning black community. Fast forward to today when Pasadena has lost about one-quarter

3 by Mike Klonsky / 3d 

Whitening The Cities

Eddie Farmer, 75, lives with belongings thrown on the curb after a foreclosure next door to his home  in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. (Chicago Tribune)THE WHITENING OF THE CITIES...Soaring rents are driving poor and middle-class folks, especially African-Americans out of the cities. A major factor along with loss of jobs, evictions, foreclosures,school closings in targeted black communiti

16 by Mike Klonsky / 3d 

APR 14

Are you ready to rumble? Looks like we have a candidate.

“What happened to the hundreds of children from closed schools who never made it the welcoming schools on the West and South Sides?” Fioretti said.It's cold and gloomy outside. But I'm smiling ear to ear. Here's why.Ald. Bob Fioretti just gave a powerful speech at the City Club. It was a solid left hook to Rahm's jaw and sounded to everyone like the opening salvo in the 2015 race for mayor. And gu

200+ by Mike Klonsky / 4d 

Weekend Quotables

French Economist Thomas PikettyEconomist Thomas PikettyThere is a fundamentalist belief by capitalists that capital will save the world, and it just isn't so. Not because of what Marx said about the contradictions of capitalism, because, as I discovered, capital is an end in itself and no more." -- The Guardian, Occupy was rightArne Duncan responds to mass teacher protest...Tells  the crowd t

1 by Mike Klonsky / 5d 

APR 12

Quinn: 'Don't compare me to The Almighty...'

IEA members pick their poisonStunning that Democrats like Gov. Quinn now feel it necessary to stand in front of 1,200 educators at the IEA Regional Assembly in Chicago and assure them that,"Eliminating collective bargaining is not part of my agenda.""I respect teachers" [No, really I do]."I'm not going to charterize this system of education in Illinois." "I'm ab

3 by Mike Klonsky / 6d 

Rauner makes big profits off the jailing of children

Thanks to a lucrative state contract given him by none other than Gov. Quinn, Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner is making millions in the prison/industrial complex. Quinn says he didn't know Rauner was still associated with GTCR. Rauner formerly headed GTCR LLC, a Chicago private equity firm in which he still holds a stake as an investor. Since December 2012, GTCR has owned Correctional Healthca

24 by Mike Klonsky / 2d 

APR 09

Charters in the 'Era of Accountability'

More than $900 million in state and local tax dollars, some of it approved by local voters, will be transferred this school year from local schools to nonprofit, publicly funded Ohio charter schools that did not exist 20 years ago. Who is watching how all of that money is spent? -- Columbus DispatchI'm just reading one of those tracts, attacking the idea of elected school boards, from a right-wing

2 by Mike Klonsky / 9d 

4-19-14 Wait What? All Week

Wait What?:

  Wait What? All Week

Malloy political operation sidesteps Connecticut law limiting contributions from lobbyists.

Limiting the financial influence of lobbyists was one of the most important elements of Connecticut’s post-Rowland campaign finance reforms. In its final form, Connecticut law states that, “…lobbyists and their immediate families may make qualifying contributions of up to $100 like any other individual, but only when the legislature is not in session.” The law […] The post Malloy political operati

6 by jonpelto / 1h 

YESTERDAY

Saw it on the Internet so it must be true… (No, but…)

After an email exchange earlier today, Neil Vigdor, a leading reporter for the Hearst Media Group, put up a blog post entitled, “Malloy gets “Pelto-ed” from the left?” As the saying goes, take the story with a grain of salt.  Like much of what we read on the Internet, aspects of the story are true […] The post Saw it on the Internet so it must be true… (No, but…) appeared first on Wait What?.

by jonpelto / 15h 

Malloy administration recruits “Dream Team” to sell Common Core to Connecticut teachers

The Malloy administration is implementing a new Common Core PR extravaganza. Initially Malloy and his team wanted to run a $1 million Connecticut taxpayer funded pro-Common Core advertising campaign. But when a political firestorm forced them to back down, the Malloy team came up with a different publicly funded campaign to sell the Common Core.  […] The post Malloy administration recruits “Dream

19 by jonpelto / 19h 

APR 17

Corporate Education Reform Industry group starts radio campaign in support of new charter schools

Surprise, surprise… An out-of-State charter school advocacy group has started an advertising campaign to support the Malloy administration’s decision to give Steve Perry his own privately run, but taxpayer funded, charter school in Bridgeport. According to a reports from the CT Mirror and Hartford Courant, Families for Excellent Schools, Inc., a charter school advocacy group based […] The post Cor

15 by jonpelto / 2d 

APR 16

How can we tell if we’re moving forward if our eyes are closed? (by Ed McKeon)

Ed McKeon is a member of the Middletown Board of Education. The following letter to the editor was published in the Middletown Press and related papers. (See: http://www.middletownpress.com/opinion/20140327/ed-mckeon-how-can-we-tell-if-were-moving-forward-if-our-eyes-are-closed.) It is another “MUST READ” for the students, parents, teachers and public school advocates fighting to take by out publi

14 by jonpelto / 2d 

Even more students lose as the “cost” of the Common Core Testing grows

The Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test of a test means more testing and less learning. The Common Core test will cost Connecticut’s students and teachers hundreds of hours of lost instructional time. The Common Core test will cost schools and taxpayers tens of millions in computer and internet upgrades so that students can […] The post Even more students lose as the “cost” of the C

34 by jonpelto / 3d 

APR 15

Foul shots in the classroom: A Fable (By Ann Policelli Cronin)

As we celebrate UCONN’S [Remember it is not UConn] double national championships, it seems particularly appropriate to look back on a great commentary piece written by fellow columnist and pro-education advocate, Ann Policelli Cronin.  Here piece entitle, “Foul shots in the Classroom:  A Fable” first appeared in the CT Mirror. Ann Policelli Cronin writes, Imagine… […] The post Foul shots in the cl

14 by jonpelto / 4d 

APR 14

Malloy’s public school privatization effort hits Stamford

Malloy administration gives Bronx charter school chain a green-light to “save” Stamford. The Malloy administration’s extraordinary efforts to increase the number of charter schools and privatize even more of the state’s public education system took a giant leap forward at the last State Board of Education meeting. In a farce that included Malloy’s Commissioner of […] The post Malloy’s public schoo

19 by jonpelto / 4d 

APR 13

The growing list of reasons to vote against Dannel “Dan” Malloy’s re-election

The growing list of reasons to vote against Dannel “Dan” Malloy’s re-election Malloy’s “education reform” legislation has earned him the title of the most anti-teacher, anti-public education, pro-charter school Democratic governor in the nation.  Malloy’s decision to hand Connecticut’s public education system over to Charter School advocate, now Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor has ushered [

44 by jonpelto / 5d 

APR 12

Politicians pushing corporate education reform should be ashamed

In her latest blog post, Diane Ravitch, the nation’s leading public education advocate provides us with yet another reminder about why politicians like Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy should should be ashamed of what he has done to our public school teachers and our public schools… Florida Teacher Donates $400 Bonus to NPE to Fight VAM […] The post Politicians pushing corporate education reform shoul

9 by jonpelto / 6d 

Malloy brags about his support for $10.10 minimum wage, but takes campaign money from Wal-Mart

If you’ve been getting Dannel “Dan” Malloy’s recent campaign emails you know that the incumbent Governor is using his recent support for a higher minimum wage to raise money for his re-election campaign. What doesn’t show up in those emails is the fact that the Malloy campaign operation accepted a $5,000 check, last October, from […] The post Malloy brags about his support for $10.10 minimum wage,

72 by jonpelto / 7d hide  //  save

Still more standardized testing? Listen to the youth by Jacob Werblow

Jacob Werblow, Ph.D., is a former standardized test developer and urban classroom teacher. He is an associate professor of Teacher Education at Central Connecticut State University. Jacob lives in New Britain with his wife and two girls, who will be opting out of high-stakes standardized tests. Jacob Werblow has a great commentary piece in CTMirror […] The post Still more standardized testing? Lis

by jonpelto / 7d