Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/5/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Can You Spare $91,440? | EduShyster

Can You Spare $91,440? | EduShyster: Can You Spare $91,440?Because that’s how much seven Boston charter schools are charging to answer a public records request…Here’s a math question for you, reader. Say one wanted to submit a public records request to a handful of charter schools, inquiring about their recent lobbying activities. How much do you suppose such a request might set one back? If you a

by mike simpson / 3h 

OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King? | Alan Singer

OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King? | Alan Singer: OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King?Arne Duncan is leaving as Barack Obama's Secretary of Education. Duncan's signature role was administering President Obama's Race to the Top program which forced states to adopt Common Core and the high-stakes testing of students and teachers to qualify for federal grants. He will not be missed. Dunca

by mike simpson / 4h 

State Parent Advisory Council - Migrant (CA Dept of Education)

State Parent Advisory Council - Migrant (CA Dept of Education): State Parent Advisory CouncilOctober meeting agenda for the public for the meeting being held on October 10, 2015.Regular MeetingSaturday, October 10, 2015Sacramento, CaliforniaAGENDAItemTimeDescriptionFacilitatorItem 1Action8:30-8:40amWelcome, Call to Order, Roll CallState Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) President, Vice PresidentItem

by mike simpson / 4h 

What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American Empire - Truthdig

What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American Empire - Truthdig: What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American EmpireThis article by the late Howard Zinn is a reprint from the archives of TomDispatch. Read Tom Engelhardt’s introduction here.With an occupying army waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with military bases and corporate bullying in every part of the world, there is hard

by mike simpson / 6h 

Schools Matter: NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for President

Schools Matter: NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for President: NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for PresidentDuring the final months of Bill Clinton's presidency, both Bill and Hillary harded hard to secure legislation to benefit their friends' and supporters' newly-formed foundations, as well as the one planned for themselves.  TheClinton-friendly Broads and Dells g

by mike simpson / 7h 

The Upside of Arne Duncan - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

The Upside of Arne Duncan - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: The Upside of Arne DuncanSo what are we to make of Arne Duncan's surprise departure from his cabinet position, where he dutifully played POTUS Basketball Bud and less-than-articulate mouthpiece for the extremely well-heeled Democrats for Education Reform?Does anyone else wonder about the timing of this? Why was John B.

by mike simpson / 7h 

Lockdown. | Fred Klonsky

Lockdown. | Fred Klonsky: Lockdown.This story on school lockdowns in Slate made me remember my own experience with lockdown drills when I was teaching.Let me start by saying that I strongly believe that the primary job of a school and its staff, more than raising test scores or learning math facts (or, in my case, teaching color theory), is keeping our children safe.I always believed that I was do

by mike simpson / 7h 

Arne Duncan’s legacy - the top-down approach to education - The Hechinger Report

Arne Duncan’s legacy - the top-down approach to education - The Hechinger Report: Arne Duncan’s legacy – the top-down approach to educationcretary of Education Arne Duncan has been passionate about creating real change in education across America. As he leaves office, however, we must examine the efficacy of his reform initiatives.With the inauguration of a new president just about 15 months away,

by mike simpson / 7h 

Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to students - Wait What?

Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to students - Wait What?: Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to studentsIn a commentary piece entitled Heeding the lessons of teenagers, fellow Education Advocate and columnist Wendy Lecker used her latest article in the Stamford Advocate and other Hearst Media Group outlets to remind us that when it comes to the so

by mike simpson / 7h 

BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOE | PopularResistance.Org

BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOE | PopularResistance.Org: BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOEToday the White House confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be stepping down. The Badass Teachers Association, an education activist organization with over 70,000 supporters nationwide, celebrate this decision. Sadly, at the same time we rejoice the resignation of a man who has

by mike simpson / 8h 

Arne Duncan’s Misguided Policies | janresseger

Arne Duncan’s Misguided Policies | janresseger: Arne Duncan’s Misguided PoliciesLast Friday after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan submitted his resignation as of the end of 2015, I heard President Barack Obama describe Duncan: “Arne’s done more to bring our educational system, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the 21st century than anybody else.”  It is worth considering carefully what

by mike simpson / 8h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES 'No confidence' in Duncan/King

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES 'No confidence' in Duncan/King: WEEKEND QUOTABLES 'No confidence' in Duncan/King"No Confidence" in Duncan/King.Jeanette Deutermann, Public school parent and founder of Long Island Opt Out“Throughout his term in New York, John King was notorious for his complete disconnect from parents, teachers, and school officials. His blatant disregard

by mike simpson / 8h 

Common Core Dissent *NOT* Appreciated by Connecticut Police Officer » Missouri Education Watchdog

Common Core Dissent *NOT* Appreciated by Connecticut Police Officer » Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Dissent *NOT* Appreciated by Connecticut Police OfficerA dossier of sorts was compiled by a police officer on an Connecticut citizen organizing an anti-Common Core informational session.  Maybe the police officer didn’t like that the dissenter is a Republican or is a ‘birther’.  Is dissen

by mike simpson / 8h 

Bill signed encouraging study of Latino deportation :: SI&A Cabinet Report

Bill signed encouraging study of Latino deportation :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: Bill signed encouraging study of Latino deportation(Calif.) In 2005, California – via legislation – apologized for its role in mass deportations of Mexican-Americans that occurred during the Great Depression.Late last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill int

by mike simpson / 8h 

CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Value-less Data

CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Value-less Data: PA: Value-less DataIt's autumn in Pennsylvania, which means it's time to look at the rich data to be gleaned from our Big Standardized Test (called PSSA for grades 3-8, and Keytsone Exams at the high school level).We love us some value added data crunching in PA (our version is called PVAAS, an early version of the value-added baloney model). This is a model th

by mike simpson / 8h 

Reactions to Arne Duncan’s departure illustrate national divide over education - The Washington Post

Reactions to Arne Duncan’s departure illustrate national divide over education - The Washington Post: Reactions to Arne Duncan’s departure illustrate national divide over educationEducation Secretary Arne Duncan’s announcement on Friday that he plans to step down later this year was greeted by a range of reactions that illustrate how deeply divided the country is over the Obama administration’s ed

by mike simpson / 8h 

World Teachers Day Highlights Educator Shortage - NEA Today

World Teachers Day Highlights Educator Shortage - NEA Today: World Teachers Day Highlights Educator ShortageThe world needs more school teachers. A lot of them. Almost 26 million will need to be recruited to provide every child with a primary education by 2030, according to a report from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).Filling these positions with high quality educators is critical to re

by mike simpson / 8h 

Special education teacher: Why it’s ‘idiotic’ to force my students to take standardized tests - The Washington Post

Special education teacher: Why it’s ‘idiotic’ to force my students to take standardized tests - The Washington Post: Special education teacher: Why it’s ‘idiotic’ to force my students to take standardized testsThe top picture is from November of 2014 and the bottom picture is from January 2015. Both pictures are from the same student.This is the remarkable story of the challenges facing one specia

by mike simpson / 9h 

‘Workers’ or slaves? Textbook maker backtracks after mother’s online complaint - The Washington Post

‘Workers’ or slaves? Textbook maker backtracks after mother’s online complaint - The Washington Post: ‘Workers’ or slaves? Textbook maker backtracks after mother’s online complaintMothers of teenagers are used to getting frustrating text messages, but the one that Roni Dean-Burren received from her 15-year-old son last week wasn’t about alcohol, dating or money for the movies.It was about history.

by mike simpson / 9h 

Union's chosen four could take majority on St. Paul school board - StarTribune.com

Union's chosen four could take majority on St. Paul school board - StarTribune.com: Union's chosen four could take majority on St. Paul school boardSchool board challengers back contract proposals. Teachers unions are strong, but in St. Paul, muscle is being flexed in new ways.Rather than simply work on behalf of candidates, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers teamed with parents this year to coor

by mike simpson / 9h 

PSSAs: Emphasis on standardized testing has gone too far

PSSAs: Emphasis on standardized testing has gone too far: PSSAs: Emphasis on standardized testing has gone too farFor a few years, measuring education performance using standardized tests was all about making “adequate yearly progress.”But don’t look for any “progress” in the newest crop of Pennsylvania standardized test scores — and not just because the scores are all lower.Even the Pennsylvania

by mike simpson / 9h 

Arne Duncan's on His Way Out: Does That Help or Hurt ESEA's Chances? - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Arne Duncan's on His Way Out: Does That Help or Hurt ESEA's Chances? - Politics K-12 - Education Week: Arne Duncan's on His Way Out: Does That Help or Hurt ESEA's Chances?Education advocates, school district officials, teachers, and the rest of the edu-universe have been waiting for a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to make it over the finish line since 2007.And it lo

by mike simpson / 9h 

SCOTUS plantiff: 'I dared to stand against union politics' | Washington Examiner

SCOTUS plantiff: 'I dared to stand against union politics' | Washington Examiner: SCOTUS plantiff: 'I dared to stand against union politics'When the Supreme Court announced in June that it would hear the case of Friedrichs v. California Teacher Association, it sent shockwaves through organized labor. The case involves whether the nine justices should overturn a 1977 precedent called Abood v. Detro

by mike simpson / 10h 

5 Questions With ‘The Prize’ Author Dale Russakoff

5 Questions With ‘The Prize’ Author Dale Russakoff: 5 Questions With ‘The Prize’ Author Dale RussakoffWhen Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on “Oprah” in 2010 that he was donating $100 million to the city of Newark to improve its schools, longtime Washington Post reporter Dale Russakoff decided to follow along and see what happened next. Over the next four years, she talked with teachers

by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

Administration Revises and Updates Rules for Charter School Renewal - NJ Spotlight

Administration Revises and Updates Rules for Charter School Renewal - NJ Spotlight: Administration Revises and Updates Rules for Charter School RenewalThree-tiered system part of the changes, as well as fewer reviews for top-performing chartersThe Christie administration has quietly revised its protocol for renewing existing charter schools, easing back on the review of some schools while tighteni

by mike simpson / 18h 

Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education) | The Jose Vilson

Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education) | The Jose Vilson: Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education)39,000 feet above the ground, the chants still ring in my ear:What do we want? JUSTICE!When do we want it? NOW!What do we want? JUSTICE!When do we want it? NOW!We hit a rhythm right around here:If we don’t get it? SHUT IT DOWN!If we don’t

by mike simpson / 20h 

Ed Notes Online: DFER Founder and Major Ed Deformer Joe Williams' Wife, a TFA and Kippster, is DOE Senior Director, Teaching Recuitment and Quality

Ed Notes Online: DFER Founder and Major Ed Deformer Joe Williams' Wife, a TFA and Kippster, is DOE Senior Director, Teaching Recuitment and Quality:  DFER Founder and Major Ed Deformer Joe Williams' Wife, a TFA and Kippster, is DOE Senior Director, Teaching Recuitment and QualityAnne Martin Williams, who is DOE Senior Director, Teaching Recruitment and Quality, is married to Joe Williams founder o

by mike simpson / 20h 

President Obama helps every Republican Presidential candidate by appointing John King | Reclaim Reform

President Obama helps every Republican Presidential candidate by appointing John King | Reclaim Reform: President Obama helps every Republican Presidential candidate by appointing John KingPosted on October 4, 2015by Ken Previti“By appointing John King, the most unpopular education commissioner in the history of New York State, as Acting Secretary of Education, President Obama just gave a shot in

by mike simpson / 22h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/5/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMRe-Claiming a Moral Profession in Unethical Times | Colin SchumacherRe-Claiming a Moral Profession in Unethical Times | Colin Schumacher: Re-Claiming a Moral Profession in Unethical TimesA bitter irony unfolded in New York's budget process this year as Governor Cuomo, in his allegiance to hedge fund campaign contributors, managed to push through ethics reforms alongside an educa

by mike simpson / 1d

Can You Spare $91,440? | EduShyster

Can You Spare $91,440? | EduShyster:

Can You Spare $91,440?

Because that’s how much seven Boston charter schools are charging to answer a public records request…

Here’s a math question for you, reader. Say one wanted to submit a public records request to a handful of charter schools, inquiring about their recent lobbying activities. How much do you suppose such a request might set one back? If you answered $91,440, you would be on the money.

But what kind of information could possibly merit fees of that kind? Refresh your beverage, reader, for ours is a long and twisted, not to mention outrageously expensive tale… 

A little backstory
Have you noticed lately that charter schools in Massachusetts are increasingly functioning as a political lobbying force? I certainly have. Which is why this summer, a group of researchers of which I’m part, and which includes university professors, graduate students, union researchers, and interns, submitted public records requests to ten Boston charters, using the service Muckrock. (Full disclosure: the research group was started by Jobs with Justice, a nonprofit headed by the gentleman to whom I’m *technically married.*) We wanted to know just how *highly aligned* these charter schools are with lobby groups, like the increasingly controversial Families for Excellent Schools. We also wanted to know how common the practice ofautomatically sharing parent and student information with lobby groups has become. And so we asked. 

That will be $36,015 please
The lawyers of Krokidas & Bluestein (*’Doing good’ should be part of a law firm’s core business, not just an add on*), were happy to help, explaining that, well, here, you can Can You Spare $91,440? | EduShyster:

OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King? | Alan Singer

OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King? | Alan Singer:

OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King?

Arne Duncan is leaving as Barack Obama's Secretary of Education. Duncan's signature role was administering President Obama's Race to the Top program which forced states to adopt Common Core and the high-stakes testing of students and teachers to qualify for federal grants. He will not be missed. Duncan's highlight moment was when he accused opponents of Common Core testing of being "white suburban moms who -- all of a sudden -- their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were." Last year the National Education Association demanded Duncan resign and Congress is now considering legislation that would sharply reduce the federal role in education.

Unbelievably, President Obama found someone just as bad to replace him, Deputy Secretary of Education John King who in his previous job was New York State Education Commissioner. While King was Education Commissioner the roll out of Common Core produced so much opposition from parents and teachers that Governor Andrew Cuomo complained to state education officials that "Common Core's implementation in New York has been flawed and mismanaged from the start." Just last week more than 300 New York State school superintendents petitioned Congress this week to abolish the annual testing requirement for elementary and middle school students.

The selection of John King makes it clear that Race to the Top, Common Core, and high-stakes testing are Obama's education legacy and Duncan was only the delivery guy. According to a press release by NYS Allies for Public Education, a group that had to deal with King during his tenure in New York State, King's appointment is "bad news for the nation." In the press release Jeanette Deutermann, founder of Long OMG Barack, How Could You Pick John King? | Alan Singer:

State Parent Advisory Council - Migrant (CA Dept of Education)

State Parent Advisory Council - Migrant (CA Dept of Education):

State Parent Advisory Council

October meeting agenda for the public for the meeting being held on October 10, 2015.

Regular Meeting

Saturday, October 10, 2015
Sacramento, California

AGENDA

Item	Time	Description	Facilitator
Item 1 Action	8:30-8:40am	Welcome, Call to Order, Roll Call	State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) President, Vice President
Item 2 Action	8:40-8:50am	Review of Minutes, Review of Agenda	President, Vice President SPAC
Item 3 Information	8:50-9:00am	Migrant Education Program (MEP) Updates	CDE Staff
Item 4 Action	9:00-9:30am	New Business: Sharing information locally. Ways of presenting the information/reactions from parents, their comments and questions	President, Vice President SPAC; CDE Staff
Item 5 Information	9:30-10:00am	New Business Role of SPAC Review: Rober's Rules of Order; Rules of Conduct	CDE Staff
BREAK	10:00-10:15am	N/A	N/A
Item 6 Information	10:15-11:00am	New Business: 37th Annual State Migrant Parent Conference: Logo design contest, honorees, speakers	President, Vice President SPAC; CDE Staff
Item 7 Action	11:00-11:30am	New Business: 37th Annual State Migrant Parent Conference: SPAC workshop theme	President, Vice President SPAC; CDE Staff
LUNCH	11:30am-12:30pm	N/A	N/A
Item 8 Action	12:30-3:15pm	New Business:  Annual Report: review, comment, approve	CDE Staff
BREAK	3:15-3:30pm	N/A	N/A
Item 9 Action	3:30-4:15pm	New Business: Mini Corps: programs for migrant students	Juana Zamora, Mini-Corps Director
Item 10 Action	4:15-4:45pm	New Business: Health: programs and resources for migrant families	Edgar Jimenez SPAC (community member)
Item 11 Information	4:45-5:00pm	Public Comment	N/A

State Parent Advisory Council - Migrant (CA Dept of Education):

Questions:   Susie Marks Watt | SWatt@cde.ca.gov | 916-323-2241

What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American Empire - Truthdig

What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American Empire - Truthdig:

What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American Empire

This article by the late Howard Zinn is a reprint from the archives of TomDispatch. Read Tom Engelhardt’s introduction here.

With an occupying army waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with military bases and corporate bullying in every part of the world, there is hardly a question any more of the existence of an American Empire. Indeed, the once fervent denials have turned into a boastful, unashamed embrace of the idea.

However, the very idea that the United States was an empire did not occur to me until after I finished my work as a bombardier with the Eighth Air Force in the Second World War, and came home. Even as I began to have second thoughts about the purity of the “Good War,” even after being horrified by Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even after rethinking my own bombing of towns in Europe, I still did not put all that together in the context of an American “Empire.”

I was conscious, like everyone, of the British Empire and the other imperial powers of Europe, but the United States was not seen in the same way.  When, after the war, I went to college under the G.I. Bill of Rights and took courses in U.S. history, I usually found a chapter in the history texts called “The Age of Imperialism.”  It invariably referred to the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the conquest of the Philippines that followed.  It seemed that American imperialism lasted only a relatively few years. There was no overarching view of U.S. expansion that might lead to the idea of a more far-ranging empire—or period of “imperialism.”

I recall the classroom map (labeled “Western Expansion”) which presented the march across the continent as a natural, almost biological phenomenon. That huge acquisition of land called “The Louisiana Purchase” hinted at nothing but vacant land acquired.  There was no sense that this territory had been occupied by hundreds of Indian tribes which would have to be annihilated or forced from their homes—what we now call “ethnic cleansing”—so that whites could settle the land, and later railroads could crisscross it, presaging “civilization” and its brutal discontents.

Neither the discussions of “Jacksonian democracy” in history courses, nor the popular book by Arthur Schlesinger Jr., The Age of Jackson, told me about the “Trail of Tears,” the deadly forced march of “the five civilized tribes” westward from Georgia and Alabama across the Mississippi, leaving 4,000 dead in their wake. No treatment of the Civil War mentioned the Sand Creek massacre of hundreds of Indian villagers in Colorado just as “emancipation” was proclaimed for black people by Lincoln’s administration.

That classroom map also had a section to the south and west labeled “Mexican Cession.” This was a handy euphemism for the aggressive war against Mexico in 1846 in which the United States seized half of that country’s land, giving us California and the great Southwest. The term “Manifest Destiny,” used at that time, soon of course became more universal. On the eve of the Spanish-American War in 1898, theWashington Post saw beyond Cuba: “We are face to face with a strange destiny.  The taste of Empire is in the mouth of the people even as the taste of blood in the jungle.”

The violent march across the continent, and even the invasion of Cuba, appeared to be within a natural sphere of U.S. interest.  After all, hadn’t the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 declared the Western Hemisphere to be under our protection? But with hardly a pause after Cuba came the invasion of the Philippines, halfway around the world. The word “imperialism” now seemed a fitting one for U.S. actions. Indeed, that long, cruel war—treated quickly and superficially in the history books—gave rise to an Anti-Imperialist League, in which William James and Mark Twain were leading figures.  But this was not something I learned in university either.

The “Sole Superpower” Comes into View

Reading outside the classroom, however, I began to fit the pieces of history into a larger mosaic.  What at first had seemed like a purely passive foreign policy in the decade leading up to the First World War now appeared as a succession of violent interventions: the seizure of the Panama Canal zone from Colombia, a naval bombardment of the Mexican coast, the dispatch of the Marines to almost every country in Central America, occupying armies sent to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As the What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me About the American Empire - Truthdig:

Schools Matter: NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for President

Schools Matter: NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for President:

NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for President

During the final months of Bill Clinton's presidency, both Bill and Hillary harded hard to secure legislation to benefit their friends' and supporters' newly-formed foundations, as well as the one planned for themselves.  TheClinton-friendly Broads and Dells got into the foundation business in 1999, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation got rolling in 2000.

In the fall of 1999 as Hillary was beating the bushes for pledges to support the building of the Clinton Library and the Clinton Foundation,  Bill and Hill developed a list of "philanthropy heroes" who would be honored at a special Washington gala:

A September 1999 White House list proposing possible "philanthropy heroes" to highlight at the conference included wealthy donors of "large recent gifts," among them Microsoft's Bill Gates and his wife, Dell computer founder Michael Dell and investors George Soros and Eli Broad.

They all later donated to the Clinton Foundation through their companies or private foundations. There are no indications that White House officials discussed future Clinton Foundation gifts with any nonprofit. But the White House attention lavished on their concerns, Jacobs said, showed that "the president and the first lady were making tax reform for a specialized, wealthy part of American life one of their top priorities."

In January 2000, the Clintons were preparing policy strategies to provide tax breaks to their friends' new Schools Matter: NEA and AFT Misleaders Go with Broad-Gates Pick for President:

The Upside of Arne Duncan - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

The Upside of Arne Duncan - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

The Upside of Arne Duncan

So what are we to make of Arne Duncan's surprise departure from his cabinet position, where he dutifully played POTUS Basketball Bud and less-than-articulate mouthpiece for the extremely well-heeled Democrats for Education Reform?

Does anyone else wonder about the timing of this? Why was John B. King waiting in the wings? What's the policy-making strategy here--and who's calling the shots?

I have heard Arne Duncan speak--live, in a roomful of educators or ed-policy folk--perhaps a dozen times. Once, when he was the young, enthusiastic CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and flacking a (successful, meaningful) National Board Certification program in his district. Once, when he was speaking to state Teachers of the Year at an elegant banquet in a D.C. hotel--he had just been named Secretary of Education--and he spoke with great sincerity about a good public education as civil right for all children, and got an honest, unprompted standing ovation from some of the nation's best teachers.

Later, I heard him speak to National Board Certified Teachers, suggesting that they (rather than "ordinary" teachers), ought to be making six-figure salaries. That speech went embarrassingly flat.  I have also heard him make terrible, rote, off-the-prompter speeches where he couldn't wait to get out of the room. No time for questions, thanks.

I have spoken to Arne Duncan in a tightly orchestrated and managed conference call, where he was supposed to be "listening." I can testify: he's fairly awful at candid dialogue or off-the-cuff Q & A, and that quality has not improved with time.

Perhaps Arne Duncan is just tired of being the Joe Biden of the Department of Education, kept on a short leash should he deliver another gaffe about suburban moms or the benefits of killer hurricanes. Perhaps he really does long to go home and spend more time with his family. Seven years is long enough--although the hands-down best Secretary of Education ever, Richard Riley, served all eight years of the Clinton administration.

I was never on the "Dump Duncan" bandwagon. I heartily disagree with the "NCLB on steroids" policy thrust of the current Department of Education, but I never saw Duncan as effective spokesperson for the behind-the-scenes big guns he for whom was fronting: Gates. Walton. Broad.  DFER.  He could dish out memorized talking points, sort of, but skilled interviewers have run circles around the Secretary of Education.

Furthermore, getting rid of a hapless Secretary doesn't mean the policy-making will improve, just as getting rid of an incompetent President hasn't meant smooth sailing for the Republic. Arne's The Upside of Arne Duncan - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Lockdown. | Fred Klonsky

Lockdown. | Fred Klonsky:

Lockdown.

This story on school lockdowns in Slate made me remember my own experience with lockdown drills when I was teaching.

Let me start by saying that I strongly believe that the primary job of a school and its staff, more than raising test scores or learning math facts (or, in my case, teaching color theory), is keeping our children safe.

I always believed that I was doing a fairly good job if I returned the kids in pretty much the same physical shape as when they walked in my door.

I taught K-5. Trust me. That’s a big deal.

My district administration decided to institute lockdown drills in response to what continue to be the shockingly regular news reports of school shootings.

Whether this was a bad idea or just badly implemented is hard to say.

But its implementation was nuts.

Our principal decided that she did not want to frighten the students by announcing a lockdown drill over the intercom. So, she decided the code would be, “There’s a bear in the hallway.”

At that point I was to lock my door. My classroom door, which has a large glass window where anyone can see into my room, only locks from the outside. I had to grab my keys and open the door in order to lock it.

Then I was to turn off the lights and gather the students under the art supply table that Lockdown. | Fred Klonsky:

Arne Duncan’s legacy - the top-down approach to education - The Hechinger Report

Arne Duncan’s legacy - the top-down approach to education - The Hechinger Report:

Arne Duncan’s legacy – the top-down approach to education

cretary of Education Arne Duncan has been passionate about creating real change in education across America. As he leaves office, however, we must examine the efficacy of his reform initiatives.

With the inauguration of a new president just about 15 months away, educators at all levels need to be active participants in shaping the agenda for the next secretary of education, an exercise which must include assessment of the current administration’s policies and tactics with regard to curricula and teachers.

In two particular areas, Duncan reforms that have roiled K-12 schools also have significant impact on higher education: Common Core standards, and teacher quality. Should the next education secretary continue, amend or abandon these initiatives?

When Secretary Duncan first introduced the Common Core standards, I was delighted. As a college president, I am painfully aware that too many students arrive at my doorstep at Trinity in Washington woefully underprepared for the demands of critical reading, capable writing, and mathematical literacy that are the bedrock of collegiate success. The same students also often lack the framework of knowledge in History, Literature, Civics, Sciences and other subjects that are the platform for advanced learning.

As hard as the leaders and teachers in our local schools in the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties are working, results from the reform initiatives still seem years away from improving outcomes for senior high school students. So, at first, the idea of the Common Core standards seemed like a no brainer to me. Why not establish a stronger national framework for student knowledge and skills in K-12 so that we could rely on the high school diploma to Arne Duncan’s legacy - the top-down approach to education - The Hechinger Report:

Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to students - Wait What?

Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to students - Wait What?:

Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to students

In a commentary piece entitled Heeding the lessons of teenagers, fellow Education Advocate and columnist Wendy Lecker used her latest article in the Stamford Advocate and other Hearst Media Group outlets to remind us that when it comes to the so-called “education reform” agenda it is critically important that student voices be heard above the din of politics and the greed of the corporate education reform industry.

The Corporate Education Reformers and their allies in the charter school industry are so desperate to hijack the voices of public schools students that they actually create front groups with names like Students For Education Reform.

Calling themselves SFER, the group claims to be a “student run” organization but turns to the power elite for money and guidance.  An early member of the SFER Board of Directors was none other than Connecticut’s own Jonathan Sackler, the man behind the education reform groups ConnCAN, ConnAD, 50-CAN, as well as a key funder in the large charter school chain, Achievement First, Inc.  Sacker is also among the largest funders of Governor Dannel Malloy’s 2014 campaign for re-election.

Present members of SFER’s Board of Directors includes a Chief Growth Officer from the  gigantic KIPP charter school chain, the founder of Rolling Hills Capital, a major hedge fund, the Deputy General Counsel of Unilever, the President of the major education reform consulting company called Mass Insight Education, that got a lucrative contract from the Malloy administration,  and the list goes on.

Although Students For Education Reform has yet to file their IRS forms for this past tax year, in their first three years of business the group collected at least $6 million from Wendy Lecker’s latest column – The importance of listening to students - Wait What?:

BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOE | PopularResistance.Org

BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOE | PopularResistance.Org:

BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOE

Today the White House confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be stepping down. The Badass Teachers Association, an education activist organization with over 70,000 supporters nationwide, celebrate this decision. Sadly, at the same time we rejoice the resignation of a man who has done more destruction to public education than any other sitting Secretary, we are horrified that President Obama has chosen to replace him with John King. John King is the former Commissioner of Education in New York.

John King’s tenure in New York was one of controversy and with an established agenda of dismantling public education by using corporate education reform tactics. King was run out of New York in 2014 because of a staggering test opt out rate, because he ignored and dismissed parents at education forums, and because he refused to fix an education system that he himself destroyed. The state teachers union, NYSUT, had a unanimous vote of no confidence in him prior to his departure.

“While we are glad to see Arne Duncan leave his post as one of the most destructive people to hold the title of Secretary of Education, we remain concerned that he will be replaced with yet another non-educator that will continue the Corporate Education Agenda. What we need now more than ever, is a compassionate, knowledgable, and experienced educator at the helm of this country’s highest education post.” – Gus Morales, Massachusetts BAT and Public Education Teacher 9 years

“John King did more destruction to the New York State education system than any sitting commissioner I have known in my tenure as an educator in New York State. He dismissed the parents, teachers, and students of New York State by calling us “special interest groups.” The fact that he has been elevated to the U.S. Secretary of Education is beyond appalling.” Marla Kilfoyle, New York BAT and Public Education Teacher in New York for 29 years.

John King taught for three years in a “no-excuses” charter chain that had a high suspension rate. His agenda in New York State was to attempt to destroy the public’s confidence in public education. He grossly miscalculated the parents, educators and students of New York State. We anticipate he will continue his failed New York agenda while head of the United States Department of Education.BATs Respond To Duncan Leaving USDOE | PopularResistance.Org: