Deniers leak secret plan to miseducate US schoolchildren : Thoughts from Kansas

Deniers leak secret plan to miseducate US schoolchildren : Thoughts from Kansas:

Deniers leak secret plan to miseducate US schoolchildren

Category: Creationism • Culture Wars • Policy and Politics
Posted on: February 20, 2012 1:13 AM, by Josh Rosenau

A secret fundraising document from a shadowy anti-science institute was accidentally made public. The document candidly lays out the anti-science agenda of group, including efforts to undermine science education in public schools, but also plans to broadly redefine society.

The year was 1998, and the document was from the Discovery Institute. Nicknamed "The Wedge Document" by opponents of the Disco. 'tute's brand of creationism, it details plans to use attacks on evolution like the thin edge of a wedge, opening a crack which in time would break society free of "scientific materialism." Ultimately, the document explains, the Discovery Institute's plans would "replace materialistic explanations with the theistic understanding that nature and human beings are created by God."

On Valentine's Day of this year, the story repeated, but instead of exposing the anti-science agenda of creationists, it reveals the equally anti-science agenda of climate change deniers.

The Heartland Institute is a major player in the climate change denial movement, and the

Support PURE! » First Parents Across America open call in tonight 2-20

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » First Parents Across America open call in tonight 2-20:

First Parents Across America open call in tonight 2-20

by admin

Tonight, Monday Feb. 20 at 8 PM, Parents Across America will be sponsoring a conference call, open to all, to brief you on strategies you can use to fight back against the damaging tide of privatization wreaking havoc our public schools.

When: Monday, Feb. 20 at 8 PM EST.

Conference Dial-in Number: (424) 203-8075

Participant Access Code: 1037540#

First, Karran Harper Royal, a PAA founding member, will talk about what’s happening in New Orleans, where nearly 75% of the schools are charters and before too long, they may all be privatized. Rather than the idealized picture portrayed by Sec. Duncan and the corporate reform crowd, this has led to nightmarish experiences for many children, who no longer have the right to attend their neighborhood school, and are often forced to travel hours each day on buses which their parents have to pay for. Hear what Karran and other NOLA parents are doing to fight back, and about the lawsuit they have filed with the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Dora Taylor and Sue Peters, founders of PAA- Seattle, will describe how they are experiencing the fourth push in 15 years to authorize charter schools in Washington, one of only about ten states in which charter schools are still not legal. Parents are also facing a barrage of potentially damaging “teacher evaluation” bills in the legislature. Sue and Dora will talk about how they are organizing other parents throughout the state, working with other stakeholder groups, and helping to disseminate the truth about charters and teacher evaluation to prevent these bills from being passed – in Bill Gates’ own backyard.

When: Monday, Feb. 20 at 8 PM EST.

Conference Dial-in Number: (424) 203-8075

Participant Access Code: 1037540#

If you have a question in advance, please send it to info@parentsacrossamerica.org

Blue Jersey:: The Self-Delusion of the Corporate Education Reformer

Blue Jersey:: The Self-Delusion of the Corporate Education Reformer:

The Self-Delusion of the Corporate Education Reformer

by Jersey Jazzman

ACTING Education Commissioner Chris Cerf gave a speech. You can sit through the entire thing (lord help you), or you can skip to one telling quote I transcribed below.

Popout

(42:15) In the end of the day, none of this matters, as someone said today, because, whether you have an enlightened despotism or a diffusion of power, at the end of the day it has a great deal to do with who's in charge.

I look at New York City, for example, and mayoral control was the necessary condition for the kind of change that we experienced. It could not have happened without it. And then I look with some

The press finally wakes up to Parent Trigger scam « Parents Across America

The press finally wakes up to Parent Trigger scam « Parents Across America:

The press finally wakes up to Parent Trigger scam

by CarolineSF

By Caroline Grannan, San Francisco

Parents Across America founding member

The Parent Trigger, an education reform fad that started in California in early 2010 and is now being pushed as a miracle solution around the country, may have finally lost its magic with the mainstream media.

The Feb. 19, 2012, Los Angeles Times ran an article about the latest (of two total) Parent Trigger projects, focusing on charges that the “campaign has divided the campus, destroyed friendships and given rise to charges on both sides of harassment and deceit.”This campaign is at Desert Trails Elementary School in rural Adelanto, Calif.

Though the sky-high likelihood that a Parent Trigger would rip apart a community has been evident all along to anyone with a clue, especially anyone who spends time in schools, the mainstream press has generally been bewitched by this new silver bullet. The Parent

Quick Vent « Student Activism

Quick Vent « Student Activism:

Quick Vent

by Angus Johnston

In the universe’s latest variation on the “Black people call themselves that, so why can’t I?” idiocy, Reuters journalist offers this take on the Jeremy Lin ESPN scandal:

“So we’re all just going to ignore the fact that Jeremy Lin used the word “Chink” in his Xanga username in 2004, right?

Just wanted to be clear, since, you know, we’re firing ESPN headline writers for being insensitive and criticizing ESPN anchors for using the word during play-by-play.

At what point do we draw the line between “acceptable use” and “unacceptable use?” Do we further divide people by saying it’s okay for some people to use the word, while barring others?

Or can we all agree that nobody should use these sorts of words, in any context?”

Here’s the thing that burns me up most about this tired, absurd argument: nobody would ever offer it in any other

Recall rights. « Fred Klonsky

Recall rights. « Fred Klonsky:

Recall rights.

by Fred Klonsky

Last week the Illinois Supreme Court ruled against the Chicago Teachers Union in a case involving the recall rights of teachers.

The suit was brought by the union against the CPS in a case where 750 tenured teachers were released in 2010 for economic reasons, not performance reasons. While teachers outside of Chicago have recall rights, meaning a stated policy about who gets called back to work if jobs become available, CPS has no policy. They can do whatever they want.

In 1995 the state legislature surgically removed Chicago teachers from rules governing layoffs and recalls.

From the dissenting opinion of Justice Theis:

Before 1995, tenured teachers in Chicago whose services were “no longer required because of a decrease in student membership, a change in subject requirements within the attendance center organization, or the closing of an attendance center” enjoyed recall rights under section 34-84. See 105 ILCS 5/34-

Assemblymember Dickinson Introduces Public Employee’s Bill of Rights - Assemblymember Roger Dickinson Representing the 9th California Assembly District - AD09

Assemblymember Dickinson Introduces Public Employee’s Bill of Rights - Assemblymember Roger Dickinson Representing the 9th California Assembly District - AD09:

Assemblymember Dickinson Introduces Public Employee’s Bill of Rights

Sacramento – Today, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) introduced Assembly Bill 1655. The bill would enact the Public Employee’s Bill of Rights Act to provide various rights and protections to non-excluded state civil service employees. The bill will be heard by the legislature in the coming months.

“Statutorily defining an employee’s rights will help ensure that essential working conditions are met, enhance and clarify the expectations of employees and management alike, and improve the working relationship between rank and file workers and state managers. In turn, these changes will result in improved worker productivity and more harmonious personnel relations,” said Assemblymember Dickinson.

Currently, state employee rights and working conditions may be bargained for and included within a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Unfortunately, not all bargained-for working conditions are uniformly enforced or understood across all departments and agencies, which can negatively impact employee morale and undermine expectations of public employees. As a result, employer–employee relations can be unsettled and unstable.

AB 1655 is modeled after the existing Peace Officer Procedural Bill of Rights, the Firefighter’s

The in box: “Support our schools, don’t close them” rally today. « Fred Klonsky

The in box: “Support our schools, don’t close them” rally today. « Fred Klonsky:

The in box: “Support our schools, don’t close them” rally today.

by Fred Klonsky

From Adam Heenan.

Please take a few moments to pass this on!

Monday, February 20th at 4 p.m.: Join Parents, Students, School Staff and Education Allies to tell Mayor Emanuel: SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS. DON’T SHUT THEM DOWN! Rally at Lake View High School, 4015 N. Ashland Ave. Please Repost!

*Buses will leave at 2:45 p.m. from the
Marquette school annex, 2948 W. 65th St;
Tilden H.S. 4747 S. Union;
Piccolo School, 1040 N. Keeler;
Casals School, 3501 W Potomac Ave.;
Guggenheim School, 7141 S Morgan St;
Stagg School; 7424 S Morgan St.
& a 2 p.m. bus will depart from Bronzeville, 4242 S. Cottage Grove to go to the 2/20 rally).

Jersey Jazzman: Great Moments In Total Cluelessness

Jersey Jazzman: Great Moments In Total Cluelessness:

Great Moments In Total Cluelessness

by Duke

Is it possible to be more obtuse?

Backers of the new approaches say that change takes time. “You have to start the process somewhere,” said Daniel Weisberg, executive vice president and general counsel at The New Teacher Project, a nonprofit agency founded in 1997. “If you don’t solve the problem of teacher quality, you will continue to have an achievement gap.” [emphasis mine]

Uh...

But, according to the New Teacher Project, the difference between Chatham and Newark, or between Scarsdale