Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/8/17

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/8/17

Featured Post

Mother Crusader: Demand that Senators Who Have Received DeVos Money Recuse Themselves

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education

by mike simpson / 33min

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education : The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance I find it disturbing how quickly basic facts are flushed down the memory hole. Yes, Betsy Devos is the extreme example of the type of privatizer destroying public education, but the Democrats – with Obama at the helm – opened the door. D

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky

by mike simpson / 29min

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky : A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. A major win in court yesterday. From Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Since becoming Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner has made local ri

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

by mike simpson / 5h

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed Pleas e join Internet radio host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. as he reports live from Buffalo on the antics of billionaire school board member Carl Paladino who is notorious for his recent offensive remarks about President Obama and Michele Obama. Were school board member Paladino's latest racist remarks and actions the straw that b

CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos

by mike simpson / 7h

CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos : Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos Mitt Romney's willingness to prostrate himself has been one of the many unpleasant surprises of the last year. At first, he was one of the GOP voices of reason, calling Trump a phony and a fraud who was “playing members of the American public for suckers.” Then Herr Trump waved the Secretary of State job, and Mitten

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium

by mike simpson / 7h

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium : Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege Political leaders and the mainstream media feed two enduring claims to the public, who nearly universally embraces both: Doing well in school and attaining advanced education are essential to overcoming any obstacles, and the key to succeeding in school is grit, e

How To Leak To ProPublica | PopularResistance.Org

by mike simpson / 7h

How To Leak To ProPublica | PopularResistance.Org : How To Leak To ProPublica We are a team of investigative journalists devoted to exposing abuse of power. If you’ve got evidence showing powerful people doing the wrong thing, here’s how to let us know while protecting your identity. Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. And it requires evidence. Documents are a crucial part of

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8)

by mike simpson / 8h

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8) : ICYMI: Last Gasp Weekend Edition (1/8) Some readings from the week. Share what speaks to you, so that it can speak to other folks. 10 New Years Resolutions for Those Taking Charge at US Department of Education Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute is reformster through and through, and Betsy DeVos has contributed to AEI, but this s

Teachers union boss slams Trump’s pick for Education Secretary - NY Daily News

by mike simpson / 8h

Teachers union boss slams Trump’s pick for Education Secretary - NY Daily News : Teachers union boss slams President–elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Education Secretary The head of the nation’s largest teachers union ripped President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Education Department, saying the selection could harm public schools. The Senate has scheduled a Wednesday confirmation

Who's in Donald Trump's Cabinet? - The Atlantic

by mike simpson / 8h

Who's in Donald Trump's Cabinet? - The Atlantic : The Donald Trump Cabinet Tracker A guide to the business tycoons, generals, and conservative politicians the president-elect has nominated to run his administration as they navigate the Senate confirmation process Billionaire’s Row. All the President’s Generals . The Congressional Cabinet . President-elect Donald Trump has assembled a government-i

2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!! | Bill Ayers

by mike simpson / 8h

2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!! | Bill Ayers : 2017: Toward a Year of Resistance and Rising Up! DUMP the TRUMP!!! I’ve been on book tour for months, and it’s not done yet. Going to Cuba this week, then Washington DC, Ohio, Boston, NOLA, and more. I call it the “DEMAND the IMPOSSIBLE Rainbow Queer Insurgent Road Trip Toward a Future Worth Having.” Onward!!! It’s

Second Sunday. | Fred Klonsky

by mike simpson / 8h

Second Sunday. | Fred Klonsky : Second Sunday. Like many Louisiana towns — perhaps 300 of them, according to official estimates — St. Joseph can’t afford to maintain and improve its water system, he said. More than half of the 528 families in town make less than $50,000 a year, according U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2015, the town raised $115,883 charging fees for water, gas and other services;$11

How Finland’s youngest learners obey the rules — by fooling around in school - The Hechinger Report

by mike simpson / 9h

How Finland’s youngest learners obey the rules — by fooling around in school - The Hechinger Report : How Finland’s youngest learners obey the rules — by fooling around in school Master teacher reveals secrets of the world’s best education system Children in Eastern Finland in what is considered one of the most important activities of the day: recess. Photo: William Doyle It is lunch time at the

Russ on Reading: Ten Questions for Betsy DeVos

by mike simpson / 9h

Russ on Reading: Ten Questions for Betsy DeVos : Ten Questions for Betsy DeVos As I am sure you are aware, Senate hearings on Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education begin Wednesday, January 11, 2017. When the nomination was first announced, I wrote of my concern to my Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey. Toomey sent back a letter indicating his full-throated support of DeVos. This time I a

TBFURMAN: Weaponized Twitter and Actual Work

by mike simpson / 9h

TBFURMAN: Weaponized Twitter and Actual Work : Weaponized Twitter and Actual Work Arg..... I can't work anymore. It so interferes with blogging. I've been having a wonderful time on Twitter, saying provocative things to stir the pot. And I must say I've learned quite a bit about photo editing. I can make Trump's already commodious chin look like something out of a medical training film. I really

Ed Patru, Friend of– and Mouthpiece for– Betsy DeVos | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 9h

Ed Patru, Friend of– and Mouthpiece for– Betsy DeVos | deutsch29 : Ed Patru, Friend of– and Mouthpiece for– Betsy DeVos I have been doing a lot of reading about Trump’s nominee for US secretary of education, Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos, and I have noticed a recurring defender of DeVos, Ed Patru, “spokesman for Friends of Betsy DeVos, a group of supporters.” We could even just write the tag t

Mother Crusader: Demand that Senators Who Have Received DeVos Money Recuse Themselves

by mike simpson / 9h

Mother Crusader: Demand that Senators Who Have Received DeVos Money Recuse Themselves : Demand that Senators Who Have Received DeVos Money Recuse Themselves On January 11, 2017 The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) will hold the confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Recently, Politico released the paperwork DeVos filed with the Committee prior to her

Should the NYS Commissioner Remove Carl Paladino from the Buffalo School Board? | Ed In The Apple

by mike simpson / 9h

Should the NYS Commissioner Remove Carl Paladino from the Buffalo School Board? Are Abhorrent, Racist Comments Protected by the First Amendment? | Ed In The Apple : Should the NYS Commissioner Remove Carl Paladino from the Buffalo School Board? Are Abhorrent, Racist Comments Protected by the First Amendment? Carl Paladino, answering a questionnaire from an online Buffalo publication made outrageo

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/7/17

by mike simpson / 22h

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/7/17 Featured Post Protest the Confirmation of Billionaire Betsy DeVos - New U.S. Senate Education Committee Members | Truth in American Education Will Trump and DeVos cripple 

Top Posts This Week

• NYC Public School Parents: Two new research summaries on the multiple benefits of class size reduction
• Embedded Assessments: An End Around Parental Opt-Outs | Truth in American Education
• The Rotten State of Charter Schools in Michigan: A For-Profit Bonanza, Sponsored by the DeVos Family | Diane Ravitch's blog
• How Serious Is The Threat of School Privatization under Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos? | janresseger
• 

  BATs Support Journey for Justice and Network for Public Education Campaigns to Stop Devos - Badass Teachers Association
• Protest the Confirmation of Billionaire Betsy DeVos - New U.S. Senate Education Committee Members | Truth in American Education
• 

  Seattle Schools Community Forum: Noted Education Speaker Comes to Garfield High
• 

  Taking Stock of Educational Progress Under Obama - The Atlantic
• 

  Free Market for Education? Economists Generally Don’t Buy It - The New York Times
• Stabenow Opposes Betsy DeVos For Education Department Secretary | News/Talk 94.9 WSJM

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education:

The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance

I find it disturbing how quickly basic facts are flushed down the memory hole.

Yes, Betsy Devos is the extreme example of the type of privatizer destroying public education, but the Democrats – with Obama at the helm – opened the door.

Don’t believe me?

Take a look at Obama’s Digital Promise Initiative, whose purpose was to break open the education market for companies to sell personalized learning products to school districts. Why employ actual teachers, when computers and software can do the job.

How about the ESSA’s inclusion of “innovative assessments” – which edutech predators like iNACOL can’t wait to leverage into more online learning software and continuous testing in the classroom.

The ESSA also gave the charter lobby everything they wanted, and then some.

How can financially stressed public schools, always under the threat of being labeled “failures” based on test scores, compete with flush and unaccountable charter schools? Answer: They can’t.

I believe facts still matter and will fight alongside anyone who wants to protect our public schools, but I refuse to be a cog in anyone’s machine.

I won’t be participating in the partisan blame game, where public education plays the pawn. I’m over the constant maneuvering to score political points – while our schools The Ugly Facts About Ed-Reform, Partisan Bickering and the Resistance | Seattle Education:

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky:

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win.

A major win in court yesterday. From Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Since becoming Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner has made local right-to-work laws and state no-union zones a cornerstone of his turnaround agenda.

Yesterday, Saturday, January 7th, Federal Judge Kennelly ruled that Lincolnshire’s attempt to establish a Rauner no-union right-to-work zone was unconstitutional.

A win.

In a decision issued on January 7th, United States District Judge Matthew Kennelly found that the local “right to work” law passed by the Village of Lincolnshire, Illinois in 2015 is pre-empted by federal law, and that only states and territories have the authority to such laws. Local 150 and three other plaintiffs were granted summary judgment, with the court ruling on the merits without need for a full trial.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) permits States and Territories the authority to regulate union security agreements via “right to work” laws. Arguing that local units of government have no authority to pass such laws, four unions filed a federal lawsuit against Lincolnshire in early 2016. The plaintiffs were the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Locals 150 and 399, the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and the Laborers District Council of Chicago and Vicinity.

Judge Kennelly concluded that the NLRA “does not permit local subdivisions to regulate union security agreements.” Additionally, Kennelly found that Lincolnshire has no authority under federal law to regulate 

A key component of Rauner’s anti-union agenda is ruled unconstitutional. No right-to-work in Illinois. A win. | Fred Klonsky:

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

Pleas e join Internet radio host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. as he reports live from Buffalo on the antics of billionaire school board member Carl Paladino who is notorious for his recent offensive remarks about President Obama and Michele Obama.

Were school board member Paladino's latest racist remarks and actions the straw that broke the camel's back? Is Paladino too big and rich for the people ? Who will win this war in Buffalo?

Dr. Miller will be looking at what is happening in Buffalo and at the current status of the war on public education led by this influential businessman.

Here is the ArtVoice interview piece that started the firestorm -http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-2017-lot-different-opinions/#.WHAfyCTwRu

Here is a report from the NY Times on Paladino's remarks about the Obamas - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/nyregion/carl-paladino-trump-ally-wishes-obama-dead-and-aims-racial-insults-at-michelle-obama.html?_r=0

Here is Mr. Paladino's latest attack piece on Barbara Evergold and the Buffalo School Board - http://www.carlpaladino.com/how-union-president-rumore-co-opted-the-buffalo-school-board-and-rigged-the-teachers-contract/#more-6488

Please join us on Sunday.
Knowledge is power !

RESISTANCE MATTERS
RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE
RESISTANCE IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF EXPRESSION OF DEMOCRACY
RESISTANCE IS SURVIVAL
Please click on the website below to listen live:
http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport
2:00 PM PDT
4:00 PM CDT
5:00 PM EDT
or
A direct listen-in line only
Station 1 - 716-748-0150
To call-in and interact live
Station 1 888-627-6008 toll free    

Live from Buffalo – Billionaire School Board Member’s War on Ed

Big Education Ape: Should the NYS Commissioner Remove Carl Paladino from the Buffalo School Board? | Ed In The Apple - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/01/should-nys-commissioner-remove-carl.html

SUNDAY THE WAR REPORT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION WITH DR JAMES AVINGTON MILLER JR

On Sunday, please click on the website below to listen to the rebroadcast.

http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport

2:00 PM PDT
4:00 PM CDT
5:00 PM EDT

A direct listen-in line only
Station 1 - 716-748-0150

The War Report on Public Education with Dr James Avington Miller Jr

http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport

CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos

CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos:

Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos

Mitt Romney's willingness to prostrate himself has been one of the many unpleasant surprises of the last year. At first, he was one of the GOP voices of reason, calling Trump a phony and a fraud who was “playing members of the American public for suckers.” Then Herr Trump waved the Secretary of State job, and Mittens set himself up for this:



Perhaps this was the very moment when he realized that he was never even going to be on the short list for Secretary, that Trump was exactly a very Trumpian revenge. Mittens took back all the mean things he said and made the trip to kiss the ring, only to be rejected and ignored. Give Herr Trump credit-- no politician has ever executed a more perfect F#@! You to a former rival.

And yet, this week, here comes Romney in the pages of the Washington Post to stick up for Trump's USED nomination, Betsy DeVos. There could be any number of reasons-- DeVos was a Romney supporter, and she circulates in the same circles of rarified richness where Trump aspires to visit, but Romney and DeVos actually live.

At any rate, Romney's defense of DeVos is really an indictment of his own failure to understand CURMUDGUCATION: Plutocrat Romney Endorses DeVos:

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium:

Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege

Political leaders and the mainstream media feed two enduring claims to the public, who nearly universally embraces both: Doing well in school and attaining advanced education are essential to overcoming any obstacles, and the key to succeeding in school is grit, effort and perseverance.

However, education appears significant within race, but not the avenue to overcoming racism. Well-educated blacks earn more than less educated blacks, but blacks and whites with the same education reflect significant race disparities favoring whites (Bruenig, 24 October 2014):

Rarely do we admit stunning data on race/education inequity. Blacks with some college have similar employment opportunities as whites with no high school diploma (Closing the Race Gap):

But certainly effort (grit and perseverance) matters more than simple accidents of a person’s birth? Actually, no (Bruenig, 13 June 2013):

We are left, then, with having to admit that the evidence is overwhelming that these are baseless cultural myths (possibly ideals we should aspire to, but certainly not the state of our society): Doing well in school and attaining advanced education are essential to overcoming any obstacles, and the key Grit, Education Narratives Veneer for White, Wealth Privilege – Medium: