Wednesday, March 30, 2011
solidaridad: Insight into just how manipulative and insidious DFER is
Insight into just how manipulative and insidious DFER is
If we ever needed more insight into just how manipulative and insidiousDemocrats for Education Reform (DFER) is as an agent of the corporate and neoliberal agenda, they've published a white paper discussing how they managed to railroad the anti-community, anti-teacher, pro-corporate SB-191 through the Colorado Legislature. The bill, which further disenfranchised communities in favor of corporate "ed-reformers," and stripped Colorado teachers of nearly any protections whatsoever is a prime example of how it isn't only teabagging darlings like Florida's Rick Scott and Wisconsin's
Battleground Milwaukee. Walker’s war against public education. | blue cheddar. #wiunion
Battleground Milwaukee. Walker’s war against public education.
I am a Madison resident. Milwaukee is not my turf. Make sure you also visit folkbum for excellent writing from a Milwaukee educator.
Note: Milwaukee Public Schools is the 3rd largest employer in the state of Wisconsin. UW Madison is 2nd. Wal Mart is 1st. (I pulled together some Milwaukee stats you’ll find at the end of the post.) Source-wikipedia
Milwaukee Parent-organized Meeting tonight
What happened on Saturday… « occupy california
What happened on Saturday…
from ReallyOpenUniversity:
There are surprisingly few write ups of Saturday, the March 26th TUC [Trade Union Congress] Demo in London. Perhaps many have been feeling the way the ROU has been and is unable to work out quite what happened.
The media portrayal of events has to be expected. Sure, the police seem to have gone on a PR mission to make themselves not look like arseholes. They did a press conference with that lovely, entirely uncritical, ‘civil liberty’ group Liberty. They also embedded a Guardian journalist into the TSG (the riot cops notorious for brutality) in an ‘I’m a real boy’ piece (1). But journalists have difficulty escaping the template narrative when it snows let alone when a load of people storm around London in an attempt to confront a social relationship.
So we should not be surprised that the media did not escape the narrative already laid down for them. One day
This Week In Education: Blogs: Rounding Up The Best Commentary Of The Day
Blogs: Rounding Up The Best Commentary Of The Day
Subpoena Rhee and others in D.C. cheating scandal probe Valerie Strauss: The only way to know for certain whether a D.C. public school cheated on tests is to subpoena everybody with potential involvement, including Michelle Rhee... It's Common Core-tastic!? Eduflack: There are some great products and services out there that do match up well with Common Core and can help districts and schools meet their current and future obligations. But anyone can slap a label on a product. It is up to educators to discern t
Ed Schmidt: What We Talk About When We Talk About School Closures
In recent days I have been struck by stories involving two districts that are closing schools.
Providence, R.I. and Detroit, Mich. are planning to close a total of 48 schools over the next few weeks. While there are ten times more schools on the closure list in Detroit (44) than in Providence (4), no one can say that the Motor City's cuts are eleven times more painful.
Closing even one school has a deep emotional impact on a community.
As a school designer and planner, I have to appreciate that every school building will, at some point in time, outlive their useful life. We try, as best we can, to make that point in time as far in the future as possible, but the years have a habit of creeping up on us.
We say that we build schools to last 50 years or more; 50 years from now is the year 2061. That
Robert Reich (The Truth About the Economy: We're Heading Back Toward a Double Dip)
The Truth About the Economy: We're Heading Back Toward a Double Dip
Why aren’t Americans being told the truth about the economy? We’re heading in the direction of a double dip – but you’d never know it if you listened to the upbeat messages coming out of Wall Street and Washington.
Consumers are 70 percent of the American economy, and consumer confidence is plummeting. It’s weaker today on average than at the low point of the Great Recession.
The Reuters/University of Michigan survey shows a 10 point decline in March – the tenth largest drop on record. Part of that drop is attributable to rising fuel and food prices. A separate Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence, just released, shows consumer confidence at a five-month low — and a large part is due to expectations of fewer jobs and lower wages in the months ahead.
Pessimistic consumers don’t buy as much. And fewer sales spells big economic trouble ahead.
What about the 192,000 jobs added in February? (We’ll know more Friday about how many jobs were added in
solidaridad: "BROKEN NEWS" - GREEN DOT TO TAKE OVER VERNON?
"BROKEN NEWS" - GREEN DOT TO TAKE OVER VERNON?
Green Dot to Take Over Vernon?
Reliable but unnamed sources at the state capital insist that AB 46, Assembly Speaker John Perez' Vernon disincorporation bill, contains a secret clause. According to a highly placed aide in the Speaker's office, interviewed under an assurance of anonymity, the final version of the bill will turn Vernon over to Green Dot, giving a whole new meaning to "charter city."
Rather than disincorporate Vernon, the city will maintain its legal identity but will technically be managed by Green Dot. Applying to cities the Green Dot principle that any one can run a school, a short list of candidates for Green Dot's city manager include former LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer and soon to be former super, Ray Cortines.
But former Green Dot executive Steve Barr is favored to be tapped for city manager. He disappeared from public
Modern School: NewTLA Candidate Upsets Washington, Wins UTLA Presidency
NewTLA Candidate Upsets Washington, Wins UTLA Presidency
Welcome to Skype in the classroom | Skype Education
Welcome to Skype in the classroom
Introducing Skype in the classroom
Skype in the classroom’s 100 newest teachers by location
