"[O]ne of Rosemary's questions about his shutting school
Cross-posted from the White House blog.
President Obama explains that states will have greater flexibility to find innovative ways of improving the education system, so that we can raise standards in our classrooms and prepare the next generation to succeed in the global economy.
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PHOENIX — When Guadalupe V. Aguayo puts her hand to her heart, faces the American flag in the corner of her classroom and leads her second-graders in the Pledge of Allegiance, she says some of the words — like allegiance, republic and indivisible — with a noticeable accent.
Guadalupe V. Aguayo, a teacher in Phoenix, filed a complaint after being told that her accent would not allow her to teach students learning English.
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When she tells her mostly Latino students to finish their breakfasts, quiet down, pull out their homework or capitalize the first letter in a sentence, the same accent can be heard.
Ms. Aguayo is a veteran teacher in the Creighton
Education Action Group’s Ben Velderman strikes again.
Thanks goodness for Saturday coffee.
This has been a lousy week.
Wednesday’s murder of an innocent man, Troy Davis, by the state of Georgia created a constantly shifting mood of sadness to anger.
I couldn’t talk about it at work on Thursday, even when a colleague brought it up. And Thursday was a full day of administration and union discussions about contract violations by a principal. By the end of the day I was just grumpy.
In the past weeks I have heard from other teachers in Illinois who have received a Velderman. Teachers work
Joe Tex.
What happens … begins in the council chamber, the school board meeting room, the state house, the U.S. Capitol, and the White House. "Every decision is a political decision," says NEA President Reg Weaver (speaking of teachers but applies even more for parents). "We should no longer accept people making decisions for us, about us, and without us."
How Can Schools, Families and Community Groups Put these Goals into Action?
• Recognize that all parents, regardless of income, education or cultural background, are involved in their children's learning and want their children to do well.
• Design programs that will support families to guide their children's learning, from preschool through high school.
• Develop the capacity of school staff and families to work together.
• Link activities and programs for families to improving student learning.
• Focus on developing trusting and respectful relationships among staff and families.
• Build families' social and political connections.
• Embrace a philosophy of partnership and be willing to share power.
• Make sure that parents, school staff, and community members understand that the responsibility for children's educational development is a collaborative enterprise.
• Build strong connections between schools and community organizations.
• Include families in all strategies to reduce the achievement gap between white, middle-class students and low-income students and students of color.
When parents talk to their children about school, expect them to do well, help them plan for college, and make sure that out-of-school activities are constructive, their children do better in school. When schools engage families in ways that are linked to improving learning, and support parent involvement at home and school, students make greater gains. When schools build partnerships with families that respond to their concerns, honor their contributions, and share power, they are able to sustain connections that are aimed at improving student achievement. And when families and communities organize to hold poorly performing schools accountable, school districts make positive changes in policy, practice, and resources.
