Scum bags. « Fred Klonsky

Scum bags. « Fred Klonsky:

Scum bags.

by Fred Klonsky

I received some interesting reactions to my post on pension abuse.

This week the Illinois legislature, facing billions of dollars in unpaid pension obligations, took a bold stand and made it illegal in the future for someone to collect from the Teacher Retirement Fund based on earnings they would have received if they left the clasroom to work for a teachers union.

That was how they responded to their failure to meet their obligations.

GOP Illinois House leader Tom Cross, author of the pension killing Senate Bill 512, also wrote this bill. A bigger diversion you will be hard pressed to find.

I got sucked in to this diversion, I suppose. And I’m not sorry. Some people called these guys “scum bags.” I

Blue Jersey:: Hey, Gov. Christie, are these kids drug mules too?

Blue Jersey:: Hey, Gov. Christie, are these kids drug mules too?:

Hey, Gov. Christie, are these kids drug mules too?

by Rosi Efthim

Yellow school buses were stacked up and down West State Street as far as the eye could see. Looks like NJ Spotlight called it right, predicting that the vast majority at today's pro-voucher rally at the State House steps were Catholic school students bused in for the day.

I wonder. Do you think our pro-voucher, Catholic school parent Governor thinks these kids are drug mules too?

You remember this, right? Back from when Christie was gleefully building his national street cred as a bullyboy. Before he blamed that same reputation on the press. The Guv sure didn't have any trouble callingpublic school kids drug mules for being the unwitting, cute little

Support PURE! » Stop the churn – give schools back to the community

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Stop the churn – give schools back to the community:

Stop the churn – give schools back to the community

by admin

Churn rate (sometimes called attrition rate), in its broadest sense, is a measure of the number of individuals or items moving into or out of a collective over a specific period of time…. The phrase is based on the English verb “churn”, meaning ‘to agitate or produce violent motion’. (Wikipedia)

It’s great for butter but simply terrible for children, families, teachers, other school staff, communities, and the health of democratic public education. Who wants to go to school or work for a school system that is in constant

NYC Public School Parents: Ellen McHugh: nothing dark but the intent of the DOE

NYC Public School Parents: Ellen McHugh: nothing dark but the intent of the DOE:

Ellen McHugh: nothing dark but the intent of the DOE

by Leonie Haimson

Here is Ellen McHugh's account of the controversial Cobble Hill charter co-location hearing, more description and video of which is here. Ellen is head of Parent to Parent - NYS, and a member of the Citywide Council for Special Education:

Another hearing another show. (with apologies to Cole Porter).

Outside it really was a dark and rainy night but the sharp lightning flash of argument chased the gloom from the corners of the auditorium at 293 in District 15. Here, at the hearing on a co-location of a Success charter with three other schools, there was nothing dark but the intent of the DOE. As the room was filling up it was obvious that one thing was

Eight Questions: On Teaching « Bill Ayers

Eight Questions: On Teaching « Bill Ayers:

Eight Questions: On Teaching

by billayers

1. What words of advice would you give a teacher who is struggling to incorporate reflective writing practices into his or her pedagogy?

Recognize that aesthetics is at the heart of teaching—strive for beauty and something pleasing and lovely in your work—and remember that the opposite of aesthetic is anesthetic. Anesthetics put us to sleep, but an educated person is always striving to open her eyes, to pay attention, to see more clearly from wider and different angles of regard. Wake up! Get moving! Nourish the imaginative and the weird and the queer! This is a call to ourselves no less than to our students. Art often hurts, is unruly and refuses to be domesticated, but art also urges voyages.

2. How would you direct your class to learn the fundamentals of writing while helping them better

Arne on Teacher Salaries and Standardized Tests | ED.gov Blog

Arne on Teacher Salaries and Standardized Tests | ED.gov Blog:

Arne on Teacher Salaries and Standardized Tests

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Cameron Brenchley

Arne sat down recently to respond to a couple of questions he received on his Facebook page. Kenny commented on how teacher salaries make it difficult to stay in the teaching profession. Duncan noted that low salaries are a real challenge. “I’m out very publically saying that I think teachers need to make a heck of a lot more money,” Arne said. He went on to explain that we can’t pay a great teacher enough money for their talent and expertise. “We have to elevate the teaching profession,” he said.

In response to a comment from Sharon who worried that an overemphasis on standardized tests may keep talented teachers out of the classroom, Arne said that he absolutely shares that concern, and is one of the big reasons ED has offered No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers to states. NLCB is “far too punitive; it’s far too prescriptive, led to dummying down of standards, [and] led to a narrowing of the curriculum,” Duncan said. “We know filling out bubble tests once a year should not be what everyone is focused on.”

Click here to become a fan of Arne on Facebook, and here to follow him on Twitter.

Click here for an alternate version of the video with an accessible player.

NYC Public School Parents: Noah Gotbaum on the Mayor's defamation of our teachers

NYC Public School Parents: Noah Gotbaum on the Mayor's defamation of our teachers:

Noah Gotbaum on the Mayor's defamation of our teachers

by Leonie Haimson

The Mayor's statement that teachers represent the "bottom 20%" of our society is so outrageous, so disdainful and so demonizing of teachers and the teaching profession as to merit a defamation suit. And the policies which have been generated by these beliefs so destructive and demoralizing to those teachers, to our children, to our schools and to our communities as to merit a recall.

To our friends at the AFT/UFT, NEA/NYSUT are you on the phone with your lawyers, and if not why not?

To our friends in the press: will you be asking the mayor whether he stands by these lies about 80,000 NYC public servants, the overwhelming majority of whom hold Masters degrees, are incredibly hard working and intelligent, and supremely dedicated to our children in the face of class size increases, constant budget cuts, annual reorganizations, increasing child poverty, and a testing/accountability regime that lacks any credibility? Will you also be asking him, as well as public school parents, whether he and we would and should prefer class sizes for our kids of between 50 and 70+ (with "better

Schools Matter: Insanity: Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results

Schools Matter: Insanity: Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results:

Insanity: Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results

by Jim Horn

That was Einstein's definition. In this commentary from Ed Week, Kevin Welner considers how long it might take the same reform repeated for decades to become the status quo:

HOW MANY DECADES BEFORE "REFORM" BECOMES "STATUS QUO"?

Education Week Commentary -- December 1, 2011
By Kevin G. Welner

Pause for a moment and warily inhale the decaying fragrance of well-aged change.

The nation's established school reformers have been on the ascendency for decades, and the so-called "change" they offer is simply more of the same. Consider this brief recap of school reform over the past three decades, focused in particular on privatization and choice, as well as

Jay Matthews of the Washington Post: Five reasons for profit colleges will survive | Dailycensored.com

Jay Matthews of the Washington Post: Five reasons for profit colleges will survive | Dailycensored.com:

Jay Matthews of the Washington Post: Five reasons for profit colleges will survive

Written by Danny WeilBusiness, EducationDec 1, 2011

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On November 27th, 2011 ‘education’ writer, Jay Matthews of the Washington Post, wrote a defense of for-profit colleges. One can only infer that his bosses, CEO Donny Graham and his sister Lally commanded Matthews to write the piece. This is how the paper works: journalists are tightly watched and their coverage must be in allignment with CEO Graham. Matthews has been critical of for-profit colleges in the past but the hand that feeds him is, well, the hand that feeds him. So much for political integrity and ethics. Matthews should be ashamed and you can read his scribe at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/5-reasons-why-for-profits-will-survive/2011/11/13/gIQADCAl2N_story.html

It is important to note that not only did Matthews do somewhat of a

Deborah Meier's Blog on Education: Children First

Deborah Meier's Blog on Education: Children First:

Children First

Deborah Meier at Deborah Meier's Blog on Education - 37 minutes ago

One of the surprising attacks on unions of late is that they try to raise wages and benefits and improve their working conditions for the sake of their members. Big secret: Just as every corporation is in the business of trying to improve their profit status and the dividends of their "members." Some professions or special interest groups do it by forming things called Associations, who "bargain" for them by sharing information and lobbying legislators and the general public. Part PR firms and part lobbyists—plus professional improvement. That makes sense for professions in which ... more »

Out of the Fire into the Frying Pan

Deborah Meier at Deborah Meier's Blog on Education - 1 month ago

Here's a message responding to the Obama waiver plan, as well as Senator Alexander (R) proposed bill on the same subject—NCLB. I always have an easier time critiquing them—but if I were (absurd) a senator (like Sanders), what might I propose? Ideas, welcome—proposals/ides at the edge of the possible? I am posting this guest column this month in response to the Obama plan. I think its important to read. –Deborah Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire (by Alan Young) Please read the FairTest response to the Obama-Duncan waiver deal, if you have not already. Out of the frying pan ... more »

Democurmudgeon: Again, Charter Schools Failing....

Democurmudgeon: Again, Charter Schools Failing....:

Again, Charter Schools Failing....

by Democurmudgeon

Here's another in a long line of stories proving once and for all charter and voucher schools are failing, and that they are only promoted to destroy our public schools.

EdWeek: Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city leaders have long heralded charter schools' innovative approach to education (and want to expand it still), but new research suggests many charters in Chicago are performing no better than traditional neighborhood schools and some are actually doing much worse.
7 percent of students met state standards … nine out of every 10 students missed the state benchmark … The dismal numbers are part of a new set of school report cards.

Remember, Scott Walker wanted to do away with private school testing and allow all income groups into the

School Districts Shortchange Low-Income Schools: Report:

Joy ResmovitsJoy.resmovits@huffingtonpost.comBecome a fan of this reporter

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School Districts Shortchange Low-Income Schools: Report

First Posted: 12/ 1/11 09:16 AM ET Updated: 12/ 1/11 10:34 AM ET

It's been long suspected that schools serving low-income students receive less money to pay their teachers than those in nearby affluent schools. Now there's data from the U.S. Department of Educationto back that claim up.

"The facts are out there like they've never been before," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncansaid on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

And the spending disparity affects teacher quality: As veteran teachers move to more affluent schools that can pay them more, students in poorer schools are more frequently taught by unseasoned teacherswith little classroom experience.

In the the 13,000 districts surveyed, which encompass 82,000 of the nation's 100,000 schools,