Harold Meyerson - Baltimore teachers union is the hero, not a villain

Harold Meyerson - Baltimore teachers union is the hero, not a villain

Baltimore teachers union is the hero, not a villain

Network News XPROFILE #tweet-box-container:after{content:'.';display:block;height:0;clear:both;visibility:hidden;}#tweet-box-container #editor textarea#tweet-box{border-radius:0;-moz-border-radius:0;-webkit-border-radius:0;border:1px solid #111;font:normal 12px/1.25 helvetica, arial, sans-serif;}#tweet-box-container #tweet-box-header label.doing, #tweet-box-header span#counter{font:bold 12px/1.5em helvetica, arial, sans-serif;color:#111;}#tweet-box-container #tweet-box-header label.doing span.twitter-icon{display:inline;display:inline-block;zoom:1;width:16px;height:16px;background:transparent url(http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/network-news/2/networked-news-sprite.png) no-repeat 0 -394px;vertical-align:middle;position:relative;top:-2px;margin-right:4px;}#tweet-box-container #tweet-box-header span#counter{color:#999;float:right;display:block;margin-right:20px;}#tweet-box-container #tweet-box-header span#counter.danger{color:#d6152b;}#tweet-box-container #tweeting-controls{overflow:hidden;}#tweet-box-container #tweeting-controls span.btn{background:transparent url(http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/network-news/2/networked-news-sprite.png) no-repeat 0 -430px;display:block;float:right;padding:0;border:none !important;position:relative;}#tweet-box-container #tweeting-controls span.btn button{width:75px;height:25px;color:#fff;-webkit-text-shadow:none;-moz-text-shadow:none;text-shadow:none;font:bold 12px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;cursor:pointer;border-radius:0;-moz-border-radius:0;-webkit-border-radius:0;margin:0}#tweet-box-container #tweeting-controls span.btn:hover{background-position:-75px -430px;border-color:transparent !important;}#spinner{position:absolute;right:58px;bottom:7px;float:none;padding:0;margin:0;} Tweet about this:" href="http://media7.washingtonpost.com/NetworkNews2-war/NetworkNewsServlet/story/www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/05/AR2010100503832.html" defaultcontent="Harold Meyerson - Baltimore teachers union is the hero, not a villain: http://wapo.st/cXNME3" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "> View More Activity TOOLBOX Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! Buzz Reprints COMMENT 411 Comments | View All » POST A COMMENT You must be logged in to leave a comment.Log in | Register Why Do I Have to Log In Again? Discussion Policy

By Harold Meyerson

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

For anyone who needed to gauge just how far the demonization of teachers unions has gone, the final episode last spring of TV's "Law and Order" -- the real one, not the new L.A. knock-off -- was instructive. Bracketed by the customary soundtrack "cha-chungs," the story concerned a loony former substitute teacher bent on blowing up the high school where he'd subbed. But the real heavy was a weaselly union lawyer who blocked the cops' access to the teacher's whereabouts, on the grounds of -- well, something like Marx's labor theory of value, or Walter Reuther's argument for co-determination at General Motors; it wasn't entirely clear which. Said weaselly lawyer crumbled, of course,

Charter schools holding back critical information, some say - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8

Charter schools holding back critical information, some say - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8

Charter schools holding back critical information, some say

Reported by: FOX8LIVE.COM STAFF Email: fox8news@fox8tv.net Last Update: 5:00 am

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(Kia Callia, FOX 8 News) Ashana Bigard is a mother of two, with a third on the way. She's carrying a new baby along with new worries. Her children attend public school in New Orleans and she's concerned not just about their education, but the way schools chose to involve, or not to involve, parents and families, specifically at New Orleans charter schools. Katrina's wake brought along a charter revolution. Of the city's 88 public schools, 51 are now chartered, and all receive close to $8,000, per child, in state funding. Bigard, working for the group Research on Reform, set out to retrieve basic information from New Orleans charters, including a listing of board members, contact information, meeting

Opinion: I Can’t Believe Community Roots Charter School Got an F - The Local – Fort-Greene Blog - NYTimes.com

Opinion: I Can’t Believe Community Roots Charter School Got an F - The Local – Fort-Greene Blog - NYTimes.com

Opinion: I Can’t Believe Community Roots Charter School Got an F

By MICHAEL RANDAZZO, Community Contributor

Andy NewmanCommunity Roots Charter School, on 51 Edwards Street, received its first grade, an F, from the Department of Education this year.

When I first received word last week that the school my children attend,Community Roots Charter School, had received an F from the Department of Education on its yearly progress report, I was incredulous. Community Roots is a place where my daughter, now in second grade, and my son, now

Why we shouldn't wait for Superman - Education - Salon.com

Why we shouldn't wait for Superman - Education - Salon.com

Why we shouldn't wait for Superman

The focus on teacher quality in "Waiting for 'Superman'" obscures many other challenges facing poor children today

BY ANGELA GLOVER BLACKWELL

A still from "Waiting for Superman"

The new documentary "Waiting for Superman" has unleashed a long overdue national debate on the dire state of America’s public schools. Unfortunately, it’s too narrow of a debate.

The filmmakers and their school reform allies on Capitol Hill argue the vast majority of the blame for falling test scores can be laid at the feet of

How to fix our schools: A manifesto by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and other education leaders

How to fix our schools: A manifesto by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and other education leaders

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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Joel Klein, chancellor, New York City Department of Education; Michelle Rhee, chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools; Ron Huberman, chief executive, Chicago Public Schools; Carol R. Johnson, superintendent, Boston Public Schools; Andrés A. Alonso, chief executive, Baltimore City Public Schools; Tom Boasberg, superintendent, Denver Public Schools; Arlene C. Ackerman, superintendent of schools, the School District of Philadelphia;William R. Hite Jr., superintendent, Prince George's County Public Schools; Jean-Claude Brizard,

Remainders: A principal scrambles to explain her “F” | GothamSchools

Remainders: A principal scrambles to explain her “F” | GothamSchools

Remainders: A principal scrambles to explain her “F”

by Elizabeth Green

• The principal of an F school has held two meetings with parents in four days. (NYT Local)
• Will the Bronx teacher who was a sex worker take $60,000 to pose nude? (Observer)
• Are “education transformers” the new “education reformers”? (Ed is Watching)
• Bloomberg called a mandated paid sick leave bill in Albany “disastrous.” (WSJ Metropolis)
• Amid speculation about her next move, Michelle Rhee won’t comment “on the record.” (WashPost)
• Jay Greene and his son are enjoying learning online at Khan Academy. (Jay Greene)
• A New Jersey law might bar Christie and Booker from steering Zuckerberg’s grant. (Star Ledger)
• The “Widget Effect” team has a new report with guidelines for how to evaluate teachers. (TNTP)
• Finnish mathematicians aren’t sure the country’s top standing on the PISA test is good. (Flypaper)
• An activist says the real problem with “Superman” is it doesn’t depict actual teaching. (HuffPost)
• In Denver, the teacher-evaluation-building process gets overly bureaucratic. (Ed News Colorado)

University students protest budget cuts

University students protest budget cuts

Nanette Asimov,Jessica Kwong, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, October 7, 2010

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(10-07) 15:07 PDT BERKELEY -- Thousands of UC Berkeley students and staff swarmed Sproul Plaza today, the latest in a string of rallies initiated last year to protest fee hikes and cuts to education across the state.

The rally, followed by a march across the campus, was part of a state and nationwide call to action in support of higher education. Hundreds of students occupied the campus' Doe Library, vowing to stay until 5 p.m.

Police were preventing anyone from entering or exiting the library.

"Right now we're just evaluating the situation," said UC Berkeley spokeswoman Janet Gilmore as the students broke into a rendition of the 60's anthem "We shall Not Be Moved."

While midterms kept many students and professors in class, loudspeakers broadcast the discontent of students and UC workers who lambasted increasingly crowded classrooms and other cuts resulting in nearly 1,000 eliminated positions on the Berkeley campus alone.

Many speakers blamed the UC Regents for lowering the quality of a California university education in classrooms rather than cutting administrative costs.

Antonio Villaraigosa: The End of Seniority-Based Teacher Layoffs

Antonio Villaraigosa: The End of Seniority-Based Teacher Layoffs

Antonio Villaraigosa

Mayor of the City of Los Angeles

Posted: October 7, 2010 05:03 PM

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The End of Seniority-Based Teacher Layoffs

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Education is the civil rights issue of our time, but for too long, we've turned a blind eye to the inequalities in our broken public school system. We've created a system of haves and have-nots based on things as trivial as where you live or how much money your parents make.

When it comes to the well-being of our students, there can be no sacred cows. And when outdated policies put the job security of teachers before our children's education, we must have the courage to change the system.

Five months ago, because of both the budget crisis