Saturday, July 3, 2010

School Tech Connect: Betrayed #NEARA10 #education

Betrayed

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

A few choice words from NEA President Dennis Van Roekel:

During the Presidential campaign, candidate Obama said that teachers should not be forced to spend the year preparing students to fill bubbles on standardized tests and that students deserved to learn in an individualized manner. We agreed with that statement when we went to the polls and we agree with that statement today.

Mr. President, your instincts were right. The path your advisors have laid out is not.

We've got a system that creates too few winners and far too many losers. Our members feel betrayed and so do I. I've had enough of a system where some schools have fabulous, meaningful programs and some don't. I've had enough of being told to do more with less. I've had enough of the fixation on standardized tests and making the the sole measure of a student's learning and a teacher's worth.

Obama Dealt a Blow Over Education Initiatives - WSJ.com

Obama Dealt a Blow Over Education Initiatives

President Barack Obama's education-overhaul agenda was dealt its first major setback after the U.S. House of Representatives diverted money from charter schools, teacher merit pay and the Race to the Top competition to help fund a jobs bill that would stave off teacher layoffs.

Even a last-minute veto threat by Mr. Obama late Thursday couldn't prevent the diversion of $800 million, including a $500 million cut from Race to the Top, the president's showcase initiative that rewards states for adopting innovative education redesigns.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Education vowed Friday to keep the president's education agenda intact and find other places to make budget trims.

"We're grateful they passed a jobs bills but not at the expense of the reform efforts we need for our long-term economic interests," said Peter Cunningham, spokesman for the Education Department.

Mr. Cunningham said that if the budget cuts hold, two or three states could lose out on Race to the Top, 15 to 20 school districts won't launch teacher merit pay programs, and dozens of charter schools might not open.

The measure, which passed the House Thursday night, was an amendment to a war-spending

NEA RA: Video of Van Roekel criticizing current fed ed policy. � Fred Klonsky's blog

NEA RA: Video of Van Roekel criticizing current fed ed policy.

by preaprez

The following video segment is from anti-union zealot Mike Antonnuci. As an ed blogger, Antonucci gets press credentials and a close-up seat. As a delegate, I get to sit behind a post. Oh, well.
So, credit Antonucci for the following clip:

Indian tribe hopes to revive California tribal college | News10.net | Sacramento, California | Education

Indian tribe hopes to revive California tribal college

Lesha Ruffin

Last updated 1 hr ago

DAVIS, Calif. (AP) -- A Capay Valley Indian tribe is consulting with trustees of California's only tribal college to see if they can help revive the struggling school.

Members of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation said D-Q University could help reverse declining college enrollment and high school graduation rates among the state's 450,000 American Indians.

The university, located on the outskirts of Davis, was largely shut down in 2005 after it lost its federal accreditation. A handful of students continued to occupy dorms and hold their own classes for several

NEA Convention 2010: Day 1 Wrap-Up | Intercepts

NEA Convention 2010: Day 1 Wrap-Up * There are 8,174 delegates present. I can’t find a definitive number from last year, but I think this is down. * A few more tidbits from Van Roekel’s speech: calling New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie “an out-of-control, arrogant governor;” planning to ...

NEA Convention 2010: Van Roekel Video The EIA ShakyCam™ captures a couple of key segments of NEA President Dennis Van Roekel’s keynote speech. Video #1: Video #2: [image: Share/Bookmark]

How Much Does Good Press Cost? - Teacher Beat - Education Week

How Much Does Good Press Cost?

by Stephen Sawchuk

That issue was essentially at the heart of quite a bit of protracted debate on New Business Item 1.
The original resolution would have directed the National Education Association to prepare and launch a major public relations strategy to "revive public confidence" in public schools. Major media buys put the cost of such a campaign at $52 million, or over a third of the NEA's current operating budget.
"It costs money to put this message out," NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said. "It is not, 'Write it, and they

Conn. sites among 400 'People's Gardens' in US - Boston.com

Conn. sites among 400 'People's Gardens' in US

July 3, 2010

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VERNON, Conn.—Federal officials say "People's Gardens" have now opened in every state, including two in Connecticut.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says more than 400 of the gardens have opened nationwide since his agency broke ground on the first one last year at its Washington headquarters.

The gardens are intended to provide communities with food and leisure space. The collaborations between volunteers and organizations include sustainable

NorthJersey.com: UPDATE: N.J. Assembly Speaker has not agreed to Christie, Senate property tax cap deal

UPDATE: N.J. Assembly Speaker has not agreed to Christie, Senate property tax cap deal

Saturday, July 3, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY JULY 3, 2010, 4:22 PM

BY LISA FLEISHER, CHRIS MEGERIAN AND JOSH MARGOLIN

STATE HOUSE BUREAU

display story on 1 pagePage 1 2 >>

TRENTON — Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has not signed onto a proposal to limit the rise of property tax increases agreed to by Senate leadership and Gov. Chris Christie.

NJ Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature reach a deal on a property tax cap

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NJ Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature reach a deal on a property tax cap

Oliver, an Essex County Democrat, left the Statehouse earlier this afternoon, after word came of the agreement that would lower the current 4 percent cap on tax increases and limit exceptions.
“The speaker has not been part of any closed-door deal," Assembly spokesman Tom Hester Jr. said in a statement. "As the speaker has said repeatedly, we will thoroughly vet any proposal. The Assembly budget committee will meet on Wednesday to consider proposed legislation that represents the Assembly plan.”
Christie scheduled a press conference today for 3:30 p.m.
The agreement would lower the limit on annual property tax increases to 2 percent, with exceptions for rising costs of pensions and health care, school enrollment increases, debt payments and costs associated with certain emergencies.

Eduflack: We're Not Watching Our Schoolhouse Rock

We're Not Watching Our Schoolhouse Rock

by Eduflack

As it is the Independence Day weekend, there are two bits of information dear ol' Eduflack simply can't pass up. The first comes to us from the Associated Press, where Lauren Sausser reported on a recent analysis of the original Declaration of Independence conducted by scientists at the Library of Congress. Using the latest technologies, they can see that Thomas Jefferson accidentally used the word "subjects" instead of "citizens" when first declaring our independence, undoubtedly a force of habit after a lifetime under the rule of the monarch. Like most good writers, he simply "erased" the error, replaced it with citizen, and the rest is history. Guess that means there is still hope for us educators who can't help but let works like phonics, scientifically based, AYP, and NCLB to slip through out lips.

While the University of Virginia graduate and all-around Jeffersonian in me was quite taken by the AP story (and talked about it most of yesterday), I was even a little more taken by the Marist University poll Eduflack read last

NEA Convention 2010: Dennis Is Angry | Intercepts

NEA Convention 2010: Dennis Is Angry

by Mike Antonucci

The 2010 National Education Association Representative Assembly convened this morning, and the signature moment of the first session is the keynote speech of NEA’s president.
And NEA President Dennis Van Roekel is angry. We know because he told us so.
I’ll upload video of a couple of segments from the speech later today, but here are a few quotes:

We were ready for change – ready to leave No Child Left Behind behind us forever. We were poised for four years of positive and creative collaboration.
Oh, we were ready for change, and we had hope.
Well, a few things got in the way of that hope and the change that we anticipated.
…Plain and simple, this is not what we hoped for or I hoped for.
Today, our members face the most anti-educator, anti-union, anti-student environment that I have

Van Roekel Calls For 'Commission on Effective Teaching' - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Van Roekel Calls For 'Commission on Effective Teaching'

By Stephen Sawchuk on July 3, 2010 1:56 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

Dennis Van Roekel's Keynote, take two!

Near the end of his keynote address, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel called for the creation of a new commission—to be called the Commission on Effective Teaching—that would address "questions that have been avoided for far too long."

"What would the profession look like if we, the union, actually controlled teacher training, induction and licensure, evaluation, and professional development? How do we ensure that all teachers are prepared to enter the profession and then are supported, especially in their first years?"

The commission, Van Roekel said, would issue a report on these topics and make recommendations to the NEA's Representative Assembly.

Not many more details about it at this point, but the creation of this commission

Van Roekel's Keynote Dodges the Obama Question The NEA president's keynote address is always the highlight of the first day of the National Education Association's Representative Assembly. This year's has got to have been a particularly difficult one to put together. A lot of delegates clearly ...

P�rez and Steinberg: Democrats United Behind Budget Plan to Protect Jobs and Fully Fund Education | California Progress Report

Pérez and Steinberg: Democrats United Behind Budget Plan to Protect Jobs and Fully Fund Education

Posted on 02 July 2010

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By Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Perez

SACRAMENTO – In this Democratic weekly address, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) discuss the guiding principles uniting Legislative Democrats as efforts to finalize a budget continue.

Click onto the following link for the English language MP3 file. The running time is 2:15.

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20100702RadioAddressEngl...

Click onto the following link for the Spanish language MP3 file. The running time is 3:12.

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20100702RadioAddressSpan...

Website of Speaker John A. Pérez: www.asmdc.org/speaker

NAS - The National Association of Scholars :: Articles U.S. Founding Fathers on Education, in Their Own Words Ashley Thorne

U.S. Founding Fathers on Education, in Their Own Words

July 02, 2010 By Ashley Thorne

Happy Independence Day from all of us at NAS!

For your inspiration as you head into a weekend of grilling and fireworks - some words of wisdom on education from our founding fathers:

"Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country."

Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788

"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, (A)nd if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power."

Thomas Jefferson

"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."

Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, February 12, 1779

"It is an object of vast magnitude that systems of education should be adopted and pursued which may not only diffuse a knowledge of the sciences but may implant in the minds of the American youth the principles of virtue and of liberty and inspire them with just and liberal ideas of government and with an inviolable attachment to their own country."

Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America

NEA RA: Dennis gives ‘em heck. � Fred Klonsky's blog #NEARA10

NEA RA: Dennis gives ‘em heck. � Fred Klonsky's blog

NEA RA: Dennis gives ‘em heck.