Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Another 'reformer' with unproven ideas: Morgan's Corner | NJ.com

Another 'reformer' with unproven ideas: Morgan's Corner

Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 6:15 AM

Earl Morgan/For The Jersey Journal
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AP photoDistrict of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, right, talks to third grader in August. She resigned her post last month.

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Now, here's something that will get people's attention.

Michelle Rhee, the controversial former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public school system is being considered to fill the post of commissioner of New Jersey's Department of Education, according to sources. How's that for shaking things up.

Rhee would replace Bret Schundler, the former mayor of Jersey City, who was fired as commissioner by Gov. Chris Christie in a tiff over the loss of a $400 million grant from the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" education initiative.

Rhee resigned the D.C. chancellorship after Mayor Adrian Fenty, who appointed and supported a number of controversial initiatives she

Michelle Rhee on Joel Klein and Cathie Black | The New York Observer

Michelle Rhee on Joel Klein and Cathie Black

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By Reid Pillifant

November 9, 2010 | 10:07 p.m

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Rhee.

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In the very few minutes between the news leaking out that Chancellor Joel Klein would be leaving the city's Department of Education, and the subsequent press conference announcing his replacement, speculation quite naturally centered on former D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

Rhee resigned her D.C. post last month, and one day later, the New York Post—run by Bloomberg's friend, Rupert Murdoch, who Klein will join at News Corp.—editorialized that New York's schools needed her, calling Rhee's very name "a byword for reform—and for resisting the pernicious influence of teachers unions."

In D.C., Rhee pushed aggressively for the kinds of reforms Mayor Bloomberg has championed, likedispensing with automatic tenure and focusing on student performance. Rhee also said she spoke

Gov. Chris Christie was living large | NJ.com

ov. Chris Christie was living large

Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 6:26 AM

Star-Ledger Editorial Board
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Noah K. Murray -The Star LedgerGov. Chris Christie went over budget on his travels when he was U.S. attorney. He now has no comment.

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This week’s Jersey scandal is a small one, if you measure the loss to taxpayers, just over $2,000. But the hypocrisy is delicious.

Gov. Chris Christie, who skewers anyone who breaks the rules and wastes taxpayer money, did exactly that when he was U.S. attorney.

The governor, it turns out, has a weakness for the fanciest hotels. And you can’t scratch that itch if you play by federal rules that place a $233 cap on a nightly stay.

So he tried to squeeze through a loophole that allows you to break that limit if you can show there are no less-expensive hotels available. That’s the exception that Christie claimed.

But his secretary confessed to Justice Department investigators that this was not literally true. In fact, it was nowhere near true. She was counting only “decent” hotels near the site of Christie’s meetings.

Who knew that this would land him at the Four Seasons in Washington at $475 per night? Or at the Nine Zero Hotel in downtown Boston for $449 per night? And once you’re on this roll,

Why Bloomberg likes Cathie Black as the new NYC schools chancellor - CSMonitor.com

Why Bloomberg likes Cathie Black as the new NYC schools chancellor

Media businesswoman Cathie Black has no experience as an educator. Why does Mayor Bloomberg think Black can run the nation's largest school system?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (c.) speaks while outgoing schools chancellor Joel Klein (l.) and the new chancellor Cathie Black look on during a news conference at City Hall in New York, Tuesday.

Seth Wenig/AP

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By Chris Richardson, CSMonitor.com / November 10, 2010

New York

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the replacement of the city's schools chancellor Joel Klein by media businesswoman and chairman of Hearst Magazines, Cathie Black.

March for the future of education | Nina Power | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

March for the future of education

The government's education policy is regressive, punitive and unnecessary – join the march to protect our future

Nick Clegg university fees — Nick Clegg talks with students unhappy at the coalition's plans for education. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Today will see tens of thousands of people concerned about the future of education marching from Horse Guards Avenue, past Westminster, to Millbank. Organised by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union under the banner "Fund our Future: Stop Education Cuts", the protest serves as an indication of the enormous anger

Revamp California's School Funding Model, Report Says - State EdWatch - Education Week

Revamp California's School Funding Model, Report Says

by Sean Cavanagh

California's school funding model is nearly "impossible to comprehend," and should be made more transparent and more focused on helping districts that serve large numbers of students who are the most expensive to educate, a new report argues.

Who are those students? They include, not surprisingly, English-language learners and special needs students, as well as those living in rural areas who have extensive transportation needs, according to the report, published today by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The state's school funding model was largely shaped by two events, the report explains. The first was a 1971 California Supreme Court decision, Serrano v. Priest, which declared the previous school funding model unconstitutional. The second was the passage of Proposition 13, which reduced the amount of property tax available to schools and muncipalities. The result was that the burden of funding schools shifted largely to the state. Today, the report notes, formulas based on the voter-approved initiative Proposition 98 shape state spending levels on schools.

Today, per-pupil funding for different districts varies greatly and often seems based on arbitrary standards, according the PPIC, a nonpartisan research organization based in San Francisco.

The report also says the state should allocate money using a more equal per-pupil funding rate, which would in

White privilege, black children | The Education Report

White privilege, black children

By Katy Murphy
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 5:12 pm in achievement gap, initiatives
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Oakland Unified’s new African American male student achievement office is co-sponsoring a free workshop next week led by Shawn Ginwright, a professor of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University. It’s called Putting Racism Aside: Working Past Hidden Bias.

It’s billed on the district’s Thriving Students blog as “NOT another diversity training.” The topic is “how white privilege shows up in working with urban children and youth.” I presume “urban” means children who aren’t white.

In what ways do you observe or experience white privilege at your school, or your child’s school? Do you think this kind of training can be eye-opening for school staff? How? Do you plan to go?

Event details, from OUSD’s blog: Read the rest of this entry »

Noam Chomsky on Mid-Term Elections: Misguided Outrage

by SOURCE on NOVEMBER 9, 2010

in CIVIL RIGHTS & LIBERTIES, CULTURE, ECONOMY, ELECTION, HISTORY, WAR, PEACE & EMPIRE

People rightly want answers, and they are not getting them except from voices that tell tales that have some internal coherence—if you suspend disbelief.

by Noam Chomsky

The U.S. midterm elections register a level of anger, fear and disillusionment in the country like nothing I can recall in my lifetime. Since the Democrats are in power, they bear the brunt of the revulsion over our current socioeconomic and political situation.

More than half the “mainstream Americans” in a Rasmussen poll last month said they view the Tea Party movement favorably—a reflection of the spirit of disenchantment.

The grievances are legitimate. For more than 30 years, real incomes for the majority of the population have stagnated or declined while work hours and insecurity have increased, along with debt. Wealth has accumulated, but in very few pockets, leading to unprecedented

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010