Reactionary Governor Walker of Wisconsin declares war on working people and kids | Dailycensored.com #wiunion #notmywi

Reactionary Governor Walker of Wisconsin declares war on working people and kids | Dailycensored.com

Reactionary Governor Walker of Wisconsin declares war on working people and kids

Written by Danny WeilEducationFeb 17, 2011

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‘Austerity’ is the word used by those in power to make it sound like we are all in this ‘budget crisis’ together, when in fact it is the ruling oligarchs of this nation, the banksters and their coin-operated politicians, that created the crisis that now threatens to bring working people to their knees.

However tens of thousands have mobilized in Wisconsin and continue to do so — from the Green Bay Packers to public sector workers to parents and students – in an effort to let Governor Walker know that any cuts to education, any destruction of collective bargaining rights for public workers, and any further cuts to public workers pay, such as making them contribute 50% to their own pensions and forcing them to pay more than 12.5% more for their health care to for-profit corporations, is unacceptable. Finally public sector unions have mobilized together to see their common interests and fight corporate reactionaires and their hand tools.

It is no mystery what is going on with the reactionaries and the class war

The politics of education upended - Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com #wiunion #notmywi

The politics of education upended - Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com

The politics of education upended

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Teachers in Wisconsin recently protested an attempt to strip them of their union rights. | AP PhotoClose

By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 2/17/11 4:38 AM EST Updated: 2/17/11 5:33 PM EST

In Wisconsin, about 1,000 teachers called in sick Wednesday to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to strip their union bargaining rights.

In Washington, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recounted his battle with his state’s teachers unions Wednesday, calling their leaders “greedy” and “selfish.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49706.html#ixzz1EGJgqNww

Queens Teacher: Avella To Bloomberg: Stop Blaming The Unions

Queens Teacher: Avella To Bloomberg: Stop Blaming The Unions

Avella To Bloomberg: Stop Blaming The Unions

by Queens Teacher

Avella To Bloomberg: Stop Blaming The Unions

NYC Councilman-turned-Senator Tony Avella sent a letter today to his erstwhile political foe, Mayor Blooomberg, accusing him of taking an “unconscionable” stance on the so-called holiday “bonuses” he’s trying to eliminate as part of his pension reform push.

The Queens Democrat, who ran a longshot run for mayor in 2009 (losing the Democratic primary to then-NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson), is siding with the more than 33,000 former NYC cops and firefighters who receive that amount every December as part of the Variable Supplement Fund.

The bonus was established in 1968 and, unlike other pension benefits, is not constitutionally protected. Doing away with it would save the city $200 million a year, Bloomberg

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy / Northpointe Academy

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy / Northpointe Academy

Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy / Northpointe Academy *FOR-PROFIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY SKIRTS OHIO’S CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSURE LAW: DOCUMENTS SHOW CLOSED TOLEDO SCHOOL RE-OPENED WITH NEW NAME, SAME STAFF;*February 15, 2011; Policy Matters Ohio press release The Leona Group, a Phoenix-based for-profit ...

Imani Elementary Charter Academy *SHUT ORANGE CHARTER SCHOOL NOW, ITS EX-TEACHERS URGE*; February 5, 2011; Orlando Sentinel (FL) Imani Elementary Charter Academy promised parents a model school when it opened in one of Orange County's poorest neighborhoods in August. The Pine ...

Imagine Prep High School *TEACHER AT IMAGINE PREP CHARTER IN ARIZONA FIRED FOR BUMPER STICKERS; *February 2011; BlogforArizona.com I've written a lot about Imagine charter schools in Arizona and across the country. Their CEO is an amazingly rich guy, also very conservative, ...

Missouri charter schools ***MOST MO. CHARTERS FALL SHORT OF STATE STANDARDS, REPORT FINDS*; Published Online: February 14, 2011; The Associated Press Most charter schools in Missouri aren't meeting state proficiency standards and lack both adequate state funding and ...

Achievement First East New York Middle School *10-YEAR-OLD AUTISTIC BOY, BRANDON STRONG, PUNISHED FOR BEHAVIOR CAUSED BY HIS CONDITION*; February 15, 2011; NY Daily News An East New York boy diagnosed with autism has gotten dozens of detentions this school year for behaviors caused by his ...

Indiana charter schools *ISTEP RESULTS: CHARTER SCHOOLS FAILING TO MEASURE UP?* February 14, 2011; Chesterton Tribune (Northwest Indiana) As Indiana forges ahead with a plan that could make it the most charter school friendly state in the country, some school officials ...

Academia Avance *CRITICS ASSAIL DIRECTOR OF L.A. CHARTER: FORMER EMPLOYEES AND PARENTS ACCUSE RICARDO MIRELES OF IMPROPRIETIES BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL PRESSURE AT ACADEMIA AVANCE. HE DENIES IT*; September 25, 2007; Los Angeles Times (CA) A Highland Park charter ...

Madison, Wisconsin is ground zero in the against the right-wing assault. « Fred Klonsky's blog #solidaritywi #killthisbill #notmywi #wiunion

Madison, Wisconsin is ground zero in the against the right-wing assault. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Madison, Wisconsin is ground zero in the against the right-wing assault.

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

tags: On Wisconsin!

by Fred Klonsky

Today, finally the NY Times took notice.

For the Washington Post, Madison is fly over country. Not worth noting.

Imagine 50,000 Tea Party protesters occupying every square inch of the Wisconsin state Capitol building and for blocks around, filling downtown Madison.

It would certainly lead the national news.

So far, there has been a news blackout of the events taking place in Madison that would make

The Attacks on Teachers and Unions in Wisconsin Should Concern Everyone – Lily's Blackboard #solidaritywi #killthisbill #notmywi #wiunion

The Attacks on Teachers and Unions in Wisconsin Should Concern Everyone – Lily's Blackboard

The Attacks on Teachers and Unions in Wisconsin Should Concern Everyone

Feb 17th, 2011

by Lily.

Photo by Emily Mills

Fifty years ago saying you were a “poor teacher” was redundant. Teachers were mostly women who wanted to teach, not to get rich, but because they loved kids. However, 50 years ago, teachers and education support staff such as school secretaries and lunch ladies were expected to be polite and obedient and accept what they were given. They had no power to come together and bargain a better salary with administrators, who were, coincidently, mostly men. They were constantly exploited and underpaid. Wisconsin, 50 years ago, became the first state in the country to do something about that.

They gave public employees, like teachers, the right to come together and

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Are they really trying to resurrect Renaissance 2010?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Are they really trying to resurrect Renaissance 2010?

Are they really trying to resurrect Renaissance 2010?

HUBERMAN: We're continuing to learn from what's worked well in Renaissance 2012…2010!...and what we need to improve on…

ambi: tape rewind

Did he say Renaissance 2012??

HUBERMAN: No, that was just a slip, Linda.--WBEZ report from Jan. 12, 2010.

Chicago's local public radio station WBEZ jumped into the exciting world of school reform program evaluation this week and as one might expect, they made quite a muck of it.

While several previous studies and analysis of Mayor Daley's signatureRenaissance 2010 campaign have either been inconclusive or shown it to

The Plum Line - Missing Wisconsin Dem speaks: We're MIA until GOP drops assault on workers rights #wiunion #solidarityWI

The Plum Line - Missing Wisconsin Dem speaks: We're MIA until GOP drops assault on workers rights

Missing Wisconsin Dem speaks: We're MIA until GOP drops assault on workers rights

By Greg Sargent

I just got off the phone with Wisconsin State Senator Chris Larson, one of the Democrats who has left the capitol in order to stall the GOP's plan to rolll back the bargaining rights of public employees. Speaking to me by cell phone from an undisclosed location, Larson said he and his fellow Democrats would not return until the GOP takes its assault on organizing rights "off the table."

"Each of us is in a secure location," he told me, confirming that they were not all together but were monitoring events on the Web and on Twitter. Larson refused to say whether he and his fellow Dems had left

School Tech Connect: The Lipman/Gutstein Report

School Tech Connect: The Lipman/Gutstein Report

The Lipman/Gutstein Report

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Catalyst pointed out this report today, and it's pretty comprehensive. What we already know is that there's no evidence that cities with mayoral control have actually improved their schools. What is becoming clear, as Miguel del Valle has pointed out, is that these cities have focused intensely on a two-tiered public education system.

And then there's this:

And we've already seen Rahm Emanuel's priorities relative

Jose Vilson: On the State of Teacher Voice 2011

Jose Vilson: On the State of Teacher Voice 2011

Jose Vilson: On the State of Teacher Voice 2011

by Jose Vilson

With all due respect to the head researchers, think tanks, sponsors, politicians, and anyone with any opinion on education, the change we seek in education takes root in the voices of our K-12 educators and practitioners. Those of us with a big enough voice and a fair amount of writing talent get the opportunity to speak to large crowds over the Internet, something most educators still haven't gravitated towards, and that's fine. Jobs implicitly negate any voices of dissent in their Internet policies, droves of paperwork drowning out any leftover energy for this type of work, and intimidation tactics unfit for places meant to foster child growth.

The reactions to the book Teaching 2030, a book I co-authored with Barnett Berry and 12 other dedicated teacher leaders drive my thoughts here. As we talk about the book across the country (and around the world), we're seeing tons of feedback about what the teacher voices should sound like if the model we've proposed actually follows through. Most of the voices worry about the Bill Gates/Eli Broads of the world who prefer that

Miguel del Valle: Teachers Make All The Difference

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Miguel del Valle: Teachers Make All The Difference

Miguel del Valle: Teachers Make All The Difference

by Joanna2011

Credit: Aaron Maier and Michael Phillips

Miguel del Valle: A True Chicagoan, A Real Neighborhood Guy

by Joanna2011

Mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle speaks about economic segregation.

Credit: Aaron Maier and Michael Phillips

Notes from north of the border. « Fred Klonsky's blog #solidaritywi #killthisbill #notmywi #wiunion

Notes from north of the border. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Notes from north of the border.

by Fred Klonsky

As the Wisconsin Senate is about to pass the most anti-union legislation in the country, aimed squarely at those working in public service, there is this:

• Madison public schools are closed because most teachers are at the Capitol protesting the law.
• Protesters have moved into the Capitol and are blocking the doors of Senators.
• Democratic Senators have walked out of the chambers.
• Over the past few days, over 50,000 demonstrators have surrounded and entered the Wisconsin Capitol.

Eyewitness to history: Democrats shut down the Wisconsin Senate - Isthmus | The Daily Page

Eyewitness to history: Democrats shut down the Wisconsin Senate - Isthmus | The Daily Page

Eyewitness to history: Democrats shut down the Wisconsin Senate
Bill Lueders on Thursday 02/17/2011 2:00 pm , (2) Likes

What I just witnessed at the Wisconsin State Capitol was either the end of democracy as we know it, or the beginning.

As tens of thousands of demonstrators surrounded the building, a small orange card handed to me by Steve Walters, dean of the Capitol press corps, allowed me access to the extraordinary events taking place behind the scenes.

I was there among the protesters, packed so thickly into the building’s corridors that it took me more than a half hour to get my press pass and make it back to the Senate, which was set to vote on Gov. Scott Walker's “budget repair bill,” which would impose unilateral changes on state workers, strip most state and local public employees of their collective bargaining rights, and impose rules changes that could likely spell the demise of the unions