Michigan's Teachers Mulling A Strike? #wiunion #miunion #P2 #MadWi #Madunion

Michigan's Teachers Mulling A Strike?

Michigan's Teachers Mulling A Strike?

The Michigan Education Association, in response to proposed cuts from the Snyder administration, is asking members for the authority to initiate job action

Posted: 5:01 PM Mar 18, 2011
Reporter: Liam Martin
Email Address: liam.martin@wilx.com

LANSING -- With another potential education cut looming, teachers are considering desperate measures.

"These attacks and these cuts will be devastating to children, and to schools," said Iris Salters, president of the Michigan Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.

It sent out a letter this week to its members, bashing Governor Snyder's plan to slash at least $470 per pupil -- and asking for the authority to call a strike, if that cut goes through.

"The legislation being considered on a daily basis at the Capitol (emergency managers, step freezes, mandatory privatization, mandatory health insurance payments, budget cuts, etc.) are outright attacks on our students, our members, our communities and our future," the letter reads.

It asks members to vote at their local MEA chapters between now and April 14 on whether or not to give the union the "authority to initiate crisis activities up to and including job action."

"[The Republicans] are interested in taking our rights," Salters told News 10 on Friday. "As well as seeing that the next generation does not

In spite of the smokescreen of being private, will another charter fall to collective bargaining? « Fred Klonsky's blog

In spite of the smokescreen of being private, will another charter fall to collective bargaining? « Fred Klonsky's blog

In spite of the smokescreen of being private, will another charter fall to collective bargaining?

by Fred Klonsky

Teachers supporting collective bargaining rights at Chicago’s Math and Science Academy.

A year ago one Chicago charter had collective bargaining rights.

Now there are eight that do.

Will number nine be the Chicago Match and Science charter school on the city’s north side?

“I didn’t like the climate of the school every year when it came to going in there on my own to talk to a principal who it seemed was very hostile to any kind of improvements that I wanted in my working conditions—improvements that would

Apologies to Our Nation's Teachers | BuzzFlash.org

Apologies to Our Nation's Teachers | BuzzFlash.org

ROBERT BARKLEY FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

First they came for your integrity. They did it subtly and over time as they obfuscated our textbooks to reflect a narrow ideology rather than the whole truth.

Next they attacked the integrity of your profession. They did it by devising embarrassingly shallow and mandatory testing in order to hold you accountable for outcomes over which you have minimal control, all the while ignoring the many inadequacies of the society that contribute to student stress.

Then they devastated what you had hoped to give to your students. They did it by narrowing the curriculum to only those attributes they find suitable to provide compliant and narrowly trained workers, and by their unenlightened neglect of the multiple intelligences and learning styles and varied pace of learning that is present in all learners.

Then they reduced your ability to motivate students by limiting the availability of instructional supplies or making you purchase them yourselves. They did it by advocating for insufficient funding through regressive taxation.

Then they set out to diminish your hard earned salaries. They did it by pushing performance pay that has been long proven both ineffective and demeaning.

Then they attacked your pensions. They did it by blaming the sudden funding inadequacies thereof on you rather than on the greed and incompetence of Wall Street.

Then they assaulted your health care. They did it by ignoring the reduced wages you accepted in lieu of the growing costs of health insura

Public Comment: Where are Hiram Johnson High School's 250 Missing Students? (28)

Public Comment: Where are Hiram Johnson High School's 250 Missing Students? (28)

Public Comment: Where are Hiram Johnson High School's 250 Missing Students?

by Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education on Friday, March 18, 2011 at 1:35pm

Hiram Johnson High School is one of Sac City Unified's "Priority Schools". After a succession of struggles over the years by previous administrators to raise student's low test scores, Supt. Raymond brought in a new principal who "cleaned house" literally and figuratively by refurbishing the facility and making changes in the teaching staff. This has created a great deal of turmoil and concern about the future of the school, given the past example of the district's closure of Sacramento High and it's conversion to an independent charter school.

The Coalition learned recently that the Sac City Unified had arranged a field trip to Sacramento Charter High School for Hiram Johnson teachers. The purpose of the visit was to have a "collegial conversation" on the structures and practices that have lead to Sac Charter's success. The irony of this wasn't lost on the teachers of Hiram Johnson. It's an open secret that Sac Charter counsels out its students who are credit deficient and in danger of not graduating, and sends them to Johnson and McClatchy. Our district high schools educate the students Sac Charter doesn't think are college material. It would make much more sense to have Johnson teachers visit McClatchy High. McClatchy is succeeding in educating all of its students.

But perhaps Johnson has already taken a leaf from Sac Charter's book. More than 250 students have disappeared from the rolls at Johnson. Has the administration at Johnson decided that the best way to boost test scores is to get rid of students who might perform poorly on tests? This does nothing to assuage the fears of those who think the district wants to turn Johnson into a charter school.

The most important question is--who's educating those 250 kids now? Have Sac Charter's castoffs become Johnson's castoffs? The Coalition is against dumping students by any school. It's the obligation and responsibility of the district to educate these kids, not pass them along until they leave the system. The district's motto is Putting Students First, not Putting Test Scores First.

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So what good is a union, anyway? #wiunion #statesos

Wis. governor releases e-mails about union rights - msnbc.com #wiunion #statesos

Wis. governor releases e-mails about union rights - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com

Wis. governor releases e-mails about union rights

Messages offer glimpse of extent of public support for Walker's controversial anti-union proposal

By TODD RICHMOND

updated 3/18/2011 2:09:51 PM ET

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MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker released to The Associated Press on Friday tens of thousands of e-mails he received in the days after introducing his plan to strip public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

The e-mails provide a first glimpse of the extent of public support that Walker said he was receiving from Wisconsin residents via e-mail for the proposal, as well as extensive opposition that he generally downplayed.

Signed into law a week ago, but halted Friday by a judge after a challenge from Democrats, the contentious plan drew tens of thousands of pro-labor protesters to the Capitol and has galvanized union supporters across the country.

Report from Central Falls, RI: How Do You Change a School's "Culture?" - Dana Goldstein

Report from Central Falls, RI: How Do You Change a School's "Culture?" - Dana Goldstein

Report from Central Falls, RI: How Do You Change a School's "Culture?"

by Dana Goldstein

On Tuesday, I visited Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, where the administration and school board received major media and political attention last year when they attempted to terminate all 88 teachers, paving the way for a similar move last month by the new Democratic mayor of Providence, Angel Taveras.

I wanted to check-in on how the school had progressed since its uncomfortable national debut. What I found was an admirable administration-led effort to seed a more rigorous culture of learning among teenagers in this economically stagnant, post-industrial city, which is currently under state receivership due to financial mismangement.

But I also met teachers who described the faculty as demoralized and student discipline as a consistent

A Friend of FitzWalkerStan: Supreme Court Justice David Prosser | blue cheddar. #wiunion #statesos

A Friend of FitzWalkerStan: Supreme Court Justice David Prosser | blue cheddar.

A Friend of FitzWalkerStan: Supreme Court Justice David Prosser

BY BLUECHEDDAR

10AM Almost Without Fail

Just a note that almost every day Steve Hanson and I do a 10AM daily BlogTalkRadio online show at this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/solidaritywisYou can tweet in comments or questions. If Steve is around to man the stations, you can also give us a phonecall.

Today Steve told us about the ways Mother Nature is NOT protected by Gov. Walker’s budget bills. He went to the Capitol for the annual Conservation Voter Lobby day. That show is archived for your listening pleasure

Modern School: Parents Oppose Parent Trigger

Modern School: Parents Oppose Parent Trigger

Parents Oppose Parent Trigger Parents Learning to Fire the Corporate Trigger *With all the media hype about parent control and parent power, one would think that most parents are convinced that they know better than the well-trained professionals who run the classrooms how to ...

Mosquito Foils Christians and Climate Deniers From *Science *(Feb. 25, 2011, Vol. 331, #6020, p1006-7): Geneticists Christina Holzapfel and William Bradshaw, of the University of Oregon, Eugene, have been studying the mosquito *Wyeomyia smithii*, for several decades. The insect spends most of ...

Thousands of L.A. Students Walk Out, Protest Mass Teacher Firings Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) issued over 7,000 pink slips to teachers and support staff (around 5,000 just for teachers) in order to close a $408 million budget gap. Thousands of students walked out of class today across the city to ...

The Educated Reporter: My last post on TER; where to find me next.

The Educated Reporter: My last post on TER; where to find me next.

My last post on TER; where to find me next.

by Linda Perlstein

Today is my last day at EWA. It has been a very rewarding three years, especially working with reporters, as Ihave mentioned. Please stay in touch. Perhaps you could still send me your drafts to edit, and just deposit a few bucks in my PayPal account. Eventually I will have enough to buy a pillow on Etsy.


No, just kidding. EWA will hire a new public editor soon, and he or she will be able to help you just as I did. But I wasn’t kidding about staying in touch.


My phone number remains the same. You can e-mail me at linda at lindaperlstein dot com. If you are a public relations professional, you know I love you—but do not send press releases to this address. Don’t put me on your distribution list. Don’t send me pitches for the blog. I will miss many things about this job, but a steady stream of e-mails about robotics challenge winners and statements by association presidents reacting to statements by federal officials is not one of them. I probably know about your organization, and pay attention to it in my own way. However, if you want to contact me personally, that’s great.


I will be doing freelance editing and writing. If you want to hire me for a project, that’s great too.


My blog will be migrating to lindaperlstein.blogspot.com. I am calling it “Continuing Education,” because as hard as I tried to avoid education puns, I couldn’t help myself. To the friend who said it’s a bad name, “Meeting the Turnaround Challenge” isn’t so awesome either. Don’t be a hater.


I will still comment about education journalism, more freely since the journalists won’t be my clients anymore. I will comment about education too—again, more freely. But I will also write about other things on occasion: pop culture, food, life. And of course pop culture about education. Nothing get hits like a Tony Danza blog item!


The blog may get a little more personal from time to time, but nothing Dooce-ish, and I don’t plan to photograph my dinner. If you’re going to keep reading, come on over! And if not, it’s been great. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned to this space to see what comes next.

Schools Matter: A new task force on testing

Schools Matter: A new task force on testing

A new task force on testing

by skrashen

A new task force: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/eceb2868fa924fd591aad5ee6058d636/TN--Education-Task-Force/

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Michael Bennet of Colorado plan to introduce a bill to establish a national task force to examine regulations and testing governing public schools.

The national task force will make recommendations for policy makers to reduce regulatory compliance and improve the quality of assessment systems.

The senators are also planning Thursday to announce a working group that will study the regulations and assessment systems in Colorado and Tennessee to determine effectiveness. The group will include Education

Children First? « Failing Schools

Children First? « Failing Schools

Children First?

MARCH 18, 2011

by Sabrina

A couple of weekends ago, I found myself chatting with a local parent who was born and raised in Europe. Once we exchanged information about our careers, the conversation naturally turned to education, and recent news coverage of education issues.

“I have to say, I find this really strange. I feel sorry for you, those of you who work as teachers. Everything is about conflict, and cutting things. In Europe, especially when I was growing up, the talk was about ‘Here’s what we need to do for our kids, now how do we pay for it?’ I worry about what to do for [my son's] education in a few years, because I feel like I can’t trust the public

March 16th. Washington D.C. « Fred Klonsky's blog

March 16th. Washington D.C. « Fred Klonsky's blog

March 16th. Washington D.C.

by Fred Klonsky

guest post: "I have sex" | angry asian man

guest post: "I have sex" | angry asian man

about archive rss contact

3.17.2011 guest post: "I have sex" I was recently talking with filmmaker Eric Byler, who was telling me about a really cool video project, "I Have Sex," created by students at Wesleyan University in response to the proposed elimination of Title X, which would strip all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. The clip has gone viral, and now has over 200,000 views. Take a look: A message from students at Wesleyan University in Connecticut: In order to "balance the budget" the House of Representatives recently announced the intention to strip all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. This is unacceptable. It's time to face reality: many young people have sex, and need to

Required reading: evaluating teachers, paying teachers and funding schools | School Zone | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Required reading: evaluating teachers, paying teachers and funding schools | School Zone | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Required reading: evaluating teachers, paying teachers and funding schools

Time to catch up on education-related news before spring break ends (sigh):

*The Washington Post offers a fascinating inside look at how the new teacher evaluation system works in D.C. public schools. Reporter Stephanie McCrummen was able to sit in on a tense conference between a teacher and the "master teacher" evaluating him. Houston ISD, as we've reported, is working on a new evaluation system that has some similarities to the D.C. one.

Some education reporters are questioning a mention in the story about teachers being a more important influence on students than poverty, but I don't think that takes away from the impact of the story. And it's one I'd like to do in Houston (so, HISD teachers, if you're open to

Joanne Bamberger: Corporal Punishment In Public Schools -- There's An App For That

Joanne Bamberger: Corporal Punishment In Public Schools -- There's An App For That

Joanne Bamberger: Corporal Punishment In Public Schools -- There's An App For That

by Joanne Bamberger

If you're an adult of a certain age, you probably have a memory or two of a teacher taking you or a classmate "out to the woodshed" for some classroom offense. For example, I remember a sixth grade classmate who wasn't particularly good at keeping his listening ears on. One day, this student's antics pushed our teacher so far over the edge that he threw the student against the blackboard. He tossed him so hard it left a dent in the metal chalk holder. Obviously, that's extreme, but I also remember children being spanked just for "carrying on" in class. I even have my own memory of being such a chatty first-grader that the teacher finally gave up and Scotch taped my mouth shut. Not as traumatic as a spanking, but I was pretty shocked that she was allowed to do that and I still have vivid memories of the incident.

Any disciplinary tactics like that today would get a teacher fired for child abuse and kicked out of the profession, right?

Apparently that possibility depends on which state you live in. While we're a society that shudders at the thought

Biden, Solis Tell Workers: ‘We Need Collective Bargaining’ | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG #wiunion #statesos

Biden, Solis Tell Workers: ‘We Need Collective Bargaining’ | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

Biden, Solis Tell Workers: ‘We Need Collective Bargaining’ by James Parks, Mar 17, 2011

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Vice President Biden and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis addressed the AFL-CIO Executive Council in March 2010.

Tens of thousands of working people under attack from Republican governors in 12 states received some high-level support and encouragement today. In a virtual town hall meeting this evening, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told the workers the Obama administration will stand with them and will stay with them to make sure their rights are protected.

Joined by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in the call, the Vice President opened with a quote from President Obama saying that “We can’t have a strong middle class without unions.” Then Vice President Biden added:

You built the middle class. This fight is not about wages or benefits; it’s about trying to break unions. We absolutely, positively need collective bargaining.

Solis also said our leaders should be focused on creating good jobs and helping working families get back to work.

That’s important to remember now that as states and cities grapple with enormous fiscal challenges and everyone we know is making sacrifices and meeting those challenges. But some states’ leaders have gone too far. Budget sacrifices are one thing, but having union members give up their rights is another.

As AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said:

I truly believe this moment will be what we make of it. The teachers and firefighters and nurses and EMTs and snowplow drivers on the ground in a dozen states have provided the inspiration and shown us the way. Now we need to carry it forward – the attacks on workers’ rights are huge, but the courage and activism we’re seeing are even bigger. Together we can build a movement for real change.

Trumka urged all the listeners to take the next step toward building that movement by talking with their friends and co-workers about what’s at stake. And he invited them to join thousands of people across the country on and around April 4 for a time of solidarity and action to say, “We Are One, Respect Our Rights.” (If you’re planning an event, whether public or private, click here and post it at our We Are One site.) Find out more about April 4here.

The virtual town hall was sponsored by the unions of the AFL-CIO, SEIU, the National Education Association (NEA), Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the Teamsters.

While the workers on the town hall phone call live in Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Iowa and New Jersey, the attacks on workers are nationwide. Across the country, Republican governors and state legislators have proposed a variety of anti-worker measures that would cut bargaining rights, end prevailing wages, enact so-called right to work laws and a host of other measures.

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