Census shows half of Americans are poor or low-income « Larry Miller's Blog

Census shows half of Americans are poor or low-income « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Census shows half of Americans are poor or low-income

by millerlf

The news that should be dominating the airwaves is the recent report that half of the American people live in poverty or near poverty conditions. It should be the main discussion at the Republican debates, from White House news conferences and from all news sources. Instead it has been treated in the news cycle and political circles as just another fleeting fact of life that American’s must accept.
Dec. 15, 2011  Hope Yen, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.
The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as un­employment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions 

PostRank’s Listing Of The “Most Engaging” Education Blogs | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

PostRank’s Listing Of The “Most Engaging” Education Blogs | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

PostRank’s Listing Of The “Most Engaging” Education Blogs

by Larry Ferlazzo

As regular readers know, I periodically publish posts sharing what some organizations list as the “most popular” sites or services. I find them interesting and sometimes useful (see The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2011).
Every six months or so, I also publish Postrank’s listing of their determination of the “most engaging” education blogs (it changes weekly). I take all these lists with a grain of salt, but it can’t hurt to see a list of who might have important roles in the online discussion about education. Obviously, the usefulness of Postrank’s criteria is very debatable.  At the very least, it’s a source of potential new blogs to read.
You can see the entire PostRank list here. And here are the “top ten”:
1. Free Technology For Teachers
2. Mindshift
3. New York Times Education
4. Teacher Lingo
5. Voice of San Diego
6. Angela Maiers
7. Big Education Ape
8. Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day
9. Joanne Jacobs
10. Cool Cat Teacher

A City Education: Going Back to Basics Is Key to Achievement - Education - GOOD

A City Education: Going Back to Basics Is Key to Achievement - Education - GOOD:

A City Education: Going Back to Basics Is Key to Achievement

by Liz Warden

In our A City Education series, two City Year corps members share their experiences working as tutors and mentors in schools in hopes of closing the achievement gap and ending the dropout crisis
At the start of the school year I played the name game with my middle-school students. I remember trying so hard to remember all of their names and the animal they picked. I also used the animal choices to get a glimpse of their personalities. One student named himself George the Gopher—he stood out because he was so adorable, bubbly, and excited to be at school.
Three months later, I know more about each student’s distinct personalities, work ethics, social lives, and home lives. Most importantly, I've been able to asses what each student needs help with academically. I just turned in 

Daily Kos: Battlefield America: Is Gitmo in Your Future?

Daily Kos: Battlefield America: Is Gitmo in Your Future?:

Battlefield America: Is Gitmo in Your Future?

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I am finding many must reads in my morning perusal of emails and news websites.  Ray McGovern is a former ranking figure at the Central Intelligence Agency who took his oath of office to the Constitution seriously.  He sought the impeachment of the last administration.  He has opposed the expansion of military and administrative power at the expense of civil liberties.  In short, he is as we say in Yiddish a mensch.  I was honored to have him speak to my students several years back.
Today he has a profound, important piece reposted at Alternet, originally posted at Consortium News on December 4.  I borrowed its title for this post.  I strongly urge you take the time to read the entire piece here.
Let me entice you some with this, his opening paragraph:

Ambiguous but alarming new wording, which is tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and was just passed by the Senate, is reminiscent of the “extraordinary measures” introduced by the Nazis after they took power in 1933.

And that's just the beginning.

Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution

Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution:

OWS D18 Round Up Posted 34 minutes ago on Dec. 18, 2011, 10:24 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt (1) D18: CHARAS COMES HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Facebook Event (2) D18: IMMIGRANTS OCCUPY Facebook event (3) D18: OWS-WIDE VISIONING SESSION Facebook Event Read More... 2 Comments Live: #D17 Occupiers in Times Square Posted 15 hours ago on Dec. 17, 2011, 7:50 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt 48 Comments

OWS D18 Round Up

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 5 minutes ago

[image: Walmart] *(1) D18: CHARAS COMES HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS* Facebook Event *(2) D18: IMMIGRANTS OCCUPY* Facebook event *(3) D18: OWS-WIDE VISIONING SESSION* Facebook Event CHARAS COMES HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS For over 20 years, CHARAS (aka El Bohio Community Center) served as the hub of a thriving movement of low-income, activist, and artist communities on the Lower East Side. Ten years ago this Saturday, the community center was evicted, robbing New York's left of one of it's beating hearts. OWS will mark the ten year anniversary of the eviction with music, food, friends, and... more »

Live: #D17 Occupiers in Times Square

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 14 hours ago

Mumia Abu-Jamal: "To My Friends of OWS"

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 16 hours ago

[image: Walmart] *Message to OWS dictated while in Administrative Custody at SCI Mahanoy in Frackville, PA.* *Thursday, December 15, 2011* My Friends of OWS, My message will have to be brief. But let not this brevity take from it, its strength. You are the central movement of the hour. You're raising questions that are in the hearts of millions. Your motto, "We are the 99%," has been heard, heeded, and responded to by millions. You can be certain that the 1% have heard you clearest of all. Your work, however, is just beginning. You must deepen, strengthen, and further your wor... more »

CHARAS Celebration Tomorrow

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 16 hours ago

More Details Here

Letter from Council of Elders to Trinity Church

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 1 day ago

December 16, 2011 Dear Rev. Dr. James Cooper, We are veterans of the Civil Rights, Women’s, Peace, Environmental, LGBTQ, Immigrant Justice, labor rights and other movements of the last 60 years. Many of us have been or continue to be leaders of religious congregations and organizations, so we are deeply understanding of the need to protect the spaces and buildings that generations of the faithful have transmitted to us. We are also deeply committed to using the share of God’s abundance that has been entrusted to us for the help and healing of those “least of these” – the poor, t... more »

D17 ReOccupy Schedule

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 1 day ago

*What:* Block Party and Re-Occupation *Where:* Sixth Avenue and Canal St. *When:* Saturday Dec. 17, 12 pm—on On-site we’ll be introducing the People’s Amp: a guerilla sound system that gives voice and rhythm to a people’s movement. A lineup of artists, musicians and speakers will be performing at 99.5 FM/WBAI broadcasted live on-site through a chorus of boom boxes, headphones, guitar amps and car radios. So bring a boom box, or a radio, or an iPod. Or bring your car by real slow and crank the stereo. If you're listening off-site tune in and turn up. From the airwaves to the sub... more »

Hunger Strikers Arrested At Occupy DC Rally for DC Autonomy

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 1 day ago

[image: occupy the vote dc] In Washington, DC, protesters at Occupy DC-K Street are on Day 9 of a hunger strike for DC voting rights. As Occupy the Vote DC has written, “Despite paying taxes to the federal government and sending our citizens to fight and die in every war, Washingtonians have had no voting representation in Congress and have had to seek approval from people they did not elect on all legislative and budgetary matters.” Over 600,000 people live in the District, the majority of whom are people of color, immigrants, in poverty, or from other marginalized groups. Toda... more »

Immigrants Occupy!

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 1 day ago

Sunday, December 18th - 1:30pm until 5:00pm Foley Square Immigrants are part of the 99% and on December 18th we will march with the Occupy Wall Street movement to demand immigrant justice including putting an end to wage theft, and stopping detentions and deportations of our beloved community members. As the Occupy Wall Street movement highlights corporate profiteering we would like to shed light on those that profit off our labor, exploit workers and refuse to pay dignified wages. We also march against the corporations who support anti-immigrant legislation so they can make bil... more »

OWS Health Action Assembly Tomorrow

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 1 day ago

A protest by the OWS Health Action General Assembly will take place at St. Vincent’s hospital this Saturday to demonstrate the growing frustration with a system that values luxury condominiums over care for the sick. The OWS Health Action General Assembly is composed of patients, nurses, social workers, physicians, and regular citizens coming together to seek alternatives to the present healthcare system. We realize that the present healthcare, housing, and food crisis can no longer be solved by the ‘experts’ and ‘professionals’ only. It requires a much broader participation of c... more »

A Message Of Solidarity From Archbishop Desmond Tutu

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 2 days ago

[image: Archbishop Tutu] Sisters and Brothers, I greet you in the Name of Our Lord and in the bonds of common friendship and struggle from my homeland of South Africa. I know of your own challenges and of this appeal to Trinity Church for the shelter of a new home and I am with you! May God bless this appeal of yours and may the good people of that noble parish heed your plea, if not for ease of access, then at least for a stay on any violence or arrests. Yours is a voice for the world not just the neighborhood of Duarte Park. Injustice, unfairness, and the strangle hold of greed ... more »

Solidarity Hunger Strike

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 2 days ago

Thursday, December 15, join the OWS Hunger Strikers for a national 24-hour fast to protest the violent evictions across the country that have robbed the Occupy Movement of our right to free speech and assembly. Thursday will be the thirteenth day of the hunger strike for space. "For us, space is not a mere necessity- a place to lay our head, to eat our meals, to congregate and assemble- it is also a symbol and a direct action," said Diego Ibanez, one of the hunger strikers. "Literally, vacant lots are voids that we fill with physical representations of our concerns, hopes, fears ... more »

CHARAS Holiday Party and Community Potluck

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 2 days ago

[image: Walmart] CHARAS served the low-income, activist, and artist communities of lower east side for over 20 years, providing artist's space, performance and gallery space, after school programs, workshops, English classes and meeting space for countless neighborhood organizations. In 1999, despite a community use restriction & widespread opposition, the building that housed CHARAS was auctioned off to private developer Gregg Singer, who immediately moved to evict them. After a hard fought battle, CHARAS was evicted on December 27, 2001. The building, still zoned for community u... more »

Defend the Bill of Rights for All of Us.

OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 3 days ago

On Bill of Rights Day, Thursday, Dec 15 there will be a Press Conference on Federal Court Steps, 40 Centre St., Manhattan, 11am. A coffin of the Bill of Rights will be brought to Federal Court Foley Square, NY, NY The Bill of rights was ratified 220 years ago, on December 15, 1791. It is shameful that today, in the United States, we are forced to come together in defense of the Bill of Rights and our civil liberties, as the representatives of the 1% who rule this country continue to take our rights away. *Congress is attempting to bury the Bill of Rights.* The National Defense A... more »

Revolution Tools « Cooperative Catalyst #ows #edreform

Revolution Tools « Cooperative Catalyst:

Revolution Tools

by Paula White

Got this on Twitter this morning–Revolution Tools–and chuckled at the image…but then acknowledged in my mind how Twitter has indeed revolutionized my professional sharing and growing, and I began thinking of the revolution tools I now use in my classroom.
My learning space has changed dramatically since last year. I still have tables and chairs, but have added two futons, 6 beanbags, area rugs and scads of pillows (pillows which the kids, for the most part, don’t use, by the way.) What happens because of that change is not so different in my room–they’ve always worked together. My kids understand that learning is a social activity and I expect them to talk and work together most of the time. In fact, they also know that if they have a question, they should ask each other rather than me because they’ll get a different explanation and it might be a better one than I did for the class. But, this year, I’ve watched as the beanbags are the first seating choice they go for as they come in the door, and the groupings change regularly because of the kinds of seating available–so I see less clique-ishness and more openness to sitting with others.
Several years ago my classroom got iPods–and I love seeing kids use them as “Google in their pocket.” When I 

Schools Matter: New Jerey Becomes Battle Ground Over Charter Schools

Schools Matter: New Jerey Becomes Battle Ground Over Charter Schools:

New Jerey Becomes Battle Ground Over Charter Schools

by Judy Rabin

Protestors occupied the New Jersey Department of Education Friday over the creeping charter school movement taking over the leafy suburban enclaves where most parents are happy with their children's public schools. These parents are fearful precious dollars will be siphoned from their quality public schools to a more privatized, market-based agenda under the guise of "school choice."

In fact, recently 3 out of 4 charter applications for NJ were rejected by the NJ DoE and it looks like Christie and Cerf finally have the pushback from the citizenry necessary to save one of the best public education systems in the country. It's not just the teachers and their unions under attack by the Christie administration, but now the 

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky:

Sunday links.

by Fred Klonsky

Saturday night. Times Square.
Manhattan’s Trinity Church turns away those seeking sanctuary the week before Christmas day.
Tea Party loyalists are furious over Romney endorsements.
CPS Board President David Vitale declares, “Let them eat cake.”
New York’s Board of Regents is handing over all their confidential student information to Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch. I didn’t know Rupert Murdoch understood the concept of “confidential.”
Coming to Chicago for the G8 protests in May? “Welcome” says the mayor.
If you haven’t voted in my Fire the Fool poll, you still can. So far, it isn’t close.
For young people in my neighborhood, getting stopped and frisked is a rite of passage. We expect the 

Restoring Hope to McDowell County - Randi's NY Times Column #edreform #ows

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Randi's NY Times Column:

Restoring Hope to McDowell County

by Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers 

---

In America, a great public education is our primary opportunity agent for a better future. Yet as our economic struggles have reminded us, educational opportunity and economic prospects are inextricably linked, and in McDowell County, W.Va., as in many rural communities, the opportunities are exceedingly limited.

McDowell County has been in economic decline for more than 30 years.

 

McDowell County, located on the southernmost fringe of West Virginia in what was once a thriving coal-mining community, is among the most disadvantaged areas in the United States. Poverty and unemployment are widespread, schools are struggling, health problems are pervasive, and hope is sorely tested. The severe terrain adds to the difficulties and isolation in McDowell, where steep mountains rise up from flood-plagued valleys and residents are cut off from adequate healthcare, social services, recreation, transportation and housing.

This is the backdrop for an unprecedented public-private partnership of close to 40 local, state and national groups that this week pledged to work together over the next several years to address the challenges confronting the people of McDowell County.

Called “Reconnecting McDowell,” this team effort is making education its centerpiece, and the American Federation of Teachers has been asked to take a leading role. The AFT’s West Virginia affiliate is the largest union in the state, and 

Download the column

•  Restoring Hope to McDowell County

 

Restoring Hope to McDowell County