Saturday coffee + Old school. « Fred Klonsky #trayvonmartin

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky:

Zimmerman pulled the trigger but did ALEC write the law?

by Fred Klonsky

The stand your ground law. Jeb Bush supported it. Zimmerman used it. Trayvon Martin died behind it. Did ALEC write it.
The question is popping up all over the internet.
Who is responsible for the stand your ground law in Florida?
We know that the National Rifle Association supported it.
Did ALEC write it?
ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council. They are funded by big money, Koch brothers money. And every piece of anti-labor, whether in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio or Florida, all have ALEC’s stamp 

Saturday coffee.

by Fred Klonsky

I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie.
Yesterday was the first day of Spring Break. Then all next week. Thursday I head for Brooklyn to see kids and grand kids.
With the teacher haters Tweeting me about how overpaid and underworked teachers are, I feel compelled to explain that none of these days off are paid holidays.
“What?” you say.
Teachers are paid a per diem. No paid holidays. If the legislature were to pass a Fred Klonsky Day with schools closed, our district would tack a day on to the end of the year. We’re paid for 185 and we work every one of them. And we’re not paid for the days we are off.
So, on my unpaid day off yesterday I went over to Joe’s for a shave.
Two dad’s were getting their baby boys a first haircut. They didn’t even know each other. Just a coincidence. The

Old school.

by Fred Klonsky

Ry Cooder and Bobby King.
Popout

Share this:

Snapshots of Connecticut Charter School Data « School Finance 101

Snapshots of Connecticut Charter School Data « School Finance 101:

Snapshots of Connecticut Charter School Data

by schoolfinance101

In several previous posts I have addressed the common argument among charter advocacy organizations (notably, not necessarily those out there doing the hard work of actually running a real charter school – but the pundits who claim to speak on their behalf) that charter schools do more, with less while serving comparable student populations. This argument appears to be a central theme of current policy proposals in Connecticut, which, among other things, would substantially increase funding for urban charter schools while doing little to provide additional support for high need traditional public school districts. For more on that point, see here.
I’ve posted some specific information on Connecticut charter schools in previous posts, but have not addressed them more broadly. Here, I provide a run-down of simple descriptive data, widely available through two major credible sources. Easy enough to replicate any/all of these analyses on your own with the publicly available data:
Connecticut State Department of Education (CEDaR) reports
National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data
Since the common claim is that charters do more (outcomes) with less (funding) and while serving the same 

Trayvon … Same ALEC, different TRIGGER – May the world start asking, WHO? … Those who wrote STAND YOUR GROUND called it empowerment, too. #DoYouFeelEmpowered? « Continuing Change

Trayvon … Same ALEC, different TRIGGER – May the world start asking, WHO? … Those who wrote STAND YOUR GROUND called it empowerment, too. #DoYouFeelEmpowered? « Continuing Change:

Trayvon … Same ALEC, different TRIGGER – May the world start asking, WHO? … Those who wrote STAND YOUR GROUND called it empowerment, too. #DoYouFeelEmpowered?

by gatorbonbc

There are alot of emotions about Trayvon’s death… the world is watching. Let the world know that this Stand Your Ground Law is just another product of ALEC…

Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called “model bills” reach into almost every area of American life 

School Tech Connect: Today's Ed Reform Catechism

School Tech Connect: Today's Ed Reform Catechism:

Today's Ed Reform Catechism

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Modern ed reform is like an obscure religion with tenets you may not have heard of but which the true believers cling to with fervor.

One of the tenets is that certain types of teachers can eliminate, no merely reduce, the impact of poverty in its test-score manifestation. This belief is carved on a the holiest of tablets. The belief actually lets you off the hook for the causes of poverty, because if you think it through, poverty is caused by teachers.

Another tenet is that pension systems inhibit student achievement because they reward longevity, and longevity is the death-knell of effectiveness. Effectiveness erodes after two years, five years, or ten years, depending on which sect you're a member of.

A third tenet is that a new type of test is coming that will actually sort out what exactly is going on inside the noggins of our young charges because that information is knowable, measurable, and directly related to specific 

Trayvon Martin - Parents Recall Son's Last Night : People.com #trayvonmartin

Trayvon Martin - Parents Recall Son's Last Night : People.com:

Trayvon Martin's Parents Recall His Last Night

BY STEVE HELLING

Saturday March 24, 2012 08:30 AM EDT

Trayvon Martin

Landov

• Facebook
• Tweet

In his quiet moments, Tracy Martin keeps replaying the night of Feb. 26, when his sonTrayvon Martin died, allegedly at the hands of neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. 

"I had gone out for dinner," says Tracy, "and when I got home, Trayvon wasn't there. I tried calling his cell phone several times, and it went straight to voicemail. I wasn't that worried, because he had been spending time with my 20-year-old nephew who was a responsible young man. There wasn

The Struggle to Save Adult Education in Los Angeles | Dissident Voice

The Struggle to Save Adult Education in Los Angeles | Dissident Voice:

The Struggle to Save Adult Education in Los Angeles

by Robert D. Skeels

Using State of California budget shortfalls as an excuse, Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Superintendent John Deasy presented the LAUSD Board of Education (BOE) with a draconian budget that effectively cut some of the most crucial programs in the District. With enthusiastic collaboration from LAUSD BOE President Monica Garcia, Deasy’s chopping block included the District’s Student Readiness Language Development Program (SRLDP), Early Education Programs, District-wide Elementary School Arts Programs, and the entire Division of Adult and Career Education (DACE). Deasy, a former executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a graduate of the [Eli] Broad Superintendent Academy, was brought into LAUSD to implement a stark program of neoliberalism. The Superintendent’s proposed cuts are intended to hasten the privatization of the school district, much like his fellow Broad Academy Graduates (or Broadytes), Deborah Gist, Michelle Rhee, and Jean-Claude Brizard have in other cities.
Superintendent Deasy and the like-minded neoliberal BOE members — Monica Garcia, Tamar Galatsan, Dr. Richard Vladovic, and Nury Martinez — didn’t expect much resistance to their cuts, and had planned to vote on their education massacre on Valentines’s Day. Fortunately political pressure emanating from a broad and dynamic movement spearheaded by Adult Education students, allowed BOE member Steve Zimmer to move not

solidaridad: LAUSD Adult Education's Lorenzo: "Learning English and Spanish Saved my life"

solidaridad: LAUSD Adult Education's Lorenzo: "Learning English and Spanish Saved my life": 

Schools Matter: On adult education's critical role in social justice

Schools Matter: On adult education's critical role in social justice:

1. Save Adult Education in Los Angeles | Facebook

   www.facebook.com/.../Save-Adult-Education-in-Los-Angeles/...

   Save Adult Education in Los Angeles - Description: This page is designed to bring people who want to save adult education together. Adult education is good for ...

Action for the Week of March 25th: Blast the Media | United Opt Out National #soschat #edchat

Action for the Week of March 25th: Blast the Media | United Opt Out National:

Action for the Week of March 25th: Blast the Media

by admin

Good Morning Everyone!!! Our action for the week of March 25th is important. We are asking everyone to blast the media and tell them to come to our occupation. Email Rachel Maddow at mediainquiries@msnbc.com. Email The Ed Schultz Show at james@edschultzshow.com. Help us get them to cover this occupation. Add additional emails here for people to contact. This might be the most important action of the year. If we can get them to the occupation – we will be louder – please Twitter – Facebook – email – you name it. The goal of this occupation is to allow everyone to hear the truth about corporate education reform and learn how to OPT OUT of corporate education reform. We know the truth. We have the power. Make mainstream media take notice. Thank you!

Action for the Week of March 18th: Livestream Support

by admin

Good morning everyone!!!! We are truly at the countdown until Occupy the DOE in DC….and if you are coming – we need help in livestreaming. Our action for the week of March 18th is simple – if you will be … MORE

Daily Kos: Texas School districts push back against too much testing

Daily Kos: Texas School districts push back against too much testing:

Texas School districts push back against too much testing

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

As one can see in this blog post by Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post, over 100 (out of more than 1300) Texas school districts have already signed on to an effort to stop the abuse of too much standardized testing.
As Valerie notes, the movement was started in response to remarks of the Texas Commissioner of Education, Robert Scott,who

, said the mentality that standardized testing is the “end-all, be-all” is a “perversion” of what a quality education should be. He also called “the assessment and accountability regime” not only “a cottage industry but a military-industrial complex,” and he attacked the Common Core Standards 

Chicago Teachers Union | Get on the bus to support neighborhood schools!

Chicago Teachers Union | Get on the bus to support neighborhood schools!:

Get on the bus to support neighborhood schools!

03/22/2012

 

Illinois State Rep. Cynthia Soto sponsored HB4487 which would place a moratorium on school closings, consolidations and phase-outs in CPS for the 2012-2013 school year. Sen. Iris Martinez sponsored the Senate version of the bill. 

We need your help to get these crucial bills passed. We need you to testify at the Illinois House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee hearing.

Lobby Day:

Monday, March 26, 2012

Depart:  4:30 AM from 1100 S. Hamilton (parking in the Juvenile Detention facility parking garage)

Return:  Around 4:00 PM

To get on the bus you must register with CTU organizer Martin Ritter:  martinritter@ctulocal1.com; 312-329-6283

Additional details on this important legislation: During this moratorium period, the district must establish policies that address and remedy the academic performance of schools in which ISAT scores reflect students performing at or below 75%. CPS must establish clear processes for establishing criteria for making school facility decisions and include clear criteria for setting priorities with respect to school openings, school closings, school consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, school construction, school repairs, school modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related school facility decisions, including the encouragement of multiple community uses for school space. 

Previous Post: Don't forget to wear red on Friday!
Next Post: Picket the new school year calendar! 

RHEE-VOLTING ‘Rhee Effect:’ Why depending on private cash for reform is a bad idea - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

‘Rhee Effect:’ Why depending on private cash for reform is a bad idea - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

‘Rhee Effect:’ Why depending on private cash for reform is a bad idea

By Valerie Strauss

Michelle Rhee was a great fundraiser during the 3 1/2 years she was the chancellor of D.C.’s public schools.

During her tenure, from 2007 until 2010, when she resigned, she persuaded a handful of private foundations to pony up a total of more than $80 million to help cover a three-year labor contract she negotiated with teachers that included a performance-based pay assessment system.

But take a look at what my colleague Bill Turque reported on his D.C. Schools Insider blog:

“With Rhee gone and the three-year foundation commitment up, private largess is considerably more scarce. Grant funds are projected at just 

Jersey Jazzman: What Research?!?!

Jersey Jazzman: What Research?!?!:

What Research?!?!

by Duke

You know what one of my great pet peeves is? When prominent people, who are granted a prominent place in our society's discourse, cite "research" without telling us what that research is.

Case in point: Newark Superintendent of Schools Cami Anderson:

Research shows that effective teachers put students on an entirely different life trajectory — toward college, a higher salary, even a more stable family life. I am committed to ensuring that we have a strong teacher in every classroom and great leader in every school. Based on my 20-plus years in education, I know we must significantly change how we recruit, select, develop and retain our educators.

[...]

Some research shows that we lose our best teachers to charter schools and