UPDATE: Who is Ernie Fuhr Jr.? + “We don’t have the votes yet.” – Nekritz. Keep calling those legislators. | Fred Klonsky

“We don’t have the votes yet.” – Nekritz. Keep calling those legislators. | Fred Klonsky:

More entries to the one million contest.

by Fred Klonsky

Two  more entries.
Remember: Deadline is March 31 or the one millionth site visitor, whichever happens first.
Winner gets the t-shirt.
I’ve received word that some people are getting bounced back from WordPress when they try and post. If that happens to you, use my email: fklonsky@mac.com
And I’ve changed the rule. As you see, I’ve been getting some limericks from people who aren’t into haiku.
That works for me.
Mike wrote:
There once was a blogger named Fred
Who blog posts nobody read
So Fred got busy
Making Madigan 

Who is Ernie Fuhr Jr.?

by Fred Klonsky

The IEA posted the Vimeo of Jim Reed this weekend on Facebook. He was reporting on the IEA’s support for a progressive income tax and the return of Lobby Day on May 15th.
Commenting on the post was a guy. Ernie Fuhr Jr.

I am a member and I’m a government teacher and here’s my “training session” for you: 
1) Please don’t presume that you speak for all of our members when you advocate for another tax increase. I do not recall that you asked my opinion. 
2) The state of Illinois doesn’t have a “revenue” problem -they have a “spending problem”! It is NOT a solution to give the crooks in Springfield more of our money to piss away. If you gave them all the money in Illinois, they’d be back in 1 year saying they’re broke again, and the IEA lobbyists 

“We don’t have the votes yet.” – Nekritz. Keep calling those legislators.

by Fred Klonsky

Queen Pension Buster Democratic Party Senator Elaine Nekritz.
When Illinois’ Democratic Boss Michael Madigan put his pension busting bills up for a vote on Thursday, none could get more than five votes. Sixty votes are needed to pass a bill in the House.
Republicans refused to vote at all.
Queen Pension Buster Democrat Elaine Nekritz admitted there is no legislative support for the bill she and House GOP leader Tom Cross put together.

Cross said lawmakers should instead consider a bipartisan plan unveiled by House members this week. Under that proposal, annual cost-of-living increases would apply to only the first $25,000 of pensions, or $20,000 for those who also receive Social Security. Retirement ages would not rise for people 46 and older, 

The one million blog visits contest. The first entries are in!

by Fred Klonsky

The first entries have arrived in my contest to celebrate one million blog views.
Submit a Tweet (140 characters) or a haiku (a poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five).
The deadline is March 31 or when the one millionth site visit takes place – whichever comes first.
The winner gets the orange t-shirt.
Perfect for being recognized while standing at the mic at the IEA RA.
The decision of the judges (that’s me) is final.
From Francis1912:
Roar, verbal cannon
Let thoughts and feelings explode
Words will win the war
From Robin:
All I want to know for when I retire and write books, blogs, sagas of struggle and survival, how do you come up with these mishegasses.
From Jane:
I read the Klonsky
which the news of retirement
is helped with his words
From Jon:
Never ending curse …
River running in reverse —
That’s Chicago, Fred ❢
From Glen:
There once was a blogger named Klonsky,
Who looked at data with esprit.
He created a contest for readers,
To become the new leaders,
But as for the best prize: it’s being a retiree!

Ten minute drawing. Hoover Institute’s Michael Petrilli.

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.
This is ISAT testing week in Illinois. The Hoover Institution’s Michael Petrilli thinks that Seattle’s Garfield High teachers should be ashamed of themselves for refusing to take responsibility for their students’ learning. ISAT is a test of teachers taking personal responsibility? I didn’t realize that was what the ISAT was for.

Schools Matter: NYT Loves Charter...Propaganda

Schools Matter: NYT Loves Charter...Propaganda:

NYT Loves Charter...Propaganda

by P. L. Thomas

I sent the letter below to the NYT, but it wasn't included. See the letters they did post HERE.

Re: “Better Charter Schools in New York City”

The recent editorial on NY charter schools (Stanford CREDO report) offers misleading praise about charter-based educational outcomes and reform. Carefully considered, charter school data from NY, like charter school data across the U.S., tend to have a range of student outcomes strongly associated with factors such as race and class. Those same claims are fair characterizations of traditional public schools. In most ways, charter schools mirror problems in TPS, but do not overcome them.

Charter schools perpetuate and introduce some serious challenges hindering our quest for better schooling: selectivity and attrition, segregating patterns, assigning high-needs students to inexperienced and under-qualified teachers, underserving ELL and special needs students, and racist and classist practices. Further, where there 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core is Not Just About Standards, it's also about Data Mining.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core is Not Just About Standards, it's also about Data Mining.:

Common Core is Not Just About Standards, it's also about Data Mining.

by stlgretchen

Who knows where your child's data will end up and for what purpose?

We've written through the years about Common Core and have been concerned about the data mining allowed to occur now that states use common assessments.  The data mining is not just centered on educational information.  This educational reform also requires personal information on students and their families.  This is to create a managed workforce based on student data gathered from educational facilities and with the expansion of FERPA allowing information to flow freely, this information will be supplied to research firms, contractors and other interested parties.

Seattle Education reports on a grant received by school districts to gather this data:

One of the deals that we made with the devil when it comes to accepting Race to the Top 

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-4-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Breaking News: Louisiana Judge Tosses Out Jindal Tenure Law

by dianerav

A state district judge in Louisiana, R. Michael Caldwell, threw out the state law that was intended to make teacher tenure extremely difficult to get or keep.
This is the same judge that held most of the law constitutional only a few months ago.
He just reversed himself.
Last December Bobby Jindal and John White were celebrating and praising the judge.
Now the teachers of Louisiana are celebrating and praising the wisdom of the same judge.

The Million-Dollar Question in Los Angeles School Race

by dianerav

A reader, who is obviously stunned by the all-out, multi-million dollar campaign to oust Steve Zimmer from the Los Angeles school board in tomorrow’s contest, asks this question:
“Is it over the top to say that the election of Steve Zimmer is the canary in the coal mine for American democracy? Maybe. But when you have a well qualified candidate who has many years of experience in the 

Why the Pushback Against Standardized Testing?

by dianerav

Every regular reader of this blog knows the answer or answers to the question that is the title of this post?
Standardized testing is being misused.
It is designed to measure how a student can read or do math in comparison with others in the same grade or age.
It is not designed to measure teacher or school quality.
It is not designed to trigger school closings.
It should not be used to stigmatize or brand students. It is a diagnostic tool.
This article by Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times ties together the growing demonstrations of 

Will Skandera Be Confirmed as Secretary of Education in New Mexico?

by dianerav

The Acting Secretary of Education in New Mexico is Hanna Skandera, who worked in Jeb Bush’s state department of education in Florida and also for Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was appointed by the Republican governor but the Democratic-controlled State Senate has not confirmed her. Skandera wants to bring the “Florida model” to New Mexico.
Here is a news story about the hearings.
She has no classroom or school-level experience, but critics are worried about 

Why Does the National Media Ignore School Closings?

by dianerav

Bruce A. Dixon of Black Agenda Report asks a simple question: Why does the national media ignore mass closings of public schools? He says that if the national media gave as much attention to the school closings as it did to the privatization propaganda films “Waiting for Superman” and the “Won’t Back Down,” the public would be informed and outraged.
Frankly, the idea of blaming schools for low test scores and treating them as “failing” public schools is a brand-

Which Billionaires Are Trying to Buy the Los Angeles School Board?

by dianerav

Tomorrow, March 5, is Election Day in Los Angeles.
Voters will select the local school board.
Will billionaires (and some mere millionaires) persuade them to vote the slate they want?
Anthony Cody follows the money, since some of the donors will gain financially by electing their slate.
Mayor Villaraigosa boasts of having raised $3.7 million to keep the “reform” (aka, privatization) movement alive in Los Angeles. He must feel some urgency since Bloomberg’s third term ends this year, and NYC voters are tired of his endless school closings.
In addition, this article includes a list of the big donors to the campaign to oust Steve Zimmer and to protect Monica Garcia.
The supporters of the L.A. Campaign include not only New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who failed to reform 

Don’t Miss It: Occupy the DOE 2.0

by dianerav

Make plans to attend Occupy the DOE 2.0 in Washington, D.C., on April 4-7.
Here is the official schedule.
What a stellar lineup of speakers.
I am speaking on Thursday afternoon.
Many wonderful thinkers, activists, teachers, writers.
A great opportunity to network with friends and allies who want to change the course of American education.
Time to resist.

A Close Look at the Latest KIPP Study

by dianerav

Bruce Baker looks closely at the latest Mathematica Policy Research study of KIPP and draws some useful lessons.
Mathematica says KIPP is more successful than the nearby public schools.
Why?
Baker shows that KIPP spends substantially more (in some districts, $5,000 more per student), has smaller 

Jonathan Kozol Endorses Steve Zimmer for Los Angeles School Board

by dianerav

From: Jonathan Kozol To: Steve Zimmer
School Board Member, L.A.U.S.D.
Subject: The Re-Election of an Enlightened Educator
Dear Mr. Zimmer,
March 3, 2013
I’ve been one of your strong admirers in the education world for a good while now. I’m writing to tell you and my many friends in Los Angeles that I think your voice is terribly important in defense of public education at a time when it is under fierce and irrational attack from those who would replace it, as much as they can, with charter schools and other private or semi-private institutions.
This issue is all the more important in light of the fact that many, if not most, charter schools are incapable or serving children with special needs — or, in order to boost their test-scores artificially, refuse to serve these children.
I’m also glad you’ve courageously resisted the political demand to judge the value of our teachers according to 

Diane in the Evening 3-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Des Moines Reader Ask for Advice by dianerav A question from a reader: “Des Moines Iowa needs some advice. “Des Moines superintendent candidates narrowed to 3″ ” Carey Wright, chief academic officer of the We Owe Oprah an Apology by dianerav When readers learned that Oprah’s OWN network was filming in New Orleans, they feared that she would repeat the inflated and fraudulent claims about charter schools that are so often repeated on television. So did I. But according to this Louisian teacher, all of us were wron... more »

 LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 3-2-13 #SOSCHAT

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG 

DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG

Louisiana Educator: What Do Real Edcuators Think About the Jindal Reforms?

Louisiana Educator: What Do Real Edcuators Think About the Jindal Reforms?:

What Do Real Edcuators Think About the Jindal Reforms?

by Michael Deshotels

The recent LAE forums across the state highlighted much of the frustration teachers feel about the Jindal reforms, but also demonstrated the high level of professionalism and dedication of Louisiana teachers. I interviewed Ouachita Parish teacher, April Stockley after she made comments directed at local legislators at the forum in West Monroe.

Ms Stockley, a 15 year veteran teacher who possesses National Board Certification, told the local legislators attending the Monroe forum that they should not have approved these sweeping mandates without first consulting classroom teachers. She said many of the most respected teachers she knew were feeling extremely stressed out by some of the so called reforms that seemed to be poorly thought out and rushed. Many teachers feel that the state mandates are not being clearly communicated to the teachers in the field because state officials are unclear in their instructions to local supervisors.

For example Stockley who teachers high school English III and A.P. U.S. History, was informed that she needed 

Parents United statement: Contracts should advance teaching & learning, not degrade them | Parents United for Public Education

Parents United statement: Contracts should advance teaching & learning, not degrade them | Parents United for Public Education:

Parents United statement: Contracts should advance teaching & learning, not degrade them

by parentsunitedphila

Last week’s announcement about appalling District proposals had us thinking that this cartoon might just be like negotiations at 440. Source: New Yorker, March 2013

Parents United for Public Education: Statement on Philadelphia Teachers contract

Parents United for Public Education believes that the upcoming contract negotiations with the teachers’ union are an important opportunity to advance a vision of quality teaching and learning across the city.
While we recognize the dire financial situation of the District, we are appalled at suggestions to eliminate class size caps and other proposals that will further degrade the quality of education in Philadelphia schools and our children’s opportunities to learn. Moreover, the focus on cutting essential services and personnel not only endangers the quality of education but would also put children in harm’s way.
It alarms us as parents to see the importance of class sizes, counselors and librarians, and “safe and healthful conditions” so casually dismissed. While the District says there should be no limits to class size, parents do not support any proposal to increase already excessive classroom levels of 30 and 33 for children. When the District calls for elementary school lunches to be limited to 30 minutes, we see our five and six year olds hustled through essential mealtimes. When the District says teachers are no longer entitled to “sufficient” textbooks, 

Keep promise to California’s new teachers and their students | EdSource Today

Keep promise to California’s new teachers and their students | EdSource Today:

Keep promise to California’s new teachers and their students - by Liam Goldrick

by Liam Goldrick

California’s recognized national leadership on developing and supporting new teachers is at risk. That’s bad news for beginning teachers—and for the students they teach. Here’s why—and how we can fix it.

More than 200,000 new teachers enter the profession annually across the United States—10 percent of them in California alone.

As New Teacher Center (NTC) reported in our Review of State Policies on Teacher Induction, 27 states require school districts to operate an induction or mentoring program for every new teacher. California used to be among them.

Seventeen states provide dedicated funding for teacher induction and mentoring. California used to be among them.

Only three U.S. states require and fund a multi-year induction program for every beginning teacher. California used to be among them, too.

The economic recession severely weakened California’s widely heralded Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program. BTSA provides new teachers with job-embedded, individualized support aimed at making them more effective educators and helping them to fulfill 

What is digital literacy? | Connected Principals

What is digital literacy? | Connected Principals:

What is digital literacy?

by Lyn Hilt

CC licensed photo shared via Flickr by s@lly

Digital literacy is the topic that made the ETMOOC learning space so irresistible to me… I think as educators we spout off about wanting our students to be digitally literate, but not many of us (myself included) have a firm grasp about what that actually means, and quite a number of us are still attempting to become digitally literate ourselves.
Whatever that means.
It turns out, defining digital literacy isn’t such an easy task. The etmooc community was fortunate enough to hear Doug Belshaw speak on this topic in a recent webinar. I’ve followed Doug on Twitter for quite some time, 

The Education Games Endure – @ the chalk face

The Education Games Endure – @ the chalk face:

The Education Games Endure

by plthomasedd

Writing about his students exploring George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Chris Gilbert explains:

This idea is relevant because corporate education reformers deliberately mask history.  In fact, their reforms require a forced forgetting, as the public will only embrace irrational notions if opposing ideas are concealed. Orwell’s words (below in quotes) are used here, as they were in my classroom, to expose misguided narratives and the history they obscure.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

Although we currently live in a world informed by George Orwell’s dystopian unmasking-as-novel, we seem unable to acknowledge that the Ministry of Peace is actually waging war. [1] In our current education reform 

The Road Map Project, Race to the Top, Bill Gates, a national data bank, Wireless Gen…and FERPA? | Seattle Education

The Road Map Project, Race to the Top, Bill Gates, a national data bank, Wireless Gen…and FERPA? | Seattle Education:

The Road Map Project, Race to the Top, Bill Gates, a national data bank, Wireless Gen…and FERPA?

by seattleducation2011

One of the deals that we made with the devil when it comes to accepting Race to the Top dollars is the relinquishing of our children’s information.

Gates and others have begun to collect information about our children from New York to LA and it is about to happen in Seattle thanks to the efforts of the Road Map project, et al, falling all over themselves to receive a pittance of educational funding, $40 M to be split between 7 districts in our state. That’s $5.7M if it were to be divided equally.

To put that into perspective, West Seattle High School’s budget for this year is a little over $6M and that does not include building upkeep or other building costs including utilities.

The money will not go into established programs or to help with our budget crunch which happens to be a $32 M shortfall in Seattle, but is to go to “assessing” students starting in pre-school. Assessments basically mean testing on a long-term basis. This is not sustainable but oh well, there is some pie in the sky reasoning about receiving yet another largesse from Bill Gates, and maybe someday we would be able to continue to 

Big outside money pouring into L.A. school board races:

Big outside money pouring into L.A. school board races

Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 4, 2013 at 6:00 am

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Local school board races used to be decided by local voters, but not anymore, at least in Los Angeles. Tuesday’s elections have attracted millions of dollars from outsiders who have a stake in the future of school reform in the country’s second-largest district. In fact, there is nothing ordinary about the races for three Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education:

Not the money: More than $4.4 million has already been spent by all sides in races, according to the Los Angeles Times. School board races around the country traditionally cost no more than a few thousand dollars; this is the most expensive in L.A. history.

Not the donors: The Times said that outside money has dominated the spending. Donors include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who chipped in $1 million to a coalition that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa put together to support three candidates who support corporate-based school reform underway in the district. Also helping that effort was Michelle Rhee, whose lobbying organization StudentsFirst gave $250,000. Billionaire Eli Broad gave the same amount; Joel Klein, the former chancellor of New York City public schools who now works for Rupert Murdoch, gave $50,000. Of course, Hollywood figures are in this too: Dreamworks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg donated $50,000, and actress Eva 

How George Orwell might explain school reform

by Valerie Strauss

Here’s a piece that looks at school reform through the eyes of George Orwell by teacher Chris Gilbert. He has written for the Language Experience Forum Journal, the National Council of Teachers of English’s English Journal, and this blog. He … Continue reading →

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Center School Race and Social Justice Class Issue Heats Up

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Center School Race and Social Justice Class Issue Heats Up:

Center School Race and Social Justice Class Issue Heats Up

by Melissa Westbrook

As Charlie previously reported (via The Stranger Slog), an issue has arisen in a class at The Center School where a student and his/her parents feel some of the material created"intolerable discomfort" for their student.

I still don't have all the whys and whats about this issue but I am seeking clarification.

I will put forth that I was wrong about further appeals.  Upon examining the Superintendent procedures, I see that only parents can continue an appeal up to the Board.  Teachers are limited to a final ruling by the head of 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Quotes are the actual fabric with which the mind weaves: internalizing them, but also turning them inside out, quarreling with them, adding to them, wandering through their architecture as if a single sentence were an expansible labyrinthine space. -- We Are What We Quote, Geoffrey O’Brien

New York Times Editorial 

The justices heard oral argument on the Shelby County case last Wednesday. This week’s events in Alabama should remind them of the enormous cost many Americans have paid to win the right to vote, and why that remains under persistent threat and must be defended. -- Bloody Sunday, Revisited

Percy Pittman

Percy Pittman, McComb, Mississippi

Asked what he thought about people’s claims that racially motivated politics were completely a thing of the past in the South, Mr. Pittman hesitated for a moment. “I think they’re full of it,” he said. -- New York Times

Peter Dreier, Author

 If we are serious about the future of our children, we must ask: why are the Waltons, a largely out-