12-10-13 Fred Klonsky | Running for our pensions. | VOTE 4 Fred Klonsky

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Great article in the Niles Spectator. Local teachers give “F” to new pension law.

BY NATASHA WASINSKI for Sun-Times Media |The Niles Spectator: With 25 years of teaching under his belt, Steve Senf had expected to step down from his technology post at Emerson Middle School in five years. Sandy and Mike Deines, both retirees from Maine South High School, were recently looking to upgrade their 12-year-old van. But the educators say their spending plans have been put on hold since

by Fred Klonsky / 39min 

The striking teachers of Mount Olive, Illinohis. The descendants of Mother Jones.

by Fred Klonsky / 5min 

Ten minute drawing. Senator Biss tells a funny story.

by Fred Klonsky / 5min 

In the Illinois town where Mother Jones is buried, the teachers are on strike.

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Dan Biss’ sick joke.

Senator Dan Biss is one of the leading pension busters in Illinois. Our S.O.R.E chapter of IEA Retired confronted him at his district office prior to the vote to cut constitutionally protected pension benefits. Yesterday I received countless copies of an announcement Biss sent to constituents. Biss is hosting a community meeting ON RETIREMENT SECURITY. Greetings,

by Fred Klonsky / 49min 

Diane Horwitz and Rinda West. Last week the legislature dealt a blow to teachers.

Diane Horwitz is a Moraine Valley Community College retiree who lives in Evanston. Rinda West is an Oakton Community College retiree who lives in Chicago. The following was published in the Springfield State Journal-Register. President Barack Obama recently cautioned the nation about “a dangerous and growing inequality.” As retirees, we feel that state policies are contributing to this worrisome

by Fred Klonsky / 3min 

Pension thieves.

  Robyn Gabel is a Democratic State Representative from the 18th District of Evanston. She targets older people, retired police, fire fighters, public service workers, public school teachers and state university employees. Approach with care. She should be considered a Republican and dangerous.  

by Fred Klonsky / 9min 

untitled

  I am publishing the names of every Illinois legislator that failed to vote for language of the Illinois Constitution protecting public service worker pensions. I will post this every Tuesday. Every name. Every week. Pension thieves in the Senate: Y  Althoff Y  Radogno Y  Raoul Y  Rezin Y  Biss Y  Brady NV Clayborne P  Collins Y  Connelly Y  Jones, E. Y  Mulroe Y  Sandoval Y  Silverstein Y  Cunn

by Fred Klonsky / 30min hide  //  save

The harder the mayor works to kill a public discussion of this dangerous idea, the better it starts to sound.

  In June of  2012 we collected signatures in Logan Square for an elected Chicago school board. Nobody turned us down, except the City Council and the Mayor. An elected school board for Chicago is a very good idea. That’s why I went door to door with a petition to get the idea on the ballot back in the summer of 2012. Nobody refused to sign the petition. Not one. It was the easiest petition to ge

by Fred Klonsky / 46min 

12-9-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Heavenly reward v Secure retirement.Hi Fred,   The following essay is the evolution of several emails between my sister, Betty Dietz, and myself over the weekend. It began with just random thoughts while typing then turned into this final product. We began by reflecting on how the Catholic school stud

by mike simpson / 9h 

12-10-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Farina and Cashin, Part 2: MOREistas Chime in With Praise for Both

There were mostly positive reactions to both candidates from MORE members on our post, Farina vs. Cashin: Battle of Philosophies, Part 1.Given that my progressive education preferences lead me to favor Farina, I may be unfair to Cashin who 20 years ago I had a personal problem with due to her harassment of a teacher friend when she was principal at PS 193K.So this came in from a respected colleagu

by ed notes online / 15min 

Farina vs. Cashin: Battle of Philosophies, Part 1

Rachel Monahan is reporting that the job of chancellor is all hers if Carmen Farina wants it. Farina only has emerged as a serious candidate over the past few days given her stated desire to spend time with her grandkid(s). I hear from some people this is close to a done deal. And given the options it is one I support despite some feelings that Farina doesn't always live in the real world -- I'll

by ed notes online / 0min

Eva Moskowitz' Success Academy Gets Preferential DOE Treatment, Emails Show- DUHHH!

NEW YORK CITY — When Eva Moskowitz starts a new charter school, top officials at the city’s Department of Education move heaven and earth to meet her demands.During the past two years, the DOE gave Moskowitz’s controversial chain, Success Academy, rent-free space in city school buildings to open 14 new co-location sites. In each handover, Moskowitz demanded the DOE deliver the space clear of furni

by ed notes online / 9min hide  //  save

39% of frontline bank employees must rely need public assistance because of insufficient wages - The Real News

Use this info at your next family gathering where your tea party relatives rail against the 47% of the nation who are "moochers" living off the hard-earned "winnings" of the 1%. 1 out of 3 Bank Tellers in NY on Public Assistance New report finds bank executives receive big bonuses, while 39% of frontline bank employees must rely on welfare because of insufficient wage. See vide

by ed notes online / 2h 

12-9-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Diane Ravitch in Red Hook Wednesday Hosted by Julie Cavanagh and PS 15 Red Hook CommunityYou all know how I feel about both these ladies. Put them together and there's magic. So sorry I can't make this but Darren will be there to film.Reminder: I Will Be at P.S. 15 in Brooklyn on December 11by dianeravitch I will join with teachers, parents, and anyone else who wants to attend on

by mike simpson / 14h 

12-10-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

Snowden Strikes Again - another breaking story

according to The Switch blog at The Washington Post, in a story just emailed as breaking news, NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking. The story is co-authored by Barton Gellman, who is on contract with the Post and has previously written stories using the material he was given by Snowden. The opening two grafs: The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using "cookies" and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance. The agency's internal presentatio

1h

An interesting African perspective on Mandela

can be found in today's Washington Post in an op ed titled The roots of Mandela’s service.  The author, Temba Maqubela is headmaster at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts. He fought against apartheid, escaped persecution, and, in 1986, came to the United States as a political refugee. More importantly, his grandfather actually taught Mandela in University, and his grandmother was one of the fe

by rss@dailykos.com ... / 1h hide  //  save

Thoughts on teaching on a snow day

Yesterday our schools were on a two-hour delay, which is difficult enough when you are on an alternating day schedule with 90 minute periods and you have the same prep on both A day and B day.  But at least I had almost an hour.  Being closed today is the equivalent of the one section of AP government that I have on B day losing 2 days of instruction.  I have a required assessment that must be giv

by rss@dailykos.com ... / 1h 

12-9-13 Daily Kos: Invisible Child

Daily Kos: Invisible Child: Invisible ChildShe wakes to the sound of breathing. The smaller children lie tangled beside her, their chests rising and falling under winter coats and wool blankets. A few feet away, their mother and father sleep near the mop bucket they use as a toilet. Two other children share a mattress by the rotting wall where the mice live, opposite the baby, whose crib is warmed

by mike simpson / 9h 

12-10-13 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

LA Times Editorial: ELECT, DON’T APPOINT, TO REPLACE MARGUERITE POINDEXTER LAMOTTE

Despite the cost of a special election, L.A. Unified should let voters decide who should take her seat. Editorial By The Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/1kvOfbT LAUSD board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, seen above in 2011, died last week at an education conference in San Diego. (Los Angeles Time / December 9, 2013) December 10, 2013  ::  The Los Angeles Unified school

by smf / 21min 

Filling Lamotte Seat By Election Or Appointment? Board Is Decider

by Jamie Alter Lynton, Publisher, LA SCHOOL REPORT | http://bit.ly/1aRHhZj December 9, 2013   ::  If history is any guide, a school board election is in the offing. As officials at the LA Unified school board scramble to work out options with the city and county on how best to fill the school board seat left vacant last week by the sudden death of longtime member Marguerite LaMotte, they are

by smf / 11min 

L.A. SCHOOLS WANT ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE iPADS

The Los Angeles Unified School District wants to triple its supply of iPads, even while a citizen’s oversight committee wants to hit the brakes. Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1buz7tw Maya Sugarman/KPCC December 9th, 2013, 5:43pm  ::  Superintendent John Deasy's administration released a request this week, asking for about 100,00 more iPads for students and

by smf / 57min hide  //  save

Teachers Protest Lausd Misconduct Investigation Process, ‘Teacher Jails’

Teachers protest L.A. Unified's process for misconduct investigations Critics say district's approach to misconduct allegations presumes guilt and results in dismissal for even small infractions. By Stephen Ceasar, LA Times | http://lat.ms/18zpgSM William Pasderin, a teacher at Bravo Medical Magnet High School, demonstrates

by smf / 1h 

[CORE] CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS FEAR LOSING MILLIONS FOR LO-INCOME SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢

District officials say having to annually verify students' family income to qualify for extra state dollars costs time and money. By Teresa Watanabe |  L,A, Times | http://lat.ms/1bTHl0O December 9, 2013, 7:30 p.m.  ::  Major California school districts fear they will be shortchanged millions of dollars in funding for their low-income students under new state rules requiring them to verify

by smf / 1h 

San Jose Unified Rewards Long-Term Employees With Return Of Furlough Pay

By Lillian Mongeau  | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/IB4YyZ December 2nd, 2013 | Long-term employees of San Jose Unified School District received an unexpected bonus payment the day before Thanksgiving to replace pay they lost to five furlough days in the 2010-2011 school year. The one-time payment, a total of $3.1 million, was divided among the nearly 2,400 current employees – 74 percent

by smf / 21h 

ARE AMERICA’S STUDENTS FALLING BEHIND THE WORLD? In a word: “No!” + smf’s 2¢ more

Testing to the test? Though the latest PISA test results indicate faults in the U.S. school system, the test requires skills the Common Core curriculum is aiming to improve. Editorial By The LA Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/18wHami Students take the National Center Test for University Admissions at the University of Tokyo earlier this year. Students from Shanghai, Hong Kong,

by smf / 21h 

Some Sober Words For School Boards Amid Predictions Of Plenty

By John Fensterwald  | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/18P7a1V 1 December 8th, 2013 | For the first time since the Great Recession, school districts are getting more money this year from the state; some – big beneficiaries of the new Local Control Funding Formula – are getting a lot. And that increase is expected to be larger next year, in one-time and ongoing money, if the Legislative

by smf / 23h 

Schools And Guns Remain An Issue A Year After Sandy Hook

by Kimberly Beltran  |  SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet http://bit.ly/19bYnVJ December 09, 2013    As the nation turns later this week to acknowledge the one-year anniversary of the mass killing at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, clashes over school safety and Second Amendment rights are becoming increasingly common. What once

by smf / 23h 

DEC 08

No Friends Left In the Dark: SEND A FREE GIFT SUBSCRIPTION TO 4LAKids – the gift that keeps on giving!

Why should YOU be the only one who knows what’s going on? Friends don’t let friends be under-and/or misinformed! Everything you need to know is not contained in: The Parent Handbook The Teacher’s Edition of the Textbook Pink memos and policy bulletins The principal’s EdConnect

by smf / 1d 

A Teacher’S Goal-Line Stand

When soon-to-be USC coach Steve Sarkisian visited Veronica Bennett's class to check on a star student, she made the right play. By Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/1btqTmh Veronica Bennett is shown in her classroom at Narbonne High School. When future USC football coach Steve Sarkisian tried to talk to a star student in her honors class, she turned him away. The young man

by smf / 1d 

SCHOOL LIBRARIAN HELPS STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH READING + smf’s 2¢

TIMES HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN: Program aims to help young children, most with Spanish-speaking parents, whose reading scores aren't where they should be. By Paresh Dave | LA Times | http://lat.ms/IUDpAs The Los Angeles Times Family Fund helps to support area literacy programs. (Los Angeles Times) December 7, 2013, 6:04 p.m.  ::  After each school day, librarian Dinora Arteaga leads a

by smf / 1d 

DEC 07

Black Leaders Speak Out On How To Fill La Motte’S Board Seat

by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report http://bit.ly/1chDllH US Representatives Maxine Waters and Karen Bass Posted on December 6, 2013   ::  A day after the death of the LA Unified school board’s only African American member, Marguerite LaMotte, community leaders with ties to her south Los Angeles district began speaking out about how to fill the vacancy and who should fill it. “Unfortunately in

by smf / 2d hide  //  save

Two Options For L.A. School Board In Filling Marguerite Lamotte’S Seat

L.A. Unified can replace LaMotte by appointment or by special election. Each option comes with varying consequences. By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1gNOC1C December 6, 2013, 7:38 p.m.  ::  The death this week of Los Angeles school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte will have immediate pragmatic and political implications for L.A. Unified, including the challenge

by smf / 2d