4-23-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

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

NEA. Supreme Court decision turns back our nation’s commitment to racial equality .

 - National Education Association WASHINGTON – April 22, 2014 - The Supreme Court of the United States today delivered its opinion in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, rejecting a constitutional challenge to Michigan’s Proposal 2, an initiative that bans affirmative action in university admissions. The decision of the Sixth Circuit has been reversed. The National Education Associ

by Fred Klonsky / 4min 

CTU’s Karen Lewis on today’s decision by the CPS board to wage war on African-American students, teachers and parents.

- CTUnet The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) released the following statement upon news that the Chicago Board of Education voted to “turn around” three elementary schools on the city’s South and West sides. The move will transfer the schools’ authority to a politically connected business organization with ties to city hall: “Today’s hostile takeover of three of our neighborhood school communities b

by Fred Klonsky / 8min 

3-0 ruling by Illinois Appellate Court ruling defending the Constitutional protects is an omen for pensions.

Crain’s: In a case with implications for the upcoming legal battle over pension reform, an Illinois appellate court in Springfield ruled that constitutional protections prevent the state from reducing mandated payments to county treasurers. The pension protection clause of the Illinois Constitution, which says that workers’ retirement benefits can’t be diminished, is at the heart of lawsuits chall

by Fred Klonsky / 42min 

Ten minute drawing. Rauner tries to soften his image by running ads with his wife.

by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

Justice may be blind but we can see.

Since Michigan banned affirmative action in 2006, the minority population at its colleges and universities has dropped from 12 percent to 9.5 percent. The proportion of Black freshmen has gone from 7 to 5 percent even though the Black college-aged population in Michigan went from 16 to 19 percent. When it comes to the U.S. Supreme Court, justice isn’t blind. It has a racial bias. The result of the

1 by Fred Klonsky / 2h  

4-22-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: John Dillon. Poor Representative Mike Bost.. - John Dillon blogs at Pension Vocabulary. Let’s not forget just a year ago, Madigan was the chief architect of an unconstitutional pension bill that was later given after initial failure to a group of ten willing to forgo their oaths of office to patch and

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-23-14 Wait What?

Wait What?:

Another Malloy mouthpiece explains why we must support Malloy or else

Or, as Mahatma Gandhi’s wisely observed, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” This time the pro-Malloy message is delivered by Patrick Scully who describes himself as, “a high-profile communications, public relations, media and political consulting professional.” Scully takes aim at the notion that a broad range […] The post Another Malloy mouthpiece

6 by jonpelto / 11min 

Why Common Core tests are bad (By Nicholas Tampio)

Fellow education blogger Nicholas Tampio has a commentary piece on today’s CNN website.  Tampio is an assistant professor of political science at Fordham University. Speaking to New Yorkers, Tampio delivers a message that will resonate here in Connecticut. Looking to the guidance of Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Tampio does an extraordinary […] The post Why Common

by jonpelto / 5min 

LISTEN TO THE FOOLS (A guest post by Ann Poicelli Cronin on the Common Core)

Ann Policelli Cronin is an experienced educator and an outspoken advocate for public education.  In this commentary piece the former Connecticut Outstanding English Teacher of the Year responds to national columnist David Brooks’ recent op-ed column in the New York Times in which he lauds the Common Core. Cronin has some choice words for Brooks […] The post LISTEN TO THE FOOLS (A guest post by Ann

by jonpelto / 10min 

Even More Corporate Education Reform money flows to Malloy’s political operation

The latest federal campaign finance reports are in and Governor Malloy’s political operation continues to rake in the cash from those associated with the effort to privatize Connecticut’s public schools and undermine Connecticut’s teachers. As a result of Connecticut’s campaign finance program, Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy is on track to collect $6.2 million in public […] The post Even More Corpor

7 by jonpelto / 38min 

4-22-14 Wait What?

Wait What?: Taxpayer funds continue to flow to out-of-state companies for Malloy’s “education reform” initiativeThanks to Governor Malloy and Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor you can hear the wild cheering from the corporate education reform industry as millions of dollars in taxpayer funds continue to flow to out-of-state companies so that they can come here to tell Connecticut’s  teachers,

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-23-14 The Answer Sheet What teachers really want

The Answer Sheet:

How anxious are kids about taking standardized tests? This anxious.

If you have any doubt that kids feel pressure to do well on high-stakes standardized tests, consider this. A counselor at an El Paso elementary school, in an effort to allay student fears about having to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests this week, held conversations with students in grades 3 […]

by Valerie Strauss / 16min 

Parent to Obama: Let me tell you about the Common Core test Malia and Sasha don’t have to take but Eva does

I get a lot of e-mail from parents and teachers who wonder if President Obama, whose children go to the private Sidwell Friends School, knows what is actually going on with all of the standardized testing in public schools. Here’s an open letter to Obama explaining what he is missing, written by Rebecca Steinitz, a […]

by Valerie Strauss / 15min 

Live online chat at 1 p.m. today

I’ll be doing a live chat on washingtonpost.com at 1 p.m. today, so if you have any questions or comments about anything in education (or even marginally related), send them in here: http://live.washingtonpost.com/the-answer-sheet-20230416.html Here are transcripts of my first chat,  the second, and last week’s.    

1 by Valerie Strauss / 45min 

4-22-14 The Answer Sheet What teachers really want

The Answer Sheet: 11 problems created by the standardized testing obsessionRon Maggiano is a veteran teacher who won the Disney Teacher Award for innovation and creativity in 2005 and the American Historical Association’s Beveridge Family Teaching Prize for outstanding K-12 teaching in 2006. After a 33-year teaching career, he resigned last year from West Springfield High School in Fairfax County,

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-23-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Great Test Refusal Information Video for Parents

Much to learn here for New York parents as well as parents from other states:

by Jim Horn / 5min hide  //  save

Tamara Shepherd for Knox County School Board

Among those running for school board this year in Knox County where I taught for 15 years, Tamara Shepherd stands head and shoulders above her opponents as an informed, articulate, and forceful voice for sane and humane public schools in Knox County.  Over the years, I have watched Tamara research the issues and take principled stands on education policy issues that reflect the best interests of c

by Jim Horn / 36min 

Amy Frogge Leads Effort in Nashville Metro to Save Schools from the Charter Zombies

The people of Metro Nashville have stopped listening to the CorpEd PR machine, and thanks to Board Member, Amy Frogge, they are getting some facts about the school privatization that is being led by the billionaires and hedge funders of Wall Street.  Below is a clip from the Tennessean and below that is Ms. Frogge's speech referred to in the piece:The Metro school board’s fiercest charter school c

by Jim Horn / 7min 

4-22-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: How Much Will Shelby County Slash to Pay for the Increasing Burden of Charter Schools?During this school year now winding down, Shelby County Schools will give up $67 million to corporate charter schools in Memphis.  Next year that amount will increase almost 16 percent to over $78 million, so that almost one dollar of every ten spent will be for charter schools.  That's $145 milli

by mike simpson / 7h 

4-23-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

Florida Voucher Proponents Gave Up Everything to Keep From Being Held Accountability

The Senate version of voucher expansion serves as a stunning rebuke of SFO agent, Step Up for Students, and one which will keep it  from expanding and further enriching its executives. Lynn Hatter explains in WFSU‘s website: Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) says his plan will add more accountability to the groups that administer the program, called scholarship funding organizations or SFO’s. There

by Bob Sikes / 43min 

Galvano’s Back Channel Amendment Allows Florida Voucher Schools to Dodge Accountability

The only thing that’s missing from Florida’s voucher mouthpieces and the politicians doing their bidding is a Russian accent voiceover: “Our bouchers kidz take deeffarent tests. Tests just azz good. Same ding.” And they may just get away with it, too, as a key Democrat, Sen. Bill Montford appears to have signed off on the deal. From the last reliable journalist at Step Up for Students blog, Travis

by Bob Sikes / 3h 

4-22-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: CAIR Arrives on the Scene to Debate Florida Education PolicyIn 2007, federal prosecutors named the Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR) an unindicted co-conspirator in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas. Undeterred

by mike simpson / 8h

WHEN IT COMES TO LAUSD DYSFUNCTION, COULD IT BE MAYOR GARCETTI DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE? - Perdaily.com

WHEN IT COMES TO LAUSD DYSFUNCTION, COULD IT BE MAYOR GARCETTI DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE? - Perdaily.com:



WHEN IT COMES TO LAUSD DYSFUNCTION, COULD IT BE MAYOR GARCETTI DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE?

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

Given the recent resignation of Mayor Eric Garcetti's Director of Education Thelma Melendez- who was "poached" by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent John Deasy- and the fact that Garcetti so far has failed to fill her exclusively advisory position, several possibilities come to mind, none of which auger well for improving LAUSD student achievement or these students long term prospects of becoming productive members of our society.

It seems that Mayor Garcetti is so insulated by layer upon layer of his solely politically motivate staff. He doesn't seem to have any firsthand knowledge of what has actually been going on at LAUSD for generations in an entrenched self-dealing culture of longstanding endemic corruption. In this reality, it is only the rhetoric and never the students results that improve. So much so that Garcetti doesn't seem to have a clue as to what he needs to do to try and finally turn things around. And given the less than successful results of his predecessor Antonio Villaraigosa in dealing with LAUSD, it's understandable if Garcetti is less than eager to go after an LAUSD bureaucracy that is still in charge after both Villaraigosa and then City Treasurer Laura Chick failed miserably in forcing anything that even remotely resembled accountability. 

The latest example of non sequitur policies that cautious politicians like Garcetti propose either shows a complete misunderstanding of what's wrong with our youth and how to fix it or a complete unwillingness to spend the necessary political capital to finally bring LAUSD in line.

For those who are interested, there's actually a very simple litmus test that one can apply to any program proposed by a politician to WHEN IT COMES TO LAUSD DYSFUNCTION, COULD IT BE MAYOR GARCETTI DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE? - Perdaily.com:

4-23-14 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education This Week - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4481: Head Start Improvement Act of 2014

To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education.

6h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4366: Strengthening Education through Research Act

To strengthen the Federal education research system to make research and evaluations more timely and relevant to State and local needs in order to increase student achievement.

8h 

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4481: Head Start Improvement Act of 2014

To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education.

6h hide  //  save

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4366: Strengthening Education through Research Act

To strengthen the Federal education research system to make research and evaluations more timely and relevant to State and local needs in order to increase student achievement.

8h 

Bill Introduced: H.R. 4369: Using our Energy to Build Better Communities Act

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require payment to each county of a portion of mining royalties received for mining operations in such county, and for other purposes.

8h 

4-19-14 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions Education This Week - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:Bill Introduced: S. 2210: School Food Modernization ActA bill to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to make loan guarantees and grants to finance certain improvements to school lunch facilities, to train school food service personnel, and for other purposes.7h YESTERDAYBill Introduced: H.R. 4391: P

by mike simpson / 10h 

The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World’s Richest

The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World’s Richest:

The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World’s Richest

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While the wealthiest Americans are outpacing many of their global peers, a New York Times analysis shows that across the lower- and middle-income tiers, citizens of other advanced countries have received considerably larger raises over the last three decades.

That is the 2nd paragraph of this important article in today's New York Times whose title I have borrowed for this post.

And as the very next paragraph tells us

After-tax middle-class incomes in Canada — substantially behind in 2000 — now appear to be higher than in the United States. The poor in much of Europe earn more than poor Americans.

The analysis is based on studies of 35 years worth of data.

We tend to look at median income data or mean data.  The gaps in median are closing with other nations, and our mean data is distorted badly by the skewing of increased income towards those at the top of the income pyramid, while many Americans are actually seeing their income shrink.

As one key paragraph notes:

The struggles of the poor in the United States are even starker than those of the middle class. A family at the 20th percentile of the income distribution in this country makes significantly less money than a similar family in Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland or the Netherlands. Thirty-five years ago, the reverse was true.

The study on which the article is based

counts after-tax cash income from salaries, interest and stock dividends, among other sources, as well as direct government benefits such as tax credits.

 We should of course remember that those at the top of our income pyramid often have a The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World’s Richest: