Saturday coffee « Fred Klonsky's blog

Saturday coffee « Fred Klonsky's blog

Saturday coffee

APRIL 23, 2011

by Fred Klonsky

An article in The Nation the other day about the best protest songs started a thread on my Facebook page.

I chose Florence Reece’s Which Side Are You On?

My old friend Charlie Costigan picked Johnny Paycheck’s Take This Job and Shove it.

Marja complained about the fact that so many of the picks were old and wanted something more current.

My daughter Jessica complied with a long list of more contemporary political songs, including the latest by Lupe Fiasco.

My brother Mike suggested something by the

Old school.

by Fred Klonsky

Bonnie Raitt and Norah Jones.

Withdraw, Refinance, Boycott. The Florida Chamber of Commerce does NOT speak for us. « Continuing Change

Withdraw, Refinance, Boycott. The Florida Chamber of Commerce does NOT speak for us. « Continuing Change

Withdraw, Refinance, Boycott. The Florida Chamber of Commerce does NOT speak for us.

by gatorbonbc

—	“In Florida, where Republican lawmakers want to prevent public employee unions from collecting dues through government payroll systems, labor leaders have decided to pull their organizations’ accounts from

Addressing Equity and Excellence « InterACT

Addressing Equity and Excellence « InterACT

Addressing Equity and Excellence

by David B. Cohen

On April 21, 2011, The Equity and Excellence Commission of the U.S. Department of Education held an event in San Jose, CA. Under the leadership of Representative Mike Honda and Commission Executive Director Stephen Chen, the Commission heard from four speakers in a private hearing in the afternoon, and then held a larger town hall meeting in the evening. I was one of the speakers in the private session in the afternoon, and I will post my remarks here at InterACT within the next few days. My co-blogger here at InterACT, Martha Infante, was one of the featured speakers in the evening session. Below is the video of the event. All of the speakers are worth

No Unions, No Middle Class | California Progress Report

No Unions, No Middle Class | California Progress Report

No Unions, No Middle Class

by megan

By Caitlin Vega
California Labor Federation

When I look around, I see families struggling harder than ever just to get by. Foreclosed homeswith "For Sale" signs up, thousands of workers standing in line to apply for a handful of jobs at McDonalds, those who lost jobs realizing there are none to be found. I see it in my family, among my friends, throughout my neighborhood. The working people of California who once enjoyed a degree of economic security have seen it washed away in a tidal wave of hard times.

read more

Teamster Nation: These loony billionaires want to destroy public education

Teamster Nation: These loony billionaires want to destroy public education

These loony billionaires want to destroy public education

by Teamster Power

The charming DeVoses.

Many Americans despise the Koch brothers' because of their tireless efforts to destroy the middle class. But there are other rich families that deserve our derision for the same reason -- the Coors heirs, the Walton heirs, the Mellon heirs. And Michgan's own DeVos family.

Richard DeVos made his billions on a pyramid scheme -- Amway. Now his son Dick and daughter-in-law Betsy are trying to eradicate public education. She is the former chair of Michigan's Republican Party; Dick ran for governor of Michigan in 2006.

According to People for the American Way,

Dick DeVos has used his family's fortune and status to create an intricate national network of non-profits, political action committees and federal groups known as 527's that effectively fund the political arm of the school voucher movement...Nowhere is the impact of the DeVos family fortune greater, though, than in the movement to privatize public education.

Call to Save Our Schools | Dissident Voice

Call to Save Our Schools | Dissident Voice

Call to Save Our Schools

by Steven Strauss

A coalition of teachers, parents, and academic activists has launched the Save Our Schools (SOS) March and National Call to Action. Fed up with government attacks on public education and the scapegoating of teachers for social problems, the coalition hopes to bring tens of thousands of supporters to Washington, D.C., for a march and rally on July 30, with strategy sessions and other actions held July 28-31.

“We stand united by one belief — it’s time for teachers and parents to organize and reclaim control of our schools,” reads the SOS statement.

Over the past two decades, bipartisan federal “reform” has done nothing less than declare war on democracy in K-12 classrooms, as decisions about what to teach and how to teach — even the reasons to teach — have been steadily transferred away from those most directly affected: teachers, parents, and students.

Organizers see SOS as part of a movement that “is the natural result of increasing dissatisfaction with failed and failing policies like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, which have substituted high-stakes testing,

The public education system in California is broken! Educate Our State

Educate Our State

The public education system in California is broken! Educate Our State is a parent-led, statewide campaign to unite the voices of Californians in support of high-quality K-12 Public Education and demand real change. Watch us talking about the Educate Our State campaign here. What are you doing May 24th? Want to help "Wake Up California!"click here. Join the statewide, multi-city day of action to support California public schools WITH YOUR HELP WE SENT OVER 60,000 LETTERS, ASKING TO "LET US VOTE!": Governor Brown's proposed budget for California assumes a combination of cuts and revenue extensions to close the over $25 billion plus budget gap. Without the revenue extension, we may see an "all cuts" budget that will potentially mean massive cuts to K-12 public education. In February, Educate Our State launched a letter writing campaign, sending over 60,000 letters to 100% of the legislature asking to "Let Us Vote!" to save public education funding. Still want to send a letter, click here. NBC Bay Area News (channel 3) covered the "Let Us Vote!" campaign as we hit our first milestone: 10,000 letters to California legislators. Also featured on their news website. February 20, 2011 Educate Our State and Support California Kidshave joined forces to increase awareness on the issues facing Public Education in California. Want to learn more about this partnership? Read here. Skeptical that we can make change? Well, how about if every grassroots parent group, school PTA and PTO, and non-profit with a focus on education from one end of the state to the other joined together in a loose-knit network and took action as one? Then Sacramento would have to listen right? There would be too many of us and we'd be too loud to ignore. This is Educate Our State, a campaign of like-minded people who believe in Public Education and are willing to fight for it. Don't believe it's possible? Just watch us. We're parents fighting for our kids' futures. Come join us, as we raise the volume on the issue and force the political will for change. Still don't believe it's possible? Watch the video clip below. ___________________________________ The Problem: We are Failing Our Children We are failing our children in California and in doing so jeopardizing our nation and our future public welfare. We educate more than 1 in 8 children in the nation, 6.3 million children, and yet: 30% of California high school students do not graduate; over 175,000 students dropped out of school in 2009. Some ethnic groups have dropout rates over 50%. Of those who do graduate, almost 70% of children are not ready for college (Kidsdata.org, 2008). National educational surveys show California at the bottom of achievement levels in 4th and 8th grade reading and are lower than those in 43 states. (nces.ed.gov, 2010). California has dropped to the bottom of per pupil spending in the U.S., estimates range from 45th in the nation (non-cost adjusted) to dead last with cost adjusted rankings. By almost every measure, California is failing our students. We are creating a far-reaching social problem with implications in all areas of our community, state and nation including economic decline, increased joblessness, and higher crime rates. The Solution: Parents Need to Stand Up and Demand Change This is more than an education issue. It is a civil rights issue. We need California to provide its children with high-quality and appropriately-funded public education. ___________________________________ We are building our network of like-minded parents, non-profits and organizations. Let us know if we can add you to our list. California State PTA, www.capta.org Great Oakland Public Schools, www.gopublicschools.org Families In Schools, www.familiesinschools.org Invest in PUSD Kids (Pasadena Unified School District)www.InvestInPUSDkids.org Bay Area Council, www.bayareacouncil.org PICO, www.piconetwork.org Educacy, www.educacy.org SFOP, www.sfop.org Parents for Great Education, www.parentsforgreateducation.org Parents for Public Schools, San Francisco, www.ppssf.org CAUSE (California Advocates United Saving California),www.cause4education.org Saving California Communities, www.savingca.org Say No To Cuts (Wonderland PTA), www.saynotocuts.com Campaign for Quality Eudcation, www.quality-education.org Public Advocates, www.publicadvocates.org Children Now, www.childrennow.org Citizen Hope, www.citizenhope.org Support California Kids, www.supportcakids.com We're adding more friends everyday. Check back soon.

Educate Our State

Educate Our State

Wake Up California!

A statewide, multi-city day of action supporting K-12 public education

The Date: May 24, 2011 The Location: Cities across California

The Event:

Parents and concerned citizens are coordinating a statewide, multi-city day of action to increase awareness for the crisis facing California public schools and the need for our legislators to take action and pass the revenue extension measures to secure school funding.

We need you!:

Parents are organizing rallies across the state to demonstrate the united voice of Californians in support of K-12 public education. Would you be interested in leading an effort in your community? We have scheduled a kick-off conference call for Tuesday, April 26th at 8:30am. Please email us if you are interesting in joining the call and we will give you the phone number and call in code.

More information to follow:

Please check back regularily, we are posting details as they become available.

Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank #WIUnion #p2 #pfla #1u

Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank

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Parents spell out detailed school reform blueprint - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-Apr-22

Parents spell out detailed school reform blueprint - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostParents spell out detailed school reform blueprintBy Valerie StraussA national grassroots organization called Parents Across America — a leading group in a young, growing protest movement against test-based school reform — just released its own blueprint for the rewriting of No Child Left Behind.If only President Obama would read it.The document provides detailed positions on the main issues in public education today, taking positions counter to ...

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School district field-tests 52 (yes, 52) new tests on kids - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-Apr-21

School district field-tests 52 (yes, 52) new tests on kids - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostSchool district field-tests 52 (yes, 52) new tests on kids To see where public education is being driven, let’s look at a school district in North Carolina where students in every grade were used as guinea pigs this spring to help field-test a total of 52 -- yes, 52 -- new standardized tests this spring, ...Public school teacher: 13 reasons I’m outraged --Public ...

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State to Broward school district: We’re watching you - Broward - MiamiHerald.com

2011-Apr-20

State to Broward school district: We’re watching you - Broward - MiamiHerald.comState to Broward school district: We’re watching you Education Commissioner Eric Smith said the state will be monitoring the Broward school district for at least six months to make sure it follows an action plan to address critical problems cited in a recent state Grand Jury report.BY CARLI TEPROFFCTEPROFF@MIAMIHERALD.COMThe state Department of Education said it’s keeping its eye on the Broward County school district — and will continue to ...

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State to Broward school district: We’re watching you - Broward - MiamiHerald.com

2011-Apr-20

State to Broward school district: We’re watching you - Broward - MiamiHerald.comState to Broward school district: We’re watching you Education Commissioner Eric Smith said the state will be monitoring the Broward school district for at least six months to make sure it follows an action plan to address critical problems cited in a recent state Grand Jury report.BY CARLI TEPROFFCTEPROFF@MIAMIHERALD.COMThe state Department of Education said it’s keeping its eye on the Broward County school district — and will continue to ...

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Andrew Breitbart threatens teachers. « Fred Klonsky's blog

2011-Apr-19

Andrew Breitbart threatens teachers. « Fred Klonsky's blogAndrew Breitbart threatens teachers.by Fred KlonskyMy stalker, Ben Velderman.People often ask me why Ben Velderman, who has the chief responsibility of fetching his boss Kyle Olson some coffee, filed an Illinois FOIA request for my emails.Andrew Breitbart explained it all on Sean Hannity last night.Breitbart, you may remember, runs a tea bagger blog called Big Government. The blog features, among others, the teacher hating rants of Kyle Olson, Ben Velderman’s guru. Breitbart is ...

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Standardized Students, Silenced Teachers: The Un-American Education Agenda | Dailycensored.com

2011-Apr-19

Standardized Students, Silenced Teachers: The Un-American Education Agenda | Dailycensored.comStandardized Students, Silenced Teachers: The Un-American Education Agendaby Paul ThomasWriting about standards-driven education reform in her Releasing the Imagination, Maxine Greene explains: “The wilderness has many aspects, of course; the demons have many faces. What is happening makes me wish, more and more desperately, for authentic dialogue among educators. It is time our own voices are heard with greater clarity, the voices of those [...]El Cortito Haunts California Againby Ken_SayersThe short-handled ...

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Students with Disabilities are Victims of Corporal Punishment

2011-Apr-19

Students with Disabilities are Victims of Corporal PunishmentI was reading your blog Big Education Ape and I think it is great! So, I wanted to remind you aboutMarc Ecko's personal and nationwide campaign to end paddling in U.S. schools, which is also a cause that many do not realize still exists today! It's calledUnlimited Justice.If you didn't already know, 20 states in Americastill allow the paddling of students, otherwise known as Corporal Punishment! To put that in perspective, over200,000students are ...

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Pay Your Taxes? These 10 Companies Didn’t. | MoveOn.Org

2011-Apr-18

Pay Your Taxes? These 10 Companies Didn’t. | MoveOn.OrgPay Your Taxes? These 10 Companies Didn't.Posted on April 15, 2011 by AliciaShare this now!Come April 15, everybody ponies up their fair share, right? Not so much. Thanks to corporate tax cuts and loopholes, these big companies will be rollin’ in the green instead of paying Uncle Sam. Read Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) corporate freeloaders list now:Spread the word. Share this on Facebook today.

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Hi Ya! Karate and Autistic Kids

2011-Apr-17

Hi Ya! Karate and Autistic KidsHi Ya! Karate and Autistic Kidsby California FatherThanks to Autism Key for the vid. I love the woman’s comment about wanting to expose her child to something other than therapy. Ditto. “We want to feel normal,” she says. Ditto on that too. Our autistic boy has been taking karate lessons for a while now, but for me the biggest benefit hasn’t been better balance or social skills. What it has shown me week after week ...

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Powerful unions key to education reform package - BusinessWeek

2011-Apr-16

Powerful unions key to education reform package - BusinessWeekPowerful unions key to education reform packageBy JOHN O'CONNORorder a reprintdigg thissave to del.icio.usSPRINGFIELD, ILL.Illinois teachers unions have numbers and money that translate into influence at the state Capitol, but they're still agreeing to major concessions on job security and strikes under legislation approved Thursday by the state Senate.While union leaders said they were driven by what's best for kids, they also acknowledge watching high-profile fights over public employee rights in Wisconsin, ...