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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Jersey Jazzman: A Courageous Teacher Needs Your Help

Jersey Jazzman: A Courageous Teacher Needs Your Help:


A Courageous Teacher Needs Your Help

by Duke
This is Marie Corfield.

Marie is an art teacher, a mother, and a fighter for teachers and parents here in New Jersey.

Marie became a minor national celebrity when she stood up to a bullying Chris Christie at one of his phony town hall meetings and told him to stop attacking New Jersey's great public school teachers. She was drafted to run for a seat in the NJ State Assembly; that meant putting the rest of her life on hold while waging a tough campaign.

There are powerful people in this state and in this country who fear a tough-minded parent standing up for middle class families everywhere. They don't like the thought of a teacher gaining political office, because that would mean they might finally have to be held to account for their plans to destroy public education.

So Marie was targeted by hedge fund managers, who spent a fortune to defeat her. It didn't work; the race against her tea partying opponent, Donna Simon, is still too close to call, and very likely will trigger an automatic recount of the vote. Superstorm Sandy made matters much, much worse, as there are many provisional ballots, absentee ballots, and electronic ballots to consider.

So Marie needs help now, more than ever. She writes:
We have incurred a number of bills over the last couple of days as a result of our ongoing monitoring of the ballot counting process. With no winner the counting could eventually lead to a recount which could last for many days and even weeks. We urgently need our supporters to help us yet again. You've cast your ballots but now is the time when we need your help the most. 
I would not be asking for more funds if it wasn't so urgent. We ALL have put too much time and effort into this campaign to let it slip through our hands at this point. Please make a donation today to help finish this campaign with a victory.
I am asking you to help out a fellow teacher and a fellow parent. I am asking you to stand up for one of our own.

You can make a donation to Marie Corfield's campaign here.

Marie, thank you for all you've done for us. We've got your back.

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Illinois Democrats are digging a deep hole. Didn’t they learn anything from the Republican debacle? « Fred Klonsky

Illinois Democrats are digging a deep hole. Didn’t they learn anything from the Republican debacle? « Fred Klonsky:


Illinois Democrats are digging a deep hole. Didn’t they learn anything from the Republican debacle?

by Fred Klonsky
\
Nekritz went back to eating her salad.
On November 6th things looked pretty sweet for Democrats.
In Illinois too.
After all, there were several high-profile congressional races that the Democrats won. A couple were really unexpected – like in the 10th CD where Republican Robert Dold had a huge money advantage, but lost to centrist Democrat Brad Schneider.
And the Democrats won veto proof majorities in the state house and senate.
But scratch the surface, look a little deeper and there is trouble ahead.
Back before the election I posted about a conversation I had with Representative Elaine Nekrtiz, Democrat from




Missing Harold who died 25 years ago this weekend.

by Fred Klonsky
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Acting In Solidarity On Black Friday | OccupyWallSt.org

Acting In Solidarity On Black Friday | OccupyWallSt.org:


Acting In Solidarity On Black Friday

by OccupyWallSt
Walkout on Walmart!
via Sarah Jaffe:
To make a mess that another person will have to deal with—the dropped socks, the toothpaste sprayed on the bathroom mirror, the dirty dishes left from a late-night snack—is to exert domination in one of its more silent and intimate forms. -Barbara Ehrenreich, in “Made to Order,” an essay from the anthology Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy, co-edited with Arlie Russell Hochschild
[This quote is] relevant to an argument I just had about “disruptive” protest at Walmart in supposed solidarity with the Black Friday strikes. Picket, protest, march and rally all you want, hold a sit-in, but please, before you do things like deliberately create a mess in the store or leave a full cart in the checkout line, consider who’s going to have to clean up the mess that you make. It’s not going to be Rob Walton or any of the other multibillionaires. It won’t even be the assistant manager. It’ll be the same low-wage worker who maybe wanted to go on strike but wasn’t quite convinced, or who was threatened by their boss, who’s working an extra-long shift on the worst shopping day of the year.
Solidarity doesn’t mean you decide for yourself what is best for the workers. It means showing up in the ways they need and want you to and letting them decide how to build worker power.
We ask you to reflect on the statement issued by workers and Making Change at Walmart as you plan your Black Friday solidarity action:
Across the country, Walmart employs 1.4 million people. We are not just the Associates that you see in stores, we are moms and dads, sons and daughters, husbands and wives working hard to support our families.
We have been speaking out for good jobs with decent pay, regular hours, affordable healthcare and respect, but instead of working with us to make changes, Walmart has attempted to silence us and has retaliated against us for speaking out. Our jobs have been threatened, our hours cut, our schedules changed. Some of us have even been fired.
We will not be silenced. Throughout the holiday season, including Black Friday, we will be standing up for an end to the retaliation against workers who speak out for what’s right for our families, our communities and our country, and we hope that you will stand with us. It is not an easy decision, but without an end to the retaliation, Walmart workers across the country will be walking off the job in protest, and we hope you will join us in creative, non-violent action in solidarity with our strike. We ask that supporters take action that spreads the word about our strikes and demonstrates to Walmart a wave of support for workers who are speaking out.
Together, we are calling on Walmart to end the retaliation against hard-working employees who are courageously speaking out for better pay, fair schedules and more hours, affordable health care and respect.
We will not be silenced until we see real change at Walmart.
Sincerely, OUR Walmart Workers
editors note: please consider supporting the Walmart Strikers Food Fund
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Missouri Education Watchdog: ALEC Bails on Opposing Common Core

Missouri Education Watchdog: ALEC Bails on Opposing Common Core:


ALEC Bails on Opposing Common Core

by Anngie



Ed Week reported that ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) has voted not to adopt the resolution opposing the Common Core State Standards.
The latest news is that on Nov. 19, after several discussions over the past year and at least onepostponed vote, ALEC's legislative board of directors has voted  not to adopt the resolution opposing the Common Core, the group announced in an email. ALEC stated that it will remain "neutral" on the common cor 
e, "but will continue to oppose any efforts by the federal government to mandate curriculum."
Given that each state is in a slightly different position with Common Core, (what role they play in the consortia, by what mechanism they agreed to adopt Common Core Standards, how much superintendents bought in to implementation etc.) it is not completely surprising that ALEC could not find common ground among legislators 
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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » RYH forum Nov. 29th – Assessing the Assessments

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » RYH forum Nov. 29th – Assessing the Assessments:


RYH forum Nov. 29th – Assessing the Assessments

by admin

Home




A forum for community members to discuss the
CULTURE OF TESTING in our schools
What are all these tests? How do we best measure achievement?
ACCESS… Dibels … REACH… NWEA–Map. CCQ… ISAT… Explore… PLAN… mCLass… Compass

When: Thursday, November 29, 2012
Where: Holstein Park, 2nd floor Auditorium (elevator available)
2200 N. Oakley, Chicago
Time: 7pm – 9 pm
Forum panelists include: teachers who currently administer tests, and
Dr. Noah Sobe, Prof. Noah W. Sobe is Associate Professor of Cultural and EducationalPolicy Studies at Loyola University Chicago where he also directs the Center for Comparative Education.  Prof. Sobe researches the history of education and the relationship between globalization and schools and serves on the Boards of Directors of several scholarly societies He presents findings at academic conferences around the globe.  Prof. Sobe is the parent of two daughters currently attending CPS and a member of a group of education researchers called CReATE (Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates of Transformative Education). He is a co-author of CReATE’s research brief on high stakes standardized testing.
 For more information: www.ilraiseyourhand.org
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Diane in the Evening 11-21-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:






When Gary Rubinstein Visited KIPP

by dianerav
Gary Rubinstein was among the nation’s earliest Teach for Merica teachers. Unlike most TFA, however, he became a career teacher. He now teaches at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. This is a veryinteresting report on a visit he paid to a KIPP school. Be sure to read te comments.


When Happy Talk Is Mandated

by dianerav
A reader in Texas responds to a post about the Dallas superintendent, who has sent out directions to schools to express themselves only in positive terms:
This blog reminds me: we got a new superintendent in our district where I was the deputy superintendent. His FIRST act was to send out a memo to all staff. His directive was that absolutely everybody had to start all letters and all memoranda and all emails with this statement: “Today is November 21, 2012, and it is a wonderful day!”
Many of us spent the rest of the day writing and sharing parodies. “Today is xxx, xx, xxxx, and it is a wonderful day! I am writing to tell you that due to budget restraints we have eliminated your position, effective immediately.”.
“Today is…., and it is a wonderful day! Due to the flu epidemic, we have determined it prudent to close our 




LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-21-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] In Which I Agree with Andy Smarick by dianerav Andy Smarick believes that public schools can’t be fixed or turned around. He thinks that the only way to solve their problems is to close them down and replace them with privately managed charters. Andy served on the board of a KIPP school, so he is confident that KIPP can do what no public school can do. In a previous post, I called on Andy to join me in “the KIPP Challenge.” This is the challenge for KIPP to take over an entire low-performing district and sh... more »



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Schools Matter: Let's Be Thankful for Karen Lewis: Hear a Real Union Leader's Vision for Education

Schools Matter: Let's Be Thankful for Karen Lewis: Hear a Real Union Leader's Vision for Education:


Let's Be Thankful for Karen Lewis: Hear a Real Union Leader's Vision for Education

by Jim Horn

You won't get this kind of honesty and genuine care from the mealy-mouthed sellouts who run AFT and NEA.

Karen Lewis speaking at the Chicago Club on November 20:


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Secretary Of Education Forced To Take Up Stripping To Put Nation Through School | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Secretary Of Education Forced To Take Up Stripping To Put Nation Through School | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:


Secretary Of Education Forced To Take Up Stripping To Put Nation Through School

NOVEMBER 20, 2012 | ISSUE 48•47 | MORE NEWS
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, performing onstage as Velvet.
TAMPA, FL—Saying it was his only real option to earn much-needed cash, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters Tuesday he had been forced to start working as an erotic dancer at the local strip club Peaches in order to put the nation’s students through school.
Duncan, who has reportedly struggled for years to make ends meet and pay school bills, claimed that he was earning “great” money by dancing naked for customers and that he was now much closer to fulfilling his dream of providing a first-class education for America’s children.
“Taking off your clothes in front of strangers isn’t for everyone, but I’m confident in my body, and regardless, I need to get the money somehow,” said Duncan, who performs under the stage name Velvet. “I’m not planning on doing this forever, just until all 49.8 million kids in our public elementar
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As teachers group releases survey critical of extended day, DISD trustees contemplate a change | Education Blog

As teachers group releases survey critical of extended day, DISD trustees contemplate a change | Education Blog:


As teachers group releases survey critical of extended day, DISD trustees contemplate a change






  
Dallas ISD trustees will consider next week removing atime-limit rule from policy that added 45-minutes to the workday for educators, who have decried how the time is being used. The proposal is expected to pass.
But passage of the measure at the  Nov. 29 board meeting doesn’t mean that extended days would go away. Removing the rule, which requires a minimum eight hour and 30 minute workday, would just take trustees out of the process and allow Superintendent Mike Miles to set a time schedule.
“This will allow the superintendent to determine hours for schools,” board President Lew Blackburn said. “We’re just taking the board out of it. After that, it’s up to the superintendent.”
Miles is expected to offer a recommendation next month for the extended day, which started this school year.
Teachers had argued against it, saying they already work long days from grading papers and doing lesson plans.
Some teachers have complained that the extra minutes are being filled with busy work and doesn’t allow 
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On the Uses and Meaning of Data « InterACT

On the Uses and Meaning of Data « InterACT:


On the Uses and Meaning of Data

by David B. Cohen
Get ready – we know the data is coming!  Common Core Assessments are going to change everything, right?  But for teachers and schools on the receiving end of greater volumes of information, what does all that data really mean?  Not surprisingly, it depends on whom you ask.
Kate McKennaCalTURN’s Kate McKenna addresses conference attendees (photo by the author).
Last week, I attended a labor-management collaboration conference in Santa Monica, California, organized byWestEd and the California Teachers Union Reform Network (CalTURN).  I was invited to offer a short presentation on the second day of the conference, and then participate on a panel for a short discussion of three presentations including mine.  The first two presentations focused on what good work can be accomplished when labor, i.e., unions, and district management, are able to collaborate in a productive, ongoing, trustful 
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Arizona Charter School Officials Are Enriching Themselves With Public Funds | The New Republic

Arizona Charter School Officials Are Enriching Themselves With Public Funds | The New Republic:


How Charter Schools Fleece Taxpayers

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
In government, if I help myself to taxpayer dollars, we call that embezzlement and I go to jail. In the private sector, if I help myself to taxpayer dollars, we call that innovation and I get hailed as a visionary exponent of public-private partnership. That’s the lesson of a Nov. 17 investigation by Anne Ryman of the Arizona Republic into the state’s charter schools.
In her examination of Arizona’s 50 largest nonprofit charter schools and all of Arizona's nonprofit charter schools with assets exceeding $10 million, Ryman found “at least 17 contracts or arrangements, totaling more than $70 million over five years and involving about 40 school sites, in which money from the non-profit charter school went to for-profit or non-profit companies run by board members, executives or their relatives.” That says to me that in Arizona, at least, charter-school corruption isn’t the exception. It’s the rule. And that’s just in the nonprofit charter schools. Documentation for the for-profit schools is not publicly available. What are the odds that charter-school proprietors operating in the 
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Pa. charter schools have no accountability - The Mercury

Pa. charter schools have no accountability - The Mercury:


Pa. charter schools have no accountability



  • Posted: 11/21/12 12:01 am
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The Pennsylvania General Assembly has failed again in its attempt to provide financial and academic accountability to charter schools. The 11th hour attempt to pass charter school reform failed on June 30 and the General Assembly struck out again on October 17 as both chambers adjourned without passing legislation. The June 30 failure was due to a controversial portion that would have excluded charter school management and vendors from the Right-To-Know Law, which would have allowed charter schools to conceal their expenditures from the public that funds them.
Fixing the flawed funding formula for charters was a top priority for the reform process. The state auditor general has emphasized that charter schools are costing taxpayers an additional million dollars a day. Pennsylvania spends an average of $13,411 per student to attend a brick-and-mortar charter school, about $3,400 above the national average of $10,000.
Cyber charters, with no school buildings and fewer teachers, educate students at a substantially 
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