Teachers, Coal Miners and ALL of Us | Reclaim Reform

Teachers, Coal Miners and ALL of Us | Reclaim Reform:

Teachers, Coal Miners and ALL of Us

Posted on July 12, 2013

Illinois public employees at the State capital.

by kenpreviti

The Illinois Teacher Pension pillage by its own state legislature is one part of the overall War Against the Middle Class by mega-corporate billionaires. The state claims it wants to write off debt; the political/corporate reality is much more complex, destructive and draconian. (See HERE for a fuller explanation.)

What is happening to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the Illinois Education Association (IEA) in combination with the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and the other state employees’ unions (police, firefighters, transportation employees, AFL-CIO employees, etc.) who are part of We Are One Illinois? This is the public employee version of pension raiding that is part of the corporate takeover of America – with minor legislative differences to aid the treachery.

The attack against active and retired public school teachers is part of the dismantling of 

What every parent should know about our juvenile justice system « MomsRising Blog

What every parent should know about our juvenile justice system « MomsRising Blog:

What every parent should know about our juvenile justice system

Posted July 12th, 2013 by Sarah Bryer

I’m one of those moms who sees danger in every corner.  I check for ticks, apply sun screen, and make sure my child is buckled into her car seat.  I take it as my personal responsibility to ensure her safety.  This taking of responsibility is a theme for our family.  When my daughter messes up, I make sure she takes responsibility for her actions and try to help her do the right thing the next time.  One important way I do this is to teach her to treat others as she herself wants to be treated.  That’s a golden rule in our household — and it’s central to the work I do, as well.

Let me explain.  I’ve spent the last 20 years in efforts to get our justice system to respond to lawbreaking in a way that would feel fair if I or my child were the ones standing in front of the judge.  Twenty years is a long time. Clearly, I feel deeply about this work, but I have to say that being a mom has ratcheted up my fervor for change to a new level.   You see, it wasn’t until I had a kid that I truly felt the excruciating pain of what we do in the name of justice, punishment, and rehabilitation to our nation’s youth.

What do we do?  Well for starters, we take children, some as young as eight, and rip them from their moms, dads, siblings, school, communities and supports and lock

Read more: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/what-every-parent-should-know-about-our-juvenile-justice-system/#ixzz2YsITJ0lr

Meet the Teach for America Resistance Movement That's Growing From Within - Zach Schonfeld - The Atlantic Wire

Meet the Teach for America Resistance Movement That's Growing From Within - Zach Schonfeld - The Atlantic Wire:

Meet the Teach for America Resistance Movement That's Growing From Within

Reuters

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ZACH SCHONFELD5:51 PM ET

A network of Teach for America alumni and corps members is organizing in Chicago this weekend, as part of the national Free Minds, Free People conference organized by the Education for Liberation Network, but this summit is more than a wistful reunion gathering. The group's aim, as encapsulated in the roundtable's title, "Organizing Resistance to Teach for America and its Role in Privatization," is no less than overthrowing—or at least overhauling—the non-profit organization's dominant role in educational reform. And who best to challenge TFA than its graduates?

The summit is the subject of extensive coverage in The American Prospect, starting with a tremendously helpful cheat sheet of popular criticisms of the non-profit educational organization among education reform circles:

Twenty-four years running, the rap on Teach for America (TFA) is a sampled, re-sampled, burned-out record: The organization’s five-week training program is too short to prepare its recruits to teach, especially in chronically under-served urban and rural districts; corps members only have to commit to teach for two years, which destabilizes schools, undermines the teaching profession, and undercuts teachers unions; and TFA, with the help of its 501(c)4 spin-off, Leadership for Educational Equity, is a leading force in the movement to close “failing” schools, expand charter schools, and tie teachers’ job security to their students’ standardized test scores. Critics burn TFA in internet-effigy across the universe of teacher listservs and labor-friendly blogs.

Meet Beth Sondel, a former TFA member listed among the organizers of the anti-TFA gathering:

“The goal is to help attendees identify the resources they have as activists and educators to advocate for real, just reform in their communities,” says co-coordinator Beth Sondel, a 2004 TFA alum who is now a PhD student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University 

Expert Testimony Details Irreparable Harm from School Closures

July 12, 2013 at 3:30pm

Expert Testimony Details Irreparable Harm from School Closures

Plaintiffs and Community Await U.S. District Judge Mueller’s Decision on a Preliminary Injunction

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller listened to plaintiffs make their case about the Sacramento City Unified School District’s (District) intentional discrimination against low-income and minority communities. The hearing focused on two key subjects: how discriminatory policies impact communities throughout Sacramento and the irreparable harm of school closures on these neighborhoods that would necessitate a preliminary injunction.

Despite the defendants’ effort to limit Dr. Jesus Hernandez’s expert testimony in support for an injunction, Judge Mueller permitted Dr. Hernandez to provide his analysis on the racial and socio-economic demographics of the neighborhoods that would be harmed by the District’s closure plans. [it’s not clear that you’re referring to the right-sizing plan and the previous plan by 7/11. you can leave it as is but it’s not clear]. During his testimony, Dr. Hernandez substantiated that “the student population at the closed schools were 80% students of color and up,” whereas schools in affluent, predominately non-minority neighborhoods were removed from closure lists despite ranking among the most under-enrolled. The testimony was not able to include the plaintiffs’ comprehensive analysis that proved the District used frivolous fiscal arguments to justify closing these seven neighborhood schools. In total, the District projected that they would be able to save a little over $900,000 or approximately less than 0.1% of the District’s overall revenues.

Following the expert testimony, the court hearing shifted to a discussion centered on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction in order to stop the illegitimate closure of seven neighborhood schools. “Coming into this case, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle since the burden of proof for an injunction is very high,” stated HIP Organizer Nenick Vu. “We hope the Court will recognize that if these schools close, it will have lasting and devastating harm that will impact an entire generation of students in our most vulnerable and impoverished communities.”

Justice Mueller will consider the arguments made during today’s hearing and arrive at a decision on the preliminary injunction early next week.

**HIP is a grassroots-organizing group whose mission is to strengthen the political power of Hmong and disenfranchised communities through innovative civic engagement and strategic grassroots mobilization. We envision a Sacramento of empowered communities that thrive in a socially and economically just democracy.**

On Facebook: Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP)

On Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/hipsacramento

On Facebook: Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP)

On Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/hipsacramento

President of Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s group leaves - Byron Tau - POLITICO.com

President of Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s group leaves - Byron Tau - POLITICO.com:

President of Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s group leaves

 The president of the education reform group founded by former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is stepping down, POLITICO has learned.

After less than a year on the job, Kahlil Byrd will leave his post as president of the group StudentsFirst, according to a staff-wide email obtained by POLITICO. He will remain an adviser to the group.Continue Reading

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“My day-to-day mission with StudentsFirst has been accomplished, and Michelle and I agree that with a strong team and strategy in place, that I am leaving after a year of significant successes for StudentsFirst,” Byrd wrote.

Rhee and Byrd made a joint announcement in an all staff meeting at the group’s Sacramento headquarters. The meeting was followed-up with the email announcement.

“From its inception, and guided by the powerful vision of Michelle Rhee, StudentsFirst is fighting on the right side of history, reforming education so that every kid can have a better life in this country,” Byrd wrote.

StudentsFirst — founded by Rhee after her departure from D.C.’s public school system — advocates for a slate of education reforms that include merit pay, teacher evaluations and tenure reform. The group’s agenda has been opposed bitterly by labor unions representing

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/president-of-michelle-rhees-group-leaves-94103.html#ixzz2YrxiFlZ2

The Billionaires' War Against Public Education

The Billionaires' War Against Public Education:

The Billionaires' War Against Public Education

Monday, 08 July 2013 15:26By Peter Dreier, Truthout | Op-Ed

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Students during a meeting at the guidance office at Akins High School in Austin, Texas, April 4, 2013. (Photo: Ben Sklar / The New York Times)Ever since the emergence of talking pictures, schools have been a major subject of both Hollywood movies and documentary films. One consistent theme of Hollywood portrayals of schools - fromBlackboard Jungle (1955), Up the Down Staircase (1967) and Stand and Deliver (1988) to Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), October Sky (1999) andFreedom Writers (2007) - has been the idealistic teacher fighting to serve his and her students against overwhelming odds, including uncaring administrators, cynical colleagues, a stultifying required curriculum that crushes the spirit of teachers and students alike, dilapidated conditions, budget cuts, unruly and hostile students, or students suffering from the symptoms of poverty or neglect. The underlying message is that while occasionally a rare teacher can light a spark in a few students, our public schools are failing most of the students they are supposed to serve. Most documentaries about education - from Frederick Wiseman's High School (1968) to Bill Moyers' Children in America's Schools (1996) - paint a similarly grim picture.

Grim, but not hopeless. All these films hold out the prospect that change is possible if society is willing to honestly confront the social, economic, and bureaucratic 

CAUGHT ON AUDIO YET AGAIN!! DR Alison Coviello: YOU LACK COURAGE!!!!! southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

CAUGHT ON AUDIO YET AGAIN!! DR Alison Coviello: YOU LACK COURAGE!!!!!

On June 18, I was summoned by the grand exalted poobah, Prinicpal DR Alison Coviello of PS 154 in the Bronx to yet a another disciplinary conference regarding stuff that any other teacher in the school would have been left alone.

Basically, there was one teacher, in fact two, that whined about my tone of voice to them. The irony is that one teacher had besmirched a colleague who I feel is should be the most respected and hard working staff members at PS 154.

This other teacher, well, let's just say, lied, twisted, and distorted the tone of voice and what I said. But I digress. Not to worry. I know what the truth is.

I will not disparage a staff member or be a rat to a staff member. I think rats are the lowest forms of life, next to car salesmen, on this planet and should be treated accordingly. The colder the shoulder the better.

But, even if I did talk to them in the way I was accused of, or anybody in this school talked that way, 

Diane in the Evening 7-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Who Abandoned the Children of Philadelphia?

A new survey shows that Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of any of the nation’s 10 largest cities. 28% of the city’s people are poor, as are 39% of its children. The national child poverty rate is 23%. Now we know from reformers that poverty is no “excuse” for low test scores, but we also know from the reality-based world that low income is highly correlated with low test scores. If you

by dianerav / 1h mark as read  //  save

Connecticut: Yes, Democracy Matters

Hugh Bailey argues that fighting democracy is a losing battle. He refers to the struggle over the future of the public schools of Bridgeport, Connecticut, which has involved an ongoing battle by the mayor to gain control of the schools (he lost a referendum when the public said no) and now involves a court battle to keep Paul Vallas as superintendent. He was hired, Bailey says, by an illegitimate

by dianerav / 2h

An Eloquent and Incredibly Brave Child Speaks at the UN

Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot in the head by Taliban thugs who don’t want girls to be educated, spoke at the United Nations and was amazingly eloquent in calling for free, compulsory education for every child. What an incredible and heroic young woman. Some heard her and got goosebumps. The attempt to murder her made her more courageous. ““Let us pick up our books and our pens,” M

by dianerav / 26min mark as read  //  save

IMPACT Has No Impact

Long Island principal Carol Burris recently examined the effects of Michelle Rhee’s IMPACT program in DC. It was started in 2009. By now they have enough data to identify all the great teachers, right? They know enough to demonstrate whether three great teachers in a row closes the achievement gap, right? But test scores in D.C. have been nearly flat since IMPACT was adopted. The achievement gap i

by dianerav / 1h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Indiana: “It’s the Money, Stupid”Karen Francisco writes that she is often asked to explain what a charter school is. She used to say that it was a publicly- funded school that is exempt from many state regulations in exchange for higher accountability. But now she sees falling charter schools turn into voucher schools or go shoppin

by mike simpson / 2h 

Hanging Chad | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Hanging Chad | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Hanging Chad

by Gary Rubinstein

I know that people always get upset, no matter how many times I issue this disclaimer, when I use a blog post or tweet from a new corps member to illustrate some of the problems with the TFA ‘mindset’ training.  These are never intended to be personal attacks.  I just like to do them as a way of helping people, particularly the new CMs, understand the issues in a highly relevant way.  As a TFA alum who has many TFA alum friends, I know that CMs are generally good people.  I don’t think there are very many who are just doing it to put on their resume.  So my critiques are of the way that TFA takes these good people and, in a sense, brainwashes them by feeding them the reform ‘Kool Aid’ and by shielding them from critical commentary.

I’ve recently been made aware of a new 2013 CM named Chad and who goes by the twitter handle @ChadForAmerica.  Again, if Chad reads this, I want to be clear that I don’t fault him for what he has been writing.  TFA corps members, despite supposedly having been chosen for their leadership potential, are very docile and even gullible.  They seem to trust TFA blindly and are not able to even consider alternative points of view.

One of Chad’s first tweets is a good example of this:

Yes, I understand that this is his ‘street’ way of saying that he is going to accomplish transformational change, but when you really get into the subtext, intentional or not, this is quite disturbing.  Has TFA encouraged him to think that inner city kids are filled with feces and that regular non-TFA teachers have been content with this while only TFA teachers have the ability to extract it from them?  Again, I am not attacking Chad, as I know commenters are sure to blame 

A reply to Herman Benson: The Chicago Teachers Union is a different kind of labor union | New Politics

A reply to Herman Benson: The Chicago Teachers Union is a different kind of labor union | New Politics:

A reply to Herman Benson: The Chicago Teachers Union is a different kind of labor union

Lois Weiner

July 12, 2013

The exchange between Herman Benson and Dan La Botz highlights one, if not the primary, issue that has to be resolved if we are to turn back the tidal wave of anti-union and anti-democratic policies that have transformed the nation’s social and political landscape.  I think both Herman and Dan would agree that we need a revived labor movement. But what will drive the revival? And what form should it take?

Herman’s definition of revival seems to consist of more “oomph” from the AFL-CIO leadership and more attention to union democracy.  Both are sorely needed. The question is whether these are adequate to restore, let alone push forward, the political and economic policies we so desperately need.  In education, the answer is a clear “no” and the example of the Chicago Teachers Union supports Dan’s argument.

Yes, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) conducted a militant strike. But it was not a traditional strike by any means, if we take as a definition of tradition what has existed in US unions for four decades.  What we see in Chicago has been more  like the kind of organizing done by the CIO, fusing a progressive social program to union demands. CORE, the insurgent caucus that leads the CTU and was re-elected last month in a 

Stellar Roster of Rising Education Leaders, Veteran Education Advocates and Twitterati Lined up for 2nd Annual Bammy Awards | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC

Stellar Roster of Rising Education Leaders, Veteran Education Advocates and Twitterati Lined up for 2nd Annual Bammy Awards | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC:

Stellar Roster of Rising Education Leaders, Veteran Education Advocates and Twitterati Lined up for 2nd Annual Bammy Awards

Dennis Van Roekel, Eric Sheninger, John Merrow, Angela Maiers, Dan Domenech, John Musso, Adam Bellows, Donna Mazyck, Caroline Hendrie, Chris Lehmann, Gail Connelly, Regina Rei Lamourelle, Tom Whitby, Diane Ravitch, Holly Elissa Bruno, Steven Anderson, Nan

LOS ANGELES -- 

Today the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences announced the hosts and presenters for the second annual Bammy Awards honoring the contributions of educators in 28 categories across the field. Presenters announced today include Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association; Marybeth Hertz, executive board member of the Edcamp Foundation; Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators; Chris Lehmann, founder and co-chair of Educon; Gail Connelly, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals; Angela Maiers, founder of Choose2Matter; Yasmina Vinci, executive director for the National Head Start Association; John Merrow, veteran education reporter at PBS; Donna Mazyck, executive director of the National Association of School Nurses; Tom Whitby and Steven Anderson, co-founders of #Edchat; Caroline Hendrie, executive director of the Education Writers Association. William J. Bushaw, executive director, PDK International Family; Rob Lippincott, senior vice president, PBS Learning Media; and The Northeast Foundation for Children.

The 2013 Bammy Awards will be held at the Arena Stage at the Mead Center in Washington, D.C., on September 21^st. The awards will be co-hosted by Dr. Mark Ginsberg, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, and Errol St. Clair Smith, Emmy-winning 

Kicking Off the 2013 Let’s Read! Let’s Move! Summer Series | ED.gov Blog

Kicking Off the 2013 Let’s Read! Let’s Move! Summer Series | ED.gov Blog:

Kicking Off the 2013 Let’s Read! Let’s Move! Summer Series

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Kelsey Donohue

Secretary Arne Duncan joined Michelle Kwan, member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and Olympic figure skater, Sam Kass, executive director of Let’s Move! and senior policy advisor on nutrition, and Rep. John Kline, chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, for the kickoff of this year’s Let’s Read! Let’s Move! series.

“To make your dreams come true, it takes hard work,” Michelle Kwan said to a room of young learners at the kick-off of this year’s Let’s Read! Let’s Move! summer enrichment series at the U.S. Department of Education. The Olympic figure skater and member of the President’s Council on Fitness reminded them that it’s important to “practice, practice, practice.”

Kwan, along with Secretary Duncan, Sam Kass, White House chef and Let’s Move!executive director, and Congressman John Kline (R-MN) chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, came together as part of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s United We Serve: Let’s Read! Let’s Move! initiative, which engages youth in summer reading and physical activity, as well as provides information about healthy, affordable food.

More than 175 preschool and elementary school children from the DC area participated in an afternoon filled with an interactive cooking lesson from teacher, chef and advocate for children’s nutrition Kathy Powers, story time with Picky Peggy and Can I Play Too?, and activities like “Shopping Cart Nutrition Race” and “Make a Salad Relay,” with the help of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington.

Children were encouraged to continue reading this summer with a new book and book bag compliments of Target. At the end of the afternoon, each child left with full bellies, bright smiles, and inspiration to continue to work hard to reach their dreams.

The next installments of the Let’s Read! Let’s Move! series will be on July 17, 24, August 1 and 6. Each event supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, which promotes healthy eating and an active lifestyle, while also encouraging strong early learning programs to ensure bright futures for children. Watch the video below for highlights from the kickoff event.

Click here for an alternate version of the video with an accessible player.

Kelsey Donohue works in the Office of Communication and Outreach at the U.S. Department of Education.