AOC documentary director blasts GO Public Schools for Oakland event | East Bay Majority

AOC documentary director blasts GO Public Schools for Oakland event | East Bay Majority

AOC documentary director blasts GO Public Schools for Oakland event

On Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, GO Public Schools, an astroturf organization driving charter school expansion in Oakland, hosted a watch party for the documentary “Knock Down the House” for its members at the New Parkway Theater. The film follows the grassroots campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin as each runs for Congress on progressive, anti-corporate platforms.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a scene from the film “Knock Down the House”

The film’s director, Rachel Lears, was disturbed to find out that GO Public Schools, which is funded by billionaire education privatizers like the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Rogers Family Foundation, and Michael Bloomberg, was hosting a screening of her film. These are the people and foundations seeking to turn public education into a commodity rather than a free, universal right — a direct affront to the progressive politics of the women and movements featured in the film.

The film’s four stars have all endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. Unsurprisingly, Sanders’ vision for public education is directly at odds with the mission of GO Public Schools. His Thurgood Marshall Plan for Education calls for a massive reinvestment in public schools, including tripling of Title I funding for high-needs schools and making the federal government responsible for at least 50% of special education funding. The plan also echoes the call of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to ban for-profit charter schools and to put a moratorium on federal funding for new charter schools. Sanders’ proposal channels the spirit of the teachers’ strike wave that has swept the nation over the past two years. Like the striking teachers of Oakland and elsewhere, Sanders is demanding high-quality education for all and fighting back against efforts by billionaires to privatize our schools.

Lears shared the following statement with Oakland Not for Sale (ONFS), a group of CONTINUE READING: AOC documentary director blasts GO Public Schools for Oakland event | East Bay Majority

NANCY BAILEY: It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!

It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!

It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!

With No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards, some adults have been led to believe that four- and five-year-old children should read by the end of kindergarten. Preschoolers are pushed to be ready for formal reading instruction by the time they enter kindergarten.

This is a dangerous idea rooted in corporate school reform. Children who struggle to read might inaccurately believe they have a problem, or reading could become a chore they hate.

Pushing children to focus on reading means they miss listening and speaking skills, precursors to reading. These skills are developed through play, which leads to interest in words and a reason to want to read.

Some children might learn to read in kindergarten, and others might show up to kindergarten already reading, but many children are not ready to read when they are four or five years old. And just because a child knows how to read in kindergarten, doesn’t mean they won’t have other difficulties with speech and listening.

When children come to schools from poor home environments, much of what they’ve CONTINUE READING: It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!

Mitchell Robinson: The Kids Are Alright… | Eclectablog

The Kids Are Alright… | Eclectablog

The Kids Are Alright…

Way back in September–which feels like 10 years when measured in teacher years–I shared my disappointment with my sophomore foundations class that so many of them no longer understood references to the classic teen coming of age movies of the 1980s, like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

Snippets from these films, like the ones below…

…have been staples in my classroom “schtick” over the years, and it was sad to see the new generation of students lose their connection to what I once was convinced were cultural “touchstones” guaranteed to unite the generations. Telling them that I’d consider it the highlight of my teaching career to have a pizza delivered to one of my classes, we moved on to the day’s activities.

What wasn’t disappointing was the brilliance, compassion, and commitment of this group of 16 second-year music education students. As we wrapped up the semester today I found myself CONTINUE READING: The Kids Are Alright… | Eclectablog

Achieving Justice for All Should Command Philanthropy's Attention in 2020 Elections | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Achieving Justice for All Should Command Philanthropy's Attention in 2020 Elections | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Achieving Justice for All Should Command Philanthropy's Attention in 2020 Elections

The heightened urgency to protect our democracy from outside interference in the 2020 election is getting a lot of media and political attention these days, but there’s a far more urgent need that is vital for philanthropy to foster and finance: ensuring that our democracy evolves toward greater justice.

We must not confuse democracy with creating equity or with creating a more just American society. It takes more than elections to make a sound democracy. We have lived in a democracy for more than 200 years, but never has our democracy been equitable or just for all people. As the presidential candidates develop their campaign platforms, philanthropy must press them to embrace what I call a “justocracy” — a society where the practice of democracy is not the only goal but where we deliberately use the tools of democracy to create justice for those whose rights have been historically denied and whose lives have been systematically put at a disadvantage.

That’s why in this election season, grant makers must go beyond the traditional support of groups that promote voter engagement and turnout and do more to support grassroots work as well as organizations and institutions that seek to create more just political processes and systems.

Our foundation is taking this charge to heart with a presidential forum we and other organizations are sponsoring in Pittsburgh on December 14. Through a grassroots and labor partnership called the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, our foundation — along with grassroots organizations — plan to lead the candidates in candid discussions focused on their commitment to education justice. The agenda will be shaped by the alliance, which includes organizations led by young people, parents, and educators who all seek to put justice at the center of public-education policy making.

Why Education Is Urgent

Given how many issues are at stake in the election and our focus on curbing inequality, some might wonder why education is CONTINUE READING: Achieving Justice for All Should Command Philanthropy's Attention in 2020 Elections | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes | Diane Ravitch's blog

Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes | Diane Ravitch's blog

Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes

Social scientists have repeatedly documented the close correlation between child poverty and academic achievement. You don’t have to be a social scientist to look at any graph that displays both test scores and family income: the kids from the richest families are at the top, and the kids from the poorest family are at the bottom. It is not surprising, because those with the least income have the least access to food security, medical care, decent housing, and all the other basics of living that affluent families take for granted.

In this blog post, Marc Tucker reviewed the data on child poverty and its relationship to education outcomes. He cites a feature in the Economist magazine about poverty in the United States. He includes a graph showing the dramatic increase in child poverty from 2000-2016. Tucker goes back even further, to 1960, to note that income inequality was not as great then as it is now. Those at the top had “more,” of course, but were not billionaires inhabiting a totally different universe than those at the bottom or those in the middle. Something is terribly wrong with hundreds of people are billionaires, some of them with assets of more than $100 billion, at the same time that more and more families and children CONTINUE READING: Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes | Diane Ravitch's blog

Inglewood Unified School District: The Canary in the Coal Mine - Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | Black News

Inglewood Unified School District: The Canary in the Coal Mine - Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | Black News

Inglewood Unified School District: The Canary in the Coal Mine

According to the California Education Code, all California school districts will have to submit a first interim budget report by December 15.

This report compares the school district’s ongoing fiscal condition to what was projected in the budget they submitted in July. The report includes the latest student enrollment and attendance figures, data on staffing, year-to-date accounting, and projections of expenditures and cash flow.

Through this review, districts assess whether they will be able to meet their obligations and are required to self-certify whether their fiscal condition is positive, qualified, or negative (i.e., will meet, may not meet, or will not be solvent over the next three years).

Most schools districts will certify that they will meet their financial obligations for the current and two subsequent fiscal years, but there are a growing number of districts that will assign themselves qualified or negative certifications.

Large school districts, based on their July budgets, that may be on the list of qualified and negative include Los Angeles Unified, Sacramento City Unified, Sweetwater Union, and Oakland Unified.

Districts with negative and qualified certifications must come to terms with the fact that unless they find new revenue sources or better control their expenditures they will have to request a state loan to avoid fiscal insolvency.

According to Assembly Bill 1200, called the Eastin Act, the state of California is required to maintain the financial soundness of public school districts. Since 1991, when the bill passed, nine districts have been given emergency loans. Four are still repaying loans they accepted.

Under AB 1200, a district secures a state loan through Legislative action. A state-appointed administrator takes over, the superintendent is fired, and the board of education becomes an advisory body. All decisions about the district’s operational priorities are taken away from the local level until the state loan is paid in full.

State intervention has not been a  guarantee that the school district in receivership will be CONTINUE READING: Inglewood Unified School District: The Canary in the Coal Mine - Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | Black News

Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. CTU President Jesse Sharkey. – Mike AND Fred Klonsky

Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. CTU President Jesse Sharkey. – Fred Klonsky

FRED: HITTING LEFT WITH THE KLONSKY BROTHERS. CTU PRESIDENT JESSE SHARKEY

Back from a holiday break with my family in Brooklyn, Hitting Left was back on the air live with a podcast now available.

As I left New York, hundreds of students from the most elite public schools in the city we continuing their weekly Monday walkouts demanding equity of resources and integration.

Teens Take Charge@TeensTakeCharge

Beacon HS has a black box theater, dance & art studios, and a film lab

It has 3x more white students and 3x fewer students with low income than the city average

Today, Beacon's students are out in the cold to demand an end to this resource hoarding city wide#integrateNOW

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Our guest Friday was Jesse Sharkey, president of the Chicago Teachers Union.

Both my brother and I were active supporters of teachers during the strike and I looked forward to a conversation with the union leader on the way it went.

Even as a president of a small teacher local that went on strike in 2003 I know there is CONTINUE READING: Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. CTU President Jesse Sharkey. – Fred Klonsky

MIKE: On Hitting Left: CTU Pres. Jesse Sharkey on Mayor Lori Lightfoot

On yesterday's Hitting Left show, Fred and I interviewed CTU President Jesse Sharkey about the 2019 teachers' strike and found lots of common ground. As readers of this blog know, while we supported the teachers' demands and walked the picket line with the strikers, we've disagreed with current CTU leaders on some issues, including their equating the city's first black, gay, woman mayor, Lori Lightfoot, with her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel. Here's part of our interview where we ask Jesse about his own take on Mayor Lightfoot.

FK: But am I wrong in feeling that your argument made during the lead-up to the strike and the strike itself was that the new administration was fundamentally not different from Rahm Emanuel’s and that there was this characterization of Mayor Lightfoot as being “Rahm2.0”?

JS: Yeah, you’re wrong in the sense that we characterized Rahm as “Mayor 1%”, you know, as a “corporate shill”. We picketed his house…The thing about Rahm was that he was such a clear CONTINUE READING: On Hitting Left: CTU Pres. Jesse Sharkey on Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Tulsa World editorial: Destructive public school laws disguised as education initiatives | Archive | tulsaworld.com

Tulsa World editorial: Destructive public school laws disguised as education initiatives | Archive | tulsaworld.com

Tulsa World editorial: Destructive public school laws disguised as education initiatives

Like a reappearing Trojan Horse, legislative proposals destructive to public schools have crept into the Capitol disguised as education initiatives.

Don’t fall for new marketing or labels. These bad ideas expand vouchers and what amount to vouchers — all for the benefit of private and sectarian schools.

No matter the name or mechanism, they would damage public education and a lot of other things.

Senate Bill 360 would expand the eligibility of the Nicole Henry Scholarship Program for Children with Disabilities to include nondisabled children with an incarcerated parent.

Other bills would expand it for homeless students, foster children and students who have been bullied.

While we have concerns about the impact of Oklahoma’s top prison rate, high foster care population, bullying and homelessness, we don’t agree that robbing the public schools to fund an unproven fix is a step forward.

House Bill 2621 expands tax credits allowed under the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act. This gives tax credits to corporations and individuals donating to scholarship- and grant-giving organizations for private schools.

This would increase the annual cap of $3.5 million in credits for scholarship-granting groups and a $1.5 million cap for education improvement grants to $30 million each.

Oklahomans are already leery about existing tax credits, which detours money from all state agencies, the largest one being the Oklahoma Department of Education. It makes no sense to expand this one.

Voucher proponents have been at this before with the failed “education savings accounts.” Don’t fall for it.

Public schools are the great equalizer in society, where students from all backgrounds can gather for the single purpose of learning. Vouchers would only marginalize public school students and degrade the programs.

About 700,000 students attend Oklahoma public schools, compared to about 37,000 in private schools.

Lawmakers need to focus on where the impact is most felt and continue finding ways to bolster public education, not reduce it.

Tulsa World editorial: Destructive public school laws disguised as education initiatives | Archive | tulsaworld.com

Chaz's School Daze: Common Core Is Rapidly Losing Favor Nationally

Chaz's School Daze: Common Core Is Rapidly Losing Favor Nationally

Common Core Is Rapidly Losing Favor Nationally

Back in 2010, administrators, politicians, and education reform organizations set up a working group to come up with common national education standards that would allow the Federal Deportment of Education to compare one state with another and compete with other countries.  The Obama administration, led by his basketball playing buddy Arnie Duncan convinced the President to support "Common Core" which included testing and linking student scores to teacher evaluations.

To ensure states would comply with the Federal Department of Education's policies, the Obama administration dangled money at the states in the mist of a recession and states that did not link student growth scores to their teachers would not get the money.  The federal government encouraged states to develop "junk Science", like in New York State, that ended up to be thrown out  by a State judge.  Under governmental pressure. the "Common Core" rollout was a disaster as the major education publishers had no materials or books and teachers were not trained to teach it.  Worse, students were forced to adapt to a different Math program that parents did not understand and could not help their child. Moreover, the reading of non-fiction of boring books rather than reading fiction like "1984" was not good as students disliked the books.. Finally, the emphasis on testing has resulted in parents to "opt out" and in New York State 20% opted out with middle class Long Island having a 52% "opt out" rate.

The Common Core saw the Republican Tea Party and the Left wing of CONTINUE READING: Chaz's School Daze: Common Core Is Rapidly Losing Favor Nationally

CURMUDGUCATION: MI: Governor Whitmer Files Private School-Whomping Brief

CURMUDGUCATION: MI: Governor Whitmer Files Private School-Whomping Brief

MI: Governor Whitmer Files Private School-Whomping Brief

Back in 2016, the Michigan legislature, always on the lookout for a way to send public tax dollars into private pockets, passed Section 388.1752b, a little amendment to the School Aid act that required the state to reimburse private schools for any money they spent "complying with health, safety, or welfare requirement mandated by a law or administrative rule of this state."

In other words, the state would pay them to follow the law.

This lady. I like this lady.

It's intriguing to imagine how a law like this would play out in the rest of the private sector. "We have a bunch of work to do to get up to code, but don't worry-- the state will pay for all of it." It's easy to imagine how this could be abused as well. Church needs some more access ramps and that will mean redoing the whole façade of the building; just call the state and have them write a check.

But Michigan has an constitutional ban on giving public money to private and/or religious schools. So roughly five minutes after 388.1752b was passed, it was being taken to court. Now that it's made it to the Michigan Supreme Court, it's been generating a steady string of motions and amicus briefs from interested parties, like the Michigan Catholic Conference.

Today the stack of briefs got a bit taller with an addition from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Michael Rice.

Having taken a look at the case, the governor and superintendent have concluded "that the state can provide funds to nonpublic schools to help them pay the costs of complying with state CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: MI: Governor Whitmer Files Private School-Whomping Brief

Pearl Clutching Over PISA | Live Long and Prosper

Pearl Clutching Over PISA | Live Long and Prosper

Pearl Clutching Over PISA

The latest PISA scores have been released and edu-pundits are clutching their pearls because “our scores are terrible.” Yet hardly anyone has mentioned that, just like in the past, the scores in the US are lower than many others in the OECD because the US has a high rate of child poverty.

I wrote about this after the last release of PISA scores…

The problem that DeVos and others don’t understand, or just simply ignore, is poverty. American public schools accept everyone and test everyone. Not all countries do that. We don’t weed out our poor and low-achieving students as they get older, so everyone gets tested. To be fair, Secretary DeVos might not know this. She never attended a public school and never sent her children to public schools. In her experience, children who weren’t achieving academically might have been weeded out of her private schools. She probably never realized that they were then sent to public schools, where all students are accepted.

The fact is that students who come from backgrounds of poverty don’t achieve as well as students from wealthier backgrounds. And we, in the U.S. are (nearly) Number One in child poverty.

North Carolina blogger Stu Egan (Caffeinated Rage) did notice it this time and posted…

Poverty Affects Schools, No Measurable Differences in 15 Years, And Reforms Have Not Worked: What The PISA Scores Show Us

What DeVos got wrong is that we as a country are not average. We actually CONTINUE READING: Pearl Clutching Over PISA | Live Long and Prosper

CATCH UP WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE)

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

CATCH UP WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE)

Urban Migration is Surging. Can Smart Cities Meet the Challenge?

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h

'Globally we are adding about 3 million people to urban areas each week. Over the course of the year, this number can be equated to roughly 50 Chicagos. This influx of people could make everyday life in urban areas more chaotic than ever. We will need a new playbook for how cities can better handle this massive influx of people. With such population surges, we can use citizen-centric data—computa

"These women were defining another way of looking at beauty" -- Mickalene Thomas Talks Pam Grier, Naomi Sims and the Black Women Who Inspired Her

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h

'It’s a busy time for Mickalene Thomas . The prolific artist has just opened solo shows at New Orleans’s Contemporary Art Center and Baltimore Museum of Art; she also turned Miami Beach’s The Bass museum into an immersive art installation-cum-performance stage inspired by her mother’s apartment in the 1970s. Yet, despite her intense production schedule, Thomas found a moment to welcome Art Basel

The Activist: Patrisse Cullors Talks 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Reform L.A. Jails'

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h

'What will it take to provide great opportunity for all? Patrisse Cullors , Co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Founder and Chairperson of Reform L.A. Jails , joined The Atlantic ’s Todd Purdum to discuss her own path to becoming an activist, her current work, and how the Black Lives Matter movement was formed.' -- AtlanticLIVE

How Abstract Expressionism Changed American Art

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h

'In post World War II New York City, a new group of artists including Mark Rothko , Jackson Pollock , Willem de Kooning , Lee Krasner , Joan Mitchell , & Clyfford Still started a movement known as Abstract Expressionism and took the art world by storm.' -- American Masters PBS

The Largest Slave Rebellion Was Hidden From U.S. History

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h

'The largest slave revolt in U.S. history, The 1811 German Coast Uprising, happened outside New Orleans and you’ve probably never learned about it. Artist Dread Scott recently curated a historical reenactment of the revolt.' -- AJ+

Dick Gregory and the History of Black Comedy: A Conversation with Author and Literary Critic Mel Watkins

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h

Mel Watkins, the author of, On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy and Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry , joins Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal in conversation at the North Star Church of the Arts.

DEC 02

Michael Eric Dyson's Argues in 'Jay-Z: Made in America' for the Value of Hip-Hop as Serious Study

by Mark Anthony Neal / 5d

'NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Michael Eric Dyson about his book which examines hip-hop's Jay-Z as a cultural icon. The book is called: JAY-Z: Made in America .' -- Morning Edition

DEC 01

A Nigger Un-Reconstructed: The Legacy of Richard Pryor

500+by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

by Mark Anthony Neal | @NewBlackMan | NewBlackMan (in Exile) "Unreconstructed black men don't have the manners of their reconstructed 'Negro' brethren, who are always trying to put a 'civilized' face on their blackness, especially in the company of white folks." — -- Quincy Troupe "I think that niggers are the best of people who were slaves, and that's how they got to be niggers 'cause they stol

NOV 30

Tiny Desk Concert: Black Uhuru

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'Considering the state of global politics, there's never been a better time to get reacquainted with the righteousness of Black Uhuru . The iconic reggae band, whose name means "Black Freedom" in Swahili, is still going strong after more than 40 years, and they brought their much-needed songs of solidarity to the Tiny Desk . Fittingly, the set begins with "Here Comes Black Uhuru," a telling and l

'Atlantics' Is A Haunting Refugee Story — Of The Women Left Behind In Senegal

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'In the new movie Atlantics , directed by Mati Diop , a group of young men set off on a boat for Spain from the coast of Senegal. They're fed up with their lives, and have made the fateful — and fatal — decision to sail to Europe. But Atlantics , which won the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival is not a movie about them. It's the story of the women they've left behind. And it's a ghos

Amanpour & Company: Ford Foundation President Darren Walker on Philanthropy

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'In “From Generosity to Justice: A New Gospel of Wealth”, Darren Walker articulates a bold vision for philanthropy in the 21st century, joined by an array of thinkers, activists, and leaders from every field, sector, and walk of life. Walker sits down with Walter Isaacson to discuss his personal journey and how philanthropy can be a tool for achieving economic, social, and political justice.' --

19-Year-Old Filmmaker Phillip Youmans on 'Burning Cane'

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'19-year-old Phillip Youmans ’ first film Burning Cane won three awards at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. He has made history as the youngest director to feature in the festival and the first African American director to win the top prize, and he spoke with Alicia Menendez about his story.' -- Amanpour & Co.

Robert Glasper Names Favorite Hip-Hop Jazz Samples

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'In this clip from People's Party , Robert Glasper and Talib Kweli discuss all-time great Jazz samples in Hip-Hop songs, including favorites from A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and J Dilla.' -- UPROXX Video

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. How Is It Different From PTSD?

by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

'How is Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome different from PTSD? Dr. Joy DeGruy explains how trauma can be passed on generation after generation.' -- AJ+

Left of Black S10:E6: “Black Studies has always been ahead of its moment” – A Conversation with Petal Samuel

97by Mark Anthony Neal / 6d

Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan) is joined in the studio by Dr. Petal Samuel ( @iounalao ), an assistant professor in the Department of African, African American and Diaspora Studies at the University of North 

NewBlackMan (in Exile)