Category Archives: bullying

Cheap Real Estate – your local school **edited

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Jan Ressenger has this disturbing link to a Philly.com article on investors buying school building cheaply.  She also has this link to a Valerie Strauss report in the Washington Post.

Strauss reprinted a report by Helen Gym:

For more than 10 months, Parents United for Public Education and our lawyers at the Public Interest Law Center of  Philadelphia have been fighting to make public the Boston Consulting Group’s list of 60 schools recommended for closure and the criteria it used for developing the list. In 2012, BCG contracted with the William Penn Foundation to provide “contract deliverables,” one of which was identifying 60 public schools for closure. William Penn Foundation solicited donations for this contract, including some from real estate developers and those promoting charter expansion. The “BCG list” was referred to by former Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen in public statements. But District officials refused to release the list, saying that it was an internal document and therefore protected from public review.

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Does anybody else smell ALEC involvement?  I mean, the playbook of hiding what should be public information is sooo ALEC.

Gym makes the point that these records, although termed “internal” are shared with philanthropic organizations and stakeholders.  I would like a definition of stakeholder—because from where I sit, the public IS a stakeholder.

And she is right on with the query: is Right to Know now Pay to Know?

**edited to correct attribution. Oops.

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Diane Ravitch has a link up to this excellent article by DSWright.  Notice how Duncan ignores the racist remark and patronizes people once again by dismissing it as just awkward delivery of the message.  He again lies about how our kids are doing in schools–they are not failing, No Child Left a Mind and Race to the Bottom are failing!!  Common Core is an outrageous legalized plan of child abuse that requires kids to answer questions that are above their psychological development.

Duncan also slips into the conversation how “partnering” with corporations is being promoted.  The lines are being blurred between public and private sectors.

Nowhere in Duncan’s speech does he talk of better educated kids for well-rounded citizens to sustain a democracy.  The promotion of the corporate octopus into public education will use schools as their personal training centers (more than they already are)—NOT for democracy.  Well educated people ask too many questions.  They know too much to take whatever is dished out.

The knockout game

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Well, I think society has reached an all time low.   I can’t believe the psychobabble that the area of the brain for excitement develops sooner than other areas of reasoning, therefore, these teenagers are not in control….what utter b.s.  Little children know right from wrong at an early age.  They know if they hit someone, there will be consequences.

These kids are sociopaths with no regard for others. Only a sociopath would enjoy hurting someone.

And they’re cowards, too, who pick on people unaware of the violence about to befall them, so they can’t fight back.

But, hey, when they see adults using drones…well…it’s hard to argue that we’re setting a good example.

 

Knowing history

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(woke up yesterday with a migraine-like headache from the stupid chemtrails.  Thought it best that I not post.)

At about 12:30 today, I asked the kids if they knew what happened this day 50 years ago…hoping that they knew.  Nope.  I told them what happened (briefly, no gore), and then told them some of the things JFK did.

It was disheartening that they knew so little of the circumstances or about John F. Kennedy.  I’ll bet they are very aware of presidents who promote war, however. (cynical, I know, but the over-emphasis on war in textbooks and the absence of praise for peace is glaring.)

It all seems like it happened yesterday to me.  And they have no comprehension of how this day changed everything.  I wished I could have gone into more detail with them, but that would not have been appropriate.   And as I write that, i’m thinking….these kids witness more violent acts than any generation before them….why would this not have been appropriate….?  I clumsily tried to explain to them that our society is more violent now than it was then–how could I convey that to them when they have no idea how that act, and the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the rest were out of the ordinary?    They hear about violence daily.  They experience bullying at school.  They’re being pressured to perform like circus animals at school.  Their world is so far removed from Camelot….it’s like trying to explain colors to someone who is blind.

 

Rep. Brower of Hawaii smashes the homeless… **edited

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meager possessions.  (hat tip to Harsh Reality who, unfortunately, doesn’t care about the “moochers”). **see comments–apparently Harsh Reality does care…sarcasm doesn’t translate well on the ‘net.

I am beyond comprehension of this horrible person.  Who would do that?  What does he think he’s accomplishing?  As others pointed out in the comments, the person IS STILL HOMELESS after this self-righteous jerk destroys what little they have.

Just another compassionate conservative. Yep.  Probably takes taxpayer paid-for junkets to exotic locations, eating steak on taxpayer dollars, and probably gets free coffee and donuts on the taxpayer dime, too, while the homeless go hungry and scrape by with dumpster diving…

Education News

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Here’s a great post on what is happening to the kids.  You know….those kids that the reformers say they are concerned about??

G2 put a comment linking to this post. I found this passage especially poignant:

It is imperative, therefore, that we make school a supportive environment free of the extreme stress that can harm healthy development. Some stress is productive and promotes growth. However, especially for children living in poverty, creating an unnecessarily stressful environment has long-term damaging effects.

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To label schools as “just” a place to get an education is a short-sighted, narrow view.  Children in poverty are already stressed out by worrying that they won’t have enough to eat that day…that Mom will be crying again because she doesn’t know how she’s going to pay the bills…

…and the one thing that can make that child feel worth something?  Knowing the answer to a question the teacher asks.  Getting an “A” or even a “B” on a test.   Having a teacher provide a treat on his/her birthday….which he/she might not get at home because there just isn’t any extra.

School can be the difference between a poor kid seeing beyond their environment and reaching beyond their little world.

More here:

Child-development experts have decried the age-inappropriateness of the Common Core. In 2010, more than 500 people signed a statement stating that the “standards conflict with compelling new research in cognitive science, neuroscience, child development, and early childhood education about how young children learn, what they need to learn, and how best to teach them in kindergarten and the early grades.”

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A reminder of the nonsensical approach of Common Core.

This just says it all:

The U.S. Department of Education hyped the Common Core as creating a “national market” for “educational entrepreneurs.”

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Makes you sick, doesn’t it??

One of the commenters said that homeschooling is the next step.  Yes and No.  If you’re wealthy enough that one parent can stay home, you can do that.  And we would lose so much of the connectedness that school encourages.  We would be further isolated from each other.  I just can’t wrap my brain around that–our children and grandchildren will be living in the same neighborhood, but regarding the others as strangers.  I see kids out playing in the neighborhood and it makes my heart sing.  If this continues, there won’t be the shared experience of discovering new things together, of sharing their personal stories in class discussions (finding common ground or discovering other cultures), of class plays, of singing together, of inspiration…

Bring it on, Arne.  She’s referring to this by Duncan. Oh.My.God.  Did he really say that??  Did he really just insult a group of women who know their children and know their schools and know their teachers?  Is he really that condescending and arrogant? And racist?  I mean, really, if it was stated that a group of “angry, black women” were not accepting their failing schools, it would be seen as the racist statement that it is.

There’s another link here, to a report on Common Core playbook, from the Perdido site.

There’s more but this is making me so depressed I need to step away for the moment.

Silkwood

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Karen Silkwood died on this day nearly forty years ago.  Her death was ruled an accident, but there was controversy surrounding her.  I didn’t want to let this day go by without putting her story out there.  Her story highlighted another aspect of the nuclear industry–manufacturing.  As always, when there is a profit to be made, corners are cut to obtain the biggest profit.

Karen was asking questions and that is never a popular with manufacturers who cut corners on safety.

I hope she is at peace.

75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht

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Germans observed the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht (night of broken glass) when the assault against the Jews began in earnest.

It’s hard to watch the video of it.  The pure hatred of the dark ones sends chills down my spine.

(kind of like the war on the poor, children (public ed.), and the elderly (Social Security) and the overreach of the NSA in the U.S. now, eh?)

Arafat

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Global News has this up on the poisoning of Yassar Arafat.  You might recall my post on that a year ago.

A report on what polonium is here.

Not stuff to mess with, eh?

And speaking of radiation….howz about some radiated water…? Oh, I know the report states it’s not from the radiated side of the plants, but you know, I’m having a hard time trusting nuclear plant operators to tell the truth when that truth could be politically and financially damaging to their interests.   Canadians, be on the lookout for three-eyed fish sprouting feet….

 

 

Education News

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First, the bad news.  Blessings to you, Diane, for healing.  Take care of yourself–your body is telling you to take it easy.  Believe me, I understand better than most.  Having said that, your contributions to fighting the good fight are truly inspiring…you are needed as never before….but it can wait until you are rested.

This from Seattle Education.  Pretty depressing that Wall $t. has turned its eye$ toward$ the school$….how much can we wring out of them?

The sidebar says it all:

Chris Hedges

“Any time hedge fund managers…when they walk into the inner city areas and start talking about poor children’s education, it’s not because they want kids to read and write, it’s because they know that the federal government spends $600B on education and they want it and they’re going to get it.”

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Danny Weil, 2009

“…charter chains would prefer national standards… This would allow them to use prepackaged curricula across their charter outlets no matter the location…for dummied down standardized curriculum keeps costs down and the dispensation is formulaic and repetitive. This is the Walmart model of education.”
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Interesting that he put it as the “Walmart model of education”….since we now know that the Clintons have been trying to bust the teacher’s unions since the 80s and Hillary Clinton was a partner in the Rose Law Firm, which had the Walton family as clients.  Um-hmmm…

Overheard by Hedge Fund Manager:  Education?  Who gives a crap about that…? (okay, not really overheard, but yeah, I’m sure that has been said behind closed doors….)

Diane blogs on Illinois Governor Quinn running mate Paul Vallas.  You remember my post on George Schmidt’s experience with Vallas….he’s the one whom helped destroy Chicago Public Schools and closed good public schools in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods…

Chi Town resident posted this link to Bill Moyers’ take on education.

Diane on NAEP here.

Jan Ressenger’s take on the NAEP tests.  She also links to Gary Rubenstein’s blog on the gap between the wealthier kids vs. the kids seeking free lunch.  It’s interesting that the pro-Common Core school adminstrators are now starting to puff their chests and say that their scores have improved among their students, half of which are on the free lunch program.

Diane has a post on how Indiana repubs are doing their best to privatize Indiana schools.

Also, Glenda Ritz, the embattled PUBLICLY ELECTED State Superintendent of schools has had her lawsuit against the State Board of Education dismissed.  The Attorney General states that Ritz’ lawsuit is “unauthorized and invalid”.

More here on Ritz….a true Democrat.

She has a twitter feed here.