Well, those of us following the Education fiasco already knew this, but perhaps the doubters will finally realize the school profiteers have wanted to close public schools all along.
“For the next several years, 5% of public schools must be named as failing – even if those schools weren’t failing by current standards. With few exceptions, schools that failed for three years would be required to close or be operated by an independent private charter management company with a minimum five-year contract. Local school boards would have little authority over this company for five years. For Milwaukee, this change would apply to schools that failed for just one year.”
It’s a movie about Hitler stealing art during World War II. My posts on it here. And here.
National Geographic channel is featuring the story with an interview with the book’s writer, Robert Edsel.
The tale is intriguing…in the days before email and computers, tracking down the artwork had to be through footwork—a phenomenal task. I love good mysteries and good detective work, and so wish I could see the movie as it opens today.
Diane Ravitch has a great blog up today on one family’s monopoly on charters in Minnesota and the resulting segregation.
A great comment by Reteach for America explains just how charters actually give parents less choice…and less power…when it comes to their child’s education:
Charter schools have no civic responsibility.
[…]
Many parents don’t realize this lack of democratic representation or really any say whatsoever in their children’s school is a serious issue until they have a concern about the charter and the charter tells them they are welcome to shop for another school. When they turn to the district for help, they’re often told the same thing. You don’t like McDonalds? Go to Burger King.
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So, imagine that your town no longer has independent restaurants, but only McDonald’s, Burger King, or any other national chain….you dislike the fast food and wish for a home-cooked meal that fits your diet…none of these chains have decent food, so you no longer have a choice. You either eat the stuff that resembles food, or you stay home. They don’t care about you, as an individual, but only YOU as a collective group to profit off of…
….this is essentially what charters like the ones in Minnesota are doing. McSchools.
Indignant Teacher has a story up on the ridiculous test, test, test, mentality of the Department of Education…which turns to cruelty when a child who is dying and a child with only a brain stem must.be.tested. Good God.
Apparently, my communication through her that he was in hospice wasn’t enough: they required a letter from the hospice company to say that he was dying. Every day that she comes to visit, she is required to do paperwork to document his “progress.” Seriously? Why is Ethan Rediske not meeting his 6th-grade hospital homebound curriculum requirements? BECAUSE HE IS IN A MORPHINE COMA. We expect him to go any day. He is tenaciously clinging to life.
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This just makes me angry. How utterly insane and cold and unfeeling to put this additional burden upon this mother whom is going through the most horrible thing a mother should ever have to endure–the death of her child.
I have to hand it to Bob Braun–the hits just keep coming. He has yet another great report up on how the Christie/Anderson plan of trashing public education via closing public schools and pushing children into charters may be illegal, according to New Jersey law.
I am so happy that at least someone is fighting for them. I wish we had them here….Indiana’s public schools will close before Hoosiers wake up to what is really happening…
**note that the 5 principals that were fired…er, put on indefinite layoff…were reinstated. Woot.
Diane Ravitch has this up on the destructive policies designed to push for charter schools that will ultimately mean the demise of public schools through siphoning funding away.
By the way, HB1320, has passed. By the legiscan link, it’s hard to tell whether it passed in the legislature or just the committee. Either way, it doesn’t look good.
Diane Ravitch has this up on Tennessee teacher Laura Hopson speaking out on what teachers really want–funny thing is they don’t want what the self-appointed education gurus say they want…
What a bombshell…the United States Department of Education is taking dirty money from Bill and Melinda Gates.
For a “collaboration conference” April 2012
Another “collaborative” effort to implement Common Core, December 2013
Note the “shared responsibility” white paper….and the focus is on labor collaboration…nothing about a well-rounded education as a robust part of democracy….the focus is on labor and business.
Note the paper states that the Dept. of Ed. is under “immense pressure” to implement labor-management collaborative…um, yeah, I don’t remember asking for more corporate involvement in public schools, have you…?
This sentence is telling:
To advance this collaborative theory of change the Department has been using both its convening and
grant making powers.
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(I have no idea why the font changed to smaller size…must be the pdf.)
…in other words, the Dept. of Ed. has been coercing schools to adopt the policy through grants and legislation…
n February 2012, the Department
announced the launch of the RESPECT Project.
RESPECT stands for Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching.
The project’s purpose is to directly engage with teachers across America in a national conversation about transforming the teaching profession by
dramatically changing the way teachers are recruited,
credentialed, supported, compensated, promoted,
and retained in the profession.
The near-term aim of the RESPECT Project is to elevate teachers’ voices in shaping federal,
state, and local policy, with a long-
term goal of making teaching one of America’s most respected professions.
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This is such a joke. Respect means you pay teachers a decent wage that reflects their professional education and their experience. Respect means you do not bash teachers and teacher’s unions.
“…the…aim of RESPECT Project is to elevate teachers’ voices…” Unless, of course, those voices are in passionate disagreement with you:
Finally, I found this wonderful video that takes on “Waiting for Superman” and all the false claims made by the education profiteers and their allies:
…to foster the culture of cold, unethical treatment of children. Salt Lake Tribune story on it here.
And Olsen seems to not understand how callous his actions were!
If a child’s account is past due, the school I work at will give the child a peanut butter sandwich Or if allergic, something else. But they would not throw the child’s lunch in the trash. Good God.
No doubt the school administration will go to church this Sunday with their noses stuck up in the air proclaiming what good Christians they are…while doing exactly the opposite of what Jesus would do…
This just makes my morning! Bob Braun’s article here.
The explosion of personal anger occurred at 8:30 pm, two hours after the meeting at First Avenue School got off to a delayed and troubled start. Scores of residents who wanted to attend the meeting were kept outside in single-digit temperatures. Then some were allowed to enter an unheated cafeteria. Police officers, citing fire regulations, said the auditorium in the school was too crowded.
The venue clearly was chosen to keep the size of the crowd down.
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See…you can control the negative speech against you by making it harder for the mounting opposition to even get a space to stand.
Remember what I said in the previous blog about education and how it seemed like they were trying to separate kids from their parents by reducing the amount of time at home?
Well, this statement kind of supports that:
a letter to families that suggested if Newark children were home from school they would get into trouble, make the city “less safe” and cause crime to go up
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Where do I start? The insinuation is that parents don’t know how to raise their kids. That kids are little criminals just waiting for the opportunity to commit a criminal act.
Perhaps art and music instruction would be helpful here in creating and encouraging imaginations so that kids could entertain themselves while out of school, eh?
They could be painting, drawing, learning a new game, playing/practicing an instrument, playing tag outside, making snow sharks 🙂 , or doing something to give back, like shoveling an elderly/disabled person’s sidewalks, or running errands…the list is endless….
Eagle 
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