Jersey Jazzman has this up on the “shiny thing” defense of Gov. Christie for bridgegate….when you’re under fire, create a distraction, and Christie’s favorite is bashing teachers. Be sure to click on the link for the deplorable conditions of the schools.
Category Archives: schools
Speaking of self-appointed Education Gurus…
Diane Ravitch has this up on John Deasy refusing to include arts in his budget, even though there was a Resolution requiring it!
It is just mindboggling how someone can ignore the will of the people who are paying his salary!
Education: Throwing kids into the deep end
Seamus McCarville has a thoughtful post up on the nonsensical approach of Common Core and its proponents.
I went to the NYSUT website and briefly looked over the cheerleading of Common Core. It states that up until now, there has been a wide variation of standards from place to place…like that indicates failure…
…and as I’m reading that, I’m thinking of all the contributions to America that have happened by people who came from different areas of the country with different educational systems–Neil Armstrong pops into my head as I type–he was not educated under Common Core…
What about the artists? What about the musicians? What about culinary endeavors or farming? This is just sooo short-sighted and myopic in that it has such a narrow focus of what these self-appointed education gurus have deemed important.
They seem to want robots teaching class…instructing them which side of the classroom to be on? Seriously?? Micro-manage much?
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More on Education:
Mercedes Schneider has this up on Arne Duncan blaming everyone else but himself.
The PR ads against Teachers and Public Education
Mercedes Schneider has this up on a billboard blasting Randi Weingarten and teachers unions (read: public education). (hat tip to Diane Ravitch)
Note that sleazy Rick Berman is behind this attack ad.
This is what parents have to look forward to, with dictatorships as Charters:
This is a comment signed Concerned Charter Teacher:
I work at Success Academy and thought you might be interested in the following. Just heard that we are planning a pro-charter parent march on October 8th. Our schools are being closed for the morning. Teachers, parents, students, and central office staff are being required to join the march. Other charter schools are joining as well. Several emails from senior leadership make it clear that the event is not optional. It seems very unethical that adults and children are being forced into this political statement, but I don’t know what, if anything, can be done. [Emphasis added.]
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Event is not optional.
Thinking is not optional.
Art is not optional.
Music is not optional.
Being a kid is not optional.
Slanting the news
Diane Ravitch has this up on Politico’s slanted reports on Education. I have noticed this myself lately of the few articles I’ve read on there–a definite change in the wind, so to speak. The comments are interesting, too, as others have noticed and some suspect the Billionaires Media Club is at work here.
From the comments:
Ryan
It’s the billionaire boys club at work again, I’m afraid. Stephanie B. Simon was a superb reporter working stories on the privatization of public schools, and Silicon Valley’s and Wall Street’s pieces of the pie. Then she was hired by Politico, and her stories have changed. Similar thing happened to the NYT Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Mike Winerip, who early on did a great piece on the scam that is K-12 Inc’s so-called ‘virtual schools.’ Really K-12 is just peddling incredibly overpriced software and a few overloaded teachers to answer questions. NYT offered him full-time work, and put him on the baby boomer beat (?) and now he is writing its Motherlode blog — dispensing advice to parents. Gates $$ have totally shifted Ed Week’s reporting — it seems they aren’t even bothering to re-write the press releases fro the privatizers. PBS has done only a little reporting on the privatization of education. Rachel Maddow is silent. And on it goes.
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(underlining is mine to emphasize reporters’ collaboration by silence or slanted reporting.)
Republican Mask – Democrat Mask
Reclaim Reform (Ken Previti) has this up on the Chicago Teachers Union’s new IPO….the solution isn’t with those wearing Democrat or Republican Masks whom are in reality corporate employees…but with us.
God bless Karen Lewis and the CTU.
Gov. Pence wants to give $1 billion to businesses
…in the form of a tax break…by eliminating property taxes for businesses.
From the article:
An analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency determined that if the tax were eliminated, schools and cities in Lake County would lose $74.2 million, Porter County $14 million and LaPorte County $7.2 million. That’s about the same annual impact as property tax caps, which have decimated government services in all three counties.
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I can smell ALEC all over this push to eliminate taxes for the wealthiest while putting more of the burden on the middle class and poor, if they try to make it up through sales tax.
And then there’s the continued assault on Glenda Ritz’ authority as a duly elected official who got more votes than Pence. (Indeed, they were practically begging people to attend his inauguration. A website reported that 1500 people attended his inauguration….I’m betting that 1,000 were homeless people given $20 to be there. Or perhaps state workers threatened with their jobs if they didn’t attend. /snark) I also tried to access the site that lists Pence’s contributors for his inauguration day–the website was listed as suspicious! Nope, not going to risk that.
Anyway, here we are still under the death grip of the Koch brothers and neocon toadies….
The weather…what else.
You know it’s bad when we’re as cold as…Canada. They’re expecting wind chills to reach -43 below here. Brrrr.
So… pretty much all the businesses and schools in the area are closed. Canadians? Meh, those poor kids go to school anyway. Good Grief.
Ah, Rahm Emanuel, his compassion and concern is just…underwhelming. Good Grief, how callous can one person be?
And, from my own little corner of the world–
Duncan interferes with NY school chancellor choice
Fred Klonksy links to a report by Valerie Strauss about talk that Arne Duncan has influenced the choice of NY chancellor. Unethical. Arrogant. Micro-manager= Duncan.
An Educator for Chancellor…what a concept…
Bill de Blasio better check with ole’ slick Willy and Hilly to rethink his choice for Chancellor. He must be mistaken, because Bill, Hillary, Michelle Rhee, Eli Broad, and Bill Gates don’t approve of actual educators being involved in…you know…education administration. De Blasio obviously didn’t get the memo that he needs to appoint an investment banker, technology terrorist, or some other profiteer to run the schools. /very snarky
Eagle 