Jan Resseger sums up the many reasons to be optimistic about resistance to corporate education Reform.
Among them are the teacher walkouts this spring.
And much more.
The Reformers are no longer making grandiose claims. The evidence is in. They have no secret sauce. Just money. Lots of it.
Summary: Democracy beats billionaires.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I am heartened by the number of teachers that are standing up for better public schools and more equitable funding. I am also pleased that record numbers of public school teachers that are running for office. Too much emphasis has been placed on business people and billionaires. They have no meaningful insights into how to improve education. Betsy DeVos is the symbol of failed leadership and the billionaire attempted destruction of public education. We need parents and grandparents mobilized to defend their democratic public schools. The education and opportunities of their children and grandchildren are at stake. This battle is about democracy at its core.
This battle is about democracy at its core. Yes and about the fate of many institutions, not just our public schools.
I don’t want to write a post about this but I need to say it.
I was driving to the fish market this afternoon and punched a button on my car radio and came up with 94.9, which broadcasts to Connecticut and Eastern Long Island.
I can’t say for sure what the name of the program was, but I looked up the station when I got home and apparently I was listening to a conservative talk show. The host was interviewing a man with a British accent.
His thesis, which he propounded incessantly, is that everything and everyone except Trump is Marxist and Communist.
The Democratic party is run by Communists.
The women’s march in 2017 was controlled by Marxists.
The Gay liberation movement is Communist.
Corey Booker and Kemala Harris, both Marxists, will be the Democratic nominees in 2020. If they win, they will immediately give citizenship to all illegals, who will then assure an electoral majority for the Democratic Marxist party.
The “Bible” of the Democratic party is a book called “Brown is the New White,” which celebrates the end of white domination and the middle class.
The Center for American Progress is Marxist.
Barack Obama is a Marxist and not very bright.
Hillary Clinton was controlled by Marxists.
Keith Ellison is a Muslim and a Marxist.
Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams are Marxists and their efforts to turn out the black vote proves they are Marxists.
Every Democrat is a Marxist and a Communist.
I longed to call in and ask the speaker whether Trump was a Communist because of his close devotion to Putin, but there was no way to do it.
The program was coming from Connecticut. The speaker said that without question, Senator Chris Murphy is a Marxist.
He claimed that all this Marxist-Communist activity was funded by George Soros and by a man named Steve Phillips, who is married to Susan Sandler, whose family are billionaires and run a liberal foundation. Philips wrote “Brown is the New White,” the Bible of the Democratic party.
Apparently Steve Philips owns and controls the Democratic party because the Democrats are run by this one billionaire.
His hero: Donald Trump.
I hate this garbage, but I found myself listening in the way you can’t turn away from a car crash. Sick, demented, idiotic, misinformed, misinforming whoever was listening, vile, disgusting.
Now you understand where the haters and the bomb builders get their ideas. Not just from Trump but from this kind of absurd trash-talk. To an innocent, it sounded convincing; the speaker was so sure of himself. Everything he said was a lie.
The station is affiliated with CBS.
Tune in to Freedom on Deck! Chet Martin, Brian Breault and CV Berton cover the news of the day – speaking the truth where others fear to tread! Our live shows can be heard every Sunday from 3 to 5 PM EST on local radio FM station CBS 94.9 News Now and Stimulating Talk – covering Connecticut, Rhode Island and Long Island, NY.
I think that for many people who never spend time looking to find and listen to far-right radio shows there is little understanding of how “out there” much of that talk has become. And for too many rural populations, this is one of the few actual options when choosing to turn on the radio.
I listened to rightwing talk for half an hour and was appalled
They sow division, hatred, distrust, fear that white people are under siege
and they go further and further to the right as each Trump month passes
Probably funded by the Koch’s or their ilk – the anti-communist PR is used by the American oligarchy. The messaging of “freedom and liberty” hides control by the richest 0.1%, as does the publicized deceit that the U.S. operates as a free market.
CBS news is run by a former Fox executive. On broadcast news, John Dickerson is the oligarchy’s boy. Nora O’Donnell is as deep as the Platte River.
In blue state California, it’s very good to finally have my union standing up with us for small classes (smaller at least), minimal testing (less at least), and accountability for charters (some financial transparency at least). –I AM READY TO STRIKE in 2019– The California Democratic Party is finally demanding that Democrats For Education Reform drops the “Democrats” from its name. Even the LA Times endorsed Tony Thurgood (albeit tepidly). It’s nearly November and time to be thankful. I am thankful for Betsy DeVos, Ref Rodriguez, and Austin Beutner, all showing the blue public the scummy red side of GERM.
LeftCoast Teacher:
How are your facilities (buildings, playgrounds, fields) holding up?
I am in ca and ours are falling apart.
We simply cannot continue like this.
The public facilities in my area are holding up fine. They just don’t build ’em like they used to. The charters, on the other hand, are cheap, windowless office building rentals. Regarding budget cuts, Los Angeles has plenty of reserve funds the privatizers look to squander. Austerity can only be pulled off for so long.
Some districts are facing huge budget cuts, which will result in losses of all kinds for kids.