There was a new tone in the President’s brief comments about education in his State of the Union address. Of course, he promoted his proposal for 2 tuition-free years of community college and the need to help students from debt incurred when pursuing higher education. That was welcome but not surprising.
What was welcome was the absence of fear-mongering about our public schools. No crisis talk about how nations with higher scores would take away our jobs and ruin future economic growth. The President instead highlighted the facts (that I documented in “Reign of Error” in 2013) that the high school graduation rate is at an historic high, as are test scores.
I don’t know if anyone gave much thought to this shift to a positive tone, but it definitely represents a repudiation of the “reformers'” sky-is-falling rhetoric. No reference to “obsolete” high schools, to “failing schools,” or to the ludicrous claim (advanced by Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice) that our public schools threaten our national security.
Even better, the President did not attribute the slow, steady gains to Race to the Top, nor did he pitch merit pay or teacher evaluation by test scores (VAM) as panaceas as he has done in previous SOTU. There were no paeans of praise to charters or to turning schools around by firing their staff.
It would have been nice if he had expressed the widely shared view that our children are over tested and it is time to focus on creativity, not test prep. But you can’t ask for everything.
The President stated the facts, stayed positive, and for that we can be grateful.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Exactly. Sometimes it’s what isn’t said that matters.
Reblogged this on newthingsold and commented:
To anyone who cares about public education, so concerned about all the “reforms,” and does not know who Diane Ravitch is, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with her…
quote: “What was welcome was the absence of fear-mongering about our public schools. No crisis talk about how nations with higher scores would take away our jobs and ruin future economic growth.” yes, I did notice and I was very pleased; perhaps he is backing off a bit; last year I was disappointed to hear him mention “private” or “corporation” or “charitable” or whatever words he was using indicating that the philanthropists were going to solve everything (the fear mongers were creating)… so there was a distinct shift… I’m hoping all of our comments and activism have helped in this regard…. thanks , Diane for this summary today….
I agree and definitely noted the positive tone. My concern was that people might assume these positive aspects of education come from education reforms (NCLB, RTTT) and support continuation. He should have been saying these things for the last 6 years (I support Obama BTW).
I caught the change in tone…I watched SOTU following a community meeting to rally community members to write letters to Cuomo and our legislators. We provided templates, gave a brief description of GEA and explained how it was hurting our district. The meeting was sponsored by our BoE, teachers union, administrators union and civil service union. We are a very successful district with 98 % graduation rate and a Blue Ribbon designation to our middle school, and we are starving to death financially. We are considered a wealthy district so we get less state aid, less back in GEA and frozen foundation aid. Over the last 4 years we have been shorted 20,000,000 dollars. I for one am very anxious for Cuomo’s state of the state address. We need more than a good tone, we need our GEA restored in total now.
I agree. I’m on the Board of Education and our District has lost over $31M. Cuomo will definitely be speaking on education reforms and saying “it’s not all about money”, but for a lack of adequate funding prevents anything else. NYS continues to break the law by not providing adequate funding and Cuomo has done a good job in diverting all attention to “failing schools, monopolies, unaccountable teachers”.
I was also waiting for a negative response about testing but it will happen. I was impressed with his speech and hope wages increase, free school happens and women healthcare issues are discussed. Let’s hope the tide has changed.. fingers crossed.
I’m afraid that I don’t share this positive opinion. “Even better, the President did not attribute the slow, steady gains to Race to the Top” No, he just implied it. This man is a corporate servant.
Meanwhile, the state of my state is Republican, for the first time in nearly a century. That has something to do with failures of the Democratic Party. It does not bode well for teachers.
Way too little, way too late. He continues to serve corporate interests.
At least you see him for what he really is. My goodness people wake up already! Then you wonder why teachers are victimized repetitively. How can you support someone who has been the most destructive force in Public Education to ever to hold office? You here a speech and now your minds are changed.! How gullible can you be? This President is nothing more than a Corporate Crony with excellent speaking capabilities and you guys continue to fall for the rhetoric hook line and sinker.
Sometimes we need a little satire.
Satire???
or
Obamabot, PS??
I totally agree, Real One. Gullible folks elected those we have “representing” us in this country now.
We need the intelligence to realize actions speak louder than words and a heavy dose of skepticism when promised anything by anyone running for public office.
Would not be surprising to see Arne go. Not fired, but just an exit. So maybe it’s time to push a really positive vision post-testing.
I’d be shocked to see Arne go. He has the full faith and confidence of the president and has been a very loyal servant.
And even if he did go, it’s not like Diane’s phone would be ringing with a job offer. We’d just get Duncan 2.0. Duncan is merely the errand boy doing his boss’s bidding. If we want change, we have to change the boss.
Maybe he can invent a family crisis that requires his full attention. Please!
Actions speak louder than words. He speaks well, while doing bad.
On Point FB page is asking for comments ON SOTU prior to today’s show at 10 ET.
Agreed. It’s nice that he gave lip-service to some of the things Diane mentioned, but how will it change the Race to the Test and other Federally supported privatization actions?
this is what I remember from last SOTU “President Obama’s State of the Union address outlined a number of new education policies that could have lasting consequences for students, teachers, schools and colleges– the speech highlighted the unique ways that businesses can help schools better prepare their students for highly-skilled, 21st century jobs.” I think I remember hearing the word “philanthropy” (will have to read it again and find out if he used that word)….
So I agree that there has been a shift in thoughts/tone…. but he wasn’t making any promises about new initiatives in that arena …..
Closer to home, the pre-school initiative in Massachusetts is being dogged by huge budget deficits; right wing think tank Pioneer Institute doesn’t give much hope for anything happening on that front…. yet, we are still not as bad off as some of the other states when it comes to early childhood…. ( progress will be much slower for us in the future)….
Stu, what he said in SOTU won’t change any of his policies, unfortunately. And I have heard that if Congress sends him a bill to eliminate annual high-stakes testing, he will veto it. I hope that is not true. I fear it is.
Oh, I know it won’t change anything…my question above was, alas, rhetorical 😦
Part of the positive vibe from the President comes from the fact that he is winding down his administration and wants history to remember his accomplishments. I think the “veni, vidi, vici” spin is so he will viewed as someone that has accomplished his goals.
Retired teacher states it accurately about “winding down” but Obama is also building something of 2016? for future consideration????
At any rate, this was the statement in last year’s SOTU that bothered me so much… because I knew he was brining in the “corporate types” and would not have any dialogue with teachers when he said this statement and I remember being very angry about it at that time… So perhaps I am just wishful thinking that anything has changed?
quoting from 2014 state of the union: “—
” I asked this Congress to help states make high-quality pre-K available to every four year-old. As a parent as well as a president, I repeat that request tonight. … And as Congress decides what it’s going to do, I’m going to pull together a coalition of elected officials, business leaders, and philanthropists willing to help more kids access the high-quality pre-K they need.”
when he pulls in Arne’s corporate friends in a “coalition” and the Chamber of Commerce and Gates etc…. that was what made me so angry last year….
We wants to create a positive, pro-middle class stage for whomever the Democrats run. It is unlikely that any of his proposals will go anywhere in a Republican dominated legislature. He is posturing, and we all know politics is 99% perception. Rhetoric is cheap!
His accomplishments? Now that is knee slapper. Let’s delve into his accomplishments a bit. 1) Bailed out the crooks who committed the largest theft in the History of this Nation. 2) Hired many of those same thieves to senior cabinet positions within the current administration. 3) Continued the War propaganda machine in overdrive. 4) Allowed the IRS to illegally target groups who were not in unison with the views and policies of the current administration. 4) Forced Americans to purchase insurance which is far from affordable and levied hefty taxes upon those who refused to comply with the mandate all while lying about the specifics of the procedures involved. 5) Completely handed Public assets to private soulless profit centered scum disguised as humans. 6) Allowed the massive expansion of spying on the American public through the NSA by implementing illegal procedures for data collection and surveillance activities. I can keep going but my fingers are getting tired. Accomplishments my ass!
Why should he cry “the sky is falling”? He already owns the schools. Best to progress forward with a “nothing to see here folks” attitude.
“Mum’s the Word”
The “Shock and Awe” has lost it’s punch
And stealth is now preferred
There’s push against the testing bunch
So “mum” becomes the word
I love you SomeDAM Poet.
“Breadcrumbs for birds”
Actions speak louder than words
Testing speaks louder than speech
Breadcrumbs and seeds are for birds
And won’t help the teachers to teach
Maybe I’m cynical, but I come by it honestly.
I fear the other shoe will be the corp’ratization of community colleges.
It’s always about the shoes …
No wonder Obama couldn’t find his comfy shoes.
☞ These are the times that try men’s soles
That is exactly what is going to happen. Community colleges will become an extension of the BS we are enduring in Public Schools at this very moment.
Making Community College free will simply devalue it. Community College is quite affordable for working class families. For the truly economically disadvantaged Pell grants already cover the entire cost of attendance at a community college.
Community College is already affordable and those driving the education bubble know that more families are rethinking the cost of higher education and seeing community colleges as a possible way to circumvent some of the expense by starting their college education there.
I know that they are stating that students would have to show evidence of progress to receive the “free” education, but CCSS have set the bar lower and therefore those attending will not necessarily be prepared for college level work essentially “dumbing down” even the already non selective standards of community college.
Making community college free and open to virtually everyone will lower the standards and drive the higher achievers into the more expensive state universities and drive them into even higher debt.
Here’s another thought about the “industry” that post-secondary education has become. There needs to be reform in how we mandate the levels of training for certain careers, but this may mean that some schools lose students. For example, a bright and highly motivated students (who excelled in science and math) wants to become an orthopedic surgeon. Well, if they were allowed to focus their training on anatomy and physiology, specifically skeleton, muscles and connective tissues; they could probably be ready to be a successful surgeon 4 yrs after high school. But no, we make them do a 4 yr BS, then med-school, take many classes that have little to no relevance on their career…only to delay their career development and burden them with lots of debt… because of the business of preparing one for their future (more classes = more income = institutional profit, which may not equal better prepared career).
As a teacher of HS biology, chemistry and physics I often wonder why we make students take these classes, when they will have to repeat them again in college (I know: repetition is the mother of learning). Yet, I believe that if my classes were all worth dual-enrollment credits the students could move forward faster in their career training, though the post-secondary institutions would lose money because the students would get the credits in high school (which many are ready to do).
Come to my school to learn, to prepare for your career, or to let me charge you lots of tuition? Which guides us?
My niece is in the financial office of a Community College in NY; you would be amazed at the number of students they just had to drop for non-payment of enrollment fees for Jan 2015……. I think you are making an assumption here about what “working class” families can afford. Of course, some of the students you will say are “not motivated” or something but the way I experienced it was — I didn’t have the cash to pay , I didn’t take the courses Around the 1970s my friends were putting everything on their credit cards. I don’t know how you define “working class family” but I do know that it takes two working parents just to pay the rents in some of the city environments where I live — so perhaps things are different in your area of the country? One woman on TV said that community colleges were only $3,000 a year and I didn’t believe here either considering room & board and tuition at the state universities is $25,000….
I may agree with you on a lot of the issues but the outright assumption that it s “affordable” doesn’t match up with what I know (working class families where I live still have one of the parents unemployed for 6 months in a row — still looking for jobs)…..
But of course every state is different.
Making Community College free will simply devalue it. Community College is quite affordable for working class families.
jeanhaverhill@aol.com
Jean, if students were dropped for non payment then either they weren’t very motivated to pay or someone in the financial aid department isn’t doing their job. The poorest students would absolutely be eligble for federal aid, many others would qualify for subsidized loans. If you aren’t qualifying for either of those programs you likely have the income to work the cost into your budget. You already have to work the time in. And if you didn’t want to budget for the education I suppose you could take a personal loan. It is a matter of priorities and the student ought to have some skin in the game. If they can’t even fill out the FAFSA do they really belong in college? Pethaps a government run remedial school for students who are not quite ready for college would be a better remedy than devaluing one of the few affordable college programs. Nothing is free and many of these social programs affect the markets in ways that are poorly understood. Community college is already affordable making it “free” would simply make it less valuable.
At Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, MA a full time student pays $2820 a semester. Four semesters and a student has an associates degree for $11,280.
Rick, I’d be a little nervous about having an orthopedic surgeon only four years out of high school. Sounds a little like SFA – Surgeons for America?
David Roberts’ article says there was also a different tone on energy: quoting D. Roberts “I know some greens were disappointed that Obama leaned so hard on high domestic oil and gas production — “all of the above,” though he never said those words — but it’s worth noting that it was muted relative to previous years. Energy policy got one paragraph, oil and gas one line in it, wind and solar one line each. Entirely unmentioned were natural gas, nuclear, and “clean coal.”
jeanhaverhill@aol.com
“It’s always about the shoes. . . ”
I didn’t realize the Obomber was related to the Marcos.
Shoes, shoes, everywhere …
And nought but flip-flops to walk the line.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
I too like to see this optimistically. Perhaps here is a means to bipartisanship since it seems republicans are more on our side than democrats.. sad to say, but true.
Side topic, though fundamental….what I don’t get in all of this rhetoric of: “high-tech” future, of 1/2 of future jobs will need “advanced education”, of “4th wave economics”, and all other hype….is that it seems false, or based on delusional, unsustainable economics and reality.
The fundamentals of any economy, and the foundations of all economies (which if not provided for and sustained by honest wages, leads to collapse [ex. history bears this out]) is providing goods and services that meet real human needs, ex. food and shelter. So, our farmers, construction workers, clothing manufacturers, health workers, food service workers SHOULD make the highest wages because they provide for the most valuable services….and our entertainers, athletes, graphic designers, web-site page updaters should make less wage, because their good/service is of less relative value/worth (which should correlate to wage value).
Therefore, the “new” economy of the future, that is hyped to be all high-tech is a farse; if our farmers are barely making living wages (unless a subsidy kicks in?), their children don’t want to continue farming because of high work and low pay (while the tech worker at Yahoo who only updates web-pages makes 3 times as much?).
So, take this to an extreme…our future high tech industries are all Google, Apple and Sony Pictures, and our GDP and worth is all based on gadgets, internet and movie-making. Yet, we’ve lost our food production because the wages flowing into it were undervalued and unsustainable, and these industries collapsed, or were farmed out to other nations, so that we rely on 90% food imports. That is the possible “high tech” future of our “advanced” economy?
I’d like to think my son could with only a high school degree, and practical knowledge and experience, buy 10 acres, successfully farm it and make a good living, with the equal, if not greater, chance than making the same living working for Google. For, if our techies, entertainers or artists are more valued than our food producers were are on the path to crisis (which history bears witness too).
I love technology too, but much of it seems not to meet any real human need, unless idly consuming ones free time with entertainment is a “need”. The day a robot hand comes out of the toilet stall to wipe my a__, is the day I’ll go live in the wilderness and follow John the Baptist.
Rick,
“I’d like to think my son could with only a high school degree, and practical knowledge and experience, buy 10 acres, successfully farm it and make a good living, with the equal, if not greater, chance than making the same living working for Google.”
As a partial owner of 12 acres in the country (the bank still “owns” most of it) but that is supposedly mine to do whatever I wish, I would find it hard to be able to get the land to produce a “good living”. Perhaps because of my age, I would find it hard to do so but even a young person would have a devil of a time trying wring a living out of that low of acreage.
By the way I’ll join you in the woods if your last statement ever happens to me!–HA HA!
Thanks Duane,
I muse about much of the tech we invent, and how it seems not to meet a human need, but is just another product to satisfy one’s consumerism. My faith teaches one to distinguish between needs and wants, between essentials and vanity, between thrift and hedonism, between saving to be charitable to others versus spending to fulfill one’s lusts. Much tech seems to meet the latter, not former (Scripture calls this “inventors of evil things”). I seek to live so that one day the Great Shepherd will say “well done, good and faithful servant”.
Rick, you have some strange ideas of how much money “web-site updaters” make. I also think you may be overestimating the degree to which athletes, entertainers, and artists are driving income inequality in the US. For every LeBron James or Floyd Mayweather, there are countless cautionary tales that will break your heart. There’s a reason why educated, affluent parents generally don’t encourage their kids to try to become professional athletes.
“I’d like to think my son could with only a high school degree, and practical knowledge and experience, buy 10 acres, successfully farm it and make a good living, with the equal, if not greater, chance than making the same living working for Google.”
Would he be farming it all by himself? If not, I assume he would be paying his workers “the highest wages”
Yes, one can pay their farm workers excellent wages, if we let food prices really be driven by free market principles. But, no, the gov’t uses subsidies and programs to “help” farmers earn a living, because food prices are artificially suppressed, so that consumers can have extra income, to do things like go to Disneyland. So, basically the equation is something like this: for every 1 oppressed and underpaid farm worker in the US, another middle class consumer has the extra money to support the Disney Corp (and all this may one day be unsustainable)
Sorry, I think a better equation is this: the consumer pays more for food, farm workers can now buy houses, but Disney is forced to scale way back (which is the real value of their “service” anyway).
When the cake is all frosting and decorations, with no supporting layers of material, it will eventually collapse…..as Babylon has and….will.
That’s a lot of faith in the ability of the free market to set fair wages.
Agreed FLERP, for the “free market” really only moves as far as the chain of those who control it will allow. When greedy and wicked people control too great a share of it, it becomes the “fallen market”.
Beware of usury.
Babylon has collapsed?
Metaphorically, it does every time an oppressive entity is nullified, though finally when the King of Righteousness returns. Come, Immanuel, come….
The mother of prostitutes, scattered, but not collapsed.
Would he be farming it all by himself? If not, I assume he would be paying his workers “the highest wages”
doesn’t anyone remember Willy Nelson and “farm aid”? guess what happened to farmers isn’t in the history books that some people are reading.
jeanhaverhill@aol.com
With enough free market, we will reach a point where the middle class won’t be able to afford all the goods and services of the 1%. Then, the whole house of cards will come crashing down.
Then everyone can make a living farming, making houses, or making clothes, assuming anyone has any money to pay them. If there’s no money, we can just turn the clock all the way back and become a barter economy, a.k.a. the good old days before free agency in professional sports.
The day a robot hand comes out of the toilet stall to wipe my a__, is the day I’ll go live in the wilderness and follow John the Baptist.”
Me too, especially knowing what I do about software “engineering” and software “engineers” . That’s one scary proposition, IMHO.
The great irony in the fact that our economy is becoming ever more techno(il)logical is that the traditional trades (plumber, carpenter electrician, etc) are starting to look like some of the best jobs of the future in many regards.
They can not be outsourced. They pay well. They are very useful to society. They allow you to use your mind and hands in intellectually challenging creative ways (anyone who thinks otherwise has never tried to build or fix anything). They provide a feeling of satisfaction. They allow you to be your own boss and set your own schedule.
It’s a real travesty, in my opinion, that high schools have largely eliminated their classes in these areas because quite frankly, they are probably more valuable than many of the traditional “college preparatory” classes. (whether one goes into the trades or not)
“The day a robot hand comes out of the toilet stall to wipe my a__, is the day I’ll go live in the wilderness and follow John the Baptist.”
That used to be a good paying job!
The emphasis on technology requiring a higher level of education is a farce. While technology may have created some new careers it has not fundamentally changed the way other fields such as medicine or law or education are taught. Though technology may be used in those fields by itself technology does not make those fields more demanding. Learning to use robots in surgery is no more demanding then using a scalpel, in fact, it should make the procedure easier. (That is the point of technology isn’t it?) Many of the newly graduated doctors couldn’t diagnose anything without a CT scan.
Yes, it is very sad that we have lost our skill/trade classes, mainly due to the liability and high-risk insurance that is needed (in today’s litigious society). “Oh, Johny cut his finger in metal shop today and I will sue the district for big-bucks, for psychological trauma”.
In CA in 1974-76 (Cupertino, home of Apple, 10 blocks from my HS, saw first logo in 1972) we had full wood shop (with band, scroll, table saws and lathes) and full metal shops (with sand-molds and molten Al), and electronics (soldering, circuit boards, etc.), all in my Jr. High. It was AMAZING and when the brain at that age is exposed to that curriculum and experiences it assimilates science and math concepts in a most efficacious manner.
Where and why did it all go away?
Rick, You speak truth. Every industry is controlled some government bureaucracy or another. I am a registered nurse with 24 years of experience the vast majority of that experience is in critical care working at the bedside of ICU patients (and you best understand that a great RN is critical to whether or not you survive that stay) I was able to go to nursing school at community college. As a widow with two children and minimal marketibility It would have created great financial and personal expense for me to attend a four year institution. That opportunity does not exist for today’s single moms (or anyone else for that matter) Every RN is expected to minimally have a bachelor’s degree to work in the field. This minimum requirement does not exclude me. Despite all my years of ecperience, despite the fact that I am now 54 years old, despite the fact that I have had nothing but glowing reviews, despite the fact that I have two daughters approaching college age, despite the fact that I may have 10 years of work left in me and am not really financial ready to retire, , despite all of this if I do not acquire at bachelor’s degree I can never leave the position I am in and a new grad with a bachelor’s degree will be my boss and he/she will likely start their career with a mountain of debt and a career in which cost control measures are resulting in drastic changes in the delivery of career and he/she is seen as one of the greatest expenses. Yup, I’d say something is rotten in Denmark.
Janine,
“I am a registered nurse with 24 years of experience. . . ”
Well, I knew there was a reason I’ve liked many of your comments.
If you’re long legged, blonde and blue eyed and want to become a lawyer give me a call. It worked for two nurses to whom I was married!
I think, though, that the third time around it might be a little harder to “corral” me-HA HA!!
True but meant in good humor.
Duane
Well, I might be willing to dye my hair.
Shop Class as Soul Craft, you might read that…
To address the issue of free tuition for Community Colleges: This seemingly good idea will play into the hands of the conservatives and Higher Education “reformers”. Many 18 year-olds will now stop applying to 4 year colleges and universities, in order to lower their potential debt. This will effectively weaken, or cripple many of those institutions. This in turn, will support the continued infringement of the “business model” and attacks on curricula. Make no mistake, academic freedom is under assault, just in different ways than our public schools
Haven’t we learned by now that Obama’s words are meaningless?
Ignore his vacuous rhetoric, and observe his behavior,.
¡Exacto!
It seems whether it is from the Left or Right, most politicians are swooning the “sirens’ call”: more stuff = more happiness, consume more and live better, materialism trumps theism, and don’t let any entity deprive you of your “right” to have more.
Yet, Jim Elliot said, “he is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep, in order to gain that which he cannot lose”. As Solomon noted (after his hedonistic quests): vanity of vanities….the rich and poor die alike and their goods do not go to the grave with them”
“The hands speak louder than the lips”
Watch the hands and not the lips
And you’ll see the frequent dips
Under table, into drawer
That will tell you what’s in store
The hands speak louder than the hips????
Been a long time leg man so I’m not sure if I agree.
It is better if you compare it his education speeches in prior years.
I personally consider 2010 the year that the “public schools suck!” message was most heavily promoted by politicians, although I’m sure others might pick a different year 🙂
Here’s 2010:
“Now, this year, we’ve broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools. And the idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform — reform that raises student achievement; inspires students to excel in math and science; and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to the inner city. In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. (Applause.) And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential.
When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all 50 states. ”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-state-union-address
2015, the year of “public schools rule” (get your stinking paws off of education, you damned dirty money grubbing reformers).
Chiara, that was a frightening speech, and we are living with the aftermath of that determination to make every bad corporate reform idea go national through Race to the Top.
I think it’s probably telling that they no longer promote “expanding these reforms” and writing them into federal law 🙂
In fact, he’s dropped ESEA completely. Looks like he was promoting that until 2011.
“or to the ludicrous claim (advanced by Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice) that our public schools threaten our national security.”
Well, tor be fair that was part of the 100% fear-based Common Core campaign.
They’re done with the Common Core. They checked that box. On to the next agenda item.
Also, not to be a nitpicker, but Obama is very precise with language. This is what he said on student improvement:
“Today, our younger students have earned the highest math & reading scores on record.”
Younger students. They probably ARE crediting higher scores to RttT and his administration. That’s why he made the distinction.
With the end of his elected political career arriving at the end of 2016, maybe Obama will become a different president and stop supporting the war on public education. It would be even better if he got rid of Arne Duncan and replaced him with a real educator who knows how to really support the public schools from the federal level.
We can only hope.
Pipe dreams
that’s what I suspect
Sad.
more than sad
tragic!
I have noticed a change in subject choice lately in the professional journals. Most recently they seem to be talking about how to encourage creativity. Just before that there was more talk about social emotional health Ongoing is a discussion of “teacher leaders.” In other words, they are rediscovering the value of all the things they have taken away from education! It would be amusing if so much pain had not been caused in the whole rephorm process, but I think someone is listening even if they don’t want to admit it.
Not once, in any public forum has anyone stated the facts about why the schools were made to fail, by removing DUE PROCESS from the grievance process.
http://www.speakingasateacher.com/SPEAKING_AS_A_TEACHER/No_Constitutional_Rights-_A_hidden_scandal_of_National_Proportion.html
Tens of thousands of veteran professionals who knew how to enable learning were town to the dogs, and for two decades NOT ONE WORD has penetrated the wall, so the billionaires who control the media can bamboozle the public, and the novice teacher can be sent out the door in a few hers, keeping the budget low.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/BAMBOOZLE-THEM-where-tea-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-110524-511.html
Now with the clive of the teacher silenced, we get all the reformers running the narrative, and we should ‘stay positive,’ and be grateful that at least our president didn’t ‘dis’ the teachers and blame them like the governor of NY is doing.
Gee. I am so happy. I would be happier if the union leadership that allowed the destruction of the grievance process be sent packing, and new leadership ensures that the AMERICANS who just happen to be teachers, get a chance to defend false allegations, from administrators who are not sworn under penalty of perjury, and STILL, ALMOST TWO DECADES LATER, CAN SAY ANYTHING THEY WISH.
and folks. LA is the second LARGEST district in the US, and YOU ALL know how they dismantled the largest (NYC)
so MR Cuomo can give public education in NY the final blow, as Diane’ previous posts told us.!
Now pay attention to this from the blog, at per daily;
http://www.perdaily.com/index.php
Both California, Nevada, and the other 48 states have “protections from administrator whims” in the form of state and U.S. constitutions guarantee of basic due process of law. However, one has to have the ability to go into court to seek redress, which is not something that a targeted teacher without salary or benefits…or a viable union…is likely to be able to do- which is why corrupt school district administrators have gotten away with this for so long.
We are seeking to redress this deplorable situation that has continued to destroy the lives of too many completely innocent and excellent teachers for far too long, because city, county, state, and federal regulatory agencies seem to have a politically induced aversion to doing their job.
Every person is presumed innocent until being proven guilty by a preponderance of the evidence in a civil trial. It is the obligation of those bringing the charges to make them under oath that is made under penalty of perjury. This is something that has never been done around the country in the bringing of fabricated non-verified (under penalty of perjury) charges.
This illegal attack made against teachers at the top of the salary scale- 93% of those targeted at LAUSD- is made under the assumption that we- the school district administration with millions available to hire attorneys- can bleed longer than a teacher who has been put on unpaid administrative leave without benefits.
LAUSD Board chairman Vladovic admits that all teachers that the LAUSD Board has dismissed have had this action taken without any verified charges under penalty of perjury against them, but rather exclusively based on unsubstantiated charges. This is exactly the same thing that is going on in the witch hunt against teachers all over the country.
Clearly, such illegal behavior has to be ratified by both state and federal officials- and more specifically by the courts, otherwise this complete denial of both state and federal constitutional due process of law would have been brought to an end a long time ago.
And CTA, AFT, and my own UTLA union have facilitated this process by doing nothing to stop it and everything to facilitate it by not bringing one unified action under existing collective bargaining agreements and law to stop it.
LAUSD admits that it takes an average of 6 years to successfully fire a teacher, if they choose to fight their dismissal. By that time the administrators who have fabricated the charges to remove the teacher have usually retired And even if the teacher ultimately wins or brings successful charges against the administrator(s), those administrators are indemnified by their respective districts.
I am watching LA, where every single teacher accused of anything was fired —
(What do you have to say about those Americans who have no rights, Mr Obama?
Thank you, Diane Ravitch, for pointing out these positive aspects.
I will try and leave it positive,that we are moving foward in our thoughts! But I will still say show me with your action!
Obama did everything he was asked to do by power. In exchange, he got two terms and a place in the history books. Should I really be grateful for his reference to an “historic” high school graduation rate? I am not grateful for his self congratulation or his deferred attention. He’s tidying up the argument for his official legacy while washing his hands of the destruction he has wrought. As a dedicated teacher looking down the barrel of a flawed test that doesn’t count for kids but determines whether I keep my job, I am not grateful. As a community member concerned that my right to local school governance is about to be abrogated, I am not grateful. As a parent having to choose between drill and kill the test or expensive private options, I am not grateful. As a taxpayer whose tax dollars must be competed for and come back to my state only if the federal government grants it, I am not grateful. As an administrator being told that funding depends on my meeting a quota for failed teachers regardless of merit, I am not grateful. Should any of us be grateful for an Obama sales job at the tail end of his tenure? The promises not kept, the promises that have no chance of passing? It’s all just pretty words and lies. Government both state and federal acts in the interests of money and power. Period. And money and power acts only in its own (short term) interests. I don’t know what is coming next, but I do know one thing. It’s time to stop electing words. Stop building hope on lies. There’s some change I can believe in.
Amen.