What is happening in Indiana right now is an outrage. The Republican party holds every statewide office but one: State Superintendent of Education.
That post was won by Democrat Glenda Ritz in 2012, when she defeated Tony Bennett, the avid promoter of charters, vouchers, and Common Core, even though Bennett outspent her by a margin of 5-1. It was a stunning upset. Ritz got more votes than Governor Mike Pence or anyone else on the ticket. Tony Bennett, chair of Jeb Bush’s “Chiefs for Change” was quickly hired as Florida Commissioner of Education but almost as quickly resigned when the story broke that he had adjusted school grades to protect the charter school of a big campaign donor.
From the day of Glenda Ritz’s election a little more than two years ago, Governor Pence has employed every political strategy to strip her office of any authority for education. He created a competing agency that reports directly to him. He appoints every member of the State Education Board, which the State Superintendent chairs. Now in his pettiness, he and his allies in the Legislature are moving bills to remove her as chair of the State Board and allow the Board to elect its own chair which obviously won’t be Ritz. If Pence and pals have their way, Ritz will have a title with no authority whatever.
Dave Bangert, a columnist for the Lafayette Journal and Courier, wrote a scathing article about this sordid situation. Most shocking is the statement by David Long, the president of the Indiana State Senate, in a radio interview. In defense of the party’s willful effort to strip Ritz of her duties, he said, “In all fairness, Superintendent Ritz was a librarian, OK?” The implication was that she was “just a librarian,” unqualified for the position to which the voters elected her.
You have to wonder whether he was so condescending because he has no respect for librarians or because he has no respect for women.
Whatever it is, he certainly has no respect for the voters. Ritz was elected by a large margin. As Bangert writes, an attack on Ritz is an attack on the voters.
Frankly, I would like to see her run against Mike Pence in two years and do to him what she did to Tony Bennett. Go, Glenda!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education and commented:
Wow…
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Great, “she was just a librarian”…..well, at least she is not a career politician, with the ignorance and arrogance to think they understand pedagogy, education, schools and policy (like Jeb, et. al). Our librarian is the most overworked, underpaid, position at our school. We used to have 3, with an AV helper, and now we are reduced to 1, thanks to Jeb and school funding in FL (FL ranks around 45th in per pupil expenditure…..all those new rich retirees always reject better funding because they see no need to support schools, of which they don’t use…..yes, I’m stereotyping). Maybe, all state education positions must be filled by people that spent at least a decade in a public school, but then all those rich right-wingers would have no candidates, since most of them don’t use public schools?
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Another fool; and that is being charitable. And what did he do that makes him more qualified? Why he studied the law! I have a few friends who are attorneys, so no bashing here….but still.
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Wow. The general counsel for Pizza Hut Ft Wayne now gets to decide which elected official “deserves” to do the job she was elected to do?
“Superintendent Ritz deserves to be the superintendent of public instruction,” Long said on “Prime Time 39.” “But the fact is that we can’t wait for her to run her course of her tenure — that might not be until 2020 — and have the board not working. That’s not good for Indiana’s kids and parents and schools.”
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How condescending – as a librarian I’m shocked. What exactly makes him so qualified?
Isn’t the essence of our representative democracy that the people get to choose who best represents their interests?
A confounding factor is that you have to choose one individual to represent all interests so on the issue of education, it is obvious which way voters lean, but on the wider issues, they might need to vote for someone who agrees with them in some days and disagrees in others.
Glenda Ritz is clearly the one voters wanted to represent them on educational issues.
The career legislative politicians? Not so clear.
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Oh boy, THE one thing I learned through years of school and college and graduate studies, the persons you LEAST want to piss off are librarians!
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Pence also proposed a state run propaganda mill to churn out favorable news bites.
At what point does that party feel shame or admit they hate democratic republics?
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I think that was hilarious. I think it’s a good measure of how far they are from the people they’re supposed to be representing.
Who would ever object to a state-run “news” agency funded by the public but run out of the governor’s office? 🙂
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The South Bend Tribune ran a story today (Friday, January 30) saying that Pence would back down from the state run media service. Apparently someone whispered in Governor Pence’s ear that states like North Korea, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany had propaganda arm of the media run by the central government. States like Indiana should not do this.
Remember the comment a few years ago about “Pence-orship” ? Instead of muffling free speech, Pence and his government buddies wanted to have a megaphone to broadcast only the “right news” to fill our airwaves, computer screens and cell phones.
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I talk about the media all the time as the greatest propaganda machine in history, and where I write, at Oped news, it is common knowledge that the people running the show have made the conditions very much like Germany in the 1030s… a stressed population, struggling to feed and shelter their families, fed lies and circuses by the media controlled wholly by the oligarchs.
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I use phrases like “sneer, jeer and smear” and terms like “edubullies” to describe how the leaders and enforcers of self-styled “education reformers” talk and act.
Any questions why?
😎
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They want to “elevate teacher voice” except when teachers elect a person with actual power in government.
Then they have to get rid of her, fast.
The “elevate teacher voice” nonsense is amusing if you follow management theories, because anti-labor employers use claims of allowing “employee voice” as a tool to kill labor unions. The employees have a “voice” but no actual power or protection if they say anything that contradicts management.
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The librarian pretty much was a rock star in this piece of reflective fiction set to music:
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I do believe there is a district in Indiana (near Muncie) that is having financial issues, and the town wants to bus in kids from surrounding towns to keep the school(s) open. It wants other towns to fund those “backpack” vouchers and have parents send their kids to another town. If this doesn’t happen, the school(s) will close. What in the world is happening to education?
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In all fairness, David Long is a lieburian, OK?
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The faux pas that the ALEC/Koch Bros. finger-men (aka. Indiana GOP lawbreakers) commit would be comical on a sit.com or on the big screen. Sadly, this is not make-believe.
Since January 1, we’ve had the chair of the Indiana House Education Committee trying to start an education lobbying business. The Indiana house speaker talked the chair out of it, fearing that this obvious conflict of interest might sully his future aspirations of becoming the next Führer of Indiana.
The governor, who describes himself as a christian, a conservative and a republican (he carefully omits Dominionist from the list) floats the idea of starting up a state-funded news outlet to spew forth the virtuous deeds and accomplishments of his very office. He has to recant after a firestorm comes from the press, the voters and the minority party. And of course, the house speaker (his party) said that he thought it was a bad idea and ended a phone interview on the subject with a hearty “Dasvidaniya!” In all candor, I’ve never connected Brian Bosma with humor.
Now we have this verbal blunder from the President Pro-Temp of the Indiana Senate. BTW. Mr. David Long, J.D. is the general counsel for Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne. He made this statement on the PrimeTime39 call-in PBS program in his home town of Ft. Wayne. During the show, he extolls the virtues and qualifications of the appointed board members (all either from former Gov. Napoleon or the current one, Gov. Empty-Suit) obviously huffing and puffing to make their credentials sound far superior to the ELECTED superintendent.
I find it fascinating that he failed to mention that more than one board member is a classroom teacher, OK? The most glaring omission of credentials was that of the board member who teaches Language Arts to grades 6 and 7 and History to grade 8 at an Episcopal School in Indianapolis. This board member has a BA in History and Latin American Studies and was a journalist for 22 years for the United Press International and the Indianapolis Star before switching to teaching in 2003. This board member is an adjunct scholar with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation. The IPRF has strong ties to ALEC and the Heritage Foundation.
Just a reminder Mr. Long…Ronald Reagan was an actor before entering politics, OK? Bedtime for Democracy in Indiana, OK?
This never-ending train-wreck knows no obstacles. Indiana voters are so clueless when it comes to making informed decisions that they have virtually guaranteed the continuation of the Fascist takeover of Indiana.
I realize that the “F” word is not one to be used capriciously. I’ve looked for other words, but there is nothing else that accurately describes it. If someone has a better term, please share it with me.
As for Diane’s query, “You have to wonder whether he was so condescending because he has no respect for librarians or because he has no respect for women.” I’m sure it’s both. Add to that that he has no respect for the voters of Indiana.
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scary stuff.
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If the legislators in Indiana are anything like the legislators in Utah, the vast majority of them are “developers.” Of course, “developers” make TONS of money from charter schools. Plus, they tend to have no sense…
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… just lots of dollars.
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Run Glenda, run for governor!
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Sadly, if the house and senate stayed GOP/ALEC/Koch, they would try to nullify that vote too. These are some seriously malicious and ruthless charlatans.
To truly understand what were up against, take the time to look at Eric Heubeck’s manifesto, The Integration of Theory and Practice: A Program for the New Traditionalist Movement (http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/FreeCongressEssay.html).
It’s a disturbing and frightening read, but it explains a lot.
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Ugh. I was just wondering what to do about lunch. I think you solved my problem.
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This is very, very SAD. The research regarding libraries and certified librarians is clear; they matter.
Click to access CC0211Presidents.pdf
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Yvonne,
Your quote, “Democratic societies need libraries” is absolutely spot-on, but sadly is null and void in the Indiana (and much of the rest of the country) today. We are witnessing (and are victims of) a coup d’etat. Those with the power are not interested in democracy. They want a christian version of Sharia law in America. Theocracy, not democracy, is the desired outcome and critical thinking is a hindrance.
Poverty is a huge part of the plan…
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Public libraries and public schools are two of the most democratizing forces in America. They provide access to opportunity!
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And access to public schools and libraries, by law, must be free!
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I live in Indiana so have been watching this for a long time. Glenda Ritz has been incredibly patient and civil, but to the Republicans annoyingly persistent in her claim that the voters of deep red Indiana elected her because they believe she has the better voice and plan for our public (still a few are public!) schools. Pence and his overwhelmingly male cronies have been condescending, rude. bullying, and dismissive. This legislation, sadly, comes as no surprise.
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Here’s his donor list. I’d be curious about “Zink Properties”, myself.
http://data.influenceexplorer.com/contributions/#cmVjaXBpZW50X2Z0PURhdmlkJTIwQy4lMjBMb25nJmdlbmVyYWxfdHJhbnNhY3Rpb25fdHlwZT1zdGFuZGFyZA==
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Zink Properties (http://www.zinkproperties.net/) Dayton, OHIO based Real Estate Brokers -historically big donors to Bosma too.
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Libraries contain books, books contain knowledge. Knowledge contains Republicans.
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THIS IS NOT SHORT… BUT IT IS IMPORTANT.
I not only cross posted, I spent a morning gathering the links from this blog, that REPORT the destruction of public education that is ongoing across America, because although we all know, I do not meet anyone, anywhere (and I travel, and belong to many organizations) that knows how fast the schools are falling under the DARK MONEY OF THE KOCHS, WALTONS ETC.
ALTHOUGH I AM POSTING MY COMMENT HERE, IF YOU GO TO THIS LINK:
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Indiana–OUTRAGE-Republi-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Diane-Ravitch_Education_Outrage_Political-150130-323.html#comment530812
YOU WILL SEE THAT I have EMBEDDED links to all of the posts at this blog.
I am not an activist. I am merely a teacher who writes and puts it (I.e The WAR ON PUBLIC EDUCATION) ALL together at a news site, OEN, but it is Diane Ravitch who has created a place where the totality of the disaster can be seen.
ONE LAST THING, before I copy my commentary at OEN.
Within a moment, the commentary received a flag from a man who had run for a senate position in Utah: that said: “Susan Schwartz has been a life-long educator, a truly dedicated and experienced one. She continues to follow national and state education issues with a passion and knows “from whence she speaks.” With all the references in her comment here, I’d strongly advocate promoting it to an article on its own.”
I tell you this because that site reaches more than just educators… and that is what we must all do… make sure that everyone we know, all our contacts understand that there is a war being waged. Send them to the commentary with the links that PUT IT ALL TOGETHER, thanks to Diane… and I will let you all know when I finish the article which will add even more links to the destruction ongoing while everyone watches the Superbowl, the Academy Awards, Game of Thrones etc,etc ad nauseum.
HERE IT IS! WHAT I POSTED AS A COMMENTARY! FEEL FREE TO ADD A COMMENT YOURSELF, AT THAT ADDRESS SO THE PUBLISHER OF OPED, KNOWS YOUR VOICE, TOO! I repeat the link!
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Indiana–OUTRAGE-Republi-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Diane-Ravitch_Education_Outrage_Political-150130-323.html#comment530812
If you go to my Quick links here, the war on public education will be undeniable, but today, I put together for you, the best from the Ravitch Blog:
In what seems to be a trend, says Ravitch: “the new Lt-Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, has assembled a committee of 55 leaders of business and industry to advise him on state policies, including education. There do not appear to be any educators on the panel. Lt-Gov-elect Patrick is a strong proponent of vouchers.
” Last month, the Governor of Nevada created a committee of business leaders to advise him on education policy without appointing any educators to join it.
“It seems to be a well-established principle in today’s “reform” climate that business leaders and politicians are experts about education, and there is no reason to ask educators to have any say in state or federal policy.”
This is the talk, both written and video, that Wendy Lecker gave about charter schools at Public Education Nation in Brookyn on October 11.
Begin in NY where public education is going down .
In New Jersey, see how charter schools enroll different demographics.
Here, Brett Dickerson explains that there is a carefully orchestrated plan to liquidate public education.
Here, Frank Breslin, a retired high school teacher of history and world languages, has written an eloquent article about the corporate assault on public education and explains why this assault endangers democracy and the American dream of equal opportunity.
Diane Ravitch sums up his most crucial points: “A specter is haunting America – the privatization of its public schools, and Big Money has entered into an unholy alliance to aid and abet it. Multi-billionaire philanthropists, newspaper moguls, governors, legislators, private investors, hedge fund managers, testing and computer companies are making common cause to hasten the destruction of public schools. This assault also targets the moral and social vision that inspired the creation of public schools – the belief in a free and inclusive democratic society that unites all of us in a common destiny as we struggle together toward a just society and a better life for ourselves and our children.”
“Public schools were the welcoming gateway to equal opportunity for our nation’s children. The fate of Old Europe with its assigned stations in life, its divinely-appointed places in the order of things, was not to be ours as Americans. Inspired by the stories of Horatio Alger, we would seek our fortune because this was America, the country where dreams came true; the land of promise, where pluck, hard work, and a bit of luck would carry the day.
“This was the manifest destiny of the poor and marginalized who came to these shores, and public-school children were ushered into this grand tradition of exalted ideals. The poor and the homeless, the sick and the hungry could lay claim to our help because that is what a great nation did – took care of its own, especially those who through no fault of their own couldn’t care for themselves. This was a radiantly humane vision in a dark and indifferent world, a belief that would insure our survival in mutual concern as a compassionate people.
“Public schools were the flame-keepers of this national creed enshrined in FDR’s New Deal, now under radical assault by corporate America and their neoliberal acolytes who would drag the 99 percent back into the Dark Ages of Social Darwinism, the law of the jungle where might makes right, and the poor and weak go to the wall.
” The Gates, Broad, Walton, and Koch Foundations deserve special mention in unleashing Armageddon upon our public schools, all the while preening themselves hypocritically as angels of light. So intent are these Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in their class warfare against their own country that the sacrifice of millions of public-school children as collateral damage means nothing to them.”
And don’t miss this one: Zephyr Teachout: Hedge Funders and Their Corrupt Effort to Take Over Public Education in New York
Florida never ceases to amaze says Ravitch:. In 2012, the voters overwhelmingly defeated a constitutional amendment to permit school vouchers, yet the Legislature keeps finding ingenious ways to siphon off public funds for vouchers.Now, Julie Delegal writes, a local school board member–presumably elected to strengthen and support his district’s public schools–has come out strongly in opposition to the Florida School Boards Association’s lawsuit against private school vouchers.What you need to know to understand this story is that former Governor Jeb Bush loves vouchers, and everyone on his team does what Jeb wants.
In Louisiana, “Mike Deshotels, veteran educator and blogger in Louisiana, reviews the accumulating evidence and concludes: the claims of success in the Recovery School District are a complete fraud.”
In Florida, you will quickly see that public education’s OVER.
And see how the “South Carolina Supreme Court declared that “South Carolina’s education funding scheme is a fractured formula denying students … the constitutionally required opportunity.”
Public education in North Carolina is going down fast and quietly:
“Professor Helen Ladd of Duke University, internationally renowned economist of education, and her husband Edward Fiske, former education editor of the New York Times, recently wrote about a sneaky move by the North Carolina legislature to undermine the funding of children in public schools. Not content to fund charters and vouchers, the legislature is directly attacking the basic funding formula for the state public system. The overwhelming majority of children in the state attend public schools. Why do their parents elect these people who short-change public education?”
Also, In North Carolina “State Senator Phil Berger (and president pro-tem of the North Carolina State Senate has championed budget cuts that hurt the public schools in his district. He has also championed charter schools, which have minimal accountability.”A recent news story in the Winston-Salem Journal highlighted once again that North Carolina’s General Assembly is bent on starving our public schools into submission with lack of funds and shortage of resources — even the most basic of necessities like toilet paper.”
Jeff Bryant reports here about the rapid expansion of charters in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, which seem to be ground zero for the “reform” movement, with a sympathetic conservative governor and conservative legislature.
Read about the corruption in Misssouri, where a federal judge has fined Imagine Schools $1 million. See here for the story in the Columbus Dispatch. Imagine is one of the largest for-profit operators in the nation.
And here, in Ohio George Joseph reports in “Jacobin” about “widespread corruption” in Gulen charter schools, one of the nation’s largest charter chains. The Gulen schools have different names but all have boards composed of Turkish men and ties to an Islamic cleric who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania and leads a political movement .”
In Illinois, “Michael Beyer, a principal, was invited to participate in a task force on assessments for the State Board of Education. As he put it: “The fact is the Illinois State legislature, and I would venture to say every legislature, doesn’t know much of anything about effective education. It was laid bare when it was revealed key lawmakers didn’t know the difference between interim, formative and summative assessments, yet have passed laws mandating high-stakes assessments that have been highly questioned as to their validity.”
or read Moody’s Investor Advice: Charters Draining Public Schools’ Budgets
READ ABOUT THE BLATANT CORRUPTION:
“A new report from the Center for Popular Democracy, Integrity in Education, and Action United is blowing the lid off the lack of public oversight at Pennsylvania’s 186 charter schools. Read how hard it is Fighting Charter School Fraud in Pennsylvania
“ProPublica reporters here tell the story of Baker Mitchell in North Carolina, who has discovered that the free market works very well indeed for those who know how to use it.
See how the corruption works in Buffalo “where Paladino, a multimillionaire in Buffalo who ran on the Republican ticket for governor against Andrew Cuomo in the last election, got elected to the Buffalo, New York, school board. He supports charter schools. He also invests in them. He makes money investing in charter schools.”
Here is one that tells how Florida: Mavericks Charter Schools in Trouble for Inflating Enrollment, Poor Performance
Mercedes Schneider read an article in Forbes about Carrie Walton Penner, the family member now in charge of education strategy for the Walton Family Foundation.” Schneider blew a fuse. Maybe more than one. Carrie wants lots and lots of charters so that the free market will force the public schools to compete. Just like Walmart forces mom-and-pop stores to compete by cutting prices and forcing them out of business.
“Schneider writes about the Walmart business model. While family members are billionaires, Walmart workers work for low wages, and some apply for food stamps. Walmart, she says, has even used prison labor to cut costs.”
Don’t let them destroy America’s road to opportunity, PUBLIC EDUCATION , go to the Ravitch blog, and put in the search field a name of any state like NEVADA, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Pa.
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WORSE than an outrage. We in Indiana are forced to live under this kind of nonsense. I am ashamed. There is a group in Indiana, educators who have put their jobs on the line, who are working for some sort of justice but – I do not know how effective this will be until the general populace rise up – and although many of us are working to do that, Indiana is a Republican dominated state. Tragic.
Any Hoosiers who wish to join in the fight join the:
Indiana Coalition for Public Education
http://www.icpe2001,com
or
PO Box 7093
Fishers, IN 46037
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For goodness sake, go to PER DAILY AND SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN LAUSD, WHERE 10,000 TEACHERS BIT THE DUST, accused and fired with NO representation by the unions.
http://www.perdaily.com/2015/01/were-you-terminated-or-forced-to-retire-from-lausd-based-on-fabricated-charges.html
http://laschoolreport.com/a-turbulent-year-in-la-unified-our-top-12-stories-of-2014/
Lenny isenberg, who has put up this blog for a decade to get the story out there, so teachers in other states would see that this was a nationwide problem, maintains that until teachers stop running, stop complaining and RISE UP and say ENOUGH, as a group, nothing will change. Individuals sue all the time… some win after spending all their savings, and years of their lives… others lose everything, but no where in the press do their stories appear, so that teachers like you in Indiana, do not know this is a nationwide assault, a war on teachers so the schools will fail, and they can fix it…. with expensive tech for example…Here’s how that high tech works for the language impoverished child
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DEzerov
January 30, 2015 at 11:57 am
said
“Since January 1, we’ve had the chair of the Indiana House Education Committee trying to start an education lobbying business. ”
Ah yes, meet Indiana House Education Committee Chairman Mr. Robert Behning…who happens to be a florist.
I don’t think he would enjoy it if I sponsored a bill that said that his flowers were “ineffective” if they didn’t produce enough blooms without fertilizer. Or if his flowers were judged on the basis of how they match up with the average growth of all other flowers in his city.
I think Mr. Behning has been playing in the weeds (the smokeable kind).
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He opined in the Indy press four years ago when potential customers (insinuated “disgruntled teachers”) showed up in his shop on Valentines Day. He accused them of not buying anything, but just impeding his business. He is, after all, just a part time lawmaker…
http://www.wthr.com/story/14007679/teachers-union-denies-plan-to-target-lawmaker
Jesus-H-Tapdancin’-Christ! Talk about wanting it both ways!
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Thank you for your faithfulness and diligence in reporting this outrage! As a teacher in IN, I am appalled daily by the tyranny here. This is beyond persecution; it is tyrannical and not in the best interest of kids whatsoever. The only ones who gain here are the politicians.
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All of my kids knew Glenda: they went to the elementary school where she worked. I voted for Glenda in that school building; it was my polling place.
I’ve identified as a Republican all my life but I am embarrassed by and angry with my party for its transparent attempts to sap Glenda’s power. I’m not given to conspiracy theories but it is hard to think that this is anything but a pissy power grab.
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Come on, Indiana teachers! It’s time to converge on the statehouse. In the past many of our younger teachers would not participate in rallies or join the union because they did not see the need for representation and did not want to pay union dues. Perhaps now that they see that their salaries will stay at the bottom of the pay scale with
little chance of ever getting a raise, they might be willing to fight with us veteran teachers. We need thousands of teachers to join the fight for public education. This is war.
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Yes! and listen to what Lenny Isenberg is telling teachers in LA
http://www.perdaily.com/2015/01/were-you-terminated-or-forced-to-retire-from-lausd-based-on-fabricated-charges.html
and he put his money where his mouths and is SUING!
http://www.perdaily.com/2013/11/lausd-gives-me-a-chance-to-be-a-hero-for-student-teachers-and-families.html
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Shocking! Librarians RULE!
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In all fairness, Senator Long is just the wife of a television news anchor.
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Governor Pence has no respect for the people of Indiana! This is clearly a violation of policy. Our votes should be honored!
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Lots of opinions in this blog. Also lots of suppositions. Not too many facts, or at least very little that is documented. But, fortunately freedom of speech still exists
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Clarify lack of facts or documentation please.
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Is Zach teaching a lesson on “meta-posting,” posting a post about his own post?
Do we even need to respond to those who pretend Diane’s opinions aren’t of the highest value, or that she’s never published references, or a bibliography? The corporate reformers and predatory profiteers who support Arne Duncan’s use of the “power tools of disruption”—exclusion, fiat, and coercion (Christensen, Johnson & Horn, 2008, “Disrupting Class…”)—need to catch up in the “evidence-based” department, in my ahem, also-informed opinion.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=O23Q4Coh7Y0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false
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This is how teachers are seen, as well. Notice my “name”? I hate having to tell people I am a teacher, because I know what most of them think of me just because of it.
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I often say that I am merely a teacher… but I was no mere teacher
http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html
In mylast 8 years, I helped 1000 youngsters into their lives, and they write me still to say how I changed their lives.
In fact, the things I say here and at Oped, represent the voice of all teachers, and teachers across the nation, tell me so, but when the NPE was scheduled for a Chicago forum, an despite the fact that I have been in contact with her for a decade, and send many people to read her blog, and praise an promote her site, I was not invited to attend, and knew NOTHING about it, ( although I know Anthony, Leonie and Randi) until a post here, told me that someone had paid for my ticket.
I am too ‘mere’ still, to be included or recognized by Diane, although the top voices here tell me how powerful my words are…. nothing says more about respect for the classroom practitioner that that.
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The “Librarian” is way better than a stupid, sexist, fool named DL: Dumb Loser.
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Every woman in IN ought to be contacting their legislators & the Governor’s office over Sen. Long’s comment. This is how a leader in the state legislature speaks about a woman & her profession? He should not get away with this.
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Spoke to Terri Austin last night at a political rally and she agrees that there needs to be a march on the state house. Anyone willing to take leadership on this idea? All teacher unions and unions of all kinds need to spearhead this. Anyone who has a child in public school should get behind this.
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As a librarian who went through the Indiana public education system in a poor rural school district, I learned a log more from reading library books than I did in school. Up with librarians!
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I hope Mike Pence is in he process of committing political suicide. If they (the Republicans) want to blame someone, point the finger at Tony Bennett.
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Let’s all work together and put politics aside for the benefit of the children of Indiana…sounds kind of hollow when on the other hand all you have is disdain for Gov. Mike Pence and the Republicans….I’m sure there are legitimate differences between Glenda Ritz and Gov. Mike Pence views of education and working together requires RESPECT on both of their parts or nothing is going to get accomplished in our great state of Indiana!!
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Denice,
Governor Pence is trying to crush Superintendent Ritz. She has gone about her work and refrained from any untoward comments or actions. What should Governor Pence do? He is on the attack, not she.
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