Archives for the month of: February, 2018
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Teens Hold “Die-In” in Front of White House

By dianeravitch
February 20, 2018 //
10

 

A group of teens and their supporters had a “die-in” in front of the White House to raise awareness of the need for gun control.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/white-house-protest-teens-gun-control/index.html

Two friends recruited 15 others and called themselves Teens for Gun Reform. They expected to lie still for three minutes, the time it took for Nicolas Cruz to kill 17 people in Parkland, Florida. As word spread via social media, the group expanded to more than 100.

The youth will lead us. They are courageous and idealistic. They are the change we have been waiting for.

Categories Education Reform

Dallas: Mayor Pro Tem Suggests that NRA Take Their Convention zelsewhere

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
8

 

The Mayor Pro Tem suggested that the NRA hold its convention elsewhere, not in Dallas, but he is likely to be ignored. 

“Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway on Monday urged the National Rifle Association to find a new home for its annual meeting in May.

“Caraway said that the NRA event, scheduled for May 3-6 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, is inappropriate for Dallas after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., last week. The NRA’s meeting will include firearms displays and exhibits, and the group’s national elected officials will participate in leadership meetings. According to the website, ammunition sales are permitted, but on-site firearm sales are not.

“In a written statement, Caraway said that it’s “time to put the heat on the NRA.” He followed up his written comments with a news conference outside City Hall in which he decried high-powered civilian-owned weapons and gun violence in Dallas, referencing both the 1963 Kennedy assassination and the July 7, 2016, ambush on police.

“Caraway said asking the NRA to reconsider was “a tough call” but would put the city’s residents first. He said the NRA’s political positions would lead to demonstrations that Dallas would be forced to handle and that the organization needs to “come to the table” and be part of a solution.

“I would hope they would be sensitively moral themselves at some point,” he said of the powerful interest group that has not bowed to past criticisms. “I would hope that the NRA would be watching, as I’m sure they are, around the country what has just taken place. They have children. They have families. At some point, they need to understand, and I think they do, that there will be opposition when they come here.”

Other officials said it would not happen. The contract is signed and the event is May 3-6.

Expect protestors.

Expect students. Maybe survivors of the Parkland Massacre.

Expect parents. Maybe parents of the dead children at Sandy Hook or Columbine.

Expect teachers and principals and superintendents.

Maybe they will carry posters with pictures of students and teachers killed because of NRA’s refusal to regulate access to guns.

Do they have no shame?

No.

Categories Dallas, Guns

The New Yorker: Calling B.S. in Parkland, Florida

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
6

 

Emily Witt writes here about her visit to funerals and memorial services and grieving in Parkland, Florida.

Amidst the grief, she found one sterling beam of hope: Emma Gonzalez called “BS” on the ineffectual politicians who could find no reason to do anything at all.

It was a bad week for a lot of reasons, but at least we had evidence of one incorruptible value: the American teen-ager’s disdain for hypocrisy.

Categories Guns, Guns in Schools, Resistance, Safety, Students

Teachers Tried Repeatedly to Help Shooter, Starting in Middle School

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
28

 

 

Teachers, social workers, and guidance counselors tried repeatedly to help Nicolas Cruz. His aberrant behavior started in middle school. He was known as a problem. He was referred for therapy. He was sent to a school for emotionally disturbed youth.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teachers-say-florida-shooters-problems-started-in-middle-school-and-the-system-tried-to-help-him/2018/02/18/cdff7aa6-1413-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html

Security guards were alerted to search his backpack for guns.

Why was this very troubled, very angry young allowed to buy a gun?

Categories Federal Waiver, Guns in Schools

Facebook Lies About Facebook for Kids

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
28

Wired magazine reports that Facebook funded most of the experts who “vetted” Messenger Kids, an app designed for children as young as 6. It did not consult critics or defenders of children’s privacy and their childhood.

One of the “experts” that consulted with Facebook was the National PTA, which received funding from Facebook.

What is it with the National PTA? They were enthusiastic about charters and garnered big donations from Gates, now Zuckerberg gets them on board to put little kids online.

Categories Privacy, Technology

Tragic Suicide at D.C. SEED Boarding School

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
27

 

If you saw the film “Waiting for Superman,” you may recall that one of the model charter schools featured in the film was a boarding school in D.C. called SEED. Unmentioned was that the annual tuition was $35,000. The school appeared idyllic, and one of the students was eager to gain admission and realize his dreams.

Now SEED has a problem. A 12-year-old student hung herself, and news reports say she was bullied. 

Terrible things happen at all kinds of schools, as we have seen recently. I am not singling out SEED  because it is a charter, but because it was promoted as a cure-all, a model school.

”Stormiyah’s death prompted backlash from dozens of parents who have come forward to FOX 5, reporting issues of widespread bullying and lack of supervision at SEED. They claim the complaints are not properly being dealt with by school administrators.

“In response, SEED has held multiple parent meetings to address concerns. The latest one held Tuesday was called “SEED Safety and You….”

”The Office of Human Rights is charged with investigating formal complaints made against D.C. schools.

“Why do all these things have to happen for them to have a meeting for safety?” asked Renee Hamilton, the aunt of a SEED student. “That should have been implemented Day 1. And it should have been stayed on top of Day 1.”

“Parents told FOX 5 the school has also promised more supervision. But one parent said she has seen no change since the tragedy.

“Kids running wild, no supervision,” added Tiarra Coleman, the mother of a SEED student. “There should be a parent, a teacher, someone at every door. There is not. Nothing has changed since that tragedy January 23rd.”

“Coleman’s son was asked not to return to school after SEED administrators said he confessed to vandalism. Coleman told FOX 5 her son was coerced to take blame for other students who’ve been bullying and threatening him for months.

“Those boys are still at the school to this day,” she said.

“Coleman has since been trying to pull her son out of SEED, but said she can’t get the school to release his records so she can move him.”

No School is perfect. Humility is best.

 

 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Reform, Privatization

The Implosion of Families for Excellent Schools, Phony from the Start

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
21

This is what you must read to understand how the richest and most powerful charter advocacy group imploded. It pretended to be the voice of powerless black and Hispanic families. It was the Waltons, the Broads, and assorted financiers. The ostensible cause for its demise was the licentious behavior of its founder and CEO, who apparently had multiple hookups with staff members and then made lewd comments to a non-staff member at the education reform Philos meeting. That was the end for him, and the organization collapsed too.

  1. Chalkbeat reports. Key in this account is that other charter leaders were disgusted by Eva’s hardball tactics. It worked for her but embarrassed the others. What the Chalkbeat story leaves out is the importance of the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars that the financiers were giving to Cuomo’s re-election campaign. So, organizing the kids, their parents and teachers by the thousands, hiring buses, staging a march, and waging a political campaign using the children as props was a speciality of FES. No real public school could do that; it would be illegal. But the money to Cuomo was even more persuasive in building the appearance of a “movement.”
  2. Mercedes Schneider reports, A deep dive into data. Her specialty.
Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Some Good Counsel for the President on Presidents‘ Day

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
14

 

On February 13, the New York Times published a great full-page ad that consisted of quotes from previous presidents and other eminent people. It was titled “Mr. President, in anticipation of Presidents‘ Day consider the following words of counsel and caution.”

The ad contains  57 quotes. The article was summarized in Forbes, including some of them.

I could not find a link to the ad.

Here are some of the quotes.

1. Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel in order to be tough. President Franklin D. Roosevelt

2. Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may Be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of things. President John Adams

3. Let us not seek the Tepublican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.  Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, let us accept responsibility for the future. President John F. Kennedy

4. Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. Mark Twain

5. The freedom of speech may be taken away—and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. President George Washington

6. It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. President Harry S Truman

7. I would rather the man who presents something for my consideration subject me to a Zephyr of truth and a gentle breeze of responsibility rather than blow me down with a curtain of hot wind. President Glover Cleveland

8. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President…is morally treasonous to the American public. President Theodore Roosevelt

9. How can we love our country, and not also love our countrymen. President Ronald Reagan

10. We have a tendency to condemn people who are different from us, to define their sins as paramount and our own sinfulness as being insignificant. President Jimmy Carter

11. No person was ever honored for what he earned. Honor has been the reward for what he gave. President Calvin Coolidge

12. He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. Benjamin Franklin

13. Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. President John Quincy Adams

21. Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. President Thomas Jefferson

23. This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in if it is not a reasonably good place for all of us to live in. President Theodore Roosevelt

30. Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. Albert Einstein

36. There is nothing new in the world e  pet the history you do not know. President Harry S Truman

40. It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own. President Herbert Hoover

41. When you single out any particular group of citizens for secondary citizenship status, that’s a violation of basic human rights. President Jimmy Carter

44. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

45. A people who values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. President Dwight D. Eisenhower

50. Leave the matter of religion to the Family altar, the church, and the private school. Keep the church and the state forever separate. President Ulysses S. Grant

52. No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar. President Abraham Lincoln

54.You can give a man an Office, but you cannot give him Discretion. Benjamin Franklin

56. America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. President Harry S Truman

57. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 

 

Categories Character, Citizenship, Courage, Democracy

Australia Has Not Had a Mass Murder Since 1996: Will We Learn from Their Example?

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
36

 

In 1996, Australia experienced a horrendous mass murder known as the Port Arthur Massacre. A man named Martin Bryant went to a popular tourist site and methodically murdered 35 people, including a few that he murdered on his way to Port Arthur and after his departure. Among his victims was a young mother and her two daughters, ages 6 and 3.

This event shocked the nation, which proceeded to enact strict laws about access to guns, registration of guns, and restrictions on private ownership of semi-automatic guns. In addition,  the government initiated a massive gun buy-back program.

There has not been a mass murder in Australia since 1996 and the national adoption of meaningful gun controls.

In the U.S., there are a significant number of people who love their guns more than human life.

Will the latest school massacre in Florida turn Americans against the National Rifle Association and its adherents in Congress and state legislatures? Will it be the equivalent of the Port Arthur Massacre?

The New York Times explains the obstacles to any significant change in gun laws in Florida, which is one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation.

“In the wake of Florida’s latest shooting massacre, and calls to tighten its relaxed gun laws, Gov. Rick Scott declared that now, everything was on the table.

“Yet the governor sidestepped whether he would explicitly support new gun restrictions. And he emphasized he would never “trample” on anyone’s constitutional rights.”

Scott is the keynote speaker at the NRA annual convention in Dallas, May 3-6.

“Florida’s gun lobby continues to instill fear in lawmakers. It is led by Marion Hammer, 78, who grew up shooting rabbits, reportedly packs a pistol in her purse and seeks political vengeance on legislators who disappoint her.

“Though Florida is a purple state, Mr. Scott, a favorite of gun lobbyists, and other Republicans control state government, and they have steadfastly opposed new restrictions. For gun-control advocates, victories of late have included steps like defeating legislation to allow some people to carry guns into airport terminals.
Gun owners are now a major constituency, too: Nearly two million residents have permits to carry concealed weapons, far more than any other state…

”Florida’s pro-gun approach came under scrutiny after mass shootings in Orlando in 2016 and in Fort Lauderdale last year. But, little changed in the Statehouse; bills to limit assault weapons, for example, did not get a hearing.
Even after the massacre in Parkland last week, the only movement on gun bills dealt with proposals to expand where guns could be carried, not to restrict them.

”State Senator Dennis Baxley, a Republican who wrote the Stand Your Ground law in 2005 and is a major gun-rights backer, doubts gun-control proposals will gain traction.”

“I don’t see any interest here on that,” said Mr. Baxley, who represents parts of Sumter, Marion and Lake Counties. “We’re pretty comfortable that freedom works.”

”Mr. Baxley likens gun restrictions to imposing limits on forks and spoons to reduce obesity. He argued the focus needs to be on school safety…

”Changing Florida’s gun laws could come down to two things: Whether Ms. Hammer can keep legislators from breaking ranks. And, the ambitions of Mr. Scott, who is increasingly expected to challenge Bill Nelson, the state’s incumbent Democratic senator this year.

”Ms. Hammer, who stands barely 5 feet tall, has been the state’s chief gun lobbyist for decades and was the first woman to serve as national N.R.A. president. The state’s Stand Your Ground and concealed-carry laws were largely her initiatives.

”Legislators, especially Republicans, fear her ability to marshal angry emails from thousands of gun owners in every pocket of the state, destroying ambitions of even onetime allies.

“She can be pretty hard on people who aren’t coming around,” Mr. Baxley said. “She has a long memory when you cross her.”

Will members of the legislature listen to Ms. Hammer and the NRA, or will they listen to the teenagers of the state?

Ms. Hammer, the NRA, AND Governor Scott have blood on their hands. The blood of victims of the Pulse nightclub and the blood of students and staff at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. How many more children and adults will die until they open their eyes and hearts?

 

 

Categories Florida, Guns in Schools, International

Will Trump Dare to Meet Emma Gonzales, Student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School?

By dianeravitch
February 18, 2018 //
27

 

Watch Emma Gonzalez’s electrifying speech about the massacre at her high school. She knew the shooter. She calls out the cowardly politicians who take NRA money and send their “thoughts and prayers.”

Trump says he will have a “listening session” with students and teachers on Wednesday.

Will he dare to invite Emma Gonzalez?

She is well-informed and fearless. She speaks for her classmates and her generation.

She will not back down.

Let this be the last mass murder, she says.

Tremble, NRA.

Watch out, Governor Scott.

Time’s up, Senator Rubio.

Emma is coming for you!

 

 

Categories Education Reform, Florida, Guns in Schools, Students
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