Archives for the month of: March, 2018
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Steve Singer: A Teacher’s Salary is not a “Free Handout” (NB: Handouts are Always “Free”)

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2018 //
5

 

Stephen Singer writes about the current Age of Ignorance. 

He writes:

“All-in-all, it’s been a crazy news cycle.

“If one thing was made clear during the last seven plus days, it’s this:

“Many people have no idea what a school should be.

“Take West Virginia, the site of a recently resolved statewide teacher strike.

“After years of watching the cost of living rise while wages remained stagnant, educators took to the streets to demand enough money that they wouldn’t have to quit their teaching jobs and look for work elsewhere.

“It’s a reasonable request.

“Imagine if we didn’t pay doctors enough to afford to practice medicine. Imagine if we didn’t pay lawyers enough to afford to practice law.

“Teachers just wanted enough money so they could focus on educating the next generation and still get perks like food and shelter.

“However, West Virginia is a self-confessed conservative state where self-identifying conservatives unashamedly explain that a full-throated expression of their conservative values includes the idea that you shouldn’t have to pay people a living wage for a hard day’s work.”

Categories Teacher Pay, West Virginia

Kentucky: Network for Public Education. action Endorses Gay Adelmann for State Senate!

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2018 //
0

 

The Network for Public Education Action Fund enthusiastically endorses Gay Adelmann for State Senate in District 36 in Kentucky. 

Gay is an activist for public schools and against privatization and looting of the public domain.

“She is the co-founder/president of Dear JCPS, a stakeholder advocacy group in Jefferson County, and the co-founder/president of Save Our Schools KY, a statewide public education advocacy group. Her body of work as an advocate should be all the evidence voters need to believe her campaign promise to “fight to end corruption and protect public schools, healthcare, pensions, and workers’ rights.”

“The citizens of Kentucky are becoming highly aware of the threats to public education, posed by charter schools and voucher legislation, and Gay has been at the forefront of that awakening. She understands that basing a teacher’s evaluation on test scores “leads to high turnover, gaming of the system and demoralizing of some of our hardest working teachers who are truly called to serve.”

“She told us that “the idea that the money should follow the child is one of the greatest fallacies of this entire movement. As a taxpayer, I do not want my tax dollars to be used to pay for a child’s charter school or private school education. I want them to remain in my community schools for the schools to determine the best ways to utilize those funds to serve all students in our community.”

“Gay is also keenly aware that Kentucky is facing a budget and pension crisis, and that the Governor is looking to solve that crisis “on the backs of teachers and students.”

“No one is better prepared to tackle the current threats to public education in Kentucky than Gay. Please do everything you can to support her in the primary election on May 22nd.”

Categories Kentucky, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund

Tomorrow is the Start of #PublicSchoolsWeek: Please Tweet

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2018 //
6

 

Public Schools Week begins on March 12 and continues to March 16.

Please send this email to your members of Congress letting them know you support public schools and you would like them to express their support next week as well. You can click and send here to generate that email. Let’s get as many members as we can to stand on the floor and say they love public schools.

Please tweet your support for our community public schools.

Write your own tweet or use one of those suggested below.

My tweet is: I support #PublicSchoolsWeek because public schools educated me and gave me the chance to achieve my dreams. #LovePublicEducation

And:

I support #PublicSchoolsWeek because public schools are the anchor of their community and the foundation of democracy.

What is yours?

Here are some suggestions:

I support #PublicSchoolsWeek because strengthening our public schools is the best way to ensure our children’s future success and our country’s prosperity. #LovePublicEducation

An educated America is a better America. Want a stronger America? Improve public education.

#PublicSchoolsWeek Learn more here.

I #LovePublicEducation because 9 out of every 10 students in America attend a public school.

#PublicSchoolsWeek. Learn more here.

Local public schools have been our greatest historic asset as a nation and hold the highest potential for preparing each child to thrive in the future. We #LovePublicSchools. #PublicSchoolsWeek

All children have the right to a public education that prepares them for college, careers and citizenship..

Quality public schools build the knowledge and skills young people need to succeed in a global knowledge-based world. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Communities are stronger and schools are better when we all work together to support public education. #PublicSchoolsWeek #LovePublicEducation. Learn more here.

Educated citizens make better neighbors. They bring income and taxes into the community. They are healthier. They are more likely to vote. That’s why I support #PublicSchoolsWeek

When schools are a hub of activity, students, families and the community benefit. Educational facilities are used more, neighborhoods are safer and residents are more aware of the services available to them. #PublicSchoolsWeek

More students graduate when families, community organizations, businesses and service agencies come together to support public schools. That’s why I support #PublicSchoolsWeek.

I #LovePublicEducation because #PublicSchools recognize the unique talents and needs that each student brings (including and beyond academic needs), and offer a wide range of services that support the total child.

During #PublicSchoolsWeek we celebrate the many school professionals who work directly with families to make the important decisions that impact their child and the school as a whole.

3.13 million teachers work in public schools. Classroom teachers support and challenge students every day, building knowledge of fundamental and advanced concepts and skills while encouraging curiosity and a love of learning. #PublicSchoolsWeek

In 2017 83% of students graduated high school—the highest graduation rate in the nation’s history and 69% of recent high school graduates enrolled in 2-year or 4-year college #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public schools make sure kids receive at least one nutritious meal a day. 30.3 million school lunches are served each day, including 20.1 million free and 2 million reduced price lunches. #PublicSchoolsWeek

14.57 million school breakfasts are served each day, including 11.53 million free lunches. Kids who start their day with a healthy breakfast are more ready and able to learn. #PublicSchoolsWeek

45.2% of school districts use Medicaid to expand health related services for students (such as immunizations, asthma and diabetes treatment and vision/hearing screenings). #PublicSchoolsWeek

67% of parents rate their oldest child’s school as an “A” or “B” #PublicSchoolsWeek

Everyone in our school community—teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members, parents, SISPs and more—plays a critical role in helping students succeed. #PublicSchoolsWeek

What will it take to graduate all students ready for the future? A school community dedicated to supporting students and helping them learn. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Preparing students for the future is a collaborative endeavor. Teachers, specialized educators, school and district leaders, families and communities all play a role. #PublicSchoolsWeek

To help all students reach their full potential, teachers, principals, school counselors, other school staff, families and communities must all work together. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public schools are inclusive places. We will educate you no matter how well you read, how much money your family has, the language you speak or what you believe in. I #LovePublicEducation. # PublicSchoolsWeek

We have a national responsibility to provide great public schools for every child in America. #PublicSchoolsWeek Join us in celebrating our public schools.

We should focus on investing in public schools where 90% of our children go, not directing $ away from them for the 10% who go to private schools. #PublicSchoolsWeek

A child’s opportunity for success should not be left to chance. Every child needs a quality, well-equipped school rights in his neighborhood where he can learn, be inspired and thrive. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Resourced neighborhood public schools that are desirable places to be and to learn are our best bet for ensuring every child has a great future ahead of them. #PublicSchoolsWeek

We should invest in making every public school great because that’s what every child deserves. It shouldn’t be available based on how much money their parents make, what language they speak at home, and certainly not what neighborhood they live in. #PublicSchoolsWeek

In many communities, the school district is the largest employer. Teachers, bus drivers, administrators, cafeteria workers, coaches, facilities management, all depend on the school district and all of these jobs contribute to the fabric of a community. #PublicSchoolsWeek

During times of crisis our public schools serve as a key gathering place for distressed communities, providing meals, means of communication, medical aid and shelter for families. Maintaining school buildings is essential. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public schools have a purpose and a role to play not just for individual students, but for communities across the nation. It is the one thing over 90% of American students and families have in common. It is the glue that holds our fragile democracy together. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public education is a vital component of our nation’s infrastructure and public schools depend on the support and involvement of the community they serve. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public education has always been the great equalizer in the U.S. We must do everything we can to keep it that way. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Categories Supporting public schools

Scalawag: Learning from the West Virginia Strike Leaders

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2018 //
11

 

Scalawag is a new progressive Southern journal. Its reporter Rachel Garringer talked to the strike leaders and learned how they were able to organize a statewide wildcat strike in a right to work state.

She writes:

“While the work stoppage has ended, the decentralized, 55-county-wide, cross-sector strike in the heart of ‘Trump Country’ offers crucial insight into the contemporary South and the future of labor organization. What does it mean for a state that voted Republican in the most contested national election in decades to lead one of the largest labor uprisings in recent United States history? What can we learn from the ways in which teachers organized themselves across a mostly rural, geographically isolated state? How did they communicate with one another after they refused to follow statewide union leadership? How does this strike fit into a long history of radical labor organizing in West Virginia? And what were the personal motivations driving teachers, from the coalfields to the eastern panhandle and every county in between, to risk their jobs fighting for justice?

“In their own words, teachers explain why they went on strike, how this fight was about more than education, and what it means for a largely socially conservative state to tap into its deep roots of radical anti-corporate organizing.”

This is MUST reading.

Categories Teacher Pay, Teachers, West Virginia

Indiana: CarolMalaysia Writes a Letter to Senator Todd Young About His Support for Guns

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
6

Reader CarolMalaysia shares a letter she sent to Indiana Senator Todd Young, to be sure he understands that he has blood on his hands.

She writes:

3/10/2018

Corrupt Senator Young, a hero is in the hospital because of your support for assault weapons. He took 5 bullets to save his classmates in Florida

How many more mass killings are necessary before we ban military type assault weapons and criminalize their possession? I hold you responsible for the injury of this brave child of 15 who was shot 5 times and is still in the hospital.

If the point is it’s a great thrill to go to a shooting range and fire an AR-15, make a special permit for the shooting range owners to provide the AR-15, which the visitor uses and leaves at the shooting range.

Here is Anthony Borges’s story: When a 19 year old gunman raged through a high school in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018 a 15-year-old soccer player named Anthony Borges showed extreme courage.

Anthony, who is of Venezuelan descent, apparently was the last of a group of students rushing into a classroom to seek refuge. He shut the door behind him and frantically tried to lock it, but in an instant the gunman appeared on the other side. Instead of running for cover, Anthony blocked the door to keep the shooter out. He held his ground even as the attacker opened fire.

Asked why he would do that, he replied, “What’s so hard to understand about what I did?”

Shot five times in the legs and torso, Anthony phoned his father to say that he had been wounded. He was rushed to a hospital and survived.

Anthony Borges may not yet be able to walk, but tens of thousands of us will be Marching for him, led by his classmates from Parkland, on March 24 in Washington DC and in places all over the country. Hoosiers are going to show that they do not support corrupt politicians like Senator Todd Young who was bought out by the NRA. [$2,896,732] We want meaningful strict gun legislation.

Senator Todd Young, are you going to pay for this young man’s medical bills? You are personally responsible for all the deaths and injury caused by an assault weapon. What about giving Anthony Borges a scholarship? A moral person in your position would accept what he needs to do.

Corrupt Senator Todd Young’s stance:

I believe the “Assault Weapons Ban” of 1994 was bad legislation that needed to be repealed.”

Source: 2010 House campaign website, toddyoungforcongress.com/ , Nov 2, 2010.

Let’s honor Anthony Borges, not just as a counterpoint to corrupt, bought out politicians who leave children in harm’s way, but as a beacon of courage and selflessness for all of us to follow.

Categories Corruption, Courage, Education Reform, Guns, Indiana

DeVos Will Be Keynote Speaker at National PTA Conference

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
23

 

What will Betsy say to the National PTA at its national conference from March 13-15?

Will she tell them to give up and send their kids to religious schools?

Will she urge them to join her in defunding public schools?

Will she give them a lecture on how terrible public schools are compared to charter schools?

Will she try to persuade them to support school choice?

Will she say once again that public schools are a “dead end”?

More important, what will the PTA say to her?

Categories Betsy DeVos

British Educators Decide to Introduce “Risk” into Playgrounds and Schools

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
34

 

Adter de adds of trying to minimize all risks to children, British educators have decided that some risk is a good thing. 

“Four years ago, for instance, teachers at the Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School looked critically around their campus and set about, as one of them put it, “bringing in risk.”

“Out went the plastic playhouses and in came the dicey stuff: stacks of two-by-fours, crates and loose bricks. The schoolyard got a mud pit, a tire swing, log stumps and workbenches with hammers and saws.”

It seems that there can be too much of a good thing.

But then there are lawyers.

Categories Education Reform

Schneider and Karrer on the Absurdity of Arming Teachers

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
11

Mercedes Schneider asks about the cost of arming teachers and about the liability assumed by teachers who are armed.

In the Florida program, teachers will be expected to have 132 hours of training, unpaid.

Who will pay for the guns? Where will they be kept during school? After school?

She wonders:

Is an armed teacher liable for failing to shoot an armed intruder? Is this a dereliction of duty, or will a teacher be excused, for example, for not having the heart to shoot one of her or his own students?

What if a student reaches for that gun, even if only out of curiosity?

What if a student gets possession of that gun? Don’t tell me it cannot happen.

Armed teachers become entangled in liability.

Who will insure them? Their school? Their district?

Paul Karrer, a retired teacher in California, asks about the ethical and practical questions of having guns in a school.

Kids want attention – some kid somewhere will bring a fake gun to school and a teacher will have to decide whether or not to shoot the kid. Ever seen any of the limitless phone videos of kids attacking teachers or substitute teachers? Giving the teacher a gun ups that ante a bit. Somewhere a teacher will forget her gun, (Like one of my cop friends does. Once he left it in a coffee shop. Another time he left it unlocked in his car. And at the shooting range he ricocheted a 9mm from his Glock into cement because he forgot it was loaded. This is a highly motivated trained cop. A bright guy, in his prime.)

Arming teachers is bad in every way. The solution is to limit gun access, not provide the gun manufacturing business with a new revenue stream – (Discussing School budget today -LINE ITEM 4- financial appropriation for weapon allotments – NO WAY!)

Should a teacher have to decide at some point to shoot a student? Should a teacher have to decide to shoot a parent? When the police arrive will they shoot the teacher holding the weapon? The variables are limitless, unforeseen, and all ugly. Teachers and teaching are in many ways sacred. Sacred in a similar vein as with a priest, rabbi, cleric, or pastor. Teachers also have a legal relationship to their students akin to attorney-client privilege — sworn to protect the child’s privacy at almost all costs. We can’t shoot them.

Not many teachers are likely to take up the offer of a gun. They know the risks.

Secure the campus. Let teachers teach.

Categories Guns in Schools, Teachers

John Merrow: Remembering the Day I Almost Died

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
17

 

A year ago, John Merrow had a medical emergency. In the hospital, his blood pressure fell so low that it appeared his vital organs were failing. His medical team saved his life.

He learned some important lessons, which he shares here. 

The first two are medical advice.

The third is this:

THE THIRD LESSON IS FOR EVERYONE: THE DIVERSE MEDICAL TEAM THAT SAVED MY LIFE–THAT’S AMERICA IN 20 OR 25 YEARS, BECAUSE THAT’S WHEN OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY WILL BECOME ‘MAJORITY MINORITY.’

FOR PROOF, JUST LOOK AT OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WHICH BECAME ‘MAJORITY MINORITY’ IN 2014.

AFTER THEY GRADUATE, THESE 51 MILLION KIDS ARE GOING TO BECOME THE VETERINARIANS TAKING CARE OF OUR PETS, THE AIRLINE MECHANICS MAINTAINING THE PLANES WE FLY ON, THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS DECIDING WHETHER THE RUNWAY IS CLEAR, THE CPA’S PREPARING OUR TAX RETURNS, THE POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND THE TEACHERS OF OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

BECAUSE I WAS A REPORTER FOR A LONG TIME, ALLOW ME A FOLLOW UP QUESTION: ARE OUR ‘MAJORITY MINORITY’ PUBLIC SCHOOLS DOING A GOOD JOB OF EDUCATING THE KIDS WHO WILL ONE DAY PLAY IMPORTANT PARTS IN OUR LIVES?

SHORT ANSWER, UNFORTUNATELY, IS NO. PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE MORE SEGREGATED THAN EVER, BY BOTH RACE AND INCOME. BECAUSE OF ‘NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND’ AND THE BUSH AND OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONS’ OBSESSION WITH TEST SCORES, MOST POOR KIDS NOW SPEND AT LEAST ONE MONTH PRACTICING TAKING TESTS– DESPITE CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT TEST PREP PRODUCES LOWER TEST SCORES.

LOW INCOME CHILDREN ALSO ATTEND SCHOOLS WITH FEWER EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND HAVE LESS EXPOSURE TO SCIENCE, ART AND MUSIC. SOME HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS ACTUALLY ELIMINATED RECESS…TO ALLOW MORE TIME TO PRACTICE TEST-TAKING.

DURING THESE YEARS, FAR TOO MANY EDUCATORS CHANGED TEST SCORES AND FALSIFIED GRADUATION RECORDS–TO MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK GOOD. IN DOING SO, THEY DEPRIVED THEIR STUDENTS OF A DECENT EDUCATION.

BASICALLY, THIS APPROACH HAS FAILED. FOR TWENTY YEARS TEST SCORES HAVE BEEN LARGELY FLAT, AND THE GAPS BETWEEN RACIAL AND ECONOMIC GROUPS HAVE EITHER GOTTEN LARGER OR REMAINED THE SAME.

BREAKING TESTING’S STRANGLEHOLD ON PUBLIC EDUCATION MIGHT JUST BE SAVE OURSELVES, BECAUSE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, 35 PERCENT OF THE JOB GROWTH SINCE 2007 HAS BEEN IN HEALTHCARE. THAT FIELD INCLUDES 13 OF THE 20 FASTEST GROWING PROFESSIONS.

THAT MEANS THAT A LOT OF THOSE PUBLIC SCHOOL KIDS ARE GOING TO BECOME OUR DOCTORS AND NURSES, OUR ANESTHESIOLOGISTS AND X-RAY TECHNICIANS, AND OUR MEDICAL ATTENDANTS.

I AM HEALTHY NOW AND WAKE UP SAYING ‘GOOD MORNING, GOD,’ INSTEAD OF ‘GOOD GOD, MORNING.’ I TRY TO TREAT EACH DAY AS A GIFT.

John’s right. Our public are not “failing” the children who may one day save our lives. But our politicians are failing our schools, failing to give them the resources they need, forcing stupid mandates on them, crippling their ability to educate their students well.

Glad you are healthy, John.

Categories Education Reform

California: The Network for Public Education Action Fund Endorses John Chiang for Governor

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
40

 

California is holding a gubernatorial election this year. Three candidates lead the field. Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles and a strong supporter of privatizing public schools; Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco and noncommittal on privatization; and John Chiang, State Treasurer and advocate of charter accountability, is a strong supporter of public schools.

If no candidate wins a majority, the two top candidates will face one another in a runoff.

The Network for Public Education Action Fund enthusiastically endorses John Chiang for Governor.

When John Chiang responded to our survey, he emphasized his support for good public schools for all students.

When we asked John what he would do if elected, he said the following:

“I plan to restore academic success by increasing per-pupil funding, reducing class sizes, and moving towards providing free tuition for two years of community college. We also need to address underlying factors that have put stress on our education system– – an unfair economy that has left the middle class behind; the inability of students and families to afford textbooks, supplies, food and housing; threats in Washington to public education, affordable health care, financial aid, and more. We need to do everything possible to look holistically at ways to improve our education system so every student has an opportunity to achieve their dreams.”

John is concerned about the effects of high-stakes testing on students. He told us, “We’ve seen what damage “high-stakes” testing can do to our students, teachers and schools, especially in unfairly labeling students of color, students with disabilities and English language learners as failing. ‘Teaching to the test’ often forces good instructional practices to be thrown out for a soulless stream of worksheets based on boring, repetitive test prep materials. That’s not what we want for our kids. We need to use tests more sensibly, move beyond test-based accountability measures, and provide teachers with the training and support they need to help our students achieve.”

John is a strong proponent of charter accountability and transparency. He believes that charter schools must be responsible to locally elected school boards, subject to public audits and the Brown Act, and be held to state conflict of interest standards.

He is also clear in his opposition to vouchers. “We cannot rob our public schools to line the pockets of private school owners. I oppose the use of vouchers and tax credits for private and parochial schools. We need to continue to invest in our public schools and focus on supporting certified teachers and students as they strive to instill and learn the skills needed for a successful 21st century education.”

For all of the above positions and more, we believe that John is the strongest friend of public education remaining in the California Governor’s race. We strongly urge Californians to vote for John Chiang in the June 5th primary. Voter registration ends May 21 and mail in ballots must must arrive by May 29, 2018.

 

Categories California, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund, Supporting public schools
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