Rebecca Klein, education editor at Huffington Post, predicts that the LA teachers strike will play a large role in the future of the Democratic Party.
Oneof the reasons for the strike is the LAUSD’s pro-charter majority, elected by the cash of billionaireswho want to eliminate public schools and unions. These billionaires, like Eli Broad and Reed Hastings, claim to be Democrats.
In Los Angeles, charter schools drain $600 million every year from public schools.
Real Democrats support public schools and unions, not private management of schools.
Real Democrats do not make alliances with the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and DeVos.
Every Democratic candidate for president in 2020 should join the UTLA picket line and show: Which side are you on?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Guess which media organizations have posted zero about the teachers’ strike? Answer- David Brock’s ShareBlue and Media Matters.
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I a with Trump on his disdain for MSM. Use alternative resources, for example The Real News: https://youtu.be/fAdvhK4XcY4
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BA, you have a nasty undertone in your comments. I am not surprised to find you agree on something with the unhinged idiot in DC
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Even a broken clock is right two times a day. If you remember, the icon of Millennials, John Stewart has similar disdain to ALL MSM, including CNN, not just to Fox News. Have you watched his shows? Do you find him nasty? You should not be surprised, I just loved his show. Too bad he retired.
Anyway, there are better sources of information than old and tired CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, Fox, New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, etc. Try BBC. Try Al Jazeera. How about NHK? Or Deutsche Welle? These are all English-language programs, readily available on any PBS affiliate (not Al Jazeera though). I am not going to recommend CCTV or RT 😉
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I was on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show twice. I am crazy about him. He is sharp, smart, fearless, funny.
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Cool, did not know about that. Just searched it, actually it was three times: in 2003, in 2011 and in 2013. Anyway, have fun on the barricades of LA tomorrow! Hopefully it will stop raining.
P.S. George Carlin? He would definitely side with you on the Language Police issue.
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and so many others skipping over it in about 30 seconds…
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One bad sign….Clueless Claire McCaskill, loser in the big success for democrats in November, (100% support of Trump on immigration–use all his tools, she said) has been hired by msnbc, and was on Morning Joe. Joe should have no problem joining her on trashing California teachers, but no guarantee…..she made appropriate comments about Mitch McConnell. She will need to realize…..ignorant Missourians should no longer matter to her.
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Has the AFT-funded Calf. Rep. Susan Davis issued a statement of support for teachers, like Ocasio-Cortez has?
Has the Center for American Progress, the “liberal” voice issued a statement of support?
Has Calf. Rep. Mark Takano, a former teacher, issued a statement of support?
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I talked to Susan Davis for an hour almost 10 years ago about the harm of testing. Her response was “how will we hold schools accountable without testing?” She had no interest in the fact that standardized testing does not measure school or teacher quality and was an incapable tool. About 5 years later, I saw her picture on the DFER web-site as a heroine. She has become a neo-liberal representing corporate causes and not her mostly poor Mexican immigrant constituents.
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AFT- 2nd largest contributor to Davis, who won by 30 points in her last race, and who is 3rd ranking Democrat on the House Education,,,,Committee. Why wasn’t Davis primaried by a candidate who had the support of people who cared about public education? Why wasn’t the candidate shown a path to win by the unions?
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yes; WHY DON’T THE UNIONS SEE THEIR COMPLICITY
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BTW- Tultican, thanks very much for the posted article that identified the billionaires and their motivations for destroying public education. I have e-mailed and snail mailed it to many people.
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how will we hold schools accountable without testing?”
How indeed? That argument has resounded from my superintendent, my congressman, and from William Sanders himself. The problem is that it is a false dichotomy. It presupposes that you are suggesting either testing or nothing. Plenty of other evaluation procedures are in place that will allow people out of place in teaching to be removed with appropriate actions. It is not as if incompetence cannot be rooted out with diligence.
What is more difficult is rooting out incompetent elected officials.
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Where is the accountability for the charter promoters like Chester Finn, Pondiscio and Mike Petrilli? Charters- “brutal on Michigan Black families”, where 80% of the charters are for-profit and, in Ohio, where citizens have been bilked out of $1 bil.?
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Thanks for the history lesson Linda and tultican. Sounds like as much an indictment of AFT as Davis. We have been warned.
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The Bad Ass Teachers’ documented indictment of AFT leadership is in its 4/19/2017 article titled “Arne….” . The Michael Moore movie Fahrenheit 11/9 also provides an indictment of teacher union leadership in West Va.
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Thank you for posting this article, Diane. Hope it’s picked up by the L.A. Times, WaPo & the NYT. I am sorry that the L.A. teachers were put into the position of having to strike, but, actually, given the size of L.A. & its school system, it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Democratic Party DINOs now have their decision to make, & the nation will see it–hopefully with a clear vision of what to do at the polls. There is only one side on this issue, & that is OUR side…EVERYONE’S side. For public schools & for better education or for $$$$$.
I just received a Dem-based survey (would have to re-read it as to its origin) asking to prioritize what I feel are the 3 most important issues. Education?
You guessed it…it was not even a choice.
Until it is, there is barely a distinction, insofar as I am concerned, between Bernie & Biden.
(I know I’m going to catch a lot of flack for this statement, but just let me tell you, I worked my a** off on the Bernie campaign (& those of us in ed. contacted his campaign about this time & again, to no avail) & remain one of his great admirers for the platform he DID bring & continues to reiterate, but–to this day–he has yet to address K-12 public education & the scourge of charter school growth. Like Ferris Bueller’s beleaguered teacher, I say, “Sanders? Sanders? Sanders?” (& hope not to have to add to that “Gabbard?…Warren?…O’Rourke?..etc.”)
Suffice it to say–just NO, Cory Booker!
As per the song of a famous rock band, “You need schoolin’!”
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Whenever I get a survey from the Democratic Party asking which issues matter most to me, it lists 10-12 issues. Education is never on the list. I write it in.
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I do the same and, for some reason, I haven’t been getting them anymore. I guess my constant railing against the impotence of the Ohio Democratic Party has something to do with that as well.
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retiredbutmissthekids :According to the blog put out by Fred Klonsky, Bernie does support the strike.
……….
Bernie tweeted: I stand in solidarity w/ @UTLAnow teachers in their fight for fair pay, smaller classroom sizes & stipends for materials and supplies. Teaching is one of the most valuable and indispensable professions. We need to treat educators with respect and dignity,
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He carefully did not mention charters and billionaires’ encroachment.
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Thanks, carolm. I subscribe to Fred’s blog, but have been out all day
(starting off w/a retired teachers assn. meeting, discussing issues such as this!) & just checked my e-mails, so read it.
But–look at what BA said below. I don’t know if I would word it as BA did (“He carefully did not mention…encroachment); I don’t think Sanders was being “careful” or avoiding charters & billionaires–I think Bernie was simply supporting LA teachers & the strike.
HOWEVER, he–& other candidates–MUST address these issues, & SOON!!
Also, the survey I mentioned above did NOT have a section for “Other” (deletion of yet another problem, & I also hate when they repeatedly refer to healthcare as “Obamacare,” as if one person was responsible for passage of the A.C.A.)–when surveys do, & give the respondent a chance to identify “other” (&, often, they don’t), I ALWAYS identify education as the most important issue, w/comments.
I recommend that readers here also read (even subscribe to–I guarantee his posts won’t clog your inbox, as he only writes 1-2 a day
{mostly 1}, & some days he doesn’t post) “Fred Klonsky’s Blog” to find out which Dems did/did NOT voice support for L.A. teachers. (You may be surprised in a bad way.)
Finally, many kudos to you, Diane, for putting on those “walking shoes”* (like someone we know who said he would, did not, & made the worst Dem {notice I said DEM; we all know the WORST} pick of a Sec. of Ed. in U.S. history). You know, the guy who has ALL the answers, who thinks (oh, I’m sorry, problem is he DOESN’T think–ergo, Dun-CAN’T) that UTLA is depriving poverty students of an education…
*I don’t know…think POTUS 45 will redeem himself & show up in LA?
Naah.
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“Carefully did not mention…” With the NAACP, ACLU, SPLC and BLM on the side of public education, the rug has been pulled out from under establishment Democrats.
When an independent or any Democrat uses his voice to take on villainthropy used to manipulate the education of kids from the middle class and poor, average citizens will make the person a hero. And, corporate-driven media will silence him/her.
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I also receive those questionnaires asking me what my priorities are. Only once was there an item re: education. There some times is a boy for OTHER. I always write something about education, the common gore and idiocies and cost of testing. Then I end with “Teachers KNOW. Trust them to do their jobs. The teachers have the real time information. Support Public School Teachers.”
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Yvonne–sorry–not a reply to you but a correction for my outstanding error–of course, I meant to type POTUS #44.
(Too preoccupied w/the current W.H. fake.)
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Secretary Duncan seems to be siding with the billionaire wing of the Democratic Party…but not many from the governmental wing of it are joining him: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-supporting-los-angeles-teachers-strike_us_5c3d2db6e4b0922a21d7dc4f
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In case no one clicks on the link
“A number of high-profile Democratic elected officials have nonetheless come out on the side of Los Angeles teachers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), who announced her 2020 presidential campaign on Dec. 31, and Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who are expected to announce presidential bids soon”
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If ANY person who wishes to win votes in the next Pres. election figures out the deeper WHY behind current heartfelt teacher actions, and thus honestly looks to become a public school/experienced teacher advocate, they might win in a landslide.
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It would be fun to watch the Third Way’s candidate, Matt Landrieu, squirm for an answer about his strike support. He oversaw the closing of the last public school in N.O.L.A.
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What do Corey Booker and Hakeem Jeffries have to say about the strike – just kidding.
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Ewww–PLEASE don’t tell me he’s Mitch Landrieu’s brother–?!
(Let him be a VERY distant cousin!!!)
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Misspoke meant Mitch
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Democrats have deliberately avoided discussion about public education. They have no interest in drawing attention to the schism in the party. The corporate Democrats control the messaging of the party. They will probably attempt to skirt the issue as long as possible while individual progressive Democrats will speak out in support of public education.
Democrats will continue to face this divide as long as it is necessary to amass so much money for elections. We would be better off if we limit the amount of money in politics. In Denmark each candidate gets the same amount of money which comes from the government. Limited funding would make our elections more about the issues and less about fundraising. Candidates would be more inclined to represent the people, not corporations or billionaires.
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Gavin Newsom just appointed Ann O’Leary as his chief of staff. She was Hillary Clinton’s education Advisor. She worked for the Center for American Progress. Carol Burris and I met with her twice during the 2016 campaign, hopingto persuade HRC to oppose charters. She agreed that for-profit charters are bad. When HRC criticized charters during a Town Hall for cherry picking students, O’Leary wrote an article in Medium walking back her comments. Not a good omen.
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So you’re saying we need to be leery of O’Leary.
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The charter billionaires supported former Mayor of LA Villaraigosa and lost.
They funded Tuck and lost.
Newsom owes them nothing
I will watch to see who gets appointed to state board
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“When HRC criticized charters during a Town Hall for cherry picking students, O’Leary wrote an article in Medium walking back her comments. Not a good omen”
Echo chamber in action.
There’s a cottage industry of professional critics of public schools, but no one may dare offer any criticism, no matter how mild, of charter schools.
It was really disappointing to see how quickly Clinton fell in line.
Apparently there are NO POSSIBLE valid criticisms of charter or private schools. They’re all super wonderful and awesome.
Clinton wasn’t clapping hard enough in that speech, but they brought her into line. She immediately dropped the criticisms and started reciting the approved slogans.
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Chiara,
At Stanford Social Innovation Review, an article found minimal problems with charters, and those problems could easily be tweaked to make charters, super. So, in essence, you are correct, an echo chamber.
Is it too much to ask that the founder of the Gates-funded TFA, Bellwether, NSVF and Pahara be quoted on occasion. The goal of charters, “….brands on a large scale.”
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Oh nooooo….I was just talking to someone in CA Sunday night about how wise they were to elect Newsom, &, also that S.F. just got itself a really good mayor.
WHY do Dems ALWAYS have to throw a monkey wrench in the works when it comes to education?
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Wikipedia, in its O’Leary entry, cites Ann’s work advising Silicon Valley Community Foundation. My opinion- O’Leary has a Bill Gates mindset. It’s more lucrative to see things the way tech tyrants see them?
She, like Melinda Gates and CAP staff, have to tap dance to talk about women’s advancement when ed deform decimates the primary route most women have taken to financial independence.
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Will the Democrapic Leadership go back to being Democrats again?
Stay Tuned, Sports Fans …
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In an interview of Neera Tanden, shortly after Hillary’s loss, Tanden explained a change in party direction. She said the Democratic Party would return to being a party of opposition to Republicans. WTH? Why didn’t the interviewer ask when and why the party of the people stopped opposing the Republican Party?
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How about answering that the Dems would go back to being ACTUAL Dems, such as in the spirit of the Great Society, the Civil Rights Era, the New Deal, restoring the Voting Rights Act & fighting like hell for their constituents & actually BEING the public servants they were elected to be?
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retired,
A vision undreamed by the individual big, financiers of the political parties and their think tanks/lobbyists.
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&, again, creds to Jon Lubar for the best: Arne Dun-CAN’T.
Right into our Dictionary of Educational Anomalies (or Maladies or Abnormalities…a. infinitum {or nauseum–more apropos}).
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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It is sad that this is what teachers have to go through BUT I am happy that they finally have had enough. Time for a change that is meaningful!!! Good for them!!
………………
‘The reckoning has come’: Denver teachers union takes a hard line in negotiations
BY ERICA MELTZER, SARAH DARVILLE – 19 HOURS AGO – UPDATED 18 HOURS AGO
Negotiations grew more tense between the Denver teachers union and the district on Tuesday as the two sides struggled to find common ground over its pay-for-performance system.
Union and district officials appear to literally be at standstill. After a tense exchange before noon, district officials departed the room to regroup — and did not return to the negotiating table. Talks are scheduled to resume Thursday.
The day’s developments indicate that it may be growing more difficult for Denver to avoid a strike that would upend Colorado’s largest school district and add to a national wave of teacher activism…
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2019/01/15/the-reckoning-has-come-negotiations-denver-teachers-union-takes-a-hard-line-in-negotiations/?utm_source=email_button
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