This week is School Choice Week, which ironically was inaugurated in 2011 by President Obama.
School Choice, we now know, has been a bust. It defunds public schools and allows charters and vouchers to cherrypick the students they want.
Not a single Democrat showed up to celebrate National School Choice Week. Thank the striking teachers for that!
Nothing like a strike to concentrate the mind!
This week, Republican lawmakers held a press conference on Capitol Hill to kick off National School Choice Week, an annual event that began in 2011 under President Obama who proclaimed it as a time to “recognize the role public charter schools play in providing America’s daughters and sons with a chance to reach their fullest potential.” This year, Democratic lawmakers took a pass on the celebration. You can thank striking teachers for that.
In the latest teacher strike in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest school system, some 30,000 teachers walked off the job saying unchecked growth of charter schools and charters’ lack of transparency and accountability have become an unsustainable drain on the public system’s financials. The teachers have included in their demands a cap on charter school growth, along with other demands, such as increased teacher pay, reduced class sizes, less testing, and more counselors, nurses, librarians, and psychologists.
#RealDemocratsSupportRealPublicSchools!
#RealRepublicansSupportTheirCommunityPublicSchools!
#GoodCitizensSupportMainStreetNotWallStreet!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Nothing like a strike to concentrate the mind!”
Exactly.
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I just saw the LA firefighters marching in support of the LA teachers on NPE’s Facebook page. It is so important that unions join together. If union members form a vocal alliance, it will help to put pressure on Democrats to back away from privatization schemes. #RealDemocratsSupportRealPublicSchools!
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to “recognize the role public charter schools play in providing America’s daughters and sons with a chance to reach their fullest potential.”
So the point is to promote charter schools? Then why do they tell us they’re “agnostics”?
If charter schools are so wonderful then why do their cheerleaders have to spend so much time marketing them?
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Another week where no one in the federal government lifts a finger to aid, assist, or in anyway support the schools NINETY per cent of children attend.
Why are the public paying 10,000 public employees to promote and market charter and private schools?
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Why did Michiganders pay to hire education faculty at Michigan STATE University so that they could do product development and marketing plans for privatized education and use the university’s reputation to advance the privatization?
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I wonder if Obama realizes what an unmitigated disaster his education policy turned out to be.
Maybe with time and distance he sees that now. None of them will ever admit it of course- that’s unthinkable- but in many ways Obama was worse on education that GW Bush.
I guess that’s what happens when you hire your anti-public school buddy to set policy for public schools. So disappointing in an otherwise good administration.
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They never admit errors, and my guess is that they sincerely think they are infallible. W wrote in his post-presidential autobiography that No Child Left Behind was his landmark accomplishment and fairly recently continued attempts to justify it. I would assume that Obama has similar views as Duncan.
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Many, perhaps even most, neoliberal Dems believe strongly that they know better than the rest of us. Their professional pedigree is all that matters to convince themselves that only they know how the world works, and how it needs to change to work better. (For us of course.) The list of names of prominent Dems goes on and on…and Obama, sadly, is right there in the thick of things.
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well said
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and they all continue to sit inside echo chambers where members repeatedly laud their great “compassion…”
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What will change Obama’s mind is the same thing that will change CAP’s mind.
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What ciedie said!
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“So disappointing in an otherwise good administration.” Really?
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This is great. Do we have numbers from past years? Would love to know the comparison. Thank you L.A. teachers!
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Next step: demand that all Democrats
1) Vote against any expansion of charter schools;
2) Vote to reincorporate existing charter schools into school districts; or,
3) Merge existing charter schools with local schools so that combined schools have a sustainable population.
4) Ban public money for schools that are governed by private boards and to any school with a religious affiliation.
5) Defund all existing vouchers for attendance at private schools.
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Exactly! Arthur has it right.
Segregation schools of the south repackaged as charters for spread across the nation are an evil that needs to be exorcised.
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Far too logical, honest and correct to ever gain traction (sarcasm alert!).
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The new wrinkle in the Catholic, MAGA hat-wearing, 18-year-old’s ‘s stare down of a Native American elder in D.C. – The PR firm crafting the student’s image after the incident, belongs to Scott Jennings who is an advisor to Mitch McConnell.
The despicable kind of guy Jennings is, can be found in the Wikipedia entry for David Iglesias.
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Bad news for Jennings and McConnell- polls find Mitch at a 25% approval rating- the lowest of all Congressional leaders.
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Obama was a huge disappointment, and I’m reminded of it every time his name resurfaces or Arne decides to chime in with some attempt to stay relevant.
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Arne has learned nothing in his past 10 years.
He still loves high-stakes testing, charter schools, and merit pay. He doesn’t care about class size or segregation.
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“Pay for success.”
Has money been used to incentivize a change in Duncan’s POV?
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If Duncan believes in “pay for success,” he should return 7 years of salary
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Thanks for the laugh. You’re right, Diane
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I think that it is no longer a matter of what Obama did to real public education–that door has been open & is now shut, just like discussing Hillary & Bernie (considering that 4 women {at this writing} have declared their intent to run in 2020, I think it’s fairly assured that Hillary will not run again).
I’m concerned, at present, at how wealthy our elected officials become from having held office–writing books, making speeches, etc. The Obamas (& Barack will have a book coming out next year) have pledged that a “significant portion” of book profits will be donated to various charities (from The Chicago Tribune). My hope is that the donation(s) are, indeed, SIGNIFICANT (we probably won’t be privy to that info.).
Could these people just go the route of Steven Colbert, who donates ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the profits from his book, “Whose Boat is This Boat?” (And he is now donating ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of monies sent in for his new mug–for the 800K not being paid–to the World Kitchens chef/owner who is providing free cooked meals to our laid-off government workers.) Colbert also gave a shout-out to Tucker Carlson–TUCKER CARLSON!–who is also donating profits (I think ONE HUNDRED PERCENT, as well) from his political book, “Ship of Fools.”
What’s really important to look at, now, is that Arne Duncan is still around to harm us all. I have absolutely NO doubt in my mind that he will be running for public office sooner or later (he says as much in his book as per reference to Paul Vallas).His name came up as a possible mayoral candidate in Chicago.
DunCan’t (Jon Lubar) has, indeed, learned NOTHING. But that doesn’t stop him from having his ignorance published (his rant about the UTLA strike, & his answer to Peter Cunningham’s really stupid idea).
Therefore, we education watchdogs have to (I’ll use Duane’s “Ay, ay, ay” here) watch him.
Carefully, because, as I said, he continues to be a danger.
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Duncan’s also a lightning rod for substantial, motivated opposition.
If he labels himself as the Republican that he is, a run might be successful in a GOP district.
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The absence of Democrats at the event can be attributed significantly to the success of Dr. Ravitch’s work. Thank you, Diane.
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Let’s continue to say and write:
Real Democrats Support Real Public Schools
Real Republicans Support Their Community Public Schools, not Disruption
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Agree- on target, succinct messaging.
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The Hill gives space to “opinions” but disavows endorsement of them. The American Federation of Children posted on Jan 23 about school choice with the implication that Dems back it, citing the statistics of a “respected Democratic polling firm”. The company is named. Of the almost 171 comments, very few are positive about school choice.
And, no Dem showed up at the Republican congressional school choice fest, as Diane notes.
So, I’d like to see the questions in the survey, the sampling technique,….
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They lie. Expect it.
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Sourcewatch describes AFC as DeVos… and, it links AFC to ALEC. Sourcewatch reports Scott Jensen is a senior advisor to the group. Refer to “misconduct charges” at Wikipedia.
The “respected Democratic polling firm” writes at its site that it “helps AFC sharpen messaging in support of school choice.”
Professionals in marketing adhere to codified ethical standards that address the inherent conflict derived from blurred lines between polling and promoting.
When Dems require DeVos’ presence for questions, they should ask her about her connections to AFC and the veracity of the organization’s communications to the public.
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Evidently, National Review decided the polling/promoting firm is Democratic because it did some research for NEA.
So, if ALEC, GM, Ford and the UAW use the same polling firm, the firm is which political party?
Right wing desperation is digging a basement for morality.
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Does this mean, the Democratic party is unified against charter schools now?
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Mate.
If valuing the interests of their nation and constituents motivated them, instead of dollars, it would.
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Did Cory Booker skip this event?
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He must have been visiting a charter school.
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lol, Diane thanks for supporting public education and giving UTLA members a boost of motivation at our strike demonstration! ❤️👏
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