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He Will Vote For Obama

By dianeravitch
September 12, 2012 //
21

This reader will vote for Obama because Romney would be a catastrophe on many levels:

I am just the opposite of many here.  I will be abandoning the Green party for the first time in years because, while I did not vote for Obama, the difference between Democrat and Republican is, for the first time I can remember, significant enough to warrant my voting for a less than ideal candidate to avoid electing a truly awful one by default.  Even if ed. policy is your only issue, I don’t see how anyone thinks the strong ALEC-driven push to privatize the entire system is the same thing as RTTT.  And if you look at all the other issues, the prospect of a Republican in the White House becomes scary enough to vote against Romney, at all costs.
Diane, you have spent the last several years pointing out that it is poverty that creates failing schools, rather than failing educational personnel.  I applaud you for being nearly the only strong public voice challenging the prevailing deform movement.  However, I cannot believe you are suggesting anyone vote in such a way as to create what will almost certainly be widespread increases in poverty (and therefore worse education for many more kids) through the regressive policies proposed by Paul Ryan and hs running mate.  Please, swing state folks–hold your noses and vote for the far lesser of two evils.

Categories Education Reform, Obama, Romney, Mitt

Chicago Strike: Whose Policies Are At Issue?

By dianeravitch
September 11, 2012 //
10

Norm Scott, a retired teacher who is a blogger and film producer (“The Inconvenient Truth Behind ‘Waiting for Superman'”), wrote a provocative explanation of the Chicago strike and its political implications.

He says that President Obama can’t support the Chicago teachers because they are striking against his Race to the Top policies. And he can’t oppose the teachers because he needs the votes of teachers in the election. So he supports the kids.

Categories Chicago, Democrats, Duncan, Arne, Obama, Race to the Top

Will President Obama Join CTU on Picket Line?

By dianeravitch
September 11, 2012 //
30

Jon Pelto has placed an order for a comfortable pair of walking shoes for President Obama, so he can walk alongside the striking teachers in Chicago.

He even paid for priority shipment from L.L. Bean.

Mr. President, remember when you said that “workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner”?

So far, President Obama has had no comment. Like Mitt Romney, he is on the side of the students.

President Obama, the teachers are on the side of the students. They want the students to have smaller classes, art classes, access to a social worker, a library, and the help they need to succeed.

Mr. President, please join CTU on the picket line to show your support for the students and teachers of Chicago.

Categories Chicago, Education Reform, Obama, Students, Unions

The Real Story Behind The CTU Strike

By dianeravitch
September 10, 2012 //
23

Count on Stephanie Simon of Reuters to get the story that eluded every other reporter.

She is the one that got the inside story on Louisiana, TFA, and for-profit investors.

Now she has the scoop on Chicago.

The strike in Chicago is not about money.

It is a national story.

It’s about the survival of public education.

Read her story.

Categories Chicago, Corporate Reformers, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, Education Reform, Emanuel, Rahm, For-Profit, Obama, Privatization, Race to the Top, Teach for America TFA, Teacher Evaluations, Testing, U.S. Department of Education, Unions, US Education

An Open Letter to the White House

By dianeravitch
September 10, 2012 //
10

Jessie B. Ramey attended a meeting at the White House with a delegation of Pennsylvania educators.

Ramey wrote an open letter to Roberto Rodriguez, President Obama’s education advisor, asking the White House to stop berating educators and public education.

Based on the story in The Atlantic claiming that Michelle Rhee is “taking over the Democratic Party,” it becomes imperative for President Obama to distance himself from Rhee’s anti-teacher ideas.

Does President Obama support charter schools, like Rhee? Yes.

Does President Obama support for-profit schools, like Rhee? He hasn’t said.

Does President Obama worry about a dual school system in American cities, with charters for the haves and public schools for the have-nots? We need to know.

Does President Obama want entire school staffs to be fired because of low test scores? He said no at the Convention but he supported the firing of the staff at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island and his Race to the Top turnaround strategy supports mass firings. Does he approve or disapprove?

Does President Obama truly want to stop the odious practice of teaching to the test? Will he explain how teachers can avoid teaching to the test if their pay and their job depends on student test scores?

President Obama must let the nation’s teachers know that he is with them. He can do so by disassociating himself from Rhee’s anti-teacher agenda, as well as from policies pushed by his own Race to the Top.

And he could go to Chicago and tell Rahm Emanuel to settle with the teachers and do what is right for the children of Chicago.

Categories Charter Schools, Chicago, Democrats, Education Reform, Emanuel, Rahm, For-Profit, Merit pay, Obama, Teacher Evaluations, Teachers and Teaching

An Answer from Molly Ball

By dianeravitch
September 9, 2012 //
12

Yesterday I responded to an article in The Atlantic claiming that Michelle Rhee was actually a “lefty” and was “taking over” the Democratic party.

I responded to the article.

Others have said that the writer, Molly Ball, was sending out an automated reply, but I got something slightly different.

What she says here is that she doesn’t understand why a Democrat would not support for-profit charter schools; or work closely with Governor Chris Christie to strip teachers of tenure and seniority; or work with Governor Rick Scott to promote privatization of public schools; or work with Governor Mitch Daniels to push vouchers through the legislature; or accept an award from the rightwing American Federation for Children in company with Governor Scott Walker.

What she says is that there is no difference between Democrats and Mitt Romney on education.

I hope that President Obama makes clear what the differences are.

Here is our exchange:

Hi Diane, thanks for the feedback. My intent with the story was not to mediate 
yet another round of the education-reform debate, but to illustrate the 
political inroads Rhee and her ideas have made, while noting, as you do, that 
they remain quite controversial. 

To answer your rhetorical questions, I don't see why a Democrat can't do any of 
those things. 

Best,
Molly
________________________________________
From: Diane Ravitch [gardend@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2012 6:05 PM
To: Ball, Molly
Subject: From Diane Ravitch re Rhee

Would a Democrat work to promote a for-profit chain?

Would a Democrat work with Republican governors Rick Scott, Chris Christie, and 
Mitch Daniels?

What part of Rhee's agenda differs from that of the most rightwing Republicans?

What Democrat would have accepted an honor from the far-right voucher-loving 
organization American Federation for Children, which simultaneously honored 
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker?

Nothing that Rhee advocates has ever succeeded.

Neither charters nor vouchers nor merit pay nor evaluating teachers by test 
scores has any evidence of improving education.

Diane Ravitch
Categories Democrats, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Indiana, Obama, Privatization, Rhee, Michelle

A Teacher at Central Falls HS Will Not Vote for Obama

By dianeravitch
September 9, 2012 //
45

I have not decided how I will vote.

I will not vote for Romney.

How I cast my vote will be decided in the next few weeks.

This teacher has decided:

I am one of the thousands of stunned teachers, and life long Democrats who was amazed by the actions taken by the current Democratic leadership in the war against teachers. I was one of the teachers who was fired, then rehired at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island.

Without warning, bad evaluation, or cold reasoning I was made the pillar and brunt of national jokes and political finger wagging.

The greatest hurt came when this president, on national news, commended the “bravery” of the superintendent when she fired the entire staff of the high school.

Without knowledge or background on the extreme level of poverty, crime, or lack of funding, President Obama called me a bad teacher.

This is the direction of the war against teachers. Along with Arne Duncan and of course the teachings of Rhee I have seen first hand the devastation caused by amateur educational reformers.

Replacement Teaching Fellows from 60 day certificate factories have lasted as little as 24 hours, some I find crying in the bathroom. Promised money disappears into administrative accounts, and the blame for kids that can’t see the light of day for the crushing poverty they live in rests with teachers.

So, for the first time since I walked the blocks for McGovern I will not vote for ta Democratic president.

Categories Obama, Rhee, Michelle, Romney, Mitt

Why The Chicago Teachers Union Deserves Support

By dianeravitch
September 8, 2012 //
37

http://withabrooklynaccent.blogspot.com/2012/09/press-statement-on-chicago-teachers.html


Press Statement on Chicago Teachers Strike
Dr Mark Naison, Fordham University

The Chicago Teachers strike is an incredibly important development because it is a the first time a union local has threatened to strike against education policies pushed by the Obama Administration through its Race to the Top initiative, policies, in my judgment, that have had incredibly destructive consequences for Urban school systems and distressed urban communities

The policies pushed by Rahm Emmanuel, which are being simultaneously implemented in New York and many other cities, involve evaluating teachers and schools on the basis of student test scores, closing schools whose test scores fail to meet a certain standard and firing half their staffs, replacing public schools with charter schools, some run as non profits and some run for profit, and trying to weaken teacher tenure and introduce merit pay

The first three components have been already introduced in Chicago and the mayor wants to intensify them and legnthen the school day. The union is saying enough is enough.

I support the union in taking this stand for the following reasos

1. Closing schools, many of which have been a bulwark of neighborhoods for generations, has been a complete disaster. It has destroyed one point of stability in the lives of young people who have precious little. It removes teachers who have been a part of students lives. It is not an accident that Chicago has seen a serious uptick of violence since Emmanuel became mayor. Young people in distressed neighborhoods need to see community institutions strengthened and teacher mentors protected. School closings and staff turnover take away needed anchors

2. Rating teachers and schools on the basis of student test scores, and threatening to close schools and fire teachers if the proper results aren’t achieved have not only ratcheted up stress levels in schools, they have led to the elimination of art music, sports, school trips and even recess for test prep. The result is that more and more teachers hate teaching and more and more young people hate school, increasing the drop out rate in neighborhoods which desperately need schools to become community centers where young people want to go. The union wants to make schools welcoming places where students want to come by reducing class size, and bringing back sports and the arts, and strengtheining struggling schools rather than closing them. That makes a lot of sense to me

3. Favoring charter schools over public schools has resulted in the systematic creaming off of high performing students by the charters and the warehousing of ELL and special needs students, along with students who have behavior issues, in the remaining public schools. The result is that overall academic performance in the district has not improved

4. Removing teacher tenure and job protections has resulted in the most talented teachers leaving the city system or trying to move from low performing schools to high performing ones where they are less likely to be fired. The result is an accentuation of racial and economic gaps in performance

Basically, what the union wants is to strengthen neighborhood schools an invest in making them places where students are nurtured and want to come, rather than stress filled test factories which the Emmanuel plan and Race to the Top guarantees

The union, in this instance is far better advocate for the children
of Chicago than the mayor

I am available for interviews on my cell all weekend (917) 836-3014

Mark D Naison
Professor of African American Studies and History
Fordham University
“If you Want to Save America’s Public Schools: Replace Secretary of Education Arne Duncan With a Lifetime Educator.” http://dumpduncan.org/

Categories Chicago, Democrats, Emanuel, Rahm, Obama, Privatization, Race to the Top, Unions, US Education

Killing Unions Hurts the Middle Class

By dianeravitch
September 7, 2012 //
11

I link two different articles here, each of them explaining the dilemma in which we find out society today.

On the one hand, there is the potential strike of the Chicago Teachers Union. This situation pits a Democratic mayor against the city’s public school teachers, who stand united (98% voted to authorize a strike). They should have been his allies. President Obama will need their votes in two months.

On the other, there is a growing realization that the new jobs created since the recession of 2008 are low-wage jobs. The middle class is losing ground. Many new college graduates find themselves working at a fast-food chain or in retail sales, not making enough to pay off their student loans. The jobs they expected to get have disappeared.

What is happening to our country? The middle class is shrinking. The rich are getting richer. Income inequality is growing. The ranks of the poor and the near-poor are expanding. There is a full-court press to eliminate collective bargaining or reduce the power of unions, rendering them toothless.

The attack on unions is an attack on the middle class. It is an attack on an institution that builds a middle class. Unions were an essential part of the movement to create a middle class, allowing poor people to find jobs with a pension, health benefits and a decent wage. As unions wither, the middle class will shrivel even more.

Unions were an important ally in the civil rights movement and they have been fundamental in promoting the economic progress of black and Hispanic workers.

Consider this guest post on the Shanker Blog by Norm and Velma Hill, veterans of the civil rights movement and the union movement:

With a lot of prodding from [A. Philip] Randolph, the AFL-CIO… came to recognize the deep connection between labor rights and civil rights. The civil rights movement has moved the same way, acknowledging organized labor as by far its strongest ally. In a 1961 speech, Dr. King spoke to this, declaring that “Negroes are almost entirely a working people. Our needs are identical with labor’s needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education and respect in their community. That is why blacks support labor’s demands and fight laws that curb labor.”

That is why the labor hater and the race baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature, spewing anti-black epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other. That is why, at the time of King’s assassination in 1968, he was preparing to lead a march in Memphis, Tennessee, in support of black sanitation workers who were striking for union recognition. And that is why, for generations of black Americans and other minorities, a “good” union job was understood to be a path to the middle-class.

Still today, the benefits of trade union membership for African Americans, women, and other minorities are clear. According to one recent estimate, the wages of black union members are 31 percent higher than the wages of African Americans who are not union members. The union wage advantage for women workers is 34 percent; for Latino workers, it’s a whopping 51 percent. That being true, the decline of the union movement should be of special concern. In the mid-1950s, about one-third of the workforce belonged to unions. Today the proportion is down to not much more than 10 percent.

Some black and Hispanic entrepreneurs have done well during this period of growing income inequality. But black and Hispanic poverty remains deep and entrenched. Destroying unions eliminates the good jobs where black and Hispanic workers earn more. Access to the middle class becomes harder when unions are eliminated.

As the non-union charter sector expands, teachers’ unions are weakened. 88% of charter schools are non-union. It is easier for them to fire expensive teachers or to fire teachers who don’t conform or to fire whistle-blowers. There is no evidence that non-union charter schools are systematically more successful than public schools with unions. Here and there, you will find a high-flying non-union charter school, but you can find many more high-flying unionized public schools. On average, charters do no better than public schools when they enroll the same students and have the same resources.

So, yes, we need a rebirth of unionism. Yes, working people need protection from predatory employers who care only for lowering costs, no matter what the human cost. This country must restore a balance and sanity to its policies, and that won’t happen as long as the most powerful figures are joined in an effort to destroy unions and to privatize public education.

P.S. A personal disclaimer: I do not belong to a union. I never have.

Categories Chicago, Economy, Education Reform, Emanuel, Rahm, Obama, Unions

How President Obama Could Win the Election

By dianeravitch
September 4, 2012 //
64

By all accounts, the election of 2012 will be close.

For educators, the stakes are high.

Mitt Romney supports every kind of privatization, from charters to vouchers to full-time online schools, and he has no problem with for-profit schooling.

His agenda threatens the survival of that most basic of democratic institutions, the public school.

Educators supported President Obama when he ran in 2008. They enthusiastically embraced him as a true change agent, expecting that he would make major alterations to the noxious federal law No Child Left Behind.

But after his election, instead of calling for a major change in NCLB, he launched his Race to the Top, which builds on the flawed strategies of NCLB. Although President Obama has won the endorsement of the NEA and the AFT, many of the nation’s nearly four million teachers are discouraged by his policies. If they sit home or if they are lukewarm, he could lose the election.

We can’t let that happen.

So I am doing my part by writing a short speech that would win educators back. If he uses this speech, he would win the election. He could incorporate the following into his acceptance speech at the Convention in Charlotte or use it on a subsequent occasion:

“I want to address a few words to the nation’s hard-working teachers and principals, to its dedicated leaders and school board members. You hold the future in your hands. Your work will determine whether America is a great society, a just society and a creative society in the future.

“I know you have been disappointed in my approach to education. I know that teacher morale is at a low ebb. I know there is far too much pressure to teach to the test. That degrades the joy of learning.

“I know that most of that pressure comes from mistakes we made when we launched a ‘Race to the Top.’

“I know now we were wrong.

“Judging teachers by the test scores of their students is wrong. I understand now that this method doesn’t work. I apologize to you for letting it happen.

“You know that I have spoken out repeatedly against teaching to the test. I would not want this for my children, and you should not want it for yours or the children in your care. This is mis-education.

“Our country is now spending billons of dollars on testing and test preparation that should be spent in the classrooms of America, bringing back the 300,000 teachers who lost their jobs. reducing class sizes, restoring libraries, and providing services directly to children.

“Our nation must out-innovate the world and it won’t happen by picking a bubble on a standardized test. It will only happen if we encourage critical thinking, free inquiry, and a sense of wonder and imagination in every classroom.

“We want our students to lead the world in their love of learning. We want them to be the best in creativity. We want them to know history and foreign languages, science and mathematics, literature and geography. We want them to rexperience the liberating power of the arts. And we want them to have physical education every single day so that they are healthy and fit.

“One more thing. I realize that we were wrong to require states to allow more privately-managed schools as a condition of getting money from the Race to the Top.

“Through our mistakes, we inadvertently unleashed a movement to privatize our nation’s public schools and to turn them into for-profit centers for equity investors and technology corporations.

“This is unacceptable. Folks on the right have wanted to privatize our schools for half a century. We can’t let that happen.

“When we look around the world, we see that the top-performing nations have great public systems. We do not want to revive a dual school system in our nation’s cities, dividing up our public funds between a weakened public system and aggressive charter chains.

“And so I am directing my Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as of this day to cancel the Race to the Top. The fact is that learning is not accomplished in a “race.” Races are fine on the sports field, but not in the classroom. Learning is accomplished because of the patient effort of students, teachers, principals, parents, and communities working together.

“From this moment on, the U.S. Department of Education will dedicate its efforts to improving public education; to supporting equality of educational opportunity; to enforcing the civil rights of our students; to funding the districts where need is greatest; to strengthening the research and information that we need to upgrade our schools; and to recognizing that the primary responsibility for reform lies with the states and districts that are closest to the problems.

“Yes, we must improve public education. But we must do it in ways that make our communities and our democracy stronger. We must do it in ways that respect the dedication of our educators. And we must do it in ways that recognize that many children and families need extra help because of the burdens of poverty. We must do what we can to lift those burdens and to bring about the greatest of American goals: equality of educational opportunity.

Categories Obama, Race to the Top, Romney, Mitt
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