Archives for category: Unions
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Karen Lewis Reacts to the Kerfuffle

By dianeravitch
December 18, 2012 //
40

As readers of the blog know, I posted a tribute yesterday to “The Hero Teachers of Newtown.”
Soon after, the vice-president of Teach for America responded with outrage on Twitter and said that the post was “reprehensible” and should be retracted. I had no idea what he was offended by, but not long after I received many Tweets and comments on the blog from his followers, chastising me for daring to….well, I am not sure why they were upset. Some thought I slandered TFA, though the post didn’t mention TFA. Some thought I slandered non-union teachers, because I praised the Sandy Hook teachers and said they belonged to a union. Some alleged that I politicized the massacre by acknowledging (as many others have) that teachers have been demonized for at least the past two-three years in the media and by politicians, who blame them (and their unions and their right to due process) for low test scores. Sandy Hook demonstrated the falsehood at the core of that narrative. Why TFA decided to turn it into a cause célèbre, I do not know. But as I told one of the complainers earlier today, “Don’t be defensive. It’s not about you.”

I was pleased to receive this comment from Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union:

Diane, et. al.
I have read these posts (alas I do not do Twitter), and I am struck by the lack of authenticity by the Rosenberg comment. Diane has been at the forefront of the desire to lift up the beleaguered profession of teaching in each and every post. She has drawn the connections between people who wouldn’t think of sending their children to public schools and their policies that are destroying the common good. Anyone who doesn’t know that in the marrow of their bones, doesn’t read her blog.

On the other, the educrats who do not agree with her, read her posts, too so as to keep abreast of her thoughts and are ready to pounce if they see an opening. There might have been a time where “politicizing” tragic events, especially mass shootings was thought to be in poor taste. That has changed with the 24/7 news cycle that continues to focus far too much time and energy on the perpetrator of the massacre than that of our precious victims. Rosenberg’s “false outrage” needs to be checked. That same false outrage should show itself when policies his colleagues support kill and disenfranchise children from schools across this nation. We in Chicago have been the victims of their experiments on our children since the current secretary of Education “ran” CPS.

The accolades heaped on a group of education missionaries, (hopefully with beautiful intent on the part of the TFA teachers) cannot go unchallenged. Diane does that. Day in and day out, she champions rank and file educators and the hard work they do. She has a special place in heart for those who see the value of the classroom and not as stepping stone to a more lucrative career or the opportunism of self-promoters like Michelle Rhee who, with her lies about her own classroom experience has catapulted herself into the welcoming arms of those who hate unions, tenure and anything else that provides due process and gives teachers real voice.

To David Rosenberg, Shanda! Shame on you for such a paranoid rant. If you had nothing of which to be guilty, those words would have rolled off your back.

To Diane – Keep speaking the truth!

Karen Lewis

Categories Connecticut, Teach for America TFA, Unions

Last night’s Twitter Kerfuffle

By dianeravitch
December 18, 2012 //
62

Last night I posted a tribute to “The Hero Teachers of Newtown,” briefly describing each of them , noting that they were members of a union, they were career educators, and that the attacks on career educators and unions should stop.

Shortly after, a TFA officer demanded on Twitter that I retract the post, calling it reprehensible.

I was baffled. The post made no reference to TFA.

Someone then wrote on the blog that I was casting aspersion on non-union teachers, which I was not. I was called many names for using this occasion to call for an end to the relentless attacks on dedicated career educators.

Here, Jersey Jazzman explains what happened.

I doubt that I would ever have the amazing courage of the educators of Newtown, but this much I can say for sure. I will not be intimidated by tweets.

Categories Connecticut, Teach for America TFA, Teacher Tenure, Unions

Does StudentsFirst Support Collective Bargaining? UPDATE!

By dianeravitch
December 14, 2012 //
3

StudentsFirst likes to keep everyone guessing about its true purposes.

It wants “great” teachers but doesn’t think teachers should have any due process rights.

It either supports collective bargaining or is neutral on collective bargaining or is against collective bargaining.

It claims to be a liberal group that “puts students first” but gives campaign funds to reactionary candidates that support the Koch brothers agenda of privatization.

All of this will sort itself out over time, as the facts emerge.

Alexander Russo has a post that clarifies where StudentsFirst stands on collective bargaining. It does not support collective bargaining. It is not neutral on collective bargaining. It opposes collective bargaining.

But, wait. Two hours after Russo put up the post showing how much money StudentsFirst has contributed to campaigns to undermine collective bargaining, StudentsFirst sent him a list of how many times Michelle Rhee has said she supports collective bargaining.

What should we believe? What she says or where the money goes?

Categories StudentsFirst, Unions

Who Was Behind Michigan “Right to Work” Law

By dianeravitch
December 13, 2012 //
11

This past week, Michigan became the 24th state to pass a Right to Work (for Less) bill.

Wherever did the legislation originate?

The Center for Media and Democracy knows: it was copied almost verbatim from ALEC model legislation to quash unions.

ALEC, if you did not know, is a secretive organization with 2,000 or so members who are state legislators. It is funded by major corporations. It writes model laws that its members can introduce in their state.

It is, not surprisingly, anti-worker and pro-corporation.

it has model legislation for vouchers, charters, online charters, and getting rid of teacher tenure and certification. It wants to privatize public education, bust unions, and turn everything over to the vagaries of the free market.

Categories ALEC, Michigan, Unions

Karen Lewis: Where Corporate Reform Is Going

By dianeravitch
December 11, 2012 //
11

A Comment from Karen Lewis about the simultaneous deluge of “reforms,” none of which is grounded in research or experience:

“Any decent researcher knows that when you change more than one variable in an experiment, you have to do some pretty heavy lifting in order to determine which one had more effect than another. So in Chicago we have a new evaluation, Common Core, a longer day and year, a new contract, school closings and the usual suspects of attacks on an urban system. The key is to be clear about what and whose purposes all of this serves.

“We now know with the Wall Street Journal “exposing” how America tests in relation to other countries, that the scope of the hand-ringing is to make sure parents of children in good schools will begin to question their efficacy in order to move to a purely private system. Public schools, with the promise of democracy, citizen-building and the common good are in danger of disappearing. If the billionaire dilettantes have their way, public schools will be for the “throwaway” kids and their teachers will be temps.”

Categories Charter Schools, Common Core, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Emanuel, Rahm, Privatization, Teacher Evaluations, Unions

When Sabrina Stevens Crashed the ALEC Meeting

By dianeravitch
December 9, 2012 //
11

Sabrina Stevens wanted to tell the ALEC education task force what she thought of their plans to privatize American education and destroy unions. At first, she planned to protest. Instead, she walked right in, sat quietly, fumed, and then spoke out.

Categories ALEC, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Unions, Vouchers

Mayor Bloomberg: Time to Hold Teachers’ Feet to Fire

By dianeravitch
December 8, 2012 //
31

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided that rating teachers by their test scores and publishing their names in the paper is the last hill he will stand on in his struggle to establish a legacy. He says it is time to hold teachers’ feet to the fire. He would rather cut the budget than let teachers “off the hook” on teacher evaluations.

The mayor is a busy man. We can’t expect him to know anything about education research. He is making his judgments based on his gut instincts. It’s a shame that no one at the New York City Department of Education will tell him that what he believes in doesn’t work. The teachers of English language learners, special education students and gifted students are likely to look like bad teachers. I’m guessing no one at Tweed has the nerve to speak up. They are all in awe of him.

As his third term dwindles down to its closing days, the public has lost confidence that he can reform the schools. In the latest poll, only 25% approved his stewardship of the schools.

I wish he would call me. I could help him.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Budget Cuts, NYC, Teacher Evaluations, Unions

Michigan Senate and House Pass “Right to Work” Bill

By dianeravitch
December 7, 2012 //
14

The right to work legislation was approved by the Michigan State Senate.

Union protesters ringed the State Capitol building but were ignored (well, not exactly ignored, some got pepper sprayed).

Governor Rick Snyder pledged to sign it and said that it would bring the state together.

It surely clears the way for employers to hire hourly workers without benefits.

Categories Education Reform, Michigan, Unions

Michigan Now Talking about Right-to-Work Legislation

By dianeravitch
December 6, 2012 //
11

Michigan was once one of the nation’ s strongest union states. But with the decimation of the automobile industry and the recent takeover of state government by extremely conservative politicians, the union movement is on the defensive.

Unions in Michigan tried and failed to pass a constitutional amendment supporting their right to bargain collectively.

Now, Governor Rick Snyder is talking openly about pushing right to work legislation.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce supports the idea.

Tennessee passed such legislation last year, as did Indiana.

Wisconsin is considering it now.

The elimination of collective bargaining will give additional momentum to the growing income inequality in this country.

The New York Times had an article about fast-food workers in New York City who need food stamps to feed their families because their wages are so low. Sixty percent of  workers in this country now are hourly workers without benefits. Some have take-home pay, if they are lucky, of $18,000 a year.

Meanwhile, as Warren Buffet wrote recently, the Forbes 400 have an average annual income of $202 million.

$202 million a year.

Maybe the union movement will be born again as most Americans slide out of the middle class and into lives of not so gentle poverty.

Categories Economy, Michigan, Unions

Jersey Jazzman and a Generation of Mendacity

By dianeravitch
December 4, 2012 //
3

Jersey Jazzman has his plate full just trying to keep up with the nonsense and prevarication now tumbling from the mouths of reformers. . In this post, he corrects a self-proclaimed member of “the new majority,” who wrote in the Washington Post that young teachers are just itching to be judged by the test scores of their students.

He belongs to a Gates-funded group of young teachers who glory in the idea that teachers with less than 10 years experience are “the new majority.” Gates drops a million or more on groups like this who push the unions to endorse Gates’ ideas.

The young fellow corrected here by the Jazzman chastises the Chicago Teachers Union for striking for more pay and tenure, but that’s not why they struck. He might start by getting his facts straight. JJ offers him help.

He might read this to learn more about why 90% of his brothers and sisters in Chicago authorized a strike. That is, 90% of all the CTU members voted to strike, and they were 98% of all those who cast a ballot. Surely, some of that number were young teachers too.

Categories Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Teacher Evaluations, Testing, Unions
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