Diane Ravitch will debate Jonathan Alter on David Sirota's Denver radio show, at 7 am Denver time, 9 am Eastern time, on the morning of Wednesday, June 8. You can listen live online here, or catch the podcast later here.
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Susan Ohanian comments on review of our film:
Read the review: — Liz HoelzleThe Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for 'Superman' and One Teacher's Two Cents
Ohanian Comment: Maybe a review of the new film The Inconvenient Truth about Waiting for 'Superman' should be filed under "good news," but because it directly addresses such outrages I put it here.
Here is the order form for getting your own copy of the film. They ask for a donation to help them cover the cost of this grassroots effort.
I have just one quibble with this review: I wish people would stop saying that the poverty rate for US children is 20%, because clouds the really dire situation in pubic schools. The 20% figure is the official US poverty rate which includes all children, including the rich kids in private schools. The poverty rate in urban public schools is 50% and higher.
I've seen this movie. I recommend it whole-heartedly.
Arts and Humanities, Teachers College
2011-06-06
http://artsandhumanities.pressible.org/lizhoelzle/the-inconvenient-truth
NAACP Organizes resistance to charter attacks:
New York City has become the latest battleground in the national fight for education equality.
In some schools, hallways serve as a stark dividing line. Classrooms with peeling paint and insufficient resources sit on one side, while new computers, smartboards and up-to-date textbooks live on the other. One group of students will be taught in hallways and basements while others under the same roof make use of fully functional classrooms.
New York schools have increasingly co-located charter schools inside existing public schools as a cost cutting measure. Handled improperly, co-locations can lead to disparities, division and tension among students, which can impede learning.
In many instances, traditional students are forced into shorter playground periods than their charter school counterparts, or served lunch at 10 am so that charter students can eat at noon. The inequity could not be more glaring. And similar proposals are being considered in other states and counties nationwide.
Throughout our history, the NAACP has fought for equal educational opportunities for all Americans. When we have seen inequality in school districts from Los Angeles, California to Topeka, Kansas, we have never hesitated to fight for what is right. Today the fight continues in the nation's largest school district.
_You can help shed light on this inequality by signing the NAACP petition today and supporting New York City students._
(http://action.naacp.org/page/m/474a375d/799fb262/7f0a7185/ 2f6150c9/216649664/VEsE/)
Last month, after a year of attempts to negotiate with the New York City Department of Education to correct these inequalities after they lost to us in court, the NAACP was forced to go to court again to compel them to comply with state law.
Our return to court has triggered a smear campaign against the NAACP.
In recent days we have faced a coordinated media attack backed by funds from right wing opponents of public schools. Unable to dispute the facts of the case, they've chosen to cast aspersions on the NAACP, to question our motivations, and to sling mud at our legacy.
This is a tactic meant to silence the NAACP, but with your help, we will not be silenced.
Will you join us in speaking out? Stand alongside the NAACP, New York City parents and students to let the Department of Education know that all students deserve a quality education.
_Sign the Petition now and let New York know that those who believe in justice will not back down._
(http://action.naacp.org/page/m/474a375d/799fb262/7f0a7185/ 2f6150c9/216649664/VEsF/)
The NAACP will always work for the day when all students can access high-quality public education. We will not tolerate the neglect of the hundreds of thousands of families depending on traditional public schools, nor will we stand by as public schools are illegally closed, communities are ignored
in defiance of the law and student success is left to chance.
And we will never be silenced by right wing attacks on our reputation.
The NAACP has always believed that educating children in a separate and unequal system that provides a quality education to the lucky few at the expense of the many is the wrong kind of education, and we will continue to fight, as we always have, for equal opportunity for all.
Thank you for standing with us.
Sincerely,
Ben
Benjamin Todd Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP
2 comments:
"And we will never be silenced by right wing attacks on our reputation."
Hmmm, Ben Jealous and the NAACP were among the first to distance themselves from Shirley Sherrod last summer after rightwing blogger Andrew Breitbart published a highly manipulated video that made the longtime civil rights activist sound hostile to white people when her message was exactly the opposite. Ironically, her original speech was given at an NAACP event...Anyhow, let's hope Jealous and the NAACP learned a lesson from that episode.
Also - Jealous' original statement supporting the suit mentioned how the NAACP basically supported the firing of all the teachers in the Rhode Island school.
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