Ed Notes Online: Rhee-Action

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Rhee-Action

Got this from Leonie Haimson and Parents Across America.

If you haven’t already seen this today, Michelle Rhee played a role in passing an anti-union bill in Tennessee. She co-authored an op-ed with Former Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist. The bill is pretty broad and eliminates collective bargaining for teachers. Rhee’s ex-husband, whom she is close to, was recently appointed by the Governor as the state commissioner of education. This is her bill and should be seen/exposed as such. This is a good chance to review Rhee’s record on the national stage for the last six months.

Although Michelle Rhee has gained fame for her tenure as a DC School Chancellor under Democratic Mayor Adrien Fenty, her record and policy positions are very right wing. Since her resignation as Chancellor, she has travelled the country appearing with Republican Governors and advocating for anti-union policies. She has also been nominated for right wing awards and embroiled in local scandals. Here is a rundown of some of her recent activity:

Wisconsin – Republican Governor Scott Walker ignited the current anti-union push with a budget that cut state worker pay, eliminated collective bargaining rights for public employees, and contained other measures to weaken unions.

·         Rhee appeared on Fox News in support of Walkers plan to limit bargaining rights for teachers.
o   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KEpMMA8j3o
o   http://www.alternet.org/story/150183/reactionary_'education_refomers'_fenty_and_rhee_support_scott_walker's_attack_on_teachers
·         Rhee appeared on a local news channel where she said that teachers losing their right to collective bargaining is the beginning of something very important.
o   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6waSfhkN9Dc

[NOTE: Rhee's organization is now disavowing her Walker support but here is an item from Diane Ravitch:

Rhee has been standing by the side of every Tea Party governor as they cut the budget for public education, stripped teachers of any job protection, and expanded vouchers and charters. So far as I know, she does not deny accepting an award, with Scott Walker, from the far-right, anti-public school group called American Federation for Children.

Ohio – Republican Governor John Kasich pushed through SB 5, which is expected to face a ballot referendum. The bill severely limits collective bargaining rights for public employees, including teachers.

·         Rhee’s organization, Student’s First, lobbied on behalf of the bill.
o   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/24/michelle-rhee-ohio-teachers-bill_n_866252.html
o   http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/26/978992/-Rhees-Students-First-lobbied-on-OhiosSB5?via=blog_616729
·         Rhee appeared with Governor Kasich for a screening of the debunked “documentary” Waiting for Superman
o   http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/03/29/dc-education-reformer-to-join-kasich-for-documentary-screening.html?sid=101
o   http://www.rheefirst.com/?page_id=978
o   http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2011/05/john_kasich_michelle_rhee_push.html
o   http://www.examiner.com/government-in-columbus/kasich-rhee-movie-night-latest-scene-epic-battle-of-public-private-schools#ixzz1MoUaHLhW

Florida – Republican Governor Rick Scott’s anti union policies have tanked his approval rating. Recent polls have shown him to be the least popular governor in the country. One of Scott’s first actions was to appoint Rhee and advisor for education policy. She has also teamed with former Republican Governor Jeb Bush on education issues.

·         Rhee advises Rick Scott
o   http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-12-02/news/os-scott-education-transition-team-1220101202_1_transition-team-world-of-education-reform-charter-schools-usa
o   http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/michelle-rhee-cozies-rick-scott-ardent-scho
o   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-thompson/the-michelle-rheejeb-bush_b_807157.html

New Jersey – Republican Governor Chris Christie made overtures to Rhee after she quit as DC School Chancellor. She has also expressed support for his budget cutting policies.

·         Christie woos Rhee
o   http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/christie_woos_ex_dc_ed_big_rq9UBBoSz1jKn2nSjSRnRM
·         Rhee appeared on Fox News to support Christie’s budget cuts
o   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK88nd9uLUs

Indiana – Republican Governor Mitch Daniels joined forces with Michelle Rhee to support a school voucher bill.

·         Rhee appears at a rally for the voucher bill.
o   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU_A6guPN7o
o   http://www.edchoice.org/Newsroom/News/Indiana-House-Passes-Nation-s-Largest-Voucher-Bill-as-1-000-Gather-Supporting-School-Choice.aspx
·         Rhee’s appearance at the rally coincides with a cheating scandal in DC
o   http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110330/BLOGS13/110339960/1002/LOCAL

Nevada – Republican Governor Brian Sandoval recently met with Rhee and she supports his education policies.

· Rhee states: "I feel very, very strongly that on the policy side the governor is absolutely pushing the right (education) agenda and the right set of policies that have the ability to create the right foundation and to put the state on a different trajectory moving forward."
o http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/former-d-c-chancellor-michelle-rhee-pushing-for-big-changes-to-schools-122793333.html

Right Wing Awards – Rhee has been nominated for right wing awards for her fairly partisan, anti-union efforts.

·         Rhee was nominated for an award by the Sam Adams Alliance. The two other nominees were Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and anti-gay Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
o   http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2011/04/01/local-girl-makes-good/
o   http://www.samadamsalliance.org/programs/sammies/the-finalists.aspx
·         The right wing American Federation for Children hosted a policy summit in DC, where they gave awards to Michelle Rhee, Scott Walker and Pennsylvania Republican Governor Tom Corbett. AFC is AFC is a Koch and Devos funded organization focusing on school vouchers
o   http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/09/974560/-Hundreds-protest-Walker,-Corbett,-and-Rhee-at-DeVos-funded-policy-summit

Cheating scandal – In the midst of her crusade against teachers, Rhee was embroiled in a cheating scandal. USA Today released a report stating that many DC public schools has abnormally high wrong to right erasures on standardized tests. Rhee was aware of the problem but declined to act.

·         Rhee embroiled in scandal
o   http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-28-1Aschooltesting28_CV_N.htm?csp=34news
o   http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2011/04/rick_scott_education_adviser_michelle_rhee_cheating_scandal.php
·         Local groups called for an investigation
o   http://www.change.org/petitions/end-the-test-driven-culture-of-dc-public-schools-2

2 comments:

Citizen Doe said...: As for Rhee's political affiliations: sociopathic behavior is bipartisan, and corporate ed deform is politically promiscuous, so it stands to reason that she would have many partners.; Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 2:55:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: And New York will be next with Governor Cuomo's crusade against the working and middle class. Now Cuomo is going after all the union state workers and wants to layoff approximately 10,000 workers so he can save $450 million. One of his goals is to take back part of retirees pensions.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wxxi/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1814126/WXXI.Local.Stories/Bad.Week.for.State.Worker.Unions; Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 7:46:00 PM EDT

"A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

What media call "philanthropy" for the public schools are actually seed monies to establish a private "market" in publicly-financed education - an enterprise worth trillions if successfully penetrated by corporate America. Cory Booker, one of the "New Black Leaders" financed by the filthy rich, is key to creating a "nationwide corporate-managed schools network paid for by public funds but run by private managers.

"Ed Reformers" want to cash in on public education and to control its content and outcome, not improve it. Provide great education? Baby boomers had as close as this country has ever gotten to it when we were growing up. The Ed Reform Movement has no interest in seeing such a well-educated, democratically astute population ever again.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/cory-booker-clear-and-present-threat-public-education

History of the UFT Pre-Weingarten Years

This award-winning series of articles by Jack Schierenbeck originally appeared in the New York Teacher in 1996 and 1997.

Naturally, from a certain point of view. But, despite certain biases, Schierenbeck, a great guy, was one of the best NY Teacher reporters so this is worth reading. Jack suffered a debilitating stroke many years ago (I used to get secret donations to ed notes from him through a 3rd source.)

This chapter looks interesting:

Class struggles: The UFT story, part 3

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.

Clarence Taylor's "Reds at the Blackboard" focused on the old Teachers Union which disbanded in 1964 after suffering from anti-left attacks.

Of course for another view, check out the review at New Politics of the Kahlenberg Bio on Shanker by Vera Pavone and me: Albert Shanker: Ruthless Neocon

Effective Union Organizing

A video series put together by Jason Mann from the British Columbia Federation of Teachers about social media and how to use it for effective union organizing.

The first series was called New Media For Union Activists Roadmap and it's still available on-line at:
http://www.newmediabootcamp.ca/welcome/
I watched some of them and need to rewatch as they are loaded with information.

The second series started last week and it's called "Online Campaigning for Union Activists"

You can sign up for this free series at :
http://act.bcfed.ca/online-campaigning-for-union-activists/

You Don't Have A Choice - Join the Revolt

Ex-Harlem Success Teacher Comments on Eva the Diva

Ex-HSA Teacher has left a new comment on your post "Fear and Loathing at Evil's Harlem Success Empire ...":

I am a former Harlem Success teacher. Not many people who work/worked for her like her very much. I once made the comment that she is very nice when I first was hired. Two of her closest colleague responded immediately almost in unison, "Eve is not nice!" Over time I realized that there was a lot of political games going on. Another colleague once said to me that he was tired of "being part of a political campaign." Sending out 15,000 applications for only 400 seats in a school is reprehensible. The money that paid for those mass mailings could have paid the yearly salary of another teacher not to mention the heartache of all those parents who applied but did not get a spot. She does good work trying to give disadvantaged students a quality public school education but at a great cost to staff AND the school's educational budget! school budget.

Davis Guggenheim Compared to Riefenstahl

“Waiting for Superman" is the second most intellectually dishonest piece of documentary work I have seen. It is surpassed only by Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," the pro-Hitler propaganda classic, in that regard. Uses personal narratives of adorable children to create narrative suspense that overrides public policy discussion with pure emotion in unscrupulous attack on teachers and their unions, among others

Timothy Tyson
Professor of African American Studies and History
Duke University

How Teaching Experience Makes a Difference

Even as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee and others around the nation are arguing for experienced teachers to be laid off regardless of seniority, every single study shows teaching experience matters. In fact, the only two observable factors that have been found consistently to lead to higher student achievement are class size and teacher experience, so that it’s ironic that these same individuals are trying to undermine both.
- Leonie Haimson on Parents Across America web site

Full article with charts here.

Weingarten/Gates Foundation announce drone-driven teacher evaluation

According to a press release issued by the Gates Foundation, the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, these three have entered a ground-breaking partnership to evaluate teachers utilizing the drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. A bird-size device floats up to 400 feet above a classroom and instantly beams live video of teachers in action to agents at desks at Teacher Quality Inspection Stations established by the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

When asked if the drones were authorized to drop bombs on teachers who exhibit inadequacy, Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Gates money puts other methods at our disposal."

Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers said the powerful union has signed on to the drone project...

More at Substance

The Real Reason Behind Push for Standardized Tests: It's All About the Adults

On standardized testing in our schools

A must read article about the standardized test industry.
Written by an insider who has worked as a test scorer, the article outlines a multinational industry based on an army of temporary workers paid by the piece at $0.30 to $0.70 per test, translated in the need to grade 40 tests per hour to make a $12 salary. The article goes on to show how the companies gauge the grading "results" based on the need to ensure new contracts to continue profiting off of our youth. The original article is from Monthly Review. Here it is on Schools Matter blog.

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/12/on-growing-use-of-corporate-test.html

Parallels between America today and Germany in the 1920's and early 30's

"Resentment and obstruction are all the right wing in America have to peddle. Their policies are utterly discredited. Their ideology - even by its own standards - is a sham. They are so bereft of leaders, their de facto leader is a former drug addicted, thrice-divorced radio talk show host. That is literally the best they can muster. But they have built a national franchise inciting the downwardly mobile to blame the government, not the right, for their problems, exactly as Hitler did in the 1920s."

The US Is Facing a Weimar Moment

Published on Sunday, March 15, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

Chicago View of Unity/UFT on Charters

After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings — though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.

Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance

Ed Notes Greatest Hits: HSA Rally and Founding of GEM

SEE MY VIDEO ON HARLEM SUCCESS RALLY 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEp7rg_L5JI

Angel Gonzalez and I attended that rally and used the footage to promote our conference on Mar. 28, 2009, which is where the concept of a group like GEM emerged. Until then we had basically been a committee of ICE working with the NYCORE high stakes testing group. The actions of Eva and crew helped spawn GEM. Mommie Dearest!!

I have more video somewhere. I was hoping to get Leni Riefenstahl to edit it but she died. We would have called it "Triumph of the Hedge Fund Operators."

Ed Notes Extended

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Rhee-Action

2 comments: