Ed Notes Online: Chicago Notes

Friday, July 8, 2011

Chicago Notes

Last Update: Sunday, July 10, 2011, 3AM

GEM At LaCASITA

Friday, July 8, 2011, 6AM

Chicago

As usual, I'm the only one up. We are still 4 people in the suite - one person left and another took over the cot (I have the fold-out couch). Two more are leaving tonight. (I haven't asked my roomies and colleagues from NYC if I can mention their names so I am staying mum for now - though you might see some you know in the pics I've been posting the last few days.

Today is sightseeing day. We may connect up later with Puerto Rico Teachers Union President Rafael Feliciano, who was one of the major stars of the National Educators' Conference to Fight Back for Public Education. Jeez, they're all still sleeping. This place serves one mean breakie and I can't wait to hit that waffle iron.

There's no way I can report on the details of the conference because there was too much incoming info for me to process. Thus, I was perfectly comfortable being the official videographer, a role I like more and more as I don't have to think beyond pointing the camera and pressing a button. I will probably start putting up snippets of what I taped when I get back home on Saturday.

It is certainly interesting to hang out with leaders of unions who have progressive visions of union reform and how to effectively fight back for public education. I was surprised when Chicago TU President Karen Lewis ended her speech at the opening by pointing to me and saying the first thing she does every morning is go to Ed Notes so she can know what's going on in NYC. (I will put up video soon). Earlier, a teacher from Kansas City told me the same thing. And yesterday a union leader from Canada said he subscribes. That was funny because I've been thinking of cutting back. Darnit!

A bunch of people hung out yesterday for more chewing the fat after which we hit a local bar where I was sitting with Washington Teacher Union leaders Nathan Saunders and Candi Peterson, who is an old blogging pal. We are meeting up again at the SOS in Washington DC.

In many ways the formal meetings are not as important as the side conversations and the after hours hanging out in bars. I have quite a load of stuff to report on some of the interesting things I learned. Ooops - they're up so gotta go eat soon.

Here are a few quick points:

CORE as a caucus is an awesome operation with awesome people. Mostly young activists - one of the key people in setting up this conference is a 25 year old 2nd year teacher. How different from Unity for a caucus in power. They all proudly wear their CORE tee-shirts. And how interesting that they try to keep the leadership of the caucus in the hands of classroom teachers and somewhat separate from the Chicago Teachers Union. Thus, CORE was the host, not the CTU and they have an amazing amount of top-level activists who do an awesome amount of work.

There were lots of people from Los Angeles - mostly from a caucus called PEAK. Very impressive people. They're doing a lot of work there around the teacher evaluation and other issues. And of course, there was our gang from NYC, always a great crew to hang out with. GEM was there in force but there were other groups represented too. (I'm trying to be careful about naming groups and names since I've been reprimanded in the past - you know who you are.)

There are things I can talk about and other stuff probably left off the table for now.

After the bar, George Schmidt of Substance* (the model for the tabloid print edition of Ed Notes c. 2002-4) took us over to the Whittier school where parents have been sitting in at the attached community center and library which offers so much to the community and the city is trying to tear down. I have some great interviews with the parents and George does lots of commentary. Film being processed and I will put something up when I get home. For now, here are some stills I put into a slideshow.

Here is a report on the conference from George Schmidt's Substance:

Union activists develop many strategies at CORE’s National Conference to Fight for Public Education

By David R. Stone - July 9th, 2011

About 150 activists from across the United States — mostly union teachers — gathered at the “National Conference to Fight for Public Education” in Chicago on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.

Earthy Girl commented:
We must have just missed you at Whittier, Norm. We were there early afternoon. Here are my pictures.
You can use any of them if you want. Email me if you need a direct attachment.
http://flickr.com/gp/good4kidz/a5mvZ2/. I've seen a lot of sadness in my life but this broke my heart. I kept thinking 'This is the USA? This is the best we can do for our children?'
-------------
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

3 comments:

Earthy Girl said...: We must have just missed you at Whittier, Norm. We were there early afternoon. Here are my pictures. You can use any of them if you want. Email me if you need a direct attachment.

I've seen a lot of sadness in my life but this broke my heart. I kept thinking 'This is the USA? This is the best we can do for our children?'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/good4kidz/sets/72157627145923828/; Friday, July 8, 2011 at 11:28:00 AM EDT
Earthy Girl said...: Oops bad link. Try this instead: http://flickr.com/gp/good4kidz/a5mvZ2/; Friday, July 8, 2011 at 12:29:00 PM EDT
ed notes online said...: Hey Earth Girl - thanks. Shoot me your email at normsco@gmail.com; Friday, July 8, 2011 at 6:44:00 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

Friday, July 8, 2011

Chicago Notes

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