Published in The WAVE (page 11) Nov. 16, 2018
School Scope: Brooklyn High School Students Walk Out to
Protest Mark Zuckerberg Learning Platform
By Norm Scott
I broke the story on my blog (ednotesonline.com) and it was
picked up by education reporter Sue Edelman of the NY Post, Business Insider
and NY Magazine so far.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, like
so many billionaires (i.e. Bill Gates, Reed Hastings of Netflix, Laurene Jobs
of Apple), think they have all the answers for our schools. Zuckerberg and Chan
created a platform called Summit Learning which basically plants the student in
front of a computer and turns the teacher into a manager who introduces a
lesson and then supervises the students. Students at the Secondary School for
Journalism (SSJ) on the John Jay campus in Park Slope had enough and a hundred
of them walked out of class on Monday. This just may be the first student revolt
against and hi-tech assaults on
education. That it was led by kids of color makes it special, especially when we
hear of recent events where wealthier parents are controlling some of the tech
infringements on their children, while poorer communities are getting computer
programs like Summit Learning pushed down their throats. Teacher expertise is
minimized and allows for the hiring of cheaper inexperienced teachers. But what
else is new? The student leaders have been in touch and they are writing a letter
to Zuckerberg asking for a meeting to explore their objections.
Are Democrats Finally
Turning Against Charters?
One thing Democrats and Republicans have agreed on is
support for charters. DFER, Democrats for Education Reform was set up by
billionaires to make sure charters had the backing of both parties. Clinton,
Bush, and Obama had pretty much the same education policies of phony reforms
that put the blame on teachers and make tests the end-all and be-all. (Trump of
course with the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary has gone
beyond even them in trying to privatize the public school system.) Underlying
the reforms was anti-unionism from both parties. Non-union teachers without
union protections are the reason charters have so much teacher churn.
I've always maintained that our own union, city, state and
national - the UFT/NYSUT/AFT - weakness on opposing charters over their first
two decades was a major reason so many Democrats fell into the charter trap. And
the charter movement began to grow by leaps and bounds as education deform
(deform) geared up into this century. Trump seems to have helped the worm turn
as charters have moved from bi-partisan to Republican, like so many other
issues. (At one point global warming also had bi-partisan support until
Republicans weaponized the issue.)
Articles in the NY Times and Newsday addressed this issue,
especially since the NY State Senate has turned. I recommend these two articles
if you are interested.
New York Times: After Long Romance, Democrats Turning
Against Charter Schools: The Backlash
Newsday: With loss of GOP Senate majority, charter school
movement loses clout
UFT Contract
I reported last week that the occupational, physical therapists,
nurses chapter had rejected the new contract by a 70% vote against. Some have
been in touch and I will post some of their reasons next week.
You can find links to all of the above at Norm’s blog,
ednotesonline.com.
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