Battle Hymn of the Republicans - Fred Smith

Fred Smith, the poet lauriate of good causes, is at it again. So nice seeing him at the Leonie Haimson abode last week for the Skinny Awards honoring Jamaal Bowman.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Battle Hymn of the Republicans

Their lies hath told the story,

Sowing distrust and discord;

They believe the greatest glory

Is to kneel before their Lord,

And to spread the hateful gospel

‘Til His kingdom is restored;

Mistruth is marching on.

Glory, glory rigged election!

Glory, glory misdirection!

Glory, glory resurrection!

Mistruth is marching on.

We have seen his eyes a-squinting

‘Neath an empty gilded poof;

This fountainhead of falsity,

Duping followers, forsooth,

Who echo all his sick beliefs

Without need for any proof;

Big lies keep marching on.

Fury, gaseous and expulsive,

Unrestrainedly compulsive,

Spewing noxious words repulsive,

His lies keep marching on.

His apostles spread the message--

Amen choir on the Hill;

He was blaring out the trumpet call

To do His pure blood will,

And unleash His Proud Boy army to

Discharge their one-six kill.

His legions carry on.

Hail the Fuhrer’s neo-Nazis,

And oath keeper kamikazes,

And the fact-distorting Fox-ies.

His legions carry on.

Amidst that clash, one zealot ‘scaped

Death from the crazed invaders,

And stood against the violence of

The Capitol Crusaders.

The golden idol’s dreams were dashed;

So too, the MAGA traitors’.

There is a higher law.

To those who fear replacement,

Seeking democracy’s defeat,

Remaining yet unchastened:

There is a judgment seat!

Yea, there’s a Judgment Day.

Glory, glory higher power

Above any ruler’s tower,

Who must face his final hour.

There is a Judgment Day!

 

Fred Smith with his annual XMAS Poem - 2022 version

All manner of assaults devastate Mother Earth.

Corporations put profits above human worth

--- Fred Smith, Xmas 2022 Poem excerpt

another year, 

another poem from Fred.

not a lot of cheer

in a dismal year. 

But we will always have Fred's

Photo with NY Jets Dancers

For Flair

--- Norm's feeble attempt at rhyme

I first met Fred, a testing expert who used to work as a statistician for the old NYCBOE, when he contacted me about getting ICE members to assist in gathering data for his exposures of the evils of testing I think sometime around 2008. He then got involved with groups like GEM and Change the Stakes and was a co-winner with me and Danny Dromm of Leonie Haimson's Skinny Award in 2018 - (June 19 - I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by Leonie Haimson along with the Great Danny Dromm and Fred Smith.)

Fred Smith has done it again for 2022 with is yearly Xmas specials.

Here are his previous years, each with a different theme. 2019 seems to be absent.

• Fred Smith 2021 edition of his Annual ‘Twas the night before Christmas

• Fred Smith with his annual The Night Before Xmas—2020

• Fred Smith - The Day After Christmas - 2018 Version

• 2017: Fred Smith: Dispirit of the Season
• 2016: Fred Smith's Annual "Night Before Christmas"

• 2015: Fred Smith, Poet Laureate of Opt Out - 'Twas the night before...

• And then there’s Mulgrew who must choose who is winning 

  To claim he was backing them from the beginning. 

• In (2014) Fred Smith gave us this gem.
  Fred Smith: The Day Before Xmas (With Arne Duncan ...
  

Fred is also a statistician for the NY Jets - don't blame him for their absence from the Super Bowl for over 50 years.

Fred Smith convincing Jets dancers to boycott field tests - he's the one in the middle

 

Fred Smith with his annual Xmas Poem —2022

 

We have to laugh and be optimistic to keep from crying... 

Christmas 2022 

 

From North Pole to South Pole, ’22’s been a mess.

‘Twas enough to leave Santa in a state of distress.                    

 

All-day cable kept pounding loud noise in his head;

The news sent him spinning and straight to his bed.

 

Reindeer were moaning and his disheartened elves    

Didn’t want to make more toys to re-stock the shelves.

 

The world seemed bereft of its natural rhythm.

Would this holy night be without him or with him?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All manner of assaults devastate Mother Earth.

Corporations put profits above human worth:

 

Ice caps keep melting; fires destroy forest ranges;

Storms pour down floods, while pols deny plague-like changes.

 

Polarization’s become the norm in our states;

Trash talk flowing freely in degrading debates.

 

Pro-life activists who are against gun restrictions,

Hold both viewpoints despite the clear contradictions.

 

Each hour he was hearing about war in Ukraine;

Continuous suffering and far too much pain.

 

Inflation and hate crimes rising without any end;

School and shopping mall murders tracking a tragic trend.

 

And supreme godly judges from the loftiest heights

Letting state legislatures limit people's birthrights.

 

Another flu cycle and Covid keeps morphing,

As we welcome winter—more folks unmasked and coughing.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

So, Santa felt down and couldn’t get going,                  

Or force being jolly behind hollow Ho Ho-ing?               

 

Oh, how he missed Macy’s when kids had his ear,

Whispering wishes, “I was good the whole year…”

 

Though he twice-checked all the names on his “Nice” children’s list,

Naughty kids snuck up for presents that had an odd twist.

 

He recalled some notorious brats on his knee,

Whose desires foreshadowed the grown-ups they’d be:   

 

There was a young girl, her first name was Marjorie,

She demanded pet vipers for her menagerie.

 

Lindsey drawled for a Jekyll-Hyde, bobble head doll;

“Just a skunk,” Jim Jordan ordered with a snide snarl.

 

Mitch dreamed of an 8-Ball where all answers were “NO!”

A reply he took with him from those days long ago.

 

Someone pushed little Herschel to run, run and look

For an “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” pop-up coloring book.

 

“I need a chameleon,” Elise squealed chubby-faced.

Color-changing lizards perfectly suited her taste.

  

Joe humbly prayed for stamina and longevity,

Kamala waited her next—all smiles and levity.

 

While Eric was craving a large looking glass,

De Blas wasted his chance—late and hopeless, alas.

 

Andrew chose a fairy tale in which bold lying shows

A wooden boy exposed by the size of his nose.

 

Rudy could not understand the joy and sunshine

Santa brought to the youngsters waiting on line.

He jeered at their belief in this man dressed in red

And scoffed at the notion he flew in a sled.

Yet, when his turn came, Rudy craved a loudspeaker

And a billy club to bully those who were weaker.

 

Away from the crowd, a lonely boy viewed the scene;

Brooding in the back seat of his dad’s limousine.

He loathed the bell ringers just outside of the store,

Collecting coins from kind donors to help out the poor.

He had cruel disdain for social disparities,

But realized he could steal through self-dealing “charities,”

Like shortchanging workers, and rigging the tax game,

And conning saps into signing fat checks in his name.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Meanwhile, Mrs. Claus could be heard gently nagging,  

“Nicholas, get up now, this is no time for dragging.

We’re feeling despair, Dear, the most I can remember,

But that’s no excuse to stay home late in December.”

 

I wish this Eve’s poem could close with unrestrained cheer,

But don’t know for certain whether he’s coming this year.

 

For Santa’s, like Tinker Bell’s, light has grown dim.

Perhaps, the pure love of childhood will replenish him.

 

And his blue eyes will twinkle, and he’ll rev up his sleigh.

My heart says he’ll deliver on this Christmas Day.

 

 

Fred Smith 2021 edition of his Annual ‘Twas the night before Christmas - in Daily News

I first met Fred, a testing expert who used to work as a statistician for the old NYCBOE, when he contacted me about getting ICE members to assist in gathering data for his exposures of the evils of testing I think sometime around 2008. He then got involved with groups like GEM and Change the Stakes and was a co-winner with me and Danny Dromm of Leonie Haimson's Skinny Award in 2018 - (June 19 - I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by Leonie Haimson along with the Great Danny Dromm and Fred Smith.)

Fred Smith has done it again for 2021 with is yearly Xmas specials.

Fred Smith with his annual 'Twas The Night Before Xmas—2021

Here are his previous years, each with a different theme. 2019 seems to be absent.

• Fred Smith with his annual The Night Before Xmas—2020

• Fred Smith - The Day After Christmas - 2018 Version

• 2017: Fred Smith: Dispirit of the Season
• 2016: Fred Smith's Annual "Night Before Christmas"

• 2015: Fred Smith, Poet Laureate of Opt Out - 'Twas the night before...

• And then there’s Mulgrew who must choose who is winning 

  To claim he was backing them from the beginning. 

• In (2014) Fred Smith gave us this gem.
  Fred Smith: The Day Before Xmas (With Arne Duncan ...
  

Fred is also a statistician for the NY Jets - don't blame him for their absence from the Super Bowl for over 50 years.

Fred Smith convincing Jets dancers to boycott field tests - he's the one in the middle

‘Twas the night before Christmas: 2021 edition

By FRED SMITH                             NEW YORK DAILY NEWS                DEC 24, 2021 AT 5:00 AM

[Text in red was not part of the DN article. Thanks to Fred for the mention.]

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-night-before-christmas-2021-20211224-s3dqosmlvrebljfke2wuku5jva-story.html

In a year filled with trauma on this Christmas Eve,

I’d just taken a booster shot under my sleeve.

 

And then starting to fade in-and-out woozy,

I dreamt of getting a hot tub jacuzzi.

Soon my vision was clouded, my eyesight grew dim

As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t spot him.

 

For the guy in the red suit had been chased away.

I saw Amazon trucks, not his wonderful sleigh.

And with Bezos’ boxes flying off of the shelves,

Santa couldn’t find work for his beloved elves.

 

But he emailed the names on his naughty-guy list,

And said what he’d have given each one as a gift.

His roll covered miscreants across all levels

From the state to the fed to a broad range of devils:

 

For Andrew, a thick pair of anti-grope mitts;

Melissa gets valium to curb her mean fits.

A special surprise awaits Jim Malatras:

Strong itching powder to rub in his gatkes.

 

To those congressmen who block legislation,

Cartons of Ex-Lax to relieve constipation.

For roadblock senators Manchin and Sinema,

Dollars for programs far more than the minima.

 

And Donald gets a golden bowlful of kale,

And sentenced to life in a health foodie jail.

A Clorox colada for his counselor Rudy,

And Mitch gets a voracious turtleneck cootie.

 

Community service — what Trump’s racist friends need,

Posting BLM banners ‘til their hateful hands bleed.

And to all the crazies of his insurrection,

Poison pills to choke down for the “stolen election.”

 

And fittingly, for all climate change deniers,

Full-time sweat labor putting out raging fires.

For all anti-vaxxers and anti-mask wearers,

The names and addresses of local pallbearers.

To Proud Boy gents and those QAnon ladies,

Immediate transport to hovels in Hades.

 

For the same “Breaking News!” droning on all the day,

Cable news gets a free pass to go far away.

 

For donors and lobbyists who bought Mayor Bill,

A backhoe that recoups their ill-gotten fill.

For Michael Mulgrew and his right of retention,

50 years to teach shop for a Tier 20 pension.

 

To Pearson executives, who are truly villains

Killing 8-year-old minds with bubble sheet fill-ins:

Here’s an endless supply of sharp No. 2s

To suck all the lead out, as your brains start to ooze.

 

The roster of evil includes many foul names

Equally worthy of being consigned to the flames.

So, he filled up their stockings with hot burning coals,

An appropriate payment for selling their souls.

 

From the time I came under my glum Pfizer-ish fog

He hadn’t named anyone on his A+ log.

Such a negative Santa made me melancholy

There was no ho, ho, ho; what happened to jolly?

 

Then suddenly he sent me a rose-colored wink

To show that his spirit was still in the pink.

 

Reminding me how he loves kids most of all

And those who protect them who won’t let our schools fall.

So, all was not bleak on this dark Yuletide night;

The greatest gifts always go to those who do right,

Who like his own reindeer outlast any storm

With unblinking vision to create a new norm.

 

On Leonie fiercely striving to lower class size;

On Ravitch and Burris puncturing charter school lies;

On Rosa and Cashin up high, seeing the light

On Rebell and Jackson, winning equity’s fight

There’s steady Norm Scott always keeping the score

With faith in our teachers who deserve so much more.

And Jeanette and Lisa working at the grass roots.

Giving parents their voices and speaking the truth

 

Though the online business has invaded our lives

“Yes, Virginia” still lives; and kindness survives.

 

Smith is a former city Department of Education official.

 

Fred Smith/Robin Jacobowitz: Why Biden Admin Support for Testing in Pandemic is Wrong

 Fred is back to our pages with a co-authored screed on the increasingly sellout Ed Dept no matter who is installed at the top - below are ed deform snakes.

Appointees at Ed Dept planning strikes at pubed

Here's our reaction to USDE's push to resume testing this spring.  Please feel free to share with your readers and allies.

Robin Jacobowitz is director of education projects at the Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz.

http://www.bencenblog.com/2021/03/02/building-back-better/

Building Back Better?

by Robin Jacobowitz and Fred Smith - March 2, 2021

This week, the United States Department of Education (USDE) sent a letter to chief state school officers directing them to administer state-level standardized testing in 2021. 

This annual testing, waived in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is required under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and has had bipartisan support. It encompasses English Language Arts (ELA) and math tests in grades 3 – 8; science in grades 4 and 8; and one test each in ELA, math, and science at the high school level. These tests are now needed, the federal Department of Education rationalizes, to “understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning and identify what resources and supports students need.” 

We focus this blog post on the 3 – 8 statewide exams for two reasons. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has expressed disappointment in their resumption, which would target more than one million students. At the same time, the plan for the high school-level tests, known as the Regents Exams, remains in flux. 

We support the search for understanding the impacts the pandemic has had on our students and schools. But we object to the premise that imposing the tests in 2021 will yield any meaningful answers either about its effect on students and teachers or regarding the numerous ways instruction has been organized and delivered this school year. 

We find no justifiable logic in administering these statewide tests to a population of young people already enduring a year of disruption and hardship. As students and teachers struggle through unmatched upheaval, the USDE is choosing to deprive them of precious instructional time and instead subject them to mind-numbing exams whose worth, as we have previously written, was questionable even in good years. 

These exams are not needed to tell us what we already know: student learning has suffered this year, and even more so for students from disadvantaged and traditionally marginalized backgrounds. In requiring the tests, the USDE is reverting to old habits in a crisis and failing to exert educational leadership. In 2021, testing becomes a ship without an anchor.

Then there are the practical concerns. 

We object to the loss of time and resources that administering the tests will entail. The conduct of mass standardized testing is not a simple endeavor. There is a multi-million dollar price tag that goes to private vendors who are responsible for test development. Even if the 2021 exams incorporate questions developed but not used in 2020, there are the associated costs of test administration — producing the exams (in print or computerized form) and ancillary materials, and providing for their shipment and security. Added to these are the contractual expenditures paid to testing companies for scoring, data processing and reporting services. 

Beyond that is the immeasurable value of the time and effort that students and teachers invest in test preparation and sitting for the exams — and the toll paid in test anxiety during an already extremely stressful school year. 

Moreover, with testing suspended in 2020 at the federal level, what is the proposed baseline against which to measure pupil achievement, class performance, different learning arrangements and various modes of testing?  In “normal” times, these are legitimate areas of investigation for state- and district-wide test populations, as are investigation of subgroup outcomes and comparison of ways in which instruction is delivered. That’s not the case here.

The USDE acknowledges the complexities of the moment and makes a virtue of necessity by allowing states to have some flexibility — granting discretion in “reducing the length of the tests, offering remote administration of the tests, or extending the window for the administration of the tests, including the possibility of administering the test over the summer or in the fall.” 

To contemplate bringing students and teachers to school over the summer for the purpose of taking a test clearly disregards the weight they have shouldered this school year and ignores the serious financial straits many districts currently face. 

The “flexibility” offered by the USDE renders the process confusing and cumbersome, and in effect, un-standardizes the process. Most significant for a testing regime seeking useful information, this flexibility makes the tests unreliable. 

Such concessions place an even greater burden on administrators as they figure out how to give the tests; on teachers who must adjust their lesson plans to accommodate the exams; and on students who are targeted to take them. They beg questions about what we learn from a scrambled exercise in which participating school districts may follow different procedures. 

With New York and other states balking at the prospect of testing this year, maybe we’ll see a re-awakening of the grass roots opt-out movement. We agree that it is important to understand how our students have fared through this pandemic. But forcing the administration of state-level tests is an impediment to that goal, and does not help us reach it. 

We should turn to our teachers for a frontline assessment of where their students are and elicit their thoughts about how we might address deficiencies and inequities going forward. Instead it seems that Washington D.C. is bent on taking the absurdity of testing to another level. President Biden promised that teachers would have a friend in the White House. USDE’s first step, however, signals business as usual. Is this how we “build back better?”

In December of 2019, Joe Biden promised that if elected, he would stop standardized testing. Yet the U.S. Department of Education has announced that states must test students in the midst of the pandemic.  That is a wrongheaded policy that puts data first and children last. Write Joe Biden. Tell him to step in and cancel the tests.

1. Pick up the phone and call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414.

Here is a suggested script.

"My name is (name) from (state). I am calling to ask the President to keep his promise about eliminating standardized testing. Forcing schools to administer annual tests undermines the administration's call to support our students' social-emotional and mental health in this time of crisis. The tests must be canceled. Period."

2. Then pick up the phone and call the U.S. Department of Education at this number 800-872-5327. Press 3.

Here is a suggested script. 

"My name is (name) from (state). I strongly opposed Mr. Rosenblum's recent letter that forces schools to administer annual tests this year. All of our schools' efforts must be used to support our students' social-emotional and mental health in this time of crisis.  Test results will be meaningless. Please tell Dr. Cardona that tests must be canceled. Period."

3. Finally, send an email to the White House by clicking here (letter prepared by our friends at NYC Opt Out).