Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
This just came in over the transom. Real Reformers: Get out those capes.
Inspired by the Real Reformers calling BS on all those slim shadies. As Tom Lehrer used to say, "Every revolution needs a folk song.... Ready, Aim, SING."
Best,
Schoolio
_________
Hedge Fund Pair o Dice
-- Schoolio
As I walk through the city and my mind is bereft,
I take a look at my grades,
And mediocrity’s left.
'Cause I've been tested and messed with so long,
That even Obama thinks that my mind has gone.
And his homeboy Arne Duncan said we need a Katrina,
To overhaul the schools, or he’ll squeeze us like sardines, yo.
To the suits in the news we need nuthin’ but charters,
To them an inner city kid’s political barter.
They act like there ain’t nuthin’ to rampant co-location,
But damn if you’d see their Muffy in a bowl-shit situation.
Don’t gimme EIP’s -- how’s an IEP gonna fit, son?
Fool, I’m the kinda G that little homie’s wanna be like,
On my knees in the night,
Prayin’ for a “3” in the street light.
[Chorus]
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Playing with a hedge fund pair o dice.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Playing with a hedge fund pair o dice.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Living in a hedge fund paradise.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Living in a hedge fund paradise.
Proficiency ain’t suffient, see?
Excellence be gettin’ hell away from me.
In my situation, a graduation proclamation,
No regents scholar, diploma and a buck can’t even buy a dollar.
Remedial classes just to fit in with the masses,
Credit recovery, where’s the class room that I didn’t see?
Where’s MY Campaign for Frickin’ Equity?
My mama brought the suit, and still there’s nothing left for me!
My passion is my destiny.
I know the truth, now which of you all fakers got the guts to say I’m free?
I scored a “2” yo, will I live to see a “4”?
I need recalibratin’, if I’ma raise my score.
Tell me why are some still blind to see,
Their only move -- blame the UFT.
- Show quoted text -
[Chorus]
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Playing with a hedge fund pair o dice.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Playing with a hedge fund pair o dice.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Living in a hedge fund paradise.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Living in a hedge fund paradise.
Power in the money, money in the power,
Pay me for my test score! hour after hour.
Everybody's cramming, but half of them ain't booking.
It's going on in Tweed,
Where School Prog Reports are cooking.
They say I gotta learn,
Sent an intern here to teach me.
If they can't understand me, how can they reach me?
I guess they’re tryin,
But inside I’m dyin.
They blame it all on tenure,
But that’s Bloomberg manure!
[Chorus]
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Playing with a hedge fund pair o dice.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Playing with a hedge fund pair o dice.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Living in a hedge fund paradise.
They’re spreading edu-lies,
Living in a hedge fund paradise.
[Refrain – and Retain]
Tell me why are some still blind to see,
Here is a compilation of the performances Will the Real Reformers Please Stand Up at the Loews Lincoln Square movie theater at the Waiting for Superman premiere on Sept. 24, 2010. It includes a brief section of the Real Reformers running into Michael Moore on the street (It was opening night at the NY Film Festival.) See press release below.
Press Release
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Contact: Norm Scott: 917-992-3734
Parents and Teachers, the Real Reformers, Organize Response to “Waiting for Superman”
On Friday, September 24th, parents and teachers participated in a demonstration outside of the premier of “Waiting for Superman”.The film, which has garnered significant publicity in recent days, has taken the lead in framing the conversation regarding education reform.A grass roots group, The Real Reformers, reject this framework and offered an alternative voice to the conversation.
Explaining the impetus for Friday night’s actions and the development of a forthcoming grassroots documentary, Julie Cavanagh, a teacher in Red Hook, Brooklyn said, “We felt compelled to demonstrate a resistance to a film that can be described only as propaganda.The film continues to propagate myths about the so-called crisis in education and further espouses false claims about supposed reforms and reformers that are garnering much of the media’s attention right now.It is time for Real Reformers to stand up, and lead the conversation on what works in our public schools, and the policies needed to improve our public schools.There are no easy answers.Viewing charter schools as a silver bullet and blaming teachers, the vast majority of whom work tirelessly for students and families every day, is part of a larger movement to privatize public education.We must be vigilant in protecting, while improving, true public education, the pillar of our democracy.”
Lisa Donlan, a public school parent and President of Community Education Council One added, “For too long now our children have been the pawns of powerful politicians and their handpicked bureaucrats who paint themselves as reformers while they reinforce the status quo, depriving our neediest children of the quality education that is their birthright. No man, not even Superman can alter the sad reality: the achievement gap persists, our schools and communities are segregated and less money is spent on students despite tripled budgets.In the words of Frederick Douglass in 1857: "If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation…want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters…. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."
Outside of the Loews Lincoln Square movie theater, the Real Reformers stood up and presented their vision for real education reform.The Grassroots Education Movement provided two pieces of literature including:“The Inconvenient Truth About Waiting for Superman” which outlined information regarding misleading and factually inaccurate claims in the movie and “The Truth About Charter Schools”, a brochure that outlines “myths” and “truths” about charter schools.The group also released the trailer for their upcoming documentary, “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman”, which will be shown in New York City neighborhoods, and across the country, this fall.The trailer for this film is posted at http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/.
Parents and Teachers also engaged in a flash mob performance of “Will the Real Reformers Please Stand Up”.(The video of this performance and the movie trailer can be found at (see the trailer at:www.waitingforsupermantruth.org).
Various groups were represented at Friday night’s event.Attendees expressed a myriad of objections to the film, while joining in a shared mission to expose the narrow lens with which Guggenheim tells his story.
Mona Davids, President of the New York Charter Parents Association commented, “The so-called education reformers consisting of hedge fund millionaires and billionaires do not respect parents and the communities of color they serve. Charters in NYC have been denying parents their civil rights by vehemently opposing PA/PTA's in charters. NYCPA in it's one year of existence has brought about charter reform including charters serving special education and English Language Learners; PA/PTA's in every charter in NYC; audits by the state comptroller; public lotteries; monthly board meetings, stronger conflict of interests requirements and the ban of for-profit charter schools, to name a few. These reforms should have been enacted 10 years ago. It's hypocritical of the charter lobby and education reformers to say this is the civil rights issue of our time when they are refusing to comply with the revised charter law requiring PA/PTA's in charters and violating the civil rights of charter parents. Apparently, their children attending private schools can have PA/PTA's but not the children of color attending publicly funded privately run charter schools. Charter parents don't matter. Just the per pupil funding does!”
Sam Coleman, a teacher in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and member of Grassroots Education Movement and NYCORE, had another take, “The insinuation that teachers and teacher unions are to blame for what ails public education is insulting to teachers and distracts from the real issues. Talk to students who are getting police records for school hallway scuffles about what is stopping them from graduating and getting a job. Talk to high school students who are also parents and are forced to drop out because there is no childcare in their schools. Talk to immigrant students who cannot go to college because of their immigration status, or to queer youth who are bullied and pushed out of school. Ask any of them; their stories reveal the complexity of what ails our educational system. Let’s stop blaming teachers and teacher unions. Let’s give control of education to communities and educators. Let’s fund communities equitably and let the corporate lawyers hold bake sales to buy their shredders."
The ed deform press promotes Evan Stone and Sydney Morris and their bogus "alternative to the UFT" - see the Wall St. Journal headliner today
Teachers Break Union Ranks
They claim to have 700 supporters but they will prove to have zero presence in the long run.
The Journal's Barbara Martinez writes hopefully:
"While that's a pittance compared with the nearly 80,000 teachers under the UFT, her nascent movement may represent the seeds of a growing population of teachers who are breaking ranks with the traditional tenets of unionism."
Sure, Barbara, keep praying. Already Evan and Sydney have left teaching:
"This school year, Ms. Morris and Mr. Stone took a break from teaching and are instead working on building up their organization, including identifying "school captains" at the city's schools—much like the UFT has a "chapter leader" at every public school."
That should enhance their creds with real teachers as they see Evan and Sydney getting hedge hog type funding. I can't wait to see these "school captains."
The Real Reformers stand up
The press ignores a fairly recent current within the UFT that represents the same generation of teachers as Evan and Sydney as represented by groups like NYCORE (2000 members on the listserve) and Teachers Unite which also has lots of people signed up. And GEM has managed to attract some real young activists who make Evan and Sydney look like the joke they are.
Now these people are virulently pro-union and anti Ed Deform while they call for a more progressive system of education reform. They don't buy the pablum that if you just work 24 hours a day you will accomplish Michelle Rhee like miracles. They call for real reforms like reduction in class size and increased resources. And they are totally opposed to charter school co-locations. They are the people working on a response to "Waiting for Superman" and other exciting projects.
But there's another wrinkle. While Evan and Sydney are presenting themselves as not anti union but as offering an alternative to the UFT, the real reformers are also showing a willingness to be critical of the MulGarten type of Unity Caucus leadership. Evan and Sydney want to destroy the UFT. The Real Reformers not only want to reform the schools, but the union too. They seek to build a democratic union that would support a democratically run public education system.
Oh yeah. They are uniformly superb teachers at the top of their game, amongst the most respected in their schools.
If you didn't read the Michael Mulgrew "Welcome Back" letter I posted yesterday that was reworked to express what is really going on, go forth immediately and read it:
To me the most important thing about the Remix is that it was written by one of the new Real Reformers, a still young teacher who not very long ago had a different view of the UFT. The teacher began teaching in NYC right out of college 10 years ago (thus spending the bulk of the career under BloomKlein). Just a short time ago this teacher would argue that addressing UFT related issues in terms of the actions of the leadership was not worth putting time and effort into.
I wrote in the into to the Remix that the Mulgrew letter had stirred a hornets next and the Remix is the result. If more teachers of this generation become hornets and start nesting together, a serious opposition within the UFT might yet emerge.
If you are a fan of the Stieg Larsson novels with its unique heroine, I can't help thinking that the Remix author may be representative of what I will call the Lisbeth Salander generation of teachers. Smart and tough, taking no crap from anyone. And capable of reaching out to parents and community and to other teachers. I've seen some of them with long careers ahead stand up and openly challenge BloomKlein time and again. If they get organized and turn their sights on BloomKlein and MulGarten - and Sydney and Evan's phony movement - there will be more than a few hornet stings to go around.
