Friday, Dec. 6, 5-9pm
21 West 35th St. (between 5th – 6th Aves.) NYC
outrageously condescending statement on the resistance to the Common Core: "It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary." http://shar.es/8lshW
"Well, I'm an urban dad, and I'm opposed to the Common Core because it is pseudo-intellectual; far from representing a genuine increase in "rigor," the standards are full of fake difficulties like using age-inappropriate vocabulary and calling that complexity of thought. The best education scholars have concluded the standards are erratic and shoddy; what little these standards have contributed of value was already available elsewhere (unless you believe David Coleman invented the idea of critical thinking).
The haughty condescension of Mr. Duncan's remark is the surest sign he is an emperor with no clothes. Rather than confront the myriad substantive objections to the Common Core coming from thousands of ordinary parents, teachers, scholars and psychologists, he resorts to a cheap insult. Well, he has proved me wrong about one thing: I had thought education "reformers" were happy shamelessly scapegoating teachers, but would never attack parents."
JeffPerdido Street School addresses the Duncan story:
Arne Duncan Insults White Suburban Moms, Says Kids Aren't "As Brilliant As They Thought"
Here's the problem Duncan and his merry men and women in corporate reform are facing with this task of convincing suburban moms their kids' schools suck and their kids aren't as smart as mommy and daddy think they are - most people in the suburbs and elsewhere aren't buying it.
That's what NYSED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch are discovering as they go on their Common Core listening tour from Syracuse to East Setauket and meet crowds that are overwhelmingly anti-Common Core and not convinced in the least that the plummeting Common Core test scores in NY State are emblematic of anything other than that the test scores were rigged to plummet.
Duncan can spew his ed deform playbook propaganda to state superintendents and his fellow ed deformers all he wants.
I'm sure he gets plenty of assurances from these folks that he's right and parents in the suburbs will come around soon enough to his way of thinking.
But the evidence is in already as the anti-Common Core movement grows and grows by the month - parents aren't buying the ed deform snake oil Uncle Arne and his fellow corporate ed deformers are selling and I just don't think insulting "white suburban moms" to get on board with the Core is going to save the sinking ed deform ship.
Here's some more spitting into gale-force winds.
I've actually done quite a bit of research but it seems futile. The Common Core steamroller seems to have squashed nearly all teacher resistance.
There are some new cartoons:
Common Core Fix-up http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=840
US Education Policy http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=842
Stop! http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=973
What Does the Poorest Country in Western Hemisphere Need? http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=972
Politicos Compromise; Children Suffer http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=971
Kindergarten Test Prep http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=970
And so on. Lots of cartoons and documentation for your continued discomfort.
Susan
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The Bill and Melinda Gates Fixers
Susan Ohanian
Schools Matter
2013-11-15 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=621
Gates money continues to drive projects to put its peculiar definition on texts schools must teach and to diminish all subjects except Language Arts and math.
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DOE Administration's Recommended Common Core Pearson's Textbooks Loaded with Errors
Rachel Monahan
New York Daily News
2013-11-11 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=620
Curriculum-by-Committee is a terrible idea, but teachers need to address the real problem, not whether the pages are aligned.
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What we fear is here ~ As seen with my own eyes
EnRaged NY & Joie Tyrrell
blog & Newsday
2013-11-09 http://susanohanian.org/data.php?id=527
A warning to everybody about school data.
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Who's On First?
Susan Ohanian
blog
2013-11-09 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=619
In the name of the Common Core career- and college-readiness, Fresno fifth graders are required to read--and write about--New York Times articles.
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Third Graders' Common Core 'I Can..." Statements
Expeditionary Learning
Common Core lesson
2013-11-09 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=618
Does anyone consider what notion of reading will third graders in New York have after a year of this?
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Training Teachers to Take the Blame
Susan Ohanian
blog
2013-11-09 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=617
Take a look at the partners behind those EngageNY Common Core teacher training lessons--and at a couple of the lessons themselves. Teachers in other states be warned: These are coming to your state.
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Common Core Drills Children on New Names for Old Stew
Susan Ohanian
blog
2013-11-09 http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=616
Common Core entrepreneurs provide new names for old stew.
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Bully Tactics
Susan Ohanian
2013-11-13 http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=1138
The writer takes on Weingarten and worksheets.
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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
US News and World Report
2013-11-13 http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1622
Here's some info on the STEM malarky.
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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Wall Street Journal
0000-00-00 http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1621
Krashen points out that people still misuse NAEP any way it suits their agenda.
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Hoover school bus advocates join with NAACP asking state, Justice Department to intervene
Jon Anderson
Al.com
2013-11-12 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1734
Ugly things happening in Birmingham, AL suburb.
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Top Biden aide to head Broad Foundation
Michael A. Memoli
Los Angeles Times
2013-11-13 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1733
Longtime Democratic political functionary named to head Broad Foundation.
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15-DAY NOTICE OF MODIFICATIONS TO TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION
California Department of Education
Notice
2013-11-08 http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1731
I thank the California Department of Education for sharing.
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Order the CD of the resistance:
"No Child Left Behind? Bring Back the Joy."
To order online (and hear samples from the songs) http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dhbdrake4
Other orders: Send $15 to
Susan Ohanian
P. O. Box 26
Charlotte, VT 05445
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| Obama Care Spaghetti code |
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| More OBama Care spaghetti code |
Mr. Chao rejected Republican suggestions that the administration had blocked an “anonymous shopping” feature because it feared that consumers would be shocked if they saw the full unsubsidized prices of insurance policies.WTF. The Republicans may be right and he could be lying. Even if he is lying then he is basically putting a charge on the US government as incompetent. I say better to take the political hit rather than undermine things further. But let's give Chao the benefit of the doubt that he is telling the truth.
In fact, Mr. Chao said, federal officials excluded the feature because it had failed to perform properly during testing. “It failed so miserably that we could not conscionably let people use it,” he said. ... NY Times
November 14, 2013
Francis Lewis High School UFT Consultative Committee
Today we, the UFT consultative committee of Francis Lewis High School, voted to formally endorse MORE caucus’s Petition for a Moratorium on the “Advance” Teacher Evaluation System.
The committee endorses this proposal and encourages our leadership to act quickly in the face of actions that jeopardize our profession and our students' quality of learning.Fraternally,
Arthur GoldsteinChapter Leader
Paula Duffy
Chapter Delegate
we have joined with our state affiliate NYSUT and education advocacy groups across the state to urge the governor, the state Legislature and the State Education Department of New York to ban standardized testing in pre-K through second grade.
Sign our petition now »
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew
Callagy said the DOE claim will have a chilling effect on teacher rights to go to court to defend themselves. With an air of disgust he then dismissed the witness.Yesterday we heard two anti-Portelos witnesses, both teachers at the school, as DOE legal attempts to paint Portelos' attempts to fightback as "undermining" and "creating a bad tone" in the school and place all blame on him. The very idea that Portelos was responding to an assault is off the table to the DOE.
TODAY
kick ass, don’t play “nice.” Union reform is a contact sport. But remember to do it collectively. We don’t need heroes or victims, we need victories....Union officers are part of the problem but they have the power to betray these principles because they are allowed to do so by their members, who have adopted the passive role encouraged by the business union model that has dominated US labor for decades. ... Lois WeinerLois Weiner has been critical of MORE's organizing efforts and at times I agree with her. But at this time MORE is the only game in the belly of the beast-UFT that controls the AFT and influences the tepid national union response to ed deform.
The teacher activist blogosphere has been buzzing about the perfidy of the AFT’s and NEA’s endorsements of teacher evaluation tied to students’ standardized test scores and a new national curriculum, the Common Core. Both policies are key to the neoliberal dream of a national, privatized system of public education that will synchronize educational outcomes with an economic reality of growing joblessness and underemployment. (I know these are strong claims and I refer readers who want further verification and explanation to my analyses in New Politics and book.)
- Peggy Robertson, a Colorado activist, write in her FB post “I truly am trying - desperately - to figure out how to occupy my union…- it is hard - crazy hard. I am just now getting involved, but let's just say the first two encounters have left me speechless. I am doing the work of the unions yet I pay them every month to sell me out. The irony.”
First to Peggy’s point. Union reform work is unlike any other political activity we undertake because of the unique nature of unions as institutions. Unions need to represent all members, not just those who agree with an activist, progressive perspective. Union reform work requires us to be active on different fronts, simultaneously. We must talk with members and persuade them of our ideas, working on collective actions. That has to go on at the school but often we can find like-minded activists beyond our schools and should connect with them. Networks develop in ways that are unpredictable and the first rule is “take it where you find it," as we're seeing in North Carolina - the topic of a future blog.
- Mercedes Schneider says she’s been told to “play nice” with the two unions, explaining she’s “been wondering about ‘the unions’– the two major national teachers unions– the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA). I have been told that “the unions” are the major forces on the side of classroom teachers in this fight against the corporate takeover of American public education…I want that to be true– but I cannot ignore what I am seeing…I have been told not to question the unions– that my doing so could hinder their effectiveness in fighting ‘against reform.’”
At the same time, we have to take on the ideas and policies of union officials, who control the union apparatus, to try to keep the existing “leadership” from doing harm. Meanwhile, we have to keep organizing on issues outside of the union structure, developing allies among parents and communities. It often happens that our work with these allies leads us to teachers who won’t have anything to do with the unions, for reasons that are understandable but need to be challenged.
The reasons the AFT and NEA have to be transformed is because of the power they exercise and the potential social movement unionism has. No clearer evidence is needed of teacher unionism’s capacity than what we’ve seen in Chicago as a result of radical teachers persuading their colleagues of the need to “own” their union. Though Chicago has a unique history, teachers are teachers. The skills and knowledge needed to reform a union aren’t found in the drinking water. They have to be taught, learned and shared. Some of what we must do to transform our unions is generic to union reform, as activists learn when they collaborate with reformers in other unions. Some issues are particular to teaching and education and have to be thrashed out as we engage in struggle.
We absolutely have to take on the NEA and AFT- as critical friends. To do so we should be clear that the “union” is not its elected officials. Sometimes “the union” is not even a particular organizational form. We may need new forms of organization, especially when unions lose the right to bargain collectively - as is happening with breathtaking rapidity.
“The union” is an organization of workers that defends a set of principles. To me and a rising generation of activists those principles are solidarity, democracy in the workplace, defense of quality public education for all kids, equality and justice in the workplace and in society. Union officers are part of the problem but they have the power to betray these principles because they are allowed to do so by their members, who have adopted the passive role encouraged by the business union model that has dominated US labor for decades.
Paulo Freire’s advice in “ Pedagogy of the Oppressed” that “freedom is acquired by conquest, not by gift” and "Not even the best-intentioned leadership can bestow independence as a gift” holds for pedagogy and in teacher union politics. A good place to start to understand how to “occupy” the unions is to (re)read Freire - and go to the Labor Notes conference, this year in Chicago, April 4. Yes, kick ass, don’t play “nice.” Union reform is a contact sport. But remember to do it collectively. We don’t need heroes or victims, we need victories.
I invite reader responses, either to New Politics as a blog or to me directly at drweinerlo@gmail.com. Is there a subject you want me to tackle? Let me know. And you can follow my thoughts on teaching, schools, and education on twitter , Facebook, as well as my blog here at New Politics.
My chapter was so excited to hear about this way of pushing the UFT to act that they suggested voting to endorsing this petition right after I showed it to them in our union meeting... Megan Moskop, MOREI know. Some people say "why a moratorium and not abolition?" Especially since the UFT, AFT/Randi etc. are calling for moratoriums? Darling, the devils is in the details. You see, the UFT likes the eval system -- or it did - selling it - or shoving it down throats - until Mulgrew now claims he wants to renegotiate with deB.
Long Island Teacher Accuses Commission
er John King of Institutio nal Child Abuse www.raginghorse.wordpress.com/
Man. Diane Ravitch talking revolution.Is This How a Revolution Begins?
by dianeravitch
In this short video taken last night at the public forum on Long Island, a "highly effective" teacher demands that Commissioner John King be rated "ineffective" and fired based on the failure rate across the state on the tests he authorized. The crowd went wild. She said what the state is doing to children today is "child abuse."Folks, this is the local community in East Setauket, Long Island, New York. This is not the Tea Party.
Take a Chapter Vote to Endorse the Moratorium!
by morecaucusnyc
One exciting and quick way to support MORE's work is by asking your school's UFT chapter to vote on endorsing our petition for a moratorium on the new "Advance" teacher evaluation system.We're all fed up with "Advance," and all the teachers I've talked to wish the UFT was doing more to oppose this system and stand up for a better one. My chapter was so excited to hear about this way of pushing the UFT to act that they suggested voting to endorsing this petition right after I showed it to them in our union meeting.I wanted to make sure everyone had time to read up and consider their options before a vote though, so I sent them an informational e-mail, and we scheduled a secret-ballot vote for the next week. Teachers cast simple paper ballots, they were counted by an impartial committee, and then my chapter leader and I composed a letter like the one below.Voila!It only took about 30 minutes, and my chapter is excited about their involvement in our fight to build a stronger union and a better evaluation system.You can also take a vote to endorse at your next chapter meeting.We will present the petitions and chapter endorsements at the November 20th delegate assembly, when we raise a resolution calling for a full repeal of this flawed evaluation scheme that was imposed on us.Let us know your chapter endorsed our petition by emailing us at more@morecaucusnyc.orgDate (school name) UFT Chapter On (date) we, the UFT chapter of (insert school name here), voted to formally endorse MORE caucus’s Petition for a Moratorium on the “Advance” Teacher Evaluation System. The chapter endorses this proposal and encourages our leadership to act quickly in the face of actions that jeopardize our profession and our students’ quality of learning. Fraternally, (name) Chapter Leader (name) Chapter Delegatesubmitted by Megan Moskop- Teacher/ UFT Delegate at M.S. 324- Patria Mirabal
Too many people can now see what’s going on here. That’s why nothing short of a full withdrawal from Race to the Top, the Common Core, and test based evaluations is acceptable. Not waivers for special needs students. Not a three year moratorium. Only a full withdrawal from the entire agenda is acceptable.... Flanagan, who hid in his office two weeks ago when 1,000 people rallied outside, looked like he wanted to slither away and hide under a rock last night. Don’t let his arrogance fool you. He knows the days of shoo-in victories in his senate district are over. He knows, that palling around with John King and taking big money from Michelle Rhee have now attached him to this agenda as much as anybody else. He knows that next November he will have to answer for the child abuse that he has supported as the chairman of the New York State Senate’s Education Committee. He knows now that he has awoken the mommies!... PJSTAThis stuff makes me salivate. You mean there ARE union leaders who stand up instead of seeking a little stool at the table?
Dimino: “You have awoken the mommies!”
In front of 900 in the Ward Melville High School auditorium, and several hundred more in the overflow cafeteria, PJSTA President Beth Dimino shredded NYSED Commissioner John King, Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, and New York State Senator John Flanagan. She first called out King for what his agenda is: child abuse.
Then she urged Tisch to fire King, citing the 350 letters she has collected supporting this stance. Finally she warned Flanagan that he had “awoken the mommies” and that “The mommies in New York don’t abuse their children and they’re not going to let bullies do that either!” She walked off to a rousing standing ovation.
Tisch later stated to the crowd, “I know you are passionate. We hear you, we get it.” But of course we know she doesn’t. We know that as currently constituted, NYSED, the New York State Board of Regents, the state legislature, and the governor have no plans to abandon their abusive reform agenda. Plutocrats like Tisch stand to make far too much money to abandon the agenda. Instead they may make minor alterations that change very little. They will claim these alterations are examples of them listening to parents, students, and educators. Nobody will buy it. Their agenda is now crystal clear. Too many people can now see what’s going on here. That’s why nothing short of a full withdrawal from Race to the Top, the Common Core, and test based evaluations is acceptable. Not waivers for special needs students. Not a three year moratorium. Only a full withdrawal from the entire agenda is acceptable.
Community members like the ones who filled the auditorium last night can’t fire the puppet John King. We also can’t fire puppet master Merryl Tisch. But next November we can vote out John Flanagan. We can vote out Andrew Cuomo. Then we can let a new state government deal with Tisch.
Flanagan, who hid in his office two weeks ago when 1,000 people rallied outside, looked like he wanted to slither away and hide under a rock last night. Don’t let his arrogance fool you. He knows the days of shoo-in victories in his senate district are over. He knows, that palling around with John King and taking big money from Michelle Rhee have now attached him to this agenda as much as anybody else. He knows that next November he will have to answer for the child abuse that he has supported as the chairman of the New York State Senate’s Education Committee. He knows now that he has awoken the mommies!
There was a slew of coverage of last night’s event. Just a bit of it is below…
Video here: http://youtu.be/xQbjvy1iSH0
Fox NY’s coverage.
Newsday’s story.
News12′s coverage.
Perdido Street School’s story.
Diane Ravitch’s story.
