Dear Readers, I would like to share with you an email I sent last week to my class parents: April is the cruelest month… I doubt the NY State Education Department had T.S. Eliot in mind when they made the state testing schedule, but it does seem appropriate. Even with trying to keep test prep […]
@mikeklonsky plans for #unions to be a big part of the #SOSMarch convention in DC next week
July 25, 2012 By 2 Comments
Great, Mike. And drafting a resolution no less. Resolutions are fine. Teachers’ unions function in important ways, defending the social safety net and bargaining rights for teachers, which puts them squarely in a category of activism and advocacy along economic lines. This, however, necessitates compromise and collaboration with the State in this process of bargaining, […]
Chicago Teachers Vote to Stand Up for Children, Parents, and Themselves
June 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
EDUCATORS VOTE YES Chicago Teachers Vote Overwhelming for Strike Authorization as Contract Negotiations Continue; Union to use leverage to fight for smaller class sizes CHICAGO – Today, the Chicago Teachers Union revealed nearly 90 percent of its eligible members voted to give their labor organization the authority to call a strike should contract negotiations reach an […]
Interesting little convo last night on #soschat, #aft thoroughly in the tank for #commoncore
May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Well, there seems to be little hope of any legitimate debate on the common core if even one of the largest teachers’ unions make a case for the core, as if: one, we’ve never had standards before; and two, that it will ONLY be the standards. Are you kidding? David Coleman is on the College […]
A war on #public #education
August 29, 2011 By 10 Comments
All public institutions are subject to intense scrutiny as of late, as a report from Daily Kos contends.You can check out the report from Phi Delta Kappa that offers data to support the contention that the larger public is much less critical of public schools and teachers than some would claim. And by some, read […]
#Facebook and #education #reform
June 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I can’t quite remember the inspiration for this, maybe it was the whole Onion and Facebook thing recently, not sure. But I decided to enter in some basic search terms into Facebook, like teachers unions, education reform, and so forth. It doesn’t really prove anything, just a curiosity that seems to fall within a particular theme. […]
#Unions for #charter #schools
April 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A fight’s brewing in Chicago, as a spirit of unionized labor sets in. Academy administrators agree that teachers have a right to organize and bargain collectively but say they are not obligated to negotiate with the union because Chicago Math and Science Academy is private and falls under federal — not state — labor laws, […]
Muckraker?
November 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
What universe do we live in where this disgraced piece of garbage gets to expose anything other than what a disgraced piece of garbage he actually is. Yikes, tell me how you really feel, right? More of this anti-union rhetoric going on from both conservative and liberal camps. Does anyone even question why teachers have […]
Education nation
September 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Could it be Education Constipation, Education Domination, I don’t know, the brainstorming could continue. NBC News is hosting an education summit this entire week called Education Nation. It’s early in this summit, more to come, but I have some very initial reactions, correct me if I’m wrong: They drastically overestimate the power of teachers’ unions. […]
Quick note
July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
@john_merrow blames teachers’ unions as potential “creator” of Rhee. Hmm.
Diane Ravitch reported this. Then, Fred Klonsky got in on it, who should be respected for his positions on teachers’ unions. Merrow made his comments thusly: And finally U created her. “U” is my shorthand for teacher unions. This is simple physics: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The “Michelle Rhee” phenomenon […]