Mister Journalism: "Reading, Sharing, Discussing, Learning"
"Dedicated to the premise that no matter what 'experts' say, trends in Education really are fleeting; and that the ONLY goal of all school employees should be to work with parents to help their students become better people in June than they were in September."
“There isn’t an educator that I know that says the work we do is easy.”
A group of like-minded educators in Washington’s Rainier School District formed the Rainier Educators of Color Network to create opportunities for educators of color to fellowship with other educators and families, advocate for their needs, and give voice to issues important to their community.
CT educator: “I am hoping we now look at the whole child and all our children’s needs on an ongoing basis.”
“We (educators) believe that state testing is a moment in time, a snapshot. It is not an overall picture of what is going on with a child throughout their education, throughout their year.”
“For rural students and their families, their public school is the only real option and claims to the contrary only amount to ‘false choice.’ ”
“In many rural areas, there are no, or very few, private school options. Students in rural areas often have to travel very far to attend the nearest school. For these students and families, their public school is the only real option and claims to the contrary only amount to ‘false choice.'”
Source: Despite Trump-DeVos claims, vouchers offer false promise to rural students – Education Votes
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the drug companies’ trade group, showed a high leap in spending for 2017 compared to 2016
With President Trump’s 100th day looming, he’s struggled to check off some of the big initiatives on his to-do list, such as getting rid of Obamacare and overhauling the tax code. These hefty projects invite companies and other groups with something at stake to frantically lobby the government, hoping the legislation can turn in their favor.
by Ashley BalcerzakSource: PhRMA shows biggest spike in lobbying spending in first quarter of President Trump
Was it a conscious choice to avoid “nationalizing” the Kansas election and catch Republicans sleeping, or just poor foresight and allocation of resources?
Last week, Kansas’ 4th Congressional District nearly produced the first shocking election result of the Trump era. The underfunded and unheralded campaign of Democrat James Thompson came within 8,195 votes of defeating Republican Ron Estes in a district that Trump won by 27 percentage points. The recriminations began almost immediately on both sides……read more.
by Andrew Mayersohn
Source: Why no more than a dribble of outside spending in Kansas?
Majority Forward was able to raise millions of dollars in a very short time, pouring much of it into ads designed for Democratic candidates in tight races.
A band of partisan operatives all serve on the board of a nonprofit social welfare organization that’s supposed to keep politicking to less than half its activities. And last month, the IRS gave the group, Majority Forward, its seal of tax-exempt approval, despite the fact that it spent more than $12.5 million helping Democratic senators try to cling to their seats in 2016’s highly contested elections.
… read more.
by Robert MaguireSource: In the service of social welfare, Democratic operatives get IRS seal of approval
Small donors didn’t play much of a role in funding the party for President Trump’s inauguration – but some very big donors gave in a very big way.
What does it take to stage a welcome-to-the-neighborhood blowout? President Trump raised $107 million for his inauguration festivities, shattering previous records. The former titleholder, Barack Obama, raised half that, $53.2 million, in 2009 — though Obama imposed far stricter limits on amounts and sources of donations.
At least 47 people or organizations gave $1 million or more to the Trump welcome wagon, and more than 250 gave $100,000 and above; those 250 provided 91 percent of the inaugural committee’s funds. Obama had 82 six-figure donors in 2013, and four that hit $1 million….Read more
by Ashley BalcerzakSource: 250 donors shelled out $100k or more for Trump’s inauguration, providing 91% of funds
The slightly-cranky voice navigating the world of educational “reform” while trying to still pursue the mission of providing quality education.
Even the newly-minted teacher of the year, who works at a charter school, is concerned that public and charter schools are seen as “in conflict.”
So why do charter schools feel so attacked and put upon?
Part of it may be an illusion of privilege. When you are an rich old white guy who has always gotten his way, it can be shocking and destabilizing when people say “No” to you. If you are a money-soaked hedge-funder surrounded by compliant underlings, it may be upsetting when people who should know their place start getting uppity. When you live soaked in privilege, any denial of your God-given right to get your own way might well feel like an attack. But that doesn’t describe everyone who has thrown their support behind charters and choice.
Some of it is certainly karma, history coming around. Many charter choice fans seem to have forgotten that they spent years pitching charters and choice by chicken littling about Failing Public Schools and how much the public schools suck and how trained educators were awful, better replaced by lightly trained best-and-brightests from some ivy-covered hall.They are like the bully who, having finally pushed the kid with the glasses too far so that he takes boxing lessons and starts to punch back at their bullying but, says, “What are you doing! You’re supposed to be too nice to fight back!” But that doesn’t cover all the possibilities, either.
No, the necessity of a public vs. charter cage match is baked right into the charter laws of most states, courtesy of one of the central lies of the modern charter movement.
The Big Lie of modern charters is that we can have multiple parallel school systems for the same money we spent on one. Sure. When you’re having trouble with your family budget and maintaining one home, the solution is to move half your family into a hotel. If it’s hard to pay the bills for one car, buy a second or third or fourth one.
Charter choice fans sell us charters as free private school. It won’t cost a penny more. And this lie guarantees conflict.
Because pubic schools and charters are trapped by that lie in a zero sum game. Every taxpayer dollar that goes to a charter school doesn’t go to a pubic school. Every taxpayer dollar that a public school hangs onto is a dollar that charters don’t get. For one to survive, the other must get beaten up. Even a well-meaning mild-mannered friendly charter school cannot avoid attacking public schools. Under current charter laws, it is impossible for charter and public schools NOT to be in a state of constant conflict.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Charter choice supporters in the legislatures could say, “We think the idea of free access to private school for some students is a good idea, and so we are going to raise taxes and allocate the money it will take to do this right. We will fully fund public schools and we will fully fund charter schools and they will be able to work together for the benefit of the larger community because they will no longer be battling to the death for an inadequately small pool of funding.”
Of course, charter choice supporters do not want to talk about charter choice systems as a new entitlement to free private school, and they do not want to talk about raising taxes. And so where charter choice is the Way To Go, we have multiple parallel school systems, mostly underfunded except for those that are able to draw extra funding from well-to-do parents or friendly philanthropists.
And, of course, we have those choice supporters for whom a fight to the death is the point. Their hope is that charter schools will finish off public systems, leaving only privatized schools that function “properly,” aka “through market forces.” Meanwhile, the “government schools” that run on the tax dollars stolen from hard-working rich folks and used to educate Those People can be properly starved to death.
And so charter schools and their fans, even the well-meaning decently parental ones, must live with the feeling of being under attack, because the system is currently constructed so that charter schools must be a threat to the health and continued existence of public schools, and public school supporters can either fight back or lie down and die.
It doesn’t have to be this way. It would probably be better for everyone if it wasn’t. But until we address the Big Lie at the heart of current charter choice policy, this is how it will stay.
Stuff That Needs To Be Said
My thoughts on public education and other things
A site to discuss better education for all
Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools
Elected school boards are the bedrock of American democracy.
Bringing awareness to mental illness and sexual assault
Communications for the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools community
an indie author writing to stay sane
Just another Delaware WordPress.com weblog
Attacks on our public education system hurt America
Independent Thought for an Independent World
"That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. Our chronic refusal as a nation to guarantee that right for all children.... is rooted in a kind of moral blindness, or at least a failure of moral imagination.... It is a failure which threatens our future as a nation of citizens called to a common purpose... tied to one another by a common bond." —Senator Paul Wellstone --- March 31, 2000
Speaking My MInd
Mister Journalism: "Reading, Sharing, Discussing, Learning" 