The Staff at Sunburst Elementary School: We Love Our School!

Diane Ravitch's blog

If you wonder why people become teachers and remain in the classroom, watch this video created by the teachers at Sunburst Elememtary School in Glendale, Arizona. They are having fun! They have a culture of happiness. Not every public school is happy. But those with a strong culture are like families. Watch this family of teachers cavorting for the joy of it.

By the way, I googled the school and saw that they had made many videos. I also saw that it was a diverse school, with small class size, all teachers certified, and no teacher with less than three years experience. Also, it closed the achievement gap between white and Hispanic children. Maybe the secret is joy.

View original post

Who Saved The Gun Industry? The Answer May Surprise.

The good news is that you don’t have to pass an IQ test to be a member of Congress. I wrote a column about one of the dumbest members of the House, Rob Bishop, who has introduced a bill that would strip the ATF of its authority to determine whether a gun can be imported into the U.S. based on whether it’s a ‘sporting’ weapon or not. And since the ATF has decided, lies from the gun industry notwithstanding, that AR and AK-style guns aren’t sporting weapons, those kinds of guns manufactured overseas can’t come in.

             As you might imagine, the moment Bishop introduced his bill, Gun-nut Nation immediately began beating the drums to get the bill turned into law. But if Bishop’s an idiot, the NRA isn’t far behind, because if foreign gun makers can begin selling assault rifles and other ‘non-sporting’ guns in the U.S…

View original post 531 more words

State Cuts to Education Funding Demonstrate Impact of National, Far-Right Tax-Slashing Agenda

janresseger

Emma Brown’s recent Washington Post report about four-day school weeks in Oklahoma provides the textbook example of the political phenomenon described by Gordon Lafer in his new book, The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America One State at a Time (Cornell University Press, 2017).

Here is Emma Brown: “A deepening budget crisis here has forced schools across the Sooner State to make painful decisions. Class sizes have ballooned, art and foreign-language programs have shrunk or disappeared, and with no money for new textbooks, children go without. Perhaps the most significant consequence: Students in scores of districts are now going to school just four days a week… Of 513 school districts in Oklahoma, 96 have lopped Fridays or Mondays off their schedules, nearly triple the number in 2015 and four times as many as in 2013. An additional 44 are considering cutting instructional days by moving to a four-day…

View original post 1,350 more words

It’s time for a Human Rights Act

Seattle Education

I wrote the following letter today to the Mayor and City Council in Portland, Oregon where I live at this time.

To the Mayor of Portland and the City Council,

The actions of one person this weekend who killed two men who were protecting two young women from the angry and racist remarks and actions of that individual made me begin to think seriously about what is free speech and what is termed “hate speech”.

I consider “hate speech” words that suggest or incite harmful actions against others  whether the suggestion is covert or overt. I do not consider that kind of speech “free speech”.

Everyone who lives in our city, state and country has the right to feel safe. Would you feel safe if someone called out you or someone in your family as different and therefore a person who should be eradicated or removed from this country?

If someone who…

View original post 465 more words

The Sunday Times.

Fred Klonsky

TFW you’re listening to Sean Spicer pic.twitter.com/pSKuxDA6kv

— VICE News (@vicenews) June 3, 2017

.

The school funding mess in Illinois is a result of bi-partisan mendacity, which is another way of saying elected officials lie whenever they talk about education funding.

While they talk about freezing property taxes, they say nothing about adequately funding the state’s public schools. Relying on property taxes to finance education means the poorest communities in Illinois have less money to spend on their schools and suffer under the highest property tax rates.

It’s a system rigged to benefit wealthy homeowners and wealthy communities, while punishing the working class and small businessman. And it allows elected leaders to escape their constitutional obligation while spending your tax money on other things.

People whine that Illinois has no budget, but this state has shirked its responsibility for decades and few cared because only disadvantaged children suffered. The…

View original post 323 more words

And 29 Comes to a Close

David R. Taylor

Today ends my 29th year as an educator. To say the least it has been interesting from a local level, state level and especially a national level.

At the national level, it has brought us a new president and Secretary of Education that are doing everything possible to destroy public education. Their main agenda is to support “choice” through charter schools and vouchers systems, neither that has proved to improve education.

At the state level, some of our state leaders (Lt. Dan) have spent the entire legislative session focused on “bathroom bills” and school vouchers, neither for the benefit of public education in the State of Texas. The regular session ended over the weekend with no additional funding for public education because Lt. Dan would not allow any school bills to be passed that did not include vouchers. Selfish and short-sighted Lt. Dan.

At a local level, I still have…

View original post 111 more words

BustED Pencils Trending News: DeVos is Keeping the “Last” Last. | BustED Pencils

So Ms. DeVos is a devout Christian who believes that if a parent wants their child to bask in the glory of God then damn it the government should pay for it.  And let’s be honest she is referring to the God of Christians—only! Ok.  I’ll work with her.  What does Jesus—the son of God—… Read more »

Source: BustED Pencils Trending News: DeVos is Keeping the “Last” Last. | BustED Pencils

Cosecha Grand Rapids disrupts Walmart store with Penny Action

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Cosecha Movement engaged in their latest action in their campaign to demand respect, dignity and permanent protection for all immigrants.

At the 54th street Walmart, Cosecha GR members participated in what they were calling a “penny action.” The action involved adults and children buying milk and paying with pennies.

People went to the checkout lanes, each with 2 gallons of milk, and paid with pennies counting them one at a time.

Clogging up the checkout lanes caused them to backup, creating long lines of shoppers, as you can see in the pictures below.

This process played out for about 30 minutes, including people the returning the same milk they had just purchased. Eventually, Cosecha members took out a banner that said we will stop disrupting you, when you stop disrupting our families. Then, another member of Cosecha GR, with the use of a megaphone read a…

View original post 199 more words