2009-08-7 Education Round Up

Accurate info v. rhetoric: From Insider Online:

Sixty-one percent of people say funding for public education should be increased, but that figure drops to only 51 percent when people are given accurate information about how much is currently being spent. That’s the finding from a survey conducted by William Howell and Martin West. Howell and West, who describe their survey in the Summer 2009 issue of Education Next, also find that accurate information about teacher salaries causes support for higher teacher salaries to drop from 69 percent to 55 percent.

Mission creep: Something Nashville can look forward to even if they don't work toward providing the education parents want for their children. The system will try to maintain its presence and so they'll expand their mission for survival's sake like St. Louis is doing.

"Long plagued by declining enrollment and academic struggles, the school district wants each new "full-service" school to serve as a community hub. The district is using roughly $1.7 million budgeted for schools already offering community education programs to turn them into full-service schools.
(snip)
Windom said security measures also are in place to make sure students don't come in contact with members of the public who seek services. BND.com

This made me laugh. After expressing that he was 'apoplectic' at the prospect of me being on the school board back in 2006 Councilman Mike Jameson (East Nashville/downtown) doesn't have much sympathy when someone else's ox is gored. He is quoted after this last Council BOE appointment as saying:

“The process is certainly not perfect."
Tennessean

That's for sure.

Not very encouraging: This among new BOE member Kay Simmons' initial comments:

“I think my experience has taught me to look objectively, at everything,” Simmons said. “The truth is that … there’s not an urban school district across the country that’s succeeding. We do need to look at different things. Nobody has the answer. My guess is that we won’t find the silver bullet either, but we need to peck away.” City Paper

The children don't have time to for the adults to just peck away at these problems with the view that no one has the answer. We need wholesale commitment to providing options for students that will work for them instead of offering the excuse that no one else can get it done either.

NEA To Do List: Every 4th of July the National Education Association holds its annual convention. What is voted on there is regularly outside the mainstream of America and often very surprising to parents who are trusting their children with these folks for so many hours of the day. Some items are just head scratchers. Why is this important to the education of children or the well-being of teachers on the job? For a peek check the New Business Items from the last Representative Assembly.

• to inform and influence President Obama's proposal to turn around 5,000 schools with $5 billion in five years beginning in the fall of 2010
• Develop success indicators beyond standardized tests while making sure that curricula promote the development of 21st Century Skills
• the local Association must be involved in any discussions regarding school reorganization, including but not limited to, charter school conversion;
• Tell the story to America of the importance of unions in assuring great public schools for every student
• NEA will zealously advocate for national health care reform that is consistent with the policies, resolutions, and legislative programs of the NEA and its state affiliates
• NEA will take such actions as may be appropriate to support efforts to (a) repeal any federal legislation and/or regulations that discriminate against same-sex couples, and (b) enact federal legislation and/or regulations that treat same-sex couples and similarly-situated heterosexual couples equally with regard to social security, health care, taxation, and other federal rights and benefits.
• To help state affiliates be more effective in opposing funding for charter schools that do not meet NEA criteria for support,
• The NEA will publicize and seek members' participation in the campaign for the defense of labor and human rights in Iran and for the release of the recently arrested Iranian trade union leaders, including Ali-Reza Hashami of the Teachers Organization of Iran.
• NEA will work with the Department of Labor in order to review and modernize the definitions of "teacher" and all other education professionals in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
• We oppose any efforts to restructure the U.S. educational system or local educational units on any basis that would allow schools to "cherry pick" students or institute separate and unequal educational models which could lead to further marginalization and segregation of student populations.
• The NEA go on record in support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) in their organizing drive to represent workers in the new Delta Airlines.
• That NEA recommend to its State Associations that "Juneteenth," a celebration by many African American communities that acknowledges the end of over 200 years of slavery in the United States, be placed on their written and electronic calendars. This day is June 19.

The Rep suggests: "While we are at it why not allow parents to at least see teacher performance reviews? How did students from one teacher at a school compare to students from another teacher? Currently those records are not available to parents."

I'd like to see some basic information posted outside their classroom doors:

Welcome to Mr. John Smith's Classroom
Masters in Education and a minor in music from Baylor University, 1973
TVAAS rating is 8.9
John.Smith@mnps.edu
Supervisor: Dr. Sally Jones sally.jones@MNPS.org

It seems amazing to me that we require parents to place their children in the care of people they've hardly had a chance to vet. It's even more amazing to me that the BOE grants tenure on a wholesale basis. Too much 'just trust us' going on.

Cheryl D. Mayes wants to replace MNPS BOE member Karen Johnson (District 6-Antioch). From Mayes' blog:

"I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you to share your personal stories with my staff and me. Please email your personal stories to us at CherylDMayes@gmail.com. We would like to know about the great things you and your students have experienced with MNPS. Please also share your concerns and your ideas for making our school system the best nationwide."

She's got a poll at the bottom of her blog asking "Are you satisfied with the type of education your child currently receives with MNPS?" Here's a clue, Ms. Mayes, check the number of folks who have chosen NOT to enroll their children in MNPS if you want to know what improvements to make. Last week I saw corporate suits from a rival grocer at Aldi's. You've got to know your competition.

Next August 5 of the seats on the School Board will be up for election. Once again Nashville has an opportunity to change the majority on the Board. Obviously, it's not too early to begin working on ensuring the board has the best qualified applicants who will provide the system with the oversight and vision it needs to provide a good education for every MNPS student. Get involved early.

We need a few more parents like this fellow in San Diego:

"David Page says the problem is that parents are on their own. Teachers have a union. So do principals. School board members get to vote plans up or down and top administrators make decisions in the salmon-pink offices of San Diego Unified.

But parents are often too intimidated to speak up or too star-struck with school staffers to question them, Page said. Education is a world loaded with its own numbing lingo -- categorical funding, supplement not supplant, program improvement -- and it seems overwhelming to understand it, let alone to fight it." Voice of San Diego

He's right. There really isn't a union for parents and child child advocacy organizations rarely stand behind parental rights.

Local connection: "Under Terry Grier, [Page] has been critical of the way the school district is planning for the stimulus dollars earmarked for disadvantaged kids, especially an early effort to develop plans by "clusters," as haphazard and lacking real input from parents." Yup, Terry Grier Vandy grad and the former Superintendent of Williamson County, TN schools.

Enough for today.

More agenda items

Blue Collar Muse pulls this quote from a July 2 speech by Barak Obama:

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”

For some reason I can't post my questions over there so I'll ask here:

What 'national security objectives'???

And who is the 'we' that's doing the setting of those objectives??

And why can't the military achieve those unknown objectives??

Ken and his posters have a lot more questions.

According to the Chicago Tribune the context is community service. But there's service and then there's well...indentured servitude or worse. Servitude is something you'd think a black man would be really sensitive about--especially after sitting under the teachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright for so long.

[Obama] said he would make federal assistance conditional on school districts establishing service programs and set the goal of 50 hours of service a year for middle school and high school students.

For college students, Obama would set the goal at 100 hours of service a year and create a $4,000 annual tax credit for college students tied to that level of service.

We can't keep them in school now, you're going to force them to provide community service too? I'm beginning to think the first wave of this 'civilian national security force' may be truancy officers.

And why do school districts have to establish service programs? Don't we have enough organizations already available for these students to plug into? Oh yeah, that pesky separation of church and state myth would be a problem. Can't mandate a student work in the church soup kitchen in order for the school district to keep those federal dollars coming in.

Then throw in the new vision the incoming AFT President Randi Weingarten has for our schools:

“Can you imagine a federal law that promoted community schools — schools that serve the neediest children by bringing together under one roof all the services and activities they and their families need?” Ms. Weingarten asked in the speech.

“Imagine schools that are open all day and offer after-school and evening recreational activities and homework assistance,” she said. “And suppose the schools included child care and dental, medical and counseling clinics.” NY Times

and we might as well just hand them over right after birth---if we'll be trusted much longer to conceive and carry to term.

Finally, I'll leave you with this quote of Barak Obama's from that same NY Times article as he addressed the recent National Education Association convention:

“These children are our children,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s time we understood that their education is our responsibility.

“I am running for president to guarantee that all of our children have the best possible chance in life,” he said, “and I am tired of hearing you, the teachers who work so hard, blamed for our problems.”

My problem is I don't have $10,000 for extracurricular activities.

What's up with Nevada?

Something's going on in Vegas, and it's not staying there, to be sure.

We start with the January 2008 edition of "School Reform News" and the article titled "Nevada Teacher Works to Oust NEA". Seems a 'renegade teacher and a rival union are leading charges against one of the NEA's largest local affiliates'. The renegade teacher was working with the Teamsters to decertify the Clark County Education Association but they've since parted ways and another group, Association of American Educators has stepped in and created Professional Association of Clark County Educators (PACCE).

And then we have this NY Times article titled "Teacher's sue to block hotel workers' union in Nevada caucus". Seems the hotel workers can't leave work to caucus and so special districts are being created to accommodate their participation. Not fair, says the teacher's union---which has some top officials that are backing Clinton. The Culinary Workers have endorsed Obama.

Education association? There's an education to be had here, but I don't think it's mentioned in the scope and sequence though.