August 29, 2008

Uppity Teachers Talk Back Again

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 6:09 pm

On cue, the Fordham Foundation’s Flypaper finds worthy the argument of Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein on behalf of Washington School Superintendent Michelle Rhee’s efforts to eliminate tenure.  “Sure, there will be times when teachers will be treated in an arbitrary and capricious way if they give up their tenure rights,” Pearlstein explains. “Guess what: It happens all the time in the private sector, where hiring, promotion and pay decisions are sometimes made with incomplete information, favoritism, or undue emphasis on one factor or another.” (more…)

Back To School

Filed under: New Teacher Diaries by miss brave @ 4:55 pm

[Editor’s note: miss brave is the pseudonym for a second-year elementary school teacher in Queens. She blogs at miss brave teaches nyc, where this post originally appeared.]

Last year I read this in the blogs of second-year teachers and it made me want to cry, but it turns out it’s true: It is infinitely better being a second-year teacher than it is being a first-year teacher. It was very satisfying to walk into the building today and move my time card, search out my new mailbox (already full of information) and greet people I hadn’t seen all summer. (It didn’t hurt that last year on the first day of school I did not receive a schedule, an office, a desk, keys, or any darn clue what I was supposed to be doing there, whereas this year I have all of these things!) (more…)

That Dog Won’t Hunt

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 12:54 pm

Ohio’s working people respond to McCain’s claim that he represents their interests.

Biden’s View of Education

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 12:30 pm

At Gotham Schools, Kelly Vaughan reports on how his marriage to a teacher has shaped Joe Biden’s view of education.

Obama Highlights

Filed under: Education Politics by Leo Casey @ 12:14 pm

In his speech last night to the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama spoke at length about his plans for leading the country in a new direction after eight years of what he called the “failed presidency of George W. Bush.”

Obama on the Republican view of markets and on his view of education:

In Washington, they call this the “Ownership Society,” but what it really means is that you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck, you’re on your own. No health care? The market will fix it. You’re on your own. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, even if you don’t have boots. You are on your own.

Well, it’s time for them to own their failure… (more…)

Only In The United States, Part II

Filed under: Education by W.J. Levay @ 10:33 am

With Texas schools now in session, the New York Times follows up on that tiny rural town that’s allowing teachers to carry guns in the classroom.

Fun back-to-school activity for students: Guess which teachers are packing heat.

August 28, 2008

Which Side Are You On?

Filed under: Education Politics by Leo Casey @ 1:30 pm

A passage in Bill Clinton’s Wednesday evening speech to the Democratic National Convention, with its strong endorsement of Barack Obama, deserves highlighting:

Look at the example the Republicans have set: American workers have given us consistently rising productivity. They’ve worked harder and produced more. What did they get in return? Declining wages, less than 1/4 as many new jobs as in the previous eight years, smaller health care and pension benefits, rising poverty and the biggest increase in income inequality since the 1920s. American families by the millions are struggling with soaring health care costs and declining coverage.

I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn’t afford health care and couldn’t qualify their kids for Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of? What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented multiple deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on unions and the unlimited favors for the well-connected? What about Katrina and cronyism?

Given the attention garnered to those who have used the occasion of the convention to join in the war on unions, it is worth pointing out that the heart and soul of the party knows which side it is on. It stands not with McCain, Bush and the Republicans, but with working people and their unions.

August 27, 2008

The Fall’s Gonna Kill Ya

Filed under: New Teacher Diaries by miss brave @ 2:59 pm

[Editor’s note: miss brave is the pseudonym for a second-year elementary school reading teacher. She blogs at miss brave teaches nyc, where this post originally appeared.]

This morning, I did it. The thing I had been dreading and putting off all summer. I opened my hall closet, climbed up on my little stepladder, and hauled down the shopping bags of crap school supplies I had heaved up there in a giddy fit of summer fever in June.

I weeded through the stacks of papers I had unceremoniously dumped together in a desperate attempt to empty out my office in a timely fashion. I pulled out some binders and checklists I thought I would need for the first few days of school and piled them next to my all-purpose Carol School Supply bag, filled with the behavior charts and “Great Work” tickets and “Super Reader” pencils I bought back when I thought I would still be getting $260 worth of Teacher’s Choice money. I unearthed my new planner and filled in September’s dates. Then I put the essentials in my brand-new school bag.

It wasn’t so bad. (more…)

Some Questions

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 11:48 am

Ever since Socrates, teachers have this habit of mind: we think in the form of questions. The Democratic National Convention has posed a few questions for us. (more…)

EdWeek’s Interview with Randi Weingarten

Filed under: Education Politics by W.J. Levay @ 11:27 am

In an interview with Education Week shortly after her Aug. 25 speech at the DNC, Randi Weingarten reiterated her support for Barack Obama, and said she hoped people understood that teachers “just want to make a difference in the lives of kids. And the thing that makes them so angry sometimes is that they don’t get the help that they need to help kids; they get bashed instead”—by administrators, officials, and John McCain.

Click through for the video. (more…)

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