UPDATE: NEA Supports CTU

NEA President Van Roekel Statement on Chicago Strike

WASHINGTON - September 10, 2012 -
The following statement was made today by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel:

“Although the members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) are not members of the National Education Association (NEA), our three million members stand proudly behind CTU.

“For more than a year, the teachers and education support professionals who serve Chicago’s children have been working toward an agreement that would improve learning conditions in Chicago’s public schools. This is a good thing—we need more, not fewer, adults who care so deeply about our nation’s children.

“I know from my 23 years in the classroom that the decision to strike does not come easily. In fact, the last time Chicago’s teachers were on strike was more than a quarter-century ago.

“But as educators we also know that it is our responsibility to ensure that every child has the most committed, caring, and qualified educators in their schools. We cannot continue to stand by and weather budget cut after budget cut—our children deserve better.

“We are encouraged to learn that both sides have come back to the table. Collective bargaining is a process that works. In states where collective bargaining is protected, there are fewer strikes and more districts with higher-performing schools. The truth is students do better when we all work together.

“For those of us who are committed to putting students at the center of education reform, it’s time to shift our focus. Currently, conditions in our schools are so difficult that almost half of all new teachers leave the profession in the first five years. We need to get our priorities in order—higher standards for those entering the field, more support and mentoring for new teachers, and more relevant, ongoing, and well-funded training for all teachers. This is what’s best not only for educators but also for students.

“Most importantly, we need to trust educators with the big decisions, and involve them in the important discussions—parental involvement, curriculum, evaluation, and salary. Educators—not politicians, CEOs, or movie producers—know what our children need to succeed. In Chicago, the members of the Chicago Teachers Union are the experts on what the students of Chicago need.

“Educators are our friends, family, and neighbors, they spend their days teaching our children, and they need the tools and resources to get the job done. They deserve our respect and support.”

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.

CONTACT: Miguel Gonzalez, mgonzalez@nea.org

The Teaching Profession...

A reader of Diane Ravitch's blog reminded me of this posting of a few years ago...

In what other profession...

In what other profession are the licensed professionals considered the LEAST knowledgeable about the job? You seldom if ever hear “that guy couldn’t possibly know a thing about law enforcement – he’s a police officer”, or “she can’t be trusted talking about fire safety – she’s a firefighter.”

In what other profession is experience viewed as a liability rather than an asset? You won’t find a contractor advertising “choose me – I’ve never done this before”, and your doctor won’t recommend a surgeon on the basis of her “having very little experience with the procedure”.

In what other profession is the desire for competitive salary viewed as proof of callous indifference towards the job? You won’t hear many say “that lawyer charges a lot of money, she obviously doesn’t care about her clients”, or “that coach earns millions – clearly he doesn’t care about the team.”

...And if teachers dare ask for a raise, this is taken by many as clear evidence that teachers don’t give a porcupine’s posterior about kids. In fact, some say if teachers really cared about their students they would insist on earning LESS money.

If that entire attitude weren’t bad enough, what other profession is legally held to PERFECTION by 2014? Are police required to eliminate all crime? Are firefighters required to eliminate all fires? Are doctors required to cure all patients? Are lawyers required to win all cases? Are coaches required to win all games? Of course they aren’t.

It's as relevant today as it was 2 years ago.

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Stop the Testing Insanity!

Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing!

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Sweet Home Chicago*

Chicago teachers went on strike today. Among their "demands" are things which affect teachers all over the country...things like too much testing and privatization. Below are voices from and about the strike. The teachers are fighting against the privatization of America's schools and the de-professionalization of America's public school teachers.

Why I'm striking, JCB

CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard is on record saying both that CTU leadership is deciding whether or not to strike, and that “everyone knows that a strike would only hurt our kids.”

...I wanted to educate Mr. Brizard about what it means to “help or hurt our kids”.
When you make me cram 30-50 kids in my classroom with no air conditioning so that temperatures hit 96 degrees, that hurts our kids.

...When you take 18-25 days out of the school year for high stakes testing that is not even scientifically applicable for many of our students, that hurts our kids.

...When you unilaterally institute a longer school day, insult us by calling it a “full school day” and then provide no implementation support, throwing our schools into chaos, that hurts our kids.

...When you support Mayor Emanuel’s TIF program in diverting hundreds of millions of dollars of school funds into to the pockets of wealthy developers like billionaire member of your school board, Penny Pritzker so she can build more hotels, that not only hurts kids, but somebody should be going to jail.

...When you close and turnaround schools disrupting thousands of kids’ lives and educations and often plunging them into violence and have no data to support your practice, that hurts our kids.

...I am willing to sacrifice an awful lot to protect the students I serve every day. I am not hurting our kids by striking, I’m striking to restore some semblance of reasonable care for students to this system.

With the Chicago Teachers' Union, I will defend my profession

One evening, in a small home with many bedrooms, I overheard my mom, my aunt, my cousin talking. Despite my mom’s deep sadness, her boldness had not waivered. “Defiende tu carrera,” my mother, who still wishes she could have gone to college, quietly--boldly--told my cousin. “Defend your profession.”

I recite my mother’s advice silently when I must invoke her boldness to speak up or speak out.

Spirits were high at the Chicago Teachers Union(CTU) Strike HQ

While media coverage has focused on pay issues, that’s only part of the story
It’s early Sunday morning now and if an agreement is not reached by Sunday midnight, thousands of teachers, para-professionals and other support staff will go on strike.

CTU members care deeply about their students and are fed up with the poor physical conditions of the schools, the cutbacks in art, music, science, PE etc., the closing of entire schools accompanied by mass firing of teachers, the ballooning class sizes, the lack of student support services, the abuse of standardized testing and the accompanying ‘teach to the test” dumbing down of the curriculum. They are also determined to stop the corporate privatization of the schools.

Why the CPS Strike Matters

If anyone thinks this strike is just another union “ploy” for higher pay or less “working time” they are sorely mistaken. And while workers should be entitled to protect their rights, the CPS strike is about the heart and soul of public schooling, the deprofessionalization of teachers, and the ways that the education “crisis” nation wide has been co-opted as a means of pushing privatization as the be-all-and-end-all solution to the “achievement gap”. Schools are not businesses, children are not widgets, and teachers are not robots or machines. Let’s start there.

Press Statement on Chicago Teachers Strike

The policies pushed by Rahm Emmanuel, which are being simultaneously implemented in New York and many other cities, involve evaluating teachers and schools on the basis of student test scores, closing schools whose test scores fail to meet a certain standard and firing half their staffs, replacing public schools with charter schools, some run as non profits and some run for profit, and trying to weaken teacher tenure and introduce merit pay. The first three components have been already introduced in Chicago and the mayor wants to intensify them and lengthen the school day. The union is saying enough is enough.

The Schools Chicago's Students Deserve

This is a publication from the Chicago Teachers Union. The executive summary lists 10 items which they believe are necessary to improve the education of the children of Chicago. The 10 items are appropriate for all children...this could easily be retitled The Schools America's Students Deserve.

Executive Summary

The Chicago Teachers Union argues for proven educational reforms to dramatically improve education of more than 400,000 students in a district of 675 schools. These reforms are desperately needed and can head Chicago towards the world-class educational system its students deserve.

The following are essential:

1. Recognize That Class Size Matters. Drastically reduce class size. We currently have one of the largest class sizes in the state. This greatly inhibits the ability of our students to learn and thrive.
2. Educate The Whole Child. Invest to ensure that all schools have recess and physical education equipment, healthy food offerings, and classes in art, theater, dance, and music in every school. Offer world languages and a variety of subject choices. Provide every school with a library and assign the commensurate number of librarians to staff them.
3. Create More Robust Wrap-around Services. The Chicago Public Schools system (CPS) is far behind recommended staffing levels suggested by national professional associations. The number of school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists must increase dramatically to serve Chicago’s population of low-income students. Additionally, students who cannot afford transportation costs need free fares.
4. Address Inequities In Our System. Students and their families recognize the apartheid-like system managed by CPS. It denies resources to the neediest schools, uses discipline policies with a disproportionate harm on students of color, and enacts policies that increase the concentrations of students in high poverty and racially segregated schools.
5. Help Students Get Off To A Good Start. We need to provide age-appropriate (not test-driven) education in the early grades. All students should have access to pre-kindergarten and to full day kindergarten.
6. Respect And Develop The Professionals. Teachers need salaries comparable to others with their education and experience. They need time to adequately plan their lessons and collaborate with colleagues, as well as the autonomy and shared decision-making to encourage professional judgment. CPS needs to hire more teaching assistants so that no students fall through the cracks.
7. Teach All Students. We need stronger commitments to address the disparities that exist due to our lack of robust programs for emergent bilingual students and services for students faced with a variety of special needs.
8. Provide Quality School Facilities. No more leaky roofs, asbestos-lined bathrooms, or windows that refuse to shut. Students need to be taught in facilities that are well-maintained and show respect for those who work and go to school there.
9. Partner With Parents. Parents are an integral part of a child’s education. They need to be encouraged and helped in that role.
10. Fully Fund Education. A country and city that can afford to take care of its affluent citizens can afford to take care of those on the other end of the income scale. There is no excuse for denying students the essential services they deserve.

*I was born and raised in Chicago. I attended public schools from Kindergarten through high school graduation (Rogers School and Sullivan High School). See A Lifetime of Elementary Schools Part 1.

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Stop the Testing Insanity!

Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing!

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2012 Medley #17

Testing, Online Learning,
Chicago Teachers Union vs. Democrats, Tony Bennett,
Corporate Charters, "Reformers," Politics.

TESTING

Outing ACT: Test-and-Punish Doesn't Educate, but It's Profitable for Testing Companies

This reminds me of the 1960s album by the Mothers of Invention titled, We're Only In It For The Money.

Future historians, trying to explain why America, at the turn of the 21st century, chose a path to education reform that made catastrophe all but inevitable, will have a difficult time unraveling the tangled weave of ideology, ignorance, hubris, secrecy, naiveté, greed and unexamined assumptions that contributed to that catastrophe.

Why, they'll wonder, would the citizens of a country that had become the richest and most powerful in the world, a country that had accumulated patents, Pulitzers, Nobels, and other national and international awards out of all proportion to the size of its population - why would it hand over its system of education to corporations, politicians and a wealthy guy who went to private schools?

The Costs of High Stakes Testing

Did you know that testing in Indiana costs more than $46 million? Did you know that students lose days of instruction every year so that they can be tested over and over again? Want to see what you can do to change things?

What Informed Citizens Need to Know about Standardized Testing in Our Public Schools

ONLINE LEARNING

The reality and the hype behind online learning and the "School of One"

"No significant achievement gains" from online learning...

Today’s Daily News has a story about a new negative evaluation of DOE’s much vaunted “School of One” program. This study, which found no significant achievement gains from the program, was quietly placed on the Research Alliance website in the middle of summer with no apparent outreach to the media or the public.

This contrasts with the huge publicity machine promoting this online program that has operated since its inception as a pilot started in the summer of 2009.

CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION vs. the DEMOCRATS

As Chicago Teachers Head Toward Strike, Democrats Turn on Their Union

Teachers don't have a political party to which they can turn any longer. The Democrats are no longer the party of public education. NEA and AFT have given their endorsement without receiving anything in return as the Obama administration continues to sell America's public schools to corporate interests. Why are we, as a profession, supporting people who are determined to destroy us? Forget the seat at the table. Stand up for public education.

Have Democrats abandoned teacher unions in their pursuit of a corporate-backed education overhaul? From the looks of the Democratic National Convention, it would seem so.

At the podium, speakers like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt praised the Obama administration’s willingness to embrace such change, singling out the controversial Race to the Top program for special attention. The program requires states to link teacher evaluations to student standardized test scores and pushes charter schools and ‘turnarounds’—in which at least 50 percent of teachers are fired—to replace struggling public schools.

TONY BENNETT

Bennett Wants Ability To Take Over Entire School Districts

The Republicans used to be the party of "local control." Tony Bennett is all for taking control away from the people.

Bennett says his department is already grading districts the way individual schools are assigned letter grades. House Education committee chairman Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) says state takeover of entire school districts is an avenue worth exploring.

CORPORATE CHARTERS

WWC Review of the Report “Charter-School* Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts”

Yet another study finding that charter schools are not the magic bullet. They are no better than public schools. The problem is not public education or public school teachers. It's poverty. What other nation in the world would accept a poverty rate of nearly one fourth of its children?

The study found that, on average, CMOs did not have a statistically significant impact on middle school student performance on state assessments in math, reading, science, or social studies. Similarly, there was not a statistically significant impact of CMOs on graduation rates and rates of post-secondary enrollment for high school students. However, there was substantial variation in the direction, magnitude and statistical significance of the impacts for individual CMOs.

"REFORMERS"

School ‘Reform’: A Failing Grade

So, yes, there is a crisis in education, a crisis caused by ill-considered federal legislation that sets utopian targets and then punishes schools and educators when they cannot meet impossible goals. As a result, cheating scandals have been discovered in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Baltimore, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Some people do terrible things when faced with unreasonable targets and draconian punishment.

The response to the current crisis in education tends to reflect two different worldviews. On one side are those who call themselves “reformers.” The reformers believe that the schools can be improved by more testing, more punishment of educators (also known as “accountability”), more charter schools, and strict adherence to free-market principles in relation to employees (teachers) and consumers (students). On the other are those who reject the reformers’ proposals and emphasize the importance of addressing the social conditions—especially poverty—that are the root causes of poor academic achievement. Many of these people—often parents in the public school system, experienced teachers, and scholars of education—favor changes based on improving curriculum, facilities, and materials, improving teacher recruitment and preparation, and attending to the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children. The critics of test-based accountability and free-market policies do not have a name, so the reformers call them “anti-reform.” It might be better to describe them as defenders of common sense and sound education.

POLITICS

“Failing Schools” Narrative a Tactic to Privatize Public Education and Destroy Unions

The Obama campaign has recently tried to squeeze their opponent on the issue of education, leading to anomalous situations like Obama criticizing Romney for supporting class size increases that his own Education Secretary agrees with. There is probably a debate to be had between the two campaigns over education, one that comes down mostly to resources. But the philosophy underpinning both sides on education comes from a similar place – the idea that America is slipping behind the rest of the world on education, and that drastic measures must be taken to reverse that trend. Usually these drastic measures fall directly on the heads of teachers and more specifically their unions.

There’s one problem with this scenario – the premise is wrong.

Both political parties are in favor of things which research has shown don't work; merit pay for teachers, evaluations of teachers and schools based on students' test scores, increasing numbers of charter schools, and the general privatization of America's public education. No Child Left Behind has been a failure. Race to the Top forces states to adopt unproven strategies for education. Neither has provided more support to struggling schools.

See pages 35 to 37 of the Republican Platform.
See page 5 (and following) of the Democratic Platform.

*References to charters generally imply corporate, for-profit charter schools. Quotes from other writers reflect their opinions only. See It's Important to Look in a Mirror Now and Then

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Stop the Testing Insanity!

Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing!

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