Send Your Articles, Photos, Cartoons, for the Rouge Forum News to Community Coordinator Adam Renner.

On the Little Rouge School Front:

CTA is the Biggest Campaign Spender in California: “ $211,849,298″

“Fire All the Teachers” Demagogue Becomes Good Cop on NCLB: “The new proposals would require states to use annual tests, along with other indicators, to divide the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools into three groups: some 10,000 to 15,000 high-performing schools that would receive rewards or recognition, some 5,000 chronically failing schools requiring vigorous state intervention, and 80,000 or so schools in the middle that would be encouraged to figure out on their own how to improve.”

AFT Welcomes Common National Standards (ya cannot make this stuff up): “The new standards released on March 10 by the Common Core State Standards Initiative represent the best effort so far to transform today’s patchwork quilt of 50 sets of state standards into one set of strong, consistent expectations for what all students should know and learn, AFT president Randi Weingarten says.”

WashPost: National Regimented Curricula Require Racist Tests: “We will need tests—they will likely evolve into national tests—that are aligned with the new standards. That means changing the annual tests already used in some states, and overcoming the still widespread view that national testing undercuts states rights.”

Emily Alpert on Apartheid U. That is, UCSD: Black students are a rarity at UCSD. Only 1.6 percent of its undergraduate students are black, a stat that has become a rallying cry after an escalating series of racially offensive events around the university…

Paul Moore: “Letter: I teach at the ‘Central Falls High School’ of Miami, Florida, and we won’t let you scapegoat us for your problems.”

Detroit Board Joins George Washington (yes) In Lawsuit Against Bobb: “The Detroit Public School Board unanimously voted Monday night to file a second lawsuit against Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, saying $145,000 in private foundation support he receives under his new contract is unlawful.”

On March 12th the Detroit Federation of Teachers leadership announced on their web site that they would join the lawsuit against Broad’s Bobb while the community began to respond to the Skillman plan to abolish the Detroit School Board. “Union and community activists at a school board meeting Thursday night said they were outraged by the plan to get rid of the board, while many parents were divided, and Mayor Dave Bing said he’d only take on the responsibility if voters agreed.”

Financial Manager Bobb Throws DPS into Deepest Debt Ever: “• Instead of a $17 million surplus Bobb projected for this fiscal year, spending has increased so much Bobb is projecting a $98 million deficit for the budget year that ends June 30…(and proves concessions don’t save jobs)…The financial situation will be managed, Bobb said, if a number of measures take place for the fiscal year that begins this summer. Among them: eliminating 2,100 positions to save $128.8 million; reducing health care costs by $47 million; saving $8 million through outsourcing transportation; and closing an estimated 41 schools.”

Detroit News Editorial: Back the Tyrant; Fire the Teachers and Let the Union Help! “Detroit Federation of Teachers President Keith Johnson says his leadership team will hold a review today to decide whether to eject Conn and other such teachers from the union for their actions. That seems appropriate. It’s not up to individual teachers to decide what policies they’ll abide by. The union has agreed to some of the changes the dissidents are trying to block. Bobb should fire educators who are actively working to undermine district policies during school hours.

Bobb, Skillman, Broad, et al, Plan to Seize Detroit Schools–Close 40: “A coalition of education leaders and foundations will unveil today a sweeping academic reform agenda that targets failing schools, calls for 70 new programs and launches a national effort to recruit principals. The $200 million plan also aims to build community support this year to eliminate the Detroit Board of Education and make the mayor accountable for Detroit Public Schools….Other initiatives include the effort from the Detroit Federation of Teachers, which did not sign off on the plan but was engaged in the talks to develop it, to open its own school,”

Who is Michigan Future Inc?

Could it Be A Pattern? KC to Close Half of its Schools: “The Kansas City Board of Education voted Wednesday night to close almost half of the city’s public schools, accepting a sweeping and contentious plan to shrink the system in the face of dwindling enrollment, budget cuts and a $50 million deficit.In a 5-to-4 vote, the members endorsed the Right-Size plan, proposed by the schools superintendent, John Covington, to close 28 of the city’s 61 schools and cut 700 of 3,000 jobs, including those of 285 teachers.”

Texas Loves Them Textbooks: Tx, Fla, and California set the social studies standards in textbooks because they make huge, state-wide, purchases. ”In economics, the revisions add Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek, two champions of free-market economic theory, among the usual list of economists to be studied, like Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. They also replaced the word “capitalism” throughout their texts with the “free-enterprise system.”

“Let’s face it, capitalism does have a negative connotation,” said one conservative member, Terri Leo. “You know, ‘capitalist pig!’” ”Cynthia Dunbar, a lawyer from Richmond who is a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian beliefs, managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among the conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and state.”) “The Enlightenment was not the only philosophy on which these revolutions were based,” Ms. Dunbar said.”

Read the rest of the Rouge Forum Update here.

“Anthropocentrism’s Antidote: Reclaiming Our Indigenous Orientation to Non-human Teachers” by Don “Four Arrows” Jacobs, Jessica London Jacobs, and Sage Ryan.

This is the second article in the Critical Education series “The Lure of the Animal: Addressing Nonhuman Animals in Educational Theory and Research”.

“Israel Sandbags Biden”
By Juan Cole, Reader Supported News, posted March 10
includes historical background

“Exit Strategies for Aghanistan and Iraq”
By Tom Hayden, The Nation, posted March 8
on Congressional dynamics and the state of the peace movement

“Let Europe Be Europe: Why the United States Must Withdraw from NATO”
By Andrew Bacevich, Foreign Policy, March-April, posted March 4
The author teaches history and international relations at Boston University

“The Pentagon’s Runaway Budget”
By Carl Conetta, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted March 3
on the rise in military spending since 1998, compared to past surges

“How to Fight a Better War (Next Time)”
By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted March 2
on “lessons” from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, tongue-in-cheek

“The System Works, Obama’s Approach Doesn’t”
By Stanley Kutler, Truthdig.com, posted March 2
compares Obama to Franklin Roosevelt

“America, the Fragile Empire”
By Niall Ferguson, Common Dreams (from Los Angeles Times), posted February 28

“US Started a War of Aggression Against Afghanistan over 30 Years Ago”
By James A. Lucas, Countercurrents.org, posted February 26

“…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…”

Remember! Call For Proposals—Rouge Forum Conference August 2-5, 2010

March 4th Actions, Analysis and Videos:

WashPost Lead on March 4th Actions: “The University of California at Santa Cruz, expecting disruptions, had advised employees and others not to come to campus Thursday. Dozens of students blocked roads, prohibiting drivers from entering the campus at its main and west entrances. There were also reports of students intimidating employees. At Berkeley, the Academic Senate urged protesters to “stay on your feet” and offered helpful hints for those who chose arrest. Organizers hoped to spur events in 30 other states.”

California March 4th Actions and Beyond, A Critical Approach

Read the entire RF update here.

and

Check out Rouge Forum 2010

The Education Agenda Is A War Agenda
An Imperialist War Agenda
A Class War Agenda

This is capitalism. It is not the highest or last stage of human development.

There is a connection between capitalism and imperialism, exploitation and war. One begets the other.

The key reasons for the attacks on working people and schools are rooted in those twins.

In the U.S. capitalism rapidly decays. The government is an executive committee and armed weapon of the ruling classes. There they work out their differences, allowing us to choose which one of them will oppress us best.

Capitalist education was never truly public, but always segregated by class and race. Beyond the call to Defend Public Education, we need to Transform Education to Serve the People.

The overwhelming majority of union mis-leaders choose the other side in what is surely a class struggle. They gain from the wars and capital by supporting those wars, winning their own high pay and benefits, and betraying workers— they’re a quisling force, organizing decay.

We can build a social movement that rejects the barriers US unionism creates, from job category to industry to race and sex and beyond.

People are more united throughout the world by systems of technology, transportation, communication, than ever before, but we are divided by class, race, nation, and sex-gender.

Why? Capitalism is necessarily a war of all on all.

Everything negative is in place for a revolutionary transformation of society:

• distrust of leaders, collapse of moral suasion from the top down,
• lost wars, the real promise of endless war,
• financial crises, massive unemployment, booming inequality,
• imprisonment of only the poor, growing reliance on sheer force to rule,
• eradication of civil liberties,
• corruption and gridlock of government at every level, etc.)

What is missing is the passion, class consciousness, organization, and guiding ethic to make that change. Our answer—an ethic of equality forged in a class conscious organization.

The core issue of our time is the reality of endless war and rising inequality met by the potential of mass, active class conscious resistance.

We can fight to rescue education from the ruling classes.

You are welcome to join us.

The Rouge Forum (rougeforum.org)

Here are some notes, followed by links to recent articles of interest on HAW-related topics.

1. HAW and the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) are planning a special session, “Remembering Howard Zinn,” at the Organization of American Historians convention in Washington, DC in early April. The session will take place at 5:30 pm on Friday, April 9. Staughton Lynd, a friend of Howard for nearly fifty years, will speak, and there will be ample opportunity for attendees to share memories and thoughts.

2. The California Faculty Association (CFA) has called for a state- and nationwide day of action March 4 “to raise awareness about the crisis in public education and the need to fully fund our schools, college, and universities.” The CFA’s March 4 web site (http://www.calfac.org/march4.html) has information about events being planned in California and in a number of other states, with contact information.

Links to Recent Articles of Interest
“The U.S. Military’s German Fetish”
By William Astore, TomDispatch.com, posted February 18
The author, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, teaches history at the Pennsylvania College of Technology

“‘Government in a Box’ in Marja”
By Andrew Bacevich, Los Angeles Times, posted February 17
The author teaches history and international relations at Boston University

“Hold Onto Your Underwear: This Is NOT a National Emergency”
By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted February 14
On the continuing legacy of 9/11

“The Script Calls for Victory, No Matter What: The Battle for Marjah”
By Patrick Coburn, CounterPunch.org, posted February 11

“Ending the War in Afghanistan”
By Ron Jacobs, CounterPunch.org, posted February 11

“Haiti: A Creditor, Not a Debtor”
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100301/klein
By Naomi Klein, The Nation (March 1 issue), posted February 11
Draws heavily on Haitian history

“Preserving the Golden Rule as a Piece of Anti-Nuclear History”
By Lawrence Wittner, History News Network, posted February 8
The author teaches history at SUNY Albany

“Iraq Policy: D”
By Bonnie Bricker and Adil E. Shamoo, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted February 5

The working group for these biweekly collections of recommended articles consists of Matt Bokovoy, Carolyn (Rusti) Eisenberg, Jim O’Brien, Maia Ramnath, and Sarah Shields. Suggestions for articles to include can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.

If you have any information to add to the list below, have information on events from places outside of California or have any questions about March 4th, please email march4strikeanddayofaction@gmail.com or visit http://defendcapubliceducation.wordpress.com/school-reports/ and tell us what is being planned in your school, workplace, community for March 4th Strike and Day of Action.

In Solidarity,
Jonathan Nunez
Follow-up committee of the October 24th Conference

Regional Events

Los Angeles Regional Rally
* 3 pm Rally @ Pershing Square (5th & Hill) in downtown L.A.
* 4 pm March from Pershing Square to the Governor’s office
* 5 pm Rally @ Governor’s office (300 Spring St.)

East Bay/Oakland Regional Rally
* 12 pm-4 pm Rally @ Frank Ogawa Plaza (in front of Oakland City Hall, 14th & Broadway)
* March to the Ogawa Plaza Rally from:
-UC Berkeley: 12 pm Rally @ Bancroft & Telegraph, followed by March
-Laney College: 11 am Rally, followed by March
-Fruitvale BART: Assemble @ 11 am, March @ 11:30 am
* Travel to San Francisco Regional Rally (See regional listing below)

San Francisco Regional Rally
* 5 pm Rally @ San Francisco Civic Center

Sacramento/State Capitol Rally
* 11 am-1 pm Rally @ State Capitol (North Steps of Capitol)

San Diego Regional Rally
* 3 pm Rally @ Balboa Park, followed by March to governor’s office
* 4 pm Rally @ Governor’s office (downtown)

San Fernando Valley Regional Rally
* 3:45 pm gathering @ CSU Northridge Sierra Quad
* 4:15 pm March
* 5 pm Hands around CSUN
* 5:30 pm Rally @ CSU Northridge Sierra Quad

Local Events
UC Berkeley
* 7 am-12 pm Pickets
* 12 pm-1 pm Rally/Action @ entrance to Sproul Plaza (Telegraph & Bancroft)
* 1 pm-3 pm March from UC Berkeley to Oakland’s Ogawa Plaza
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to San Francisco Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

UCLA
* 10 am Pickets
* 11:30 am Walk Out
* 12 pm Rally @ Bruin Plaza
(UCLA invites high schools and community colleges in the Westside area to join)

UC San Diego
* 11:30 Walk-out & Rally @ Gilman Parking Structure
* 12:30 pm March from Gilman to the Silent Tree outside Giesel Library and Rally there
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to San Diego Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

UC Santa Cruz
* 6:00 am Picket at the entrances to campus
* 9:00 am Rally @ main entrance to the campus (Bay and High)
* 12:00 pm Rally @ main entrance to the campus (Bay and High)
* 5:00 pm General Assembly @ main entrance to campus (Bay and High)

UC Riverside
* 1 pm gathering @ UCR Bell Tower
* 2:30 pm March from UCR to downtown
* 3:30 pm Rally @ University Ave and Market St. (Downtown Riverside)

CSU Bakersfield
* 11:30 am-1 pm @ the Student Union Patio (rain: Stockdale Room in Runner Café)

CSU Channel Islands
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to the San Fernando Valley to participate in San Fernando Valley Regional Rally @ CSU Northridge (See regional listing above)

CSU Chico
* 8 am sendoff for students, faculty, workers and campus community traveling to State Capital Rally (See regional listing above)

CSU Dominguez Hills
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to Wilson High School Long Beach and Los Angeles Regional Rally (See Long Beach details below or regional listing above)
* 11 am-1 pm students hold a fair on CSUDH East Walkway (Games to learn about public education costs, access and quality)

CSU East Bay
* 12 pm Rally/Open Mic/Speack Out @ Agora Stage
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to San Francisco Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

Fresno State
* 10:30 am March from NW corner of Blackstone and Shaw, go down Shaw to Fresno State
* 12 pm-1 pm Rally @ Peace Garden

CSU Fullerton
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to Los Angeles Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

Humboldt State
* 3 pm-5 pm Rally @ Humboldt County Courthouse-Eureka with CSU and K-12 faculty and students

Cal State Los Angeles
* 9:30 am Rally @ the USU area (Free Speech area)
* 2 pm March to Los Angeles Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

CSU Long Beach
* 12 pm-1 pm Rally @ South Campus, Upper Quad,
* 1 pm-2 pm Parade
* 4 pm Rally with K-12 and Community College (see below)

Long Beach: Wilson High School
* 4 pm Rally @ Wilson High School Gymnasium (4400 E. 10th St.)
* Music by Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman)

California Maritime Academy
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to San Francisco Regional Rally and Sacramento/State Capitol Rally (See regional listing above)
* 12 pm Street Theatre/Mock “Die-In” @ Maritime’s main quad

CSU Monterey Bay
* 11 am-1 pm Rally/March
* Followed by car-pools to Community Rally
* 4 pm Community Rally @ Colton Hall (570 Pacific St. between Madison & Jefferson)
- Contact: Kat General, 415-728-8927

CSU Northridge/San Fernando Valley Regional Rally
* 3:45 pm gather @ CSU Northridge Sierra Quad
* 4:15 pm March
* 5 pm Hands around CSUN
* 5:30 pm Rally @ CSU Northridge Sierra Quad

Cal Poly Pomona
* 1:30 pm- 2:30 pm Send off Rally @ – as CFA members, students and campus community board buses for Los Angeles Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

Sacramento State/Sacramento/State Capitol Rally
* 11 am-1 pm Rally @ State Capitol (North Steps of Capitol)
- Contact: Kevin Wehr, 916-541-2125

CSU San Bernardino
* 11:30 am March @ Marquee entrance (NW corner of University Pkwy and Northpark Blvd)
* 12 pm Rally @ Pfau Library

San Diego State/San Diego Regional Rally
* 11:30 am-12:00 pm collect video testimonials from students and campus community next to Aztec Center (Large “scoreboard” showing the loss of students, teachers and classes at SDSU due to budget cuts)
* 12:00 pm Rally by Aztec Center
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to San Diego Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

San Francisco Sate
* 7 am Campus Shutdown
* Students, faculty, workers and campus community will travel to San Francisco Regional Rally (See regional listing above)

San Jose State
* 11 am gather at San Jose City Hall
* 11:45 am March to San Jose State Tower Lawn (7th Street Plaza entrance)
* 12 pm Rally @ San Jose State Tower Lawn

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
* 3:30-5 pm Rally @ Office of state Senator Abel Maldonado (1356 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo)

CSU San Marcos
* 10:30 am-11:30 am Teach-in on State Budget @ Academic Hall (ACD) 102 (simulcast to other classrooms)
* 12 pm-1 pm Rally @ Kellogg Library

Sonoma State
* 11:30 am Student Walk Out
* 12:00 pm-1:30 pm Rally near Stevenson Quad

CSU Stanislaus
* 11:30 am-1pm Rally @ campus Quad

Original list compiled by Steve Seltzer
Modified by Jonathan Nunez

With the current issue (Volume 1, Number 2), Critical Education launches a new series of articles titled “The Lure of the Animal: Addressing Nonhuman Animals in Educational Theory and Research.”

The inaugural article is by series editor Abraham P. DeLeon of the University of Texas, San Antonio and titled “The Lure of the Animal: The Theoretical Question of the Nonhuman Animal.”

Strike, Educate, Agitate, Occupy on March 4th to Transform Public Education. Defend Education from the Ruling Classes!

On the Little Rouge School Front:

Call For Proposals–Rouge Forum Conference August 2-5, 2010

Detroit Federation of Teachers Uses Cops Vs Members: The DFT leadership had police greeting members coming to the February 11 meeting where rank and file dissidents hoped to present, again, a petition to remove DFT president Keith Johnson who, in December, foisted the worst teacher contract in US history on Detroit School workers. Police removed several members from the meeting in handcuffs. Below are quotes from the DFT web page (http://mi.aft.org/dft231/) demonstrating how the AFT around the country is more and more turning to force in order to whip educators into line. Force alone will never win. Meanwhile, DFT members watch as $250 vanishes from each paycheck, their insurance co-pays go from $5 to $40. In some schools, the testing schedule of preparation and bubbling-in will take up 49 of the next 100 school days. An injury to one just goes before an injury to all. Union bosses are the nearest and most vulnerable of workers’ enemies–harsh measures.

“Cameras NOT ALLOWED at Membership Meeting [2.5.10]

The Feb. 11 General Membership meeting, like all DFT meetings, is a closed and private meeting. No personal video or still cameras will be allowed. No videotaping by cellphone cameras will be allowed. Some members have formally complained to the union that their photo was taken and posted on the internet without their approval. Any person videotaping meetings will be told to cease and desist or will be ejected from the meeting…Any member who continues to disrupt the meeting will be removed by the police.”

Walmart Takes Over Four Detroit Schools: “Students will get 11 weeks of job-readiness training during the school day and 10 high school credits for the class and work experience. Sean Vann, principal at Douglass, said 30 students at that school will get jobs at Walmart. He said the program will allow students an opportunity to earn money and to be exposed to people from different cultures – since all of the stores are in the suburbs.”

Remember when the Detroit Federation of Teachers Dealt Out the Worst Teacher Contract in US History When Last December, Promising Concessions Would Save Jobs? Looky Here: “the scheduled layoff of Marc W. Haas, Orchestra Conductor and Music teacher at Detroit’s Cass Technical High School:“More than 25 music and art teachers are threatened with Feb. 28 or March 7, 2010 layoffs. In my view, the arts programs in Detroit are one of the things that have been working for decades within the Detroit Public School system despite its troubles in other areas. Losing arts teachers and programs would only serve to put Detroit’s youth in further peril.“Quite simply, I believe the arts matter. The arts provide access to success in all areas. Our nation’s arts programs not only produce talented and successful artists, but also talented and successful surgeons, lawyers, scientists, politicians, business executives, etc….leaders period. Let us not lose what has proven to contribute to greatness time and time again.”

Michigan Leads the Way (Backwards) in Call For National Standards: “Schmidt said he believes Michigan is heading in the right direction by being part of the process of developing common national standards. If more students fail the MEAP as a result, Schmidt said, that will put pressure on teachers to produce better results.In addition, Flanagan said, recent legislation that will make student growth a significant part of teacher evaluations also may spur teachers to ensure the standards are being taught. If too many kids fail, a teacher is likely to be downgraded in his evaluation. The idea is to remove ineffective teachers.”

How To Become A Great Michigan School? Pay $25 Grand to the Ad Company: “The banner ad across the Lincoln school district’s website proudly proclaims it has been recognized as one of the best school districts in Michigan.The criteria for Lincoln and eight other districts being selected? A $25,000 check.

Bob Bobb Honored By Detroit Business Mag: “There are better days ahead for Detroit Public Schools,” Bobb said, adding, he thinks DPS should be under mayoral control.

Southwestern College Fights Cuts, Boss, Arrests: The blunt and confrontational Chopra has a long history of turning around troubled districts and educational systems — and of igniting brutal labor clashes. And he’s drawn more scrutiny here for accepting a pay increase while laying off long-time employees, cutting classes and for apparently boosting a paragraph from Southwest Airlines’ CEO in his Thanksgiving letter to employees. Hundreds of college employees have united against Chopra and are taking out their frustrations on three members of the Southwestern board. In the crosshairs are trustees Jean Roesch, Terry Valladolid and Yolanda Salcido.

You Tube Three Minutes Vs Merit Pay

Krashen Letter Cracks NYTimes on NCLB: “ Every minute spent testing that is not necessary bleeds time from learning, and every dollar spent on testing that is not necessary is stolen from investments that really need to be made in schools…Any new education law should result in less testing, not more.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/opinion/l11educ.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Beverly Hills: Kick Out the Kids!: “The district is changing the way it funds schools, declining state money based on student attendance and instead using property-tax revenue. Board members argued that Beverly Hills taxpayers should not subsidize education for nonresidents.”

Resistance News:
Feb 9: Building Occupation in Progress, University of Sussex: Students at the University of Sussex are occupying their university’s conference center to protest cuts to classes and employee layoffs.

Greeks Strike Against Austerity Plan: “Thousands of Greeks have rallied against deficit-cutting measures during a national public sector strike.Flights have been grounded, many schools are closed and hospitals are operating an emergency-only service.”